Larry Weichman's Real Estate Blog

 Our Costa Mesa listings contain one figure that’s quite useful for apples-to-apples comparisons of the properties being offered. This one is quietly tucked away beneath the more prominent pieces of information. It doesn’t usually draw much attention, although it probably deserves more. And last ...

First-time homebuyers might not be aware of something veteran homeowners assume automatically: those advertised mortgage interest rates are not necessarily the rate that will be offered. To Costa Mesa consumers who usually assume that they are protected from false promises in ads, that can be pre...

Last week ended with such horrendous news in California that it was a blessed relief how in at least one narrow slice of the news—one of interest to Costa Mesa house hunters, among others—there was blessedly very little worrisome to report. Against the grim reality of how November 2018 was beginn...

  Downsizing has gotten a lot of attention as Baby Boomers—many of whom have become empty-nesters—discover that they don’t need the space, expense, and elbow grease required to keep up the family property. But there is a counter-trend that could well explain the popularity (and desirability) of m...

For a while now, one of the themes we’ve been hearing on the news has been less than encouraging—particularly if you’re one of the Costa Mesa homeowners thinking about listing your home. It’s the item that’s reported as “home sales.” When you’re about to put your home on the market, you’d like th...

   Costa Mesa home buyers and the home sellers will have at least one thing in common—it has to do with that famous saying about misery loving company. Misery in all its forms is never welcome because miserable anything doesn’t lead to a lively real estate market. A miserable economy doesn’t help...

From the home sales analysts at Pulsenomics comes the latest findings on how home sellers are likely to fare if they decide to list their properties this autumn. Our Costa Mesa market is only one data point in national surveys like this one—but Pulsenomics has a history of accurately zeroing in o...

   Inflation has been barely noticeable for quite a while, but as Costa Mesa shoppers have begun to notice how it’s been creeping up lately. For Costa Mesa landlords, that triggers a subject that directly impacts the profitability of their real estate investment. Managing rent increases properly—...

A couple of years ago, the National Association of Realtors® sent out a compilation of answers to the most-often posed questions home buyers have for their agents. Costa Mesa home buyers do sometimes come up with these. Here’s the NAR list, its answers—and a few brief observations:       “How muc...

 Buyers and sellers are more well-informed than ever before due to easy access to online Costa Mesa real estate sites (like mine—and BTW, thanks for stopping by!). Given the advent of constantly updated listing data and the abundance of accompanying commentary and analysis, it’s no surprise that ...