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Is buying in this market wise? YOU BET IT IS!

By
Real Estate Agent with Prudential California Realty!

Another month of ups and downs in the real estate world! What is going on? Interestingly enough, we do actually have a really good housing market here in Ventura County and I will tell you more about why I say this and why I feel this way.

 According to what I have seen or experienced as well as articles I found online housing prices are climbing, albeit only by 1 and 2 percent in most areas, but some of the states ( are seeing prices increase by more than 10 - and in some cases, more than 14%! What? Wait a minute? Haven't we been hearing about our declining market? Huh? Sorry, I agree that there is no need for sarcasm, but I am sure you can understand my frustration! We are not talking about a car you are purchasing, it is a HOME! This is the largest, most important financial transaction you will EVER make - and yet some obscure writer has managed to create such a ruckus over our housing market!? Who are these people who write these articles? Where are they living? Do they have crystal balls? If so, I want one!

As you are aware, our government is working on programs to help those facing foreclosure or those whose mortgages adjusted, in order to lessen the number of foreclosures hitting the marketplace and most importantly, enable those whose loans have adjusted to keep their piece of the American dream. If this program comes to fruition - and they can manage to make it work for Californians - the foreclosures will end or slow down significantly, the huge price drops will cease, with the exception of those who are totally over-priced to begin with, and short pays will once again be a thing of the past! In fact, personally, I'd say we are already experiencing this!

If you look at current lists of homes with a notice of default filed (pre-foreclosures) you will see how short that list actually is - down from 20 pages to single digits - and it is continuing to decline. Banks are helping - in fact, without even asking, our bank sent us a letter and offered us an amazing refinance - FREE! Banks who used to turn down short pay offers are now accepting them - and buyers have come out of the woodwork - swinging - with CASH!

Just this week - I showed two homes - two different cities - two very different price ranges - and both have offers upwards of 10 on each! Most are cash buyers as well. One of the homes is well over a million - and people still think there is an on-going decline here? Not so - not any longer unfortunately.

In the real estate industry we have a term for buyers who wont buy - fence sitters. Guess what? You may have sat just a little too long - cuz homes are selling so swiftly, even I am stunned! Me, who has been a HUGE proponent of BUY NOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE! If you are waiting for bottom - it's been and gone.

Values are still expected to remain at these all-time lows - but not for much longer if this week was any indication of where the housing market is expected to go.

As of March 21st, the FHA made it a little harder to qualify for a loan, raising the credit score minimum from 580 to 621; this caught some buyers' unaware although the FHA made an announcement close to a year ago that this was going to happen. So, the ideal in this situation is to review your credit report and see what you can do to increase your score. In the case of one client of mine, it was paying down about $300 on one credit card - and they are now safely over the 621 score! Whew!

Personally I believe we are once again experiencing a SELLER'S MARKET - yep, you read that right - a seller's market! How else do you explain the average well-priced home or foreclosure having multiple offers? It is a feeding-frenzy out there on some of these homes! Even the reviled short sales have tons of offers - how can it not be a seller's market? In a lot of cases, I am hearing about buyers writing offers on multiple homes to ensure they get one of them. How crazy is that? Totally reminiscent of 2005!

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is this; thinking of buying?  Get pre-qualified with a reputable loan officer or bank. Once you have done that, start looking - and plan on it taking a few months - the inventory is low in my area and there are so many buyers that competition is stiff. Hurry before the prices go up again!

Now if you are an investor - be wary of others jacking up the prices on homes for fun and games and then walking away - I am seeing it happen and the seller is then losing their other potential buyers! All need to be wary - all markets have their crack pots and this market is no exception!  

All of the above are my opinions; I find myself to be one of those Realtors who study the market, as well as study the trends; I read everything I can get my hands on, and honestly, I just love what I do!

 

Bottom line? You love the home and can qualify AND afford the loan? BUY IT!

 

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