The real estate market has got quite a few people scratching theirs heads these days. Buyers want to get it for nothing and sellers want top dollar. Just to add more to the itchy heads, the median price of Orange County homes actually rose 0.4% in June (according to DataQuick Information Systems) to $645,000, though sales were actually down compared to 1 year ago. The serious buyers & sellers are still there. relocations due to jobs or family crisis and very evident in this market. The buyers who were qualified to buy through those bargain brokers are having problems qualifying with the "legitimate lenders."
The subprime lenders are all but gone beacuse buyers getting their loans from these lenders could not afford their mortgage payments and the respective banks foreclosed. Bank do not sell real estate and do not want these types of repossessions/foreclosures on their books. Why? They have to answer to their Boards of Directors who answer to stock holders. Too much red on the books, send the wrong message to share holders, who sell and go elsewhere with their money.
I still hold open houses in and around Irvine and people are still coming in, but they are "just looking." So why are lower priced "starter homes" staying on the market longer and the higher priced homes/estates moving? The elimination of people who can't afford to be in the market. Market adjustments to high lending standards and fewer subprime loans for buyers with lower credit scores. This does not mean sellers, that the value of your home has gone up. Those buyers who can afford to be in the market are buying higher-priced properties.
The bottom line is this sellers; What is your motivation? If the home is priced correctly, it will sell. If not, it sits and frustration builds. You end up writing another mortgage check and wonder if anyone will buy your house. Have your agent (hopefully me) complete a market analysis of your home & neighborhood to price the home correctly. Any agent can do this! In my opinion, the agent who lists your home for what you think it's worth is doing you a disservice. That agent just wants your listing and should've completed the anyalysis. If the home is overpriced, the agent should show you why it's overpriced, based on the anaysis.
Buyers; Credit...Credit...Credit. The subprime boom is done (for a while) and if you want to buy in Orange County, the credit has to be clean. The alternative is paying a large mortage payment or a inflated interest rate. Go and get prequalified before you start to look seriously for your home. Finding the right place for you before you know what your credit score is can be devastating.
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