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Soft to Softer in the Inland Empire

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Empire Realty

I just read the MLS statistics for the Inland Valley Board of Realtors and all I can say is that the market is getting softer and softer in the Inland Empire of California. 

Active Listing have dropped 17.7% from Sep 06 to Sep 07 with a 20.9% drop from Aug 07 to Sep 07.  The Closed transactions dropped even more dramatically, 41.7% from Sep 06 to Sep 07 with a 21.8% drop from Aug 07 to Sep 07.  The ratio of Active Listings to Pending Listings has dropped 8% from 06 to 07.

This information will hit the media in the next couple weeks as it always does.

Here is a sample of some of the stats,

                               Pending Listings                   Sold Listings           Percent Change

July 06                             5,895                               5,261                    -29.1

July 07                             4,180                               3,325                   -36.8%

August 06                         6,144                               3,830                    -37.7

August 07                         5,955                               3,399                   -42.9%

September 06                   5,141                               2,996                    -37.7

September 07                   5,002                               1,949                    -42.9%

To further illustrate where the market is headed I have included some stats from Foreclosureradar.com about Notice of Defaults (NOD's) and Foreclosure Sales

                               Notice of Defaults                 Notice of Sale        Cancellation of Sale

June 07                             2,038                               1,034                    245

July 07                              2,272                               1,253                    271

August 07                          2,693                               1,295                    282

                    

Christi Stewart
Prudential California Realty - Laguna Niguel, CA
Prudential Calif. Realty

Hi Robert,

I have been feeling this on my listing in Hemet.  It is a very difficult market.  Let's hope 2008 is better.

Oct 06, 2007 02:54 AM
Nancy Moeller
Seven Gables Real Estate - Anaheim Hills, CA
Ouch ... not good news. Thanks for sharing the stats, Nancy
Oct 06, 2007 03:08 AM
Jason Lopez
SmartRealty Solutions - San Diego, CA

THX for the info!  Look at the up side...agents are also flushing out so there will be less competition and better transactions as you will be working with more seasoned agents...which always makes it easier!  I opened our San Diego office last year and am now in process of opening Temecula/Murrieta and other Inland Empire locations.  If you continue to feel the pinch and are considering your options, I'd love to hear from you.  Continued Success!

Jason

Oct 06, 2007 04:25 AM
Robert Huntsinger
Empire Realty - Upland, CA
Empire Realty Upland, CA - Full Service at a Discount

Jason,

You are right on, for those of us that have been doing this for a while we know that all of the REAL Realtors are going to be here on the down tick just as we were on the up tick.

When the market was on it's way up I told everyone "when it rains everyone gets wet", these are the markets that test your abilities and weed out the people that just chase opportunities instead of a calling.

Take care!

RJH

Oct 06, 2007 04:59 AM
Anonymous
Kathy Neilsen
With the amount of listings compared to the amount of sales out there, I look around seeing newer agents who think they've hit pay dirt because they have 10 listings. The problem with this theory is every one of their listings is overpricced because they are still living in the market 2 years ago when the sky was the limit. They never learned the art of pricing or how to convey this information to a seller. They let the seller pick the price and there it sits. It's a shame but most of these new agents didn't really learn anything about real estate and no one bothered to teach them anything so now they suffer. Some may make it but by and large the majority will hit the high road looking for fast an easy money in another sector. More so than real estate agents, many lenders who don't know squat will be on their way out also and I've had far more problems with inexperienced lenders than inexperienced real estate agents.
Oct 09, 2007 02:59 PM
#5
Robert Huntsinger
Empire Realty - Upland, CA
Empire Realty Upland, CA - Full Service at a Discount

Kathy,

You are so right!  I am seeing so many Lenders and Agents loosing their shirts.  I call it the Hummer effect, when it was raining and everyone was getting wet,  everyone went out and over extended their finances thinking that this is what real estate is.  Reality has hit, next market cycle they will save more than they spend.

The last market turn in the early 90's found super agent/broker Glickman in the valley loose his shirt now we will see a hole new breed of young unexperienced Agents and Brokers follow with the same fate.

I love how history repeats itself!

Take care!

Oct 12, 2007 11:45 AM