Buying and Selling a Home Now
For 62 straight months or so, Southern California home prices have gone up in price.
What should a Buyer do now?
Southern California prices are not going to drop soon. In fact, industry analysts say prices will keep rising for two years, at least, and possibly longer.
Some analysts are saying Southern California home prices are showing signs of being overvalued.
If you are thinking and shopping for a home now, be sure to plan on living there for a good amount of time. Do not over-leverage your home.
Homes now are about 18 percent below their peak prices since pre-recession, and home prices are not rising that much, analysts say.
California Association of Realtors projections show a gradual decrease in home price appreciation over the next few years. For example, CAR projects prices will go up 5% state wide in 2017, 4% in 2018 and 2.5% in 2019. CAR does not think we will see a dip in prices in the next couple of years.
If the Gross Domestic Product continues to grow at 2.5 percent and mortgage interest rates stay below 4.5%, Southern California home prices could be going up 6 percent a year for the next six to seven years according to CAR. And since we have a housing shortage, that is reasonable.
Is it too late to buy a home?
I’ve never been a high-pressure sales person whether representing a buyer or seller. But, I do now. and have in the past, advised selling now or buying now, all predicated on my client’s needs and goals.
What if I want to sell my home now?
As always, if a Seller prices a property correctly, it will sell quickly. There is some over-exuberance in the market pricing today, and there are reasonably priced properties on the market too. A great many Days on the Market usually is attributed to over-pricing, but not always, and sometimes there is a valid reason.
Summary
Buyers - Be prepared to pay more for a mortgage and a home in the near future.
Sellers - you are still rest in the comfort of this Seller’s market. But, remember, over-pricing can hold up your timing, and ultimately, the buying market will determine the price you receive for your property.
