With inventory of new homes being listed at a record low for
Orange County California and Data Quick reporting big percentage gains for
Laguna Niguel (up 31%) Newport Beach (up 40%) and Newport Coast (up 41%)
residential real estate in South County is looking rosy. Sellers appear
reluctant to list their homes and Realtors are reporting sellers taking houses
off the market to wait for more gains in the spring.
Are we really out of the woods? I believe the trough, big
dip decline is behind us but my crystal ball predicts a rocky Sisyphus climb
ahead. Employment is our biggest problem in Southern California. The Bay area
is seeing recovery in San Francisco proper as a boom because of tech jobs
heating up. Multiple offers and offers bidding up prices are the talk of the
town.
Mortgage rates are at all-time lows, approaching what happened
in Japan with near two percent interest rates. It seems that Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal
Reserve, will do anything to keep those rates down. In a recent news conference
following a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in Washington, D.C. he
encouraged Americans to buy a home and live the American dream.
This leaves me
with questions about our future. Is it really a great idea to buy a home when
it no longer seems to be an investment and home buyer tax deductions look to be
on the chopping block? Without job growth will we sustain these short
term residential real estate value gains? Or does everyone hurry to buy before
the spring deluge?
I hope it will be "Sunshine On My Shoulder," don't you?
My mortgage website: http://www.mywjb.com/caroline-gerardo/
http://www.dqnews.com/Charts/Monthly-Charts/OC-Register-Charts/ZIPOCR.aspx
