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 With the way that our local real estate markets are heading, it is interesting to watch how some blogging agents are reacting. Some 'professionals' who have been counseling their clients that they can expect to see double digit price increases in their homes every year are suddenly not blogging at all, or blogging strickly about events in their area. I guess that they are too embarrassed to admit that they were wrong about the market ...
I've been saying for sometime that our local real estate market is greatly over valued - mostly due to over speculation and the ease of getting loans. With the mortgage industry in extreme turmoil over many bad loans that were given, I'd say we are in for some tough days ahead. We have already seen a huge increase in home inventory, a major increase in days a home is on the market and are starting to see a lot of price decreases. I believe we will be seeing price decreases for some time here on the Eastside. There are options for those who want to continue to invest in (and profit from) real estate ...
For my clients who are thinking about selling, I am begging them to do it now if they want to sell in the next 3-5 years. List it now for a reasonable price that will allow it to sell quickly while values are still relatively strong. If not sold soon, I believe it will be much more difficult to sell in the coming months and years - due to many factors, including the tightening supply of funds available. For my clients who are wanting to buy, I am suggesting that they wait out this turn of the market, but have a couple of other options for them if they have money they want to place now or in the near future. For those who have money they want to invest now, I suggest buying "deal" properties in southern California or vacation/2nd home properties in Baja California (Mexico). Southern California is the area in the country where most of the major brokerages are having the toughest times. Many, many foreclosures, tax sales and auctions are going on. It is now possible to purchase properties in southern California at decent deals and then rent them out to make your payments. An agent that I work with in Mexico tells me that there are thousands of new housing units coming online in the next year or two. Added to their current buyers market, he says that people can go down there any basically make any offer they want for a lot of properties - and have them accepted. If you are not familiar, there are many great beach towns in Baja with houses and condos on or near the ocean. Prices are very low compared to US properties, and as of a few years ago, it is possible to get title insurance and a conventional mortgage on Mexican properties. This is a great opportunity for investors to buy a house or condo (or two), rent them out when they want and use them for a vacation spot when they'd like - or simply have them rented all year long. There are many options in Mexico ... |
