Busy, Warm Weekend

I had 2 open houses this weekend in the ritzy area of Stevenson Ranch. Both properties were list-priced around $1 million. It was sunny and warm in LA (unlike last week) and turnout was good, even Sunday Super Bowl afternoon! I was tearing down my signs at 4pm and there were still people wanting to come in! Buyer interest has definitely picked up in SCV, and this past week I'm hearing from my colleagues in Antelope Valley that buyer calls are just beginning to pick up there too. It looks good to a "soft landing" in these two valleys.

"Soft Landing" is a misleading term for this changing market. We're not seeing the 20%+ annual housing appreciation, but homes are still increasing in value year-over-year (closer to 6-8%). We are having homes sit on the market longer, but they are not decreasing in value. That's why we encourage first-time homebuyers that they need to get into the market as sson as they can or get left out as home prices increase. In society, there are the have's and have-not's -- those that own homes in the Southern California market and those that don't.

I've been quoting too much financial news in the past couple of posts. Tonight, this study caught my eye, courtesy of RISMedia:

A nationwide survey of existing homeowners reveals that men and women operate differently during the home-buying process. In fact, nearly half of those women surveyed (43%) said they did not spend enough time shopping for their new home, while less then one quarter of all men surveyed (23%) said they spent too much time during the buying process. The survey was conducted from January 16-19, 2007 by Countrywide Home Loans.

Interestingly, the survey revealed that both men and women saw room for improvement in the way they approach the home-buying process. Those surveyed said that when buying their next home, they would:

1) Save more money for down payment and closing costs (25%)2) Learn more about the home buying process before they began their home purchase negotiations (25%)3) Purchase a new house instead of an older home (22%)4) Buy in a different neighborhood (21%)

As with any financial decision, consumers should carefully evaluate their options and fully understand both the benefits and drawbacks before making a home purchase.