Time To Buy?

There was an excellent article on the front page of the Daily Breeze today titled “Time to buy Southern California real estate — if you can” that discusses the current state of the real estate market and why this is a particularly good time to buy a home. Because of the extremely low inventory and the record low interest rates for buyers, this is also a great time to be selling a home. Many listings are receiving multiple offers due to the dearth of homes on the market. Following are some excerpts from this article:

“For 2013, real estate experts say it’s time to get ready for a new normal, or, perhaps more accurately, a new abnormal.

Interest rates are at historic lows, prices are moderate and demand is surging. But at the same time, banks are keeping a tight rein on credit, and homeowners — especially those who bought at higher prices a few years back — are still reluctant to sell. Plus investors are swooping into the market with all-cash offers that often pre-empt first-time homebuyers with moderate credit.

Those factors combine to make it a great time to buy — and a more complicated, difficult time to do so.

With rates so low and the housing bubble in the rearview mirror, home prices are starting to show some signs of recovery.

The median price of a Southern California home sold from July to September was nearly 11 percent higher than the same quarter last year.

The number of homes sold for that period also rose by about 11 percent.

Fourth quarter sales numbers, due out this week, are expected to continue the improving trend.

Still, the improving sales trend doesn’t mean the boom times have entirely returned. Experts vary on their projections for Southern California this year, but most are looking at only moderate growth.

“Everybody thinks, oh, the housing market is turning around. But it’s turning around because the inventory is lower,” said Warren Snyder, who co-owns Carriage Realty & American Broker Loans in Rolling Hills Estates. “The short inventory count is causing people to pay more for the house. It’s supply and demand.”

Absent some economic shock, like a boom or bust in the jobs market, Gary Painter, director of research at the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, expects the Los Angeles region to see flat to moderate growth in home values, with maybe a 3 percent annual increase.

The California Association of Realtors is more optimistic, expecting prices to improve 5.7 percent this year, with sales to rise by 1.3 percent. “