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Will the subprime loan fallout effect me?

Well it depends- where do you live? Locally speaking, and I mean Costa Mesa, the subprime fallout will effect some of our values, but not to the level the media is hyping right now.  Why not? Because the trends as of this writing tell us that as a city, Costa Mesa has one of the lowest default rates county wide.  I monitor the foreclosure activity locally, and Costa Mesa tends not to see much activity in this category.

The greater effect locally is the rate at which houses are sold in terms of time on the market. Homes for sale in Costa Mesa that have been on the market longer than three months will typically have to reduce their price to find and attract new buyers.

Why is the subprime area such a focal point right now? I hate to say "it's the media" digging for a story again, but yes, it's the media. And remember how the media's focus is much larger than ours is locally. Our local news is for suburban Southern California, not just Costa Mesa.

Will some of this fallout effect me? Probably a little. But remember, your house is much more than an asset, it is a home. And when you do need to sell your home, do the right things to fix your home and make it attractive for buyers. If you live in a good Costa Mesa neighborhood, don't worry, there are always people who want to live here!!

To borrow from the oft quoted phrase(and put a home selling spin on it!), we have a home market that is moving somewhere in between the two.

The market had a great balancing last year, and now inventory for condos (98) and homes (233) in Costa Mesa is at a very normal level. Homes are selling- contrary to conflicting media reports- and local economists have forecasted a 5-7% gain for the 2007 year here locally in Costa Mesa.  The homes that seem to be moving quicker are the ones that are priced well compared to other inventory, homes in good locations, and homes that are decorated and improved beyond comparable homes on the market. People will always pay for the right improvements.

Are there deals to be had? Absolutely!! There are fixers that are currently on the market well under the highs of early 2006, some as of this writing that are more than $100k under neighborhood highs.  Could a buyer expect to get 5-10% off of an asking price? It depends, but a good agent can negotiate prices to this level.

Thinking of selling? It's still a good time, but you will have to do a little more to properly prepare your home for the market than you might have had to a year ago.

Thinking of buying? It's a good time for that as well- it isn't hard to find a nice house at a good price.