Thursday, April 10, 2008

Forbes.com Says San Diego Prices May Rise Over Next Half Year

Some good news, guys! And we are seeing it in buyers beginning to be active, though still afraid to get their feet wet. We bought a house for investment, and we're not alone in the industry. Our main lender contact just bought a house to fix and possibly flip, as well! It is definitely in the air! Read this excerpt from Forbes.com...

Subprime still matters, as do the concentration of adjustable rate mortgages. Transaction volume, however, especially over the next 12 months is becoming an increasingly important gauge of a market's health. This month the National Association of Realtors reported that sales volume of existing homes was up 2.9%, the first such month-to-month rise since July.

In cities like San Diego, one of five major metros where transactions rose, that's good news, assuming it's sustained. What makes transaction volume a good indicator is that it shows how easy it is for people to get loans and how much confidence there is in the market. If mortgages are available and buyers have some faith in the value of the home, they're more likely to buy.
San Diego's present conditions suggest that over the next half-year, prices may start to rise. That's because "there's usually a three- to six-month lag between when transactions go up and prices go up," says Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, a Manhattan real estate appraisal firm.

Another good sign for the coming year? Increased credit availability.

We took into account increased Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSE) loan limits. The new legislation will open up credit in markets such as Sacramento and San Diego by boosting the GSE loan limit by 125% of the median price. That's a huge deal for San Diego, where 18% of the market will see improved lending conditions, based on projections by Radar Logic, a New York-based real estate research firm.

http://www.forbes.com/2008/03/31/homes-risky-property-forbeslife-cx_mw_0331realestate.html?partner=email

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