Buy the hype about a Buyers’ Market?
By now, most of the country knows that Sacramento and large parts of the Central Valley are poster children for the housing market’s Big Crap-Out ‘07-’08.
There was a slight glimmer today as the figures for February sales show that they didn’t slow down by as much they have been. So, for those who remember high school or college calc, that means the derivatives are perking up, even as the primary graphs still point down. Housing sales are still dropping, but in February they just dropped by less. Wow, I feel tremendously better, don’t you?
Here’s the thing, though, if you want to buy a bargain basement house in Natomas or West Sac, you’re in luck. But if you’re buying in stronger area neighborhoods, don’t start counting your savings quite yet. This is due to one thing: sellers partying like it’s 2005.
If you’re a buyer, dealing with sellers who aren’t in foreclosure, or even preforclosure, but who refuse to recognize that their homes simply weren’t worth what they paid in 2005 when they paid it in 2005 and definitely aren’t worth that now. I feel bad for these sellers, but not enough to be charitable about it.
So when does the market come back? And since the above-linked article still tells us things are sliding, when do we really know we’ve hit bottom?
I should’ve bought in 2001.
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Maybe the sales didn’t slow down as much because there’s pretty much nothing else to foreclose. Everything is fucked.
Regular sellers don’t stand a chance right now. I should know, I attempted to be a regular seller last Fall to see if I could capitalize on a good deal in Roseville. Bank owned properties rule the market and will continue to do so until 2009 when most of the 2/28’s unsuccessfully try to refinance. They can’t refi, face huge increases in their variable interest rate and the house is dumped. Houses double in value every ten years? Seems like I came to "buying age" in the wrong era.
I dunno, the Bee has more gloom and doom in their reporting today–kinda makes you want to stock up on canned goods and start walking to work…even if it is 8 miles away.
It’s not just the housing market. The dollar is in the tank.