Will Lack of Inventory Cause Home Prices to Rise?

So have we hit bottom? Are we rebounding?

Buyers are growing frustrated with the growing lack of inventory.  They have been pre-approved for a great loan with a low rate yet they cannot get an offer accepted.  A fixer-upper-corner-lot-property on a busy street in La Mirada received 24 offers in 3 days, my clients' offer was the 24th, by day 10 over 50 offers had been submitted. This is not an exaggeration, rather an all too common snap shot of our current real estate market (Summer of 2012). What is causing this lack of inventory? We all see the vacant homes with weeds at knee height and plenty of NODs, (Notice of Default) so why aren't those houses for sale? Some seasoned  real estate agents allege the banks (The Fed) are purposely staggering the inventory to create an overpowering demand to drive prices higher.  Further driving buyers to buy now, are historically low interest rates.  So what are buyers to do with no inventory and ultra low interest rates?  Some buyers have decided to wait, they are frustrated--most of them have offered above asking price with no concessions just to be overbid.  Successful  buyers, now homeowners, are excited to be in a home with plenty of time to enjoy the last days of summer with their kids.

What about Sellers? Homeowners with very little equity are not selling unless they must.  We are also seeing another small wave of short sales approaching but it will be nothing like the years before.  The banks have gotten all their ducks in a row (sort of) and the long 6 months to a year wait to receive approval or rejection on loan modifications or short sales are pretty much over, unless some one dropped the ball along the way.  What about the home owners with equity? We are seeing more and more sellers slowly entering the market, testing the waters--they want a Sneakpeak!  They want to preview how much can possibly profit and what can they purchase. While some families are up-sizing or moving in together, others are downsizing.  Many empty nesters are finding that they do not need all the extra rooms, their kids have their own homes so might as well sell their original 1960s home and buy a smaller upgraded home with modern day amenities and still have funds to travel and set some aside for the grand kids. The only problem is that some sellers can be rather greedy but in this market (Summer of 2012) desperate buyers are willing to pay.

So it appears we are on an upward trajectory but will it last?  Have we hit "true" bottom? The real estate market IS cyclical--so is this a mere phase? I would love to hear all vantage points.  After all we are all in this together!

La Mirada Creek Park, A Local Haven

I simply love this not so hidden gem in East La Mirada.  Jogging here is a little piece of heaven.  Fellow joggers, walkers and runners are friendly--always saying hi or nodding with a smile while bobbing along to the music pumping via ipods.  Doggies of all breeds and sizes can be seen prancing and playing.  Crossing the wooden bridges one can catch a glimpse of the ducks diving into the water down below.  My favorite part of my constitutional walks/jogs is having the opportunity to greet the beautiful horses along the way to the other side of the La Mirada Creek Park, under the Imperial Hwy tunnel towards Biola University. Love that we have an equestrian community, the horses are not only gorgeous but look healthy and happy.  The 2nd part of the park, on the other side of Imperial Hwy is quiet and peaceful.  If you reside in East Whittier or East La Mirada you need to experience La Mirada Creek Park, you will love it!  I am so grateful my better half and I moved here in mid 2010, almost every week we find something new about this Tri-City we call home: La Mirada, East Whittier, La Habra.  Just last Thursday, July 26th we brought our Goddaughters and Family to the Annual La Mirada Creek Park Stroll and we had a blast!!!!!!   I look forward to getting better acquainted with this lovely community, I see why the majority of my home buyers long to relocate to my new "neck of the woods". :-)

Robbery in Our Neck of the Tri-City (La Mirada, La Habra, South East Whittier-Unincorporated)

Fellow Tri-City Neighbors,

I don't have all the details, but apparently while I was getting ready to head out to show some properties last Friday June 1st, the day after my birthday, some female broke in and attempted to rob my neighbor while they were home!!! At 10:30 in the morning!! I will post more info when I know more. I suggest we start a neighborhood watch, although my Fiance is always on watch, he happened to be out of town that day. Let's be vigilant and look out for each other.  I will work on some flyers and rally the neighborhoods, we can never be too careful.

~Laura

The soon-to-be-hubby and I finally attended the Whittier Car Show this past Friday at Ruby's Diner located on 10109 Whittwood Drive. The smell of a classic car never gets old for me and I love seeing the look on his face when we come across an old souped-up Charger or a 54' Chevy 5 window (what ever that means) .  Caveat: I know nothing about cars--zilch; Food, wine, houses, business, family--yes, cars--no, but learning.  Although a Charger is in our future, Chris has two projects at home, a 63' Cadillac and an old VW.  Actually he has a motley of projects like: Our Wedding, Honeymoon, Fixer Upper House, Brew Master, Dog Whisperer, Drummer Extraordinaire and so much more. Ha!

Well back to the story, we walked around, saw some friendly faces, listened to some good ol' tunes and had a lovely dinner at Ruby's. Heading home I saw the Carnival at St. Bruno's and was aching to ride the hammer and have some yummy carnival food.  Chris was not feeling well so we went home.

Aside from the Whittier Car Show that takes place at Ruby's Diner every Friday, May 4th-October 26th 5pm-8pm, we are looking forward to all the amazing events coming up in Whittier, La Mirada and La Habra or as I call it , A Tale of Three Cities. This is going to be a fun summer!