Big Picture vs. small picture. Many people make their decisions based on what the market is doing now and trying to predict what is to come. The recent market in Ventura County has had some important statistics. However, it is also important to review larger statistics in California and Southern California to help indicate the future of real estate in our area. California stats indicate that total sales are dropping but prices continue to climb…slowly. These prices seem to be tapering off which may indicate a slow down, but this may only be due to the holiday season. Most likely it is both the market and the season. The tapering may indicate a cooling down of the market, HOWEVER, sales were back up locally in Ventura County.
Based on the below stats, please review the following ideas to help guide your decisions:
Investing
IF you can find an under market value property, it is always a great time to buy. However, to buy, fix and flip may get harder. If you are going to buy a single family home or condo on market to invest, you are going to buy at a high but possibly dropping price. In addition, lease demands are slightly lower than last month and rates have been going up. A careful evaluation of what your monthly mortgage will be and your future monthly rental income would reveal what your best option is.
Buying
Buying a home to live in now may be getting easier in the coming year. Don’t get me wrong, prices are still high and values are staying up, but the months of inventory stat tells us that a good buy may be coming up. Buying during the holidays can be unique and you CAN get some good deals because most people don’t want to go through the hassle of moving during the holidays. Rates are slowly climbing, but are still overall quite low. Are you prepared? Have you spoken with your mortgage professional to clearly understand what you can qualify for? Do you fully know your monthly budget? Doing these tasks can prepare you for when the time is right.
Selling
Now is still a good time to sell. It is a fact that inventory is for the last few years was historically low and prices were very high. You may still be able to get in on the tail end of this constant rise in home prices. While we are seeing a shift, we are still technically in a seller’s market which means there aren’t a lot of homes for buyers to choose from. Selling during the holidays may be a good idea as you may get lucky due to an overall slow down of inventory.
**This advice is only a small part of your Real Estate strategy. Please let me know if you would like a comprehensive review of your goals to best help you make a sound decision.
For a description of the total state market in California see this link.
Ventura County For Sale vs. Sold
Ventura County Overall Market
Camarillo Overall Market
Oxnard Overall Market
Ventura City overall Market
If you liked these stats please reach out and let me know about it! If you have any questions about the Real Estate market or the process of buying or selling a home please contact me.
805.807.3987
realtortimmons@gmail.com
www.derricktimmons.com