Here is my brief assessment of the Santa Clarita Real Estate Market here in December 2009, as outlined over at our main Santa Clairta home search website: TheScvAgents.com:
The year is almost over, and we couldn't be more excited about the future of Santa Clarita Real Estate. It has been a very interesting 2009. Inventory….what inventory!? There is hardly any inventory available for sale, only about 650 homes as of right now in Santa Clarita. That is probably the headline for the year, "SCV experiences huge drop in housing inventory." Of those 650 approx homes for sale, well over 30% of those homes are short sales. So really, there is less than 500 regular sales for buyers to choose from. That is not enough homes to choose from, for all of the buyers, and the demand that they represent.
Regular Santa Clarita home and bank owned sales that are priced fairly (not necessarily well under market value) are, in general, flying off the shelf within days or weeks of being listed. Homes receiving multiple offers are the norm. Regular and bank owned home sales, selling for above the original asking price, is normal as well, at least for now. Things could change though. It all depends on this "wave of foreclosures" that we've all heard about. Is it coming? Well, it hasn't yet. One thing that is for sure, is that there are a lot of homes that could be foreclosed on, that the banks simply are not foreclosing on. Those homes could be adding to the inventory, giving buyers more home choices, and possibly lowering prices further. Supply/Demand. Housing has already become very affordable however, and there are lots of homeowners in Santa Clarita, and beyond, who don't want home values to drop any more.
Not everyone will be happy, no matter how this housing market turns out. As of this month, December 2009, buyers are still scrambling to find their home of choice despite the holidays. The deals are right, the financing is affordable, but the inventory is low – hence – the frenzy.
Email It!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
There are three homes in my community for sale. One is a very suspicious short sale awaiting court approval. It seems they are selling to family members. The other two have been on the market for months and months. These are practically brand new, beautiful homes at reasonable prices. Why aren't they “flying off the shelf within days or weeks of being listed”. What is the going rate for a 2007, 3000+sf home in Santa Clarita?
Hi Drive66…larger homes like the ones you mentioned, certainly have a higher degree of difficulty to sell. I should have been a bit more clear about which homes, in general, are flying off the shelf, but I was just trying to be breif about it all…it does however feel like all of them are for me since I do this almost 7 days a week, but MOSTLY its the homes priced under $500k. Homes above $500k, do tend to sit longer, and they do tend to be larger in sq ft such as the ones you generically described. If you told me exactly which homes you're referring to, I could probably tell you why they are sitting for as long as you're eluding to. I'm sure there is a reason. You say they are reasonably priced, but that is subjective…they may or may not be. I could probably tell you for sure. Homes above $500k can sell very fast as well in this market…they don't have to be ridiculously under-priced to do so either. They must be priced competitively though, vs their competition, because there are just fewer buyers for the expensive homes these days, than there are for less expensive homes. Many 1st time buyers out there! Thanks for the comment!
There are three homes in my community for sale. One is a very suspicious short sale awaiting court approval. It seems they are selling to family members. The other two have been on the market for months and months. These are practically brand new, beautiful homes at reasonable prices. Why aren't they “flying off the shelf within days or weeks of being listed”. What is the going rate for a 2007, 3000+sf home in Santa Clarita?
Hi Drive66…larger homes like the ones you mentioned, certainly have a higher degree of difficulty to sell. I should have been a bit more clear about which homes, in general, are flying off the shelf, but I was just trying to be brief about it all…it does however feel like all of them are for me since I do this almost 7 days a week, but MOSTLY its the homes priced under $500k. Homes above $500k, do tend to sit longer, and they do tend to be larger in sq ft such as the ones you generically described. If you told me exactly which homes you're referring to, I could probably tell you why they are sitting for as long as you're eluding to. I'm sure there is a reason. You say they are reasonably priced, but that is subjective…they may or may not be. Homes above $500k can sell very fast as well in this market…they don't have to be ridiculously under-priced to do so either. They must be priced competitively though, vs their competition, because there are just fewer buyers for the expensive homes these days, than there are for less expensive homes. Many 1st time buyers out there! Thanks for the comment!
{ 1 trackback }