2011 Offers Clues About The Year Ahead in Real Estate

Glad tidings for the new year.  We hope the holidays were good to you and you are greeting 2012 with enthusiasm.

Thinking of buying this year?  You certainly have prices and interest rates in your favor!  We would, however, caution you to pay particularly close attention to the lender you choose and do a bit of research early in the process.  Some lenders are easier to work with than others and rumors are floating that some may decide to discontinue lending in California.  Better to find that out ahead of time rather than when you are trying to close escrow on the house of your dreams.

Thinking of selling this year?  If so, here are a few hints.  Neat and clean homes in good condition tend to sell quicker than those needing work because many buyers don’t have the extra cash for repairs. 

Realistic pricing relative to the market rather than holding out for top dollar tends to reduce the “Days on Market” clock and often generates higher sales prices in the end.  If recent history is any indicator, expect the process to run an average of 90-120 days, however exceptional properties still move quickly.

As a final look back, let’s check how area home sales fared in 2011.

In Rossmoor, 86 single-family homes changed hands, down a bit from the previous two years when the numbers were in the low nineties.  There hasn’t been a 100-sale year since 2006 when 132 escrows closed.  Only 13 Rossmoor homes sold for over a million dollars in both 2010 and 2011, down significantly from the 34 in 2006. Prices in ’11 ranged from $507,000 to $1,675,000 with homes around the perimeter of the tract typically fetching the least.

The bulk of Rossmoor sales were in the sixes, sevens and eights (hundreds of thousands that is) with five going for somewhere in the nines.

Across the boulevard in Los Alamitos, sales the last two years have remained relatively consistent with 43 properties selling in 2011, 16 of which were condos.  The year before there were 20 condos included in the 50 total sales.  Since condos were counted, the wide price range went from $358,000 to $835,000.

Seal Beach recorded the most transactions with 127 sales of which condos accounted for 27 (of those, 21 were on Montecito Road in the north part of town).  Single-family homes ranged in price from $561,900 to $1,700,000 while the condos showed a $150,000 to $369,000 spread. In College Park East there were 37 sales, mostly in the fives and sixes (five were in the sevens) and over in College Park West the seven sales ranged from $585,000 to $715,000.

We wish you all the best in the year ahead.  Happy hunting!