[dksolomon]

Prices have not fallen enough here in south OC. Too many folks still buying the 1m+ homes. The smaller ones are sitting longer – I have seen some reduced 40 – 60k, but that’s about it, I guess there are some real deals, but I feel we (the medium home buying public) will not see any real big drops unitl mid -next year.
Of course I am interested in purchasing a forecloser – however the one’s I see have all the equity sucked out and been left for the bank, and they (teh bank) still believe the market is going to rise again and will not take discounted offers.
Kinda upsetting, but I am cool to sit in my rental and wait, and wait till it is the right time for me.
SO I pay a fee more tax dollars this year, better that than to be stuck so upside down, you cannot even see the top.
Perhaps I am wrong, time will tell.

dks

[dksolomon]

I rent a 3 bd 2 bth townhome -1900 Sqft in Mission Viejo, 2200 a month – the unit next door sold for $585 last week.
Homes of simular size are still selling at low 700’s and high 600’s here. I would not buy this townhome for $350, as HOA dues are skyrocketing. I am comfortable to sit and wait – money in the bank.
dks

[dksolomon]

Good luck to you!
Thanks for all the post that hit the mark,

I will miss your insights 🙂

1 renter 2 another…or are we just missing out?

Listen to the inner voice, learn all you can, afterall it is your journey, and who really has the crystal ball.

dks

[dksolomon]

First – thank you for the honest and open comments. I also feel we are headed for a recession, and homes here will reset back to a more realistic price point. When precieved value and real value get out of line…trouble follows.
I have owned homes in 4 states, always buying 20% down 15 or 30 yr depending on the home. I moved here in April & the RE that I worked with tried in vain to have me believe that the housing market was only going to continue to grow -his words -buy now or regret later. I could not pull the trigger, I knew something was out of line. I could not drink the coolaid, so I balked.

I am renting for now, will sit by and watch the fall or correction or whatever we all choose to call it happen.
Money in the bank – no debt. Time is on my side, yes it is.

dks

[dksolomon]

jg,
I too owned a great home in Birmingham Alabama – 2800 Sqft all brick- bought it for $225 in Jan 02, sold it in May 06 for $275K. Moved to CA -OC for great job with a growing company. The return on homes in the AL market averages about 3 to 5% increase a year. I knew it was going to be hard to swallow -buying a smaller house for twice the price, in CA but I packed up the family and came on out. Well after 30 days of listening to my RE agent tell me that know is the time to buy, I just could not pull the trigger, so I found a nice townhome in Mission Viejo – 1800 Sqft – rents for $2200 and moved in. I put my 50k in short term CD’s and keep adding to the savings everymonth, hoping like you that the return of reasonable housing prices will bring the opportunity for home ownership again. You see I am old school, I have no debt, own my cars, and will put 20% down and do a conventional 30/15 year fixed loan. No ARMs or Interest Only loan games for me. I enjoy sleeping at night, even if it is in a rental for now, as I would rather have money in the bank, and patience, than to be fearful of loosing my home due to rising interest rates and shrinking inflated equity.
So, renting is not so bad, enjoy your position. Watch, read, study every angle so that you are in the drivers seat when the time to buy is presented on your terms, not some RE agent’s idea of ideal markets. Afterall it is our lives and our money.
David

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