SoCal Real Estate Keeps Rising

How time flies. In Southern California, home prices have risen for four straight months: the median price there rose to $275,000 in August, up 2.6% from July and 11% from the bottom in April.

If this keeps up much longer, the seasonality explanation is going to stop sounding so convincing. As it is, some buyers are done worrying about another leg down:

Behind the price improvement are investors like Robert S. Moore, a Rancho Palos Verdes management consultant, who is wrapping up his third home purchase in as many months. Moore, 50, is paying $90,000 for a four-bedroom house in the Riverside County city of La Quinta, which he plans to rent out for at least 10 years.

"How much lower can it go? I'm buying them for less than it costs to build them," Moore said of his investment properties.

Investors made up 20% of purchases in August, up from 17% in January. When homes can be bought for less than $100,000, Moore said, the risk of further price declines is hardly worth worrying about. [Emph. added]

Another buyer, who just paid $390,000 a three bedroom in Palm Desert, tells the L.A. Times that the market is “at a magical point in time.” But what can he know? . .

Comments

[Fred W:]

Bunch of dummies buying now.
Many moons of anguish to go.

Sep 17 10:42 AM