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Bargains draw first-time home buyers to local market (Posted Date :Tuesday, January 13, 2009) |
First-time home buyers jumped into the local real estate market in December, pushing sales of existing homes up by 17 percent for the month and 207 percent compared to a year ago, according to new figures.
The big draw? More affordable homes as Victor Valley prices dipped 5.5 percent for the month, according to figures from the Victor Valley Multiple Listing Service compiled by Larry Trombley, an agent with Century 21 Rose Realty in Hesperia.
The typical Victor Valley home sold in December was 1,905 square feet, 15 years old, selling for $140,596. In the past year, area home prices have fallen 39.6 percent and are now comparable to 2002 prices.
In December 3,639 homes were for sale in the Victor Valley, with 513 closing escrow. That equates to a sevenmonth supply of homes.
“There are some investors out there,” Trombley said, “but most of (the buyers) are first-time buyers who can qualify for a loan.”
Eighty-seven percent of homes sold in December were foreclosure properties. Because there are so many foreclosures, the rising pace of sales hasn’t slowed declining prices.
“Bargains and barga i n h u n t e rs h ave kept this (Southern Ca l i fo r n i a ) m a rke t alive through some of the bleakest financial news in memory,” John Walsh, president of DataQuick, said in a recent press release. “There’s this renewed sense that you can score a ‘deal’ — something that had been missing for many years.”
Trombley said distressed homeowners are contacting their mortgage companies to renegotiate terms to stave off foreclosure. It not only helps individual homeowners but also the overall health of the housing market.
T h e Ca l i fo r n i a Association of Realtors has created consumer information sheets detailing the various mortgage modification programs available through the larger lenders and government entities. For details go to www.VVDailyPress. com and click on this story.
When final statewide figures are in, annual sales in the California housing market are expected to increase 12 percent for 2008, with a further 12.5 percent annual increase projected for 2009, a c c o r d i n g t o t h e California Association of Realtors.
FROM STAFF REPORTS
By : Daily Press |
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