It’s easy to be frustrated with the current real estate market, especially with every major news network reminding us of the situation daily. Recently, however, a very good point was made by the California Association of Realtors about real estate in California, particularly in areas such as our own. Riverside County was one of the first in the nation to be hit hard with the market downturn. Today the bulk of our nation’s news headlines come out of New York or Washington D.C., two areas hit in real estate well after our crisis began. The point taken from this information was that some of the media sensationalism isn’t even speaking to our own local conditions, but rather to those of areas thousands of miles away.
What does this potentially mean for our local community?
It is being projected that southern California will begin its rebound earlier than other areas with regards to real estate. There are conditions that will have to work themselves out over time, but as the real estate market improves, those other conditions will follow. A C.A.R. chief economist even went so far as to predict we will be hit by inflation in two years as our economy improves. This is said to be the best time to buy real estate in many years, and those in a position to do so will have plenty of homes to choose from as the year progresses, stimulating our economy in the first major step out of a recession.
Not that we’re out of the woods, by any means. Home sales are up considerably though prices are down, it is harder to get loans than in years past, unemployment is expected to rise a bit more in 2009, and the current statistic of 1 in 3 home sales being the result of foreclosures, short sales or defaults isn’t expected to change much. I, however, am encouraged by the facts and figures I was recently presented…I see light at the end of the tunnel. In 2009, try to stay positive and focused on your family’s future, and know that our economy’s recovery is on its way.
Marcie Disher of The Disher Team, Prudential California Realty
