How do you know if your housing market has reached the bottom?

November 20, 2008

All markets are different. During the next few years, some housing markets will turn around faster than others. How do you know when your particular market has reached its bottom? If you wait until others pick over the great deals, you'll miss the bottom.

Keep a track of how many properties are listed from month to month. Once you start to see a reduction in inventory then that may mean that buyers are starting to buy. There could be two reasons whey inventory is reducing – overpriced homes may be taken off the market and sales volume could be picking up. You can find out this information from your local real estate agent.

Keep reading national and local newspapers. If your local media reporters are now starting to interview experts in your market and asking questions like, “Have we reached the bottom?” then that might be a sign that there may be a shift.

Talk to your friends and co-workers. How are they feeling about your local economy and housing prices? Are they more optimistic now than they were 3 months ago, or even last month?

Consumer confidence will be a big part in the housing market turning around.

Be on the lookout for mortgage interest rates stabilizing and mortgage companies start to ease lending restrictions.

One of the biggest indicators is when prices have stopped dropping. The secret is to buy before they start to inch back up again!

I’m not suggesting that you wait till the absolute bottom of your market to buy. You have to look at a home as a place to live, not an investment. Only you can determine what an affordable monthly payment is relative to the value of the home you are purchasing. There are individual homes for sale that can be bought at the bottom of your market, even if homes in general have not reached that mark.

Talk to a trusted real estate agent – we can help!

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Local Information for Santa Maria, CA

Latitude: 34.951377 -- Longitude: -120.433373

Other Area Cities: Nipomo Pismo Beach Santa Maria Grover Beach Arroyo Grande

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Santa Maria is the second largest city in Santa Barbara County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 77,423. The 2005 census estimates listed Santa Maria's population at 90,124. According to the California State Department of Finance, Santa Maria has an estimated population of 90,204. The estimated population of the metropolitan area is about 130,000, this area is the Santa Maria Valley which encompasses the city of Guadalupe and the unincorporated town of Orcutt. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

California 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Santa Maria	California	United States
Population	77,423	33,871,648	281,421,906
Median age	29.2	33.3	35.3
Median age for Male	28.1	32.2	34
Median age for Female	30.4	34.4	36.5
Households	22,146	11,502,870	105,480,101
Household population	75,261	33,051,894	273,643,273
Average household size	3.4	2.87	2.59
Families	16,654	7,920,049	71,787,347
Average family size	3.85	3.43	3.14
Housing units	22,847	12,214,549	115,904,641
Occupied units	22,146	11,502,870	105,480,101
Vacant units	701	711,679	10,424,540

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