I've just received the latest Orange County real estate market report, as compiled every couple of weeks by Steven Thomas, of Altera Real Estate.  You can see the entire report by clicking on:

http://www.OurAgentSpot.com/sthomas/MarketTime-Jan-8-09.pdf 

For a brief synopsis, the report details the promise of a better start to a real estate year, than we've had for the past couple of years.  Prices are down substantially, the number of available houses has shrunk to levels of 2 or 3 years ago, and interest rates for mortgages are among the lowest ever seen.

The possible bad news?  No one - I repeat - no one, knows whether prices will drop much further, and loans have become more difficult to obtain, especially in higher amounts.

The majority of sales presently taking place are distressed sales - lender repossessions, and short sales - and are for houses priced less than $700,000. If you're considering buying such a house be prepared to face some competition - the average sales price for these properties is within a few percent of full list price.

This does seem like an excellent time to buy, with interest rates at their lowest and a good possibility that housing prices probably won't go much lower.  Want to be in your own home, not paying rent, and intending to stay put for a few years?  Now is definitely a great time to buy.

Be sure to visit my website to conduct your free search of the local MLS - here is a link to my search page:

http://tinyurl.com/O-C-MLS-Search

Bob Phillips   -   Realty Executives   -   949-643-2100   -   Bob@BobPhillips.net

Hello again, and Happy New Year!

Here is the end of 2008, or start of the year 2009 real estate market report for Orange County, in Southern California, as compiled by the president of my real estate firm.  In it he gives a synopsis of what we have experienced for the past few years, as well as a statistically backed prognosis for the next year.

Here is the link: http://www.ouragentspot.com/sthomas/MarketTime-Dec-26-08.pdf 

Frankly, things are looking good for the beginning of a recovery for our fair county, and for the next couple of years.  For a detailed conversation, please drop me an email, agent.BobPhillips@cox.net  or give me a jingle, at (949) 643-2100

Thanks for you time - have a Happy - and Safe - New Year's celebration, and a prosperous new year!

Bob Phillips

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Hello again, and Happy Holidays! 

Steven Thomas, the president of my company, having earned his degree in Quantitative Economics and Decision Sciences, is well qualified to issue opinions on our local real estate market.  His reports have been cited in most local newspapers ( The Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times, to name a couple.) on a regular basis for well over a year.

With those facts in mind I offer his latest report - emailed to me last night.

http://www.OurAgentSpot.com/sthomas/MarketTime-Dec-11-08.pdf 

Here is a synopsis of his report.   The number of available listings is down substantially – more than 30% - from a year ago.  The number of properties currently in escrow is up substantially – more than 134%! - from a year ago.  Interest rates have fallen - this past couple of weeks - to their lowest level of this past year.

After reading the complete report, here is an easy conclusion to come to.  This next few months may be an ideal time to purchase a home in Orange County.  Actually, I stated pretty much the same factors - minus the comprehensive facts and statistics - in my Nov. 20th blog post, titled: "This may be the best time of the year to buy local real estate." Of course I have been reading his reports for over a year now, plus watching the activity in our area, so I'm reasonably up to speed. 

If you are even remotely thinking of buying a house over the next year, I humbly suggest ( with over 32 years of local experience.)  that this next couple of months will be a great time to get serious.   Why not drop me an email ( agent.BobPhillips@cox.net ) or give me a call (949) 643-2100, and let's discuss the possibilities?  Bob Phillips,  Altera Real Estate, in South Orange County, California.