There has been much speculation about the length and depth of the current market slump. Many homebuyers are sitting on the fence waiting for the bottom of the market and may lose one of the best opportunities to buy below market for the next 10 years.
The number of mortgage defaults has dropped by 31% versus the surge of foreclosures San Diego County has experienced. In October the number of notices of default were 2119 compared to 1463 in November, a new trend has begun. The most obvious explanation for this new trend is political pressure being applied to the lenders to work out solutions for homeowners who have sub-prime loans that are facing large payment increases when their mortgages start adjusting. After President Bush realized that the sub-prime problem was not just an individual homeowner’s problem but was affecting the larger global economy and his stance that the federal government was not going to bail them out was ineffective. He instituted his plan to freeze adjustable mortgages for a five-year term. The banks also woke up to the fact that foreclosing on these homeowners was only making the problem worse with the large numbers of foreclosures pulling down home prices.
Some may say it is too early to call this a new trend, but with the president changing his position and his plan in place to give homeowners a viable option to keep their homes, most homeowners would rather save their home than lose it to foreclosure. There were many articles written advocating homeowners with adjustable sub-prime loans renegotiating their loans with their banks. Most were not successful. This was a blatant signal from banks of their willingness to work out an option for homeowners until the president's plan was announced in mid-December.
Most consumers have been fearful of purchasing a home when the news of the real estate market has been falling prices and higher foreclosure numbers for 2008. The next six months may be the best time to purchase, as foreclosures will become less common in San Diego's landscape and the number of foreclosures as definitely driven down home prices in San Diego. Many fearful potential homebuyers would rather wait to hear that the market has actually turned around before purchasing. By waiting the window of opportunity to buy a foreclosure at up to 30% off the prices of 2004 will have passed them by. With fewer and fewer foreclosures on the market the banks will not have to deeply discount these homes for a quick sale. Another signal that the bottom is near is that appraisers are already reporting seeing home prices leveling off. It won't be long before the market will be on the rise again.
Co-written by James Dedolph and Randy Nathan, creators of HomeSniffer.com where you can find Homes for Sale in San Diego and LoanSniffer.net where you can find the best rate and terms for Home Loans in San Diego. Both of these sites are a good resource for information about San Diego Real Estate.
