"A Magical Point in Time"
September 16, 2009
The headlines this morning in the business section of the Los Angeles Times newspaper were big and bold: "Southland home prices move north". It is a good thing that we understand colloquialisms. The opposite of "going north" is "going south". When speaking of value, "going south" has meant for some years that the value was falling. While I have never before heard the expression "going north", I did understand that it meant that values were rising.
I read the article with great interest since I track median prices in our market area. IN the closing paragraphs of the article, the reporters quoted a home buyer who had purchased a second home in Palm Desert last month. The buyer purchased the home now for future use. The plan is to rent it now and at some point in a few years, move to Palm Desert. For me, this buyer's quote was a perfect description of the real estate prices of today: "My feeling was that this was a magical point in time."
Think about it. Thousands of first time home buyers have been able to purchase homes at prices no one thought we would ever see again and receive an $8,000 bonus from the government. Investors have also come into the market on the realization that real estate is a cyclical investment and single family homes are being sold at bargain prices with the possibility of a positive cash flow.
If "magic" is defined as a mysterious quality of enchantment, the lure of a bargain in housing prices may certainly be magical after the disastrous market of the past several years.
The headlines this morning in the business section of the Los Angeles Times newspaper were big and bold: "Southland home prices move north". It is a good thing that we understand colloquialisms. The opposite of "going north" is "going south". When speaking of value, "going south" has meant for some years that the value was falling. While I have never before heard the expression "going north", I did understand that it meant that values were rising.
I read the article with great interest since I track median prices in our market area. IN the closing paragraphs of the article, the reporters quoted a home buyer who had purchased a second home in Palm Desert last month. The buyer purchased the home now for future use. The plan is to rent it now and at some point in a few years, move to Palm Desert. For me, this buyer's quote was a perfect description of the real estate prices of today: "My feeling was that this was a magical point in time."
Think about it. Thousands of first time home buyers have been able to purchase homes at prices no one thought we would ever see again and receive an $8,000 bonus from the government. Investors have also come into the market on the realization that real estate is a cyclical investment and single family homes are being sold at bargain prices with the possibility of a positive cash flow.
If "magic" is defined as a mysterious quality of enchantment, the lure of a bargain in housing prices may certainly be magical after the disastrous market of the past several years.
posted by shirley harry at 8:45 AM
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