Micromarket Snapshot: Reseda

More from our buzz through Reseda yesterday:

From Realtor Mary Burak: "It's a terrible market. I've been doing this for 25 years, so I've been selling -- I have referrals. But the newer agents are going out of business. ... I don't even work off of comps any more. I base it on what's for sale in the area."  The market, she says, is still sprinkled with OPTs -- "overpriced turkeys."  On losing a potential short sale because the lender, Countrywide Financial, failed to approve the sale quickly, and then the buyer's lender -- also Countrywide -- yanked the purchase loan. "Countrywide shot themselves in the foot twice. I'm so angry with them. Unfortunately, they don't know how to set up their loss mitigation group."  On buyers right now: "They're so picky that they don't know when they're getting a deal."

From Realtor Alan Rosenberg: "The market is slowing down. There's a lot of buyers out there, but they're concerned about commiting. But interest rates are fantastic and prices are really good." He says the foreclosure problem is worst in the East Valley, but is slowly moving west through the Valley.

From Realtor Charles Henry: "We won't know we've hit the bottom until we hit it." (We're not sure what that means). In a neighborhood where listings under $500,000 were rare a year ago, he said, listings are now common at under $400,000.  "Houses sell pretty quickly when they get into the high-$300,000s."

Your thoughts? Comments? Insights? E-mail story tips to lalandblog@yahoo.com.
Photo Credit: www.caseysstation.com

Comments

[Cal]

The local valley realtor group the SRAR is reporting this is the worst sales for any month in their history. The pending sales released are showing that things will be worse in October not better as far as closed sales.

"In a neighborhood where listings under $500,000 were rare a year ago, he said, listings are now common at under $400,000"

I've seen this trend from Ventura to valley. The low end is falling fast, the high end is just kind of sitting their hanging. The sellers on the mid and high end haven't got the message yet and can "afford" to hold on. The longer they hold on, the worse it gets, but they can afford their denial right now. The sooner you get out the more money you will get (or less money you will lose).

Off topic, Peter, did you read this research note yet?

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/
wp-content/uploads/2007/10/california-valuations.pdf

[xtine]

I love the whole "picky buyer" phenomenon. I'm spending upwards of half a million dollars. I want what I want. Why should I spend ONE PENNY on something that does not suit me? Buyers have every right to be picky. It's their money.

Remember when this blog posted a history of the last housing downturn? Realtors and sellers complained about the exact same thing...picky buyers...right before the bottom fell out of the market.

[joeinlosangeles]

From Realtor Mary Burak: "Buyers are so picky that they don't know when they're getting a deal."
From Realtor Alan Rosenberg: "The market is slowing down. There's a lot of buyers out there, but they're concerned about commiting. But interest rates are fantastic and prices are really good."

Of course, you have to take these comments with a grain of salt. Realtors like Burak and Rosenberg make money anytime someone buys a house -- no matter whether it turns out to be a fair deal, a good deal for the buyer, or the a good deal for the seller. Their self interest is always to assume that it's always a good time to buy Of course, they think there are "really good prices" out there because they lose money if a buyer waits on "a great deal" and eventually gets the same house for 20% less in a year.

I have no doubt that realtor Chris Henry was telling people a year ago that the $500,000 (which have since dropped to $400,000) were a great buy at $500,000 and they were foolish to pass on them.

[Toby]

Mary Burak said "They're so picky that they don't know when they're getting a deal."

That's because what might seem like a great deal today, might not seem like such a great deal tomorrow.

Reseda is not worth the high-$300,000s. Gang infested, building covered with tagging, terrible, awful schools, rundown main streets, no shopping, rundown grocery stores, Pawn shops, more 99 cent and liquor stores than any single type of commerce.

And the Realtors except someone to pay 3,500 dollars plus on a mortgage a month to live there? For what? It's not even a "Fabulous Gay Ghetto".

Now when Condos on the Beach get to the high-$300,000s. Then the market has normalized.

[BetterVillage]

Don't know if this will stave off plunging values... but Reseda was named apparently from a plant called Reseda Odorata. The odorata part seems obvious, but what the heck does Reseda mean? Variously... "greyish green," or "HEAL!"

More info than you ever wanted to know about Reseda:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Reseda%2C_Los_Angeles%2C_California

I like the part best where the flippers who bought in 1949 for $9,000 could dump in '55 for $15,000. The article mentions that you only needed an income of $6,000 to buy at that price.

[valleyhomeshopper]

If homes were selling in Reseda (and similar mid-valley neighborhoods) for around $550,000 and $600,000 in 2005 and 2006, wouldn't the high $300s be around the predicted, worse-case scenario 40 percent drop? (from Sept. 19 story in the NY Times "Will the Fed Reverse the Housing Slump?")
Could home prices in Reseda really drop to the low $300s? Seriously?

[Stan French]

So realisticly how much can we expect prices on the westside to fall in the next year? 5%, 10%? I know some people say 40%, but that seems really high to me.

[arroyogrande]

"They're so picky that they don't know when they're getting a deal"

How about this...let's set up a bidding war for my money...I'll pick several houses I want, and then we'll have the sellers bid their houses on my hard-earned money (yes, hard earned, because unlike quite a few people, I expect to pay the bank back). The seller that bids the most house for the least amount of my money wins! After all, I'm not just going to 'give it away'.

Picky indeed.

[seattlesnoop]

I looked up the word "reseda". It is from Latin, and a genus of plant "reseda". These plants are typically from the Mediterranean region. Must have been imported to the valley many moons ago.
Can't think of what in Reseda brings the Mediterranean to anyone's mind.

[Cal]

"Could home prices in Reseda really drop to the low $300s? "

Without a doubt, the less desireable places in the valley (the valley floor) will be very hard hit. Foreclosures will define the market there for some time to come and the lenders are becoming more motivated every day.

I predict you will see REO SFH homes on the MLS in Reseda under 325k in 2008 .