Ask Pete, Chapter Two

Back by popular demand: Monday afternoon ask-the-blogger Q & A. You ask the questions, I pick the easy ones and answer them on the blog later today.

So bring 'em on: Questions about the L.A. housing market, the economy, the news media, etc.

Ground rules: Submit your questions in the comment section by 3 p.m., I'll answer 10 or 12 of them by 5 p.m. today.

Photo credit: Los Angeles Times

Comments

[greg]

Peter,

Any word on what will happen to Countrywide's operations in Simi Valley after the BofA merger? I am looking to buy in Simi, but waiting/hoping that BofA will move much of Countrywide back to North Carolina, thereby flooding the Simi Valley market with inventory.

Keep Up The Great Work!

[Arti]

Peter,

I think the biggest unanswered question Angelenos have, is what about all the neighborhoods in LA that saw enormous appreciation since 2000 but have given up absolutely none of it to date?

There is a chasm, ever-widening, between all the doom and gloom predictions and the historical data, always showing devastating losses and depreciation in all kinds of neighborhoods--but never in LA proper in the desirable places (you name it, starting with west LA, Santa Monica, etc.). We need to start talking about why this is and whether it's just a lagging indicator--i.e., it's still going to happen just later because the foreclosures in the marginal areas accelerated the process there. Personally I think West LA will get hit just as hard, only it more gradually.

[LivGonzales]

http://www.laalmanac.com/population/po03.htm
The census says there's more around 700,000 people in LA County. We should put this in consideration when we compute for the number of houses "available" . Say you can put 5 people in a house we should at least have 140,000 more houses than we have in 1990. Do we? Of course the number of illegal immigrants are still not included in the number.

My question is : a 180k 3/2 fixer on a 3000 lot in Norwalk good enough buy for today if I wait 2 more years?

How many investors with cash are waiting?

[Drew]

So.... we're ready to buy a house with about $150K down and can afford about $4K a month in payments.

Are we crazy to buy later this summer/early fall? Should we wait it out another year or more? Or is now a good time to jump on a good property at a reasonable price?

We're looking in areas that have so far resisted large price drops and don't intend to move for at least 10 years once we buy, FYI.

[keith]

Pete -

Why does the chicken cross the road, and what kind of bailout can he look forward to when he gets there?

[DF]

Despite the gloomy news for housing in LA Cty generally, quality housing stock in my area (Hollywood Hills/Los Feliz) still sells at a premium. Do you think higher-end homes (nicer condos and more modest SFRs in desirable areas, currently pricing out at $700k-1m) will be hit by the decline in the next few years, or will their owners invariably be wealthy enough to ride things out by not selling? Thx.

[LeftLA]

MyLess: You need to be more specific. There were the clueless flippers: "let's cash in our equity and do like them folks on TV!" Then there are legitimate, professional investors who buy, rehab and resell for a living using institutional or investor funds -- yet still get painted with the same brush.

Very different animals.