It seems I get this question at least 10 times a day…  From a personal perspective of the North Orange County area, I’ve noticed that housing inventories of homes for sale has remained fairly constant, while the number of sales has been extremely low. This in turn shows us a very high inventory of homes for sale (12-18 months)…  On the brighterside we have noticed the number of buyer’s calls, buyers attending open houses, and agent showings have all increased in the last month…  I know the news media has played on the long inventory, the notice of defaults, and the foreclosure uptick, which has increased the fear of potential homebuyers and the reason so many are waiting for the bottom….  If this was just a stock investment that they’re waiting for, OK,… but this is a home, a roof over your head, a place to raise your children, and create long term family memories….It’s only so long that people can wait to buy a home… To the people who are waiting I would ask the question, What are you waiting for???  We have a great selection of homes,,, at low prices,,,, with great interest rates…  It’s time to act before any of those all-time benefits change!!!   What if you bought a great home in a great area, and at 6 % today, and it went down $20,000 tomorrow… You know what??  nothing happens!! because you’re going to stay there for many years, and the past 40 years show us that the average appreciation over time in our area is 9.5% a year…. If you wait, you could lose that special home… you could wait until it becomes a sellers market again,, you could wait and see interest rates go up again (1% change is equivilant to 10% purchasing power),,, you can wait until there is no or short selection and have to put up with a house you really don’t want and then move again….

It appears to me that Gary Watts’ observation in his update of October 9,2007 will come to fruition the first quarter of 2008.

If you would like a copy mailed, emailed, or dropped off at your home/business, just email or call me…

Pat McGinnis, GRI

Broker Associate

Coldwell Banker Residential

pat@patmcginnis.com

714-693-6806