Cali Girl, I agree with the others who have posted: this will get worse before it gets better. You really CAN afford to sit tight, and save your money for a down payment, which you will definitely need. What you MAY be able to do in the meantime is see if you can get a cheaper (but just as good) rental for now, so that you can put the difference in the bank.
I am very concerned because you seem to have a "consumer" mentality (buy now! this is the time! don't wait!) which is great for mortgage brokers, but like HHM, Chpxiii and others have pointed out, is possibly the worst thing you can do. You have at least examined your motives (home ownership, not profit is your goal) which is great! But if you can, step back even further and look even more closely at the market. Track some houses that YOU see for sale over the next month -- you can even do so online, like realtors.com or whatever -- and see for yourself whether any sell, whether the price goes up/stays the same/gets slashed again, whether the homeowners are throwing in any perks or enticements (free lawnmower! keep the hot tub!) and that sort of thing. I think that if you take this simple step of looking at it in your own neighborhood, for your own self, you will get a much savvier idea of what's going on and where it will likely head.
And for what it's worth, my own opinion is that the higher you fly, the further you fall: the places that saw the greatest increases in value will have to see the greatest decreases before the market straightens out. It won't be a one-for-one deal, there will be fluctuations and variances just as in any other market, but IMO Stockton (and other places in CA) has a lot further to fall in terms of property values. Sit tight and study it carefully. I think you'll be very happy you did, and any money you can save for a down payment while you wait will help you get that financing you want when the time is right. Good luck!!!
I am very concerned because you seem to have a "consumer" mentality (buy now! this is the time! don't wait!) which is great for mortgage brokers, but like HHM, Chpxiii and others have pointed out, is possibly the worst thing you can do. You have at least examined your motives (home ownership, not profit is your goal) which is great! But if you can, step back even further and look even more closely at the market. Track some houses that YOU see for sale over the next month -- you can even do so online, like realtors.com or whatever -- and see for yourself whether any sell, whether the price goes up/stays the same/gets slashed again, whether the homeowners are throwing in any perks or enticements (free lawnmower! keep the hot tub!) and that sort of thing. I think that if you take this simple step of looking at it in your own neighborhood, for your own self, you will get a much savvier idea of what's going on and where it will likely head.
And for what it's worth, my own opinion is that the higher you fly, the further you fall: the places that saw the greatest increases in value will have to see the greatest decreases before the market straightens out. It won't be a one-for-one deal, there will be fluctuations and variances just as in any other market, but IMO Stockton (and other places in CA) has a lot further to fall in terms of property values. Sit tight and study it carefully. I think you'll be very happy you did, and any money you can save for a down payment while you wait will help you get that financing you want when the time is right. Good luck!!!
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