Daily we hear people ask about the mass exodus from California and whether house prices are dropping like stones. Statistics do document more people are leaving the state than coming in (at least officially) but just like everywhere else in the world, not every place is benefiting or suffering at the same time. Case in point, today a firm announced 1,000 new homes to be built in Riverside county, California. That may not seem overly staggering, but it is amidst other large community development happening currently in southern California’s Inland Empire and south. San Diego’s real estate market for example is still on fire! Not literally, just selling very quickly. Some more populated areas like Sacramento and San Francisco are seeing drops in population but not really in housing costs. Not yet. The reason is because despite the number that may be leaving, there is still a shortage of housing. Demand still remains high. With home ownership applications down, it means a rise in rental demand, but still…a need for housing. So some parts of California may be suffering slower sale times and price reductions, but some areas are still booming despite a rise in interest rates.
Atlanta for example, on the other side of the country is largely still booming. New home construction starts have slowed but housing demand still remains high. It’s not all a result of illegal immigration or out of state worker migration, but they are factors.
In our experience, it helps to pay attention to where the jobs are growing or declining. That is the single most influential indicator most of the time, to see what housing is going to do. There are going to be pockets of activity that differ in demand, within any major city. Rural areas often see the benefit last and the sufferage first, yet, it will still be different in one rural town versus another in the same county. If it were us, we would only focus on market data from the area of focus.
In our opinion, any market holds potential for profit. Any time or market cycle holds potential for profit. To take advantage of the market of your interest, you need to both understand the market conditions and work from a proven plan of action. The only constant in the world is change and you need to be flexible to adapt. Worrying about change does nothing. Worrying is like paying a debt you don’t owe. Having or developing a plan to act upon is what we all need. If you need help there, numerous experts in the field are available on the Bargain House Network site. We hope this helps. As always, we can not and do NOT offer any accounting ,tax, financial, legal, nor investment advice. Just news.