Simi Valley Moorpark Real Estate Market Report – YTD Home Sales

Below is the chart for all activity from 1/1/08 through 9/30/08 for Simi Valley and Moorpark Home Sales.  Significant declines in Simi Valley Moorpark housing inventory from the beginning of the year till now is a leading factor in the increased sales volume.  While volumes are far below last year on an annualized basis, low interest rates and the distressed properties have made homes affordable to those that sat on the sidelines a few years ago, when they were priced out of the market.  The flip-side is that since inventory is low we are seeing multiple offers on the homes priced in-line with the overall condition of the property.

The increased demand with lower inventory levels has not caused any increases in home prices like earlier this decade;  some Simi Valley neighborhood home prices declined, while some Simi Valley home price declines have slowed.  What is very clear is that the buyers are driving this market.

We are at a very delicate time and the Simi Valley housing market is teetering on the follow issues important to buyers:

• Interest rates and qualifying.  Interest rates need to stay below 7%.  The higher the rate the lower the purchase price will need to be for perspective buyers.  Specifically for Simi Valley Real Estate, many Simi Valley homes are in a price range that will require Jumbo financing (loans over $417,000),  Jumbo financing rates are the most vulnerable right now and we saw Wells Fargo move thier Jumbo rate to 9.0% last week.  Large swings upward in the the rate will drive away potential buyers.
• Inflation stabilization.  The price of food, gas and other household items is rising.  This will cut into the monthly payment amount many buyers can afford to take on. 
• Housing prices…brace yourself if you are a seller.  Every time this housing market sees a move up in price, it will mean that buyers will drop out of the market.  We need prices to stabilize to bring buyers out who are waiting for the bottom and we need normal modest gains so buyers will not be priced out of the market like earlier this decade. 
• Affordability. We need to be hyper aware of the affordability gap between incomes and home prices.  Incomes are not going to rise at the rates needed to sustain huge increases in home prices.  The sooner we realize this fact, the better we can plan on how we will approach the sale of any home in the near future.

As an active agent working with buyers, sellers and representing a financial institution with their REOs, PRICE & CONDITION are critical to the success of any home seller.  There is no exception to this rule.