Simi Valley Housing Update December 2015

There are three main factors that the Simi Valley Housing Update December 2015 will highlight.  These factors have been fairly consistent and should give homeowners some relief and assurance of this non volatile housing market.

1. This has been an extended period of market stability and will remain so for quite some time. Price have been moving up steadily since 2012, probably a little fast than would be comfortable, but with low interest rates, homebuyers are still finding affordability and value.
2. Negotiating between buyers and sellers is pretty even for the most part.  Sellers have tried to push the market, but buyers have refused to cooperate. No seller wants to under sell their home and every buyer wants a deal.  The market is at that point were there is an equal need.  Sellers have not had much success stretching the market.
3. New lending requirements are not hurting the market, but only causing a few months adjustment period which shows with extended escrow periods.  I have been talking about the TRID requirements and how that has turned 30 escrows into 45 day escrows.  This adjustment will even out over the next few months.  The few extra closings we had this December can be attributed to the TRID requires more than any uptick in the market.

The Simi Valley Housing market in December is continuing with similar trends as it has most the year.  The homes in the $400,000 to $600,000 price range are still the dominant homes sold, representing almost 70% of all the homes sold for the month.  Homes over $700,000 are seeing the longest time on market before sold averaging 4 months with an average 3%-4% price reduction compared to the original list price.

Interest rates, Jobs and inventory supply should be the tell tales to watch.  December saw the first time in a decade the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate from a range of 0% to 0.25% to a range of 0.25% to 0.5%.  Are there more hikes to come?  Only time will tell.  Inventory is tight right now, but how much is that related to people waiting till March to put their homes on the market?  New Year resolutions motivate people to make change, so it is early to know how much of an impact all this will have if any.