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Good news or bad news? It depends on who you ask.

for sale signHome Prices Still Falling

Home prices are still falling in Riverside County but the number of home sales has gone up almost 44 percent from a year ago. Foreclosure homes are a big part of the market. Currently Riverside County has the highest percentage of foreclosures among the sold homes out the six Southern California counties. Foreclosed homes made up more than 65 percent of the sold homes in August 2008 in Riverside County compared to last year when the number of foreclosure homes as part of the total homes sold was 18 percent. The prices of homes in Riverside County have dropped 37 percent from August of 2007 to August of 2008. Whether you are a prospective buyer or seller, it is important to be aware of the current Riverside real estate market conditions.

You can look at this news in two ways. It is not good news if you are trying to sell your home and are in the same market with the low-priced foreclosed homes. It is great news if you are looking to buy a home. In fact it is such a good time to buy that there is a lot of competition for best priced/best condition homes on the market, particularly homes under $250,000. I’ve seen several instances where my buyers’ offers are competing with more than 10 other offers – all over list price.
I’m really excited that so many people are now finding that home ownership in Southern California is within their reach. The declines in prices of homes to much more affordable levels coupled with the low interest rates makes for a very favorable time to buy a home.
The chart below shows the average interest rates for home loans as of September 29, 2008. These rates are forecast to go up but no one knows when and how much. The information is found at BankRate.com

NATIONAL OVERNIGHT AVERAGES
TODAY
+/-
5.98%
5.87%
5.65%
5.59%
5.98%
5.92%
7.20%
7.06%
6.38%
6.30%
Here are some statistics showing home sales for all counties of Southern California.
Southern California housing sales for August
County
Homes sold August 2007
Homes sold August 2008
Percent change
Median price August 2007
Median price August 2008
Percent change
Los Angeles
6,647
6,138
-7.7
$550,000
$380,000
-30.9
Orange
2,285
2,713
18.7
$642,259
$440,000
-31.5
Riverside
2,834
4,078
43.9
$394,523
$247,450
-37.3
San Bernardino
2,096
2,439
16.4
$360,000
$215,000
-40.3
San Diego
3,104
3,148
1.4
$475,000
$350,000
-26.3
Ventura
789
850
7.7
$575,000
$400,000
-30.4
All Southern California
17,755
19,366
9.1
$500,000
$330,000
-34.0
Source: DataQuick Information Systems
If you are thinking about buying a home in Riverside California or anywhere in the Inland Empire, I’d be happy to help you in any way I can. Providing current, acurate information to my clients is only one of the many things I'm committed to providing. I have one recommendation that I’d like to share, whether you are a first time buyer or have bought and sold several homes, buy and read the book “Mortgage Rip-Offs and Money Savers” by Carolyn Warren. The information in this book will be so helpful. Having knowledge of the process, acceptable charges, what to look for in a good faith estimate and more is a valuable and beneficial tool that you don't want to not have.
Contact me via e-mail at vicki@pedersen-team.com or visit my website, www.Riverside4Homes.com for listings, to search the multiple listing service, or for lots of helpful information.
Posted Monday Sep 29