Number of houses sold last month in June 2009 went up dramatically and the buying frenzy continues in July.

According to Dataquick's newest report for California 2009 May Home Sales: "The median price paid for a home last month was $230,000, up 4.1 percent from $221,000 in April, and down 32.2 percent from $339,000 for May a year ago."

|
California
Median
Home Price |
|
|
May
2008
|
$
339,000
|
|
April
2009
|
$
221,000
|
|
May
2009
|
$
230,000
|
Buyers often ask me whether the market price will continue to drop and want to find out if this is the right time to purchase real estate. Savvy investor knows the best time to make a purchase is when the market hits the bottom and is on the process of rebounding.
So if we are down 32.2% from last year and up 4.1% from last month, this may be the good indicator to assist buyers in making their purchase decision.
Why is it important to hire a agent who is familiar with the area you are buying or selling instead of an out of the area agent who is a trusted friend? The answer may be very simple.
1. Convenience
Is it easier for a local agent to drive 5 to 10 minute or out of the area one to drive 30 to 60 minute to the house for showing? It is more practical to hire a local agent who is nearby due to the showing convenience.
2. Area Knowledge
On top of that, the local agent who specializes in the area knows the neighborhood by heart. They are familiar with the rating of the schools, the crime rate of the area, and where the parks and shopping malls are. Those local knowledge may require some research if the agent is out the area and could be totally unaware of.
3. Pricing Knowledge
A local agent who monitors the real estate market in the area is familiar with the pricing of each home sold on a daily basis. The agent understands the type of buyer for each type of house from experience and can price the house accurately.
There was one bank owned home in Diamond Bar for sale that is located in a extremely busy main street in June 2009. It is difficult to drive in and out of the house due to the street traffic. The same house was sold frequently every few years. It was normally priced about 10% below the market price in the past due to it's functional obsolescence.
It was sold 8 days after it was listed at regular market price. Buyers normally believe bank owned homes are good deals and especially if the value of the property checked out with appraisal site such as Zillow.com. This kind of situation could be easily prevented if buyer is assisted by a competent local agent.
With a good local agent working for you, it can help prevent selling your house too low or buying too high. Therefore, it is to your best interest to hire an agent who is familiar with the area you are buying or selling.
Buy
a house in s good school district is one of the main reasons for family looking
for a new home in the summer. The
following is a chart of State's 2008 API school reports for Walnut, Diamond
Bar, Phillips Ranch and Chino Hills to assist buyers who are factoring the shcools
into their buying decision.
|
Elementary
|
Jr.
High
|
High
School
|
|
|
Walnut
(West) - Walnut Schools
|
|||
|
C.
J. Morris
|
842
|
||
|
Collegewood
|
893
|
||
|
Walnut
|
822
|
||
|
Westhoff
|
926
|
||
|
Vejar
|
862
|
||
|
Suzanne
|
918
|
||
|
Walnut
|
871
|
||
|
Walnut
(East) - Rowland Schools
|
|||
|
Oswalt
|
887
|
||
|
Ybarra
|
881
|
||
|
Rincon
|
751
|
||
|
Nogales
|
674
|
||
|
Rowland
|
783
|
||
|
Diamond
Bar (South) - Walnut Schools
|
|||
|
Castle
Rock
|
890
|
||
|
Evergreen
|
923
|
||
|
Maple
Hill
|
885
|
||
| Quail Summit |
903
|
||
|
South
Pointe
|
870
|
||
|
Chaparral
|
902
|
||
|
Diamond
Bar
|
858
|
||
|
Diamond
Bar (North) - Pomona Schools
|
|||
|
Diamond
Point
|
866
|
||
|
Golden
Springs
|
908
|
||
|
Pantera
|
962
|
||
|
Decker
|
825
|
||
|
Lorbeer
|
838
|
||
|
Diamond
Ranch
|
807
|
||
|
Phillips
Ranch - Pomona Schools
|
|||
|
Ranch
Hills
|
906
|
||
|
Decker
|
825
|
||
|
Lorbeer
|
838
|
||
|
Diamond
Ranch
|
807
|
||
|
Chino
Hills (North) - Chino Schools
|
|||
|
Country
Springs
|
927
|
||
|
Eagle
Canyon
|
870
|
||
| Hidden Trails |
900
|
||
|
Rolling
Ridge
|
904
|
||
|
Canyon
Hills
|
876
|
||
|
Ayala
|
795
|
||
|
Chino
Hills (Central) - Chino Schools
|
|||
|
Chaparral
|
795
|
||
|
Los
Serranos
|
805
|
||
|
Oak
Ridge
|
915
|
||
|
Wickman
|
896
|
||
|
Townsend
|
837
|
||
|
Ayala
|
795
|
||
|
Chino
Hills (South) - Chino Schools
|
|||
|
Butterfield
Ranch
|
897
|
||
|
Townsend
|
837
|
||
|
Chino
Hills
|
773
|
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