Saying Goodbye Is Such Sweet Sorrow

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Say goodbye to the double-digit boom, says the LA Times, but wait ... It also says there's still money to be made...

The Southern California gold rush isn't over for home sellers. As the spring buying season kicks in, there is still money to be made, and plenty of it. But, some experts say, good luck on getting another year's worth of double-digit appreciation, a bidding war or an instant sale.

"That kind of white-hot housing market has definitely slowed," said Delores Conway, director of the Casden Real Estate Economic Forecast at the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate. "We're getting back to more normal-type levels of buying and selling."

There are some interesting quotes in this one, including one from Jack Kyser of the LA County Economic Development Corp.

"Definitely, it's peaked," said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the nonprofit Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. "You have what you would call a face-off between buyers and sellers. Buyers just don't jump at the first house they see on the market."

Sellers, Kyser said, need "a real estate agent who's been in the business more than one or two years, preferably somebody who was in the business in the early '90s, who knows soft markets. And, be realistic about what you can get for your home."

And for all those who just can't get enough of Leslie Appleton-Young...

"We are seeing a transition in the marketplace to a less hectic, less frenetic market than we experienced in the last several years," said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist of the California Assn. of Realtors.

One big change from this time last year is the number of homes for sale. "In January we had a six-month supply of housing on the market," Appleton-Young said, more than twice the inventory of homes last January. In February, inventory climbed to 7.2 months, again more than double that of the same month last year.

"Buyers have more to look at and can take a little more time," she said. "It also means that sellers have got to price very strategically if they want a rapid or quick sale."

— The Boy in the Big Housing Bubble