More Of The Same…..
July 26th, 2009 Categories: Weekly Real Estate Activity In Ventura County
The residential real estate market in Ventura County has exhibited more of the same……QUIET!
As can be noted in the table below listings have now shown signs of life (more people want to sell); sales continue upward and they are doing so at higher prices (which is GOOD). With the exception of Santa Rosa Valley all communites are showing higher sales as compared to one year ago. The beach areas are the only segment now showing up as a “buyer’s” market. The rest of Ventura County is either a seller or neutral market.
Land and commercial are now in a decline. Many land owners have elected (in many cases) to simply withdraw their property from the market if they do not get their price.
Commercial properties are now experiencing what the residential market went through a few months ago. This should not be surprising since land and commercial historically lag residential by a few months.
The loan industry is still trying to get their act together and while it is painful for many borrowers their is some concrete evidence that the industry wants to get things righted.
Unemployment and the lack of new job creation will hinder any quick price advances in homes. But despite this problem real estate prices are going up.
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New taxes (both federal, state and local) are on the horizon. I suspect that these new taxes will bein the form of “take away”. Exemptions will be eliminated; possibly contributions will go by the way side; mortgage interest and real estate taxes will be reduced initially then eliminated completely; motor vehicle registration will be eliminated; and possibly the sales tax.
What are you left with. Yep……a flat tax. Slowly but surely most will be taxed on adusted gross earnings at maybe a slightly higher rate.
Child tax credits will remain as will low income tax credits but for sure most everything else will go by the way side.
The impact to real estate! Minimal. But it is exacting a toll on many people. It appears that we are at a tipping point and many people are now planning for additional changes. They sense that the direction we are going is not the right direction. People will adjust and take vengeance at election time. Politicians will not adjust. They will be out of office and the cycle starts over again with a new face.
Lobbyist have to be controlled. They are the one’s now setting the agenda. Politicians just follow. Main street voters are out of the loop. That has to change.
National health care will have a significant impact on real estate. It is strange that the European countries are getting out of national health care programs and in the United States we want in. If Europe says yes we say no; if they so no we say yes. Interesting to say the least.
