Where do people see house prices heading in the next 18 months? Particularly with the mortgage crunch.

For everyone out there hearing all the bad news about the real estate market, here is some positive news about Mission Hills in San diego and the city and county as well. I know it is unfortunate for all those struggling to maintain their homes and pay their mortgages, but I think we should consider ourselves lucky to live here. We still have a good housing market and will hopefully continue to have.

92103 Single family residential sales were up 50% July '07 compared to July '06
San Diego County foreclosures were down in Juy '07 compared to July '06
For the first time in 3 years, residential building permits issued rose from July compared to June
The sales volume decline of 13% is San Diego in July '07 was the lowest of all 6 counties in Southern California, compared to -27%.
These statics were compiled from various articles. Interesting, right.

As far as the nest 18 months- my personal belief is that SD will hold its own and come out pretty good. Our market started dropping before the rest of the country and has started to level off. We are getting into a normal market compared to the past several years. Just make sure your are pre-approved before buying and know what you can afford and all will be fine.

paulie123,

I have been a realtor for 6 years now and have studied our past markets, the fundamentals that move a market, and spoken with many agents/investors who have been through these cycles.

We are in the beginning slide of this downward market, and things are going to get worse, before they get better. It is a bit confusing for any of those people who are not in the daily trenches of Real Estate. If I were to rely solely on the media to understand our "state of real estate", I too would think that the market may not be that bad or would recover soon...

However, prices are down, foreclosures are just beginning to rise, the lending world is in real trouble, and the ability to borrow money is getting tougher... If you were a buyer in today's market, why would you pay top dollar or even asking price for a property?

I would be happy to send you real data from the past and present markets for you to see where we are going to go.

Mind you, I am not a pessimist, I am a realist. The market is what it is... and if you have the accurate information, whether you are a Buyer or Seller, you can make the best move for you, in what you want to accomplish. As a Buyer, there are real good deals to be found right now... As a Seller, if your agent knows how to position your property to get it sold, vs. the competition, than the knowledge of the market will help you get your property sold before others... instead of losing more precious dollars in your pocket by chasing the market down...

Hope that helps!