Orange County home buyers are seeing the best home prices since 2003.  Home prices have adjusted  20% to 30% lower, making home ownership a very attractive investment today.  In fact, at todays prices and interest rates monthly cost to own your home is lower than renting the very same home.

Now owning a home is more affordable then renting.  In a real estate market correction, this is often the signal buyers are waiting for to purchase their home.  Home buyers waiting to purchase at the bottom are often too late to take advantage of all the benefits of a correcting market.  After a significant correction, the real estate market bounces back and inventory levels drop again.  This diminishes the excellent selection that was available when prices where near the bottom.  Our real estate market has already experienced a significant drop in pricing.  Although in the past 12 months real estate inventory levels have already shrunk, historically we still have good selection.  The best time to purchase your home is when the market provides the best combination of price and selection.  We are seeing that ideal combination today. 

Our last two appreciation cycles began in 1985 and 1997. The time to purchase at the bottom of these real estate markets was 1984 and 1996. This is when the market offered the best combination of price and selection. Buyers who delayed their purchase waiting for evidence of the market bottom experienced two problems. By the end of 1985 and 1997 when the market change could be confirmed, these buyers had already missed out on 8% of price appreciation. This meant not only did they miss out on the enjoyment of living in the home they wanted; they experienced no financial benefit for the delay.

The second problem was now that other buyers began to recognize the market change; there were fewer and fewer homes to choose from. Home prices were rising and selection was diminishing quickly. Each additional month of delay brought even higher prices and less selection for which they now had to compete with other buyers entering the marketplace. By delaying their home purchase, these buyers often paid more and had to accept homes with less desirable features than if they purchased earlier when selection was better.

One of the most attractive benefits of purchasing a home today is the above average number of choices available. If we are buying a new car, TV, appliance or any other consumer item, we can delay our purchase while looking for a lower price. Whether we are right or wrong about the future price of an item, we will still be able to purchase that same item later. A home purchase is unlike any other purchase a family can make. Homes are very personal. Your home is where your family lives. Even model matches can be very different from each other: Different upgrades, location, lot shape, lot size, orientation on the lot, and so on. When more choices are available, you have a much better chance of securing the right home with more of the features you really want at a good price. As real estate prices rise again, buyer demand causes home inventory levels to drop. This makes it very difficult to find a home with the features you want.

8 Excellent reasons to purchase a home today:
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