Pending Sales Down Most in the West

The numbers are out for this past July, and they support what we've been seeing here in Riverside. There's been a tremendous decline in houses going into escrow, and then some of these are falling out as buyers fail to get loans. Overall, pending sales of existing homes fell just over 12% from June, while in the West, the decline hit nearly 21%. Furthermore, the figures fell almost 22% in the Western states from a year earlier.

These percentages translate into unsold houses in many places, leaving buyers overwhelmed by choice. In general, shoppers tend to feel paralyzed in the face of too many options (which is why agents shouldn't show too many properties!) to the point where none of them seems like a good buy.

This situation means that people who do buy now have an unsual combination of the following 1) good credit, 2) some savings to put down, and 3) the ability to move against the herd. I keep running into people who wished that they'd bought up property during the 90's. All I can say is, the ones who did then were rare and strong individuals. Of course, prices are much higher now, but it's still workable for those willing to reside in a home (and not just pretend to!) for a couple of years.

An agent I know was telling me that several of his middle range and higher end homes have come down a lot. The 2 middle range ones had dropped about 100k each, coming down to the low 600's, while one for over a million had dropped 200k. And I'm seeing starter houses that have dropped 50k. So for those who are ready and can still think clearly, it's actually a sensible time to fight the mass hysteria and pick up a good place to live.

Article on Drop in Pending Sales