Have We Hit Bottom? (CAR, Jan./Feb., 2009

Every home buyer and seller wants to know: Has the California real estate market hit bottom?  The answer is "yes" if you're talking annual home sales and "not yet" if your're looking at median home prices, according to the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS 2009 economic forecast.  The sales picture is brighter than it was a year ago based on projections that home sales will jump almost 25 percent compared with 2007, when sales hit bottom.  CAR forecasts a relatively modest 6 percent slide in the statewide median home price in 2009 after a record decline in 2008.

Timing the market may be neither possible nor advisable. Timing matters a lot less if you are buying a home you are going to live in for seven or ten years.  For buyers who adopt a long-term strategy, it may make sense to go ahead and buy when they find a home that both meets their need and is affordable, because it might not be available six months from now.