Commentary by Stephen Brown & Lauris Bye
As far as the Baby Boomer generation is concerned they still want to be California home buyers and many still call the shots in terms of homes prices.
It is a fact that most Baby Boomers qualify for low interest rate financing, find it easier to have the down payment and typically buy more expensive real estate than millennials. So with the median home prices on the rise in such markets as San Diego and Los Angeles, these older buyers are more actively purchasing in this post-crash-comeback market.
Today’s homebuyer marketplace you will find the first time buyers still looking for their first home and the cash flush Boomers sharing the same marketplace. These Baby Boomers are capitalizing on the bargaining bonanza going on. Even if many of the low price deals are gone, boomers are still finding great deals on higher end and luxury real estate acquisitions and have the capital to take advantage of the situation.
Even the Boomers that were caught in the market crash are moving out of the rental market and are becoming homeowners again. With the cash to back it up, this older generation remembers the 60s motto, "our house is a very, very fine house".
Article by Bess Hochman
Below is today's California real estate news article from westsidetoday.com
California Higher House Prices Don't Scare the Baby Boomers
A recent survey of California baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, shows that they will continue to be a strong force supporting our real estate market. As the wealthiest generation, these baby boomers “will continue to wield great influence on the housing market,” says the President of the California Association of Realtors. “Even those who went through financial difficulties during the economic crisis recognize the benefits of home ownership and would rather buy another home than rent.” The survey found that 22 percent stated they expect to buy a home in the next five years. Of those baby boomers surveyed, 78 percent indicated they will not sell because they like their current home. Nearly all baby boomer home owners (92 percent) surveyed have equity in their homes. The Southern California median sale price at the end of last year was lower, by about 18 percent, than the peak median price of $505,000 reached in the spring/summer of 2007. Recently, foreclosure re-sales have hit their lowest numbers since early 2007. Zillow is predicting price gains for Los Angeles will continue but at a much slower pace with an expectation of a rise of 1.8 percent for 2015. Central bank policy makers have not ruled out a rate hike this year. Read More: Baby boomers drive California housing market, sales prices higher - westsidetoday.com