How hot is the market?

The sun is blazing as we arrive at our first home to tour. It is a spring day in Southern California, it feels like we are in the middle of summer. I glance down on my dashboard and catch a glimpse of the outside temp...106 degrees. My client climbs out of their truck, "I bet it is over a 100 degrees today," she says. We are about to tour our first home of the day and it is already after 2pm...with 10 more to follow. My day is really busy, with a 4:30pm and a 7pm appointment still ahead of me, so there is a little spring in my step. All of the homes on our list today are bank owned.

The first home is beat up. The carpeting is destroyed, the paint leaves a little to be desired, the house is covered in dirt because of the broken out windows. There is an empty pool in the backyard and the back fence is falling down. Not a great start to the day. Second and third home...more of the same. By the time we peer into our fourth home, we have no idea what to expect. The lot is huge. The house is a lot bigger than the previous homes. There is a lot of potential. "This one goes down as a yes," my client says as we depart for the next house.

We are standing across the street from the last house. She is huge...2,500 square feet. But, as usual with a bank repo...she is in need of some love (new carpet - the owners ripped most of it out, new paint, holes in a lot of the walls, etc...). "We want to offer on 3 of the homes that we have seen today," my client says as we are about to part company. Last week we found a home that they liked...but it was gone before we could get our offer submitted. They understand the sting of being so close. As do scores of my other clients. A few of them have resorted to writing offers in bulk, and hoping that one sticks.

I hear all the news about tighter lending restrictions...I hear all of the news about more bank repos coming on the market...I hear all of the news about the doom and gloom of the economy. BUT, in my little corner of the world...the real estate market is as hot as that Southern California sun!