Wow! Where did the year go? It’s time to take a look back at the 2016 Costa Mesa real estate predictions that I made earlier in the year.
Here’s what I said at the beginning of 2016.
How did I do? Let’s take a look point by point.
1. Prices will continue to Creep up – I got this WAY right. Prices were up over 7% in Costa Mesa last year across the board for condos and homes. I thought prices would creep upwards. I was right, I just didn’t think it would climb as much as it did.
2. The Fed Will Raise Rates Again – Well, they did finally raise rates. As of this writing, it has only happened once but I think 2017 will see a couple of rate hikes.
3. Staging is Staying – The somewhat newer trend of staging homes that usually only happened in the higher-end market is now here to stay. Lots of homes were staged in Costa Mesa real estate this year, especially ones that were flipped.
4. The Market Will Take Pause in Late Summer – August and September were syrupy slow, to the point where most Realtors and lenders were complaining that “The End is Here”. While it felt that way in late summer and into fall, prices continued to rise as inventory continued to shrink.
5. Flipped and Flopped – I got this one correct too. There were a lot of flips where investors profited handsomely, and there are still homes on the market 4+ months later where investors have missed the marks on their projects. Mostly due to the use of cheap materials, choosing poor locations, or poor design.
6. Market Timers Miss – I can’t say I got this one 100% right. There have been a lot of homes listed higher in price that sold, but they did wind up coming down to market price to sell. There were also quite a few overpriced homes that came off the market entirely too.
7. Picky Buyers – I will say I didn’t get this one all the way right. There were not many homes or condos that did not sell if it was priced closer to the market. There were some picky buyers out there, but it seemed that most everything sold last year (so long as it was priced right).
8.Yes, We Will Foreclose on You – REO (bank-owned) home inventory is up a bit, but not in Costa Mesa. Only 4 properties out of a total of 806 (according to the local MLS) sold were REO properties, so only about ½ of 1 percent.
9. Are You Flipping Kidding Me??? – Yes, there were some silly high prices on flipped homes, and that should continue well into last year.
10. Finding Balance – I didn’t quite get this one right. I thought by the end of the year listing inventory would increase, buyers would slow down a bit, and therefore the market would stabilize a bit from the high ride it has been on. What happened was listing inventory has decreased, which has pushed prices up further, unfortunately. I certainly hope the market will find a bit more balance than it has now.
Colin Delaney has been a Costa Mesa Realtor for 15 years. He lives in Costa Mesa, sells lots of its property, and loves living and working here. If you need help with the Costa Mesa property, or just have a question, connect with Colin at
(714) 743-9882 (call/text) or
email him.
