Christopher in Los Angeles Times

One of the L.A. Times' columnists, Meghan Daum, featured me in an article she wrote this weekend about the real estate market. I spoke the truth and told her the real estate market probably wasn't going to get better this year. (I tried to be a bit more colorful in my quote.) Of course, I said a lot more than the quote she put in the column. But as a former newspaper reporter myself, I can't complain.

Here's the link to the story: Christopher in Los Angeles Times

OK, so what else did I say that she didn't print. I explained to her the wave of foreclosures hitting the markets hasn't lessened. In fact, May was a record for foreclosures and ARM resets don't peak until the early fall. So the rest of this year is still going to see a lot of new foreclosures hitting the market. I also told her that lending problems have not been solved, and until problems in the financial industry are fixed, the housing market isn't likely to improve as a whole. However, I said that some areas of town are nearing the bottom, while some areas may still have some dropping to do. And in some areas, we may even see some improvement and possibly the end of declines sometime next year, but other areas will suffer much longer. And that assumes some of our problems are fixed. If you read this blog even infrequently, you'll know that I constantly talk about how the real estate market is not one thing, that it varies from neighborhood to neighborhood, and even within neighborhoods -- especially in Los Angeles.

Overall, Meghan Daum's column makes a good point, namely that the "six months" advice is a myth. She also seemed a bit frustrated by her inability to pin down an answer. But I think that's the reality of this terribly unpredictable market and some problems we're struggling. Nonetheless, there are some great deals on houses right now in areas where prices have come down considerably. Ultimately, it has to be an individual choice. If a house you really want is available and in your price range, waiting 6 months (or 12 or 18) may not be a good idea. Regardless, with the price reductions we've seen already, homebuyers are better off than people who bought in 2007 or 2006 or 2005, and in some cases going back even further.