Kezar Lake, Lovell
Since the great economic collapse of 2007-2008, there have been occasional periods of optimism that perhaps the bottom had been reached. But year after year, those hopes were dashed as economic activity either retreated or remained flat. However, towards the end of 2013 and into the beginning of 2014, I began to sense a change. People felt more secure with their employment. My belief has always been that until that improved, people were not going to be making investments, whether it be cars, homes, vacations, etc.
I wouldn't say that there was a marked increase in the number of buyers looking at homes but that the people who were looking were serious. And that was reflected in the number of Kezar Realty's transactions. We had 25 settlements totaling more than $4.6 million, our best year ever. To me, the most significant aspect of last year's business was that 15 of those homes were sold to year-round residents. During the recession, we just did not see that level of year-round activity and it appears that we are building a solid fundamental foundation going forward. Property values may not be going up rapidly but they are no longer declining and we do not seem to have a problem with appraisals. There are now plenty of mortgage programs available and FHA, a program usually used by first-time buyers, is becoming competitive again.
WordPress puts together a nice summary of KezarLife's 2014 activity which you can see here.
Here's hoping that 2015 will be a good year for everyone and if you have any real estate needs, please do not hesitate to contact Kezar Realty.