Trends: On Saturday, just in time for Sunday’s open houses, the commentary discussed how the first time home buyer had been left out of the recent excitement. Deb S., a top Realtor from California, wrote, “Unfortunately for our overall well-being, those purchasers were investors and first-time homebuyers cannot compete with cash. Period. So, they are scrambling like crazy and running from property to property and simply get beaten out (either due to the terms or they can’t even make a decision as quickly as a number-oriented buyer can) every time.
HOA’s are either not acting or being slow to react, with management not well-trained or asleep at that wheel, and they are not making any rules about what % of units must be owner occupied and the result is the complete makeover of many complexes into below 50% owner occupancy and thus, unable to get a loan. The homeowners aren’t informed from the management, they have no idea who is buying, what the repercussions are, and they are suddenly in a home they cannot refinance and must sell at a substantially lower price when our market stabilizes and the investors slow down.” How this could be enforced is anybody’s guess, but it is something to look into if you are on a HOA Board that has this phenomenon happening.
