Homes in Costa Mesa are more than just places to hang your hat—for most of us, they are also cornerstone investments. As such, they deserve the level of attention that goes with safeguarding any major investment’s ROI. For the owners of Costa Mesa homes, that translates into taking regular action to ensure their properties remain in top shape—bolstering their property values at the same time they fulfill their principal assignment of providing the shelter that keeps families safe and comfortable.

Here are five tips that go far in keeping homes in Costa Mesa in peak shape:

  1. Regular Maintenance. Planned maintenance is key to keeping your home in top shape. This means scheduling actions like changing air filters, cleaning gutters, and checking…

411 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

As the week came to a close last Friday, the duly-respected public pollsters at Rasmussen Reports issued their most recent homeowner sentiment sampling—one that confirmed what many Costa Mesa homeowners had surmised from the snippets of information that’s been echoed around the country: the belief that home values are more than just holding in many areas— supplanting fears of a stall (or reversal). On Sunday, Rasmussen refined their commentary to a straightforward, “Housing Market Confidence Improves.”

The data first arrived in the polling firm’s daily email update, which top-lined a survey of over a thousand U.S. adults. The query compared U.S. homeowners’ “confidence in the resale value of their homes” with their answers to the same question last…

364 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Clicking on an unfamiliar computer icon last week triggered one of those new Artificially Intelligent bots to offer its services. The message that popped up was generous: “Ask me anything!”

Since the topic of the day had been disagreements about the direction Costa Mesa home affordability was exhibiting (CBS News had just headlined “Affordable homes in the U.S. are becoming fewer” while ATTOM Data Solutions contended “U.S. Homeownership Slightly More Affordable in Q1 2023”), it seemed opportune to accept the computer’s invitation for an inquiry about affordability.

Here are the reasons the bot gave for why someone should consider buying a house, whether or not affordability headwinds were increasing. In a twinkling, it came up with five…

545 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

A brief review of the national picture is more encouraging for Costa Mesa home sales than has often been the case of late—but is also a bit of a mixed bag:

  • Existing home sales reversed a 12-month decline by rising a strong 14.5% in February, which marks the largest increase since mid-summer of 2020.
  • The National Association of Realtors® announced a housing inventory of 980,000 units at the end of February, which amounts to a hefty 15.3% rise from the previous year. Even so, overall the housing supply shortage remains a significant factor for Costa Mesa home seekers.
  • Median existing-home prices (all housing types) were essentially flat: the $363,000 figure was down .2% from the previous year. The data from March may reverse that.
  • …

515 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Given the warmer weather, longer days, and blossoming flowers, it’s easy to see why this time of year brings out earnest buyers, including those serious about buying a home in Costa Mesa. Buying that Costa Mesa property can be a daunting task, especially for first-time buyers—and today’s changing market doesn’t make it any easier.

If you’re thinking of buying a home in town this spring, here’s a list of navigation tips to keep in mind as you search for your new home:

  1. Define your budget. Before you start your search, determine how much you can safely afford to spend. Account for all of your monthly expenses including expected mortgage payments, property taxes, and insurance. Then, once you have determined what you think is your budget…
  2. Get…

579 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

As the daylight hours grow longer and the weather warms up, whether you’re selling or staying put, homeowners in Costa Mesa should start thinking about spring preventative maintenance. Regular care can help prevent costly repairs and ensure that your home is safe and comfortable for you and your family. Some tried and true tips to get you started:

  • First, inspect your roof. Look for any signs of damage. Missing shingles are obvious, but cracks or other visible flaws can quickly grow into costly trouble. Repairing small problems now can prevent larger issues (like leaks or water damage) down the road. You may want to hire a professional to inspect your roof if you aren’t comfortable doing it yourself.
  • Next, clean out your gutters and downspouts…

433 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

For both existing and new homes, last week revealed some preliminary indications that an uptick in activity was underway. The hints worth musing over arrived in the National Association of Realtors®’ latest rundown on U.S. housing activity. Key findings:

  • Existing home sales registered a 14.5% increase in sales. That was the largest monthly increase in percentage since July 2020.
  • Pending home sales (that is, contract signings) rose by 8.1%. That constituted the second monthly rise in a row, although it was a step down from last year’s number.

The statistical release was accompanied by projections based on the trends the data indicated:

  • NAR “anticipates the economy will continue to add jobs throughout 2023.”
  • They project that the…

552 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Unsettling developments in the banking industry had been front-and-center in the national press for all of last week, so the headline in Realtor News was definitely effective clickbait. For any Costa Mesa house buyer or seller concerned that a financial spillover might disturb their own plans, the promise would have been irresistible:

“How 3 Recent Bank Failures Could Impact Housing Market” would be hard to skip past if your Costa Mesa house is already up for sale (or soon will be). The thing is, what seem to be disruptive events may not prove to work out that way when all is said and done—despite all the scare-inducing coverage (Realtor’s ‘bank failures’ story was illustrated by a cartoon depicting black-suited bankers disappearing beneath stormy…

488 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Here’s a new real estate riddle:

In any Costa Mesa house sale, what is the least expensive element that can also be the costliest?

There are many possible answers to the first part of the riddle. If the roof is openly deteriorating, the Costa Mesa house’s sale will usually depend on attending to that—a 5-figure expense in many instances. If the kitchen appliances are failing, they might need replacing. If the curb appeal is significantly lower than the neighborhood average, it might mean an expensive exterior paint update or correcting the long-neglected landscape.

There can be any number of costly elements that could be a part of a Costa Mesa home’s sale—but that fails to satisfy the riddle’s second half: that of being the least expensive.…

596 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Most people know the answer to a question like, “Will home sales suffer if mortgage rates go up?” The answer is, “DUH! Of course—it’s sure to cut down on sales.” Even though that’s hard to argue with, the obvious cause-and-effect connection can be seriously misleading. It can even lead to an expensive mistake.

Everyone acknowledges that the effect of rising Costa Mesa mortgage rates will be to discourage potential buyers—especially for the 42% of U.S. buyers who depend on a home loan. When that payment goes up a lot, it happens that much more. Duh.

Yet for homeowners mulling over the idea of adding their own property to the Costa Mesa listings, that particular ‘duh’ can lead to a secondary conclusion that could be misplaced—namely, “If fewer…

593 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post