The sudden introduction of “chatbots” and the data-based Artificial Intelligence they now offer the world has many unexplored applications, including residential real estate. One could be the ever-current debate about when is the most propitious time to list a house. The best Costa Mesa Realtors® traditionally differ on precisely when that is—but they would be unanimous in how they qualify their answers. Aside from the advantage gained by listing in the active spring-to-summer markets, the quality of a property and its asking price compared with neighborhood comparables are much more important. But “spring-to-summer” has always been a pretty vague answer. Wouldn’t more precision be possible, now that AI is coming of age?

One problem with nailing…

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Although May Day springtime festivals aren’t nearly as prominent as they once were, for many Costa Mesa residents, the first day of May is still a sentimental marker for the time of year when winter’s chill can be pretty much tossed in the memory bin. Cold waves may still dominate Costa Mesa weather reports, but they can now be treated as newsworthy anomalies. And Punxsutawney Phil’s dubious reliability scorecard can now be officially improved—this year, he was right: spring was slow in coming.

Outside of elementary schools, European folk customs (like dancing around the Maypole) have never been staples here in the U.S.—although more than one child may still be expected to gather flowers and surreptitiously hang a basket where Mom will find it.

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Getting a bead on how this spring’s housing market is faring can be less than reliable if the conclusion is based on national summaries. Last week offered a good example.

Take USA Today’s Friday report, which included a section promising “What is happening with home sales?” It seemed to merit one of those frowny-faced emojis since it highlighted the Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator. The PHS showed pending transactions were “down by 23%” from last year’s total. The explanation from NAR® Chief Economist Yun cited the stubborn persistence of an inventory shortfall. “The lack of housing inventory is a major constraint to rising sales,” said the economist.

But the following discussion included this fact: the national unsold…

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The American Dream may have been pronounced all but extinct from some quarters of late, but at least one piece of information makes its impending demise questionable. It’s an unchallenged fact that everyone who keeps tabs on Costa Mesa residential real estate will verify—one that writer Claire Trapasso summarized neatly in last week’s Realtor News:

“Homeowners racked up some serious wealth over the past decade.”

The recent track record experienced by participants in that American Dream (Costa Mesa version) is impossible to ignore. Back during the Great Recession, voices from many quarters focused on the financial beating taken by those who had joined a speculative rush, hoping to profit from loose lending standards. That lax period encouraged…

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If you're among the many who have puzzled over when it’s the ‘right time’ to buy a home in Costa Mesa, you’ve probably found the answer to be elusive and volatile. Monday’s convincing solution can be suspect by Wednesday—and even flimsier by Friday.

Pinning down an acceptable answer can be helped by identifying several distinct primary factors to examine when making the call: your financial situation, the current state of Costa Mesa’s housing market—and your personal goals.

Assessing your financial situation is the first factor that should precede any other. Do you have a stable income and sufficient savings to afford a down payment and monthly mortgage payments? One way to know for sure is to get pre-qualified by a lender—an action that has the…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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.
  • …

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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…

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