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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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…

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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…

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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.…

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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…

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When a real estate novice makes an initial foray into the world of buying their first Costa Mesa house, the first task is pinpointing how much they can afford. First-time buyers are especially prone to one beginner’s mistake: it’s easy to overlook the bagful of ancillary costs that are part of any home purchase. These peripheral charges carry percentages that may look minor—but taken together, are anything but.

Whether you call them “closing costs” or “settlement fees,” including them in preliminary budgeting is mandatory. That’s why government-sponsored Freddie Mac makes the list of included elements part of its “Understanding Costs” web educational site. Nine are named—and although they include some that apply only when outside financing is…

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When those who deal in area real estate study Costa Mesa home design trends, they usually point to the ebb and flow of interior décor choices—like the recent ascension of mixed textural elements or the growing preference for warming neutral colors. But when Homes and Gardens published their list of the “10 interior design trends” that will shape home spaces in 2023, no such minor fine-tuning was at the head of its list. This year, a more consequential shift was declared.

At first blush, their first place choice sounds like some pop philosophical notion—but H&G nixed any such thought, deeming their Number One trend “anything but a fashionable fad.”

The new leading trend is “The Influence of The Natural World.”

This might seem to be a…

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When a reliable real estate monitor like HousingWire.com proclaims a turn toward “more normal market conditions,” you’d think that simplifies the task of determining rational asking prices for homes in Costa Mesa. Last week’s headline (“The savagely unhealthy housing market is over”) implied as much: a U.S. market heading for a more predictable course for real estate’s fast-approaching active season.

HousingWire’s optimism was based on an increase in January’s national average Days on Market, which exceeded 30 days for the first time in a good while. The National Association of Realtors® pegged the national average at 33 days. That was a little less than a week’s increase over the previous month’s average, marking a noteworthy increase from the…

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This month, Money magazine offered advice for house hunters eager to get a jump on “the most active homebuying season of the year.” The busy season may still be weeks away, but it’s widely expected that landing a ‘good deal’ on one of the Costa Mesa houses that meet all requirements may take some doing. “How to Spot a Good Deal When Shopping for a Home” offered five pointers. Briefly summarizing (in reverse order):

The fifth one, “Buy during the offseason,” is the most timely. In addition to arming buyers with a valuable grounding in the local market in this less active period, it can lead to valuable offerings when it’s combined with the fourth pointer, “Look at homes that have been listed for a while.” Costa Mesa houses that are long unclaimed…

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Ask just about any Costa Mesa kid if they’d like to have a swimming pool in the backyard and you know what the answer will be. Costa Mesa swimming pools are neighborhood plusses when the weather is right, no doubt about it. But when it comes to the value Costa Mesa swimming pools add to a home’s resale bottom line, the calculation is complicated by a whole slew of associated factors.

Without rendering a universal verdict, for house hunters preparing their ‘gotta have’ features list, and for Costa Mesa homeowners deciding whether to contract to have one installed on their property, there are at least five issues worth taking into account:

  1. Maintenance. Costa Mesa swimming pools require regular upkeep that’s both time-consuming and expensive. In…

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