Will You Be Kicking Yourself in the Butt in Five Years?

Will You Be Kicking Yourself in the Butt in Five Years?

Better get yourself some padding. A big, comfy chunk of it.  You’re definitely going to need it. Why? Because in five years, you’ll be kicking yourself in the butt over and over again. At least, you will be if you’re like most people. You know who you are. You always wait until the big bandwagon goes a-rolling by. Then you leap aboard.

What I’m talking about is the future bounce-back of the Real Estate market.  Might not be tomorrow. Or the next day. But it will be going back up in a big way. Sure as there’s salt in seawater.

I figure it’ll be about five years before the market truly bottoms out and begins its upward march again. So why worry about it now? Because, my friends, it’s right now that prices are tantalizingly low. See all that glimmering out there? There’s a gold mine of opportunities waiting to explored.

Wait. Is dear, dedicated  Hillary talking out of both sides of her mouth? Well, yes and no. Yes, I said prices are not done dropping. And yes, right now is a good time to buy a Laguna Beach home. Allow me to clarify. Indeed, it is a good time to buy – provided you find the right home. This means negotiating a super deal. Believe me, it’s being done all the time. Just takes some effort. You also have to factor in a price drop of another 5% before the anticipated bounce-back begins pushing things back up again.  But in the long run, it’ll be worth it. Seven years from now you’ll be sitting mighty pretty in the city.

Consider this. Let’s say you purchase a Laguna Beach home today for $1.4 million. In the process, you fork over a down payment of $350,000 (25%).  According to historical trends, that same $4.5 million property will be worth $4.8 million in seven years. And guess what – you’ve just cleared a profit of $450,000 on a cash outlay of $350,000. Not too shabby.

Think you’d grab a similar haul if you sunk the same $350 grand into a CD, the stock market, or 2 flaming red Maseratis. I don’t think so. Of course, you’d still have to consider the tax ramifications of your hefty capital gain. But let’s face it. Uncle Sam will be nosing around for his share in any investment scenario.    

Beginning to see the light? Good. Because Laguna Beach is prime investment territory.  A Laguna Beach home can be the great summer getaway of your dreams. Or you can rent out the property for a tasty bit of cash flow. The main thing is having the foresight to see what your investment will bring seven years down the road.

Just look at the sizzling performance of vacation homes nationwide. In Palm Beach Island, Fla, sales jumped 50% in the year ending in June. Same thing in the Hamptons on Long Island – a 59% increase in the second quarter compared to the prior year. And in Aspen, sales for the year ending in May climbed by 10%. It’s all part of a growing national trend -- high demand for homes in prime waterfront or ski slope locations.

Warning: Those too scared to seize these opportunities will leave plenty of prime merchandise sitting on the shelf.  Just the kind of merchandise that savvy investors will snap up well before the market begins rising again. And rise it will. That’s because those waiting on the sidelines will leap in all at once and trigger a frenzied market surge. Just like they always do. The early birds will be licking their chops, while the latecomers will be paying the price.

            Do you want to be one of the savvy investors who gets in on the ground floor and reaps major rewards? Or would you rather be kicking your butt seven years from now? If you prefer the first option, I’m ready to assist you. As an expert in coastal properties, I can help you discover the countless opportunities here in the Laguna Beach Real Estate market. But the time is now. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Connect with me at 949.922.8490 or hillary@thecoastalpropertyexperts.com.

Until next time, keep it classy, Laguna.