I think it’s safe to say that these past few years have created a lot of wealth for most homeowners, unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. But, home sales have been trending downward since this time last year.

Most housing indicators suggest a market transition, sales are slowing, mortgage rates are rising and bidding wares are becoming less common. Prices are the notable exception.

According to the latest S&P’s CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index, prices grew 20.6% between March 2021 and March 2022. That was the highest year-over-year price change in more than 35 years. Experts agree that this level of price growth is unsustainable — but recognizing whether growth has peaked is proving difficult.

Are you looking to buy a house? It feels like everyone from the guy in the Starbucks queue behind you to the coworker whose name you can never remember is looking through Zillow daily and eagerly sharing their predictions and stories on the housing market “bubble”. I wanted to explain a little about “borrowing power”.

Is the market turning over a new leaf?

From the shifting colors of the leaves to the crisp morning air, October is traditionally a period of change. It also can be one of the very best times to buy a home, as it falls right in between back-to-school season and the holidays. This season usually ushers in a slowdown to overall market activity, when sellers may be more apt to negotiate and buyers may find more inventory than previous months.

It’s no secret that the housing market has been appreciating at an unhealthy rate and housing is becoming unattainable for more and more first-time homebuyers and renters. The median housing price of existing single-family homes is up to $1,090,000, an increase of 19.7% year over year. All across Southern California, home prices have hit record highs this year.

The housing market was so hot at the beginning of the year that the moment a property hit the California Regional Multiple Listing Service (CRMLS) the