"Hopefuls camp out for chance to buy townhomes"
Sandy Kleffman writes in today’s Contra Costa Times about people camping out to be first in line when new homes are released at DeNova Home’s Citrus Walk subdivision in Walnut Creek. Here’s a key quote:
"In one respect, it’s sort of sad that it’s come to this," said Jim Croy, who took a day off work from a Pleasant Hill investment company to take the head of the line. "We put several offers on houses in Walnut Creek and got outbid.
"At least this way, you’re rewarded for putting in some effort and you don’t have to face a bidding war."
There’s another aspect to this story. With the stock market providing paltry returns it appears that speculators are playing real estate. The way home prices have increased over the past years can you blame them? Between the lack of new housing construction, a low inventory of resale housing on the market and real estate speculators – it is difficult to win a bidding war for housing in especially desirable neighborhoods.
But new homebuilders also face the speculator issue. In the late ’80s people would put a deposit on a new house and "flip-it" or sell their spot for a premium – sometimes before the house was even built. Today, most builders include anti-speculation clauses in their sales contracts to discourage it. It will be interesting to see how Citrus Walk plays out over time.
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