Market timing 101

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Wouldn’t it be great to have a formula at our fingertips that would help us figure out whether it’s a good time to buy or sell. Blogger and San Diego-based real estate analyst Schahrzad Berkland has attempted to pencil out just such a recipe.

According to Berkland, you need to know only two things: sales and inventory (number of homes for sale). Luckily, she spent some time analyzing both for each Southern California county and put together some nifty charts.

The bottom line: SoCal real estate hasn’t bottomed yet because inventories are still rising.

Blogger Patrick Killelea lets us know precisely why now is not a good time to buy. He lays it all out with his own top 10 list of reasons why not.

For a easy-to-read snapshot of current inventory by location, check out the Bubble Markets Inventory Tracking blog and scroll down untill you find your county of choice. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the data but it’s sure interesting to see how supply has ballooned in a short period of time.

Thoughts? Leave a comment or e-mail me at annette.haddad@latimes.com

Photo credit: Associated Press

-- Posted by guest blogger Annette Haddad