Like most of the country, California is in the grips of a scorching-hot seller’s market. Unlike most of the country, California home values are exceedingly high, with the median home price in 2021 coming in at over half a million dollars.
This raises a couple of questions: 1) Why are California home values so high? And 2) How are California real estate investors able to find steals in these hot market conditions?
We have the answers for you.
Why Are CA Home Values So High?
With nearly 40 million residents, California is an immensely popular state to call home. Despite the earthquakes, wildfires, and high cost of living, there’s a lot to like about California. The weather is among the best in the world, with lots of sunshine and pleasant temps. You get mountains, forests, deserts, vineyards, and beaches, all without leaving the state. And there are lots of opportunities in terms of education and employment. So, the demand is high.
Unfortunately, the supply of homes has been too low to meet this demand. California suffers from many geographic barriers (like uneven or unstable terrain), limiting where homes can be built. Government regulations also prevent rampant building, and Californians generally prefer single-family homes to the multi-family highrises popular in cities like New York and Miami.
The low supply and high demand have created a housing shortage, driving home values up substantially over the last decade. That means investors need to be savvier than ever to find deals before they hit the market, where prices can quickly skyrocket.
That's why smart California investors are looking for deals off-market. And they're doing it by combing public real estate records with MLS property data information against other property factors.
How To Find Off-Market Deals in California
Finding off-market deals used to be too time-consuming to be practical. Investors would waste several hours each day cold-calling or mass-mailing homeowners from pre-purchased lists in the hopes of finding a single person willing to discuss the possibility of selling. But big data has completely changed the way investors find off-market deals.
Today, smart search tools allow investors to zero in on the homeowners who are most likely to sell for a below-market price. With PropStream’s search features, you can find properties in distress from events like pre-foreclosure, divorce filings, tax liens, or bankruptcy. These homeowners may be willing to sell directly to an investor for under-market prices to avoid the time, expense, and hassle of listing their property on the MLS.
You can even take advantage of PropStream’s List Stacking tool to optimize your lead conversion rate. With list stacking, the PropStream system will automatically compare lists of properties that meet your unique criteria from multiple sources for distressed properties.
For example, you can run a search for single-family homes in your local area, and PropStream will compare lists from divorce and bankruptcy filings, county tax records, and mortgage payment records to see how many lists each property appears on. The more lists the property shows upon, the more likely the owner is to sell in the near future. So you can focus your efforts on this list of probable sellers. Even better, PropStream offers built-in skip tracing services to give you direct access to each owner’s contact information, saving you time and money.
When you’re ready to find off-market steals in California’s hot seller’s market, PropStream has the tools to help you work more efficiently and close more deals. Start your free trial today.
