Investors Taking over in San Diego- Good or Bad?

It's happening in every neighborhood with San Diego homes for sale. All cash paying investors are scooping up properties with hopes of fixing them up for a quick flip- and a sizeable profit. These properties are mainly in the under $300K range, and most are foreclosures or short sales. In June, 1,030 properties were sold to absentee buyers, the highest level since June, 2005. 28% of the buyers in the marketplace the last few months have been absentee buyers. Combine that with the record low inventory of homes in San Diego County right now. Presently, there are about 6,000 homes for sale in the ENTIRE county, over 50% less than two years ago at this time. Look around your own neighborhoods- do you see any new home construction going on? Probably a little, if at all. So what does this mean for the first-time buyer out there? Bad news. I feel bad for the poor first-timers. We agents and the media have drilled into their heads for three years now what a great time it is to buy a home- a real buyers' market. Unfortunately, so many times there is simply no way to outbid an all cash buyer, and many properties are sold or in escrow before they even reach the market. So is this a good thing or a bad thing? Overall, it is positive. First of all, investors are savvy enough to know that in this economy they have to renovate quickly to turn a profit for resale. Therefore, these homes will be coming back on the market in pristine condition. Neighbors will be happy- their neighborhood will look better and their property values will rise. There is nothing worse than an abandoned property in a great neighborhood. What's next for investors anbd flippers? The under-$300K market is drying up. Look for investors to start moving into the higher priced distressed sales' neighborhoods, like South Mission Hills San Diego, where they can still flip and turn a profit, now that statistics show that buyers are once again buying "move-up" property and million dollar homes.