Is It Your Time to Buy or Sell in Southern California?
The Southern California real estate market in mid-2025 presents a nuanced landscape for both buyers and sellers. After years of extreme competition, for buyers, and price escalation, the market has entered a more balanced phase with regional variations. Coastal areas like Santa Monica and Newport Beach maintain strong seller advantages, while inland communities offer more negotiating power for buyers. Interest rates have stabilized following previous volatility, improving affordability calculations for many prospective homeowners. Housing inventory has gradually expanded across much of the region, particularly in growing communities in the Inland Empire and northern San Diego County. For sellers, realistic pricing has become increasingly important as the days of automatic bidding wars fade. Ultimately, the "right time" depends less on market timing and more on individual financial readiness, lifestyle needs, and long-term goals in a Southern California market that continues to demonstrate resilience despite economic fluctuations.
- When you need to work on your credit. Maybe your credit score is just starting to recover, but you need more time to pay down debts for a couple of years. With rent-to-own, you could start investing in a home while you bring up your score.
- You’re close, but not quite ready to secure a mortgage. You might have a good job with a significantly bigger salary, but you haven’t been there long enough for a lender to consider it a stable source of income. Or maybe you’re self-employed and you’re still building a reliable track record. Rent-to-own allows time to build personal wealth and financial credibility while working toward your homeownership goals.
- When you know you’re going to buy when the lease expires. If you’re not ready to buy when the lease expires, then you will lose any rent credit, i.e. investment, you’ve put into the home.
