Jim Keller, Realtor®

Today from Hell Itself: "Playing Vegas Odds with Doc, Sammy, and Bob" by Gregory Nicoll, a weird time-travel western fantasy.

hellitself.com/playing-vega...

As always, I'll be keeping on eye on the market. I've been wrong before and I'll be wrong again. But I'm also more likely to be right than someone who doesn't have their finger on the pulse of the industry.

If you're thinking of buying, these fall months can be good time, as sellers who didn't find a buyer in the prime months are starting to get concerned and are more willing to negotiate. This is the time of year and the type of market where deals can be found.

If you need to sell, you're going to need to remember that it's not a simple as listing your house and collecting the offers any more. Homes need to be priced right for the buyer they're likely to attract. I can help you figure out what you need to do to get it sold.

Instead, I feel like we're more likely looking at an equilibrium. Buyers can't afford for prices to go any higher. If they come down, they'll be bid back up to around where they are now. So I expect to see the statistics seesawing around where we are now for a while.

Second, the housing shortage still remains very, very real.

I expect that if real home prices roll down, even a little, buyers will be back in large numbers and will bid them right back up.

First and foremost, remember that I'm sharing anecdotes, not statistics. The statistics will lag a few months, but they're going to paint the better picture when we've got them.

So does that mean we're finally experiencing a market correction?

Not necessarily.

For the past couple of years now, the median has been stable or declining, but I've still been seeing intense interest in less expensive homes, sometimes even bidding wars.

For the past couple of months, it's been much harder to sell even those less-expensive homes again.

For a while we've had what call "the paradox of the median." The median home price is where half of homes sold sell for more, and half of homes sold sell for less.

So when there is more activity in the lower-priced side of the market, it pulls the median down, even if prices are actually rising.

So, inherently, I'm not alarmed that prices are declining slightly and homes are taking longer to sell.

Anecdotally, what I'm seeing change that I think is significant is less interest in lower-priced homes.

OK, so the market normally slows down in the 4th quarter of the year. Here in the AV, we get two bursts of activity. The first is when orders come out at Edwards around April. The second is the usual summertime burst that most markets have. As holidays start rolling around, the market quiets down.

YouTube video by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Troth, REALTORS® Fewer Properties Into Escrow | Lancaster & Palmdale Housing Market Update | November 3rd, 2025

My broker, Mark Troth, with this week's Antelope Valley Real Estate Market Update:

It's election day. Please don't forget to cast your ballot.

Two more pieces of scary news from Hell Itself:

1) The October digest is now available for download, for everyone who prefers to read our stories as a .PDF. hellitself.com/downloads/

2) Hell Itself is now a token-paying market.

Happy Halloween from Hell Itself!

In honor of the day, we've got "The Great Old One Myrowl-Shu" by @deborahldavitt.com!

YouTube video by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Troth, REALTORS® Seasonal Slow Down? | Lancaster & Palmdale Housing Market Update | October 27th, 2025

My broker, Mark Troth, with this week's Antelope Valley Real Estate Market Update: youtu.be/rGyUQfUARDY?...

New from Hell Itself: hellitself.com/on-the-ropes/

Thei did the Mash; thei did the Monstere Mash.
The Monstere Mash: beholde, sepulchral smash!
Thei did the Mash, and it kaughte on moost fast -
Hark, heare the Mash! Forsooth, the Monstere Mash!

YouTube video by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Troth, REALTORS® Buyers Jumping In | Lancaster & Palmdale Housing Market Update | October 13th, 2025

My broker, Mark Troth, with this week's Antelope Valley Real Estate Market Update: youtu.be/2HEUH4-_84k?...

I didn't share last week's (laid up after a car accident), but those numbers were a little scary, so these numbers are welcome.

Today from Hell Itself: "Matt's Baby" by Toshiya Kamei, a weird horror story of tables getting turned.

hellitself.com/matts-baby/

Today from Hell Itself: A fabulist science fiction ghost story by @lrb.bsky.social!

YouTube video by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Troth, REALTORS® Listings Down/Pendings Up | Lancaster & Palmdale Housing Market Update | October 6th, 2025

My broker, Mark Troth, with this week's Antelope Valley Real Estate Market Update:

We're pleased to announce that you can now download each month's stories in a handy .pdf digest, available on our website at the beginning of the following month. September's is out now, featuring stories by @rachiea.bsky.social @crboltz.bsky.social @deborahldavitt.com and @ktwagner.bsky.social

Today from Hell Itself, @ktwagner.bsky.social brings us a bittersweet tale about the language of flowers:

hellitself.com/on-the-rainy...

YouTube video by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Troth, REALTORS® Heading into Q4 2025 | Lancaster & Palmdale Housing Market Update | September 29th, 2025

My broker, Mark Troth, with this week's Antelope Valley Real Estate Market Update:

Today from Hell Itself, the very last of James Ipse's Colm Ramirez mysteries!

hellitself.com/the-case-of-...

Watch for our next story on October 3!

Text conversation: "You know that yellow caution sign on san Francisquito Canyon Road that says 'DIP'? Well, it occurred to me that the California Highway Patrol should set up speed traps there." "Why?" "Because you need 'CHiPs' to go with your 'DIP'" "Oi"

And with that, I'm signing off. I need to be in the classroom at 8:00 tomorrow morning, which means my alarm goes off at 4:30. Good night, all!

Dr. Ruys in an all-school meeting last week indicated that she is not interested in the permanent position and hopes to return to her hired position in Student Services.

She does seem to have broad support as acting/interim president among the campus community.