By MATT PHILLIPS, Californian staff writer
e-mail: mphillips@bakersfield.com
..."It's false demand," said real estate consultant John Burns, who is on retainer to monitor the local market for home builders.
Not only that, house investors typically are much more sensitive to subtle changes in the market That's because they are depending on a certain level of appreciation for the return on their investment. Subtle changes such as easing appreciation rates or incremental interest rate upticks can send them scurrying, dumping houses on the market.
"Those are the sorts of things that would induce a lot of movement in the investor market," said Raphael Bostic, a professor of the University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate.
Karen Wass agrees. She estimates that about a third of the clients at her Bakersfield real estate agency, KW Associates, are investors. And their sensitivity could have big implications for the market.
"If anything happens to interest rates, there's going to be some dramatic changes," she said.