Archive for the 'Real Estate news' Category
Sacramento Real Estate Market Fired Up for the Summer
May 18th, 2012 categories: Real Estate news
According to an Msn.com article, the delinquency rate on U.S. home mortgages fell in the first quarter to the lowest level since 2008, though the share of homes in the foreclosure process inched higher, an industry group said on Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate on all loans fell to 7.40 percent from 7.58 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, and down from 8.32 percent a year ago, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
It was the lowest level since the third quarter of 2008, matching the record set in the fourth quarter of last year.
“The delinquency picture is getting better. It’s been getting better for some time and this is another important step in that,” said Jay Brinkmann, MBA’s chief economist.
Recent picture taken during my 100-mile Diabetes Tour de Cure
The delinquency rate includes mortgages that are at least one payment behind but does not include loans in the foreclosure process.
That rate peaked at 10.1 percent in the first quarter of 2010 in the wake of the housing market collapse.
The number of loans that were one payment past due fell to 3.13 percent from 3.22 percent, bringing it in line with the long-term average of 3.1 percent, said Brinkmann.
The percentage of homes that were 90 days late or more or in the foreclosure process – considered in serious delinquency – eased to 7.44 percent from 7.73 percent in the fourth quarter, and down from 8.10 a year earlier.
But the number of loans in the foreclosure process edged up slightly to 4.39 percent from 4.38 percent in the previous quarter, though it was down from 4.52 in the first quarter of last year. The inventory figures are not seasonally adjusted.
As well, fewer homes saw foreclosure actions initiated in the first months of the year. Seasonally adjusted foreclosure starts fell to 0.93 percent of loans from 1.04 in the fourth quarter and 1.03 a year ago.
For more information on Sacramento real estate, please contact Carmen at 916-342-2446, or e-mail at carmen@carmenmicsa.com. Also to receive free listings, go to www.Dynamicsacramentohomes.com. And last, but not least be sure to ask for your vacation getaway when buying with Carmen and her team of experienced agents. Also ask us how you can get $500 credit or more towards your closing costs when you mention this blog for all homes priced $100,000 and above. Some restrictions apply.
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California Foreclosure Activity Declining
March 14th, 2012 categories: Real Estate news
Thinking of spring- Home sales should continue to be strong
According to Foreclosure radar “foreclosure activity continues to fall, even though sales to 3rd Parties, typically investors, were down month-over-month, as a percentage of all sales 3rd Parties purchased a record 37.6 percent of foreclosures, up from 20.3 percent a year earlier, and just 2.2 percent in February 2008.
Further eliminating any possibility of a foreclosure wave for months to come, was a substantial drop in new foreclosure filings in California, Nevada, and Washington. Arizona saw a modest increase in foreclosure starts, while Oregon jumped a dramatic 39.4 percent. Despite the size of the increase, it simply offset a drop in January, and showed little change in comparison to earlier months. Nevada remains far below the average number of foreclosure starts; and the dramatic changes to their foreclosure laws will likely drag out the Nevada foreclosure process for years to come.
Unlike years past, February’s drop in sales was not due to the short month. Thanks to the Leap Year, California had only one less business day than usual in February (because of the Abraham Lincoln’s birthday observation). The other states do not observe Lincoln’s birthday, and so had the same number of business days as other months.
“Government intervention into the foreclosure crisis has clearly succeeded in slowing foreclosures. Unfortunately, it has also largely failed to deal with the real problem—negative equity. While principal balance reductions and short sales are friendlier than foreclosures for eliminating negative equity, foreclosures are an extremely effective, if perhaps crude, cure as well.” Stated Sean O’Toole, Founder & CEO of ForeclosureRadar. “While I believe banks should be strongly encouraged to work with homeowners who fall behind, there will be uncooperative homeowners. Passing laws to essentially eliminate foreclosures, as they appear to have accomplished in Nevada, and are now contemplating with similar draconian measures in California, is likely to do more harm then good. The pendulum of regulation is once again swinging too far.”
For more information on Sacramento real estate, please contact Carmen at 916-342-2446, or e-mail at carmen@carmenmicsa.com. Also to receive free listings, go to www.Dynamicsacramentohomes.com. And last, but not least be sure to ask for your 7-night cruise when buying with Carmen and her team of experienced agents. Also ask us how you can get $500 credit or more towards your closing costs when you mention this blog for all homes priced $100,000 and above. Some restrictions apply.
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Cash Investors dominate Sacramento real estate market
January 29th, 2012 categories: Real Estate news
After reading the article below written by Lisa Gibbs for The Money Magazine, I was not surprised at the statistics, since I come across this situation all the time and try to educate my first time buyers about some of the hurdles they experience when making offers and using FHA financing. I tell them one thing: “Cash is king.” Banks and regular sellers know how difficult and picky appraisers are, so they would rather accept a little lower cash offer, instead of worrying about falling out of escrow and wasting time with a new buyer.
Enjoying nature on a beautiful sunny day!
Here’s what Gibbs pointed out: “As the National Association of Realtors noted last week, all-cash sales accounted for 31% of December existing-home purchases. All that bargain hunting drove sales of existing homes up 5% for the month, NAR says.
A steady pace of sales is critical to the housing market’s recovery, of course, because we need to clear all those foreclosures and short sales off the books so that prices can stabilize and even start rising.
But there is a downside to those all-cash purchases. The cash buyers — the bulk of which are investors, says the NAR — put downward pressure on home prices even beyond what the natural forces of supply and demand would do, according to Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance’s latest HousingPulse Tracking Survey. “Cash buyers are able to bid significantly lower on many properties because they offer a shorter and more reliable closing timeline,” the report says. That’s music to the ears of mortgage servicers, who are anxious to get their distressed real estate off their books.
This gives investors a bigger impact on the overall market than their numbers might suggest. Real estate agents told HousingPulse that investors generally offer 10%-20% below listing price on properties up to $250,000. First-time buyers as well as current homeowners are more likely to offer closer to list price. Investors want to close in 30 days or less. Other buyers, generally because of financing issues, take more like six to eight weeks.
This market needs investors, who often end up doing deals that other homebuyers can’t. Good investors take on homes in poorer shape than typical homeowners could stomach and make them livable again. They deserve their discounts, in my opinion. But for all the rest of us, this is just one more factor keeping the price of our own home from bouncing back quickly.”
For more information on Sacramento real estate, please contact Carmen at 916-342-2446, or e-mail at carmen@carmenmicsa.com. Also to receive free listings, go to www.Dynamicsacramentohomes.com. And last, but not least be sure to ask for your 7-night cruise when buying with Carmen and her team of experienced agents. Also ask us how you can get $500 credit or more towards your closing costs when you mention this blog for all homes priced $100,000 and above. Some restrictions apply.
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Sacramento foreclosure homes- 40 percent below non-distressed sales!
January 25th, 2012 categories: Community Events, Real Estate news
With rain pit-patter on the windows of our lives and then sunshine again, we cannot stop to think about our future real estate market. Although the steadiness of the rain – so measured, so controlled, streaming down in tears of joy finally puts nature in place, default notices have increased, making California among the states with the biggest quarter increases, 21 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Moreover, homeownership rate declined, but that’s mainly because of California 37.3 million residents, 22.2 million live in the Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco metropolitan regions. In Sacramento, however, where our prices are so affordable, still many good buys around $100,000 and even lower, such as my latest short sale listing
To see a complete analysis of our market, view the C.A.R. video.
For more information on Sacramento real estate, please contact Carmen at 916-342-2446, or e-mail at carmen@carmenmicsa.com. Also to receive free listings, go to www.Dynamicsacramentohomes.com. And last, but not least be sure to ask for your 7-night cruise when buying with Carmen and her team of experienced agents. Also ask us how you can get $500 credit or more towards your closing costs when you mention this blog for all homes priced $100,000 and above. Some restrictions apply.
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Happy Fall – A quick Overview of home prices in Sacramento!
October 20th, 2011 categories: Real Estate news
Our California Association of Realtors published an interesting article on the pending home sales. Even though we were down this month, we were up in sales from the previous year. Buyers with good credit scores and incomes seize the opportunity to become home owners.
For release:
October 20, 2011
LOS ANGELES (Oct. 20) – Pending home sales in California fell in September, as is typical for this time of year, but were up from the previous year for the fifth consecutive month. Additionally, distressed home sales increased slightly in September from both the previous month and year, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.
Pending home sales:
California pending home sales fell 5.2 percent in September, but were up from a year ago, according to C.A.R.’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)*. The index was 118.5 in September, based on contracts signed in that month, down from August’s index of 125.0. The index was up 8.4 percent from September 2010. September marked the fifth consecutive month that pending sales rose from the previous year. Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, providing information on the future direction of the market.
“While recent pending home sales have increased from last year’s levels, housing inventory remains lean across all property types, particularly REOs (real estate-owned), which currently is at a 2.6-month supply,” said C.A.R. President Beth L. Peerce. “However, some major lenders recently announced they would accelerate the release of REOs onto the market, which should help alleviate the current shortage of housing inventory.”
Distressed housing market data:
The total share of all distressed property types sold statewide rose to 44.4 percent in September, up from August’s 43.7 percent and 43.6 percent in September 2010.
Of the distressed properties sold statewide in September, 20.2 percent were short sales, up from the previous month’s share of 18.9 percent and last September’s share of 19.5 percent.
At 24 percent, the share of REO sales was down slightly from August’s 24.4 percent, but up from the 23.8 percent reported in September 2010.
Equity sales made up the remaining share of home sales in September at 55.6 percent, down from 56.3 percent in August and 56.4 percent in September 2010.
Multimedia:
Share of Distressed Sales to Total Sales
(Single-family)
Type of Sale Sept. 2010 Aug. 2011 Sept. 2011
REOs 23.80% 24.40% 24.00%
Short Sales 19.50% 18.90% 20.20%
Other Distressed Sales
(Not Specified) 0.30% 0.40% 0.30%
Total Distressed Sales 43.60% 43.70% 44.40%
Single-family Distressed Home Sales by Select Counties
(Percent of total sales)
County Sept. 2010 Aug. 2011 Sept. 2011
Amador 59% 59% 54%
Butte 30% 42% 42%
Humboldt 22% 31% 19%
Kern 71% 60% 61%
Lake 69% 64% 61%
Los Angeles 43% 44% 46%
Madera 74% 73% 65%
Marin 25% 27% 35%
Mendocino 50% 48% 41%
Merced 50% 59% 61%
Monterey 64% 62% 59%
Napa 47% 48% 51%
Orange 32% 33% 36%
Riverside 68% 62% 60%
Sacramento 64% 62% 64%
San Benito 54% 67% 73%
San Bernardino 64% 64% 65%
San Diego 25% 27% 25%
San Luis Obispo 45% 45% 40%
San Mateo 20% 25% 26%
Santa Clara 34% 31% 35%
Santa Cruz 38% 35% 40%
Solano 67% 71% 73%
Sonoma 46% 43% 49%
Tehama 76% 56% 62%
CALIFORNIA (rounded) 44% 44% 44%
For more information on Sacramento real estate, please contact Carmen at 916-342-2446, or e-mail at carmen@carmenmicsa.com. Also to receive free listings, go to www.Dynamicsacramentohomes.com. And last, but not least be sure to ask for your 7-night cruise when buying with Carmen and her team of experienced agents. Also ask us how you can get $500 credit or more towards your closing costs when you mention this blog for all homes priced $100,000 and above. Some restrictions apply.
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Home prices fell more in May – Buyers take advantage of these prices
July 24th, 2011 categories: Real Estate news
Home prices nationwide fell 6.3 percent in May from a year earlier as foreclosures weighed down values and purchases slumped.
The decline was led by a 9.9 percent decrease in the region that includes California, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Thursday. The second-largest drop was 9.2 percent in the area that includes Nevada and Arizona.
Foreclosures have boosted the supply of available homes and reduced prices because the properties sell at a discount. Low interest rates have done little to stimulate demand for homes as mortgage standards tighten, said Rod Dubitsky, an executive vice president at Pimco Advisory, a unit of Pacific Investment Management Co. in Newport Beach (Orange County).
“Limited mortgage availability and vulnerable consumer health across the income and age spectrum are restraining demand and may continue to do so,” Dubitsky wrote in commentary posted on Pimco’s website. “We believe the housing market, considered to be a key driver of the economic recovery, will generally remain weak for the foreseeable future.”
Prices rose 0.4 percent from April, the housing Finance Agency said. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had projected a 0.1 percent increase from the previous month.
Thursday’s report is based on repeat-sales data that compares prices of the same properties over time. The regulatory agency, which measures sales of homes with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, doesn’t provide a specific price.
The median price of a home sold in May, the period covered by the report, was $169,300, according to the National Association of Realtors.
In June, the median price was $184,300, the trade group said Wednesday. Sales of existing homes fell last month to an annual pace of 4.77 million, the lowest level since November, according to the report.
Market data provided by Bloomberg News
This article appeared on page D – 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/21/BUO61KDC19.DTL#ixzz1T0Qk3FPY
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Advantages of Buying in a Slow market- Home buyers looking for remodeled homes!
June 20th, 2011 categories: Real Estate news
Daily Real Estate News | June 20, 2011 |
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What Today’s Home Buyers Desire
Home buyers have high expectations for their purchases this
year, the most critical of which may be a really great deal. In addition to more
bang for the buck — and the bragging rights that go along with a superior
bargain — today’s house hunters also are looking for incentives, such as gift
cards that they can use to decorate their new home or financial assistance at
the settlement table.
Another important
desire of buyers is that the property be well-maintained. “I’m not working with
too many people who want a fixer-upper,” says Pat Vredevoogd Combs, vice
president of Coldwell Banker AJS Schmidt in Grand Rapids, Mich., and past
president of the National Association of REALTORS®.
Current NAR President Ron Phipps agrees. More often than not, he
explains, “buyers have limited amounts of cash. Even if they want to do a
fixer-upper, they don’t have the money to do it.”
That is true even for buyers of bank-owned properties, says real
estate broker Joan Pratt of RE/MAX Professionals in Castle Pines, Colo. “They
want the short sales and the foreclosures, and they want them to look like
they’re owner-occupied,” she says. “They don’t want to paint. They don’t want to
put carpet in. They don’t want to clean.”
Modern buyers also favor open kitchens; open floor plans; and outdoor
living components, such as screened porches, exterior kitchens, and two-way
fireplaces. Additionally, the environment is increasingly important, with
today’s prospects seeking out elements such as triple-glazed windows and
energy-efficient appliances.
Repurposed
materials matter, too. “We’re seeing lots of different materials and lots of
reusable materials, which is interesting,” Phipps notes. “Also a lot of unusual
uses of hardwood — like pine flooring (reclaimed and) reused for counters,” or
terra cotta slabs for countertops. Buyers in 2011 are indicating a preference
for smaller homes, but they like them nicely appointed. Luxurious elements such
as coffee bars in the master bedroom are gaining popularity, as are expensive
finishes in not-so-expensive homes.
Source: “Nine Items Homebuyers Desire in
2011,” Bankrate.com, Dana Dratch
(June 16, 2011)
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Busy Buying Season with deep Discounts for Buyers!
March 22nd, 2011 categories: Real Estate news
According to “Discounts Expected in Spring Housing Market,” The Wall Street Journal (March 22, 2011), “bargain prices on housing combined with low interest rates below 5 percent may bring the real estate market its busiest spring season in years, economists say. Distressed sales continue to put downward pressure on home prices, which may lure more buyers off the fence and ready to snag a deal during the typical prime-time buying season. Some builders are ramping up discounts on new homes as well as boosting commissions to brokers to try to spark more transactions. Sellers of existing-homes also are getting more competitive in pricing their homes.
“After three years of the housing downturn, people are becoming much more realistic in terms of valuing their homes,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of REALTORS®.
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Sacramento Real Estate! 4 Reasons to Buy a home TODAY!
March 9th, 2011 categories: Real Estate news
I received a newsletter from Attorney Steve Beede with these compelling reasons to become a homeowner, so I thouhgt I’d share with you. When I meet with clients I always tell them that they need to stop making other people rich and start investing in their future, as long as tehy have a stable job and are not overextending themeselves being in debt.
1. Properties are Undervalued – As reported in DSNews.com, based on the latest Case-Shiller home price index, a study by Capital Economics shows that in the fourth quarter of 2010, housing was 21 percent undervalued when compared with disposable income per capital. Looking at data included in the index published by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the firm found that housing in Q4 was 15 percent undervalued as measured against individuals’ disposable income. Capital Economics says its results illustrate “housing is exceptionally undervalued,” and the gap is getting bigger. In its third quarter 2010 report, the research firm pegged the Case-Shiller index readings as 19 percent undervalued and the FHFA index as 14 percent below what would constitute a balanced housing value in relation to income. This downward pressure on prices will continue as the foreclosures clear out, opening the gap even further.
2. Financing Remains Very Affordable – On top of low prices, mortgage rates have fallen back a bit in recent weeks, leaving them even further below the 20-year average of 7 percent. Last week marked the third consecutive week that rates have continued to decline. A national survey conducted by Freddie Mac shows that the average 30-year fixed-rate has dropped to 4.87 percent, while the 15-year fixed-rate has slipped to 4.15 percent. When you wrap declining home prices and historically low mortgage rates together, Capital Economics says, “The incredibly favorable affordability and valuation environment is the housing market’s one big positive.”
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Home Sales Up for January
February 23rd, 2011 categories: Real Estate news
Turkeys roaming around at Ancil Hoffman Park- hopping with joy for the uptrend in existing-home sales-Ha!Ha!
According to Daily Real Estate News the uptrend in existing-home sales continues, with January sales rising for the third consecutive month with a pace that is now above levels a year ago, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 2.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million in January from a downwardly revised 5.22 million in December, and are 5.3 percent above the 5.09 million level in January 2010. This is the first time in seven months that sales activity was higher than a year earlier.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the improvement is good but could be better. “The uptrend in home sales is consistent with improvements in the economy and jobs, which are helping boost consumer confidence,” Yun said. “The extremely favorable housing affordability conditions are a big factor, but buyers have been constrained by unnecessarily tight credit. As a result, there are abnormally high levels of all-cash purchases, along with rising investor activity.”
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