Archive for the 'San Diego County Community News' Category
Come out, come out, wherever you are
July 22nd, 2010 Categories: Real Estate News, San Diego County Community News, San Diego County Fixer of the Week, San Diego county Real Estate News, San Diego homes for sale
OPPORTUNITY AWAITS HOMEBUYERS IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY
SAN DIEGO- I have to admit to being wrong when I wrote in April that I did not feel the expiration of the tax credit was going to have much impact on the real estate market that makes up most of my business.
While I do not have data to back up my beliefs, I do not see the loss of the tax credit having much impact on the markets I serve. There was an article in today’s North
County Times titled ‘BUYING FRENZY; First-time home purchasers rush to take advantage of federal tax credit.” They quoted quite a few people who spoke of the impact on their markets and stated some positive data, but the article looked at the national picture where in many areas $8,000 is a nice chunk of a home purchase. In our area, because the incentive was 10% of the purchase price or $8,000 whichever is lesser, I would say the credit would have had a much greater impact if you could have received $25,000. This would have been more comparable to our market prices versus the $8000 on a national level.- Brian big dummy Long, 4/30/2010
It was approximately the middle of June that I began to feel the coming impact from the expiration of the tax credit and while it did not make much sense to me for reasons coming, the market has slowed tremendously.
At the beginning of this month I wrote a post and had a graph charting the difference between San Diego resale home sales in 2009 versus 2010. 2009 clearly showed the traditional pattern of increasing home sales as we move into the summer months. 2010 on the other hand showed a significant spike in closed transactions in May followed by an approximate 30% reduction in sales in June. Looking at home sales to date, 7/21/2010, that number looks like it is going to fall further with only 762 home closed in the same market area from the prior survey. At this pace of 38 closed transactions per day, we should expect a monthly total of 1190 closed real estate transaction for July.
THERE IS GOOD NEWS FOR THE SAN DIEGO HOMEBUYER
In my defense, there are a couple reasons, well one big one anyway, why the current real estate market presents a better opportunity for buyers than in May: MORTGAGE RATES!!
Yes, this week mortgage rates are establishing a new low, and contrary to belief it is not impossible to qualify.
Rates fell last week to 4.59% on an average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which is down from 4.69% one week ago and the lowest ever recorded by the trade group since its survey began in 1972. Other measures show that rates continued to fall this week: Zillow’s Mortgage Marketplace quoted an average of 4.37% on Tuesday.- blogs.wsj.com,2010/7/21
Two years ago I had clients willing to give blood to lock mortgage rates under 6%, so these rates represent an incredible opportunity and more so when combined with the fact that home prices are still significantly low.
The other reason is that the ‘tax’ credit in a way hasn’t gone anywhere. In fact credits to buyers, have been around for a long time. The best thing about this particular buyer credit is you can use 100% of it regardless of how much you pay in taxes.
With the tax credit, especially the state credit, if you did not actually have a tax bill(s) that totaled the credit amount, you were not going to realize the full credit. However, as a buyer you have always had the ability to ask for a seller’s credit that would be applied towards you closing costs thus either saving you money or providing you the extra money needed to close your escrow. There are individual guidelines to how much this credit can be and it is generally a percentage, say 3%, of the purchase price. This won’t give you your down payment, but it may preserve your cash so you then meet the lender’s guidelines for necessary reserves.
If you have been considering purchasing your first home or an investment property you have a trifecta in your favor. Low mortgage rates, depressed pricing and increased inventory. Give me a call or shoot over an email and let’s discuss your particular needs.
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Real estate market shifting away from lower priced homes?
June 14th, 2010 Categories: Real Estate News, San Diego County Community News, San Diego homes for sale
CARLSBAD REAL ESTATE NEWS- Today I was looking over my REALTOR.com report showing page views on my listings. I have just listed two attached homes, one in the Pt Loma/Midway area and one in the Rancho Del Oro area of Oceanside and had an existing single family home in La Costa Valley.
I was quite surprised when I looked at the weekend report and saw that my $799K home listing in the La Costa Valley area of Carlsbad is getting well over 5 hits to one when compared to the attached listings.
But then I saw this article, “HOUSING:Median home price in North County rises-Shift toward more expensive homes accelerates”, set to publish in tomorrows North County Times.
The median price for resales of single family houses in North San Diego County rose to $475,000 in May, as more people bought more expensive homes, according to records from the county assessor’s office.
More people closed contracts on homes in May than in the previous May, up to 889 from 871 sales the previous May, but the number of homes sold in the bottom tier of the market fell. The number of homes priced under $300,000 that were sold in North County fell 44 percent to 170 from 302 the previous May, while the 161 sales of homes priced higher than $750,000 rose 30 percent, and the 558 homes sold for between $300,000 and $750,000 was up 25 percent.- North County Times, 6/14/2010
Now the question is, is this a shift in the market as it relates to foreclosures which were generally lower priced homes or is the buyer demographic changing? I imagine it is a bit of both, but it was reported last week that North County’s NOD filings were down over 20% month to month and 45% from May of last year.
Whatever the cause, the number of foreclosures have fallen, and that has indeed helped push up home prices. Real estate agents have been worried for months about a lack of homes to sell, and bidding wars have erupted for some of the less expensive homes. County records show the median price in North County rose 17.7 percent from April 2009 to April 2010 to $453,000- North County Times, 6/10/ 2010
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Hwy 5 widening coming to North County?
June 4th, 2010 Categories: San Diego County Community News, San Diego county Real Estate News
CARLSBAD- I have a client that has been considering a home in Encinitas that is relatively close to the highway 5. In an email today they asked if I saw the article in the newspaper regarding plans to widen the freeway from the 5/805 merge to the Oceanside harbor.
I had saw the article and have heard about this plan for several years now. I actually attended a community forum in 2006’ish and left there with no new information as everything was conceptual. They truly had no answers to most questions.
The community forum meetings regarding this improvement started in 2004 and in 2006, the project was expected to cost approximately 1.1 billion dollars.
The $1.1 billion project would expand I-5 from eight to 14 lanes and would add new car-pool lanes from La Jolla to Oceanside. Widening the 26-mile stretch of freeway from Mira Mesa Boulevard at Interstate 805 and Genesee Avenue to Vandegrift Boulevard at Camp Pendleton isn’t expected to begin until 2009 and wouldn’t be complete for at least five years.-NCTIMES, March13,2006
Unfortunately, the price tag for the San Diego freeway widening project has more than tripled and may cost as much as 4.5 billion dollars according to the San Diego Union Tribune article.
While I realize that there is money allocated for this project through special half cent sales tax, the project will need additional state and federal funds which can be huge problem given the current state of their respective budgets. The state of California is having trouble funding 
education and keeping basic services open five days a week.
What would be great to see would be making our local communities more livable thus reducing the need to drive to other areas for services, entertainment, retail, jobs, etc. I experienced a dramatic shift in traffic conditions when gas hit $4.00 a gallon. It was apparent many people thought about their driving habits.
I also notice the impact UCSD has on traffic on the 5. You know when school is out for breaks and when it starts in the fall. It’s too bad we can not figure out better mass transits to destination location such as UCSD and the Del Mar fairgrounds. There has been discussion about a seasonal Coaster platform at the fairgrounds. We could incentivize the use of mass transit with special admission pricing for those that take the coaster. There could be a dedicated gate for use by Coaster passengers only.
Californians and their cars.
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Wednesday is the new Saturday 45 miler
May 18th, 2010 Categories: San Diego County Bike Rides, San Diego County Community News, Triathlon Club of San Diego Race Reports
ENCINITAS- Well with only 6 weeks left before Ironman Coeur d’Alene I wanted to get in a two loop ride emulating the bike course at IMCDA. Here it is.
We will be leaving my office in Encinitas, Sea Coast Exclusive Properties, at 9:00 if you would like to come along.
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If it sounds to good to be true….
May 15th, 2010 Categories: Real Estate News, San Diego County Community News, San Diego County Fixer of the Week, San Diego county Real Estate News, San Diego homes for sale
SAN DIEGO- I do not know how many times I have had to explain to a client that the price they see listed on a short sale is not necessarily ‘real’ and that they still need to consider the comparable property values. When the news is screaming about how depressed the real estate market is it is EXTREMELY difficult to convince a client that they need to pay MORE than the asking price.
Often homes that are being sold short are listed well undervalue. The listing agent uses the fact that they do not have access to the decision maker, the bank, in order to determine what the bank will accept. I understand this and realize ‘short sales’ are a pain in the neck, but there is being realistic in your pricing and there are times when pricing is just irresponsible.
Take the home pictured as example. It was originally listed at $280,000, which would be the deal of the century. The listing agent priced it almost 50% below what the bank determined was the value of the home and they are now waiting on an offer at or close to $410,000.
If you are currently looking to purchase a home(call me), you do need to investigate and consider short sale listings. However, please take a look at the comparable sold homes and try to be realistic in your expectations. The bank will be doing there due diligence to determine market value of the property so they do not make blind decisions. If you have to write an offer $100,000.00 over the asking price don’t worry about it if you really want to try to get the home and the value is there.
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Checkout my latest listing
May 15th, 2010 Categories: San Diego County Community News, San Diego homes for sale
This is a great 5 bedroom home in South Carlsbad’s La Coast Valley. Close to the beach, Carlsbad’s Forum Shops, the Encinitas shopping district, Encinitas Ranch Golf Course and more.
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Encinitas Sports Festival and Triathlon
May 13th, 2010 Categories: San Diego County Community News, San Diego County Triathlon Race Reports, San Diego county Real Estate News, Triathlon Club of San Diego Race Reports, What to do in San Diego
ENCINITAS- Once again Encinitas plays host to the county’s runners, cyclists, paddlers and triathletes with this and next weekend’s Encinitas Sports Festival and two sports festival expo featuring 40+ booths full of the latest in sports, fitness and health.
The weekend of the 15th and 16th is all about the beach starting with a 5K run on Saturday morning starting at the Moonlight beach parking lot, which is also the site of the expo. Also on Saturday will be the 3 and 6 mile Encinitas ocean paddle competition with 6 divisions.
On Sunday, the triathletes and swimmers get their day with a sprint triathlon and 1 mile ocean swim. The Encinitas triathlon features two distances. The sprint distance race, 750m/20k/5k, or the super sprint, 375m/10k/2.5k or for those that are not swimmers, there is the duathlon option which is a 1.5k beach run, a 10k bike leg and then a 2.5k run.
The following weekend, Saturday the 22nd, the cyclists have their day with the San Diego Century Bicycle Tour. This event, starting at Mira Costa College’s San Elijo campus in Encinitas features three distance rides of 37, 66 or 103 miles which takes participants east to Ramona. A great feature of this event is the organizers commitment to the environment making this a green ride. Their efforts include, but are not limited to;
Recycle and correctly dispose of all event waste Avoid use of plastic bottles, bags and containers Arrange for surplus food and clothes to be donated to local organizations for re-use Work to make all rider benefits re-usable incent riders to participate by arranging benefits; i.e.; preferred parking for share rides; discounts for riders who “ride in-ride out”. Register, support and work with local Environmental Organizations
So whether you bike, run, swim, walk, paddle or volunteer, the Encinitas Sports Festival has something for everyone.
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Wednesday’s the New Saturday 70 miler
May 3rd, 2010 Categories: San Diego County Bike Rides, San Diego County Community News, What to do in San Diego
ENCINITAS- This weeks ride will start at my office, Sea Coast Exclusive Properties 900 S. Coast Hwy, Encinitas, and head east. We will be doing 70 miles taking Del Dios out to Valley Center to visit Circle R and W. Lilac and then head home down the Oceanside bike path and the coast. Heading down the coast will be a great opportunity to flush out the legs as when we get back there will be a 40 minute transition run. Ride time should be about 4.5.
The ride will start at 8:00 am, not our normal 9:00.
Any questions, I can be reached at 760.415.3329. Real estate questions are greatly appreciated as well!!
Hope to see you there!!
Wednesday’s the new Saturday 70 miler
Find more Bike Rides in Encinitas, California
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Keeping mortgage rates in perspective
April 8th, 2010 Categories: Real Estate News, San Diego County Community News, San Diego county Real Estate News, San Diego homes for sale
SAN DIEGO- Holy smokes, you’d think that mortgage interest rates trajectory over the last week is something comparable to the liftoff of the space shuttle!! Look at this headline from Bankrate.com, but read the accompanying information.
Mortgage rates soar to 5-month highs
The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 12 basis points this week, to 5.35 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point
Now this is a key sentence; A basis point in one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. So the 12 basis points is 12 one hundredths of a percent. That’s not even close to soaring in my book!! Additionally, if you continue on with their article there is this handy little chart to illustrate the enormity of the impact this is going to have on the consumer. If you are getting a $165,000 mortgage, the SOARING interest rate will impact your payment by roughly $12.00!!!
Now I realize there are few $165,000 mortgages being written in San Diego, so let’s look at the difference of payments would be on a loan of $400,000.
According to mortgagecalculator.com a loan of $400,000 at 5% would have a monthly payment of $2174.29. That same loan amount at 5.3% would be 2221.22. That’s less than $50/month or 2.6%. Now I understand fifty dollars is fifty dollars, but when it is less than 2.5% I do not see this as a jump, leap or soaring. It’s simply rates are going up from historic lows.
If you would like to see rates soaring, take a look at the graph paying attention to the time between 1977 and 1981.
On the good news front, and why I believe there is not a trend developing here, is the fed realizes the importance of maintaining interest rates at or near current levels. Chairman Bernake discussed this on Wednesday and the vice chairman reiterated this view today.
Echoing remarks on Wednesday by Fed chairman Bernanke, Fed vice chairman Donald Kohn on Thursday said a gradual U.S. economic recovery marked by high unemployment
and tame inflation will require interest rates to remain very low for an "extended period".
The Fed’s promise to keep rates low is contingent though on economic conditions such as an absence of strong private demand and a reluctance by businesses to hire, Kohn indicated.
"We cannot provide a precise timetable for when short-term interest rates will begin to return to normal because that depends on the evolution of actual and projected activity and inflation," Kohn said in a speech to a luncheon sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco- reuters.com
Oh and by the way, rates today tumbled
to 5.21%.
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San Diego’s housing appreciation problem
April 2nd, 2010 Categories: Real Estate News, San Diego County Community News, San Diego county Real Estate News, San Diego homes for sale
SAN DIEGO- Well the good news is San Diego is leading the southern California region with continuing monthly gains in housing values. The bad news, San Diego is leading the southern California region with continuing monthly gains in housing values.
Adibi said San Diego seems to be ahead of the rest of Southern California, in that it hit bottom first — the cyclical median low of $280,000 occurred in January 2009.
“San Diego is the first one coming out; it hit bottom first,” he said, and job losses aren’t as bad as elsewhere in the region. “San Diego fared better than anyone else in the recession.” – Esmael Adibi at the Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University in Orange,www.signonsandiego.com
With an appreciation rate from January to January of 5.9%, San Diego was one of the top regional markets according to January’s S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index.
While this is good news, one of the problems that comes with this increase are homes not appraising for the agreed upon contract price. See, appraisals are done looking backwards and with the current climate homes are selling for more than the comparable values will support.
I have had two escrows out of five in the last thirty days where this happened. I have spoken with fellow agents and lenders and they are experiencing this also. Both of my escrows closed under two different circumstances.
The first was a home in Clairemont that appraised for approximately $25,000 less than the accepted contract price. My client in this transaction felt that this did not represent the real value of the home and agreed to have a new appraisal done. The new appraisal came up short also, but this time by $10,000. The buyer and the bank decided to split the difference and everyone was happy.
In the second escrow, the home in the San Marcos came up about $10,000 short of the agreed upon price. This transaction was a short sale, so the bank was the decision maker. While my clients were willing to pay the difference, myself and the listing agent first wanted to see if we could get the bank to absorb the difference. It took about a week and a half, but the bank agreed to sale the home for the appraised value.
If you are in the market looking to buy a new home(AND your not working with me) and you run into this problem remember you have a couple of choices. First, your lender will loan on the home, but they will base their loan on the appraised value and you will have to pay the difference as part of your closing costs.
OR, the option most favorable to the buyer, is to try to hold the line and get the seller to reduce their price to the appraised value or at the very least try to find a middle ground. If you were in a multiple offer situation this may be difficult, but you should try.
Then there is the appraisal challenge. With home prices still falling in many markets, an appraisal below the purchase price puts the deal in jeopardy. That is because a low appraisal means the buyer must come up with more cash or the seller must lower the price to keep the deal alive.
David Romero, who has 17 Century 21 offices in Southern California, says that has been a problem in San Diego, where lower-priced properties are in demand and buyers sometimes get into bidding wars.-www.online.wsj.com
Lastly, as evidence that this is becoming prevalent, the two questions pictured here(click to enlarge) are part of a FANNIE MAE addendum I had to fill out as part of an offer on a home in Oceanside that is owned by FANNIE MAE. If you come across this, I advise my clients to never agree to a term that would cause you to lose two very important contingencies. Especially without all the facts.
Happy house hunting!!
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