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I have gotten a lot of questions about this lately. Here is the official news release from the Department of Justice.
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/May/11-crt-683.html
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| Posted by Robin Hurtado at | | | |
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http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/San-Diego-Home-Prices-Climbing/pQ4CCZjiXEC5qduYoaTeKA.cspx?rss=800 San Diego Home Prices Climbing
SAN DIEGO - San Diego and Los Angeles were the only large metropolitan
areas to show an increase in housing prices in January 2010 over
December 2009, and among the few to post significant gains over the
previous year, according to a Standard & Poor's report released
Tuesday.
The
S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Indices tracks residential real estate
costs in 20 major housing markets against a baseline of 100 set in
January 2000, without listing an actual average housing price.
The
monthly increase for the San Diego housing market was 0.4 percent.
Prices jumped 5.9 percent between January 2009 and January 2010,
according to the report.
San Diego's price index of 156.95 reflects appreciation in value of nearly 57 percent in the past 10 years.
In
Los Angeles, the monthly jump was 0.9 percent, and the annual hike was
3.9 percent. The index now stands at 172.98, or appreciation of nearly
73 percent during this decade, the second-largest behind Washington,
D.C.
The national figures covering the 20 major metropolitan
areas were a monthly drop of 0.4 percent, a yearly decline of 0.7
percent and a 10-year appreciation of 45 percent.
"The report
is mixed," said David Blitzer, the chairman of the Standard &
Poor's Index Committee. "While we continue to see improvements in the
year-over-year data for all 20 cities, the rebound in housing prices
seen last fall is fading."
Fewer cities experienced
month-to-month gains in January as did in December, and prices in four
cities reached new lows, Blitzer said.
He also said housing
starts remain extremely low, the numbers of home sales show the market
is still difficult, and there are still concerns about future
foreclosures and a large "shadow inventory" of unsold homes. |
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| Posted by Robin Hurtado at | | | |
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http://gov.ca.gov/index.php?/print-version/press-release/14712/
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PRESS RELEASE |
03/25/2010 GAAS:195:10 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Governor Schwarzenegger Signs $10,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit Legislation
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today returned to the La Ventana Homes
project in Fresno where he kicked off his campaign to extend and expand
the hugely successful homebuyer tax credit to sign legislation that
will do just that. AB 183,
authored by Assemblymember Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) and Senator Roy
Ashburn (R-Bakersfield), will provide a tax credit of up to $10,000 to
Californians who are buying their first home or purchasing a brand new
home. This legislation, part of the Governor’s larger California Jobs Initiative, will play a key role in getting our economy moving again by encouraging home ownership and stimulating job creation.
“I have been up and down the state pushing this important housing
bill that will get people off the fence and into homes while creating
jobs and stimulating our economy – and today I am proud to take action
and put it into law,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “Creating jobs is
my number one priority and I am glad that I have been able to sign two
job-creating bills in two days. I applaud the legislature for their
great work and encourage them to keep it up and pass the remaining
job-creating elements of my California Jobs Initiative.”
AB 183 was passed by the legislature on March 22 and gives the
Franchise Tax Board authority to extend a total of $200 million in tax
credits to California homebuyers; $100 million for buyers of new,
unoccupied homes and another $100 million for first-time buyers of
existing homes. The credit will be extended from May 1, 2010 to
December 31, 2010. The tax credit will be available to buyers on a
first-come, first-served basis and is applied in equal amounts over a
period of three taxable years. To qualify, the buyer must not be a
dependant and must purchase a home that does not belong to a relative.
Governor Schwarzenegger fought hard to extend and expand the
homebuyer tax credit after its successful run in 2009. That $100
million tax credit, which was approved in February 2009, ran out after
just four months with 10,659 Californians claiming the credit –
increasing home purchases, jumpstarting building projects and boosting
local economies. In fact, La Ventana Homes saw a 300 percent increase
in sales when the tax credit went into effect.
The homebuyer tax credit is a part of the larger California Jobs Initiative that
the Governor proposed in his State of the State address in January to
create jobs and stimulate the economy. Today’s bill is the second piece
of it to be approved by the legislature. A sales tax exemption on
green-tech manufacturing equipment was also approved to encourage green
businesses to relocate and invest in California. The Governor signed that yesterday.
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| Posted by Robin Hurtado at | | | |
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From the San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego County home prices
dropped 29.6 percent over the last year, twice the national rate, the
National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.
The resale median price for single-family homes was
pegged at $323,200, down from $459,000 in the first quarter of last
year. The rate of decline ranked 17th nationally and compared with a
13.8 percent drop experienced by all metro areas as whole.
The first quarter report on 152 metro areas also found
that San Diego's median price now ranks 11th in the country, the lowest
in years, making the area relatively more affordable than other
high-priced markets.
Cape Coral-Ft. Myers, Fla., ranked first in
year-over-year price drop, down 59.1 percent to $87,300. Twenty-three
metro areas experienced an increase over the same period with the
Cumberland, Md., area stretching into West Virginia up the most, 21.1
percent to $114,900.
In terms of prices, San Diego's median – the midway point
of all prices with half above and half below that figure – was down
from $601,800 in 2006, when the area ranked as the fifth-most-expensive
market nationally.
With much of California prices down from their 2005-06
peaks, there are only three metro areas in the state among the top 10 –
San Jose at second with $450,000; Orange County at third with $435,800;
and San Francisco at fifth with $402,000.
Honolulu, Hawaii, ranked first with $570,000, a figure
that was down 8.1 percent from a year earlier. Akron, Ohio, was the
least expensive at $50,100, 48 percent down from a year ago.
According to the association's figures, San Diego is down
46.3 percent from 2006, compared with a national decline of 23.8
percent to $169,000 over the same period.
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| Posted by Robin Hurtado at | | | |
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I have to put out a plea to my fellow military families out there. If you are unhappy in housing, GIVE ME A CALL! I have experience with VA loans, and I really feel that right now is the most opportune time for service members to buy. This past year BAH rates went up pretty significantly, and the VA Loan program is one of the BEST right now! If you will see in my earlier blog, two years ago it was "still alive" but it looked less enticing when compared to the CalHFA and other first time buyer programs. Well my friends, with tighter lending restrictions came the end to most of those programs, and CalHFA no longer has a zero-down option. We are in the unique situation of having one of the most stable jobs in the economy right now, an awesome Home Loan Program with a rate lower than most conventional loans at present, an increased BAH rate in the San Diego area, one of the ONLY programs with a zero-down option, AND a wealth of distressed properties ripe for the picking! The last two deals I closed were BOTH VA loans with no down, BOTH purchasing under $300k, in what touts itself as the "Best New Home Community" in San Diego for ten years running. One of the properties actually appraised for $15k OVER what my clients paid for it! If you are thinking about buying, give me a call or shoot me an email. ALL inquiries are NO-OBLIGATION! I can get you invaluable information to help you make an informed decision, and if you do choose to buy, you can do so with the knowledge that you have an agent by your side who has learned how successfully navigate THIS market.
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| Posted by Robin Hurtado at | | | |
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Well, as much as the Real Estate Powers that were tried to fight it, we did have a "bubble burst" of sorts in the San Diego area. There are many areas of San Diego that have remained a bit immune to this market "softening" (to put it lightly.) There are some areas, however, that are suffering HUGE losses in value. Is this necessarily a bad thing? In the early 2000's we were looking at an inflated market. Speculation upon speculation and predatory lending practices drove the market up much faster than it really should have risen. What we are now seeing is the "correction" that the experts knew was coming. What is really hurting the market in select areas is that people who weren't qualified were able to buy houses with inflated prices by using "creative financing." Personally, I think it is GOOD for people that we are experiencing this softening. Today's lending criteria is stronger, so the people buying right now are more qualified than the (more often than not) distressed sellers they are buying from, and the prices right now are more realistic in relation to value. (Tell me that it made any sense to look at a two-bedroom condo in Chula Vista, where the whole place is over the garage, and believe that it was worth $500,000.) It is now a SERIOUS buyer's market. If you have been waiting to buy, now is an AWESOME time! You have lowered prices, low interest rates, and up to $18,000 in tax credits available for buying this year!
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| Posted by Robin Hurtado at | | | |
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| Well, on my quest to be ever the more informed Realtor, I went to a seminar on VA Loans...I can confidently say now that VA loans LIVE! However; VA loans aren't the best thing for all...The truth of the matter is, VA loans require A LOT more paperwork on the part of the Lender/ Loan Agent. Many just don't want to take the extra time and effort to do it. |
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| Posted by Robin Hurtado at | | | |
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I recently went to a workshop on Living Trusts. After all that I
learned, I really feel like I should share the info, especially with
people who own or are interested in owning Real Estate. When one
passes away, as we all will, if you have a will, your estate will go
into Probate, where it is held and taxed and virtually sucked dry
before anyone one can touch it. Also, according to the Lawyer
giving the presentation, before your children are put into the care of
whoever you named in the will, they are taken by CPS while the courts
come to their decision. Creating a Living Trust, changing the
title of your home to reflect it is held in the trust, and naming the
caretaker of your children as part of the trust saves your estate
money, time, and heartache. I personally plan to make an
appointment with the lawyer and get one done myself, and I would urge
anyone with children or property to look into Trusts. If you
would like the info on the lawyer who conducted the workshop I went to,
feel free to email me. This is not an endorsement for anything, I just want people to be aware that there is a better way than a will.
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| Posted by Robin Hurtado at | | | |
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We have all heard for the past year or so about the
"housing bubble" and many are waiting in anticipation for it to
"burst." Well friends, I hate to "burst your bubble" (sorry, I
couldn't resist) but that is highly unlikely here in San Diego.
Why? Well, we've all heard the speculation. Now let's look at the
facts:
California is expected to grow by SEVEN TO ELEVEN MILLION people by the year 2025.
San Diego is already facing an immense affordable housing
shortage, as is evident in all those apartment- conversions and
developers desperate to build on any land, anywhere in San Diego- even
if it means cutting a chunk out of a hill or mountain to do it.
And in ten years when those houses slide down that mountain, they're
going to act shocked, as if it was absolutely unimaginable.
(Uh..... anybody been to Malibu?)
So, what does this mean? More people competing
for the already few homes out there. Sound like a situation where
an inflating price bubble is going to "burst" and the prices are going
to tumble? Not likely. Think back to High School Economics
class- Supply and Demand. When Demand goes up and Supply stays
steady or goes down.... prices go up.
So why all the bubble hype? Why does the media
fixate on these little phrases? Why are we immediatley informed
every time Britney Spears blinks while driving with her son in the
car? Because the media has told us so, and if it's on TV, it must
be true and important, right?
So what IS the market doing? Well, it's
slowing down. At least, appreciation appears to be. There
are about 19,000 properties for sale in the San Diego area this
May. That is a 5 year high. (The previous high point was in
November 2001, when there were 10,000 properties for sale, and at the
height of appreciation in March 2004, there were only 4,000 properties
for sale.) Meanwhile, the number of qualified buyers has remained
steady. The same number of buyers with more properties to choose
from means that now the sellers are having to compete for those
buyers. Pricing is becoming more competitive from the
seller's standpoint, because of course, what appeals more to a buyer
than a lower price! So we are seeing a slowing or leveling off in
appreciation, and in some areas, even (gasp!) slight depreciation. We are in the beginnings of a BUYER'S market!
So, maybe the media HAS helped us. If this
bubble mumbo-jumbo they have been forcing us to watch for the past year
has scared all these owners into selling before their equity plummets,
well then Thank You media mumbo-jumbo! Another thing that I
suspect has spurred on these high numbers is the increased use of
"creative financing" programs to help people afford these expensive
houses. All those people who used an Adjustable Rate Mortgage to
buy the unaffordable home of their dreams two years ago are now feeling a pinch as
mortgage rates increase and are expected to increase several more times
this year alone. They are realizing that Dream Home really WAS
unaffordable! And now, they must sell- one more house on
the market for buyers to choose from.
So sorry all of you out there waiting for this
bubble to burst so you can buy your 3,000 square foot dream home for
$200,000; it's probably not going to happen. However, with
slowing price increases and interest rates that are still historically
low but on the rise, now is certainly an excellent time to buy. (but PLEASE, if you can, get a FIXED rate, for your own good!)
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| Posted by Robin Hurtado at | | | |
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