Real Estate Tidbits

February 2012: This Month in Real Estate and How to Improve Your Credit Score When Buying a Home

January 2012: This Month in Real Estate and Benefits of Selling in Winter

December 2011: This Month in Real Estate and Why Sellers Sell

November 2011: This Month in Real Estate & 3 Secrets to Home Ownership

Octobert 2011: This Month in Real Estate & One of the Most Important Things a Buyer Wants When Looking to Buy a Home

September 2011: This Month in Real Estate & Preparing Your Home to Sell

Is It Still a Good Time to Buy Real Estate? Here are 3 Reasons the Answer is YES!

With all that's been going on in the the stock market, the real estate market, and in the global and nationwide economies, many wonder if now is a good time to buy or invest in real estate.  While that's certainly a fair question, think about the positives of buying in today's historically-low real estate market.

1. Prices are LOW:  Home prices are down by 50% or more in many areas, especially here in the Sacramento area.  El Dorado and Placer county values have dropped significantly, too, within the past five years.  Think of it this way:  Homes are ON SALE... up to 50% OFF and MORE!
2. Interest Rates are LOW:  Interest rates are the lowest we've seen them in decades.  They can't get much lower.  Those buyers who wait for lower real estate prices, may possibly pay less in price but, when interest rates go up, that savings on price may be lost by the interest rate increase.
3. LOTS of homes to choose from:  We're seeing available home inventories at some of the highest levels in many years.  There are LOTS of choices... regular sales (those with equity), short sales (those where the current owners owe more than the homes are worth), and REOs/foreclosures (those owned by the banks following a foreclosure).

So... as you can see, now may be the BEST TIME to buy.  Remember... the greatest opportunities are often had within the worst of times.  Those who succeed greatly often do it when others run for the hills. 

Call me and we can discuss the potential opportunties available for you.

August 2011: This Month in Real Estate

July 2011: This Month in Real Estate

June 2011: This Month is Real Estate

May 2011: This Month in Real Estate

April 2011: This Month in Real Estate

Almost Half of All Foreclosures in Just Four States

Interesting bit of information... although not surprising.

According to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), about 42% of our nation's foreclosures are in Arizona, Nevada, Florida and, of course, California.

And the Sacramento area plays a significant role in California's foreclosure activity. And while this is very unfortunate for those people who lose their homes to foreclosure, it presents tremendous opportunities for those who want to buy a home... either to live in or for investment. 

Prices and interest rates are at near record lows, so it's truly a great time to buy.

March 2011: This Month in Real Estate

February 2011: This Month in Real Estate

Many Buyers Think Foreclosures are Hard to Buy... Think Again!

It's true... many of the buyers I talk to try to avoid foreclosures because they think the buying process for foreclosures is more complex and takes longer than traditional sales.  As a Realtor who has sold literally hundreds of foreclosures in the past few years, I can honestly say that, in many respects, foreclosures are much easier to buy than a home sold by an actual homeowner.

Many people get confused between foreclosures - also called bank-owned or REO (real estate owned) properties - and short sales.  Short sales are those properties where the homeowner owes more on the mortgage than the property is worth and the sellers are trying to get their mortgage holder to agree to take less than the outstandning mortgage... those sales (short sales) can indeed take much longer than a traditional sales... often many months.

Foreclosures, on the other hand, are bank-owned properties that the bank wants to sell, mitigate their loss, and get the property off their books. Those properties, contrary to popular belief, are actually very easy to buy. 

And while there are some typical restrictions to buying foreclosures, like often they're sold AS-IS, and there's little negotiation after the escrow process has begun, the process overall is much like a traditional sale. Even the time lines are consistent with a traditional sale... often 30 - 45 days to close a transaction.

In addition, many people think all foreclosures are dumps or in poor condition. While that's true for some properties, many are very nice homes where the previous owners fell on hard times, but took great care of the property.  I've sold many, many foreclosures that were absolutely gorgeous.  So, just because it's a "foreclosure," don't automatically think it's in bad shape. 

So... if you're in the market to buy, either to live in or for investment, certainly don't pass up looking at the foreclosures that are for sale.  They make up a large portion of the available properties on the market... check 'em out.

Also read:

Who's Buying Distressed Properties
Foreclosure Properties Often Get Multiple Offers

Home Buyers See the Amazing Benefits of Buying in Today's Market

Yes, it's true... every time you watch the news, there's another story about how bad the real estate market is and how much worse it's supposed to get.  Of course, negative news is what the media is all about.

While much of the news in real estate has been "less than positive" over the past few years, many savvy buyers see "opportunity" where others see "doom and gloom."

Napolean Hill, author of the classic book Think and Grow Rich said it best: "Out of every adversity comes the seed of equal or greater benefit."  And that includes the current real estate market.

The current market boasts three main "seeds of equal or greater benefit" to those buyers open to seeing them:

1. SUPER-LOW HOME PRICES:  We haven't seen prices this low in many years.  And with many sellers and banks (who are selling foreclosures) willing to negotiate on price, buyers are getting homes for up to 50% or more below their peak prices just a few years ago. Homes and other real estate are really "on sale."
2. SUPER-LOW INTEREST RATES:  Recently, we've seen interest rates hit historically-low levels.  Rates under 5% are still available (as of this writing) with buyers financing with 15-year mortgages sometimes getting rates in the 3's.
3. PLENTY OF INVENTORY TO CHOOSE FROM:  While inventories are lower now than they were a couple years ago, there's still lots to choose from.  With foreclosures, short sales, and traditional sales... there are many options for buyers looking to buy to live in or for investment.

If you're considering buying for the first time, looking to sell your current home and buy another, or if you're looking to take adavantage of the investment opportunities currently available, then give us a call.  Let's discuss the possibilities.

Also check out:  Why Should Buyers Buy During the Current Recession?

 

Millions of Homeowners are Deep Underwater

Of course, the title of this blog post is not news to anyone these days.

To get more specific, however, according to Moody's Analytic's calculations of Equifax credit records, in addition to government data, more than 4 million borrowers nationwide are more than 50 percent underwater.  "Underwater," of course, meaning that they owe more than their homes are worth.

That includes about 672,000 in California alone - one of the nation's hardest hit states in the real estate downturn.

Unfortunately, many of these borrowers will end up in foreclosure or end up having to do a short sale to "escape" their predicament.

Many experts believe 2011 will be another rough year for foreclosures, but maybe that means 2012 will be the start of a brighter future for real estate and our country's economic outlook.

January 2011: This Month in Real Estate

December 2010: This Month in Real Estate

November 2010: This Month in Real Estate

October 2010: This Month in Real Estate

September 2010: This Month in Real Estate

Some Interesting Real Estate Tidbits

Here are some interesting "tidbits" in current real estate news:

• According to Core Logic, the number of short sales (sales where home sellers owe more than their homes are worth) have tripled since 2008. California and the Sunbelt have been particularly hit hard. And there's no end in sight... at least not until the real estate and mortgage industries stabilize.
• With home prices continuing to fall in most areas throughout the country, more and more borrowers are having their home values drop below what they owe on their mortgage(s). According to Zillow.com, over 20% of the nation's borrowers are "underwater" - owing more than their homes are worth. These underwater properties, also called "negative-equity" properties, are one of the top reasons borrowers go into foreclosure, second only to loss of income.
• As usual, the foreclosure numbers continue to go up and down.  According to CNNMoney.com, nationwide foreclosure numbers for July 2010 were up 3.6% from the month before, but down 9.7% from 12 months earlier.  What's new?  The market continues to offer mixed messages.

August 2010: This Month in Real Estate