With today’s economic conditions, some people find it hard to save or even pay their bills. There are ways to cope with our lack of funds. If you really think about how much you spend everyday and for what, you might be surprised that you can cut down on your spending and save for another rainy day.
You may also think about where your money is being kept. Are you receiving a fair return on your investment? If you’re saving money with bank CD’s or other bank related products, you maybe cheating yourself from getting the most return for your hard earned money. There are other investments out there that can provide you with higher returns.
Where did the year go!!!! The holidays are just around the corner and it’s time to look back and think about next year. This year has been better then last year in terms of the market. Property values have gone down so low that it has spurred a lot of buyers to purchase instead of renting. Some areas have decreased in price to what it use to be 10 years ago. The market seems to be stabilizing and the government is trying a bunch of stuff to help.
The home buyers
tax credit has been extended to April of 2010 and it has expanded the credit to existing owners too.
There is a HUD credit counseling
website, that is designed to help people that are having a hard time with their payments.
The real estate market is still not fully recovered but there are positive signs that we are at the bottom and maybe moving up. The prices of homes fell so much that it is tempting many renters to buy a home instead of renting. The monthly payments might be the same especially when you include your tax savings. Rates are still affordable and there are many homes to choose from. The only problem we have is that many of these homes have gone down so far in price that it is creating a buying frenzy. Many of the homes that are less then $400k are getting multiple offers. Be patient because there is talk that more REO’s and Short Sales are going to hit the market next year.
For the 6th straight month, homes that are in contract has been increasing. This means more sold homes in the next couple of months. NAR chief economist says the housing market momentum has clearly turned to the better. He also expects home sales to rise through the 4th quarter of this year.
For more information, please click on the following link:
http://rismedia.com/2009-09-01/pending-home-sales-on-a-roll-up-for-sixth-straight-month/
San Francisco is experiencing an increase of sales prices for median priced single family homes. The prices rose about 3% between June and July of this year for the 4th consecutive month. The Median sales price is $785,000. The inventory is lower and there are 644 active listings for sale. And it takes less time, about 46 days, to sell the home. This is due to the availability of low interest rate loans consumer confidence and the reduction in prices.
For more information, click on the links below.
http://www.sfrealtors.com/pdf/realtor_advantage/Revised_Press_Release_August.pdf
http://www.sfrealtors.com/pdf/realtor_advantage/Revised_Market_Focus_August2009.pdf
Summer is almost over and I hope you’re enjoying the season.
The worst recession in 70 yeas is also showing signs of being over too. The Commerce Dept. reported that the economy shrank at an annualized rate of 1% which is better then the 6.4% shrinkage in the first quarter of this year. Economist think the economy is poised for growth, but slowly. You can read more of the state of the economy by clicking this link: http://rismedia.com/2009-08-03/signs-of-life-slower-decline-may-signal-recessions-end/.
The market currently in San Mateo county is also showing signs of a rebound. The information below is from the San Mateo MLS showing the market activity from the end of the 1st quarter to the end of the 2nd quarter. As you can see there has been an increase of new listings, a decrease of homes for sale, an increase of homes sold, a decrease of marketing time, the average sales price increased, and the median price increased. This is totally opposite of what the market was doing last year. If you would like more information about your area, please let me know and I’ll be happy to furnish you the information.
| Single Family Residential |
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| Years |
New Listings |
Current Inventory |
Closed Sales |
Average DOM |
Average Sales Price |
Median Sales Price |
Total Sales Volume |
|
| 2009-Q1 |
1689 |
1627 |
635 |
84 |
738,831 |
560,000 |
468,419,476 |
|
| 2009-Q2 |
1768 |
1500 |
1066 |
75 |
893,332 |
682,500 |
949,612,038 |
|
| Summary |
7428 |
1285 |
3833 |
70 |
1,013,672 |
|
3,880,337,152 |
|
| |
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It’s not too late to purchase something now. Buyers still can get tax credits for buying their first home, interest rates are still low and affordable, and the prices have bottomed out and are on the way up. I can tell you that the days of multiple offers are here again in a lot of areas.
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