Comments Off | Thursday, September 22, 2011
As we are getting into the last quarter of the year, San Francisco and the Bay Area have gone through a lot of changes. They could be good or bad depending on how you look at it. As I have mentioned on another post, what will the city be like in the next 5 years? I believe it should be at a point of recovery. We’ll see.
2 comments | Saturday, September 17, 2011
In many areas in the nation, there are areas that are cheaper to buy a home then to rent. You now can find a home for $100,000 in New York and through out the country including Hawaii.
It may seem like some areas have not been affected by the economy but that is not true. The properties that sell really quickly are usually the cream of the neighborhood.
The Bay Area has been hit as well but not as bad as other areas. It will be a while before we get out of this mess.
Comments Off | Friday, May 20, 2011
Although home sales have increased, the prices have decreased in 118 markets across the country. Prices have declined approx. 7.5% in March from a year ago. This is the eighth straight month of declining prices. So what’s keeping the sales going? I believe that the low interest rates and affordable prices are keeping sales alive.
San Francisco is showing signs of recovery along with San Mateo county. With gas prices continuing to rise, many buyers are moving back to big cities where they don’t have to use their car. This may be one reason why San Francisco has been experiencing a brisk recovery.
Comments Off | Sunday, April 17, 2011
If you plan to purchase a home in the near future, you might want to speed up the process in order to have 3.5% of your closing cost paid by Fannie Mae. That’s right, Fannie Mae is trying to decrease their inventory of REOs. If you close on a HomePath property by June 30, 2011, you’ll be able to save 3.5% of the purchase price in closing cost. So act now!!!!
Comments Off | Saturday, April 2, 2011
There are about 78,000 homes that are either vacant and for sale, or under construction. This is an improvement and with a normal level of buying, the homes would sell in 2 1/2 months. The study shows that there is a housing shortage brewing. If this happens, then it would change the market to a seller’s market and buyers will have a hard time purchasing again. The market today is still considered a buyer’s market and there are more bargain hunters out looking for deals. More investors are also very active making all cash purchases. There are 6 cities that are considered to be cheaper then renting the same house. All this may be history if unemployment rises, which it is decreasing today, interest rates continue to rise and become non deductible.
Comments Off | Monday, March 28, 2011
For the third month in a row, mortgage lates, 90 days or more, have declined. This could be another sign of recovery. With fewer defaults, the inventory level of REOs and short sales should go down as well. Could this be the bottom or is it a double dip situation. Only time will provide us with an answer. Either way, now is still a good time to purchase real estate.
Comments Off | Friday, March 25, 2011
In the coming months San Francisco will experience an increase in closed sales because the number of pending sales has increased by 8.9% which represents 2.6 months of the current supply of homes. If supplies continue to decrease and demand stays strong, maybe a seller’s market might be on the horizon.
The market will change if employment increases and interest rates stays affordable. However, if more distressed homes come on the market, we may not see a market shift for a long time or we may see a double dip in prices.
Comments Off | Monday, March 21, 2011
Home sales have fallen in February and is normal for a uneven recovery. According to Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, even though properties are more affordable and the economy is improving, we will continue to see a rocky recovery as long as we have problems with tight credit and lower prices.
Comments Off | Friday, March 18, 2011
Home prices declined 3.8% in February compared to last year, however they are up 4.2% from two years ago. Could this be a sign of our recovery or maybe the double dip is about to happen? It’s hard to say but it is a great time to purchase a property. Interest rates are still at all time lows, prices have gone down, there are a lot of properties to choose from, and you still have some tax benefits. When you’re ready, there are a lot of things to consider.
Comments Off | Sunday, March 6, 2011
In January, pending home sales declined however, the data is based on contracts signed in January not closings. According to Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist, “The housing market is healing with sales fluctuating at times, depending on the flow of distressed properties coming on the market,” he said. He expects the recovery will be a straight upward path because there is still an elevated level of shadow inventory of distressed homes and interest rates are still historically low.
According to the Wall Street Journal, there are plenty of signs that the housing market finally bottoming out. If investors and buyers continue to take advantage of the most affordable housing in decades, prices will probably bottom out in 2011.
