During the 4th quarter of 2010, over half of the metropolitan areas have experienced price gains from a year ago, but the rest of the areas did not. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun is encouraged by the trend and says the sales in the last quarter of 2010 has absorbed much of the inventory including distress properties. This could be a good sign that we may be recovering. With the continued improvement of the market and more jobs become available, the market will be back to normal.
Interest rates have been a big factor in sustaining the sales of homes. Last year we have seen interest rates at its all time low, but the rates have been inching up. This is a reaction to the housing recovery that we might be experiencing. We may never see rates lower then 5% in the future. In my 30 years of working in this industry, I thought I would never see interest rates lower than 6%, but it did happen. If you’re planning to finance a purchase or refinancing an existing property, you may want to do it now before the rates go sky high.
Have you been hearing about the looming wave of foreclosures coming? Well, it’s slowly coming to the market place. With the economic problems we are facing, it is taking a toll on everybody. We are still not out of our crisis. Some areas in the country are really going through hard times. California is so lucky, we have four cities out of eight, that ranks as the most miserable cities in the United States. Let’s hope that things don’t get any worst!!!
Home prices dropped 4.1% annually, in 2010. Although there was an increase in prices, overall 70% of the major market prices experienced a decline and 8 had double digit declines. There were 6 markets in California that managed to have some price gain.
Unfortunately, 2011 will probably be the same, unless unemployment and distressed homes decrease. Until there are more jobs and less people loosing their homes, we will not see too many price gains.
HUD has created a website for the public to be able to research a wide variety of economic and housing market data at the regional, state, metropolitan area and county levels. This information is being provided by the Census Bureau, Labor Dept., state and local government, housing industry sources, as well as HUD’s own economist. You’ll be able to look at “Market at a glance” reports, Regional Housing Market profiles, regional Narratives, and a Comprehensive housing market analysis.
Now that we are in the last part of the year, how is the real estate market? Well for the month of September, existing home sales were up by 10% from the month of August. However, sales are down by 19.1% compared to September 2009. This is a great opportunity for buyers to take advantage of the market. It’s no wonder that Americans still think about owning their own home. 80% of Americans believe in buying a home is a good financial decision.
Are you wondering what your home is worth these days? The California Association of REALTORS have published the results. Some areas have experienced some appreciation. My guess is that the valueshave bottomed out and are starting to go up. San Francisco and the peninsula home values seem to be doing better then a lot of other areas.
Everybody has gone shopping for one thing or another so this should apply to mortgage loans too. By taking the time to shop around for the best rates available, you could be saving thousands of dollars during the life time of the loan. So it pays to be aware of the cost associated in obtaining a loan. Not to mention, you will be more confident about affording and purchasing that home that says “buy me”.
After all, purchasing a property could be the most expensive thing you buy in your life time. Why not take the plunge now? With the lowest interest rates ever available and lots of homes to choose from, plus slow economic recovery of the market, this is the best time to do so.
Have you been thinking about when it may be the best time to purchase a property? Well, here’s 5 reasons why you might want to make that big step now. Don’t forget, real estate has cycles. We are now in a buyer’s cycle and it’s the best time to take advantage of the market place. Remember, not too long ago, the last seller’s market? Do you remember when prices went through the roof and properties were selling like hot cakes? Does multiple offers to buy a home and bidding over the asking price sound familiar? Well, it’s better now. If you can get into a property today, you’ll be able to ride the wave of the next seller’s market.
So how are you going to get the money to take advantage of the opportunity? Unless you have lots of cash to make that purchase, you should see your banker or loan agent to see how much you can borrow. If you need to scrape up some money for a down payment, here’s 7 ways that may help. Good Luck!
According to Realty Trac, “A total of 340,740 California properties received a foreclosure filing in the first half of 2010, the nation’s highest total but down 15 percent from the previous six months and down nearly 13 percent from the first six months of 2009.”
It is encouraging to know that the foreclosures are on a decline, however is the real estate market going to survive the next wave of REOs? I think it will as long as the interest rates stay at today’s levels, unemployment declines, and the demand for housing remains strong.
The San Francisco market is a great example. Although the hardest hit areas in San Francisco, are in the lower and medium priced homes, the home sales have increased and spurred on the sales of the more expensive areas of the city. It is expected to continue for the rest of the 2010.
Since we have been in this recession for a while now, what’s your feeling about the results from all of the government bail outs? Some areas have seen some improvement but some have not. There have been some many different programs that have been implemented to help everybody, but is it really working or are we digging a big whole, deficit, for our future generations to pay?
