C.A.R article on Home sales in California.

I just found this today and it’s a great article breaking down the home prices and the supply in different areas in California. You can see where things are picking up and where its still slow moving. Hope this helps you! Don’t forget you can look at homes for sale through my website- www.deannaforhomes.com

 

C.A.R. reports sales increased 18.1 percent; median home price fell 35.3 percent in May

LOS ANGELES (June 25) – Home sales increased 18.1 percent in May in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 35.3 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

“Home sales exceeded 400,000 last month for the first time since early 2007. While this is a welcome sign for the market, it was due in part to the large share of distressed homes for sale in many parts of the state,” said C.A.R. President William E. Brown. “Sales also rose above their year ago levels for the second month in a row after 30 consecutive months of year-to-year decreases. The lower prices associated with distressed sales along with favorable interest rates both contributed to higher sales levels.”

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 423,700 in May at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations statewide. Statewide home resale activity increased 18.1 percent from the revised 358,640 sales pace recorded in May 2007.

The statewide sales figure represents what the total number of homes sold during 2008 would be if sales maintained the May pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during May 2008 was $384,840, a 35.3 percent decrease from the revised $594,530 median for May 2007, C.A.R. reported. The May 2008 median price fell 4.7 percent compared with April’s $403,870 median price.

“The statewide median price declined 35.3 percent to $384,840 in May, a record for year-to-year percentage decreases in the median, reflecting the effect of large numbers of short sales and foreclosures in the market,” said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “With the statewide median in the $585,000- to $595,000-range through August of last year, we expect the market to continue to experience large year-to-year adjustments through the summer, even if the median price holds steady over the next few months.”

Highlights of C.A.R.’s resale housing figures for May 2008:

. C.A.R.’s Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes in May 2008 was 8.4 months, compared with 10.7 months (revised) for the same period a year ago. The index indicates the number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.

. Thirty-year fixed-mortgage interest rates averaged 6.04 percent during May 2008, compared with 6.26 percent in May 2007, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable-mortgage interest rates averaged 5.24 percent in May 2008, compared with 5.52 percent in May 2007.

. The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home was 49.7 days in May 2008, compared with 50.8 for the same period a year ago.

Regional MLS sales and price information is contained in the tables that accompany this press release. Regional sales data are not adjusted to account for seasonal factors that can influence home sales. The MLS median price and sales data for detached homes are generated from a survey of more than 90 associations of REALTORS® throughout the state. MLS median price and sales data for condominiums are based on a survey of more than 60 associations. The median price for both detached homes and condominiums represents closed escrow sales.

In a separate report covering more localized statistics generated by C.A.R. and DataQuick Information Systems, 4.1 percent, or 15 out of 369 cities and communities, showed an increase in their respective median home prices from a year ago. DataQuick statistics are based on county records data rather than MLS information. DataQuick Information Systems is a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates. (The top 10 lists are generated for incorporated cities with a minimum of 30 recorded sales in the month.)

Note: Large changes in local median home prices typically indicate both local home price appreciation, and often, large shifts in the composition of housing market activity. Some of the variations in median home prices for May may be exaggerated due to compositional changes in housing demand. The DataQuick tables listing median home prices in California cities and counties are accessible through C.A.R. Online at http://www.car.org/index.php?id=Mzg1Mjg.

 

. Statewide, the 10 cities with the highest median home prices in California during May 2008 were: Los Altos, $1,710,000; Burlingame, $1,700,500; Saratoga, $1,506,500; Mill Valley, $1,475,000; Los Gatos, $1,350,000; Newport Beach, $1,250,000; Cupertino, $1,172,500; Santa Barbara, $1,066,000; Rancho Palos Verdes, $950,000; San Carlos, $900,000.

. Statewide, the 10 cities with the greatest median home price increases in May 2008 compared with the same period a year ago were: Sonoma, 61 percent; Cupertino, 16.7 percent; Mill Valley, 14.6 percent; Los Gatos, 10.2 percent; Sunnyvale, 4.7 percent; Fullerton, 3 percent; Burlingame, 2.1 percent; Santa Barbara, 2 percent; Los Altos, 1.8 percent; Folsom, 0.5 percent.

Leading the way…® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States, with nearly 175,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

 

May 2008 Regional Sales and Price Activity*
Regional and Condo Sales Data Not Seasonally Adjusted

May-08	Median Price	Percent Change in Price from Prior Month	Percent Change in Price from Prior Year		Percent Change in Sales from Prior Month		Percent Change in Sales from Prior Year
	May-08	Apr-08		May-07		Apr-08	May-07
Statewide
Calif. (sf)	$384,840	-4.7%		-35.3%		15.5%	18.1%
Calif. (condo)	$357,970	-1.8%		-19.8%		10.5%	-20.6%
Region
Central Valley	NA	NA		NA		NA	NA
High Desert	$200,740	-4.8%		-36.0%		31.5%	65.4%
Los Angeles	$422,160	-3.1%		-29.2%		21.3%	9.9%
Monterey Region	$444,740	-10.2%		-40.1%		3.9%	10.0%
Monterey County	$358,000	-10.5%		-48.5%		0.0%	39.3%
Santa Cruz County	$617,500	-8.5%		-20.7%		10.6%	-17.2%
Northern California	$337,870	-2.4%		-12.4%		-3.4%	-17.6%
Northern Wine Country	$442,270	-2.6%		-27.5%		12.8%	0.0%
Orange County	$523,890	-9.4%		-26.6%		29.6%	24.5%
Palm Springs/Lower Desert	$283,480	-6.8%		-27.7%		3.9%	13.7%
Riverside/San Bernardino	$257,660	-7.6%		-34.9%		35.2%	78.9%
Sacramento	$233,230	-1.1%		-34.5%		14.0%	76.0%
San Diego	$446,610	0.7%		-27.1%		-22.2%	-22.3%
San Francisco Bay	$686,810	-0.7%		-19.5%		19.5%	-8.6%
San Luis Obispo	$442,310	-1.7%		-23.7%		-1.6%	7.1%
Santa Barbara County	$400,000	-24.2%		-55.4%		4.9%	23.2%
Santa Barbara South Coast	$1,199,000	6.6%		-10.9%		-7.9%	-16.7%
North Santa Barbara County	$297,820	-1.3%		-32.8%		17.6%	85.2%
Santa Clara	$769,650	2.3%		-10.0%		31.4%	-13.3%
Ventura	$487,790	-1.8%		-30.3%		-7.2%	-12.7%

na – not available

*Based on closed escrow sales of single‑family, detached homes only (no condos).  Reported month‑to‑month changes in sales activity in May overstate actual changes because of the small size of individual regional samples. Movements in sales prices should not be interpreted as measuring changes in the cost of a standard home.  Prices are influenced by changes in cost and changes in the characteristics and size of homes actually sold.

sf = single‑family, detached home

Source:  CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® 

Median Prices By Region – Current Month vs. Year Ago

	May-08	Apr-08		May-07
Statewide
Calif.(sf)	$384,840	$403,870		$594,530	r
Calif.(condo)	$357,970	$364,640		$446,070	r
Region
Central Valley	NA	NA		$331,580
High Desert	$200,740	$210,860		$313,550
Los Angeles	$422,160	$435,500		$596,690	r
Monterey Region	$444,740	$495,240		$742,040	r
Monterey County	$358,000	$399,900		$695,000
Santa Cruz County	$617,500	$675,000		$779,000
Northern California	$337,870	$346,260		$385,870
Northern Wine Country	$442,270	$454,210		$610,220
Orange County	$523,890	$578,010		$714,130
Palm Springs/Lower Desert	$283,480	$304,020		$392,200
Riverside/San Bernardino	$257,660	$278,800		$396,010	r
Sacramento	$233,230	$235,940		$356,100
San Diego	$446,610	$443,520		$612,370
San Francisco Bay	$686,810	$691,930		$852,710	r
San Luis Obispo	$442,310	$450,000		$579,540	r
Santa Barbara County	$400,000	$527,780		$897,730	r
Santa Barbara South Coast	$1,199,000	$1,125,000	r	$1,345,500
North Santa Barbara County	$297,820	$301,850		$442,860
Santa Clara	$769,650	$752,500		$855,000	r
Ventura	$487,790	$496,530		$699,480

 

na – not available

r – revised

Source: CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

 

Home sales up 2.0 percent

This is really good news- it does show things are moving in the right direction just not at lighting speed which is a great time for people to buy homes especially bank owned homes (REO homes)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The pace of existing home sales rose in May to a 4.99 million-unit annual rate, the National Association of Realtors said in a report on Thursday that slightly beat analyst expectations.

Economists polled by Reuters were expecting home resales to rise to a 4.93 million-unit pace, from the 4.89 rate initially reported for May.

The inventory of homes for sale shrank by 1.4 percent to 4.49 million homes, or a 10.8 months’ supply at the current sales pace. Meanwhile, the median national home price declined 6.3 percent from a year ago to $208,600.

U.S. Treasury debt slightly pared gains after the data’s release.

The data came one day after a report that showed sales of newly built single-family homes fell 2.5 percent in May to an annual rate of 512,000 units, which was slightly ahead of expectations but was down more than 40 percent from a year ago.

The housing market has been shaken for months by a credit crunch and a wave of failing home loans that have spooked lenders and prospective buyers.

The disappointing new homes data is nonetheless in line with the pace of the last eight months, which have seen sales hover around the 5 million level, said Paul Bishop, a senior economist with the National Association of Realtors.

“Sales remain fairly flat at the 5 million mark,” he said.

(Reporting by Patrick Rucker; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Foreclosures the aftermath

So many people forget the other side of the Foreclosure process… The aftermath- I personally know people who lost their homes because of foreclosures and they had a hard time finding a rental property for their family.

 

 

 Foreclosure stigma haunts would-be renters
By J.W. Elphinstone, AP Business Writer

 

Former homeowners with foreclosure past find apartment owners wary of their credit reports

As if losing a house on the court steps wasn’t enough, some former homeowners may find themselves turned away by apartment owners spooked by the foreclosure history on their credit reports.

One Virginia couple ended up living in a hotel after their foreclosure, according to Trish Lynch, a trainer and former credit counselor at ClearPoint Financial Solutions, who worked with them.

“No one would rent to them. And the hotel is costing them $3,000 a month to stay there,” she said.

Lynch recommended they try to rent from a private owner or individual who might be more lenient on credit checks, but who could also ask for higher rents to cover their risk. So far, the couple’s still stuck at the hotel.

As foreclosures rise across the country and skyrocket in economically depressed areas and once-hot housing markets, more apartment owners are seeing an increase in the number of rental applicants with blemished mortgage histories. That includes foreclosures, short sales — when a house is sold for less than the amount owed on the mortgage — and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, when a homeowner gives up a house to the lender to end the foreclosure process.

Many of these would-be renters flood the so-called shadow market of investor-owned homes and condos, which make up almost half of the rental stock and are not tracked by the apartment industry. But some former homeowners are making their way to the traditional rental market, causing concern for some landlords.

When Jane Garvey, president of the Illinois Rental Property Owners Association, informally surveyed the 500 members of her association, the landlords expressed some discomfort with renting to people with foreclosure issues.

“They need to know they’re going to get paid,” she said. “As a group, people seemed more reluctant to accept people going through a short sale. They look at it as signing a contract but not going through with it.”

Some in the apartment industry have been trying to slice and dice the applicant pool to identify who could make good renters and add to occupancy levels and the rental base, said Mark Fogelman, president of Memphis, Tenn.-based Fogelman Management Group, which owns and manages 18,000 rental units in the Southeast, Midwest and Southwest.

“For us, that’s too subjective and sets a risky proposition,” he said. “We have not successfully been able to accept many applicants with defaulting mortgages primarily because they tend to have other credit issues.”

Between 5 percent and 7 percent of rental applicants are 90 days or more past due on a mortgage or in foreclosure, said Jay Harris, vice president of business services at renter screening company First Advantage SafeRent Inc. About two-thirds of those with a tarnished mortgage history qualify to rent.

The remaining third usually have other credit problems such as overextension on existing credit lines, public records related to collections, among others.

A study last year by Lakewood, Colo.-based First Advantage found applicants with a foreclosure had more than four times as many lines of credit over 90 days delinquent compared to applicants without a foreclosure. They also had three times more open or closed unpaid credit lines.

“These are not the same people who left to buy a home,” Nevel DeHart, First Advantage’s executive vice president, wrote in an article presenting the survey results. “They return to the rental market with significantly increased risk exposure associated with their ability to pay future rental obligations.”

And unlike in a bankruptcy, he noted, a consumer still has to pay credit card and other debt obligations after a foreclosure, short sale or deed-in-lieu, which could further compromise their financial stability.

Some landlords may conditionally accept renters with foreclosures in their past. They may ask for an extra month’s rent up front, a larger security deposit or a co-signer.

Donn Schaefer, president of the Metro East Landlords Association in Collinsville, Ill., is specifically seeking out displaced homeowners for his rentals. His company, Homesellers Solutions Inc., buys, sells and rents single-family homes and duplexes.

“Bad things happen to good people all the time. They need to have a place to live and sometimes people learn from their mistakes,” he said.

“They make great tenants too,” he continued. “They know about pride of ownership. They know about taking care of a house.”

To ensure that they have shelter after a possible foreclosure, Lynch advises her clients to prepare for the worst.

Some lenders and loan servicers are offering money to struggling homeowners for their properties, dubbed a cash-for-keys exchange, to avoid the foreclosure process. Lynch recommends some homeowners use the cash toward a security deposit at a rental.

Lynch also suggests that homeowners who are facing foreclosure start looking for a rental before the foreclosure process is completed — since lenders can’t report foreclosures to credit reporting bureaus until the procedure is finished.

“You want to look for the rental before the foreclosure hits your credit report,” she said. “Because after that, it becomes much harder to find a rental.”

 

 

Real Estate Bargaining-Bank Owned and Owner Occupied homes

This was a really interesting article that I found in the home buying process right now people think that they can offer way below price. In the Central Valley California more so Lathrop, Manteca, and Tracy it’s becoming a fine line that you need to walk in which how you put your offers in. We are in a multiple offer situation. Talk to your Realtor or you can go to my website www.deannaforhomes.com and you can contact me and pull up some comparable homes that are for sale, pending, and have sold in the past 3 months in the same area. Then you can get the clear picture of how your market is doing.

 

Real Estate Bargaining: an Expert Opinion
By Luke Mullins

With the sluggish real estate market making home sellers increasingly desperate, the table is set for buyers to negotiate their way to hefty savings. But what are the do’s and don’ts of negotiating home prices? Daniel Shapiro, associate director of the Harvard Negotiation Project and coauthor of Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate, spoke with U.S. News about his advice to consumers. Excerpts:

How can consumers put themselves in a better position to negotiate down the price of a home? Know what the comparative analysis is; how long a house has been on the market is a great indicator of its attractiveness and how much you might be able to get off of the price. It’s an important thing to know because in some areas prices are declining 10 to 20 percent. At the same time, in the locations such as where I am living, in Arlington, Mass., [the market has] held pretty steady. Whatever area you are considering moving to, get their stats.

What should consumers know about making a low offer? Don’t try to steal the home. If you give an offer that is insultingly low, the buyer may not think you are trustworthy or maybe for emotional reasons not want to give it to you. [A seller might think], “I like this house. I’m not going to give it to you for $1. It’s worth much more than $1.” In today’s market, you can negotiate, in many cases, the price down. My advice would be to find a price that within the market is a fair price. This is the price that is going to be most persuasive to everyone: to the agents on both sides, to the buyer, and to the seller.

How important are emotions in the home-buying process? I do believe that emotions are such a critical element in dealing with real estate. People think it’s just about numbers, when this is actually very much a human transaction. At the end of the day, I have lived in my house for 30 years, and I don’t want just anyone to buy it. I’d rather sacrifice a substantial amount of money to have that really nice family move in and appreciate this house where I have raised my kids. And I don’t think that’s uncommon. I think it’s crucial to recognize that. Money is a piece of it–it’s an important piece–but it’s not the only thing. They want their emotions addressed [as well].

What should home buyers using an agent know about the process? It’s important, when you are working with an agent, to understand that an agent does have an interest in the house being bought for more money because they will make a higher commission. And you, as the buyer, have an interest in buying the house for the best possible price.

Are consumers more likely to get a better deal through an agent or on their own? There are pros and cons in terms of negotiating [directly] with the seller. On the one hand, it can be helpful to build that rapport with the seller. You can ask questions that are sometimes hard to ask through intermediaries. If you do meet directly with the owner, remember that most of the time, people are very attached to their homes. So if you walk in and think that your negotiation strategy is going to be to criticize elements of the home and show all of the problems so that you can get a reduced price, you might just have lost the rapport with the seller. Emotions are very tangible when you’re face to face, and I think that’s often a benefit of an agent. I think it’s very helpful to actually get your agent on your side because this agent is dealing in the market; they know what the market values are much better than almost anyone. And so to get their advice on what they think an appropriate range for the house might be and even on negotiation strategy could be useful.

What’s a potential pitfall homebuyers face in negotiating? People often get so enmeshed in the negotiation game that they lose the house they like and could afford because they didn’t get the negotiation price they thought they could get. That’s a big problem, and I could see that being particularly sensitive given today’s market.