San Diego - Home Prices rose the highest BUT where are all the foreclosures?

DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage said the flood of foreclosures is being sopped up by investors and first-time buyers eager to take advantage of low prices.

LePage said that demand should lessen worries about the shadow inventory — homes that lenders have foreclosed on but have not yet been listed for sale. Some analysts have feared that banks would try to sell too many properties at once, depressing prices and leading to more foreclosures.

“My hunch is most foreclosures, if they’re priced right, go really fast,” LePage said. “We snapped up in California, on average, 17,000 to 18,000 foreclosure homes a month in 2009. It was an impressive clip, and that’s what kept the inventory of foreclosed homes from ballooning way out of control.”

In San Diego, he said 83.8 percent of foreclosures had been sold as of last fall and some that hadn’t changed hands are being rented.

Compared with a year ago, many doubts about the real estate market have dissipated, said Ross Starr, an economist at the University of California San Diego.
“A year ago, the world was falling apart,” Starr said. “We were hanging on for it to stop — and it stopped.”

Starr said the market is now in a “rocky period” of adjustment and it is unlikely prices will climb quickly.

So are we going to see a wave of foreclosures that everyone is talking about? Time will tell but .....

As for potential home buyers, UCSD’s Starr said now may be the time to strike, given historically low interest rates and reduced prices.
“For a well-financed buyer who stayed on the sidelines in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and who said prices were ridiculous, his foresight has been fulfilled and this is a great time,” Starr said.

San Diego home prices last month rose 15.8 percent from a year ago to a median $285,000, MDA DataQuick reported Tuesday, further evidence that the region’s real estate market is stabilizing and the HIGHEST rise of all Southern California's counties. We were the first to hit bottom, now the first to start rising, if only slowly and THAT'S NORMAL!

Sales were up for the 21st consecutive month, as transactions involving higher-priced, move-up homes kicked in to broaden the market beyond low-cost starter homes.


With sales rising, inventories lower, interest rates attractive and buyer interest growing, the latest report suggests that the market reached bottom last year and a recovery, if not under way, will come soon.

“Home values have stopped falling and there are signs that they’re edging up from the bottom,” said University of San Diego economist Alan Gin.


Jane LovedayWindermere Real Estate Agent619-519-1615 Cell http://janeloveday.com/http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego

TAX RECORDS YOU SHOULD KEEP OR DISCARD ...

Now that April 15th is over, and you've survived - or not - paying your taxes, did you have all the paperwork necessary, did you miss anything, lose anything, keep too much information that wasn't necessary?

If so you are not alone! Here is what you should hold onto:

For paperwork concerning your income - KEEP W-2's, 1099 form, bank statements, form K1 (if you are in a partnership).

For paperwork concerning your expenses - keep sales slips, invoices, receipts, canceled checks or other proof of payment.

For paperwork concerning your home - keep any closing statements, purchase and sales invoices, proof of mortgage payments, insurance records.

For your investments - keep any brokerage statements, mutual fund statements, 1099 and 2439 forms (for long-term Capital Gains if any).

You should keep records for at least 3 years, and more information can be found in IRS Publication 552, Recordkeeping for Individuals.

Jane Loveday
Windermere Real Estate Agent
619-519-1615 Cell
http://janeloveday.com
http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego

HOW TO BUY A HOME 101 !

Choose your Realtor - Make sure you find someone who not only understands your needs, the area you are searching but is also someone who you get along with and can trust. visit www.janeloveday.com to search San Diego!

Obtain Pre-Approval from a lender – It is imperative that you meet with a lender to determine how much house you can afford, how much you will need for your deposit and closing costs. A first step would be contacting Broadview Mortgage Corp, they also have homebuying seminars and can be reached at 866.667.6724 or email inquiry@broadviewmortgagecorp.com

Find your Perfect Home – once you have given us your criteria, and the more detailed the better, I will be able to create a custom search to totally suit your needs, I'll show you all the property available and make your search a success!

Making an Offer – I'll prepare your paperwork, explain and advise the contingencies you will be under, and help you make the best offer based on current market conditions – this is currently a strange market, prices are low but not necessarily dropping, and it is not unusual to encounter multiple offers on properties. We will help negotiate on your behalf to ensure a successful response from the seller.

Open an Escrow! - Congratulations, once you have acceptance you will need to place your initial deposit into escrow which is held until your loan is funded and final documents are signed.

Your Contingency Period – This is a time frame during the beginning of the escrow period that protects you, it is written into the purchase contract and is usually 17 days from the opening of escrow. This applies to obtaining an appraisal, conducting a property inspection, reviewing the pest inspection, reviewing seller disclosures and getting your loan in place.

Home Insurance etc - After the contingency period, and before close of escrow, you will need to obtain home insurance for your future home, file a change of address with the Post Office, submit a change of address to the Registrar of Voters, make arrangements for your move, cancel and order any services such as gas and electric, cable, water.

Close of Escrow – Prior to close, you will need any balance of deposit to be placed into your escrow account, your lender will have all your paperwork to sign ready, you’ll have any balance of closing costs also deposited with escrow, a Notary will meet with you to sign all and last paperwork, and a day or so later, the County Recorder will record your new trust deed and you will take ownership of your new home. CONGRATULATIONS !!!


Jane Loveday
Windermere Real Estate Agent
619-519-1615 Cell
http://www.JaneLoveday.com

A Crazy Day in the Life of this Realtor!

One house I visited recently had nothing, no cabinets, no bathtubs, no toilets, nothing! But some days are just golden, take my latest clients, we went out looking on their first day, they found a cute little house, backing up onto a park, in what seemed a quiet residential neighborhood. We submitted an offer which was accepted 3 days later and we then went and had our property inspection done. All seemed very good and right in the world. Until…

Right after the property inspection we were taking some measurements when we were visited by three very large members of the local Police Gang Control Unit, asking if they could enter the property to search for a weapon that had been used in a drive-by homicide the night before. It was a first for me, and definitely a first for my first-time homebuyers who were devastated to hear this news. The crime had taken place in the park behind and although no evidence of any weapon showed up, my buyers knew immediately they did not want to proceed with their purchase.

We are still looking, all is good now, but you just never know, we really do earn our money out there in this crazy world, our days are never, ever the same, we learn to expect the unexpected, to go with the flow, and to keep our thoughts and chins up.

Crazy is usual sometimes, as is frustrating, exciting, amazing, satisfying and much more! Our days are always an adventure, we have properties to preview, sellers to contact, buyers to organize, ads to place, appointments with sellers to make, schedules to arrange, and always, properties to navigate.

You can always keep up with me at http://www.facebook.com/realestatesandiego and http://www.twitter/com/sdrealestate


Jane Loveday
Windermere Real Estate Agent
619-519-1615 Cell
http://janeloveday.com