So Cal Real Estate News

(5/31/2011)According to S & P/ Case-Schiller, we’re officially in a double dip housing recession. . . at least on a nationwide basis (bold added):

“Data through March 2011, released today by Standard & Poor’s for its S&P/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, show that the U.S. National Home Price Index declined by 4.2% in the first quarter of 2011, after having fallen 3.6% in the fourth quarter of 2010.

“The National Index hit a new recession low with the first quarter’s data and posted an annual decline of 5.1% versus the first quarter of 2010. Nationally, home prices are back to their mid-2002 levels.”

The good news, or at least less bad, is that Case-Schiller’s Los Angeles index didn’t do nearly as bad as their national index:  L.A. down 1.7% from March 2010, U.S. down 5.1%) .  So we’re only 1/3 as Read the rest of this entry »

( 5/29/2011)Last month Barb & Dave were privileged to visit two beautiful memorials while visiting her cousin near Washington: The World War II Memorial (in the foreground of the photo on the left) and the Air Force Memorial. The quotes, fountains and sculptures at each one can’t help but move anyone who visits.

We are so blessed to live in America, but our freedom has come at great cost. Since 1776, over one million, three hundred thousand 1,343,812 brave American servicemen and women have given their lives for our country.

I hope you find some time this Memorial Day to consider their sacrifice, and the sacrifice of their families,and of the millions of other American servicemen and women who were and are willing to give their all.

I found many inspiring quotes engraved on the two Memorials Barbara & I visited. Here are three you may want to share with your kids or grandkids this weekend:

“Tell them that we gave our todays for their tomorrows.”
Inscription in Allied Forces Cemetery
North Assam, India

“I am going on a raid this afternoon. . . there is a possibility I won’t return. . .
do not worry about me as everyone has to leave this earth one way or another, and this is the way I have selected.

“If after this terrible war is over, the world emerges a saner place. . .
pogroms and persecutions halted, then, I’m glad I gave my efforts with thousands of others for such a cause.”

Sergeant Carl Goldman, USAF WWII B-17 Gunner killed in action over Western Europe in a letter to his parents

Read the rest of this entry »

(5/14/2011) by Dave Emerson   When I got the call Wednesday morning from  the Los Angeles Times’ Lead Real Estate Reporter, I tried to give a balanced report on what we’re seeing in the local market right now:  “This should be the hottest time of the year in terms of deals going into escrow, but — especially once you consider where interest rates are — it is still a struggling market.”

      A day later, I got an e-mail from Alex, “Just wanted to say thanks, again. You really nailed it.”   “That’s good,” I thought, “Alex’s other sources are seeing the same thing I’m seeing.

       Little did I know he would use my thoughts as his lead quote for the article.

       The facts, it turns out, back up our observations:  April So Cal home sales Read the rest of this entry »

Living within a budget is like flossing your teeth–everybody knows how & knows they should but nobody has the time.  If you need to save up a down payment to buy, or if you’re behind on your mortgage or other bills, it’s time to make the time!

The secret of the best seller, The Millionaire Next Door is simple:  spend less than you make.  To do that, most of us need to either reduce spending or increase income, or Read the rest of this entry »

In a post we put up at the start of the mortgage meltdown we explained why we agreed with Freddie Mac’s chief economist, Frank Northaft that “We just don’t know [when the market will hit bottom or how low prices will drop] because we’re in totally uncharted territory.”

As if to illustrate our point, after we wrote that we saw huge swings in stocks as Federal Reserve leaders twice surprised the markets with supposedly clear indications they intend to further reduce rates.

So now, after 4 years of uncertainty, we’ll revisit the logical next question of what buyers and sellers should do in such an uncertain situation, because the future today is still pretty cloudy.

The Key

The key is to base your decision making primarily on what you know, not on Read the rest of this entry »

(3/30/2011)  We received an e-mail a few days ago from Deborah,  who’s in a pretty common situation:  Our So Cal real estate downturn is crimping her retirement plans.  In her case, she had planned to pay off the loans on three rental properties by selling some raw land she owns.

Although the specifics vary, the general advice in our response applies to enough people that we decided to post Deborah’s question and our response, in the hopes it might help others trying to decode what to do in Southern California’s uncertain real estate climate:

Question: I have 3 properties in Hemet; all of which . . . I can probably sell for what I owe.  My goal is to pay all 3 off with land I own (also devalued at this point) for retirement.  I have 20-acres in Sage which I plan to split.

I want to pay off the properties and have retirement income but have to wait for the land to appreciate to apply toward the mortgages. I would like to hear your instinct for the real estate market in 2016 and if there’s any appreciation anticipated, about how much?

Our reply:

Deborah,

With home prices down 15- 35% in Southern California, we are increasingly encountering clients who don’t know what to do when they need to sell or refinance in today’s troubled real estate and mortgage markets.

Of course, if you’ve got enough equity in your home, selling or refinancing is not such a problem, although you’ll net less cash out than you would have a year or two ago. We’ve got lots of ways to help sellers maximize their net in today’s market, but that will have to wait for another post. (If you can’t wait, call us at 562 822 6532 or post a question in the comments below & we’ll give a brief summary.  You can also e-mail us by using the”contact us” link at the top of this page.)

The real crunch comes when you owe more than 90% of what your home’s worth. For refinancing, that’s because 100% refinance loans have largely disappeared.

For sellers, it’s because the total cost of selling a home today generally runs between 8 – 12% of the sales price (escrow, commission, termite, title, home warranty, & often points and incentives).

As we see it, homeowners with little, no, or negative equity have at least Read the rest of this entry »

(February 10, 2011)  At 9 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, on the last Tuesday of every month, McGraw-Hill’s Standard & Poor’s Unit releases the  Case-Schiller Home Price Index for the previous month, just like clockwork.

The news media love it:  “Breaking news” on housing they can schedule into their calendar months in advance, just like DataQuick’s monthly median home sales price reports.

Conversely, Case Schiller must love the media. If it’s the last Tuesday of the month, Case-Schiller will on the radio,  be all over the internet, in the networks’ evening news, and in the next day’s paper.

There’s one thing to love about the Case Schiller Home Price Index, and at least two Read the rest of this entry »

Breaking News!  Congress has moved up the 2010 buying season!
Congress acted today, Thursday, 11/4/2009, to extend the$8,000 first-time home buyers’ tax credit until 4/30/2010, even expanding the credit to include many move-up buyers!

That should extend the current mini-boom in starter homes through the winter, but will probably result in a slowdown in April or May, maybe sooner!

Unlike the previous deadline, which required homes to close escrow by 12/1, homes now need only be Read the rest of this entry »

Are some economists still practicing "voo doo?"

(11/4/2009, by Dave Emerson)  With prices and interest rates both down, 2009 has been an excellent year for buyers.  In fact, over the past several months multiple competing offers have been Read the rest of this entry »