Is THIS the time FOR YOU to find bargains on homes or what?
Dec 24, 2008:
· The most-recent survey from Freddie Mac shows interest rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.19 percent last week, the lowest level in 37 years. While lower interest rates have resulted in a dramatic jump in homeowners seeking to refinance, now also is a great time to purchase a home. The lower interest rates also are making mortgage payments more affordable, especially on larger homes that previously may have been out of reach.
· In addition to lower monthly mortgage payments, a lower interest rate also allows more home buyers to qualify for larger mortgages with less income. Generally, a buyer applying for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage loan of $400,000, with an interest rate of 5.5 percent, needs an income of $92,000, assuming a 10 percent down payment. If the rate drops to 4.5 percent, the borrower would need an income of $84,000 to qualify for the same mortgage loan.
· Despite the increase in the number of homeowners who sold their homes at a loss, home sellers who owned their properties for a longer period of time were less likely to experience a loss from their home sale, according to the "State of the California Housing Market 2008-2009" report.
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The Orange County Register says that as of July 20, 2008, the typical Orange County house seller cut the price of their home $17 every hour over the past year. Talk about DISCOUNTS! Sheesh!
That 17-buck discount is what a $150,000 drop in DataQuick's median selling price for Orange County residences from June 2007's peak amounts to. Yes, we went from a record high home price of $645,000 a year ago -- basically triple 1997's pricing -- to $495,000 last month. Better Hurry...those low priced homes are going fast. Call me at 949-463-4111 | Debbie@DebbieFerrari.com ----
SOUTH Orange County sales are up 115% since the end of 2007!!!! This is for the cities of San Clemente, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo, Rancho San Clemente and Laguna Hills. YES, people are buying bargains now!
As of June 26, 2008, current Market hotspots: Short sales and REO sales currently account for nearly 50% of the pending sales and about 37% of the current listings.
As of June 13, 2008, the past two weeks Orange County sales are the greatest numbers in over 2 years. Inventory continues to fall by an average of about 100 per week, compared to increases of about 200 listings per week at this time last year. Also, the index of how long it would take to sell the existing inventory at the current rate of sales is at its lowest point since August of 2006. Yes, since 2006!!
The Orange County Register says on June 2 the following: "Economists at Global Insight and National City Bank say Orange County housing is now 5.2% undervalued — yes, undervalued. That's the first time this math shows local homes as relative bargains to broad economics since the second quarter of 2003. It's also the largest undervaluation since the final three months of 2002." Great news! Buyers take note!
Smart buyers are sensing bargains and that now is the time to buy. To wit: As of May 17, 2008, the number of weeks required to sell the existing inventory at the current rate of sales is the lowest that it has been since April of 2007, when the market was not yet affected by the sub-prime meltdown.
Trust a 30-year veteran. You'll like visiting my site and finding ALL the MLS homes for sale in Orange County and most of Southern California. Please email your Aliso Viejo realty questions to me, a licensed broker at: Debbie@DebbieFerrari.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Orange County, for the first time in 11 years, the median home price dropped in 2007. The median home price was $618,000, which was down 1.9 percent from the median home price of 2006.
In 2005, 54,000 homes sold in Orange County. But in 2007, the total was cut in half, at 27,000 homes. In the past 20 years, that is the lowest total.
Long time experts in Orange County estimate that prices in the OC were about 10 percent off the June 2006 peak, which means they matched levels seen in 2005.
In 2008, the prices may well drop to 2004 levels, but only on a median level. Great exceptions are found in beach and near-beach communities.
Sure, there have been some big drops for homes with dreadful floor plans, poor locations, such as by a noisy freeway or park, or in some declining neighborhoods in north Orange County zip codes (which had a 7-8 percent drop in median prices). However, Inland zip codes lost only 5.4 percent and homes in mid-county zip codes dropped only 4.4 percent.
The worst losers? Three areas, North, Inland and Mid-County suffered sales drops of approximately 33 percent.
But happy days for some: Coastal areas in Orange County were hardly impacted by the housing bubble bursting.
In the beach cities, starting in the south through San Clemente, Dana Point, Capistrano Beach, Laguna Niguel, Monarch Beach, Laguna Beach, Corona Del Mar, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Sunset Beach, and all the way north to Seal Beach, home prices dropped just 2.9 percent, with sales levels dropping only 18 percent.
In 73 of the County's 83 zip codes, sales fell in 2007. In Santa Ana's Zip Code 92707, sales were off a whopping 62 percent.
The overall gainer in sales volume in 2007? Irvine's 92612 where sales increased 30 percent.
Regarding median home prices, some went UP in 2007. Dana Point saw the median home price RISE by 15.6 percent to over one million dollars in the city's 92624 zip code. Parts of San Juan Capistrano, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, also enjoyed home price increases.
In Orange County, the cities of Laguna Hills, Ladera Ranch, the eastern side of Santa Ana, eastern Mission Viejo and north Orange had no changes in price in 2007 compared to 2006.
Garden Grove's 92840's zip code showed the leading price drop of 15.3 percent, down to $500,000. Oddly, some normally top neighborhoods in Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, and Irvine had double-digit price decreases, too.
Is the credit crunch terrible in Orange County? Well, it could be a lot worse...Real Data Strategies, a Brea consulting firm, says that 54.6% of homeowners in default emerge from the foreclosure process by bringing their payments current, refinancing, or selling the home and paying off what they owe.
The Pacific West Association of Realtors says that Orange County sales REVENUES for real estate agents dropped by almost 40 percent during the last five months of 2007. And that represents a $3.1 billion drop from the same period in 2006.
This is not so good for real estate agents because only 55 percent of Orange County's active real estate agents took part in one or more sales last year. And half of those had just one or two sales apiece. The other 45 percent had no income in 2007!!
You can expect many agents to drop out of real estate during 2008.
A leading local newspaper reported that historically, housing downturns average 27 months so we may be near the end. And we are told by the housing analysts that we are in the 25th month of the current housing downturn. And so far in 2008, while there has been a significant decline in sales volume, home prices in many areas have continued to show small amounts of appreciation.
The newspaper further believed that with the Fed cutting interest rates, Congress passing bills to aid housing, and more money available for home lending, the financial markets will begin calming down. This down cycle will come to an end, just as they have done since 1970, and an excellent buying opportunity may lie ahead.
You will love Aliso Viejo if you love the outdoors. Aliso Viejo has rolling terrain almost everywhere, so that most homes have at least a "city lights" view. Aliso Viejo is one of the "newest" cities in the county, and thus it was well planned in almost every aspect.
Mello-Roos payments apply on many homes here, so be sure to check on the amount as this adds to your monthly outflow for a home. There are many parks, trails, and recreational areas within the city limits. Great shopping, restaurants, and entertainment areas too!.
Sellers are willing to negotiate or drop the price, but not by much. Buyers should be pre-approved for a loan if they want to be taken seriously. Sellers should be willing to get a swing/bridge loan if they find a property they want to buy.
Please email your realty questions to me at Debbie@DebbieFerrari.com
ZIP Code: 92672 Approximate Location Boundaries: South Orange County, CA - On the coast, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego
Location Characteristics: San Clemente and adjacent Dana Point feature beaches, piers, yacht harbors and jetties for water fun. San Juan Capistrano hosts the famous Mission. Aliso Viejo is a new suburban city laced with many rustic and developed parks. Laguna Niguel is an upscale community with fine hotels and many million dollar-plus homes.
About Debbie Ferrari:
Unlimited MLS searching by the visitors themselves is offered, with the option to get updates automatically by e-mail whenever new homes matching the buyer's search parameters come onto the market. Debbie Ferrari's site has won more truly top real estate awards than any known U.S. Realtor® site. Why? Because it contains boundless local and general real estate information so that a buyer moving to Debbie's area can find virtually anything needed to buy a home. The site has more than 1000 background pages of realty-related information, plus school, civic, social info and pictures of local attractions including aerial and 360-degrees of San Clemente's famous pier and hillside homes, and Dana Point's lovely yacht harbor. Even a video tour of the nearby five-star Ritz Carlton Resort is included. There's even a LIVE 24/7 beachCam showing our beautiful San Clemente beach and pier.
Debbie's sites receive more than 35,000 visitors monthly, which makes sellers happy because most of these visitors are prospective BUYERS who are thrilled to find so much of value.
These reports reflect the views and opinions of their authors and are not necessarily the views and opinions of Realty Times.
