Cons

Related articles by Zemanta

• Avoid Private Mortgage Insurance on Loans & Mortgage Refinancing (home-mortgages.suite101.com)
• Shopping Around for a Lower PMI, Can You? (brighthub.com)

This is a classic example of supply and demand. And a perfect time to buy in this price range, with prices lowering and jumbo loans under 6%.

Keep in mind that this is all of Orange County some towns and neighborhoods may be showing signs of improvement. Email me if you would like to know the stats of an area you are considering moving to.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Homes will sell if priced right; foreclosures have impact (usatoday.com)
• Realtors report increase in house supply (lansner.ocregister.com)

Numbers for July have just come out, lets take a look at them now.

For sale is up 9.2% sold is down 22.4% month over month. Now sold means that the property could have been in escrow for 30-90 days or longer and  just so happen to sell in July. The more accurate stat to look at is Pended, because this is property about to close this month. Pended is up 2.7%. The median price sits at $365,000, 10 dollars higher then last month. There is only one month where that was higher going back 15 months. Days on market is at 72 which is the same as last month and the average going back 15 months. Average active and average sold price are both up as well.

You can see that in Orange County we are still seeing some appreciation in this price range.

I got a cal last week from a couple that wanted to lease a property from me. I asked why they wanted to lease instead of buy. They told me they didnt have the down payment and could not qualify for a loan based on an internet calculator. I mentioned to her the FHA loan where you can put down 3.5%. They had only briefly heard about it because the bank they currently bank with does not offer that type of loan nor do they educate there customers on other low down payment loan options they have available. Well long story short I set up an appointment for them to meet with my loan officer and turns out they can qualify and will have the down payment! They are thrilled and cant wait to start looking at property.

The moral of the story is. Sit down with a loan officer it wont cost you a dime. And not just any loan officer, make sure you ask a friend, co-worker, and relatives for a good referral. Have them look at everything and tell you for sure if you can qualify or not. With all of the loan options available, now might be your best chance to buy a home and take advantage of the low interest rates.

	Month			1 year			15 months
	Jun 10	Jul 10	% Change	Jul 09	Jul 10	% Change	May 09	Jul 10	% Change
For Sale	5865	6407	9.2%	4161	6407	54%	4485	6407	42.9%
Sold	2056	1596	-22.4%	2057	1596	-22.4%	1888	1596	-15.5%
Pended	2184	2243	2.7%	2343	2243	-4.3%	2211	2243	1.4%

Related articles by Zemanta

• Post Tax Credit Sales Fall, Prices Hold Steady (prweb.com)
• South County had O.C.’s smallest sales drop (lansner.ocregister.com)

With historically low interest rates, financing beginning to open up in the jumbo market and prices starting to reflect true values as upper end foreclosures start to mount, makes this is a great time to enter the luxury market.

Now that the tax credit has ended it will be interesting to see what happens in the next few months. Does demand continue to stay strong? Or will supply out weigh demand driving prices down? Only time will tell.

Stay tuned for tomorrow when I will look at the over 1 million market.

	1 month			1 year			15 months
	Apr 10	May 10	% Change	May 09	May 10	% Change	Mar 09	May 10	% Change
For Sale	2141	2267	5.9%	2037	2267	11.3%	2382	2267	-4.8%
Sold	442	551	24.7%	435	551	26.7%	328	551	68%
Pended	657	678	3.2%	546	678	24.2%	401	678	69.1%

Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics said:

“The data continues to suggest that the tax credit pulled sales into April at the expense of the remainder of the spring buying season.”

Numbers for May have just come out, lets take a look at them now.

For sale is up 4.5% and sold is up 12.3% from last month. Now sold means that the property could have been in escrow for 30-90 days or longer and  just so happen to close in May, a carry over effect of the tax credit. The more accurate stat to look at is Pended, because this is property about to close that month. Pended is down 14% from last month, although there are only 4 months out of the last 15 where pended was higher. Look at the chart below for more detailed information.

Lets look at some more numbers.

The median price is $367,000 which is 7 dollars higher then last month, and the average price is $366,000 which is 2 dollars higher then last month. Both the median and the average price is the highest it has been dating back 15 months.  The average price per SQ.FT is $264, 5 dollars higher then last month and also the highest it has been in the last 15 months. Days on market is at 67, there is only one month out of the last 15 where that was lower.

Judging by these numbers the real estate market looks strong for the month of May.

There is no doubt we are in an interesting market right now. The next few months will give us a better understanding of what the market is doing.

Stay tuned for tomorrows blog where I will discuss the 600k to 1 million market.

	1 month			1 year			15 months
	Apr 10	May 10	% Change	May 09	May 10	% Change	Mar 09	May 10	% Change
For Sale	5089	5316	4.5%	4485	5316	18.5%	6795	5316	-21.8%
Sold	1785	2004	12.3%	1888	2004	6.1%	1784	2004	12.3%
Pended	2710	2330	-14%	2211	2330	5.4%	2247	2330	3.7%

Related articles by Zemanta

• Demand for O.C. homes jumps to year’s high (lansner.freedomblogging.com)
• Supply of O.C. homes for sale up 31% (lansner.freedomblogging.com)

Historically low interest rates have definitely played a huge part in boosting this market. Take advantage of it!

	1 month			1 year			15 months
	Mar 10	Apr 10	% Change	Apr 09	Apr 10	% Change	Feb 09	Apr 10	% Change
For Sale	2093	2197	5%	2732	2197	-19.6%	2569	2197	-14.5%
Sold	195	190	-2.6%	133	190	42.9%	81	190	134.6%
Pended	247	304	23.1%	196	304	55.1%	122	304	149.2%

Related articles by Zemanta

• North O.C. home sales up 21% (lansner.freedomblogging.com)
• 1-in-6 O.C. homeowners have no equity (lansner.freedomblogging.com)

Historically low interest rates have definitely played a huge part in boosting this market. Take advantage of it!

Stay tuned for tomorrow when I will look at the over 1 million market.

	1 month			1 year			15 months
	Mar 10	Apr 10	% Change	Apr 09	Apr 10	% Change	Feb 09	Apr 10	% Change
For Sale	2046	2141	4.6%	2185	2141	-2%	2454	2141	-12.8%
Sold	478	427	-10.7%	335	427	27.5%	283	427	50.9%
Pended	641	792	23.6%	544	792	45.6%	363	792	118.2%

Related articles by Zemanta

• O.C. Forum hosts real estate talk (lansner.freedomblogging.com)
• Which housing recovers first: O.C. or U.S.? (lansner.freedomblogging.com)

If you are a buyer in this price range you only have about 3% negotiation room. Also a lot of times there will be multiple offers on a house and sometimes for more then the asking price. Be patient you may have to write a couple of offers until you get what you want.

When it comes time to write the offer make sure you have everything you need to make a strong offer. Bank statements, credit score, pre-qualification or pre- approval letter, and any special requests the selling agent may have.

FYI: This is the whole Orange County area, each area is different, please contact me if you would like me to run a report on a specific area.

	1 month			1 year			15 months
	Mar 10	Apr 10	% Change	Apr 09	Apr 10	% Change	Feb 09	Apr 10	% Change
For Sale	4824	5089	5.5%	5309	5089	-4.1%	7928	5089	-35.8%
Sold	1813	1678	-7.4%	1804	1678	-7%	1382	1678	21.4%
Pended	2637	3113	18.1%	2309	3113	34.8%	1763	3113	76.6%

Related articles by Zemanta

• New-Homes Sales Jump 27% (online.wsj.com)
• O.C. Forum hosts real estate talk (lansner.freedomblogging.com)

In today’s economy many people are losing their  job or are afraid of losing their job. As a result many home upgrades and repairs are being neglected, or a homeowner is forced out of their home through short sale or foreclosure, they trash it and take valuable items inside the home before they leave. The FHA 203K program allows you to finance the home and the cost of improvements all in one. This loan is like the regular FHA loan, it only requires 3.5% down.

Since a regular FHA loan has so many requirements and restrictions this is a great option if the home you want to purchase needs some TLC.

Below is a list of things the 203K program will allot money for.

¨     Minor Repairs:  Paint, Carpet, Flooring, Appliances (Including Washers, Dryers & Refrigerators)

¨     Major Repairs:  Heating, Electrical, Air Conditioning, Plumbing Systems.  New Roof, New Window, Doors, Foundation.

¨     Remodels:  Kitchen Remodel, Bathroom Remodel

¨     Add-On’s:  Bedrooms, Bathrooms, Family Rooms, Dining Rooms, New Garage.  Extra Units.

¨     Landscaping:  New Fencing, Driveways, Walkways, Irrigation Systems (sprinklers), Repair of existing Swimming Pool.

¨     Certifications: Termite Clearance, Well & Septic Certifications, Roof Certifications

Related articles by Zemanta

• FHA offers little-known financing for fixer-uppers (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• A Good Way To Improve Your Home Is With Central Air Conditioning (mydecorarticles.com)

Here is another loan available just for veterans. Some highlights include:

100% financing.

Easier to get a loan because of more liberal VA Underwriters that are more understanding of credit challenges.

No Reserve Requirements, meaning you don’t need to have any savings to buy a home.

The seller can pay closing costs so you don’t have to come up with that money either.

There is no VA Funding fee required in certain circumstances (mortgage insurance.)

The VA is devoted to making sure the veteran isn’t overpaying through their strict valuation process  and checking the condition on the property.

The VA also offers Residual Income. Basically it is a budget for the Veteran adding up all of their expenses such as heat, income taxes, food, clothes, and electricity. They also do adjustments based on the number of kids for food cost.

As long as the Vet has $1 in Residual Income, the VA underwriter can approve the loan!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Some Ways To Refinance Your VA Loan (imbrandon.com)
• Discover Secrets About Mortgage Loans (badcreditdebtmanagement.com)
• Qualifying For VA Jumbo Loans (prweb.com)
• Extra Mortgage Costs (homeloans.org)