San Diego Real Estate Newsletter - Prices & Sales up sharply

San Diego Real Estate Newsletter -
Prices and Sales up sharply in San Diego County

See the full newsletter here
http://tinyurl.com/4-9-RE-Newsletter

As of 4/09/2010
House and Condo Sales by the Month with Average Price:


Mar 2010 were 2793 at $423,372 at $246.45/sqft  
Feb 2010 were 2113 at  $397,932 at $234.06/sqft
Jan 2010 were 2040 at   $391,775 at $230.39/sqft
Feb 2009 were 2197 at  $341,818 at $209.39/sqft

WOW!!! Prices Up 7% from last month
Sales up 32% over last month
Cost per SqFt is also up.
Active listings: 9535, up over 5% from February, only a 3.6 month supply
Of those, only 773 (up from 667 in Feb) are Bank Owned Foreclosures, a 32 day supply.
2217 (2120 in Feb) are short sales (almost 25%)
There are also another 6170 Short Sales that are Contingent or Pending!!!

Five to six months inventory is a balanced buyer/seller market.
In the lower price ranges, we are in a strong sellers market,
in the higher prices, we are in a buyers market.

Pending Listings: 4528, down from 5785 in Feb.
1025 of these pending sales are Bank Owned.
1981 are Short Sales and 1585 are regular sales (down from 2744 in Feb).

21 days left for the $8000/$6500 Tax Credit

That's only 3 weeks till the Tax Reduction/Credit is scheduled to expire!

We now have a new State buyers tax credit for $10,000.
That takes over where the Federal Credit stops…Close after May 1st,
and you need to be under contract by 12/31/2010.
Limited funding so may not last long. Some say in 2-3 weeks!!!

YES, you can double dip if you are in escrow by 4/30 and closed by 6/30/2010.

Check out the important details and BIG differences at:
http://sandiegohomes4ucom.blogspot.com/2010/03/new-ca-homebuyer-tax-credit-up-to-10000.html

5 Reasons why you should be Under Contract by 4/30/2010…or not.
1 Federal Tax Credit Expires 4/30/2010 for 1st timer

2 Double Dip on the State Tax Credit for 1st timer or new construction

3 Free Mortgage Protection Program ends 6/30/2010 for 1st timer

4 Entry Level price homes Rising

5 Interest Rates are Rising
Why you do not need to be under contract by 4/30/10
If you are not ready – timing, finances, home to sell,  job uncertainty/relocation or ?


Call me ASAP if you want to be in escrow by the deadline so you can Double Dip!
Or just get a home.





Dennis Smith, ABR, SRES, e-PRO, CDPE, Realtor® DRE# 00476662
Certified Distressed Property Expert

Donna "Sunshine" Smith, SFR, Realtor® DRE# 01249837
Short Sale, Foreclosure Resource Certified

RE/MAX By-the-Sea
Formerly with Taylor Place Real Estate
Buy or Sell a Home with Me, Use my Moving Truck - F R E E for life.
dennis@SanDiegoHomes4u.com
760-436-0087, or cell at 760-212-8225
http://www.sandiegohomes4u.com/home.htm

See my Short Sale & Foreclosure Avoidance Web Site at
http://HAFAShortSaleConsultant.com/

My Market Trends Report with graphs and charts for North Coastal San Diego will give you the Sales Statistics for the month and compare it with last year, by city!
http://www.sandiegohomes4u.com/RealEstateTrends.htm
You can view all available San Diego area homes for sale at http://www.sandiegohomes4u.com/MLS_Search.htm
You can search by address, by MLS number or by general criteria.

Providing quality Real Estate services in the North Coastal San Diego area including Del Mar, Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe, Cardiff by the Sea, Encinitas, Leucadia, Olivenhain, Carlsbad, La Costa, Aviara, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, San Elijo Hills, Escondido & San Diego County.

$8000 Homebuyer tax credit update

$8000 Homebuyer tax credit update…The tax credit has been extended!!!!

Under the law, individuals with income up to $125,000 a year and couples earning up to $225,000 may be eligible for the $8000 Homebuyer tax credit. The extension would cover homes under contract by April 30th and closed by June 30th, 2010. And as we had also predicted, the  homebuyer tax credit will be expanded to non-first time homebuyers as well. There are a few tweaks for non-first time homebuyers - the credit is reduced from $8000 to $6500, and they must have owned and lived in their primary residence for at least five of the past eight years. Their new purchase must be for their primary residence, not a second home or investment home.

This is a great deal for home owners who want to more up, downsize or get a job transfer.
The purchase price of the home is capped at $800,000 in both instances.

Under additional provisions included in the bill, taxpayers can claim the credit on purchases completed in 2010 on their 2009 income tax returns. The legislation maintains the provision that home buyers do not have to repay the credit provided the home remains their primary residence for 36 months after purchase, and waives this requirement for active duty military personnel who move due to a military order.

Military veterans earn one-year federal tax credit extension


Military personnel, members of the Foreign Service, and employees of the intelligence community
have an extra year, through June 2011, to buy their principal residence in the U.S. and claim the federal tax credit. The deadline for a binding contract is April 30, 2011; the deadline to close the purchase is June 30, 2011. The extension applies to any individual (and, if married, the individual’s spouse) who serves on qualified official extended duty service outside of the United States for at period of least 90 days during the period beginning after Dec. 31, 2008, and ending before May 1, 2010.
 
The bill also adds some fraud protection.  Buyers will now have to include proof of purchace with their tax return.

For more details:
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204671,00.html

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/glance.php

How does all this work in my case?  Ask your tax professional/

Dennis Smith, ABR, SRES, e-PRO, CDPE, Realtor® DRE# 00476662
Certified Distressed Property Expert
Taylor Place Real Estate
Buy or Sell a Home with Me, Use my Moving Truck - F R E E for life.
dennis@SanDiegoHomes4u.com
760-436-0087, or cell at 760-212-8225
http://www.sandiegohomes4u.com/home.htm

My Market Trends Report with graphs and charts for North Coastal San Diego will give you the Sales Statistics for the month and compare it with last year, by city!
http://www.sandiegohomes4u.com/RealEstateTrends.htm

You can view all available San Diego area homes for sale at http://www.sandiegohomes4u.com/MLS_Search.htm
You can search by address, by MLS number or by general criteria.

Providing quality Real Estate services in the North Coastal San Diego area including Del Mar, Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe, Cardiff by the Sea, Encinitas, Leucadia, Olivenhain, Carlsbad, La Costa, Aviara, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, San Elijo Hills, Escondido & San Diego County.

Too late for $8000? First Time Home Buyers Scramble!

First Time Home Buyers
may be too late for $8000 
The Government Real Estate Stimulus Package, first time home buyers tax credit of $8000 is scheduled to be gone on Dec 1st, 2009. A first time home buyer is someone who has not owned a home in the last 3 years. See the details:
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204671,00.html

Will the government extend this program? Do you want to take this risk when many are saying we are past the worst in the Real Estate market?

December 1st seems like a long way away, and it is, except in home buying terms.

With the changes in lending and appraisal, getting an escrow completed in 30 days can be very difficult. Many are taking 45 days to fund and close. That means we should be in escrow by October 15th. Preferably earlier if we find any inspection or appraisal problems and have to find another home to buy.

Here are the 7 things you have to do to make this happen for you.

1 Loan Approval – The first step and one of the most important. If your offer is to be accepted above the others, you must present the best likelihood to close. You will have to have a strong approval letter from a lender and documentation to back it up like proof of liquid funds and a copy of your credit report.

2 Watch the clock. You have about 5 weeks from Sept., 8th 2009 to get your offer accepted and you may have to write 5 to 10 or more offers just to get one accepted.

3 Be aware of the competition. Finding a home can be a challenge in this marketplace. The homes that you are looking for are the same as most other first time buyers are looking for. Competition is very high and will be even higher as the deadline nears. We are seeing multiple offers on all reasonable priced homes and on many homes that are over priced. Five to ten offers is normal and I have been in competition with more than 30 offers on some homes.

4 Know the market. Be ready to look at the lists you receive and be ready to write an offer immediately. That means you need to know what you are willing to accept for your first home. We will need to meet, discuss your needs and wants then see how they match up to the properties and prices that are currently available.

5 Be flexible and be realistic. Remember, this is your first home, not your only one. Maybe you can remodel or add on later, or convert it to a rental sooner than you planned.

6 Keep your credit in top condition by not opening new accounts, not closing old ones and keeping ALL the balances below 40% of your credit limit on each account at all times. The lender usually pulls another credit report near the end of the transaction.

7 Avoid Short Sales that are not approved, unless they have been Pending or Contingent for at least a month and preferably much longer. Consider these only as a last resort. Banks have been known to change their minds or even foreclose while in escrow on a short sale.

Call me at 760-436-0087 if you are a first time home buyer and want to get the $8000 tax credit while it is still here.

Dennis Smith, ABR, SRES, e-PRO, CDPE, Realtor® DRE# 00476662
Certified Distressed Property Expert
Taylor Place Real Estate
Buy or Sell a Home with Me, Use my Moving Truck - F R E E for life.
dennis@SanDiegoHomes4u.com
760-436-0087, or cell at 760-212-8225

http://www.sandiegohomes4u.com/home.htm