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.

San Diego Area Home Buyers Alert

San Diego Area Home Buyers Alert

The first quarter of 2010 is going to be a challenging time but worth the effort for the greater San Diego area home buyers,
especially for the under $500,000 houses and condos.
(This is good news for sellers.  Call me for the sellers plan.)

The available total inventory is down from the peak 14,709 on 2/6/09
    to 11,317 on 1/4/2010.
Only 3726 homes under $500,000 are available which is a 50 day supply.
1407 of the homes under $500,000 are Short Sales.
The number of bank owned properties is 70% lower than it was a year ago. There is only a 3 week supply (734 on 1/4/2010).
Each quarter we hear that the banks will start dumping homes on the market but not yet and probably not ever…see my Blog article at http://sandiegohomes4ucom.blogspot.com/2009/10/where-are-all-foreclosures-san-diego.html

Short Sales are still taking 3 to 9 months to close, despite a push from Obama. They keep telling us they will get quicker but that is what we have heard all last year.

You must be in escrow by April 30, 2010 to get your Tax Rebate.
A big time pressure for buyers...but many will procrastinate...DON'T.
For best results, START LOOKING NOW! Plan to buy in Jan. or Feb.
There is some talk or extending it but, can you take that chance?
Many will wait till Mar or April and will loose out.

The Senate Finance Committee and Capitol Hill in general, are not inclined to extend this program again. The National Association of Realtors, the lobbyist for this program, were cautioned that any discussion regarding a further extension of the program was not likely, and would certainly be met with opposition..
Lenders have tightened up on the requirements again.
Interest rates will go up, possibly to 6% which is a 16% increase, over the current 5%.
See  the Washington Post article at http://tinyurl.com/ylpk9ag about how the Fed will not buy MBS - Mortgage Backed Securities after March 31st and how it will cause interest rates to rise.

What can the serious buyer do to get a home?
1 – Be totally ready with your financing. That means a fully documented loan package submitted to the lender before you start looking for a home. Banks & FHA continue to tighten up their requirements. They want to see higher credit scores (640+ FICO), at least 3 active credit lines (suggestion: pay your utilities on line or buy a tank of gas a few times a year so every card shows activity), no late payments or new collections in the last year. Keep all credit cards below 40% of your limit at all times.

2 – Be prepared to make several offers before you get one accepted. There is a lot of competition as many buyers are fighting for a limited pool of homes and they also need to buy before the Tax Rebate deadline of 4/30/2010. There is no perfect home so do not fall in love with the home until it closes. Remember what your goals are for this home. It probably will not be your last home so think 3-5 years or 5-7 years…whatever your time frame is.

3 – Be prepared to pre-qualify with several lenders along the way. You may still use any lender you chose. Each bank owned property wants you to qualify with them for 2 reasons…they want to find out if you are really qualified, and they want to have a chance of getting your loan. Strategy: keep a copy of your loan application from your first lender along with your credit report & FICO score, copies of pay stubs, bank statements, 2 years of tax returns and more.

4 – Make your first offer, your “Highest and Best” offer. Most of the time the banks will come back to some or all of the buyers in a multiple offer situation and give everybody a second chance. However, some banks will take the first good offer, or the best looking offer without a counter. Wouldn’t it be great if it were your offer that was accepted.

5 – Prices are going up (they have for 10 months in a row). So reasonably higher offers are OK. Todays appraisers often come in on the low side of the property value. If your offer is way too high, the bank will see through that ploy. However if you offer a reasonable amount over the comparable sales, the appraisal may help you bring the price down. Since prices are going up, even if you think your offer is high, you will look back and say “Remember when we bought this house for $X.XX and now it is worth much more than that…we could not afford to buy our own house today”. 

This first quarter will be a challenging time but worth the effort for the greater San Diego area home buyers.  I do not expect to see these prices again.

In the San Diego Union Tribune on 1/3/2010, the caption to the housing chart was "Median price 48.4% higher than January 2000".  Real Estate will always be a good long term investment and sometimes a good short term investment.  Now is the time to buy near the bottom and ride the prices up while you live in, and enjoy your home.

6 – Be on top of the listings and the market. Many of the San Diego area bank homes and regular homes are getting multiple offers and are going into escrow quickly, some in 1 or 2 days of being listed. If you know the market, you will see the value and be ready to make a decision right away without “sleeping on it”. A one day delay could be all it takes to loose the home.

7 - Keep looking, even after you have submitted an offer. If you do not get this one, you must be ready when the next one appears.

Buyers, we need to schedule an appointment to plot our strategy to get you into your San Diego area home. Call me to set an appointment to meet, review your needs and wants, then visit some homes. Call my cell at 760-212-8225 today!


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 and San Diego County.

Fed to allow interest rates to rise in the first quarter 2010

Fed to allow interest rates to rise in the first quarter 2010

"ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END..." Last week, the Fed restated that, once again that their Mortgage Backed Security (MBS) purchase program (the program that has done much keep home loan rates low for most of the last year...will end on March 31, 2010.

This means there will be less money to borrow. Simple supply & demand...less money to borrow means interest rates to rise!

It is important that buyers get in line for the lower current interest rates early while the supply is high and the rate is low.

This will put double pressure on prices in the short term, especially from early Feb. through mid March. Higher interest rates on the horizon and the end to the tax credits, along with a shortage of inventory means prices will rise quickly in the first quarter, especially in the under $500K market.

Buy early and save 3 ways...Lower prices and lower interest rates now along with the tax credits.
Call me now to see how you can beat the rush, get a great home with low interest rates at a good price and use your $8000 or $6500 tax credit. 760-436-0087



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.

$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.

Senate plans to extend an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers

Senate plans to extend an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers and allow benefits for some people who already own residences.

The proposal would also let existing homeowners qualify for a $6,500 credit if they have lived in their residence for five years.

The homebuyers’ credit would be available to individuals earning up to $125,000, or $250,000 for couples, up from $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples under the current law.

The plan would extend the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, due to expire Nov. 30, to home purchases under contract by April 30, 2010, with borrowers allowed another 60 days to close the sale.

It is not a done deal yet because it is tied to bill to extend unemployment benefits along with several other "pork" amendments. Fortunately, there seems to be little resistance to the home buyers credit. We will have to see exactly comes out of the bill.



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.