Real Estate News

Brought to you by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

I’m gratified to report that late this afternoon, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 183, the Homebuyer Tax Credit legislation, into law. His actions today are the result of our efforts in Sacramento over the last several weeks as members and our team in the capital worked for the bill’s passage before it landed on the governor’s desk.

Dean has to be crazy or wants us to succeed. I don't know about you, but I am takin advantage of every little or big bite he give us. I am liked a little bird sucking all in. So much is comming in that the over spill is pushing me to take action. Its been hard but its been so much fun with Dean's new info and challenges. The results of being plugged-in has help me an overcome the fears of putting my Think Big A-Team.

The results so far is being that I have the following members of my team lined up and ready for war. I have been real easy putting the best team possible. If you dont have your buyer list and your team in place, where are you going to send your deals to.
Now I have a:

Real Estate Agent that is an investor herlself.
A great Mortgage Officer

New home sales fall to record low
By Chavon Sutton
CNN Money
March 24, 2010

Sales of new homes fell to a record low in February, according to a government report released Wednesday, as the glut of foreclosed homes and a shaky economy continued to dampen the housing market.

New home sales fell 2.2% to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 308,000 last month, compared to a upwardly revised annual rate of 315,000 in January, the Census Bureau said.

It was the lowest rate since the government began keeping records in 1963 and marked the fourth straight month of declines.

The drop surprised economists. A consensus of those surveyed by Briefing.com expected February sales to rise to an annual rate of 315,000.

New home sales were down 13% from February 2009.

Data Show Housing's Fragility
Existing-Home Sales Decline 0.6%; Supply Glut, Foreclosures Push Prices Lower
By Jeff Bater and Conor Dougherty
The Wall Street Journal
March 24, 2010

The latest data on the housing market underscored its fragility as the overall economy recovers and showed that a glut of homes for sale and a wave of foreclosures and fire sales are holding down housing prices.

Sales of existing homes fell 0.6% in February from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.02 million, the National Association of Realtors said. Severe winter weather hurt sales in February. In December and January, sales suffered from a surge in sales in the autumn as buyers moved to take advantage of an expiring tax credit, that since has been extended.

Housing Data Highlight Fragility
By Jeff Bater and Conor Dougherty
The Wall Street Journal
March 23, 2010

The latest data on the housing market underscored its fragility as the overall economy recovers and showed that a glut of homes for sale and a wave of foreclosures and fire sales are holding down housing prices.

Sales of existing homes fell 0.6% in February from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.02 million, the National Association of Realtors said. Severe winter weather hurt sales in February. In December and January, sales suffered from a surge in sales in the autumn as buyers moved to take advantage of an expiring tax credit, that since has been extended.

The good news for investors is that home owners now have a better incentive to want to work out a short sale.

This full article can be found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/business/08short.html

In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: paying some of them to leave.

This latest program, which will allow owners to sell for less than they owe and will give them a little cash to speed them on their way, is one of the administration’s most aggressive attempts to grapple with a problem that has defied solutions.

House Call: To Buy or Not to Buy
by Lisa Scherzer
Smart Money
March 22, 2010

There are fewer than 40 days remaining until the federal home buyer tax credit expires. And home builders and realtors aren’t letting consumers forget it.

Home builder Lennar is touting its move-in ready homes in South Florida. Beazer Homes’ web site encourages house hunters to “cash in on the tax credit,” while KB Home’s site declares “Time is running out,” along with countdown -- to the second -- until the credit expires.

Time is, indeed, running out: Buyers must have a binding contract on a house in place by April 30, and the sale must close by June 30. But should you heed the call?

California Home Prices Head Higher
Demand for Costlier Properties Grows, but Total Sales Fell in February for the Second Straight Month
By Cari Tuna
The Wall Street Journal
March 19, 2010

The California housing market is showing more signs of stabilization—at least for now—as sales of bank-owned and bargain-basement homes in inland areas partially give way to sales of costlier homes toward the coast, according to a new report.

California's median home price rose 11.2% in February from February 2009, although home sales in the state slipped for the second consecutive month compared with a year earlier, according to a report released Thursday by MDA DataQuick, a La Jolla, Calif., housing-data provider.

Got a few grand and a few days? Get a perfect home
By Les Christie
CNN Money
March 17, 2010

Hate the mess your home has deteriorated into but you don't have the time or means to do a comprehensive redecorating job? Or maybe it's time to sell your place, but you don't know how to show it off to best effect?

Take Christopher Micaud, for example. The fashion photographer needed to spruce up his Lower Manhattan loft with soaring ceilings and cityscape views in order to sell it. He soon, realized, however, that he faced a daunting task.

For one thing, his home has only two tall windows, both on a living room wall. And when guests walk in the door, they're confronted with a staircase, looking spindly and forlorn.

Housing Starts Tumble
By Tom Barkley and Jeff Bater
The Wall Street Journal
March 16, 2010

Home construction tumbled in February, with major snowstorms crippling business already hobbled by foreclosures.

Housing starts decreased by 5.9% to a seasonally adjusted 575,000 annual rate compared to the prior month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

While that was the biggest decline in four months, it followed an upward revision in the previous month's data, when starts staged a 6.6% gain. January starts were originally reported up 2.8%.

February's homebuilding activity remained above the level of 573,000 registered in December. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires forecast a 4.7% drop in February housing starts, to an annual rate of 563,000.