Saturday, September 28, 2013

578 Today

Missed my Blog writing yesterday! Well, don't shoot me I went to see Keith Urban at the Hollywood Bowl last night....much more fun!

But, today I checked our growing inventory of homes in the lovely community I live in. 578 active listings today. Obviously steadily increasing.

Delinquency is falling, it's the east coast states, the non-judicial states, that still show the highest delinquency. Understandable.

At any rate, I believe we are going to have a slow fourth quarter in sales. Not frozen, just slower than the first 2/3's of the year.

But, anticipate a boom of sales again in the Spring! 


You okay with that?

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Again With New Homes

Yes, I wrote a post ~ or was it a YouTube ~ about new home construction in Santa Clarita. We have several builders having a ball out here. And they are making some moolah.

I like it. If new homes are being purchased, old homes are being sold. The more for sale, the more people can buy while prices and interest rates are reasonable.

New homes out here often come with some extra property tax, so please make sure to ask about Mello-Roos, CFD, Landscape Maintenance....on top of any HOA's of course.

Lennar and KB, a couple that definitely build out here, have their stocks rising since last year. Good. Lennar only about 3.5%, KB, yowza, about 90%!

New home construction requires more employees. Good again. I love seeing people working, don't you?

At any rate, just a quickie to remind you that Lennar and KB are making some income, building some homes, employing some people, and creating re-sale inventory as well.


Friday, September 20, 2013

Foreclosures In The Pipeline?

A while ago I ran stats for foreclosures in Santa Clarita Valley. All areas of SCV and all stages of foreclosure. Notice of Default, Notice of Trustee Sale, and Foreclosed upon already. That number sat, for a while, at around 2000. If my memory serves me correctly it was about one and a half to two years ago.

A new buyer, looking for a deal, to buy, live in, fix up and sell is what prompted this post. Of course they want to make money on the deal. In SCV of course.

I told them that deal was a year ago. It's hard sometimes to be honest. To tell the truth as that persons bubble bursts a bit.

I did say if we could find the 'dog' of a property that no one else wanted, then maybe. I also talked about sitting on the courthouse steps at auction. They do not have that kind of liquid cash.

I did run the foreclosure stats again today for them. That number is now at 869, less than 1/2 of when we had a ton of short-sales and REO's on the market.

One of them thinks we are going to get a flood of foreclosures hitting the market again in 2014. That the banks are holding them. I explained that California is a judicial state....there really isn't a delay in foreclosure like in, say Florida, where the judge has to approve the foreclosure.

Now, I'm not saying it wasn't a total mess a few years ago, but we've been clearing them out in the last couple and our inventory of active listings is less than 10% of distressed properties compared to just even last year where 3 times that many were distressed.

So, although I can't make any guarantees, I don't expect that 2014 doom to arrive here in California because there just isn't that much in the pipeline.



Equity is up, delinquency is down. Banks DO NOT want to own homes. That's why there were soooo many short-sales vs. REO's in the last couple years.

Just my opinion....based upon fact....not hype!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

What's Gonna Happen When All Those Un-Employed Kids Get Jobs?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all know the Real Estate market is recovering. We also all know that there's a lull right now. Knee-jerk reaction to several things. So I don't need to discuss that!

Thought of today ~ eventually the job market is going to improve also. All those kids that are living with their parents? The ones that graduated college, with a degree, that can't find a good paying job? 

Well, when those kids have jobs, they are going to want to do the same things we did. Get married, start a family.....buy a house!

And, when they do.....I truly wonder what the housing market will be like. Will we have built up an abundance of properties for sale? Will we have so few that the prices spike?

The prices on homes will continue to climb. Interest rates have been low long enough and they will continue to climb as well.

My wish is that all of these kids will be able to find an affordable home, 
very soon after they find the perfect job!


Friday, September 13, 2013

When The Going Gets Tough......

We all know that old saying "....Then The Tough Get Going!" It will be applying to Real Estate in the next few years yet again.

I've been helping people in and out of homes for over eleven years now. Worked through several challenging markets. Kept my head above water each time.....you know why? Because I am one of the tough ones. And, I don't just get going, I keep it going....through Thick & Thin. Ha Ha Ha, another old saying.

I read an article this morning that talked about Realtors worrying about the upcoming market. Really? We are just getting out of one of the toughest market ....IN YEARS....and they are worried about the next market?

Know why they are worried? Competition. They are worried about all the newbies that will come into our market now that it's not full of Short-Sales and Foreclosures!

Can't stop them from coming. It's part of our business. But, I don't worry. I've built a reputation for helping people. I will surely lose a transaction or two to someones' cousin or friend or hairdresser that is a Realtor now. Well, that is calling themselves one.

I commend the newbies that come on and are dedicated to a job well done. I'll help each and every one of them if they ask. The ones that come for the quick buck.....Ugh.....there will be those. They will do a half-assed job and get paid for it. That annoys me.

But, I know that I'm doing the best job for the people that put their trust in me. That I always will treat them the same way that I wish to be treated. I can't worry about competition, I have to worry too much that my clients are being taken care of properly.

So this little chickie will be going when it gets tough....just you watch me!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Lots Of New Homes

I've always said Valencia is the 'Town of New' and we are finally coming back to that again!

We were supposed to start the Newhall Ranch Project back in 2008...if my memory serves me correctly without looking it up. However, with the downfall of housing, and the problems with environmental issues, that was delayed. Expected to start up again in 2011. Nope. Most recently I had heard about another 18 months.

That project is a huge new home development project. To take about 20 years and mimic the master planned Valencia community.

At this time we do have several new home construction sites around Santa Clarita. Particularly in the Valencia surrounding area.

D. R. Horton up in Valencia near Copperhill. Lennar, West Creek off Copperhill as well. KB and Lennar both in the RiverVillage area off Newhall Ranch Rd. And, the newbies on the block, The New Home Company, Village Metro, off of Soledad across from the old Speedway!

If you want to take a gander at any of these new homes, give me a call, I'll be happy to chauffeur you around! Please do keep in mind that if you do want an, outside of the builder, agent representation, you must register online or go in physically with your agent.....the first time.


That's not the only new ones, just the ones I've been reading about lately!
Since a lot of us have the urge to move on from what's not working anymore in our homes, 
give me a call to go look at new construction!



Friday, September 6, 2013

Opinion ~ What Do Renters Do To Neighborhoods?

Talking with a friend yesterday about Real Estate. Should they stay in their neighborhood and remodel or should they sell and buy something in a different neighborhood?

Right away she commented on the fact that 'There are so many Renters on my street!' And, then I read a particular article this morning that generated this blogs' subject matter.

The Real Estate market had tons of investors buying up undervalued units and turning them into rentals or flipping them for profit. Due to so many homeowners losing their homes via Short-Sale of foreclosure, there have been a large pool of tenants to pick from to keep those rental units occupied.

Does a large number of rentals bring down the neighborhood?

Quite honestly, I've been a landlord twice now. The first time with two separate tenants over an 8 year period. This second time one family for the last 2 years. Did they bring down the neighborhood? Nah. Did they keep up the home the way I did? Nope. Were they friendly to the neighbors? Yes...and No.

Each person is different, each home is different, each neighborhood is different. If you have 3 rentals in Beverly Hills on a street that has 10 homes will that bring down the value? Doubtfully. People that can afford rent in Beverly Hills aren't going to let their home, albeit a rental, look shabby. There's a reason they want to live there.

A condo complex in any low income area will be quite different though. That's just a statement of fact and statistics.

But, there is also the mentality of owners vs. renters. Renters are nice people too, just they have chosen to rent instead of own. For many reasons. If they aren't keeping the home up, there are avenues to follow. But, it truly isn't the renters that are the problem....it's the owner of that rental that is allowing the upkeep not to be maintained.

Case in point. My current rental was to have the tenants take care of the rear yard. Things changed, they had another baby, he's always traveling. We decided to pay for a gardener to come in weekly rather than have our neighbors disappointed with .....renters. No, we didn't raise their rent. They have been there for 2 years and it's worth it to us to pay the small gardener fee rather than have them have to move. Besides, my old neighbors like them!



And you? What's your opinion of renters? Really, didn't we all start out that way?

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

The Adjustable Rate Mortgage Is Making A Comeback

Yep, they are on the way back in. I've been watching it for the last 1-2 years creep it's way into our lives again.

The 5 or 7 year ARM is the most popular. It's a gamble at any year. But, it can work for the home buyer that is only going to stay for a short period of time.

I heard quite some time ago that most homeowners only stay for 7-8 years. I've yet to see that stat play out with my clients. For those that fit that pattern, an adjustable rate mortgage may be perfect for you. As long as you are still paying off your principal.

But do your math, calculate YOUR odds, make sure it's right for you or the bet you hedged may cause a larger loss than you can afford.

Current rates for the 5 year is 3.75, the 7 is 3.875. The 30 year fixed is hovering around 4.625. What's the difference in a mortgage payment?

Easy example:

500k loan at 3.75 = $2350.00

@ 3.875 = $2460.00

And, at the traditional 30 year fixed current rate of $ 4.625 = $2645.00

Is 300/month worth the risk to you? If you know for sure you're moving before the loan needs to be refinanced it's a great way to save some cash. But, if you're just trying to squeeze into a more affordable payment, it may be to large of a risk for your future.