Interest Rates & Buyers Thoughts

I can't even recall the number, but it was a high percentage rate that came back in a buyer survey that 'It Was Not A Good Time To Buy A Home'. I wanna say it was about 92%. That seems crazy high as we are still selling homes in Santa Clarita.

Oh, and then there is this that I just read this morning:

Mortgage rates rise again, but look poised to drop in the fall

The 30-year fixed rate climbed to 6.96% for the week ending August 10, the highest rate since November 2022

Buyers have become accustomed to the lack of inventory and the higher rates...presumably.

However, I've said this before, and I'll just keep saying it. Buyers buy, and Sellers sell, when the time is right for them. Regardless of the lack of inventory, the high interest rates, or the color of the moon.

If the time is right for you, to sell or buy, just holler. 

We'll make it as easy as possible for you.

Santa Clarita Valley Home Sales Activity - August 4, 2023

Good Morning! Housing inventory is still extremely low, but it has gone up 20% in the last couple of months in our pretty valley.

As a reminder, I include: Acton, Agua Dulce, Canyon Country, Saugus, Newhall, Valencia, Stevenson Ranch, and Castaic. They aren't all part of the incorporated SCV, but they do get 'shopped' by home buyers looking in SCV.

I ran these numbers late last night. I was actually kind of surprised by the number of Coming Soon at 19. They'd been hovering under 10 for a few months.

The Active (Available in the picture above) are at 296. Mid June they were 228. Beginning of May, they were 241. So, yes, up 20%. But, still remarkably low. 

In escrow is 287. And, Sold (Closed in the picture) in the last 30 days is 224.

I will tell you that my team has 3 new listings. One that just hit yesterday, 2 more in the 'getting ready' stages. We were pretty quiet for a couple of months, then poof, 3 Sellers said they were ready to sell. Not surprisingly, all 3 are leaving SCV. One out of state, one is actually 75% gone already, the 3rd is moving to another city.

Why is inventory so low? It's been low for a few years. For many reasons of course. Right now, I truly believe it's the interest rates. If Sellers want to sell and Buy a replacement property, it's a tough pill to swallow to go from a 3.5% interest rate to an almost 7% rate. The 3 we have are going to be cashing out. Not rebuying with a loan either. So, those make complete sense.

If you have questions, just holler. We're happy to help.

This is the one that just hit the market!

28377 Connie Court, Santa Clarita, CA 91387

Listed at $649,999

Lauren Witz Greber

Realty Executives Homes

(661) 313-5470 - cell

Leslie Babikan

Keller Williams VIP Properties

(661) 312-3669 – cell

Jennifer Herring

HomeSmart Evergreen

(661) 435-0935 - cell

Excited About A Referral From YOU! 😊
DRE License # 01347043/01985201/01967154

"Keep Your WITZ About You When Buying Or Selling Your Home"

"What's Cooking in Real Estate"

“Inspired By Integrity, Driven By Purpose”

 

 

Real Estate Fraud Can Happen

I read something, and already shared it to my Facebook business page, about a fraud happening where Zillow and some guy pretended to be some deceased guy and actually was able to transfer ownership to the fraud dude! So awful. Cost the family thousands to get it rectified and they lost all the possessions that were in the home as well.

I've been meaning to share these JPG's with you about Seller Fraud in Real Estate as well. I've been fortunate that in over 21 years of being a Realtor, I've never actually encountered this myself.

SAVE THIS POST, SO YOU CAN COMPARE NOTES, 

IF SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS THAT SEEMS JUST A BIT OFF.

Oh Goodness, THE Powder Room

Most homes have a mixture of full baths, 3/4 baths, 1/2 baths, and maybe a powder room. The powder room is generally used for guests, or a quick 'visit' while cooking or lounging in the living room. The larger bathrooms are generally near the bedrooms. So, having a powder room is nice for company to use while staying away from sleeping areas.

But, when was the last time you re-decorated your powder room? Maybe a vanity? Probably changed out a toilet, of course you've painted in the last decade.

Check out some of these that Houzz intrigued me into searching out for you, to peruse through, and maybe get ideas for a do-over of yours. The rooms are so small, heck, you could re-do it every couple of years for a small budget.

This one caught my eye right off the bat! Would I pick it for me? Nope. But, I did think the simplicity of it, along with the colors, was pretty tastefully striking.

I did like this one a lot. Those are my kind of colors. Same as one before with that thick vanity. Not so sure how I feel about that. But, colors and simple win me over.

Love the wallpaper! Wouldn't use wallpaper in a bathroom that had a shower due to the steam. But, this would work well in a powder room. I like the faucet too, wall sconce? Meh. Pass on the mirror as well. It is a small room, but I want to see more than just my face when I take a girls break.

This is totally NOT me at all, but oh, so dramatic. One of you will love it. Felt a bit to 'hotel-ish' for my taste. The back wallpaper I kinda like, but the mix of the two just not my thing.

I know, I know, wild. But, the green called my name!! I think I could use that wallpaper on maybe one wall. Not a fan of the geometric cabinet, but do dig the mirror with the lights behind/around it!

Ah, RealtorLife, we see so many things related to homes. 

And, I totally enjoy that aspect of it indeed!

Will The California Exodus Bring Home Prices Down In The Golden State?

Well, you would think so, right? But, it's just not happening. Yet. Reading, reading, reading. Came across this article:

California is losing population and building new houses. When will home prices come down?

Click on the above link if you have about 10 minutes to read and digest the entire article.

Or, take a couple minutes and here are the clips that interested me the most so I kinda figure you'd be interested in them as well.

* New numbers released by the Newsom administration show that California added homes to its housing stock at a faster clip than any time since the Great Recession — 123,350 additional units, or an increase of 0.85%.  

* Over that same period, the state’s population declined, marking the third year in a row that it’s fallen from one new year to the next.

* Put those two numbers together and a surprising statistic emerges: There are now more homes per person — 3,770 units for every 10,000 Californians — than there have been since at least 1991. 

* The totals since 2020: roughly 430,000 new homes and some 821,000 fewer Californians competing to reside within them.

* But, COVID made it worse. People left their roomies and spread out as they could work from home. What used to me a few adults in ONE home, now is taking over 3-4 homes.

* On the great Exodus ~ “The ones who are older are leaving because they’re (homeowners) cashing in their gains,” he said of the nearly 8 million ex-Californians who exited the state last decade.” The young people who are leaving, we now think, are leaving because they can’t buy a house here.”

And even if those departures do ultimately alleviate the state’s scarcity of homes, it’s not the solution to the problem that anyone should want, adds Johnson from Public Policy Institute of California.

“I don’t think any of us who have been advocating for building more housing in California — to help alleviate the shortage of housing we’ve had and to improve affordability in the state — thought that the best path was just to have the state start to depopulate.”

Our future retirement home is not in California. Our money stretched so much further out of state. While we've lived, and loved, California our entire lives, and we make a fantastic income, California is just too expensive for  too many.

California? We Should Do Better.

If Only We Had More Inventory - The Cry For Sellers!

I have friends, neighbors, clients, always asking me why is the market doing what it is doing? How's the market kind of questions.

Just this week a good pal asked about the closing price on a home in her neighborhood. She was really surprised at how much that 'hunk of junk' sold for. Said it needed a lot of work! And, the kicker was 'I thought it was a buyers market?'

Well, it would be if we had a boat-load of inventory. But, alas, we do not. Santa Clarita has so few homes currently available for sale that any buyers out there are frequently scrambling and getting trapped, yet again, in multiple offers.

I believe we have an abundance of inventory sitting on the sidelines. Retirees that may not have enough equity to buy outright in another home are hoping for rates to go down so as not to give up the existing home loan rate they have now.

But interest rates are so high you say? Well, they just keep climbing and buyers are seemingly resigned to the fact that they won't dive back down to the low rates of yesteryear. "The Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, which focuses on conventional and conforming loans with a 20% down payment, shows the 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.81% as of July 6, up significantly from last week’s 6.71%. By contrast, the 30-year was at 5.30% a year ago at this time." This quote is from HousingWire just this morning!

It's truly a double-edged sword. Sellers want to sell but the re-buy at these rates are a tough pill to swallow. Buyers want to buy but with this little inventory it's costing them.

As always, buyers buy when they want/need to. Same with sellers. There will come a point when it's do it now and be damned with the fallout.

And, as always, if you....or someone you know...needs any real estate help....just holler. We will do our best to make the real estate journey as easy as possible.

Lauren Witz Greber

Realty Executives Homes

(661) 313-5470 - cell

Leslie Babikan

Keller Williams VIP Properties

(661) 312-3669 – cell

Jennifer Herring

HomeSmart Evergreen

(661) 977-6535 - cell

DRE License # 01347043/01985201/01967154

"Keep Your WITZ About You When Buying Or Selling Your Home"

"What's Cooking in Real Estate"

“Inspired By Integrity, Driven By Purpose”

Seller Refusing To Close Escrow

I spotted a brief mention of this in our California Association of Realtors feed on Instagram. Enough of it to make me realize that it should be shared.

What if the Seller does refuse to Close Escrow?

I've yet to have it happen to any of my buyers, 

but as a Realtor, it's out of my hands when it does.

As your agent, I can send a Demand to Close Escrow to the Seller on your behalf. It must be sent out before a buyer can cancel based on the seller refusing to close escrow. There are time periods that we must adhere to of course.

The buyer may wish to send a a letter which outlines the legal liability for the Sellers breach of contract. Yes, the purchase agreement is truly a contract. So often ignored as such though. 

However, the buyer may hire a lawyer,  file a suit, record a lis pendens, ask for specific performance or damages, and claim attorney fees and costs.

Reminder, your agent is out at this point. We are not attorneys, and cannot assist with any legal issues between Buyer & Seller.

If the Demand to Close Escrow is not adhered to by the Seller, again, we are out of it and the Buyer has to decide if they want to pursue legal guidance.