Archive for the 'Buyers' Category
Ring Tailed Tooter of the Week
Posted by Pam & Joanna | Leave A Comment »
This Gorgeous Home just Sold
for $1,080,000
NOW THAT’S A DEAL!
Especially when you can walk to the beach in minutes.
2962 sq ft.
4 Bed/3 Bath.
Elegant Foyer Entry.
Arcitectural Curves and Arches Throughout.
Large Family Room with Wet Bar.
Spa area.
Roof Deck with Gorgeous views of the Bay and Ocean.
Lush Landscaping.
JUST ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!
Popularity: 2% [?]
Related Posts: Buyers, Pacific Beach
3rd Quarter Statistics for San Diego Real Estate - Get the Facts
Posted by Diane White | Leave A Comment »
What happened in the San Diego housing market in the 3rd quarter? Most areas saw prices declining because the lower priced homes are the ones selling the most…which has brought down the average sales price. The fact is that most short sales and foreclosures have occurred in the lower price ranges and investors and first time home buyers are taking advantage of it,
This market may dry up sooner then we expected due to lenders being encouraged to modify their loans. Countrywide where one out of four loans were serviced, is being required to do so and they have up to 125,000 loans in California alone.
The number of home sales in San Diego County in the 3rd quarter were pretty steady. Total sales including Resale Detached and Resale Attached Homes were:
September 3,090 August 2,801 July 3,083
Here are the full reports compiled by Data Quick for San Diego County:
Popularity: 30% [?]
Related Posts: Area Information, Area Statistics, Buyers, Carlsbad, Carmel Valley, Condos & Townhomes, Del Mar, Encinitas, Escondido, Find A Home, Market Trends, Real Estate News, San Diego, San Marcos, Solana Beach
Homeowners Do Their Homework . . . and it’s paying off!
Posted by Erica Vautier | Leave A Comment »
Dramatic advancements in online tools means more real estate resources are available to more people than ever before. Armed with a plethora of new tools, buyers are doing their homework. They can search for homes, tour neighborhoods, and get expert advice from the convenience of their personal laptop.
A recent survey by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows that more than 77% of consumers now start the real estate process online. On sites like Realtor.com, buyers can specify what type of home they are interested in and have a list of properties that meet their criteria appear in seconds.
Good real estate sites let visitors save searches, send automatic notices when new listings enter the market, and provide extensive information on the property. Advanced sites will even provide foreclosure lists and help locate great real estate buys.
It’s no wonder that more than 3 out of 4 respondents to the NAR survey said they use search engines to browse through properties. While internet buyers spend a longer period of time looking for a home online than traditional buyers, they spend less time searching with their agent and have to view fewer properties in person.
A 2007 California Association of Realtors (CAR) survey showed that next to searching for homes, buyers spend most of their time online surveying neighborhoods. They look at comparable sales, watch local videos and map out the area.
User-generated videos on YouTube provide unique insight into many San Diego cities; a search for “La Jolla, San Diego” yields more than 1,100 results! Some reports suggest that buyers are beginning to prefer these amateur tours to the store-bought variety, which can come off as manufactured.
To further examine neighborhoods, buyers use interactive mapping tools like Google Maps. Simply type in an address and Google Maps displays: satellite images of the location; charts of the terrain; real-time traffic reports and drive times; and frighteningly accurate, panoramic street views. Online maps allow visitors to take a virtual stroll down their future block without ever leaving home.
As buyers migrate toward the internet, so are many real estate agents. Through industry blogs like Active Rain and personal blog sites, real estate agents are sharing their knowledge and experience with the world.
Most buyers are tired of the pre-canned information that populates most real estate sites and are instead choosing to read more organic blog entries.
On our company blog, Picture Perfect San Diego, Windermere agents write about the community, home sales, area activities, market trends, financing options and so much more. It’s a great forum for buyers to meet our agents, read first hand accounts of what is going on in the real estate market, ask questions and leave feedback.
The abundance of research tools available online has made today’s buyer more educated than ever before. They can search for homes, tour neighborhoods, and get expert advice online.
There is a lot of information out there, have you done your homework?
If you need help getting started on your homework, these links may help:
- Read More Articles by Erica Vautier about the Technology and Marketing Available to Homeowners and Agents
- Contact me about working for Windermere and gaining access to these tools
- Contact me about becoming a VIP Member of our site and gaining access to great technology search tools for homeowners
- Leave Feedback and let us know what you’d like to learn more about
Popularity: 47% [?]
Related Posts: Buyers, Education, Foreclosures, Free Foreclosure Lists, Homeowners, Marketing, Picture Perfect San Diego, Technology, Windermere, Windermere Agents
New Conforming Loan Limits Announced For 2009
Posted by Kevin Kueneke | Currently 1 Comment »
After months of speculation, we finally know what the new 2009 high balance conforming loan limits are for San Diego and other “high cost” areas. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said that the $697,500 number we enjoyed for part of 2008 is dropping to $546,250 in San Diego.
Some areas such as Los Angeles-Orange Counties, San Francisco, San Jose, and Santa Cruz are having their 2009 numbers set at the new maximum of $625,500.
According to FHFA’s press release, the 2009 loan limits were calculated using 115% of median house prices as determined by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) whereas the 2008 loan limits were calculated using 125% of median house prices.
So what does this mean? It means that anyone currently in escrow in San Diego with plans to borrow more than $546,250 needs to do everything they can to get their loan closed before 12/31/2008 or face significantly higher interest rates. There is almost a 2% interest rate difference between loans less than $697,500 and loans greater than $697,500 (also known as true jumbo loans) because conforming loans are guaranteed by the government (FNMA and FHLMC). Guidelines are also more strict for true jumbo loans than for conforming and high balance conforming loans.
As expected, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced that FHA Jumbo limits will match the high balance conforming limits. The Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) said that VA Jumbo loans with zero-down payments will be allowed up to the high balance conforming loan limits through the end of 2011. This is good news for FHA and VA buyers as they will still be allowed to take advantage of these programs for higher priced properties.
Any questions or comments? Please email me at Kevin@MyCWMtg.com
Popularity: 48% [?]
Related Posts: Buyers, CW Mortgage, Education, Financial news, Home Loans, Homeowners, Interest Rates, Mortgage News
