Several factors are at work:
~Booming household growth. The nation will add 1.37 million new households this year. Part of this is natural population increase but this has also been bolstered by foreign migrants.
~Graying boomers. As boomers have aged and prospered, they have begun to buy vacation or second homes in increasing numbers. This trend will widen as they near retirement.
~Changing household composition. Social and cultural changes add to the number of households. There are more single-person households than in the past. Fewer adult children live with their parents; they establish their own homes. Increases in divorce rates result in the division of multi-person households into smaller ones. Family sizes have shrunk; a community may have about the same population but more households.
~Minority gains. Ownership among formerly under-represented minorities has increased. Black and Latin home ownership has always trailed that of whites but the past 10 years has seen minorities making great progress.
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CNN Money: Interest Rates provided by Bankrate.com Check mortgage, home equity, auto rates etc. Click here to read more.
Don't give up on home-selling season. If you're thinking of waiting until the momentum swings in the other direction to sell your home, you might be waiting quite a while. Not only are you competing against local existing single-family-home inventory (a euphemism for "used" homes); you are up against newly constructed homes, condos, town homes and rental units. You are also competing in the sales game against bailing investors, some of whom have already made a bundle on the speculation game in the past few years and will be content to take a loss or break-even position this time around, now that the quick-buck days are gone. Simultaneously, rising mortgage interest rates have constricted the buyer pool. Click here to read more.
Location's important but so is price, price, price. Anyone who's been in the real estate business for a while will tell you that the most common reason a property isn't selling or being shown is a too-high asking price. Think about it: If your agency thought there was a good chance of selling your home at or near your asking price, it wouldn't be trying to talk you down -- they'd much rather hold out for that higher commission check. Sometimes, if such higher-than-market homes do attract suitors, the deals can disintegrate when buyers have trouble securing financing. For example, if present market conditions and comps for the past six months don't support your asking price at the bank, the home will not appraise favorably for a home loan. Be careful trying to hold out. If your house remains on the market too long, it might actually get harder and harder to attract good offers. After a while, buyers may assume you're getting desperate and will try to lowball you. In the first couple of weeks after it went on the market, there should have at been at least a few such agents dropping by to preview your place for their clients. The price may have kept them away. If buyer's agents are not bringing potential buyers around it could be a good indication they, too, think your house is priced too high. Click here to read more.
As real estate market cools, 'buys' return. After five years of sizzling growth, U.S. home price appreciation is showing signs of cooling. Pending home sales -- a leading market indicator -- are down from a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. In many of the nation's hottest markets, brokers also are reporting a growing gap between sellers' asking prices and what purchasers are willing to pay. For prospective home buyers, the market shift provides a chance to remaster an old negotiating tactic: the art of the lowball offer. Strategies for securing a below-market price vary by locality. In any region, however, experts say bargain-hunting buyers can close favorable deals by applying a few basic principles.
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Sellers' new math: As houses stay on the market longer, nervous owners have begun dropping their prices. Houses throughout Southern California are staying on the market longer than they were a year ago. Without question, the market has changed. Bidding wars are fewer and farther between. Word-of-mouth sales before a sign goes up are less frequent. And deals struck in the first minutes of open houses are all but history, agents say. Anecdotal evidence aside, one sure measure of a market slowdown is the number of days homes are listed before a contract is signed. In Los Angeles County, houses were staying on the market 34 days, according to the trade group, up from 25 days a year earlier. In Orange County, it was 39 days compared with 26, and in the combined San Bernardino and Riverside counties region, 39 days, up from 27. an overpriced home might sit on the market, but eventually appreciation would "catch up" to the seller's price, he said. That's no longer the case. Like most things in life, timing is key. Click here to read more.
Price reductions escalate in today's housing market. How to tell if you're asking too much. When listings that are similar to your propery are selling but your listing isn't, it's usually because of the price. The time to make a price adjustment is when you discover that it's too high, even if this is soon after the property is listed. Staying on the market too long at a high price is risky. If the market softens further, you could end up having to make a bigger price adjustment later. A minor price reduction is likely to result in a modest response. In order to make a positive impact, reduce your list price enough so that your list price is at or below the level of your competitors whose listings are being shown and sold. Click here to read more.
Older widow should consider reverse mortgage and more questions and answers with Bob Bruss. Robert J. Bruss is a California lawyer and licensed real estate broker. Click here to read more.
Get Real About Real Estate for Your IRA. Read about the many potential pitfalls of investing IRA money in rental property. Click here to read more.
Foreclosures May Jump As ARMs Reset. As more ARMs adjust upward and housing prices begin to dip, many Americans like Britten can't refinance and are finding themselves trapped in too-high monthly payments. For those who can't make their payments, foreclosure -- the legal process by which the lender reposseses the house because the owner has defaulted on payments -- is the only way out. Foreclosure figures just released by the Mortgage Bankers Association show that foreclosure activity fell in the first quarter of 2006 over the first quarter of 2005 for all loan categories except subprime loans. The MBA didn't specify how many of subprime loans were adjustable rate mortgages. But while a strong economy helped hold down the foreclosure rate in the first quarter, homeowners and experts fear the market has turned and numbers are headed upward. In the last several years, millions of Americans took equity out of their houses and refinanced when interest rates were at historical lows and housing prices were at record highs. Many of them chose to refinance into hybrid ARMs that lenders were aggressively pushing. ARMs, which featured a low introductory interest rate that resets upward after a set period of time, were easier to qualify for than traditional fixed-rate loans. ARMs are now starting to fall by the wayside as the difference in interest rates narrows. The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate loan in May was 6.60 percent compared to 5.63 percent on a one-year ARM, according to Freddie Mac. In 2003, rates on a 30-year fixed were at 6.54 percent, while ARMs carried a 3.76 percent rate. This year, more than $300 billion worth of hybrid ARMs will readjust for the first time. That number will jump to approximately $1 trillion in 2007, according to the MBA. Monthly payments will leap too, many beyond what homeowners can afford. Click here to read more.
~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com
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