What ARE those "not on the net yet" properties?

A lot of house hunters are getting really annoyed with their offers being rejected because of the low supply of homes in today's market. Buyers in the lower price ranges are getting hit the most, with investors paying cash for properties.

How is a buyer putting down 5%, (or less), supposed to compete?

Many buyers working with a First Team Real Estate agent have an advantage on the other buyers out there, because they are getting exposed to listings BEFORE those listings are being advertised.

I'm guessing that other brokerages will follow First Team's lead, but most don't have the number of listings or the infrastructure to do this.

In the past, mainly only the higher-priced homes were "not on the net yet" for a number of reasons, one of which being that sellers didn't want their neighbors to know.

These days, lower-priced houses are a big part of the properties that aren't being advertised yet, and buyers viewing those homes first, stand a better chance of not getting involved in BIDDING WARS.

Sellers who are busy sprucing-up their homes, (painting, making repairs etc), love the "not on the net yet" program because they don't have to bother with keeping their homes "show ready", or dealing with Open Houses. They understand that if an acceptable offer isn't forthcoming before the listing hits the MLS and the extensive marketing begins, they will go the conventional route.

Interested in seeing "Sneak Preview" homes? Call me on 949-232-5634 or shoot me an email.



 

3 Questions You Must Answer When Buying a Home

If you are thinking about purchasing a home right now, you are surely getting a lot of advice. And some of that advice is probably negative. Why buy now with prices still falling? Don’t you realize real estate is no longer a good investment? Don’t you know that people who bought six years ago lost their shirt? We understand the concern your friends and family have. However, let’s look at whether or not now is actually the perfect time to buy a home.

There are three questions you should ask before purchasing in today’s market:

1. What are the experts recommending?
In the last 120 days, many experts have said that buying now makes sense. This list includes: John Talbott, Christopher Thornberg and Warren Buffett.

2. When will I begin to see appreciation if I buy now?
This is a great question. Macro Markets, LLC is a company that studies housing prices. They started their Home Price Expectation Survey in 2010. They ask 100+ housing industry experts to project housing prices through 2016. The most current survey shows that the experts are predicting prices to remain relatively flat in 2012. The experts then project prices to rise reaching a cumulative appreciation of over 10% by 2016.

Purchasing a home today makes great sense from a financial standpoint. Think of the old axiom: you want to buy low and sell high. This decision should not only be a financial one however.

That leads us to our third and final question:

3. Why am I buying a home in the first place?
This truly is the most important question to answer. Forget the finances for a minute. Why did you even begin to consider purchasing a home? For most, the reason has nothing to do with finances. The Fannie Mae National Housing Survey shows that the four major reasons people buy a home have nothing to do with money:
   * A good place to raise children and for them to get a good education
   * A place where you and your family feel safe
   * More space for you and your family
   * Control of the space
What non-financial benefits will you and your family derive from owning a home? The answer to that question should be the reason you decide to purchase or not.

Bottom Line
Don’t allow money to get in the way of you making the right decision for you and your family. In the long run, the finances will work in your favor anyway.

Bank of America offers relo help to short-sellers

Delinquent borrowers must obtain preapproved short-sale price from bank

Bank of America says it will provide up to $30,000 in relocation assistance to delinquent borrowers who work with the bank to obtain a preapproved short-sale price before submitting purchase offers, Inman News reported.

Short sales must be initiated by the end of this year and close by Sept. 26, 2013, to be eligible for the payments, which will range from $2,500 to $30,000 at the completion of a qualifying short sale.

Payments will be determined on a case-by-case basis using a calculation that includes the value of the home, amount owed and other considerations, Bank of America said in announcing the program.

The program -- based on a similar incentive offer Bank of America tested last year in Florida will be available nationally. But Bank of America anticipates the greatest response will come from borrowers in California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, and other states hit hardest by the economic downturn and falling property values.

Customers who believe they may be eligible for Bank of America's short-sale relocation assistance program may contact program specialists at (877) 459-2852. Qualifying short sales that have already started but have not closed may be eligible for the program.

Bank of America says its short-sale initiatives have generated 200,000 short sales in the last two years and another 30,000 in the first three months of this year.

Last month, Bank of America announced it was shortening decision times on short-sale offers to 20 days, down from 45 days or longer.

Do you owe more than your house is worth? Let's discuss your options.

A short sale may, or may not, be right for you! Read a bit about short sales at InnovativeShortSales.com

Free Spring Cleaning Shredding Event tomorrow,

The City of Irvine is sponsoring a free Spring Cleaning Shredding Event tomorrow, May 5th, from 9 a.m.-noon for Irvine residents to safely and securely dispose of unwanted documents.

Mobile shredding units will be on location at: Lakeview Senior Center, 20 Lake Road; Turtle Rock Community Park, 1 Sunnyhill; and Heritage Community Park, 14301 Yale Ave. Residents can dispose of a maximum of five Bankers-size file boxes filled with documents per person. All items accepted will be shredded on site, so don't panic that someone will see any personal info!

Spring cleaning doesn't need to stop with your paper items: Local charitable organizations will also be onsite accepting unwanted or slightly used clothing. Call me at 949-232-5634 for a list of charities - some will pick up from your house!

Here's the link to the flyer about the event.

Also on my new facebook page, DebbieDoesIrvine  (If you "like" it, please "like" it!)

Americans Predict Rents and Home Prices to Increase

I just had a look at the latest National Housing Survey.Fannie Mae does a monthly survey covering different aspects of the housing market.
Here are some record numbers I found interesting in Fannie Mae’s March report, (emphasis added).

µ Thirty-three percent of respondents expect home prices to increase over the next 12 months, the highest level over the past 12 months.

µ The percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to buy rose to 73 percent, the highest level in over a year.

µ Forty-eight percent of respondents think that home rental prices will go up, the highest number recorded to date.

µ On average, respondents expect home rental prices to increase by 4.1 percent over the next 12 months, the highest number recorded to date.

Doug Duncan, chief economist of Fannie Mae, capped the report off by stating:

“Conditions are coming together to encourage people to want to buy homes. Americans’ rental price expectations for the next year continue to rise, reaching their record high level for our survey this month. With an increasing share of consumers expecting higher mortgage rates and home prices over the next 12 months, some may feel that renting is becoming more costly and that homeownership is a more compelling housing choice.”

This Spring Could Be The Best Home-Buying Season In Years

I found a great article from the Forbes website today written by Morgan Brennan, Forbes Staff.

This will be posted in multiple parts over the next few days, so you can absorb all of the information that is inside. Keep coming back for the whole picture...

The lion’s share of home sales typically come in the spring and early summer. April, May, June and July account for more than 40% of all housing transactions annually, in large part thanks to weather. Economists, realtors and Wall Streeters have been quick to surmise that 2012 will be the year of the market bottom, and with that prognosis circulating, it begs the question of what sellers and buyers can expect in housing as that high season nears.

“The spring home buying season looks bright because of an elevated level of contract offers so far this year,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist of NAR, said in a statement earlier this week. February home sales, despite a slight dip from January to February, remain well above 2011 numbers.

The Pending Home Sales Index, which reflects signed contracts that have yet to close, from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) was 9.2% higher than February of 2011 and existing-homes sales, or closed contracts, were 8.8% higher than last year.

That increased demand from buyers has pushed inventory levels 19% lower than they were this time last year, with an estimated 2.43 million homes available for sale. In fact, housing inventory is at a five-year low nationally right now. It means owners tinkering with the thought of selling have less competition to contend with, compared to the past five years. It also means housing may be inching toward a long-awaited recovery.

National Housing Survey 2012

The 2012 National Housing Survey from Fannie Mae is out and the KCM Crew brings us some of the highlights...

Each quarter, Fannie Mae releases their National Housing Survey. They survey the American public on a multitude of questions concerning today’s housing market. I like to pull out some of the findings I deem most interesting each time it is released. Here they are for the most recent report:

84% of the general population believes that owning a home makes more sense than renting.

The Most Important Reasons to Buy a Home

When we talk about homeownership today, it seems that the financial aspects always jump to the front of the discussion. However, the study shows that the four major reasons a person buys a home have nothing to do with money. The top four
reasons, in order, are:

1. It means having a good place to raise children and provide them with a good education.
2. You have a physical structure where you and your family feel safe.
3. It allows you to have more space for your family.
4. It gives you control of what you do with your living space (renovations and updates).

The Home as an Investment

Though most people purchase a home for non-financial reasons, everyone realizes
there is a money component to homeownership. Here is what they said on this issue:

63% of the general population believes that homeownership is a ‘safe’ investment.
53% believe that homeownership has more potential as an investment than any other traditional asset class.

Rent vs. Buy

I'm always interested in the difference people see in renting vs. owning.

64% of renters have aspirations to someday own their own home.
70% of renters think that owning is superior to renting.


Bottom Line

My belief in the value of homeownership grows each time this survey is released