Archive for March, 2010

From the Desktop of Eric Israel

3/19/2010
Happy Friday Everyone,

Lots of great articles and information, so let’s dive right in.

I wanted to post this message one more time for those of you who may have missed it last week. The results in 4 of the 5 links below are in alphabetical order starting with “A” then going through to “Z”.

Here are all the Bank Owned Detached Homes in OC on the market 7 days or less.

Here are all the Bank Owned Attached Homes in OC on the market 7 days or less.

Here are all the Bank Owned homes with a 3% or more price drop within the last 14 days.

Here are all the Short Sale Detached Homes in OC on the market 7 days or less.

Here are all the Regular Sale Detached Homes up to $800,000 on the market 7 days or less. (This report will not display the photos when it opens as it takes too long to load with this many homes). You can click on the “Media” link in each listing to view the photos of each home). If you have other parameters you would like to see, just let me know?

Home prices had a gain in February.

The I.R.S. is telling homeowners how to get tax relief.

Great idea that could potentially help stressed borrowers.

Not sure who I believe here, Bank of America or the title insurer? My money is on the title insurer:)

Check out who is fueling the surge in home sales.

Bad credit? No problem for a loan?

Looks like more foreclosures coming down the pipeline.

Will joblessness effect the real estate market?

Is this the next “Green” phenomenon?

Modified mortgages are growing.

Those who short sale their homes may now face tax consequences.

Can renting out your home cut your taxes?

Interesting peek into Forbes luxury housing index.

Ever wondered where the most expensive zip codes are?

Mortgage rates drop again? Bargain basement mortgage rates?

The second Green Sheet for February has been posted, This is a good read about short sales and how they may affect you.

For those of you interested in past sales, you can check home values here in almost any area.

Remember, you can view all the Orange County bank owned homes here updated daily through the MLS.You can perform your own personal custom home search right here.You will even be able to set up your own account and save homes in a personal folder.

If you don’t like using the mapping technology when searching for homes, you can use this friendly NON mapping search.

For those of you who want to search for homes just like an agent, please sign up for a free Listingbook account here. If you would rather have the homes come automatically to you (or you want both services), I can set up a private personal website of homes that meets your specific criteria. Just let me know what your criteria is and I’ll set it up? Both of these tools are great and will allow you to follow the current real estate market.

Please visit my Ladera Ranch website if you have an interest in this wonderful area. February home sales in Ladera Ranch have been posted.

If you buy or sell a home with me, I will donate a portion of my commission towards your local school PTA, local youth sports organization or your favorite charity.

Referrals are greatly appreciated.

Thank you for the continued support and have a great weekend!

Regards,

Eric Israel
Cell- 949-302-8100
Fax- 949-315-3700
Email- Eric@EricIsrael.com
Putting the “Real” Back in Real Estate

View all homes on the MLS here:
http://www.SoCalOceanViews.com
http://www.LaderaRanchLife.com
Specializing in “Ladera Ranch, Bank Owned & Ocean View” homes

Get your free Listingbook account & search like an agent:
http://EricIsrael.Listingbook.com

Weekly Email for 3/12/10

3/12/2012
Hello Everyone,

Hope you had a great week. Can you believe it is March already?

A quick note about the bank owned, short sale and regular sale links below. The results are in alphabetical order starting with “A” then going through to “Z”. I had a person call me asking why all the links are just in Anaheim and was that the only place I work? I had to explain that they weren’t scrolling down far enough to get past the “A”’s.

I have a friend who just listed his home for sale in Newport Coast.

Here are all the Bank Owned Detached Homes in OC on the market 7 days or less.

Here are all the Bank Owned Attached Homes in OC on the market 7 days or less.

Here are all the Bank Owned homes with a 3% or more price drop within the last 14 days.

Here are all the Short Sale Detached Homes in OC on the market 7 days or less.

Here are all the Regular Sale Detached Homes up to $800,000 on the market 7 days or less. (This report will not display the photos when it opens as it takes too long to load with this many homes). You can click on the “Media” link in each listing to view the photos of each home). If you have other parameters you would like to see, just let me know?

Leave it to the government to come up with this novel idea: pay homeowners to sell at a loss. Where will the government get the money for this?

Good news from B of A borrowers looking for a loan mod.

Is the the right time to buy?

Borrowers are missing out on savings.

When it’s OK to walk away from your home.

Some home owners are fighting higher property tax.

Is this a strategic default or just the sign of the times?.

Mortgage rates are inching lower.

If you are doing a loan mod you may want to read this.

Ever wondered where many of the OC jobs went?

Green homes facing a red light.

Could this emergency loan plan work in other areas?

The second Green Sheet for February has been posted, This is a good read about short sales and how they may affect you.

For those of you interested in past sales, you can check home values here in almost any area.

Remember, you can view all the Orange County bank owned homes here updated daily through the MLS.

You can perform your own personal custom home search right here.You will even be able to set up your own account and save homes in a personal folder.

If you don’t like using the mapping technology when searching for homes, you can use this friendly NON mapping search.

For those of you who want to search for homes just like an agent, please sign up for a free Listingbook account here. If you would rather have the homes come automatically to you (or you want both services), I can set up a private personal website of homes that meets your specific criteria. Just let me know what your criteria is and I’ll set it up? Both of these tools are great and will allow you to follow the current real estate market.

Please visit my Ladera Ranch website if you have an interest in this wonderful area. February home sales in Ladera Ranch have been posted.

Anyone looking for something to do in South County this weekend, you can check out the Whale Parade in Dana Point.

If you buy or sell a home with me, I will donate a portion of my commission towards your local school PTA, local youth sports organization or your favorite charity.

Referrals are greatly appreciated.

Thank you for the continued support and have a great weekend!

Regards,

Eric Israel
Cell- 949-302-8100
Fax- 949-315-3700
Email- Eric@EricIsrael.com
Putting the “Real” Back in Real Estate

View all homes on the MLS here:
http://www.SoCalOceanViews.com
http://www.LaderaRanchLife.com
Specializing in “Ladera Ranch, Bank Owned & Ocean View” homes

Get your free Listingbook account & search like an agent:
http://EricIsrael.Listingbook.com

The Green Sheet for March

Orange County Housing Review: Olympic Pause

March 2, 2010

Demand, the number of new pending sales over the prior month, dropped by 190 homes over the prior two weeks, now totaling 3,054. However, this is typical in the data because February is such a short month. Had February been a normal month in length, demand would have remained unchanged from a couple of weeks ago. Demand is 430 pending sales stronger than last year at this time and 1,161 stronger compared to two years ago. There really has not been much change in the past month, in terms of activity. The storyline remains the same: there are not enough homes coming on the market in the lower ranges to satisfy the current demand. If a home is priced well and is below $750,000, it will fly off the market and generate more than one offer. Yes, there are a ton of distressed homes on the market. But, in the lower ranges, they are not eroding pricing any further. Values have already dropped at least 35%. Interest rates are low. There still is the first time home buyer’s tax credit, but its reach is not very far due to the lack of inventory and the fact that cash buyers, or buyers with larger down payments, are snatching up many of the homes that are hitting the market.

How do the rest of the numbers look? The active inventory increased over the past two weeks by 311 homes, or 4%, to 8,446. The active inventory last year was at 11,562, 3,116 additional homes compared to today. Two years ago it was at 15,412, 6,966 additional homes. With a drop in demand and an increase in the inventory, the expected market time increased from 2.51 months two weeks ago to 2.77 months today. At the current pace, the overall market continues to be a seller’s market without much appreciation at all. But, for those sellers in the higher ranges, DO NOT GET EXCITED about the overall numbers. In drilling down to specific ranges, the higher the price range, the slower the market. It is slow for all markets above $1 million. Above $2 million, the market is ice cold. The number of active distressed homes on the market, all short sales and foreclosures combined, increased by 64 homes to 2,769. The number of foreclosures within the active listing inventory increased in the past two weeks from 380 to 396, a gain of 16. The expected market time for foreclosures is a mind numbing 1.14 months, a deep seller’s market. Foreclosures remain the hot ticket. The number of short sales within the active listing inventory increased by 48 and now totals 2,373. The expected market time for short sales is 1.91 months, also a hot ticket. There are 6,867 total pending sales in all of Orange County. Of those, 4,254 are short sales, 62%. Yet, only 27% of all closed residential re-sales in February were short sales. Most short sales are simply not closing. They are waiting on lender, or in many cases lenders, approval of the sale. Of the 4,254 pending short sales, only 757 have been pending for less than a month. 1,488 have been pending for over three months. The data does not even capture the short sales where a frustrated buyer walks away after waiting too long. Those are placed back on the market and, often, after generating several offers, quickly become pending sales again.

So, where do we go from here? There are a lot of unknowns regarding the future of the economy, unemployment, a double dip, etc. All of the experts seem to enjoy the healthy debate, but opinions are all over the map. But, the Orange County housing market is trudging forward, regardless. First time homebuyers represent about 25% of all purchases and so do investors. I have also been asked where all of these first time homebuyers are coming from. Many of them are in their late twenties or early thirties and responsibly saved for a down payment, but simply could not afford to buy when prices reached their astronomical heights several years back. They were priced out of the market for years and did not jump into the market until prices dropped to a very attractive level along with interest rates. Current demand is strong. The market would appear even stronger in if all of the short sales that are pending would close. That will change as more short sales are approved as 2010 rolls along. The federal government now wants the big banks to modify loans first. If that does not work out, then they want the big banks to go the short sale route. Foreclosing is only a last resort. As March rolls along and the spring officially begins, we can expect more homes to hit the market and demand to increase. The listing inventory will increase slightly due to more and more higher priced properties hitting the market where demand is not strong enough to keep up with the increased flow. The lower ranges will remain strong.

How to find Mello Roos

From the Desktop of Eric Israel

3/5/2010
Hello Everyone and Happy Friday,

It’s pretty much business as usual this week in real real estate. Getting pre-approved for a loan is still the first order of business. If any of you are doing FHA or VA financing, you will have difficulty trying to get your offer accepted on a bank owned home. I can easily help you with this.

I will be posting a new category of bank owned homes from now on. It is called “Bank Owned homes with a 3% or more price drop within the last 14 days”. I have posted these below.