Signature Properties Blog

Yesterday the House of Representatives unanimously voted to extend the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit to active military personnel, foreign service and intelligence officers. HR 3590 extends the existing tax credit to this group until November 30th, 2010.  The bill now goes to the Senate, and is expected to pass with the same ease.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) because it was thought that military personel serving oversees this year did not have the same opportunity to take advantage of the tax credit.  If the original qualifications are met, the extension applies to military personnel who spent at least 90 days of the current calendar year oversees.  It also does not require borrowers to payback the tax credit if they are deployed after receiving it.  The current tax credit requires borrowers payback the tax credit if they do not occupy the home within three years of receiving the tax credit.

No word yet on whether the $8,000 tax credit will be extended for all eligible borrowers.

OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY 1:00-4:00  Going fast, these Newdoll homes are the best bargain in the area of HOMES FOR SALE in San Luis Obispo County.  With multiple offers on the last two Newdoll homes sold this past month,buyers are realizing that  these BRAND NEW homes outweigh the benefits of buying a FORECLOSURE property.   Come by my open house Saturdy 10/3 and enjoy some refreshments! With only 2 homes left in this Nipomo neighborhood and only one that has also has a granny house on almost a full acre of property, these 4 bedroom homes for sale will impress you!  We are finding that buyers seeking LARGE LOTS or looking for a second unit or granny house for family members will be delighted when they arrive today at the open house.  Choose from two brand new homes on a huge lot for bargain price of $599,900 or a beautiful 4 bedroom with 3-car garage also brand new for $499,900. Beautiful uprades include granite counters, large patios for entertaining, Gorgeous tile, pantry, walk-in closets and landscaping. Flexible seller will even consider a tradefor local property! Call Today NANCY PUDER, Signature Properties (805)710-2415 Model Homes Open at 581 & 585 Meredith.  Driving Directions for open houses:  Driving south on 101, exit Tefft St. contine south on Frontage Rd to Story St. Turn Right on Story St, then right on Meredith.  Driving north on 101, exit Tefft St., turn left and then left again on Frontage road (alongside freeway). continue south on Frontage Rd. Turn right on Story St. then turn right on Meredith.  See you there!  NANCY PUDER (805)710-2415

If you aren’t clear on what the terms of your mortgage are, call your lender and ask them to explain the terms to you. Share your concerns and they will be able to tell you exactly what your mortgage terms are.  There should be a phone number on your monthly statement that you can use.  If you are worried that you may not be able to continue to make payments on your home, click here for some answers!http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/Articles/Mortgage-Crisis/What-To-Do.aspx

Savvy buyers have taken advantage of two fantastic tax credits that have been available this past year!  The $10,000 tax credit available to ANYONE who purchased a brand new home (never lived in) is gone.  The State of CA allocated $100,000,000 for those who qualified and the money was pretty much used up by July 31st.  That was when the State stopped taking applications and confirmed in late August that all of the money had been allocated.   The good news is that the $8000 Federal Tax Credit for 1st time home buyers (you only could not have owned in past 3 years to qualify) is available until 12/1/09.  But you MUST close your escrow by then!  Don’t miss the boat, this is huge!  follow me at http://www.Twitter.com/nancypuderhomes

Most Realtors selling real estate over the past 2-3 years are finally seeing a turn in the market.  Yes, it’s a turn upward.  I think most would agree that the bottom has come and gone.  With multiple offers in select “hot spots”,  buyers are sometimes having to make offers on 9 or 10 properties before theirs is finally the one that is accepted by the seller.  One might wonder if these “hot spot” properties are REO’s (bank-owned properties).  While some of them are bank owned, there are some properties now that are  ”regular sales” and still commanding multiple offers!

The determining factor as to whether you will have multiple buyers bidding on your property is to price it right in the beginning.  The home must show well and be in a desirable location.  Once again, price is very important.  Buyers aren’t as often interested in making an offer on what they perceive to be an over-priced listing.  They often will just pass those by and bid on the one that is aggressively priced in this market. 

Follow me on Twitter….. http://www.twitter.com/nancypuderhomes

Perhaps you should consider how much more home you can get right now if you’re willing to drive 10 minutes either way to Arroyo Grande or Santa Maria.  Check out this amazing brand new home that is our Labor Day Weekend Special! http://www.265Tejas.com

 My answer to that is “you tell me!”  With prices unbelievably low on the Central Coast of California for some time now,  buyers are regaining their confidence in the market as some of our listings receive multiple offers.  See below for our deal of the week! Two brand new houses for $559,900

http://www.581Meredith.com

The California housing market showed more signs of emerging from the worst of the market downturn in June as the median price rose for the fourth straight month and sales registered significant year-to-year and year-to-date gains.

At $274,740 in June, the median price rose to its highest level so far this year and stood 4.2 percent higher than the May revised median price of $263,600. The median remained well below levels of a year earlier, however, with a 26.4 percent decrease from the June 2008 median of $373,100. Year-to-year changes have been less severe in recent months and the June decrease was the smallest since February 2008.

June sales dipped 6.0 percent from revised May sales of 546,750 homes to a June sales figure of 514,110 homes, but showed a 20.1 percent increase over prior year sales of 427,910 homes. This was the smallest percentage gain in a year, and smaller gains are expected through the rest of the year. Still, sales in the first half of the year exceeded the same period a year ago by 50.6 percent and annual sales for all of 2009 are expected to be 25 percent ahead of last year’s pace.

With an unsold inventory index in June at 4.1 months, the supply of homes has decreased steadily since the start of the year when the index stood at 6.6 months. The index is now 3.5 months lower than a year earlier and well below the peak of 16.6 months in early 2008. In fact, low inventories may constrain sales and contribute to upward pressure on home prices through the rest of the busy season.

The mix of sales has changed dramatically since the beginning of the year. In January 2009, the price segment under $500,000 accounted for 85.0 percent of the total market, the segment between $500,000 and $1 million made up 12.4 percent of the total, and the segment above $1 million made up 2.7 percent of the total. By June, the segment under $500,000 fell to 76.5 percent, middle segment rose to 18.2 percent, and the upper segment doubled to 5.4 percent of the total market. A year earlier, the respective market shares were 67.1 percent, 23.8 percent, and 9.1 percent.

The market continues to cope with a large number of distressed sales in many parts of the state, especially inland areas where 2/3 or more of the market consists of distressed properties. Still, the market share of distressed properties has declined in many parts of the state from March to June of this year, contributing to the median price gains across the state.  (Brought to you by the California Association of Realtors)

Big Boost in Housing Demand Expected From Echo Boomers

Depicting the current housing downturn in sobering terms, the 2009 “State of the Nation’s Housing” report released by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies on June 22 nevertheless gives home builders firm assurances of a resurgence in demand once the echo-boom generation gains a footing in the housing market.

Born from 1981-2000, members of the echo-boom generation, Harvard says, will boost annual average household growth to more than 1.25 million during the decade of 2010-2020 — even under the worst of circumstances.

“While the economic crisis has dampened household growth, the sheer size of the echo-boom generation will give a powerful boost to long-run housing demand,” the report says.

However, “a severe and prolonged recession,” according to the housing economists at Harvard, could reduce immigration, which is a key driver of household growth.

Two household growth projections were made for this year’s report: one based on the latest population projection from the Census Bureau in which annual net immigration increases from 1.1 million in 2005 to 1.5 million in 2020, and more than 2.0 million by 2050; and one in which these immigration assumptions are cut by half as the result of a worse than expected recession.

Even under the weaker scenario, in which there would be 2.3 million fewer household formations in 2010-2020, average annual household growth can be expected to be comparable to the growth experienced from 1995-2005 as members of the echo-boom move into the prime household formation and home buying ages of 25 to 44.

“The number of echo boomers aged 25 to 44 will eclipse the number of baby boomers when they were those same ages by more than 5.9 million,” according to the report.

“With the number of households in this age group projected to increase between 2.0 million and 3.4 million, the demand for rentals and starter homes will surge,” the Joint Center says. “Meanwhile, with their longer life spans and sheer numbers relative to the preceding generation, the baby boomers will add dramatically to the number of households over 65. This will lift demand for retirement communities as well as services and home improvements that help seniors age in place.”

Among other results related to household growth that will be felt in the home building industry:

• The ethnic diversity of the echo-boomers will accelerate household growth among Hispanics and Asians. “Even under low immigration assumptions, Hispanic household growth will increase from 3.5 million in 1998-2008 to 4.5 million in 2010-2020, while Asian household growth will increase from 1.5 million to 2.5 million. White household growth, in contrast, will slow sharply from 4.3 million to 3.3 million, and black household growth will slip from 2.4 million to about 2.2. million.
• Married couples without children — including empty-nesters — will be the fastest growing household type, followed closely by single-person households. “While the number of married couples with children will fall by nearly a million among whites, it will increase by more than a million among Asians and Hispanics.”
• Housing now occupied by many older white baby boomers will be well suited to the needs of younger and generally larger minority households, although there is a question about whether minority households, with their lower incomes, will be able to afford these homes.

  “As the baby boomers and older generations begin to turn over their homes to younger households, adjustments to the existing stock are likely, both through remodeling and pricing,” the report says. “The first wave of change will occur in the inner suburbs of large metropolitan areas where people now in their 70s and 80s are concentrated, then fan out to the outer suburbs as the baby boomers start to downsize.”

“With the echo baby boom driving demand for starter homes and apartments and the baby boom powering demand for homes suited to older Americans,” the design professions will be called upon to deploy new technologies and designs to meet the aesthetic tastes and functional needs of a new, more diverse younger generation on the one hand and a generation in need of home modifications to help them age more safely and healthfully in place on the other,” said Mohsen Mostafavi, dean of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Finding the Bottom

Housing analysts at the Joint Center were less optimistic about the near-term outlook for housing, with “withered” housing demand struggling to get out from under the weight of crushing job losses, house price deflation and tighter credit standards.

“The best that can be said of the market is that house price corrections and steep cuts in housing production are creating the conditions that will lead to an eventual recovery,” said Eric Belsky, executive director of the Joint Center. “For now, markets remain under considerable stress.”

On hand for the release of the report in New York, Gary Garczynski, president of NAHB in 2002, said that the association is “perhaps a tad more optimistic about the immediate outlook for housing” than the Joint Center.

“We believe that we are at or very near the bottom of the market,” Garczynski said. “Existing home sales are rising, new home sales have bottomed, the inventory of unsold homes is slowly being whittled down and the decline in home values appears to be moderating. Equally important, builders and consumers appear to be a little more confident than they were three to six months ago.”

He also cited the beneficial effects of a significant rise in housing affordability and the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers, but voiced agreement with the Joint Center’s view that rebuilding the housing finance system and restoring the flow of credit to home builders is critical to turning around the housing market.

“The credit crunch for builders has seriously undercut the nation’s housing delivery system. Until we get credit flowing to builders for construction and development loans, it will be tough to revive this economy,” Garczynski said.
“Moreover, the nation’s housing finance system needs to be shored up. Today, nearly all new mortgage originations are government backed — flowing through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or insured or guaranteed by FHA and VA.” Also, “the private market for jumbo loans is virtually nonexistent….Private investors must regain their confidence and get back in the market before the jumbo loan market can turn around.”

Garczynski said that the recovery is likely to be slow and spotty, beginning in places that did not experience unsustainable increases in housing production during the boom years. “Generally speaking, housing markets closer to the urban core and job centers could be on the leading edge of the recovery. Outlying rings of metropolitan areas will recover later once the inventory of unsold units declines to more normal levels.”

He also noted that demand for infill and higher density development could increase markedly in the period ahead. “This will require a spirit of cooperation between builders and the local officials who control the zoning and development process,” he said. “Hopefully, this will lead to greater acceptance of the smart growth principles NAHB has been advocating since the beginning of this decade.”

courtesy of National Association of Home Builders