What Are Bay Area Home Sellers Waiting For?

What Are Bay Area Home Sellers Waiting For?

Record Low Inventory Still Has Many Homeowners On The Sidelines

With housing inventory sitting at record lows, both buyers and sellers have different feeling and concerns about the current Bay Area real estate market. Many buyers and sellers continue to be concerned, frustrated and perplexed by the current situation. Meanwhile many would be sellers still linger on the sidelines fearing that they will not be able to find a replacement home once they sell.

The overall predicament can be viewed as a classic Catch-22. Some potential sellers will not put their home on the market fearing that they will not be able to purchase

What Are Bay Area Home Sellers Waiting For?

in a reasonable amount of time. Sure they can demand a seller’s contingency to find a home but that limits the desirability of a home. If a seller wishes to move to some Caribbean nation, Mexico or even Las Vegas then they will have no problem locating a replacement home.

How Have Buyers Altered Their Buying Strategy?

Buyers, on the other hand, have a much more challenging task. The task has been so daunting for some that they have given up their search. Redfin offered up some interesting statistics for buyers in (or not in) the current market. Some buyers have shifted their goals in response to the low inventory to look in other areas, other are willing to pay more while some have taken a break.

Don’t expect the low inventory to last forever. Eventually banks will release some additional REOs and things will loosen up.

Where Is The Real Estate Inventory In The San Francisco Bay Area?

Where Is The Real Estate Inventory In The San Francisco Bay Area?

Who stole my Inventory? 50% Drop In Some Areas

In many parts of San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area real estate inventory levels sit at one to two  month levels which has caused  feeding frenzy for home starved shoppers.

Things have become so bad that developers now rush to get their condos, single family homes and town homes everywhere from San Mateo to Upper Market. We took some numbers from Redfin that showed 2013 inventory figures for San Francisco and San Jose at 50% compared to one year ago. (See accompany chart)

Many people continue to speculate about the reasons for the low inventory such as a lack of new construction and investors snatching all of the rental properties.

Four Reasons For The Inventory Shortage

Here we offer a few reasons:

1-     Owners with short memories think their home will escalate in value like the number in 2005-2006, so they continue to hold onto their property even they wish to sell it. Many sellers seek to wait for the virtual peak before they sell their property. Don’t hold your breadth.

2-     With the new California Homeowners Bill of Rights taking effect, bank are nervous (or at least reticent) to move forth with the foreclosures without making absolutely sure that they have not made some error that could result in a lawsuit.

3-     Even with the recent surge in prices many homes continue to sit underwater so homeowners seem hesitant to jump ship with a short sale. Some of these homeowners might reconsider as they have until the end of the year to take advantage of the one year extension of the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act.

4-     Many “move-up” or “scale-down” homeowners who do wish to sell have reservations because although they would have no problem selling their home, they may encounter difficulty buying their replacement home.

Things will most likely not remain this way for all of 2013. Eventually the banks will release additional REOs and interest rates will tick up which will impact the market. It should be an interesting ride here in San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area.

San Mateo Single Family Median Home Prices Jump 20 Percent In One Year

San Mateo Single Family Median Home Prices Jump 20 Percent In One Year

Santa Clara County Single Family Median Home Prices Jump Even Higher – 35 Percent In One Year

Most people attribute the phrase “What goes up must come down” to Isaac Newton. In the real estate market here in the San Francisco, San Jose and Peninsula areas that saying could be flip flopped, turned sideways and spun around and what would that mean to homeowners or possible home sellers?

Some Bay Area home sellers continue to take advantage of the low inventory and rising sale prices. Consider these key figures comparing the single family homes sales from January 2012 to January 2013

In January 2012 the Median Price for a San Mateo County single family home was $580,000 while January 2013 saw that number rise to $695,000 – that marks a 20% increase.

In January 2012 the Median Price for a Santa Clara County single family home sat at  $490,000 while January 2013 saw the median price dramatically jump to $660,000 – that signifies a whopping 35% increase.

Those numbers get even more startling if you look at the condo/townhouse prices.

In January 2012 the Median Price for a San Mateo County condo/townhouse registered $318,000 while January 2013 saw that median price leap to $415,000 – that marks a 31% increase.

In Santa Clara County for January 2012 the Median Price condo/townhouse was $273,000 while January 2013 saw the median price dramatically jump to $425,000 – an incredible 56% jump.

Either people have short memories or they just don’t wish to think about what happened from 2004-2006 when prices shot up at ludicrous speed.

Sure, we take into consideration that prices did tumble a significant amount when the bubble burst but these dramatic price gains may have buyers and homeowners asking some questions.

Buyers continue to ask, “How high over listing price should I offer?”

For homeowners who are thinking about selling or maybe just sticking their toes in the water by trying to sell as a FSBO they might be doing themselves an injustice. Does everyone think that the startling price gains will continue? Will the numbers slow down? Will they flatten or maybe even tumble again?

For a homeowner it comes down to motivation and realism. A homeowner might ask “Do I have to sell or do I want to sell?” If a homeowner would like to take advantage of these price gains then it might be time to jump in the market. Like stock investors too many people make the mistake of trying to “time” the market and sell at the apex. We might not be at the apex but the recent price gains look like we might be pretty close.

For a view of other Bay Area counties and statistics click on the link below

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bgQlfMzykBM/USoRFl6wZvI/AAAAAAAAAcw/YC25A1EYacE/s1600/Data+Sale+2.png

Underwater and Distressed Homeowner Panel Event Tonight In San Mateo

Underwater and Distressed Homeowner Panel Event Tonight In San Mateo

Homeowners With Underwater Or Distressed Properties Can Find Answers Tonight In San Mateo

In the first of the 2013 panel event series, Bay Area Resource presents their Underwater and Distressed Property Panel Event in San Mateo this evening. Even with the home values of San Mateo county and other Bay Area regions rising, many homeowners remain underwater. Still other homeowners have equity in their homes yet they have foreclosure sale dates. Still others continue to go round and round in a seemingly never-ending process with banks otherwise known as the loan modification dance.

Many of these above mentioned issues will be discussed with a panel of experts that include: Rebecca Pinger from Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, Keisha Woods from Senior Homeowner Services, John Figone from Prospect Mortgage, Patricia Lowe from Intero Real Estate, and Jeff Johnston from Johnston Tax Group.

In addition to discussions about loan modifications, the panel will address other Hot Topics such as the recently extended (through January 1, 2014) mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act which will benefit homeowners who wish to short sale their home, or who accept a deed in lieu of foreclosure or who choose to go the foreclosure route.

California Homeowner Bill Of Rights To Be Discussed

Another Hot Topic will be discussed will be the California Homeowner Bill Of Rights which took effect January 1, 2013. Some of the homeowners rights include: no dual tracking by banks, a single point of contact for homeowners seeking loan mods and the ability for homeowners to sue the banks in regard to certain wrongdoings in the case of foreclosures and the foreclosure process.

For those who cannot attend in person, the event will be available live through webstream and live chat at BayAreaResource.com (under panel events). Otherwise, the event will take place every third Thursday through 2013.

When: Thurs. Jan. 17th Time: 6-8pm
Where: 1100 Park Place ‘Lobby’
San Mateo CA, 94403
Off Hillsdale and 101
– Between Whole Foods/Crunch Fitness

San Mateo County Notice Of Default Rates

ZipCode	Default	Auction	Bank Owned	Total
94021	6.1%	6.1%	0.0%	6.1%
94074	6.7%	3.3%	0.0%	3.3%
94080	5.2%	1.9%	0.4%	2.3%
94014	5.9%	1.9%	0.3%	2.3%
94401	4.6%	1.8%	0.3%	2.1%
94020	4.3%	0.9%	1.2%	2.0%
94063	5.0%	1.8%	0.1%	1.9%
94060	6.8%	0.6%	1.2%	1.9%
94066	4.4%	1.6%	0.3%	1.9%
94015	4.8%	1.6%	0.2%	1.8%

San Mateo Notice Of Default Rates

San Mateo County Updates For 2013

Welcome back to 2013. Some good things have occurred since the calendar flipped into the New Year. Congress got part of its act together and extended the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act at least until January 1, 2013. The California Homeowners Bill of Rights officially went into effect on January 1, 2013.

Although most of the signs (not to mention values) of the Bay Area real estate market continues to swing upward, much of the Bay Area continues to experience distressed homeowner situations while other seem through the quagmire of an  underwater home.

The above numbers (from REI Source) reflect the current default numbers for San Mateo County per zip code. Although the numbers show a vast improvement over one year ago, they still show numerous homeowners in distress. Keep in mind that the above rates display a percentage not the total number of defaults.

Pescadero Takes First

Pescadero takes first place (94060) with a 6.8% default rate, while San Gregorio, CA 94074 takes a close second in terms of percentage of defaults. Granted the smaller San Mateo towns may have a higher percentage because the towns contain fewer total homes.

Anyone who would like the current numbers in their zip code, then feel free to contact us.

30-Year Mortgage Rates Finish Year Near Record Lows

30-Year Mortgage Rates Finish Year Near Record Lows

The 30-Year, Fixed-Rate Mortgage Hovered At 3.35%

As 2012 heads into the sunset, we see mortgage rates continue to stay at near record lows. These low rates keep home affordability in check but even with the low rates many Bay Area (San Francisco, San Mateo County) homes have climbed above affordable levels with the rise in prices.

The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage hovered at 3.35% for the week ending Dec. 27, down from 3.37% a week earlier and 3.95% last year, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Overall, fixed-rate mortgages finished the year near all-time lows but what does 2013 have in store for interest rates?

Some people have compared prices and interest rates back to the 1980s displaying that despite the price increases it remains cheaper to buy a home now than back in for example 1987.

What Will Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke Do?

With the housing market continuing its upward rise, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke may wish to keep interest rates low. Any significant jump might put the kibosh to the resurgent real estate market. We saw one example that if interest rates move up by 3 percentage points, a typical mortgage payment will jump by more than 40 percent. Something like that would surely cause prices to sink back down. Sure, many buyers have all-cash but not enough to drive the market.

What will happen in 2013? We will probably see a continuation of low rates and eager buyers. Have a healthy and prosperous 2013!

California Median Home Prices Rise – Up 24.8 Percent in Bay Area From Last October

California Median Home Prices Rise – Up 24.8 Percent in Bay Area From Last October

California Median Home Prices Rise Experiences Highest Year-to-Year Gains Since June 2004

As a present for all of the homeowners in California and especially in the Bay Area, home prices registered double digit gains from a year ago according to figures released by the California Association Of Realtors.

The numbers revealed that higher priced markets performed better than those in lower priced areas. In lower priced markets, home sales declined in comparison to mid-to-higher priced homes because of a greater supply.

The California median price of an existing, single-family detached home increased 2.3 percent from October’s $341,370 median price to $349,300 in November.  November’s price shot up a remarkable 24.8 percent from a revised $279,910 recorded in November 2011, marking the ninth consecutive month of annual price increases and the fifth consecutive month of double-digit annual gains.  The year-to-year percentage increase signified the largest since June 2004.

Bay Area Prices Climb 25.9 Percent From Last October

For the Bay Area, the recent median prices ticked down in November -0.7 percent to $588,800 the October high mark of $593,080. Still those numbers show a 25.9 percent rise from last October when median prices reached the $467,680 level.

San Francisco continued to show prices moving skyward with a 2.4 percent rise from October ($767,860 median price) to $785,940. Compared with one year ago the numbers reflect a dramatic 21.5 percent rise.

San Mateo county numbers show more softening in the torrid price gains. October to November prices actually sank 7.8 percent from $819,000 to $755,000 while the gains from October 2011 showed just a modest 2.7 percent gain.

The chief CAR Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young believes that California home sales and prices will likely remain solid moving forward, dependent upon the strength of the economy and if Congress preserves the valuable mortgage interest deduction for all homeowners. Of course the mortgage interest deduction continues to be a hot topic in Washington DC. Eliminating it would no doubt dampen the surging market. Many homeowners across the nation fail to use the deduction but a majority do here in California.

Bay Area Resource Hosts Underwater Panel Event In San Mateo

Bay Area Resource Hosts Underwater Panel Event In San Mateo

Focus On Underwater Homeowners

Last week, Bay Area Resource held its 7^th underwater homeowner panel event in San Mateo. Unlike many of the previous events which focused on distressed homeowners, this one emphasized educating homeowners who find themselves underwater.

As we reported recently, even with the recent market gains, approximately 27,000 San Mateo county homeowners still remain underwater. The panel consisted of  bankruptcy attorney Tiffany Norman, HUD counselor Keisha Woods, real estate attorney Rebecca Pinger (Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto), tax attorney Rattan Dev S. Dhaliwal, short sale agent Patricia Torres Lowe, and mortgage consultant John Figone.

Hot Topic – California Homeowners Bill Of Rights

Much of the discussion centered on several “hot topics” which included the soon to expire Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act as well as the January kick-off of the California Homeowners Bill of Rights.

The spirited audience had questions that ranged from “how much money can I get from a short sale?” to one audience member who tried to find a solution to his distressed home that has a great deal of equity. These days, it remains uncommon to find home and commercial building owners who own properties with equity but who find themselves in distressed situations. However, it does occur and the home or building owner may be forced to find alternate ideas. No one likes to sell their property under such duress.

Despite the overall improvement of the Bay Area real estate market, the Bay Area Resource group will hold a series of panels focused around both distressed and underwater homeowners and investors. The panel event can be viewed via video archive and for more information about the upcoming panels visit BayAreaResource.com

Independent Foreclosure Review Deadline Looms and Underwater Homeowner Panel Today

Independent Foreclosure Review Deadline Looms and Underwater Homeowner Panel Today

Independent Foreclosure Review Expires December 31, 2012

With much of the focus on the expiration of the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act many homeowners have forgotten (or ignored) the upcoming conclusion of the Independent Foreclosure Review.

Although the program has been in effect for some time, few people have taken the opportunity to apply. For those unaware of the program, homeowners who suffered through a foreclosure or incurred some negative action on their home can submit their case to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for an independent third party review of the circumstances and practices surrounding the foreclosure, loan modification denial, etc.

Many people either have not heard about the review or have simply ignored the opportunity. Many homeowners report that they do not trust the system or feel that the review will not benefit them. The fact is that some people have received compensation as a result of the review however the numbers remain relatively few.

ForeclosureHelpSCC has put a petition on Change.Org, requesting that the Federal Reserve, OCC, and Office of Thrift Supervision postpone the deadline for applying for the review until two months after at least 215,000 homeowners have heard about the results of their cases.

Over 800,000 Homeowners Should Have Qualified For HAMP

A report released in November found that an additional 800,000 homeowners should have qualified for HAMP but didn’t because some of the large banks/servicers did not perform modifications at the same rate as their peers.

Speaking of HAMP, the Bay Area Resource Underwater Panel Event will take place tonight in San Mateo and via video stream. Anyone seeking info about the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act, California Homeowners Bill of Rights, and the Independent Foreclosure Review or to figure out some options of what to with their underwater home should attend this free event.

Seventh Underwater Homeowners Forum in San Mateo

Seventh Underwater Homeowners Forum in San Mateo

San Mateo County Still Has Approximately 27,000 Underwater Homeowners

Later this week Bay Area Resource presents their 7^th Underwater Homeowners Forum in San Mateo. Despite the up tick in the real estate market, many Bay Area homeowners continue to find their home underwater without many options or answers. This forum panel will offer answers to some of the dilemmas that currently face homeowners.

San Mateo County alone still has about 27,000 underwater homeowners. Many homeowners continue to wait things out hoping that their home will turn right side up (have equity) or at least hit the break even point. As with most things in life, it may be wiser to be pro-active and not sit back and wait for things to happen.

January 1, 2013 Brings Many Changes To California Homeowners

January 1, 2013 will be bring several updates and changes that will affect many homeowners such as the federal tax changes, the expiration of the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act, and the California Homeowners Bill of Rights. This forum will address those updates and change as well as other important issues such as the state of loan modifications, short sales and refinancing.

The event takes place February 13, 2012 from 6-8 pm at 1100 Park Place (in the Lobby Meeting Room near Crunch Gym). To resister or for information click here.