by vbindi on May 27, 2009
Yes, you read that correctly, in the price ranges of $650,000 and below, most of Orange County is now in a Hot Sellers Market. In the price range of $450,000 and below, the Months of Inventory is a hot 1.1 Months for south Orange County… 2 to 4 months is considered to be a Sellers market, and below that is a hot Sellers market. In contrast, the Months of Inventory for this price range was at 19 months in October of 2007′. The number of homes now in escrow is at 916 properties in the price range of Below $450,000… this Pending Homes total has not been this high since August of 2003′ . Below is a graph of the Months of Inventory for all of the price ranges we track, since July of 2002′.
In the price range of $450,000 to $650,000, the Months of Inventory is at 1.8 months, which is also a hot sellers market. Albeit, about 60% of these sales are either bank owned REO properties or short sales, but these are real sales with real buyers none-the-less. This is resulting in multiple purchase offers within days of listing properties on the market for sale for well priced Bank Owned REO’s and Short Sales.
Where is all of the demand coming from you may ask? Well, it is a combination of investors and first time homebuyers who have been sitting on the fence for the past 4 to 5 years. Investors with cash are buying for they can now get a decent yield with a down payment of 30%. Many investors feel that most, if not all, of the downside risk in the local real estate market is behind us. And many are leery of the stock market, and CD yields are now very low… First time home buyers are also now buying. Fixed interest rates are now at all time historic low, and there is pent up demand from the low rate of sales in the past 2 years. My hats off to their discipline and timing…
The Months of Inventory is a leading indicator, which has been dropping to today’s lows for many months now. Another one of the proprietary indicators that we gather are moving averages of the Price per Square foot for both Condos and Detached homes. This is a lagging indicator, although much more accurate then the Average or Median prices that are quoted in the press. This Price per Square foot indicator has been holding steady now for the past 5 weeks, which is another indication that we have approached the bottom.
The Million Dollar Question is . . . is this the bottom of the Orange County real estate market ? My sense is, if this is not the bottom, then we are very close to the bottom… but, I believe it will be a long drawn out bottom, with no noticeable price appreciation for several years… The reason being - I believe over heated inflation will return in a year or so, due to the recent government policies of flooding the US economy with billions of dollars cash. When this happens, the Feds will raise interest rates to curb inflation, which will put a damper on real estate price appreciation.
by vbindi on May 11, 2009
eVantage Real Estate in Orange County CA, has recently moved to it’s new office location in Laguna Hills, CA. Located at 23441 south Pointe Dr, Ste #190, this central office is located close to highway 5 and 405, which allows it’s agents to quickly and efficiently service many cities in south, coastal and central Orange County. Vincent Bind and Nick Roshdieh, the principals of eVantage, were both very successful Realtors at both RE/MAX and Keller Williams in previous years, and teamed up to unveil the Brokerage firm of eVantage Real Estate in 2008′.
For many years, they observed the Internets growing influence on everyday real estate transactions. Surveys now show that over 85% of all home buyers begin their search on the Internet. The principals crafted the name eVantage Real Estate to reflect the companies focus and mastery of Internet technology as it relates to the real estate profession. The “e“ stands for Internet Technology, and the word “Vantage” speaks for itself meaning “superiority”. From the marketing of homes, information gathering, neighborhood research, client and vendor communications, transaction management, and more… the Internet is playing an ever increasing role in marketing and selling homes, and the success of a real estate professional.
Vince and Nick also understood that many real estate agents core competencies are serving their clients, communication and selling homes… and not keeping pace with the rapidly evolving, and ever changing new technologies. eVantage Real Estate is committed to staying on top of, and utilizing the most efficient of web technologies, so that their agents can stay focused on customer care and sales. Modern day technology is enabling an ever growing number of real estate professional to work more remotely… from the home… from the field… from the car… or from out of town.
The eVantage philosophy is that today, a dominant Website presence is far more important then a high image office location. The transformation from an expensive Bricks and Mortar large office space, to a powerful modern day Online presence, allows them to keep their overhead expenses low. This allows them to provide its’ Agents excellent support and service, and pass on the cost savings to it’s Agents in the form of low Brokerage Fee’s.
eVantage Real Estate also supplies leads to it’s agents who are members of the it’s eTeam. For more information about the services, fee’s and leads, visit the agent recruiting website or give us a call at: 949-388-3396
Laguna Niguel, CA: Local home values have been hit hard due to the regional real estate correction, the national mortgage loan crisis. and the subsequent recession. Short Sales have been a growing and significant real estate transaction for homeowners who are caught in today’s mortgage loan crisis. A short sale is often times the best solution for a homeowner whose house is worth less then the debts owed on the home, or for homeowners who are not able to keep up with their mortgage payments. A Short Sale is simply a real estate sale in which the mortgage bank(s) are persuaded to agree to reduce the loan balance so that the home can be sold to a another new home purchaser, in order to cover all of the property debts and sales costs.
Currently, there are 95 Short Sale homes and condos listed for sale in Laguna Niguel, ranging in price from a low of $235,000 for a 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath condo, with 980 square feet of living are, up to $2,399,000 for a 4 bedroom, 5 bath, estate with 5,400 square feet of living area. In addition, there are 99 short sale listings under contract in Escrow.
In the past 6 months, there have been 79 short sale transactions that have sold and closed escrow in Laguna Niguel. But of concern, is there was also 105 failed short sale transactions in that same 6 month period. That translates into a success rate of only 43%. That’s a poor closing rate for such an important transaction for a homeowner in dire need of a dignified solution that is less damaging to ones credit then a foreclosure. Whats’ worse, is the California Association of Reactors recently reported that only 19% of short sales are successful statewide. Our team of experts at the ShortSaleASAP Group have a short sale closing rate of over 93%.
Many peple ask why the low rate of success statewide. The reasons are complex and many. Short Sales are the most complex of all residential real estate transactions. They present a wide variety of obstacles that can easily trip up a Realtor who is a Short Sale novice. Some of the most common issues that cause many Real Estate Agents to fail are; pricing the short sale too high or too low, weak loss mitigation negotiation skills, too small of a team causing Realtor to be spread to thin, hiring a 3rd party short sale negotiation company, not knowing how to package a Short Sale, and not managing the independent Bank BPO/Appraisal process.
Our team has a verifiable track record of success, and have closed more sort sales in Orange County then any other team. For more information, please visit our website for Laguna Niguel Short Sales, or give us a call at: 949-388-3396
Garden Grove Short Sale Success Story #33 - Another short sale has been sold and closed by the ShortSalesASAP Group here in Orange County, CA. We have been sharing many of our success stories so homeowners who may be considering a short sale can get a good idea as to how they work, when done correctly. Some of the details of this short sale story will not be divulged in order to protect the privacy of the past property owner.
Property and Finance Details: This Garden Grove property was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath detached home with 1,225 square feet of living area, and was built in 1978. This home was purchased many years ago by the homeowner. They refinanced in summer of 2006′ and received a 1st mortgage loan for $365,000, with a fixed interest rate. They also obtained a 2nd mortgage HELOC loan loan for approximately 48,000, and was an adjustable rate mortgage loan.
Market Condition: The real estate market here in southern California has been gone through a major price correction. Garden Grove has been hit as well, for prices have been decreasing by about 1.2% per month since the summer of 2006′ This severe market correction is due to the overheated southern California market that started in 1999, and the nationwide mortgage crisis. Although, we now see signs that price decreases have slowed down considerably, and we may be approaching the bottom of the market cycle pricing.
These homeowners were a duel income family, and the husband lost his job, and the wife’s income was not sufficient to keep current with the mortgage payments. They tried to get a Loan Modification, but were denied due to insufficient income. Plus their home was over $150,000 upside down, and loan modification would not have mad any sense, for it could be 10 years before their home rose in value again equal to their mortgage debt.
SHORT SALE – PHASE I: First we met with the homeowner and answered all of their questions and concerns regarding short sales. We then had the property owners sign the listing agreement, and our preparation team gathered all of the required documents from the homeowner. After packaging, these documents are delivered to the 1st and 2nd banks to present the short sale proposal. 4 weeks later, and after some cunning negotiations, our expert team was able to obtain preliminary approval for the Short Sale.
MARKETING AND SALES – PHASE II: Once we obtained the preliminary short sale approval, we put this Garden Grove home on the market for sale. It was originally listed in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for $265,000. After about 2 weeks with not much action, we dropped the price again to $255,000. We then received an offer from a qualified buyer for $240,000. After some negotiations with our short sale Realtor expert, we finally arrived at a price of $249,000.
CLOSING – PHASE III: Once all of the purchase contract documents are signed by the buyer and seller, our team packages theses documents along with the buyer loan qualification letter. This package was then sent to the 1st and 2nd mortgage Banks. Our short sale negotiator then went to work to finalize the final terms and conditions of this short sale. After some additional negotiations with our associate Attorney, we convinced the Banks to agree to the final short sale. The property escrow then clsoed 40 days later.
IN SUMMARY: The entire mortgage debt of $413,000 was retired so that the homeowner did not owe this money anymore. We also convinced the 2nd mortgage HELOC loan to accept the several thousand of dollars we obtained for them from the 1st mortgage bank. If the homeowner had allowed this home to be lost in foreclosure by the 1st mortgage loan, then the HELOC loan would not be deleted, and would still owe this debt.
Also, due to the owners financial hardship, they were able to live in the property for 6 months without making any type of mortgage payment. The homeowner is now working with our Credit Restoration Specialist, and should be able to buy a home by early 2010′
ShortSaleASAP is licensed with the California Department of Real Estate, and we are members of good standing with the Orange County board fo Realtors. Our services are free to the homeowner, for we are negotiate our fee with the mortgage bank(s). If you have any questions regarding Short Sales, contact our team of experts at: (949) 388-3396 or drop us an email at: Info@ShortSalesASAP.com
