Redding Real Estate Update
Uncategorized
February 4th, 2010
SHASTA MLS REAL ESTATE UPDATE
Available residential listings: 1310 (down from 1,329 last week)
Homes in escrow: 416 (up from 401 last week)
Homes closed escrow so far in February 2010: 10
Homes closed escrow in January 2010: 115
Homes closed escrow in December: 185
Homes closed escrow in November: 165
Homes closed escrow in October: 188
Homes closed escrow in September: 213
Homes closed escrow in August: 174
Homes closed escrow in July: 181
Homes closed escrow 2010 Year to Date: 125
If you have any questions or comments, as always, please feel free to contact me, I’m here to help!
Life Equals Risk
Uncategorized
October 12th, 2009
We are a team of successful, professional, and knowledgeable real estate agents….
We finish strong for each client.
Call 530-224-6700 for details
19875 Harvey Road
Uncategorized
April 9th, 2009
19875 Harvey Rd Cottonwood, CA 96022
    Property Information for 19875 Harvey Rd
Interior Features
Breakfast bar, Carpet, Dishwasher, Disposal, Fireplace(s), Range and oven, Tile flrs
Exterior Features
Fenced, Hill/mountain view, Horse(s) allowed, Level lot, Rolling lot, RV parking, Septic sewer system, Waterview
Listing Information
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Mortgage Funds Still Readily Available
Mortgages, Uncategorized
December 10th, 2008
Contrary to numerous reports in the media, mortgage funds are still readily available. The credit markets are tight, but it has yet to have any real significant impact on the availability of mortgage financing. Although 100% loans are all but gone, 3% down loans are still readily available, even for buyers with less than perfect credit. Most of the reports you are hearing about the rapidly disappearing mortgage products have to do with loan programs that were very common in coastal areas.
There has never been a better time to purchase real estate. With inventories at a higher than average level and extremely low interest rates (around 5.5% for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage as of the writing of this letter) this truly is a wonderful time to move-up or purchase a vacation home. For first –time home buyers there is a window of opportunity that has never before existed to take advantage of a $7500 tax credit! I like to call this the “perfect storm” of opportunity.
If you have an adjustable-rate mortgage now may be the WORST time to refinance to a fixed rate. Adjustable rate mortgages are tied to a specific index that changes with the ebb & flow of economic conditions. If your ARM is tied to the 1-year treasury you may be in line for a rate reduction! On the other hand, if your ARM is tied to the LIBOR you may be in for a significant increase. Regardless, my suggestion is to consult a mortgage professional for an audit
Interest rates may be on the decline in the next few months. Economic conditions are ripe for improvement. Interest rates can and do move swiftly so it is imperative that your mortgage professional have an active management system in place to notify you of market conditions.
To contact a mortgage professional for more information on mortgage programs
click the link below.
WAITING FOR BOTTOM TO HIT
Real Estate
December 3rd, 2008
WAITING FOR BOTTOM TO HIT
It would be easy to look at major trade association housing news and be discouraged, but there’s some evidence a rebound is just around the corner.If you look at some metrics besides housing prices and sales, there’s good reason to be optimistic.
Here’s why: Affordability is greatly improved for home buyersThe National Association of Realtors announced last week that median housing prices are down to $200,500, nine percent lower than third quarter 2007, and that’s following more than two years of price declines. Only 28 out of 152 metropolitan statistical areas tracked by the NAR showed increases in median existing single-family home prices from the same quarter in 2007. Prices have rolled back in many areas to 2003 or earlier.
The result is number of potential home buyers nationwide who can afford to buy a new or existing home is the highest in four years, says the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index. According to the index, the median home buyer income of $61,500 allowed 56.1 percent of homes to be sold as “affordable.” That’s 15 percent more than the 40.4 percent of families who could afford homes at the peak of the housing boom, says the report.
Now this figure is based on those that stepped up and purchased. The news gets better for those on the sidelines.
The national median family income is $44,928 in
NAR’s latest housing affordability index which would qualify those families for a home costing $257,700 using conventional lending criteria with 20% down. First time buyers could qualify for about 80 percent of that amount, says Walt Molony, a NAR spokesperson.That means the median price home is $57,200 less than the median income qualifies to buy. That’s affordable, folks. May not apply in your area, but it’s good news nonetheless.Housing Inventories Still High
Yes, that’s good news, too. For buyers. While foreclosures and short sales were a whopping 35 to 40 percent of transactions in the third quarter, homebuilders kept adding to the inventory by continuing to build the wrong products according to the
“The underlying trends in fundamental demand factors point toward the need for 1.9 to 2.0 million housing units per year -composed of 1.5 million single family units, between 350 and 400 thousand multifamily units, and between 100 and 150 thousand manufactured homes.”
“The underlying trends in fundamental demand factors point toward the need for 1.9 to 2.0 million housing units per year -composed of 1.5 million single family units, between 350 and 400 thousand multifamily units, and between 100 and 150 thousand manufactured homes.”
That’s just great, but only 48 percent of home buyers have children under the age of 18, the greatest market for single-family homes.
In 1970, women married at the age of 20. Now they’re marrying at 26. That’s five years they could own another product (condos, townhomes) post college before they marry and have kids and move to the ‘burbs. That’s an incredible opportunity for the real estate community to get behind multi-family housing. Keep in mind, one-third of home buyers are single. Would they rather have a yard, or a piece of their own building? Condo buyers move every four years, single-family home buyers every six. That means we still have too many single-family homes, not enough multi-family homes and that inventories will take several years to go through.
Nonetheless, the National Association of Home Builders followed the NAR monthly sales report for October with the news that housing starts and permits hit record lows in October. Housing starts reached a new nadir of 791,000 annually paced, while permits fell a record-breaking 12 percent to 708,000.
Says Molony, “Our assumption is 97% of single-family starts will be completed. We’re projecting single-family starts this year to be 498,000, which works out to about 483,000 on the ground.”
Households are still forming, albeit slowly
The NAR believes that based on historic trends, the nation should be adding between 1.2 and 1.5 million new homes, due to the slowing of household formations.
New homes starts are based in both demand, spurred by new household formation, and obsolescence. According to the U.S. Census, household formation growth was 887,000 year over year by the third quarter. Housing starts are well below new household formations, even if they are building too much single-family.
“Household formation is running below historic levels,” says Molony.
That supports the statement that buyers are on the sidelines, paralyzed by fear, debt, job loss and other scary factors. Grown children are failing to launch from their parents’ basements.
”The market is underperforming by historic standards – sales and affordability are the same as they were 10 years ago, but we’ve added 25 million to the population and 13 million jobs,” says Molony.
That’s a new bubble waiting to happen, as soon as incentives improve for buyers, including the belief that the bottom is near or here.The bottom is a moving target
We’ve been in a housing correction for over three years. We’re at the point where low interest rates, low prices, and high inventory have formed the Buyer’s Trifecta. It’s time to think in terms of vantage point, getting the best possible home for the money and enjoying the tax benefits, as well as lifestyle.
”A small recent member survey showed nearly a quarter of potential buyer clients are on the sidelines,” says Molony.
They can buy – they’re waiting for the bottom. But when is that? If you were to ask, says Kathy Roberts, association executive for the Sarasota Association of REALTORS®, most would say when sales and prices improve.
“If you’re waiting for the right signs, it means you’re going to miss it,” says Roberts
First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit
First Time Home Buyers
November 19th, 2008
Tax Credit Fact Sheet
2008 Housing Stimulus Legislation
Who is Eligible?
The $7,500 tax credit is available for first-time homebuyers only.
The law defines a first-time homebuyer as a buyer who has not owned a home during the past three years.
All U.S. citizens who file taxes are eligible to participate in the program.
Types of Homes that Qualify for theTax Credit
All homes, whether single-family, town homes, or condomini ums will qualify.
However, there are several conditions:
The home must be used as a principal residence, and
The buyer has not owned a home in the prior three years.
The tax credit includes newly-constructed homes.
Income Limits
Homebuyers who file as single or head-of-household taxpayers can claim the full $7,500 credit if their adjusted gross income (AGI) is less than $75,000. (The price of the purchased property must be $75,000 or more to receive the full credit; otherwise the tax credit would be 10% of the sales price.)
For married couples filing a joint return, the income limit dou bles to $150,000.
Single or head-of-household taxpayers who earn between $75,000 and $95,000 are eligible to receive a partial first-time homebuyer tax credit.
Married couples filing jointly who earn between $150,000 and $170,000 are eligible to receive a partial first-time homebuyer tax credit.
The credit is not available for single taxpayers who AGI is greater than $95,000 and married couples filing jointly with an AGI that exceeds $170,000.
Effective Dates for the Tax Credit
First-time homebuyers would receive a $7,500 tax credit for the purchase of any home on or after April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009. To qualify, you must close on the sale of the home during this period.
Tax Credits Refundable
A refundable credit means that if you pay less than $7,500 in federal income taxes, then the government will write you a check for the difference.
For example, if you owe $5,000 in federal income taxes, you would pay nothing to the IRS and receive a $2,500 payment from the government.
If you are due to receive a $1,000 tax refund from the government, your refund would grow to $8,500 ($1,000 plus $7,500 from the homebuyer tax credit).
If you purchased the home in 2008, the tax credit is taken on your 2008 tax return. If you buy in 2009, you have the option of taking the credit on your 2008 or 2009 returns.
Payback Provisions
The tax credit is an interest-free loan that must be repaid over 15 years.
The minimum repayment amount must be 15 equal annual installments. For example, if the credit amount is $7,500, then the homebuyer must repay a minimum of $500 each year for 15 years.
A homebuyer must begin repaying the credit two tax years after claiming the credit. For example, if the credit is claimed on the 2008 tax return, repayment of $500 (or less, if the credit amount is less than $7,500) per year begins with the 2010 return.
If the homeowner sells the home for a profit and there is a remaining credit, then the homeowner is required to repay the remaining credit during the tax year of the home sale. The amount of the repayment will depend upon the amount of profit from the home sale.
If the profit on the sale is more than the remaining credit, then the homeowner must repay the entire remaining credit.
If the profit on the sale is less than the remaining credit, then the homeowner must repay an amount equal to the profit on the home sale. The remaining credit payback will be forgiven.
If the homeowner sells the home but did not make any profit on the home sale, then the remain ing credit payback would be forgiven.
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Our Customer Satisfaction Rating, based on an independent survey, exceeds 97%. This is reflected in our 2008 "QUIE" Award recognizing the TOP 10 REAL ESTATE COMPANIES in NORTH AMERICA! REP/GMAC in #2.
