Sacramento Real Estate Views

Archive for January, 2009

Offer Clause of the Moment

Increased Investor Presence in the Coming Year

I work with many all cash investors in the Sacramento real estate market.  My feeling is there is going to be more investor activity in our area this year than we’ve seen in many years.

Here’s why:

1.  The inventory will be increasing this year over last year.

2.  This will depress values more than they have been depressed already.

3.  That said, the perception from various economic sources is that we are well within 20% of the bottom of the market.  This is when smart money comes out of the woodwork.  (I’m seeing this in my business currently)

4.  Not so smart money will be “waiting for the bottom” before they purchase.  This won’t decrease the competition, just extend it for a longer period of time.  By the time not so smart money finds out that the bottom has come, it will be gone.  The media generally reports real estate info 90 days late.

The Ebay Approach to Getting Your Offer Accepted

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Tags: foreclosed homes, Sacramento homes

Is It The Time To Buy?

Has The Moratorium Got You Thinking?

As I’ve said many times, I get questions everyday about all things real estate.  While I don’t consider myself to be the end all be all of real estate  knowledge, I do stay on top of what’s happening the our market, the economy and the national real estate scene.  I speak to Realtors all over the nation every week about their markets and this helps me to get a better sense of what’s going on.

Recently, an investor asked me if now was the time to buy in the Sacramento area.  His concern is valid as there has been a lot of press out there about the recent increase in inventory that is coming as a result of the moratorium that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have put on foreclosures that is ending on the 31st of January and the state legislation enacted in September of 2008.  Throw the economic woes into the mix that will effect the region and you’ve got quite a quandary.

This has some people sitting on the fence waiting to see if prices will decline further and if so, can they get an even better deal on Sacramento real estate.

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Tags: Sacramento homes, sacramento real estate agent

2008 Foreclosure Report

U.S. Foreclosures Increase 81% from 2007

RealtyTrac.com, the leading online resource for foreclosures nationwide, release a report citing the foreclosure rate increased 81% in 2008 over 2007.  This isn’t much of a surprise and the decline got a head of steam in 2008.  By anyone’s estimation, however, 81% is an enormous number.

Over 2.3 million properties received a foreclosure filing nationwide. Here in California, over 500,000 homes received a NOD or notice of default, the first step in the foreclosure process signifying that a homeowner is at least 60 days late on their mortgage, typically.

The Sacramento Region

I’ve heard from various sources that it’s going to get worse before it gets better.  The state legislation that I’ve talked about ad nauseum has done nothing more than delay the process in our area thus resulting in a 34.8% increase in foreclosures in the month of December over November of 2008.

As the economy and the unemployment situation worsens, the foreclosure rate in the area may continue to increase through 2009.  So far, there are no signs from Washington of any more intervention that could further delay the process.  If they focus on the economy, the rest will follow suit, in my humble opinion.

Total foreclosures for the month of December were 5,150 in Sacramento County alone.  This isn’t the highest month of foreclosures in 2008 but it’s right up there.  The second quarter of 2008 was especially bad.

We’ll keep you posted.  Thanks for visiting.

(The chart represents cities with 100 foreclosures or more)

Tags: sacramento foreclosed homes, sacramento real estate

Worst MLS Photo of the Moment

Photos SO Unispiring That I Became Inspired!

I ran across these to from the same listing in Sacramento today.  Umm…I just don’t know what to say.  If the banks only knew…

I’ve seen some great photos of homes before..this has got to be one of the best!  This is what you get when your unlicensed assistant takes your pictures!  I think it’s a water heater in an unpainted garage but I’m not sure!  Nice taping job though!

Here’s another beauty!

This screams “don’t show this house so I can double end it!”  I bet the view from the window was just as uninspiring!  If this was the better choice of the two, eeeeesssssshhhhh!

These were the only photos on this particular listing! 

Another laugh from a market that has had it pretty bad of late.  It’s better than crying, right?

Information from Metrolist, Inc.

Tags: Sacramento homes

Foreclosure Rate Nearly Doubles

Rate Nearly Doubles November to December

ForeclosureRadar.com reports that the foreclosure rate, notices of default sent to homeowners, nearly doubled from November to December of 2008.  This brings the foreclosure rate back up to the second quarter of 2008 record levels.

This was caused by the State of California Senate Bill 1137 halting all foreclosures that took effect in September.  All the bill did was stall the foreclosure process and now the glut of inventory that we saw coming in October is here.  Goodbye home values, hello investors.

If the government would restrict it’s activity in the private sector, maybe we could have this crisis happen gradually rather than all at once preserving whats left of the already crushed home values.

The large inventory numbers that will surely be coming on the market over the next few months will depress values in the area further and while it is likely that once most of it is sold the values will rebound quickly, who knows if it will come back as strong as it is now, which, incidentally, isn’t very strong!

The Government Involvement

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Tags: sacramento foreclosures

January Interest Rates

The Lowest Ever

Interest rates have never been lower.  I don’t know that they can go any lower than what they have been this month.  While it’s possible to imagine that they could get into the low 4% range, I don’t know of any economist who thinks they will. That said, many of them have been incorrect about our current situation thus far. Going forward, it’s anyone’s guess as to what happens.  The new administration is shaking things up a bit but that’s a wait and see.

It Just Isn’t Significant

The difference between a 5% and a 4.5% mortgage just isn’t that significant to wait and risk that the rates will acutally go up instead of go down.

A $200,000 at 5% over 30 years, just principal and interest, is a payment of  $1073.64.  The same scenario at 4.5% is just a $60 a month savings. The savings is $720 a year in this scenario and about $5040 over a 7 year period.  We Americans aren’t very good at looking long term and the monthly difference between the two interest rates just isn’t enough to wait making a decision to buy, risk they will go up and then cost yourself money over the long haul if they do go up.

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Tags: mortgage rates, Sacramento homes

5220 Whitney Blvd., Rocklin

Good, Solid Home in Rocklin

This home is located in the older section of Rocklin, on a semi busy street.  It has a pool, a .49 acre lot and is just under 2100 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms.  Awesome school district and close to shopping and schools.  The condition of the home from just the appearance is good.  Lots of possibility here.

Auction

There are auction signs on this one but I’ve been told that this has been called off and the home is currently for sale to a willing buyer.

Listed at $299,000

This home has been on the market for almost 200 days.  It’s dated, year built is 1977.  The comparable sales in the area are slightly lower than the list price, however, the other properties don’t have a pool as large a lot size of this home.

Any home that has been on the market for as long as this home has could possibly be had for less than the list price.  It’s always worth a try.