Steve Curtis DRE#00350257

News on the Home Front

Steve Curtis DRE#00350257 — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:50:31 +0000

As noted in the full article Fha may become “the” go-to loan program for many markets in California especially in most of the Bay Area

The Los Angeles Times
Higher loan limits transform FHA into key source of financing
Congress has raised the maximum mortgage limits for the FHA while leaving loan ceilings
untouched for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This may make the FHA the go-to financing option
for borrowers in high-cost areas.
Read the full story
http://lat.ms/uQSUi1

Back on the Market … and already pending

Steve Curtis DRE#00350257 — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 19:50:34 +0000

Great value in this Short Sale Condo … a new buyer already in place

Click here to view the embedded video.

An Orinda Bargain

Steve Curtis DRE#00350257 — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:03:50 +0000

Check out this property before it’s gone !!!!!!!

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Market Place is still following the same cycle

Steve Curtis DRE#00350257 — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 20:28:50 +0000

We see the sales prices bouncing along at 25% to 65% or more below their peaks in 2005 -2007 so we all seem to assume that everything has changed, but that is not the case. Check out the graph below and take note of the obvious cycle of the number of homes listed (shown in green).

While the numbers are certainly different than in 2005 it’s not a radical difference. So while the market feels really different and has even the most proficient experts scratching their heads, the reality is that the number of homes for sale fluctuates within the same range now as then and the number of sales closed fluctuates within about the same range now as then.

So, what made 2005 a great market and 2011 a terrible one? Mostly the fact that many of us bought (or refinanced) back then (myself included) and now we feel a bit trapped because our plans for the future are not in our control to nearly the extent that we’d like them to be.

Is there anything we can do? Yes, but it means thinking more like a homeowner of the 50′s and 60′s than like those of the last 15 years. Owning a home is where you live first and a VERY LONG term investment second. Back then a homeowner had to keep the property 3 to 5 years minimum just to cover the costs of selling … and that was in a good market.

There are always some people who get in a bind and when that happens there are ways to work with the situation. Your Realtor can help you with that. But if you aren’t in a bind, enjoy your home and adjust your plans accordingly.