Santa Clara Cty Property Assessment up 3.25%...

I don't know if you have experienced the same thing, but my property value went up according to the County assessor's office - the notice of my property's assessed value that I just received in the mail.  This is not a surprise as we have experienced so many multiple offers since the end of last year, but sometimes reality is not completely reflected in the County's figures, and when the market goes down, one feels the need to fight what seems to be an assessed value that is too high.

In the past few years, I have helped several clients prove to the County assessor's office that their value was overinflated, by providing "comparables" from the MLS data, for similar properties sold that year.

However, when the market goes up, it is a lot more difficult to go about this procedure.

As evidenced by this June 2012 article of the Business Journal , the County is richer now, and things are looking up, at least for the County's coffers ...
My evaluation has gone up by about 2%.  How much did yours go up?

Francis

Silicon Valley Real Estate

Local market trends

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A noteworthy web site: junk mail reducer: Catalog Choice

International sales continue to climb in U.S. market..

International sales continue to climb in U.S. market

Due to low prices and the relative weakness of the dollar, international buyers continue to identify the U.S. as a desirable place to own property and make a profitable investment.

According to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® ® 2012 Profile of International Home Buying Activity, total residential international sales in the U.S. for the past year ending March 2012 equaled $82.5 billion, up from $66.4 billion in 2011. Total international sales were evenly split between non-resident foreigners and recent immigrants.

International buyers bought homes throughout the country, but four states accounted for 51 percent of the purchases – Florida, California, Texas, and Arizona. Florida has been the fastest growing destination of choice, accounting for 26% of foreign purchases. California was second with 11% and Texas and Arizona accounted for 7%.

International buyers came from all over the globe, but Canada, China (The People’s Republic of China including Hong Kong), Mexico, India, and the United Kingdom accounted for 55 percent of all international transactions, according to the survey. Canada and China remain the fastest-growing home countries.

Of those international sales:

Canada accounted for 24%
China accounted for 11%, up from 9% in 2011.
Mexico was third with 8%
India and the U.K. both accounted for 6%.


Other figures:
45% of international purchases were <$250k
30% between $250k and $500k
With the average price purchased at $400k (as compared with $212 average for the US as a whole).
62% of these purchases were all cash.

More info on the National Association of Realtors article.

Francis

PS: another article on the subject: on CNN Money: Cheap homes lure foreign buyers.

Silicon Valley Real Estate

Local market trends

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A noteworthy non-profit charity: Random Acts of Flowers

Rental market: details...

Renters, owners, the balance of the two is changing:

Freddie Mac releases U.S. economic and housing market outlook

Freddie Mac released recently released its U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for June showing that rental market activity has been a bright spot for the housing market, and due to rental demand by those postponing homeownership, further increases are expected in the coming year.

Highlights from the outlook include:

- Over the year ending March 2012, an additional 1.5 million households moved into rental housing, a 4 % increase in a single year.

- Rental vacancy rates have dropped roughly two percentage points over the past two years.
- While nominal rents rose (2 to 4 %) during the year ending March 2012, average rent on an inflation-adjusted basis remained below where it had been for much of the decade prior to the Great Recession.
- Multifamily property values are up on average about 25 percent during the past two years from their trough during the first quarter of 2010, according to the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries index, but still about 14 percent below their peak prior to the Great Recession.
- Starts of buildings with at least five apartments have jumped 48 % in the first five months of this year when compared to the same period a year ago.

Freddie Mac Economic and Housing Outlook.


Francis

Silicon Valley Real Estate

Local market trends

useful links

A noteworthy non-profit charity: Random Acts of Flowers

Low Rates ...

Taking advantage of low rates--


Mortgage rates continue to set new record lows, leaving many home buyers and refinancers wondering how low rates can go and how to capture the best rates now.

- Many economists are forecasting that mortgage rates will rise again later this year as the American economy gradually improves and as more global investors turn to the U.S. as a safe haven for money.

- The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.71 percent the week of June 14.

- The rate had averaged 3.9 percent three months earlier and 4.5 percent a year earlier.

- According to one economist, rates could possibly fall further, perhaps as much as a quarter of a percentage point, but it is more likely that they would start a “slow drift” upward.

- Those planning to refinance or buy a home in the next two or three months might want to consider locking in a mortgage rate now.

- Borrowers with rate locks, with a built-in deadline, often receive priority treatment from lenders, because the borrower is telling the lender that he or she is serious about closing soon.

- Lock-in costs and policies vary widely, and are based partly on the time frame the borrower wants covered. Most borrowers will need a 60- to 90-day lock.

If interest rates continue to fall during the lock period, borrowers can ask the lender to rewrite the rate lock at an additional cost, or obtain a “float-down” provision in the original agreement. A lock with a float-down agreement allows the borrower to change the rate, often only once, before closing on the mortgage. This option is generally more expensive than a standard lock.

Read the full story, on this article of the New York Times.

Francis

Silicon Valley Real Estate

Local market trends

useful links