Foreclosure Evictions Temporarily Suspended
Both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are temporarily suspending all scheduled evictions involving foreclosed occupied single-family 1- to 4- unit residences with owned mortgages beginning December 19, 2011 through January 2, 2012.
The suspension will apply only to eviction lockouts related to Freddie Ma and Fannie Mae owned REO properties and will not affect other pre- or post-foreclosure processes. During this period, legal and administrative proceedings for evictions may continue, but families living in foreclosed properties will be permitted to remain in the home.
Francis
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Mortgage rates
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Silicon Valley Counties: real estate activity
To keep in perspective: a lot is being said in the press about real estate in the Bay Area, including a lot of foreclosures and short sales happening all the time. But really, when you add all properties combined, (houses and condominiums, townhouses, PUD’s etc…), what really happened to the market in our area in the past 3 years? I think simple graphs can help us understand how we fare here in the Silicon Valley. In the Counties of San Mateo & Santa Clara, let us look at a simple measure: the average sales price:
Individual Cities can be very different. For instance Palo Alto has the following history in the same 3 years, showing here in blue the average time to sell a home:
the variations in sales prices are not as steep as the averages in the County.
Let me know and I will prepare a study of your own City/ neighborhood.
Thanks for reading !
Francis
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Mortgage rates
Individual Cities can be very different. For instance Palo Alto has the following history in the same 3 years, showing here in blue the average time to sell a home:
the variations in sales prices are not as steep as the averages in the County.
Let me know and I will prepare a study of your own City/ neighborhood.
Thanks for reading !
Francis
useful links
Mortgage rates
Friday, December 9, 2011
On the local political front, a little note on Sunnyvale...
The Silicon Valley Association of Realtors (SILVAR) Opposes Sunnyvale Plan to Regulate Real Estate Transactions
As part of the development of Sunnyvale's Climate Action Plan, the city is considering prohibiting the sale of property until an energy and water efficiency inspection is completed for owner occupied homes and energy efficiency retrofits are made to commercial property. The proposals were discussed as part of a city council study session this week.
SILVAR opposes this proposal because of the detrimental impact it will have on property owners and the ability to close transactions in Sunnyvale. Also, because the mandates would only impact properties at the time of sale, it would take decades before it would impact a significant amount of the housing stock.
SILVAR presented written testimony in opposition to the proposed mandate to the council, and SILVAR Past President Mark Burns had previously spoken at a meeting and asked the council to remove the recommendation from the draft report.
None of the council members spoke in favor of keeping the time of sale mandate in the draft. Council Member Chris Moylan made a strong statement in opposition to the recommendation. The draft climate action plan will be out for public comment and review over the next several months, so stay tuned for updates.
Thanks for reading.
Francis
useful links
Mortgage rates
As part of the development of Sunnyvale's Climate Action Plan, the city is considering prohibiting the sale of property until an energy and water efficiency inspection is completed for owner occupied homes and energy efficiency retrofits are made to commercial property. The proposals were discussed as part of a city council study session this week.
SILVAR opposes this proposal because of the detrimental impact it will have on property owners and the ability to close transactions in Sunnyvale. Also, because the mandates would only impact properties at the time of sale, it would take decades before it would impact a significant amount of the housing stock.
SILVAR presented written testimony in opposition to the proposed mandate to the council, and SILVAR Past President Mark Burns had previously spoken at a meeting and asked the council to remove the recommendation from the draft report.
None of the council members spoke in favor of keeping the time of sale mandate in the draft. Council Member Chris Moylan made a strong statement in opposition to the recommendation. The draft climate action plan will be out for public comment and review over the next several months, so stay tuned for updates.
Thanks for reading.
Francis
useful links
Mortgage rates
Friday, December 2, 2011
The Marriage of Weddings and Real Estate...
Many couples about to tie the knot are doing a different type of wedding registry nowadays, one that allows them to collect cash for a down payment on a home, according to a recent article in The Washington Times.
Dana Ostomel, founder of Deposit a Gift in New York City, says that about 15 % of their registries are to raise down-payment funds for a home and another 15 % are for home-improvement funds to pay for upgrades like a new roof or furniture. "Given that 75 % of today’s engaged couples already live together and are older, very often they are already established with the household basics that you find on a traditional registry," Ostomel said. "What they want is the gift of big-ticket items and longer term goals, like the gift of home ownership.”
The FHA permits gifts from a wedding to be used as a down payment, but lenders are required to document that the funds are gifts. About 27 % of first-time home buyers use gift money from relatives and friends for a down payment, according to a 2010 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers survey. Source: The Washington Times
Francis Rolland
useful links
Mortgage rates
The FHA permits gifts from a wedding to be used as a down payment, but lenders are required to document that the funds are gifts. About 27 % of first-time home buyers use gift money from relatives and friends for a down payment, according to a 2010 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers survey. Source: The Washington Times
Francis Rolland
useful links
Mortgage rates
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
1st 10 Months, 2010 and 2011...
Curious to see the evolution of average prices, from one year to the next?
It turns out it is pretty similar.
Here looking at the compared graphs of both the County of San Mateo, and Santa Clara, from one year to the next:
The one thing that appears at this point is a slight decrease in prices of single family residences in the County of Santa Clara. But this happened too at the end of 2010. Overall the curves are fairly similar.
What is also apparent in these graphs is that the average values are higher in the County of San Mateo than in the County of Santa Clara.
Finally, the end of the year is looking up for the San Mateo County so far.
Francis
useful links
Mortgage rates
It turns out it is pretty similar.
Here looking at the compared graphs of both the County of San Mateo, and Santa Clara, from one year to the next:
The one thing that appears at this point is a slight decrease in prices of single family residences in the County of Santa Clara. But this happened too at the end of 2010. Overall the curves are fairly similar.
What is also apparent in these graphs is that the average values are higher in the County of San Mateo than in the County of Santa Clara.
Finally, the end of the year is looking up for the San Mateo County so far.
Francis
useful links
Mortgage rates
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Real Estate Eye Candy...
The digital edition of the Previews Magazine winter issue has just been released. Click to see some of the most spectacular homes Northern California has to offer.Francis Rolland
Mortgage rates
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Bay Area Investors...
Investors: the trend continues in the Bay Area with a lot of buyers investors:
- 17% in the County of Santa Clara,
- 21% in San Mateo County - 27.5% in Solano County
- 25% Contra Costa County.
Over 20% of all purchases are all cash, with no loan involved.
In fact, an interesting phenomenon occurs in some depressed areas:
in some condominium complexes, where over 15% of the units are delinquent, (typical) banks will not lend… So this leaves only cash buyers as potential buyers of these properties. Obviously these buyers purchase the units for the long term, hoping that the real estate market will improve enough that the complex will go up in value. The rents have increased so much in the past 2 years that the return on investment makes it a very viable deal.
An other problem can occur there though: if more than 50% of the units in a complex are non owner-occupied, loan are also almost impossible to obtain - or more expensive. One of the rules of most lenders is that this important percentage has to be over 50%. So that would leave future buyers and future homeowners in those complexes with a difficult situation: potential buyers who need a loan may not want to pay the extra fees and rates in order to get these loans.
Do not underestimate the need for good advice when you purchase a condominium. A seasoned agent is a must, to make sure you are informed. Here is a good informational page on this "condominium"subject.
Thanks for reading.
Francis
useful links
Mortgage rates
- 17% in the County of Santa Clara,
- 25% Contra Costa County.
Over 20% of all purchases are all cash, with no loan involved.
In fact, an interesting phenomenon occurs in some depressed areas:
in some condominium complexes, where over 15% of the units are delinquent, (typical) banks will not lend… So this leaves only cash buyers as potential buyers of these properties. Obviously these buyers purchase the units for the long term, hoping that the real estate market will improve enough that the complex will go up in value. The rents have increased so much in the past 2 years that the return on investment makes it a very viable deal.
An other problem can occur there though: if more than 50% of the units in a complex are non owner-occupied, loan are also almost impossible to obtain - or more expensive. One of the rules of most lenders is that this important percentage has to be over 50%. So that would leave future buyers and future homeowners in those complexes with a difficult situation: potential buyers who need a loan may not want to pay the extra fees and rates in order to get these loans.
Do not underestimate the need for good advice when you purchase a condominium. A seasoned agent is a must, to make sure you are informed. Here is a good informational page on this "condominium"subject.
Thanks for reading.
Francis
useful links
Mortgage rates
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Silicon Valley: housing inventory
To keep things in perspective, it is good to keep an eye on the inventory of homes for sale at a given point in time. Here is the inventory of all properties for sale (houses + PUD/condos) both in the whole County of Santa Clara, and in the area limited to the five Cities: Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Menlo Park:
Lower inventory = tendency for prices to be sustained, or rise.
There are signifcantly fewer properties for sale now than last year. It is also interesting to note that the luxury market (over $1 million) has fewer homes on the market, which is reflecting the fact that the market has been more active in the past months.
Here in the Bay Area, as noted many times, demand is showing pretty strong fairly consistently.
As agents, we note that open houses are very busy, especially for houses, and certainly all the time for houses in the good school districts. In Palo Alto, multiple offers are the rule, as with all properties priced at market value, in good school districts.
It is worth noting again that about 30% of houses sell for over asking price in the County of Santa Clara.
A lot of them are foreclosures. - A foreclosure sale does not always mean that it is a fabulous deal, moneywise.
Interested in the same figures for only condominiums for instance? Let me know.
Francis Rolland
useful links
Mortgage rates
Lower inventory = tendency for prices to be sustained, or rise.
There are signifcantly fewer properties for sale now than last year. It is also interesting to note that the luxury market (over $1 million) has fewer homes on the market, which is reflecting the fact that the market has been more active in the past months.
Here in the Bay Area, as noted many times, demand is showing pretty strong fairly consistently.
It is worth noting again that about 30% of houses sell for over asking price in the County of Santa Clara.
A lot of them are foreclosures. - A foreclosure sale does not always mean that it is a fabulous deal, moneywise.
Interested in the same figures for only condominiums for instance? Let me know.
Francis Rolland
useful links
Mortgage rates
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