26646 Purple Martin Ct. Front

26646 Purple Martin Ct. Front

Originally uploaded by Jerod_scv

Great home in Rainbow Glen Estates for lease. This home features 1,862 square feet of living space, on a 7,200 square foot lot. 4 bedrooms and 3 full bathrooms (1 bedroom and bathroom downstairs), formal living room, dining room, family room, and eat in kitchen.

Looking back at the market in Oct. & Nov. 2009

Santa Clarita has seen gains in the median resale price of homes sold during October, which is the result of increased Buyer demand competing for such a limited number of homes listed for sale. Surprisingly, for the time of year where activity and sales regularly seem to taper off, there doesn’t seem to be much slow-down for the holiday season. Last month in November we saw a total of 248 homes change ownership, slightly down from October which showed roughly 293. After 13 months of increases in year-to-year sales, five of the last six months have reported sales declines, but this seems due primarily to the very limited supply of homes listed for sale. It is true that some regions of the nation have many homes listed for sale which are continueing to keep prices soft, but in Santa Clarita and many other parts of the nation are seeing multiple of offers on virtually every listing especially those priced under $500,000 regardless of whether it is a Short Sale, Foreclosure, or Standard Sale simply because the prices are affordable. Although there seems to be increased activity, it is important that we take a step back and control our optimism. It is important to realize that there is still a long-term housing recovery looking forward, a sluggish economy and significant unemployment at hand. *It is also important to note that some of the increased activity is due to first-time buyers looking to take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit, thinking it was going to expire at the end of November. Fortunately for those Buyers, that credit has been extended until April 30, 2009 and now includes a $6,500 federal tax credit for existing owners who trade up or trade down with a purchase of a home. At the end of October, a total of 729 properties were on the market throughout the Santa Clarita Valley which was down a staggering 53.7% from a year ago and according to analysts represents less than a 3-month supply of housing at the current pace of sales, compared to a 5.3-month a year ago. This may come as a suprise to most people, but demand outweighs supply so much right now that if there were more homes available for sale many more homes could be sold, but because there isn’t upward pressure on prices is building.

SCV Market Activity for December 9, 2009

The Santa Clarita Valley Daily Real Estate Market Activity

December 9, 2009

(Includes the areas: Stevenson Ranch, Valencia, Saugus, Newhall, Canyon Country, Castaic, Agua Dulce, Acton) 

Current Status and Activity	Inventory Numbers
New Active Listings for Today:   Out of the new listings:	2   1 – Foreclosures/REO  0 – Short Sales  1 – Standard Sales
Total Current Active Listings:   Out of the new listings:	657  414 are priced under $500,000   243 are priced over $500,000
Avg. Days on Market for Closed Sales:	64
Pending Sale (Daily New):	1
Pending Sale:   Out of the Pending Listings:	522  450 are priced under $500,000   72 are priced over $500,000
Homes Accepting Back Up Offers: Out of the Homes Accepting Back Up Offers:	499   439 are priced under $500,000  60 are priced over $500,000
Escrows Closed in November:	248
Closed Escrows (Daily New):	0
Escrows Closed in December (To Date):	63
Total Closed Transactions Year-to-date: Out of the Closed Transactions:	3,135  2,623 closed under $500,000  512 closed over $500,000

*The information is from SoCal Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed* 

Posted via web from jerod Mayer’s Posterous

SCV Market Activity for December 7, 2009…Market is Moving!

The Santa Clarita Valley Daily Real Estate Market Activity

December 7, 2009

(Includes the areas: Stevenson Ranch, Valencia, Saugus, Newhall, Canyon Country, Castaic, Agua Dulce, Acton)

Current Status and Activity	Inventory Numbers
New Active Listings for Today: Out of the new listings:	4 1 – Foreclosures/REO 2 – Short Sales 1 – Standard Sales
Total Current Active Listings: Out of the new listings:	660 418 Are Priced Under $500,000 242 Are Priced Over $500,000
Avg. Days on Market for Closed Sales:	62
Pending Sale (Daily New):	8
Pending Sale: Out of the Pending Listings:	522 449 Are Priced Under $500,000 73 Are Priced Over $500,000
Homes Accepting Back Up Offers: Out of the Homes Accepting Back Up Offers:	499 436 Are Priced Under $500,000 63 Are Priced Over $500,000
Escrows Closed in November:	248
Closed Escrows (Daily New):	6
Escrows Closed in December (To Date):	48
Total Closed Transactions Year-to-date: Out of the Closed Transactions:	3,114 2,606 Were Priced Under $500,000 508 Were Priced Over $500,000

*The information is from SoCal Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed*

Extension of Home Buyer Tax Credit into 2010

The home buyer tax credit was extended into 2010 allowing First-Time Home Buyers a chance to receive a Tax Credit of up to $8,000 until April 30, 2010. It also offers current home owners a chance to receive a credit of up to $6,500 who purchasing a new or existing home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010

Home Buyer Activity Still Outweighs Available Supply

Despite heavy buyer activity, the Santa Clarita Valley continues to experience very tight inventory levels. Santa Clarita which includes the following cities: Valencia, Stevenson Ranch, Newhall, Saugus, Castaic, Canyon Country, Acton, and Agua Dulce currently has a total of 655 available active listings as of November 10, 2009. Additionally there are 524 homes currently pending sale going through escrow. Inventory is so dynamic right now that it is estimated we have about 1.5 – 2 months supply of homes on the market and as a result sales for many months this year (2009) are down from where they were a year ago in (2008).

Although the Tax Credit (before it was extended and revamped) had many Buyers entering the market anxious to secure a home and close escrow by the expiration on November 30, 2009, it was the amount of inventory that continued to limit the amount of closed transaction. You’re probably thinking that when the banks release the foreclosure homes things will be different, we will not have enough demand and prices will plummet further. That is definitely a possibility, but I don’t believe it will be the case. From many interactions with clients, agents, lenders, and being in the trenches everyday, I believe that if an increase in REO/Foreclosure homes happen to FINALLY come to the market it would be a good thing for a few reasons:

• It would allow buyers who have been wanting to purchase an opportunity to get their chance
• Banks would be able to liquidate their assets allowing funds/proceeds to go back into the system
• It would free up decision makers at the banks allowing them to put their focus to short sale transactions which would ultimately become quicker and more efficient, and so on…

Touching on the new extension of the tax credit refund briefly, the extension is beneficial because it will allow many new home owners to utilize the benefits offered for the next few months. Furthermore, for the home owners that were hoping the tax credit was extended to them, that is now a reality for some. The new revision extended the benefits to include existing home owners who have owned and occupied a residence  for at least 5 of the past 8 years. There are new income limits as well, so please be sure to check your qualification eligibility. With these changes in place, I am hoping that we see more inventory so that “qualified” Buyers can utilize the incentives offered to them.

Getting back and looking at data for successfully closed transactions  in Santa Clarita for the 2009 calendar year thus far, a total of 2,859 homes have sold and that number continues to increase on a daily basis. Sure, that is a lot of homes sales, but now for the interesting part: Out of that number, 2,387 of those sales have been at or below the $500,000.00 price range, meaning that 472 of the closed transaction were priced at $500,001.00 or more. Now you might be wondering, what I am getting at. Well, taking these numbers into consideration I find it very difficult to say that a bottom in the housing market is nowhere in sight. Does that mean housing prices done sliding? NO, housing prices are not done sliding, in fact, the higher end homes will face more downward pressure than lower priced homes simply because of the limited number of qualified Buyers able to afford them. ** Almost 5 times as many Buyers are able to afford a home priced $500,000.00 or less**. Which leads me to say confidently that we are entering a point where buyers are feeling confident again, and that is the first step!

My new video segments

I am starting to put together video segments for people who are interested in knowing about the current real estate market trends, activity, and news along with events and activities that will be going on within our community. Take a moment to watch this brief intro. I hope you enjoy it. If you have any suggestions please do not hesitate to notify me.

Click here to watch

Senate OKs extension of home-buyer tax credit!

The measure is expected to be approved by the House and signed by Obama within days. It is aimed at giving the real estate market an added boost and would expand the credit to existing homeowners.Reporting from Washington – The Senate today voted to extend and expand a tax credit for home buyers as an added boost for the recovering real estate market, and also approved a provision to continue giving aid to the long-term unemployed.

The measure, adopted on a strong bipartisan vote of 98-0, also would extend and expand a tax benefit for businesses with losses. The House is expected to follow suit within days, and President Obama is expected to sign it into law.

To keep fueling the real estate rebound, the legislation would extend the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers to April 30. It now is set expire at the end of the month. More importantly, it also would provide a new $6,500 tax break for existing homeowners who want to move up to a new home, as long as they have lived in their current residence for five consecutive years out of the last eight.

The bill also would increase the level of qualifying incomes to $125,000 for individual tax filers and $225,000 for joint filers. Those earning up to $145,000 individually or up to $245,000 jointly would get a smaller credit that decreases as income rises.

The tax credits apply to home purchases of $800,000 or less.

“Every economist will tell you we have to steady the housing market before the economy will turn around,” said Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.). “We can’t afford to let this tax credit expire now.”

Home Buyers deliberately pass up opportunities

Working with Buyers in this market is definitely challenging, therefore I find it paramount to educate clients on the state of the housing market. With the availability of housing choices remaining extremely low and opportunities being hard to come by with little sign of change in the near future is leaving Buyers frustrated and distraut.

It is paramount for Buyers wanting to purchase in this market to understand and be fully educated on the market. The past and current market trends, competition and knowledge of knowing what to expect when entering a purchase agreement situation should be touched on. Using the Santa Clarita housing market as an example, explaining that there are approximately 607 active listings on the market with about 36% of the listings being short sale listings is significant. Why is this important? This means that very few homes are likely meet your desired criteria, few homes will fall within the areas you might desire, and if you find a home that does, it will likely have multiple offers submitted on them. Additionally, a large number of the short sale listings are unable to be purchased within a normal 30-60 day escrow period. Furthermore, this type of market has been around for most of 2009 and signs indicate that this market will be here through 2010.

With that said, is it wise for buyers to intentionally miss an opportunity. Especially one that initially didn’t work out, and then happened to fall back into their lap? This answer will be different for everyone, and it depends on the individual home Buyers perceptions of the market. However, deliberately missing an opportunity after the potential outcomes are clearly explained, is a mistake. To make the situation worse, deciding to agree to the Sellers original terms offered after loosing the home to another Buyer in hopes of saving the deal is an even bigger mistake.

Honestly, if Buyers understand the housing market activity, have lost other housing opportunities, watched home prices increase, and don’t see that things will turn in their favor, then “YES” make a decision to secure that home.

Extension of the Tax Credit is pointing to YES

Finally!!!

The question that has had many prospective Buyers worried with uncertainty is now almost a reality! The Tax Credit Incentive to Home Buyers appears that it will be extended, but with a few modifications to the program. Although without seeing the actual Bill, it is unknown what will be modified, a couple changes that really stood out was in the articles were:

• Repeat Buyers who have lived in their homes for 5 consecutive years would qualify for an incentive;
• Income limits for single and married couples are being increased quite a bit from the currently offered tax incentive.

Read it here: Homebuyer Tax Credit Measure Backed by Administration (Update2)

Read it here: Senators agree to extend homebuyer tax credit