Real Estate Archives - Authentic Properties

California home sales slowed from June to July

SAN FRANCISCO—A real estate tracking firm is reporting that sales of California homes slowed last month.San Diego-based DataQuick said Tuesday that nearly 35,000 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide in July. That represents an 11 percent decline from June and 1.4 percent decrease from July 2010. DataQuick says the median California home price in July was $252,000, down 0.4 percent from June and 6 percent from July last year. The median price peaked in early 2007 at $484,000 and hit bottom in April 2009 at $221,000. The firm says more than half of resale home sales last

Raising the Debt Ceiling: How Will It Effect Real Estate?

The effects of politicking in Washington led to some historic events for our country. Unfortunately, our most recent events have all been rather negative, to say the least. So, we are once again hearing that mortgage interest rates are at all-time, historic lows. I would not want to give our Washington elites too much credit for being the reason for these low rates. But the truth of the matter, is that due to our debt issues, our financial system must continue to make money as affordable as possible to those borrowing. This will help improve the velocity of money and

California Foreclosures Plummet to 4-Year Low

The number of California homes that went into foreclosure fell to a four-year low last quarter, the result of a more stable housing market as well as policy changes in the mortgage servicing industry, a real estate information service reported. A total of 56,633 Notices of Default (NoDs) were recorded at county recorders offices during the April-to-June period. That was down 17.0% from 68,239 for the prior quarter, and down 19.2% from 70,051 in second-quarter 2010, according to San Diego-based DataQuick. Last quarter’s activity was the lowest for any quarter since 53,493 NoDs were recorded in the second quarter of

SOCAL Housing Market Improves Slightly

The Southern California housing market showed some signs of stabilizing last month with sales popping up more than average from May to June, a real estate data firm reported Tuesday. Sales rose 11.6% from May, driven by first-time buyers and investors scouring the market for bargains. A total of 20,532 newly built and previously owned homes sold in the region last month, according to DataQuick of San Diego. That tally was nevertheless a 14.0% decline from the same period a year ago, the last month that buyers could close on their home purchases and qualify for the popular federal tax

Pending real estate sales rise in May

Image by Getty Images via @daylife After an April dip, pending home sales rose sharply in May, for the first annual increase in over a year, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors. NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index rose 8.2 percent month-to-month and 13.4 percent year-over-year in May, to 88.8. An index score of 100 is the average level of contract activity in 2001, the first year that index data was collected. May saw the first year-over-year index increase since April 2010, NAR said. The index, which tracks homes under contract, is a leading indicator, and the

A Sliver of Hope for California Housing Market

Image by Getty Images via @daylife California‘s mangled real estate market saw a sliver of promise Tuesday, despite a downward national trend in home sales. The California Association of Realtors said pending home sales statewide rose in May, the first year-over-year increase in 18 months.CAR said its Pending Home Sales Index in May was 118.3, up 1.6% from April’s revised index of 116.4 and a 12% gain over May 2010. The index is based on contracts signed in May. CAR considers pending home sales an indicator of future sales activity.”May marked the first year-over-year increase in pending sales since November

Is Now the Time to Buy a Home?

Back in June 2006, when the housing market peaked, the prospect of a five-year national housing bust seemed unimaginable to most people. And yet here we are, with the latest Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller index showing that prices hit new bear-market lows, falling back to 2002 levels nationally and to 1990s levels in some battered regions. Despite all the gloom, however, there are growing indications that it is a good time to buy. Mortgage rates, which fell to 4.55% for the week ending June 2, according to Freddie Mac, are near 50-year lows. Homes have become more affordable than they

California Short Sale Times Improving

Short sales comprise a significant portion of the home sales conducted in California, due to the large number of distressed property owners in that state. In 2009, 18.5% of all transactions in Southern California were short sales. By January 2011, this number increased to 27.3% of all transactions. A short sale is when a homeowner who has negative equity sells their home for less than what they owe on the mortgage (this requires approval from the lender). The lender then forgives the remainder of the debt. For example, a homeowner could owe $200,000 on their mortgage while their home value

U.S. Commercial Real Estate Prices Decline to Post-Crash Low

U.S. commercial property prices fell to a post-recession low in March as sales of financially distressed assets weighed on the market, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price Index dropped 4.2 percent from February and is now 47 percent below the peak of October 2007, Moody’s said in a statement today. The national index has fallen for four straight months as sales of distressed properties hurt real estate values. Investor demand is strongest for well-leased buildings in such major markets as New York and Washington as vacancy rates decline and the economy grows. The index “continues to

California Foreclosure Cancellations Rise and Filings Drop by 25%

Foreclosure activity slowed in April. Foreclosure filings were down in Arizona, California, Nevada and Washington, with Oregon being the sole exception where filings were up. California filings were down to levels not seen since late 2008, when governmental intervention caused a temporary but massive drop in activity. Foreclosure sales saw similar declines throughout our coverage area, except Washington. Notably, cancellations were up significantly across the board, leaving fewer propeties scheduled for trustee sale. “The drop in filings, and the rise in cancellations, is surprising,” says Sean O’Toole, CEO and Founder of ForeclosureRadar.com. “Banks have had time to resolve robo-signing issues,

Testimonials for Real Estate