It’s a bit hard to read, but this whimsical sign on the sliding gate hints at the life style these owners enjoyed – “To The Beach”! New on the market this weekend, this 3 bedroom home is being offered at $379,000. With hardwood floors, this home evokes the beach lifestyle of yesteryear in Ventura. But its recent past has been difficult and now it needs some TLC. Read the rest of this article »

As expected, President Obama signed into law the bill that extends the first time homebuyer credit of $8,000; it also raises the income limits for qualification. But this bill also includes a $6,500 tax credit for existing homeowners who want to move up (or down) provided they’ve lived in their home for 5 of the last 8 years.

Details:

• Must be in escrow no later than April 30 and close escrow no later than June 30.
• For first time buyers, max. income limits have been raised to $125k for singles and $225k for a married couple.
• If you close escrow in 2010, you can claim the credit on your 2009 taxes (verify this with your tax counsel…!).

Comments – when the first $7,500 tax credit was enacted (not a true credit, but a loan that needed to get paid back to the Feds), then the “real” $8,000 credit, policy makers hoped it would not only spur the first time buyer buying that first home, but that a ripple effect would occur. The seller of that first home would move up, that seller would move up, and so forth.

It didn’t happen. Most first time buyers have been buying distressed homes (ie, short sales and bank foreclosures).

With the new $6,500 credit, policy makers now hope to kick into gear that move up crowd.

The Senate has reached general consensus to extend the first time homebuyer credit of $8,000 to April 30, 2010. However, this extension must be inserted into a formal Senate bill and then be reconciled with a House version, then signed by the President. Trying to read tea leaves, it would appear at this point enough Democrats and Republicans support this extension for it to pass. Some potential items that may also be included is increased income limits and a $6,500 tax credit for home owners who’ve lived in their home for 5 years or longer and purchase a new property.

It’s late Friday afternoon (yesterday) and I’m clearing out old paperwork that inevitably stacks up on the counter behind my desk, when I stumble upon a ripped out page from an auction catalog from earlier this year. Wow – look at those great deals!

I’d been curious last March to see what the ultimate results would be from those “great deals” so I’d ripped out the page and promised myself that someday I’d check out the final bid prices to see what really transpired on each home.

I’d circled the bid items for our local towns in Hueneme, Ventura, Camarillo and Oxnard – what did I discover yesterday on those homes?

Read the rest of this article »

FEMA is proposing changes to boundary areas for 100 year flood zones that primarily affect the Oxnard area. Homes that are in these areas will be required to obtain flood insurance. There will be a community meeting at 7 p.m. on July 8th at the Oxnard High School Performing Arts Center at 3400 W. Gonzales Road. Here is FEMA’s fact sheet, and here is their map (9.5 MG).

Taking a page from the auto industry, and to help provide first-time home buyers with peace of mind when purchasing a home, the California Association Of Realtors® Housing Affordability Fund (C.A.R.H.A.F.) is offering a free supplemental insurance product for qualified first time homebuyers.  Through this program, first-time home buyers who lose their jobs due to layoffs may be eligible to receive up to $1,500 per month, for six months, to help make their mortgage payments, and qualified co-buyers can receive  $750. Questions? Call and ask me about this!

LA Times chart from June 18

The general media is starting to catch on that home prices have finally turned up. The main article in today’s LA Times business section headlines, “Home prices edge up for 1st time in nearly 2 years”.  Click on the graph to see an uncompressed version showing the upturn.

What regular readers here know from our reporting is that inventory is way down, interest rates are still low, the $8k first time home buyer tax credit is out there, and home prices are still relatively “affordable”. But buyers today (especially at entry level homes) must contend with competition from other buyers, and reminescent of the go-go years, multiple offers on well priced homes are common.

Most potential first time buyers know they can receive an $8,000 credit if they close escrow on their home by December 1st when they file their income tax return for 2009 (or file an amended return for 2008). But HUD just announced that the credit can be used immediately for closing costs, or towards the down payment in excess of the required 3.5% down currently required for an FHA loan. Read the rest of this article »

With the rapid reduction in inventory levels we’ve seen this spring, it’s no surprise prices are finally going back up. Here are the numbers.

If you’ve even been thinking about buying a home but have been waiting for the market to “hit bottom”, these numbers may surprise you – especially now that prices have gone up the past 2 months.

Yesterday’s LA Times business section’s main article talked about the fact it’s not necessarily a buyer’s market out there, especially in entry level priced homes. Multiple offers, often over asking price. Bloomberg News reported this morning that “pending sales of U.S. existing homes posted their first back-to-back gain in almost a year in March and construction spending ended a six-month slide, spurring a rally in stocks”.  Plus, the stock market’s been on a rally for 7+ weeks or so. Historically, the stock market tends to lead any recovery. Locally, inventory is way down (especially Oxnard and Camarillo). What does this all mean?

Read the rest of this article »