Realtors for Ventura | Oxnard | Camarillo

February home sales numbers dropped for Camarillo and Oxnard but spiked up for Ventura. It’s not unusual to see numbers fall off in January and February because not as many buyers are house looking over the Christmas holidays. When the March numbers come out next month, I anticipate seeing the home sales numbers increase.

I continue to be amazed at the steady price point average for Oxnard over the past 12 months. While Ventura has seen more monthly variation, its trend line continues to be steady whereas Camarillo continues its downward trend. For condo price points Camarillo and Oxnard are steady but Ventura shows softening.

The percentage of single family homes that were distressed sales in the month of  February are:

Ventura – 60%      Oxnard – 69%      Camarillo – 55%

Sold prices – Single family homes in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph

Sold prices – Condos in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph
  

Numbers sold – Single family homes in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph

Detailed data for single family homes sold in:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

Detailed data for condos sold in:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

Detailed monthly data for pendings (in escrow) – single family homes and condos:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

All data is taken from the Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo MLS.

Ultimately – it’s all for political show and virtually worthless. When the President announced the settlement, and I saw arrayed behind him a flank of bureaucrats and politicians, that’s what I thought – lots of thunder and fire, but ultimately not a lot of bang.

The politicians had to “do something” about the housing crisis and after over a year of negotiating, this is what we got:

People who lost their homes will get a check for maybe $1,500 – 2,000, but only if it was through one of the 5 banks. Underwater homeowners maybe can get $15,000 knocked off their loan balance through a loan mod, but again, only if their loan is with one of those 5 banks. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans don’t qualify.

In reality, for troubled homeowners in Ventura County who were maybe looking to somehow save their homes through this “breakthrough settlement”, it doesn’t do much. Reducing a loan balance by $15k means a payment reduction of about $80 a month ($20k at 5% over 30 years = $80.52). Reducing it by $20k saves a little over $100 a month. Not to minimize those savings, but when a homeowner has payments of $2,500 to $3,000 a month (mortgage, taxes and insurance) on a home that’s $150,000 underwater or more, $100 a month isn’t going to save that home.

But all the politicians from the states involved (Kamala Harris of CA) and the federal government can add this settlement to their political resume. Ultimately, the banks escaped serious damage. This settlement is going to be slowly played out as the economy continues to improve, allowing the 5 banks to absorb these costs gradually over time.

Should “something” have been done with banks? Absolutely. Will this help the housing crisis in Ventura County? I don’t think so. I believe what ultimately will heal this mess is job creation and the continued building of consumer confidence. It will be “we the people” who will solve this and solve it we will.

Most people understand their home is their most important asset, emotionally and financially. More young people in their 20s and 30s will come into the market as they seek to have their own nest. Growing families will need to move into larger homes. As incomes become stronger and wage earners feel more confident in their job security, they’ll want to move up. It’s just the way things are.

So I admit I’m a cynic going into this political cycle. I just hope the public is too.

January home sales numbers dropped for Ventura, Camarillo and Oxnard, but only because not as many buyers are in the market during the holiday season of November and December. These numbers will pick up as the first of the home buyers from January start closing escrow later this month and in March.

But single family home price points jumped in January for Ventura while Camarillo and Oxnard essentially remained steady.  Condo price points for the 3 cities are mixed.

The percentage of single family homes that were distressed sales in the month of  January are:

Ventura – 32%      Oxnard – 61%      Camarillo – 51%

Sold prices – Single family homes in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph

Sold prices – Condos in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph
  

Numbers sold – Single family homes in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo:

• 12 month graph

Detailed data for single family homes sold in:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

Detailed data for condos sold in:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

Detailed monthly data for pendings (in escrow) – single family homes and condos:

• Ventura
• Oxnard
• Camarillo

All data is taken from the Ventura, Oxnard and Camarillo MLS.

January’s Notice of Default recordings showed an upward spike after a slide in recordings over the past several months.   See the monthly graph.  The number of actual foreclosures still hovers around 200 a month, but with the 3 month delay between the filing of the NOD and the filing of the Notice of Trustee Sale, we anticipate seeing a spike in the number of properties going to sale later this month.

The last several months of 2011 saw a slow down in new foreclosure filings, but not because things were getting better. Lenders were trying to clean up the “robo signing” mess, even though California’s foreclosures weren’t directly involved in that scandal.

Some states (like Florida) are judicial foreclosure states, meaning every foreclosure must be done through the court, whereas California’s foreclosure process is done through a defined process established by statute.

Some believe the rate of foreclosures may pick up in 2012. However, this week a coalition of state Attorney Generals are close to a deal with the nation’s largest lenders to provide mortgage relief (loan mods with principle reductions) which may slow down the number of foreclosures – and boost the values of real estate.

Here’s the data:

Monthly graph – last 12 months

Quarterly graph since 2006 ending Q4 2011