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Posts Tagged ‘Ontario’

How Many Homes are for Sale in April 2012?

26 Apr

It’s been a very busy couple of months.  March came in like a lion with Buyers buying houses in the Inland Empire at a ferocious pace.  April has followed suit and there’s no end in sight!

It’s a good time to check the housing inventory. Did the foreclosures, bank owned (REO homes) come on the market as anticipated?  Are short sales on the rise?  What about standard sales?

Upland has a total of 181 homes for sale – 121 are standard sales, 41 are short sales and 16 are REO.

Rancho Cucamonga has 327 total homes for sale – 185 standard, 119 short sales and 22 REO.

Claremont has 89 total homes for sale – 67 standard, 16 short sales and 3 REO.

Fontana has 340 total homes for sale – 137 are standard, 149 short sales and 51 REO

Ontario has 269 total homes for sale – 109 are standard, 119 short sales and 37 REO

Pomona has 209 total homes for sale – 97 are standard, 115 short sales and 14 REO.

Montclair has 48 total homes for sale – 25 are standard, 16 short sales and 7 REO

That gives us a grand total of 1463 homes for sale in 7 cities in the Inland Empire.

575 short sales in all or 39% are in some state of foreclosure.

150 bank owned (REO) or 10%.  And standard sales are at 741 or 50% of the market.

Looking back 3 months at my January 19th post, there were 2297 total homes for sale – WOW – inventory is down 64%!!  3 months ago short sales made up 43% of the market and REO’s were at 11% – not much change there.

But the most indicative number that shows us where we are going is the standard sales inventory.  3 months ago they were at 43% and they have jumped up 7%!  That is the best news I can give you.  Regular, standard sales are on the rise which means that the real estate market is stabilizing and the general public is feeling confident enough to put their homes on the market.  When the number of homes for sale reaches a low point, then the simple business concept of supply and demand goes in to effect.  With fewer homes on the market, prices will stabilize and we could possibly see an increase in prices.  But don’t get carried away yet, in 3 months I’ll give you the statistics and we will have a better idea of the housing trend.

 

 
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Posted in Home inventory, Homes For Sale, Real Estate Update, REO, Seller's market, short sales

 

Your Offer is in Backup Position…

29 Feb

“What?!  I don’t understand,” says my confused Buyer.  “I thought my offer was the only one on the table.”  Having an offer in backup position is a good place to be but it isn’t the best – an accepted offer is the best.

When I am on the listing side and working with a Seller with multiple offers, I can tell you it feels good!  But what about when I’m representing a Buyer and the rug gets pulled out from underneath them?  Not so good.

As I take a deep breath to explain, my stomach churns.  My Buyer is right, there were no offers on the newly listed house that we just toured and rushed back to the office to write an offer on.  Then all of a sudden, there are 3 offers.  How did that happen?  Call it Murphy’s Law or coincidence, it is happening all the time!  Consulting with other agents in my office, I find out that it is happening to them as well. Of course there are multiple reasons why one offer is chosen over another – the other buyer had more down payment, better FICO scores or cash.  Or maybe the market is really turning around?  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

For the past month I have been juggling 3-5 Buyers every weekend showing 10-12 homes in a day.  I’m elated about this but then I start thinking, where are the Sellers?  Sellers are not coming forward as strongly as the Buyers are….hmmm I see a trend here.

Houses are getting snapped up as quick as they go on the market.  The best thing for a Buyer to do is to connect with the best Buyer’s agent they can find.  And here I go again, repeating myself….get fully approved for a home  loan.  I can’t say it often enough – get a loan commitment from a bank or direct lender.  Why?  Because the Buyers getting their offers accepted right now are fully prepared

 
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Posted in Home inventory, Homes For Sale, market value, Real Estate Update, Seller's market

 

Real Estate – Myths or Facts?

28 Feb

This past week I heard so many real estate stories from Buyers and Sellers so I wanted to talk about some myths or facts that are being told about real estate.

Fact or Myth?    My FICO score will go down if too many mortgage lenders run my credit to approve me for a home loan.

Myth – Your FICO credit score will go down maybe a couple of points but not significantly enough to jeopardize you unless you are barely qualifying to purchase a home.  If your score is in the high 700′s a small drop will not effect you that much.  However, if you barely have the minimum FICO score to qualify for a home loan and your score goes down, yes, you might not be able to get a loan.  If you are that close to the minimum score, then maybe you should spend more time building your credit before embarking on the biggest purchase of your life.

Fact or Myth?   If I price my house at market value, then I won’t have any negotiating room

Myth – In the Inland Empire communities at this time, Buyers are hungry to buy and they are smart!  If you price your home too high in order to have “wiggle” room then you have made the biggest mistake of real estate 101.  Buyers are all over the internet and out every weekend looking at homes and Open Houses, they know the right price for your home.  I guarantee that if you price your home at today’s market value, you will have multiple offers within a week!  What a nice problem to have!

Fact or Myth?  The economy is in the dumpster so I can offer 20% less for a bank owned foreclosure and the bank will be happy to take my all cash offer.

Myth – The banks have already taken big losses on foreclosed homes so when you see the list price, the banks have done their homework and had several appraisals done already.  The banks want the list price or more!  That’s right – and there are many, many cash buyers willing to pay it!

Fact or Myth?  If I wait till this summer to buy a home, the bank foreclosures will hit the market and prices will drop some more.

Myth – Inventory is being gobbled up as I write this.  The demand is high because of the low interest rates and rent prices are going up.  Even new home builders are reporting an increase in sales.  Waiting is a bad idea.  Sellers are starting to see that prices are stable and if inventory continues to shrink – not enough homes for Buyers to buy – then prices might go up and we will have a Seller’s market.

Fact or Myth?  Is now a good time to buy?

Fact – Yes, prices have been bouncing along the bottom for a year or more.  Interest rates are unbelievably low.  The real estate market is begging to come back to “normal”  Buying now is the best advice I can give you!

 
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Posted in Home inventory, Homes For Sale, market value, Real Estate Update, REO, Seller's market, short sales, total listings

 

Face to Face – is it still the best way to do business?

13 Feb

For the last week I have been driving past an apartment building on my way to the office with a For Rent sign in front.  An older gentleman in a cowboy hat is sitting on a folding chair next to the sign.  I’ve seen him there in past years but this time I had to stop and talk to him.  I wanted to find out more about him and his way of doing business.

I introduced myself and as I expected, he is the owner and builder of this building with six apartments.  He’s retired and likes to meet the people who will eventually rent from him. He showed me the apartment and we had a great talk about real estate.

Very refreshing!  This is the way real estate used to be done – face to face.  When I received my real estate license 15 years ago, real estate agents would “present” offers to the Sellers in person.  Of course there were no cell phones and email was just becoming popular.  Now days offers are emailed, scanned or faxed back and forth with buyers, sellers and agents never meeting.  Ok, I admit the world works faster now but sometimes I wish I could present my offer to the Seller so that my Buyer would have their offer looked at in a better light.  Investors are snapping up properties that in my opinion should be going to first time buyers.  The investors have cash and “cash is King” so they say.  My buyers want a piece of the action!

 
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Posted in Buyer's market, Escrow, FHA, Homes For Sale, market value, Real Estate Update, Seller's market, Uncategorized

 

We’re in Escrow – Now What Happens?

04 Feb

Congratulations!  You accepted the best offer from the best qualified Buyer and your agent has opened escrow.  Now what happens?

Escrow starts the process with opening a title search.  The title report will give all the information about the property in regards to mortgages, liens, easements, taxes, etc.  As escrow is the gathering place for all money and information, they will receive the Buyer’s earnest money deposit (EMD) within 3 days.  Escrow will also prepare the escrow instructions for both sides – Buyer and Seller.  The new grant deed will be prepared in the Buyer’s name and will need to be notarized.  Escrow will start a conversation with the Buyer’s lender and continue to monitor the loan process throughout escrow.

The most important thing to remember about the escrow process is that escrow is a neutral party to the transaction.  They gather and disburse money and information.  They are not on anybody’s “side”.  If there is anything that arises in the escrow process that warrants both sides making decisions to move forward then these issues must be put in writing.  Escrow can only act when both sides approve in writing of a change to the approved purchase contract.  Any other action on escrow’s part is not allowed.  For example, the Buyer’s agent cannot call escrow and tell them to change the closing date without getting it in writing and approved by the Seller.

Since the average escrow for a standard sale in Southern California’s Inland Valley is 30-45 days, there is enough time to thoroughly get to know and understand the process of escrow.  Please ask questions of your agent or escrow officer if you do not understand what’s going on, after all they are the ones that do this for a living and can help with any concerns you have.

p.s. if your escrow involves a short sale, the time frame can be much longer…….

 
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Posted in Escrow, Real Estate Update, short sales, Title

 

We Have An Offer!

23 Jan

This is such an exciting thing to say to a Home Seller!  All the hard work has paid off.

As a listing agent, the first thing I do is verify all the information on the offer.   The source of funds for the deposit and down payment should be a part of the offer package that the Buyer’s agent has sent over.   A letter of approval from a bank or direct lender should also be in the offer package.  A call to the lender will confirm the ability of the Buyer to purchase the home.  The lender has verified the Buyer’s funds and FICO scores and is willing to give a loan to the Buyer based on the information they have obtained.

With the Buyer’s qualifications verified the offer becomes valid.  The next thing to check are the terms of the offer.  How much is the Earnest Money Deposit (EMD)?  3-5% of the sales price is acceptable.  The length of escrow is important – 30 to 45 days is the most common.   Does the Buyer want the Seller to contribute to the Buyer’s closing costs?  Does the Buyer want a termite inspection and clearance?  What other reports or services is the Buyer asking the Seller to contribute?  And of course, what is the dollar amount offered?

Once the offer is reviewed by the listing agent, a net sheet can be prepared.  The net sheet tells the Seller what amount of money they will walk away with from the sale of their home to this Buyer’s offer.   After all this information has been gathered, a meeting as soon as possible between the Sellers and the listing agent is suggested.  You can strategize with your Realtor and decide if the offer is good enough as it is or if you want to counter offer any of the terms of the Buyer’s offer.  If the offer is not quite what you had hoped for in terms of dollar amount, length of escrow, etc.  don’t fret – Counter offer.

On the other hand, you might have several offers to review.  Now that is a nice problem to have.  You might want to pick the offer that is the highest dollar amount – but will it appraise at that amount?  Maybe you were home when one of the Buyers toured your home and you have a “gut” feeling that they are the right people to buy your home, then go with it.

 
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Posted in Buyer's market, Escrow, FHA, Home inventory, Homes For Sale, market value, Real Estate Update, Seller's market

 

How Many Homes are for Sale?

19 Jan

Its been a while since I posted the number of homes for sale in the Inland Empire/Foothill corridor area of Southern California.  We are two weeks in to 2012 and the news is that home sales are up.  Is inventory up too?  Well not yet but we are about 6 – 8 weeks from the start of the Spring selling season so let’s take a look at how many homes are for sale right now. Why is this important?  For the same reason you get a checkup at the doctor’s office, it’s good to know how healthy you are.

Upland has 207 homes for sale – 61 are short sales and 29 are REO’s (bank owned)

Rancho Cucamonga – 454 homes for sale – 220  short sales and 47 REO

Ontario – 377 homes for sale – 199 short sales and 52 REO

Montclair – 56 homes for sale – 28 short sales and 3 REO

Fontana – 574 homes for sale – 301 short sales and 67 REO

Claremont – 89 homes for sale – 21 short sales and 5 REO

La Verne – 86 homes for sale – 26 short sales and 7 REO

Pomona – 355 homes for sale – 175 short sales and 47 REO

San Dimas – 99 homes for sale – 29 short sales and 11 REO

Total homes for sale – 2297.  Short sales – 1060 and REO – 268

Overall, 46% of homes for sale today are short sales and only 11% are REO, 43% are standard sale.

But wait, didn’t the banks foreclose on 1000′s of homes in southern California the last week of 2011?  Yes, but they have not hit the market yet.  At the end of the 1st quarter we will take another look at the numbers.  Real estate has always been a numbers game,  by keeping track of the numbers we will have a good idea about the health of the real estate market.

 

 
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Posted in Buyer's market, Escrow, FHA, Home inventory, Homes For Sale, market value, Real Estate Update, REO, Seller's market, short sales, Title, total listings

 

Showing Your Home

17 Jan

Show Time!  You have hired the best Realtor in town to represent you on the sale of your home,  the flyers are in the flyer box on the for sale sign post out in the front yard and your Home is clean and ready to show!  Congratulations!  You’ve done it – you are selling your Home!

This big step is exciting and scary all at the same time.  Your phone starts ringing with Realtors wanting to make appointments to bring their Buyers to see your home.  Will they like it?  What will you do?  I firmly believe that it is ok to be home when the Realtor and Buyers come to view your home but that’s it – remove yourself to your garden, the neighbor’s house whatever – just don’t linger around interjecting tidbits that you want to tell them about your Home.  The reason I  think it is ok to be home to greet the prospective Buyers is that sometimes you will get a “feeling” about the Buyers and their agent.  That can go a long way in negotiating the sale.

Sometimes you can’t be home to greet the agent and the Buyers.  That’s ok too.  A Realtor will have a keypad that is registered to them and they will use it to open the lockbox that your agent has placed a key inside.  The great thing about the electronic lockbox is that when it opens it records the agent’s name and time.  When the agent is done showing your home and replaces the key in the lockbox it will record that too.  Your listing agent will have a log of who has been in your home.

On the downside, yes sometimes Realtors will make an appointment and never show up or call.  That is rude to leave you waiting but it is going to happen and the reason it will happen is because maybe the house right before yours was “the One” and the Buyers and their agent rushed back to the office to write an offer on it.  Another possibility is that as they drove up to your home something wasn’t right for them – your home is on a corner (some people love living on a corner – me – and others don’t), maybe it was the neighborhood – don’t worry about it!  There is a Home for everyone!

Since you have priced your home well,  you will have many showings in the first week.  This first 7 to 10 days is the most critical time for your home.  I always say if you don’t have an offer in the first 7-10 days – then your home is not priced well and you should adjust the price.  Now remember I am talking about the Inland Empire/Foothill corridor area of southern California.  The housing market is moving very fast here and this is what you should expect if you are living in Upland, Claremont, Rancho Cucamonga, Montclair, Fontana, Ontario, San Dimas or La Verne.  The supply of homes is low in these cities and Buyers are ready to buy.  Next blog will be about the home inventory in these cities.

 
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Posted in FHA, Homes For Sale, Real Estate Update

 

Hiring a Real Estate Agent

10 Jan

Hiring a Realtor to sell your house is a big step.  Interviewing several local Realtors is recommended.  You might have notepads, pens, calendars and various marketing items that have been sent to your home over the years.  The agent that has been giving you these items is telling you that they “work the neighborhood” and know it well.  So be sure to include that agent in your interviews.

So what do you look for in a Realtor?  Same thing you would want in any other professional: Integrity, honesty and good work ethics.   All the Realtors you interview will have comparable sales for you to review.  These are facts that won’t change from one Realtor to the next.  They all should give you a marketing plan of how they will market your home.  This should include a detailed list of items they promise to do for you such as putting up a sign, making flyers and keeping a good supply in the flyer box, promoting your home at their office meeting, advertising in the local paper.   If you want your Realtor to hold Open Houses, then let them know.  Some Sellers don’t mind having a couple of Open Houses when the house is fresh on the market.  I would encourage you to allow your agent to do at least one.  I tell my Sellers that by doing an Open House I can get feedback from the Buyers.  Buyers are smart and they know what the market is like because they are out there looking.  They have the internet to search and once your home is on the market there are sites like Redfin.com that give information on the last time your house sold, taxes, schools and neighborhood safety.

Let’s talk about lockboxes.  I highly recommend that you have one on your home.  Why?  Because if a buyer’s agent has 5 or 6 homes to show and yours is the only one that doesn’t have a lockbox and has limited viewing times then be prepared for your home to sit on the market for a long time.  If you can’t see it, you can’t sell it!   After all, you have packed up all your valuables and readied your home for sale, put a lockbox on it -  they give your Realtor information about what time your house was shown and who showed it.   I know there are special circumstances, small children’s nap schedules and dogs that need to be put in the dog run but if you really want to sell, you will figure out with your Realtor how to get arrange these things.

Last but not least – pick a Realtor that you LIKE.  That’s right, you need to feel comfortable calling, texting and emailing your agent.  They need to be there for you.  Ok, I’m getting on a tangent here but if you see your agent on a billboard, they probably aren’t the agent for you.  Why?  Because you will probably only see that Realtor once – when they come for the interview.  After that you will be dealing with an assistant.   In my opinion,  you deserve better.  There are many intricate details that can get lost in translation if you are dealing with assistants.   Selling a home is a personal thing that most people go through only a couple times in their lifetime.  Hire the Realtor with a heart and you won’t go wrong.

 
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Posted in FHA, Homes For Sale, Real Estate Update, Title

 

What Are Your Plans for 2012?

09 Jan

Is this the year you will sell your Home?   What’s the next step?

Its been 5 years into this current economy and you have waited long enough for the market to stabilize.  You are tired of waiting for prices to go up and have heard that they probably won’t in the next couple of years.  So you want to sell and move on with life.

Are you going to take advantage of the great prices and move up?  What you will find is that between the unbelievably great interest rates and low home prices, this is quite possibly the best time ever to move up.  Call a lender to check your financial position.

Will you downsize to a condo or smaller home?  What about renting?  Renting  takes away the responsibilities of homeownership such as painting, fixing, yard work.  Do you want to free up your time to travel, take on a project or pursue a new career?

Whatever you decide, get the wheels turning in the right direction.  Make a list of things to accomplish and give yourself a time limit.  Will it take 30, 60 days or longer to put your house on the market?  Start reading everything you can about selling a house.  Talk to your accountant and tax person.

Looking at Zillow.com and Trulia.com is a good idea too but don’t bank on their numbers.  You will get a good idea what your house is worth but call a local Realtor and make an appointment to get a better idea about what your home can sell for.

If you find yourself selling your parent’s home which many Boomers are doing, then this is an especially important crossroad.  It’s not easy to do.  I have assisted many clients and friends take this journey and all I can say is “take it easy” unless you have to rush due to financial reasons.  On average I find that it can take a year or so to accomplish.  It will all come together but usually there are siblings and other family members that need to weigh in on what the right thing is to do.  Keep the family peace by having a “talk” early on.  Have one or at most two decision makers that live closest to the home in question.  That decision maker can communicate to family members the progress of the sale.  And don’t hesitate to rely on your Real Estate Agent.   They can be a wealth of knowledge and help get you the answers you need.

 
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Posted in Escrow, FHA, Homes For Sale, Real Estate Update

 
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