JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo are among lenders who are now paying underwater homeowners to do short sales according to a USA Today Report today: “It’s a lot cheaper to shell out $10,000 or $20,000 to someone than it is to go through a long foreclosure,” says Jim Gillespie, chief executive of [...]
Feb
19
2012
19
2012
Feb
19
2012
19
2012
Orange County Home Inventory Falling Fast
by Scot Campbell – 2/19/2012 Source: ReportsOnHousing.com According research by Steve Thomas at Reports On Housing, the active inventory for Orange County homes is falling dramatically for both Standard Sales and Distressed Properties: The active listing inventory is also at its lowest point for this time of year dating back to 2005. With less inventory [...]
Feb
19
2012
19
2012
January California Home Sales up 1.5%
ByScotCampbell– Source: Dataquick article dated 2/16/2012 According to Dataquick, an estimated 28,111 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was down 25.5 percent from 37,734 in December, and up 1.5 percent from 27,706 for January 2011. A decline from December to January is normal for the season. On a year-over-year [...]
Feb
19
2012
19
2012
Foreclosure Filings Down during 4th Quarter 2011
By Scot Campbell– Source: Dataquick article dated 1/24/2012 According to Dataquick, the number of homes in Orange County going into foreclosure during the 4th Quarter of 2011 was down 2.1% compared to last year. Statewide, the number of homes going into foreclosure dropped in the fourth quarter of 2011 to the second-lowest level in more [...]
Feb
16
2012
16
2012
Southland Sales up slightly in January
By Scot Campbell – Source Dataquick 02/15/2012 The January 2012 sales figures were just published by Dataquick and here is what they found: The Southland housing market started 2012 with slightly higher sales and slightly lower prices despite record-low mortgage interest rates. Home sales skewed toward the lower price ranges, which is normal for January, [...]
Feb
6
2012
6
2012
How’s the Market for Single Family Homes?
Huntington Beach Single Family Homes January 31, 2012 Update By Scot Campbell– February 6, 2012 Ground Hog Day is past and the unofficial beginning of the spring home buying season is upon us. So, will there be six more weeks of “housing market winter” or will spring be sprung early? You will be pleasantly surprised [...]
Feb
6
2012
6
2012
How’s the Market for Condos & Townhouses?
Huntington Beach Condo & Townhome Market Update January 31, 2012 By Scot Campbell– February 6, 2012 Ground Hog Day is past and the unofficial beginning of the spring home buying season is upon us. So, will there be six more weeks of “housing market winter” or will spring be sprung early? You will be pleasantly [...]
Feb
6
2012
6
2012
Real Estate Economics issues 2012 Forecast
Mark Boud of Real Estate Economics published their National 2012 Real Estate Market Forecast on January 30, 2012. Mr. Boud consults mostly merchant builders on market conditions so they may make better decisions on current and future building projects under consideration. Here is a summary of his research: There are strong signs of private employment [...]
Feb
2
2012
2
2012
Record Low Mortgage Rates, O.C. Employers hire 24,600
Low mortgage rates and positive job growth are both highly correlated with a healthy housing market, so it was interesting to see today that mortgage interest rates hit another low and Orange County added a significant number of jobs in 2011 (the highest number of new jobs since 2006). Brian Lewis reported in Bloomberg today that [...]
Jan
26
2012
26
2012
California & O.C. Foreclosure Activity Drops
Source: Dataquick January 24, 2012 The number of California homes going into foreclosure dropped in the fourth quarter of 2011 to the second-lowest level in more than four years, the result of evolving lender and mortgage servicer policies as well as shifting market conditions. A total of 61,517 Notices of Default (NODs) were recorded at [...]