Friday the 13th - A Poem

Friday The 13^th

To many the number thirteen
is a number to avoid and beware of,
add Friday in front of the number,
and you have a very scary day

To me the number thirteen,
has always been always been a lucky one,
and Friday the thirteenth,
even luckier still

Then again, if you are superstitious
any number can be unlucky.
If you want to think it so,
it just depends on how positive you are.

Now if you think negative,
you will be that way to,
so in your thinking,
just be like me.

Positive is lucky, negative is unlucky,
so train you mind,
to think positive
all the time.

By: David Harris
13 July 2007

8.3 Million Homeowners Will Soon See the Light

 

By Gino Blefari, President & CEO, Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.

Here's a bit of fantastic news in the housing market: 8.3 million homeowners are about to resurface from the doldrums of negative equity.

Given the abysmal situation with lack of homes for sale in many markets nationwide, the takeaway from this news is that we could be looking at a lot more inventory becoming available by the beginning of 2015.

We hope.

According to RealtyTrac, 8.3 million homeowners, or about 18% of homeowners with mortgages, will gain enough equity to sell their homes in the next 15 months without resorting to short sales.

Top 5 Reasons You Need a Real Estate Agent

Here's our September newsletter. Enjoy!

 

September Newsletter

Home for Sale - 7471 Miller Avenue, Gilroy

The Past, The Future, and The Present

 

 

Alain Pinel, General Manager of Intero Prestigio international, Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.

 

Let’s talk economy and real estate, shall we?  The Past, we know. We’ve been there. The Future, long term, we kind of know or want to believe we do, but if we don’t that’s OK because we are not there yet. Now, what about the Present and the weeks ahead? Tough read or guess. The picture looks better than in years past for the economy in general and real estate in particular, but (there is always a “but” it seems like these days), we have a hard time figuring out where we really are. Too hazy out there; too many question marks and conflicting signals.

 

Part of the uncertainty has to do with the season. We are still dozing from the summer heat and the vacation fever. We can’t wait to reach September, with what it traditionally means in terms of rebounding business activity. However, this year, we are slowly sliding into the fall market the way bathers get into the water, one toe at a time and with apprehension. Don’t get me wrong, the real estate activity, hot over the first 5 months of the year, is still pretty good , but (here we are again!) we have the feeling that the speed of the recovery is stuck in 3rd gear while we expected to be in 4th. What’s between the foot and the accelerator pedal?

 

I can think of 3 main reasons. Here they are:

• The Fed’s song & dance on whether and when to start scaling back the stimulus is creating more confusion than good. Many buyers and sellers are frozen in place until they know what comes next. The easy money policies which have pumped billions into the economy have produced new records on Wall Street and propelled real estate out of the crisis and into new historical highs. That was yesterday. We know that the money faucet is going to be turned down in a few days or weeks. The mere mention of this inevitability has already caused the cost of mortgage money to go up 30% or so. It’s not going to get any better. Rates are still amazingly low however and seeing so many would-be sellers today dangerously waiting on the sideline rather than putting their home on the market to meet the pent-up demand, is at best mind boggling. Can you hear me screaming from where you stand?

• Investors, large or small, domestic or foreign, are largely gone. Their shopping spree has been huge, while it lasted. Taking advantage of cheap financing or the power of cash from 2009 to 2011, at a time when prices were at or close to bottom levels, small investors have been gobbling up millions of distressed properties throughout the US. During the same time, the big guys, institutional investors, put their name on some of the crown jewels in both commercial & residential properties with a big price tag. No more. With a better than double digit price appreciation last year and again so far this year, real estate in the most desirable regions is now out of reach or no longer attractive to speculators. Cannot count on foreign investors to make up the loss. In addition to the price hike, unfavorable exchange rates and weakening economies have severely reduced purchases. That’s especially the case for Indian’ buyers from the old country, a group which has had a huge impact on sales in California & New York over the last few years. With the rupee’s on-going fall against the dollar, these providential prospects have lost their buying power. Even the Canadians, who account for nearly a quarter of the international sales in the US, are now slowing their purchasing appetite, with a 9% decline y/y.

• Lack of clarity in terms of economic priorities. In a dream world, most everyone has a job and wages go up nicely and faster than the cost of living. We are not there. How do we get there or at least steer in the right direction? What comes first? The jobs? The wages? How? When? It takes money to buy real estate. It takes jobs to make money. It takes growth to create jobs. The results, so far, have been sweet & sour. Economic growth has been steady but far from inclusive. Jobs have multiplied but most of them are precarious and low-pay. The prospect of a “part-time economy” is hardly motivating & mobilizing at a time when we need people to commit to long term goals, like buying a home and raising a family.

It will take a little bit more time to switch to high gear and foster significant & sustainable growth for businesses and individuals. The 4th Quarter is going to be the test. It should be a good one in our industry after a long summer transition. It’s a new market, with plenty of good opportunities and plenty of good reasons to take advantage of them. Time for action. If you are looking to sell your home or buy one, waiting is not an option.

 

Renter Beware

Renters are being cautioned all over the Bay Area about rental scams. Please watch this Channel 11 NBC News report if you are a renter, or know someone who is.

When Team Patereau rents one of the properties we manage, we make appointments at the property to show prospects. If the prospect likes what they see we then give them an application. The prospect has met us and received our business cards with our business address and contact information. We don’t take applications until the prospect has seen the property.

If you have any questions about renting and the services we provide, please contact us.

 

 

 

Home Values Inching Closer to Record High

By Gino Blefari, President & CEO, Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.

Have you checked out the sale-to-list price of some of the homes in your neighborhood recently?

I have. And the difference was over six figures.

Realizing of course, that home prices are different across markets, neighborhoods and school districts, something definitely has hit the value vein in the housing recovery.

The National Association of Realtors reports the median home price, $213,500 in July, was just 7.3% off the record high in 2006 when it was $230,400.

The median price was 13.7% higher than the same period a year ago, and the 17th consecutive month prices have risen year over year.

Clearly, values have bounced back.

But it's important to note that median literally is the middle number between the highest and the lowest. So the bounce back doesn't necessarily mean there's a recovery at all price points or for all.

Existing home sales also were up in July – increasing 6.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.39 million from 5.06 million in June. The pace of sales was 17.2% higher than July 2012.

NAR says that monthly existing home sales have now remained above year-ago levels for 25 months.

Along with the rise in values, inventory levels are also increasing, though still too low to fully meet demand in some markets. Total housing inventory at the end of July climbed 5.6% to 2.28 million existing homes for sale, representing a 5.1-month supply at the current sales pace.

Restricted inventory is the reason for the above-normal price growth in many markets.

The last piece of our housing snapshot is interest rates, which clearly have been increasing. Average rates on 30-year conventional fixed-rate mortgages were 4.37% in July, up from 4.07% in June. The question going forward will be how much will rates rise before starting to remove large swaths of buyers from the market?

We're likely to see all of these trends continue to the end of the year, making 2013 pivotal in the big picture of the housing recovery.

Title Insurance Explained

This is a great video about Title Insurance, which is a product that almost always has to be purchased when someone purchases a property, and most people pay it without questioning it, but they don’t really understand it. We’re always happy to explain and talk about this charge, as well as all other charges involved in purchasing real estate. Don’t be afraid to ask.

 

 

 

Affordability Grows Out of Reach in Some Housing Markets

 

By Gino Blefari, President & CEO, Intero Real Estate Services, Inc.

As we continue to closely watch the housing recovery, it's interesting to point out how markets can contrast wildly with one another right now.

For instance, some housing markets are either chugging along slowly or still struggling to get values up to a level that pulls more local homeowners out of low or no equity situations. And other markets are so hot that you'd think the downturn never happened.

One of the statistics that is strikingly different in individual markets right now is affordability.

In some markets, we're still seeing some of the most affordable housing situations in decades. But in other markets where prices have risen more rapidly, affordability has already become an issue once again, pricing out some families.

John Burns Real Estate Consulting this month released data showing the share of median household income devoted to home mortgage payments recently surpassed historical averages in six of 30 major U.S. housing markets.

Five of the markets were in California – San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Jose and San Diego. The sixth was Portland, Ore.

Burns said that during the downturn, prices in those cities were more affordable than their historical averages dating back to 1980. But prices have risen rather quickly along with the recovery.

Couple that fact with rising interest rates on mortgages and it's potentially a dangerous mix for first-time buyers in these markets who may struggle to get the right price point. Rates are still really low by historic standards, but a slight increase can make a huge difference in affordability for many families.

This new state of affordability for the six markets identified by John Burns should be a red flag for buyers who may be on the cusp. There's no time like today to make a move. Economists expect rates on mortgages to keep climbing. And in markets facing restricted supply, values will continue to increase a fast clip due to demand.

We will continue to watch these six markets, as well as the recovery at the national level. But for now, it seems like an obvious time to say "Carpe diem!" if you've been waiting to buy your first home.