About Del Norte County, CA

Crescent City/Del Norte County Real Estate Market Report - Improving.

The Crescent City real estate market continues to improve as far as amount of sales, but prices continue to decline. Prices are down 29% over May sales last year.

I think we can thank declining prices, lower interest rates and tax incentives for maintaining sales.

54% of May residential sales were under $200,000 (62% of all 2009 residential sales were under $200,000), with 15% of total May sales being REO/Short Sale listings, although REO/Short sale listings only comprise 6% of active listings (REO listings are continually receiving multiple offers).

The absorption rate, the rate at which it would take to sell all inventory at the current sales rate of 13 homes a month, is 21 months, which is still abysmal. Inventory is higher than we would like to see for a market our size at 279 active residential listings.

The upper end home market, homes $400,000 and up, comprised 23% of sales in May, an increase over April; encouragement for that segment of the market.

I would like to do a plug for myself right here as 67% of homes over $400,000 sold in 2009 have been my listings. I am currently #1 in total sales in both number and volume and have more listings sold than any other agent for 2009. This is not by accident, but has been the result of hard work, a wonderful internet presence and loads of time spent marketing my listings, however, the most important ingredient is proper pricing. My clients who take my recommendations to heart regarding pricing have good success in getting their homes sold. My recommendations are based on statistics and closely monitoring my markets active and sold inventory.

It's a great time to be a buyer with low interest rates, REO inventory, which had been producing some real deals, and some good loan programs. They key here is to have your pre-approval done and letter in hand when you write an offer. Call me if you need the name of a local lender who will give you outstanding customer service.

If you find yourself overwhelmed with your house payment, please call your lender and ask for information on a loan modification. You do not have to pay for this service, so if you are told there is an upfront fee, run, don't walk, and contact your lender direct, where there will be no fee for this service if you qualify.

May 2009 market at a glance:

April 2009 Market at a glance if you would like to compare:

I am here to answer all your Crescent City / Del Norte County real estate questions. Thank you for stopping by.

Rose Peasley, the owner of RE/MAX Coastal Redwoods (my office), sold my Cherrywood listing last week. Her clients, Darryl and Lisa Promatico were kind enough to let us reprint an exerpt of an email to a family member.

"We go walking on the beach and she [their dog] meets other dogs there. It's nice to be on a beach that is walking distance and not crowded and everyone is nice and friendly and its clean with no diapers floating in the water!! LOL!! The DMV is small and not crowded at all. We went today to change our address. There are lots of long roads around here with hardly any traffic for you to practice your driving and not so scary and overwheming like driving around LA."

And there you have it. Why you should move to Del Norte County.

1. You can walk on the beach and your dog will meet other dogs.
2. The beach is not crowded.
3. The people are nice and friendly.
4. The water is clean with no diapers floating in it.
5. The DMV is small and not crowded at all.
6. No traffic (no smog either) and the roads are not scary or overwhelming. In fact we have less than 10 stop lights in the entire county.

If you purchased your home within the last 5 years, chances are good that you are paying more than you have to in property taxes.

Why? Because property values have fallen in California, in some areas, by more than 50%.

There is always someone trying to make a buck out there, so why should lowering property taxes be any different. You do not need to pay someone to assist you with this process, just like you DO NOT have to PAY SOMEONE to assist you with a loan modification.

It's a very easy process that I just completed. I received my letter today from the tax assessors office letting me know they have reassessed the value of my home, which resulted in lower taxes. (If you purchased your home at below market value, then you may not realize any savings by a reassessment.)

To start the process, it is helpful if you know what homes similar to yours are selling for in your neighborhood. If you don't know, call a local agent (in Del Norte County you can call me, I won't charge you), and ask if they would mind giving you some comparables to take to the tax assessor's office. I have already helped several clients and homeowners who called asking for help. When I called the assessors office I was armed with my homes current value based on several comps. The appraiser agreed with what I had to say because it was based on solid facts and not wishful thinking.

He added me to an ever growing list of homeowners who wanted reassessment, and within 4-6 weeks, I received my letter. I'm sure I speak for homeowner's everywhere when I say that any relief right now is helpful, so I was happy the hour or so I spent preparing for the assessor paid off.

IF YOU PURCHASED A HOME IN DEL NORTE COUNTY WITHIN THE LAST 5 YEARS, call me for comps. You may be a candidate for lower property taxes. Only your tax assessor knows for sure.

Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, announced today at an address to several thousand REALTORS that the Federal Housing Administration is going to allow first time home buyers to use their $8000 federal tax credit as a down payment for the purchase of their home (Woo hoo).

Secretary Donovan said that important changes, which the National Association of Realtors(R) has been calling for, will help consumers purchase a home. "We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the home buyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a downpayment," Donovan said. According to Donovan, the FHA's approved lenders will be permitted to "monetize" the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. This will allow eligible home buyers to access the funds immediately at the closing table.

What constitutes a "first time home buyer" for FHA's purposes?

A first-time homebuyer is an individual who meets any one of the following criteria:

	An individual who has had no ownership in a principal residence during the 3-year period ending on the date of purchase of the property. This includes a spouse (if either meets the above test, they are considered first-time homebuyers.
	A single parent who has only owned with a former spouse while married.
	An individual who is a displaced homemaker and has only owned with a spouse.
	An individual who has only owned a principal residence not permanently affixed to a permanent foundation in accordance with applicable regulations.
	An individual who has only owned a property that was not in compliance with State, local or model building codes and which cannot be brought into compliance for less than the cost of constructing a permanent structure.

If you meet one of these guidelines and thought you were out of the housing market because you lack a down payment, the Department of Housings new policy may get you in the game. Call me for a referral to a lender who is experienced with FHA financing.

There is also a $10,000 tax credit available for NEW HOME purchases in California. You do not have to meet first time home buyer criteria for this tax credit, but you do have to purchase a new home, which is a home that has never been lived in. Consult your tax professional for more information.

The Crescent City/Del Norte County Real Estate Market Report for April 2009 - Improving.

I was really upbeat when I sat down to write this report, however when I pulled up the number of sold residential listings for April of 2008, I realized sales have definitely dropped off and we have a way to go before the market reaches that level again (April 2009 is 42% lower than April 2008).

My spirits were lifted for the upper end home buyers, though. Although homes in the upper end price range (I'm calling that $300,000 and up at this point) aren't flying off the MLS, at least we are seeing some movement and that should be encouraging for upper end homeowners who need to sell.

The current absorption rate is 27 months, which is abysmal. The absorption rate is how long it would take to sell the current inventory at at the current rate of 10 homes sales a month (Aprils number of sales).

Look at the stats for homeowners that have a home to sell under $200,000...Wow! That is the segment of the market that is moving and no wonder. 22% of current pending sales are REO's or distress sales such as bankruptcy or short sales. Banks are putting foreclosed listings on the market at way below market price, sometimes 60% or more. One new listing that came on the MLS on Saturday, had two offers this morning. Those type of listings are bringing down home values for the surrounding homes (and entire market) and foreclosures are not through by any means.

Prices will continue to fall until the foreclosures slow to a trickle and hopefully stop. Banks are cooperating more with loan modifications and a note about that: YOU DO NOT NEED TO HIRE SOMEONE TO DO A LOAN MODIFICATION. Our president has set-up an agency who will help you for free. If you are in trouble with your loan, please check out www.makinghomesaffordable.com.

The market at a glance (a few sales were reported after my original post. These are updated figures):

If you are a buyer, now is a great time to buy. In fact, you need to have all your ducks in a row and work with an agent who is on top of the game and will let you know the second a deal hits the market so you are ready to pounce.

If you are a seller, being priced right is the name of the game. With so few sales over $200,000, it's very important to be competitively priced in that price range. If you are not priced to sell, you may want to wait until the market sways back to a sellers market in that price range. Same strategy applies if your home is priced under $200,000. Remember, that price range is especially hit hard with REO listings and you have to compete.

If you are ready to list your property, give me a call. I have sold more listings so far in 2009, both in volume and number of sales, than any other agent in Del Norte County. The reason for this is because I know the market and work with my clients to price accordingly.

If you are looking to buy, give me a call and subscribe to my foreclosure alerts to be the first to hear of the deals that hit the market.