San Diego, CA

VA loans for military homebuyers in San Diego, CA have become popular once again. The hot buyer’s market in the first half of 2009 was a big opportunity for military homebuyers to take the plunge and buy a piece of San Diego real estate. After all, the market was ripe with foreclosure bargains, low interest rates, first time homebuyer tax credit and the ability to use the veteran benefit to buy a home.

A sudden interest in VA loans for military homebuyers started to emerge overnight because the real estate market started to change. With stricter financing guidelines, those eligible for VA loans became the only market sector that could get a loan with ZERO down. In this economic recession having a steady job is also very important when applying for mortgage financing. The stigma held by lenders and real estate agents against VA buyers quickly shifted and the military homebuyer became the new prized client. Real estate agents who realized the business potential attended seminars to brush up on how to work with VA loans for military homebuyers. Consequently, military members started to feel respected once again, after being all but shut out during the boom. By the third quarter, a problem started to emerge with this newfound market segment in high demand.

Using the VA loans for military homebuyers in San Diego, CA was becoming a challenge in getting their offers accepted by sellers. Lenders of bank owned properties were benefitting from having too many buyers competing for deals or multiple offers and were reluctant to accept a VA offer. It’s "too much hassle, more costly and longer to process" were the responses coming from REO managers about offers submitted with veteran loan approval . It began to take a toll on the market. Suddenly, there was a growing reluctance to work with VA loans for military homebuyers. Real estate agents felt the frustration of having to spend hours showing properties and submitting multiple offers only to get their VA offer rejected for an all cash, conventional or even FHA offer instead.

Furthermore, the much speculation and talk of the foreclosure shadow inventory being released to ease the inventory shrinkage didn’t happen. What we got was a slow trickle that whipped up the demand, increased prices and squeezed out more VA buyers. How could it have gone sour so quickly? Click here to learn more about VA loans for military homebuyers in San Diego , CA

Lorraine Santirosa works with military families who need to buy or sell their homes as they relocate to and from the San Diego area.

The type of properties available for purchase with VA loans for military homebuyers in San Diego, CA created significant problems in 2009. Since, the average affordability for most military homebuyers in San Diego, CA fall within the "condo"price point.

Most military homebuyers pursued a condo purchase rather than a single family home in the hopes of getting a deal; However most buyers ran into a big roadblock. Many condos in San Diego, CA are not approved for VA loans for military homebuyers or the certification is questionable.

A condominium must have VA approval for VA loans for military homebuyers. A potential buyer can obtain financing through the Veterans Administration. Plus, in some parts of San Diego such as Downtown, the Home Owner Association fees can push the cost of buying a condo beyond reach.

This all tallied up to be an even bigger frustration for buyers with veteran loans looking to snag a deal and walk away with zero down. The lack of inventory and desirability made it unattractive to use VA loans for military homebuyers.

It was very stressful on families who had to face offer rejection numerous times and much uncertainty about whether they would indeed get to actually buy a place despite the hardship. For some, the financial and physical burden of staying in a hotel, usually on base during the buying process, got to be overwhelming.

Oftentimes, I would personally feel the pain, understand the frustration and share the anxiety of how the market seemed to discriminate against VA loans for military homebuyers who are extremely credit worthy and hardworking.

It is fair to say, that the number of VA loans for military homebuyers in 2009, did indeed more than triple the 1,300 homes sold in the previous year. However, experts believe the number would have been much higher if real estate agents and lenders didn’t have such reluctance to work with buyers using veteran loans.

Also, VA loans for military homebuyers are not the only option they could also use conventional or FHA loans. Just like any other first time homebuyer today, many are young, starting out and don’t have that type of nest egg.

Now with 2010 upon us, let’s see how VA loans for military homebuyers fare in the San Diego real estate market.

Lorraine Santirosa works with military families who need to buy or sell their homes as they relocate to and from the San Diego area. Va loans for military homebuyers in San Diego part 1

Known for its pleasant climate, 70 miles of immaculate beaches and an assortment of excellent attractions, San Diego is one of the best places where you can be proud to own a home. The city encompasses the most wonderful neighborhoods Little Italy, Encanto, Sorrento Valley, Del Mar Mesa to name a few. Downtown San Diego houses some of the best places that you can have fun at. Balboa Park the largest cultural park in the United States Houses about 15 museums, several art galleries and also the famous Globe Theatres.

Some of the popular attractions of San Diego include San Diego Zoo, Sea World San Diego, Wild Animal Park and LEGOLAND California. San Diego is home to 92 excellent golf courses and houses some of the best sports facilities, luxurious spas and also hosts several multicultural festivals like Martin Luther King Day, San Diego Brazil Carnaval, Santee Festival and many more to list. The San Diego real estate properties see great sales all around the year, which can be attributed to the marvelous ambiance of the city.

For those of you who like data, here is some year end 2009 data.

Total Number of units sold 1,164

45% Developer sales, 23% REO's, 20% Resales and 12% short sales.

Sold prices by neighborhood are Columbia $796K, Marina $619K, East Village $420K, Cortez $359K, Little Italy $351K and Gaslamp at $387K. The ranking order of price per sqaure foot is in the same order as sales prices.

In general, sales volume was up about 5% and prices were down about 11%, but vary greatly by neighborhood and price point. Lower priced units in 2008 were down more in 2009 than the higher priced units as a percentage reduction.

Here is a very popular statistic, the foreclosure sales data. Everyone wants a deal these days, here is the REO sales info. Total number sold 264, 154 were under $300K, 87 between $300K & $500K, 17 between $500 - $700K, 5 were between $700k - $1.0M, no sales between $1.0 & 1.5M and only one REO sold over $1.5M. Recap: the high quality inventory experienced very very few REO opportunities in 2009.

Between the Develpers, REO's, resales and short sales, here is who dominated the various price points.

Under $300K goes to REO's at 46%.

$300 - 500K goes to Developers at 44%.

$500 - $700K again Developers at 75%

$700K - $1.0M Developers again at 63%

$1.0 - 1.5M Developers with 53%, Resales a close second at 41%

1.5 - 2.0M - Developers at 67%

2.0M & Over Developers again at 71%.

Finally 33% of condo sales in downtown was a cash purchase.

If you have specific questions or want some micro data, just ask, glad to try and help.

               FAMILIAR WITH THE EAST VILLAGE DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO NEAR PETCO BALL PARK?

Maybe you are considering to buy a place Downtown San Diego. The EAST VILLAGE DISTRICT is one of the more affordable areas downtown, besides CORTEZ HILL. There are plenty of great deals on EAST VILLAGE CONDOS IN SAN DIEGO right now. The East Village area is an up and coming part of downtown. There is a lot of NEW CONSTRUCTION going on in this area. The most southern part of the East Village is the BALL PARK AREA, surrounding PETCO PARK. Some of my favorite buildings in this area are:

PARK TERRACE     THE LEGENDS     ICON       FERINHEIGHT        METROME

Check out the slide show I put together for you using www.Slide.com which highlights some of the buildings I like near PETCO PARK and some great street shot views of the colorful EastVillage High  and Mid Rise Buildings.

East Village borders Cortez hill to the North and The Gaslamp District to the West. Many East Village Condos for Sale offer great views of PETCO PARK and of the CORONADO BRIDGE.