Cameron Wilson: Murrieta/Temecula/ Menifee California Real Estate

The numbers are in and home sales in the Valley for the month of April 2008 increased 73% from April of 2007 and for the first time since the housing market took a downward swing the house sales were higher than sales in the same period for 2006 at the peak of home sales.

Escalating home sales have some analysts predicting we have hit the bottom on declining values and with a leveling out on prices we my see an upturn in appreciation by the end of the year. Other analysts say with the number of homes on the market we might see prices fall a little more but they are not taking into account the fact we are seeing multiple offers on many properties and especially the bank owned properties (REO) that buyers are seeking out to take advantage of favorable prices.

With favorable interest rates it is obvious many folks are choosing to move to the Murrieta, Temecula, Menifee Valley and begin to enjoy the lifestyle they have always dreamed of from the abundance of golf courses and lakes to the world famous wine country and the yearly film festival that has made a name for itself throughout Hollywood and beyond.

If you are looking to make a move the Murrieta, Temecula, Menifee Valley has it all from starter homes all the through luxury estates and equestrian ranches and the lifestyle that awaits you is priceless.

For more information please feel free to contact me at cameron.wilson@century21.com

951) 677-5661 ext 206

The Greatest person I ever met was never famous in the sense of celebrities nor wealthy in the way of Bill Gates and most people never met her but she touched many lives and everyone who met her was blessed by the riches she freely shared with them and that was love plus help in times of need.

This great lady along with her husband raised three rowdy stubborn boys, who tried to convince her they already knew everything, by the golden rule which became the foundation of their lives which they in turn passed along to their children.

When other children were having problems at home she would take them into her home with the parents permission and help them and their parents overcome the problems through love until the family could be reunited. This Great lady was unselfish and always put others first and I was proud when my friends called her Mom as this Great Lady was my Mom.

It has been 11 years since I got to kiss my Mom and tell her "I Love You" but her Love lives on in the lives of her family and those she touched.

BTW; Call your Mom.

Fannie Mae has recently sent out a directive to the Real Estate Brokers that list and sell the foreclosed properties in California currently held in Fannie Mae's portfolio informing us they are now raising the commission they will pay to Brokers who are representing buyers of their properties a full 1% of current levels.

It appears that Fannie Mae is anticipating taking in a large number of foreclosures in the near future and they want to sell as many properties in their current inventory as quickly as possible and apparently they have chosen to market to the agents with higher commissions but as we all know the consumer (buyer) is the market and if a property is priced correctly it will sell.

As the listing agent it is my job to market a property to buyers as well as other Real Estate Agents and my concern is Fannie Mae will not be aggressive in their pricing thus marketing their properties in the wrong manner by not reaching out to the consumer with fair market prices. Some banks overprice their REO properties in the beginning only to see them linger on the market for months on end with no offers.

Three weeks ago I did a Broker Price Opinion (BPO) on a Fannie Mae property in Murrieta California that was put on the market yesterday at the price I suggested so this particular property is being marketed very aggressively both to the consumer and the Real Estate community and personally I think if Fannie Mae does this on all of their properties it will be a big help in stabilizing the current Real Estate market.

Most cities have a few properties that are well known for various reasons such as the architecture, the size of the home, a famous owner, some are considered haunted or the property may have sold for the highest price ever and all of these things brings out the curiosity of the residents of the area but it also can be a bother to the owners of the property.

Back in 1990 I listed a home in Murrieta California that had sat on the market for 6 months without selling and by getting the seller to carry a first trust deed for a buyer we had it sold in 10 days to a gentleman who was the owner of two separate businesses and he provided 3 years of tax returns so life was good.

Fast forward to 1993 when I received a call from a friend who lived around the corner from this house and he tells me the property is roped off with police tape and there are police officers everywhere and the coroner's van is there. Later we find out the owner was murdered in the house and that he was heavily involved in the drug market and the motive was the large amount of cash in the house. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) seized the property and after helping my client, who was holding the first trust deed, fight for two years to regain possession my wife and I bought the home.

During the course of our remodel prior to moving in people would walk onto the property and ask if they could walk thru the house and was there lots of blood all over the place and make comments such as you are nuts to move into the MURDER house. This went on for the first year and our first Halloween was a blast laughing at the parents at our door almost knocking their kids down as they tried to look into the house and the street full of cars.

Whenever we gave directions to our home we would tell them the street names, corner lot, and the response we usually heard was " you live in the MURDER house", aren't you scared and would you tell us what happened?

Murrieta has grown from a small town to over 100,000 people now and we no longer own the MURDER house but I know there are still people who remember the MURDER house and the crazy family who lived there.

Seems everyone is talking Real Estate nowadays with the prices of homes falling and the large numbers of bank owned properties (REO) on the market but all is not gloom and doom as some are making it out to be as many people want to take advantage of the lower prices and favorable interest rates but they lack the money for a down payment or closing costs. There is help available to those who qualify in the form of down payments and money for closing costs and the buyer does not pay it back!!! It's a GIFT!!!

Down payment assistance programs help homebuyers with a gift of 3% of the sales price towards the down payment and in some cases another 3% towards the closing costs which results minimal out of pocket expenses. These programs go by different names such as Nehemiah, Genesis and Ameridream but they all work pretty much the same and I had a client who just closed escrow on their new home in Murrieta,Ca. using the Nehemiah program on a REO property and it went very smooth. This couple thought they would have to wait years until they saved enough to buy a home but they are now living their dream.

So all of the Real Estate news is not bad as some would make it out to be as there are some great things happening in the housing market.

For more information check out the following links.

www.thegenesisprogram.org

www.ameridream.org

www.getdownpayment.com