Jeff Engle EnglePropertiesOnline

Hi Neighbors,

Making Sense of the Market Today

Current Home Inventory (MLS Single Family Detatched homes only)

Placer County currently has 2068 homes on the market at the end of September. This is 8 more than last month, and has been a fairly consistent running number throughout 2009.

Of the 2068 homes:

134 or 6% are Bank Owned (REO) homes. This number has been steadily declining over the past 9 months.

965 or 47% are Short Sales

971 or 47% are Organic, non-distressed owner sales

REO homes comprise a smaller percentage of Placer County Inventory

Foreclosed homes are decreasing in number as well as percentage during 2009, however the number of Short Sales have increased keeping distressed homes for sale at 50% or more of the homes on the market.

September 2009 Home Sales

342 homes were sold in Placer County during the month of September. 114 were Bank Owned (REO) homes accounting for 34% of all sales.

80 homes sold were short sales accounting for 24% of all sales.

138 homes sold were normal non-distressed 'active' or 'organic' sales.

REO (Bank Owned) homes are a driving force in our market. Again as we've consistently seen this year, REO sales are a driving force in the market. Even though they only account for 6-10% of the inventory they account for a third to half of the sales.

Sales Trends

The dollar value of sales have been fairly consistent throughout 2009.

Average and Median home price sales for Placer County

Home Inventory and Sales for Placer County

Over the past 9 months inventory levels of single family homes and prices have remained fairly stable. The biggest change has been the decreasing volume of REO Bank Owned homes and the increase of Short Sales (both from an inventory perspective as well as volume of sales). Short Sale homes as well as non-distressed homes are selling at a price point set by the REO sales. Looking forward no major changes are forseen in the market other than the expiration of the First Time Home Buyer tax credit.

Hope this has been useful

Jeff
http://www.EnglePropertiesOnline.com

Hi Neighbors,

When you are purchasing or remodeling a home one of the things to consider is appreciation. What will the value of my home be in 5 or 10 years? In the past couple of decades, we've seen some incredible swings. Overall during the past 7 or more decades home prices have kept pace with inflation and most people buying a home did so because of life style reasons rather than as an investment. The Los Angeles Times recently publlished an artlce that sums up what some economists are predicting over the next few decades.

Housing Economists Predict Slow Growth
The fundamentals that drove the increase in housing values for the last century - increasing population, incomes, and household wealth - may not follow in the United States in the future. Some housing experts speculate this will change the economics of homeownership.

Over the next few decades, "We can expect a gradual rise [in home values], but not the bonanza we've become accustomed to between the end of World War II and 2006, and especially the last 20 years," says Robert Reich, public policy professor at UC Berkeley and U.S. Labor secretary in the Clinton administration.

The reasons for the change include the absence of pent-up demand that followed the Great Depression and World War II and the aging of the baby boomers who carried that housing demand forward, says housing consultant Thomas Lawler.

Source: Los Angeles Times, Peter Y. Hong (09/27/2009)

This is an interesting article and is of course only one prediction. Other things to consider is that left and right coast prices often rise more than the interior. Also, some area that have been hit the hardest such as Sacramento and some areas around Los Angeles may (in my estimation) recover a bit more than other areas because right now they are clearly below the historic appreciation points expected without the 'bubble'. In addition, there is continued population increase in California that will put more pressure on home prices.

The bottom line is that if your a home owner or planning to be one look at a home as a long term investment and include the tax advantages (consult your tax accountant) of home ownership. Investors also need to justify purchase of a property on the basis of a conservative market and not expect to make a windfall from appreciation.

Thanks for reading,

Jeff
Neighborly Realty
HTTP://www.EnglePropertiesOnline.com

Hi Neighbors,

Great news today. Many of our communities have assistance programs for low income household to provide them with various assistance to get a home, however many of these are not funded. A good example is the city of Roseville's assistance program where there is a minimum of a 1 year wait and priority is given to city employees (great program if you are a city employee). The city of Rocklin and Lincoln have similar programs, but lack funding. The Obama administration may help fund more of these programs as reported below:

The U.S. Treasury is contemplating a new program that would provide as much as $15 billion to purchase tax-exempt mortgage bonds issued by states over the next three years.

The program would be beneficial for low-income home buyers who have long depended on state programs for low-interest mortgages. States have been unable to offer these mortgages in the last year because they haven't been able to sell mortgage bonds. This program would solve that, according to the National Council of State Housing Agencies.

Details are expected to be announced on Sept. 30.

Source: Bloomberg, Dawn Kopecki (09/28/2009)

Give me a call if you would like more details on local buyer assistance programs.

Jeff
Neighborly Realty
http://www.EnglePropertiesOnline.com

Hi Neighbors,

I found a link to frontdoor.com that has some wonderful pointers on choosing a new home, starting with doing an inventory of what you want out of a home, then finding a neighborhood that matches those requirements.

The article starts off by asking about your own family make-up and plans such as number and age of children (or plans on starting or expanding your family), the type of home you are looking for, commute distance, historic home or new development, what you like or dislike about your current community, access to stores and schools by foot, what community features turn you off such as noisy neighborhoods.

Also, once you have identified those neighborhoods you would like to explore take some time to check out the area durring different times of the day and night, and what your neighbors are like. You can also check out crime statistics by going to various crime statistics websites such as crimetracker, also on the KCRA website.

Enjoy,

Jeff
Neighborly Realty
http://www.EnglePropertiesOnline.com

Hi Neighbors,

While the new homebuyer tax credit may be expiring soon, the Energy Tax Credit IS NOT! You have until December 31, 2010 to get a 30% tax credit, up to $1,500 on installing new energy efficient windows, insulation, air conditioning systems, and more! AND funds are still available supporting the tax credit.

In addition there is the Residential Energy-Efficient Property Credit, or Section 1122, of the Recovery Act. This provides tax credits to install alternative energy equipment, such as solar hot water heaters, geothermal heat pumps, and wind turbines.

Check for a National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) certification to verify products qualify for the tax credit.

Jeff
Neighborly Realty
http://www.EnglePropertiesOnline.com