Orange Co. Real Estate~Lynda Eisenmann, Broker-Owner, CRS,CRB,GRI,SRES, Brea, CA

Give your Christmas Tree a second-life, recycle that tree! That's right the tree you've enjoyed for the holidays can provided added value by re-cycling that tree. Did you know that in California over 40,000 tons of trees are disposed of annually.

To recycle in Brea, here's the scoop.

• Pick-up for holiday trees begins December 29 to January 9, 2009.
• Trees 6 feet and larger must be cut in half.
• All decorations, lights ornaments, etc (yes remove the stand too) must be removed from tree.
• Place outside with your nomal trash for pick up in the brown trash can on collection day.
• Remember flocked-trees are not recyclable.

Free Dirt? Free Compost ~ March 7this the day for FREE compost for Brea residents. For the free compost just head down to the Brea Community Center at 695 E. Madison Way (located behind the Brea Post Office) on Saturday the 7th between 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. our until the supply runs out. Be there rain or shine!

• Because of the demand for free compost there is a 60 gallon limit per Brea resident.

To learn more about Brea take a tour around our city at All About Brea~ Brea, CA 92821 & 92823 and view Sunset Magazine, Brea The Best of The West and you will see why Brea's the Place to Be.Brea is national headquarters for several major companies also known for a strong financial community, view Brea Means Business

Want help with Brea real estate contract me, Lynda Eisenmann at Preferred Home Brokers for Real Estate Help, we're one of longest established real estate companies in Orange County under the same ownership. Contact me Lynda@PreferredHomeBrokers.com, or direct text/call (714) 595-1494. CA Department of Real Estate License number 402040

La Mirada, CA ~ Home Sale Report ~ Market Update for November 2008, activity of single family homes and condominiums re-sales.

La Mirada, CA is located in suburban Eastern Los Angeles County, with nearby Orange County bordering on the east side of the city. If you lived in La Mirada you would be one of approximately 50,000 residents.

Single Family Home Activity for November:

• 108 re-sale homes currently for sale in the city, exactly the same as 60 days ago and approximately 30% fewer in the last few months, and far fewer than the beginning of the year.
• Average asking price is $451,000 ($25,0000 lower than 60 days ago) for a 3 bedroom/2 bath home, 1,675 square feet.
• 16 pending sales (in escrow) down from 19 sixty days ago and only about 1/3 of the sales of prior month.
• 26 homes closed escrow, compared to 20 sixty days ago and down from 31 and 37 for prior months.

Condominium activity for November: Condo prices for the month ranged from $150,000 to $305,000.

• 22 condos are currently for sale, down from the past few months.
• 4 pending sales, (in escrow) compared to exactly the same as sixty days ago, and a little higher than prior months.
• 5 properties closed escrow, compared to 3 sixty days ago.

***The City of La Mirada has a 4.8 month supply of homes for sale, down from prior months. That's the length of time it would take to sell the existing inventory of homes for sale, provided sales continue at the same pace this year as in 2007, and providing no new listings enter the market place.

If you lived in La Mirada, California you would be approximately:

• 27 miles east of LAX ~ Los Angeles International Airport ~ Los Angeles, CA
• 23 miles north/west of John Wayne Airport ~ Santa Ana, CA
• 36 miles west of Ontario International Airport ~ Ontario, CA
• 10.5 miles north/west of the "Happiest Place on Earth" Disneyland ~ Anaheim, CA

The city has been a favorite since very early in my early days in real estate. The city is also home to Biola College and the famous La Mirada Theater, home to outstanding theatrical productions.

To learn more about real estate if the great City of La Mirada, contact me, Lynda@PreferredHomeBrokers.com or visit my Living In La Mirada and see why La Mirada was also named 'One of the best places to live in 2007" by Money Magazine.

Preferred Home Brokers, successfully serving home buyers and sellers for more than thirty years. ~ CA DRE License #00402040.

• -Data source, SoCal Multiple Listing Service ~ 2008

La Habra, CA 90631 home sale report for November 2008 ~ Single family and condo sales in La Habra declined in November as compared to the prior month.

This marketing report will give you an overview of the real estate market as compared to prior months in La Habra for both single family homes and condominium sales.

Single family homes range in price from $157,000 to $1,675,000, although only 4 were priced over $1,000,000.00 (exactly the same as last month).

• 153 homes were for sale, compared to /180/129/149/153/182/216 prior months.
• 19 pending sales in escrow during the month, down about 1/2 from last month at 34 and compared to prior months of 24/18/25/34/37 prior months.
• 30 homes closed November, down slightly from 35 last month and compared to 32/27/14/25/26 prior months.
• $451,000 was the average asking price.

$432,000 was the average closed price (up from $389,000 last month) for 1,792 square feet with an average of 55 days on the market.

Condominiums range from $110,000 to $525 ,000 ~ as compared to last month.

• 71 condo/town-homes were for sale, almost identical to last month at 72, and compared to 63/82/83 in prior months.
• 6 pending sales (currently in escrow) in escrow, down from last month and compared to of 12 and compared to 23/11/6/5 for prior months.
• 10 closed, less that 1/2 than 23 for last month, closer to prior months of 10/10/3/8/10 previously.
• $202,700 was the average closed price for 1,039 square feet, with an average time of 67 days on the market. All three numbers were lower than last month's report.

Photo on the left is the Westridge Golf Course near Beach Blvd. and Imperial in La Habra. Beautiful view homes surround the golf club.

Check out August 2008 report here, or view September 2008 or October 2008, or see my So Cal Home Prices A Foot At A Time.

La Habra is well known for the lively Children's Museum, click here to see more, we've been there many times ourselves with our family If you're interested in learning more about La Habra check out Living in La Habra, and see why La Habra is a city with a heart.

Want to know more about La Habra Real Estate? Contact me Lynda@PreferredHomeBrokers.com, view Preferred Home Brokers and see why we're one of the longest established independent brokerages in Orange County under the same ownership

If you are thinking of selling your Orange County home consider this:

• 84% of all home buyers begin today with the Internet for their home search.
• 80% of Orange County is on-line.
• The average age in Orange County is 36 and I don't know of a "thirty something" person in Orange County who is not on line.
• For the maximum on-line marketing exposure contact me Lynda@PreferredHomeBrokers.com

Brea, CA Residential Real Estate Sales Report ~ Home Sales for November 2008

Single family sales activity for November, prices range from $199,000 to $1,149,000. All but one are priced under $1,000,000.

• 116 re-sale homes currently for sale, this represents an aproximate 10% increase from last month.
• 16 pending sales, currently in escrow, up from last month at 12. Also compared to 36/30/27/27/24/17/23/12/16 in prior months.
• 11 homes closed escrow in November, about one-half from the last two months and compared to 28/30/24/20/14/21/13/8/8/13/13/23, respectively in prior months.

Condominium sales activity for November ~ Condos/town-homes range from $285,000 to $528,000.

• 9 condo/town-homes are currently for sale, compared to 12 last month.
• 3 pending sales went into escrow in November as compared to 1/5/7/2/1/1/5/2/2/0 since the beginning of 2008.
• 2 condos closed escrow for November, the same as last month and compared to 3/4/2/5/4/2/2/0/3/3/2/4/6/4, respectively in preceding months.

Brea is a City is well known for excellence in education. The schools have been strong attraction for residents in our community. Want to shop? We've got it here, the Brea Mall is the second highest grossing mall in Orange County. It's often said Brea enjoys some of the bigger city benefits, yet maintains a small town feeling. Many of us who live here feel we have the best of both worlds.

Brea, CA is very well located in Northern Orange County ~ If you lived in Brea, California you would be approximately:

• 30 Miles east of downtown Los Angeles, CA.
• 39 Miles from LAX ~ Los Angeles International Airport,
• 16 Miles from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, CA
• 10 Miles from the "Happiest Place on Earth" Disneyland ~ Anaheim, CA.

To learn more about Brea visit our city at All About Brea~ Brea, CA 92821 & 92823 and view Sunset Magazine, Brea The Best of The West and see why Brea's the Place to Be.

Brea is national headquarters for several major companies also known for a strong financial community, view Brea Means Business to learn more.

Planning on spending a day or two here? Check out, Brea ~ CA as Featured in Westways Magazine for day tripping around town. If you're want more on Brea real estate contract me, Lynda Eisenmann at Preferred Home Brokers for Real Estate Help, we're one of longest established real estate companies in Orange County under the same ownership.

Contact me Lynda@PreferredHomeBrokers.com, or direct or call (714) 595-1494. CA Department of Real Estate License number 402040.

Brea Bank Repos and Brea Foreclosure Sales for October - November 2008 ~ Brea, Orange County CA

Brea, CA like other cities in So Cal, and is not immune to the housing dole-drums experienced in the Southland. Brea's current inventory of existing listings is similar to many other surrounding communities when it comes to distressed sales.

Understanding Brea's bank repossessions, distressed sales market in a snap shot for mid October through mid November:

134 total properties for sale (up 15% from the last two months) of which only 12 are identified as Bank Repos, just under 12% (the same percentage as last two months) of the total inventory. However, when you factor in current short-sale properties that number increases to about 35% of the current inventory. Compared to 33% for the prior two months.

That's right another 35 homes (condos and single family homes) are identified as short-sales or, are currently in the process of foreclosure as identified in the Multiple Listing Service. (It's most likely a few others which may not be properly identified in the multiple listing service are also short sales at this point).

So now that you know the numbers, what does that mean for you? If you're a home buyer or seller today, it's important to note that one-third of the homes currently available for sale in Brea are distressed sales. The number of short-sale properties far outweighs the current repo properties. However it's my opinion that because so many of the short-sales do not actually sell and close escrow, many of these listings today could be tomorrow's foreclosures.

At Preferred Home Brokers, we represent a variety of lenders from across the southland in bank repos in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.

If you're looking to buy a bank repo or a distressed sale contact me, at repos@PreferredHomeBrokers.com. You will be connected with one of our foreclosure specialists!

• Or call direct, 714 595-1494

We've served home buyers and sellers for more than 30 years under the same family ownership.

If you're interested in learning about Brea check out more on down town Brea in Downtown Brea Living, and see why Brea's The Place to Be. Hungry? view Brea's Down Town Dining.

Have a day to spend in the OC? View Brea ~ CA as Featured in Westways Magazine for day tripping around town.

--CA Department of Real Estate License Number 00402040.

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Here's the scoop on short-sales~

Short Sale ~ A term used when a property is offered for and/or sells for less than the current amount owed on a loan. For example, (a)the case where a home buyer purchased a property for one amount, the value declined and the owner could not sell for the amount owed on the loan. On the other hand,(b) other short sales may result from a property being re-financed at any period of time and the value declined (c) where an owner has tapped the equity in the form of a home equity line of credit, (aka HELOC) and again the decline in values. Again where the sales price would be less than the amount owed to the lender.

• As an aside, many lenders have recently frozen or reduced many homeowners existing credit lines on loan that are also current.

It's important to understand that on a short sale, each lender must approve the terms of a sale. Just because something is listed for sale at a reduced price, does not mean it will actually sell for this amount. A fairly recent tactic has been to offer a property and an unbelievable price in hopes of creating buyer interest and therefore an acceptable offer to the seller and his/her lender.

Oh, one more wrench in the works, you may be negotiating with more than one lender making a decision if there's more than one loan on the property.

It takes real stamina to hang in there for a short sale. I've watched repo sales for over twenty-five years and I urge you to work with someone who understands your local market. Do your homework ahead of time!

Author:Lynda Eisenmann, Broker