Tim Lorenz

This market report from a Mission Viejo Realtor shows again that in most areas the volume of homes selling in Orange County are up 20 percent for new homes and 11.7 percent in resale condos and 6.1 percent in homes for the previous 4 weeks. If you are wondering about the prices over all in the County new home are up in price 1.1 percent while everything else in down in price, resale condos down 6.1 percent and resale homes down 2.9 percent for the previous 4 weeks.

The cities show what is happening in and around Mission Viejo:

Aliso Viejo median price down 3.9 percent and sales volume up 2.2 percent

San Clemente Zip code 92672 median price down 30.8 percent and the sales volume up 186.7 percent.

San Clemente zip code 92673 median price down 8.3 percent and the sales volume is even 0.0 percent.

Laguna Niguel median price up 2.9 percent and the sales volume is up 25.0 percent.

Rancho Santa Margarita median price is down 12.0 percent while sales volume is up 7.9 percent.

Mission Viejo zip code 92691 median price is down 3.2 percent while sales volume is also down 22.1 percent.

Mission Viejo zip code 92692 median price is down 21.1 percent while sales volume is up 24.5 percent.

You may have seen the head line Home Resales Dropor something like it in your newspaper. The National Association of Realtors published the sales of resale homes drop of 2.7% on Thursday. Why do they always have the negative spin? The statistics show a 3.4% increase when compared with a year ago.

Although the results surprised the analysts, who had expected an increase to the sales and did not expect to see resale homes dropin number of sales. If you watch statistics month to month you need a series of months to be able to determine the significance to a one month chance. It is truly too soon to know if the resale home has dropped in volume.

The inventory of unsold homes on the market fell to an 8.5 month supply the lowest level in 2 years. That again is a positive note. I know that negativity does sell newspapers but we need collectively report the findings in a way that will not hurt the markets more than they have already been hurt.

The key unknown is the $8,000 tax credit for first time buyer that is scheduled to be dropped at the end of November. Congress is facing pressure to extend the program and possibly increase it to all buyer's not just the first time home buyer's. It is still uncertain how much support the bill has with congress.

First time home buyers are purchasing one in three homes that were sold in August. The other major player in the current market is the investor who is buying up the great deals in the market place (short sales and the foreclosures). Nationwide sales are still down nearly 30 percent from their peak nearly four years ago.

So, again I ask why the negativity Home Resales Drop?

California builders are increasing prices according to John Burns real estate consulting firm in Irvine stated this last week. While U.S. home prices are stabilized at least for the current period Burns stated he thought another round of price drops are coming.

More builders are raising their prices (increasing) than dropping them here in California, Burns learned from a survey of 269 homebuilding execuitives in 86 metro areas. He also found that there are more homes sold nationally per development. Up 2 from a 1.4 figure in August. This is due to fewer builders selling homes on the contingency of the buyer selling their previous home. California has been increasing it housing starts one of just a few in the country. Burns said the data confirms his belief that the market bottomed in the spring. He went on to question the stability and whether it would last (prices).

The concerns for builders are:

• The $8,000 tax credit will expire on November 30,2009, and will effect the purchasing of homes.
• Prices are flat outside of California.
• Sales are best for the less expensive home which qualify for FHA financing.
• The decreasing market is causing apraisal problems which they often must absorb.
• Downward pressure from the Short Sale and Foreclosure sales.
• Lack of Job creation.

Yet the California builders believe in there product so much that they are increasing prices.

Mission Viejo Helps Injured MarineAles Minsky one of its own. Minsky was critically injured by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan and has been in recovering in hospitals all across the United States. He is and was a resident of Mission Viejo. The injuries suffered include, brain injuries, broken jaw severe burns and the amputation of his right leg below the knee.

Minsky will receive approximately $6,000 from the Mission Viejo Country Club Golf Tournament in that was held this month and $500 from Mission Viejo's Saddleback Valley Elks helps the injured Marine with expenses. The Elks will also help through the "Adopt a Veteran" program and culled the donation using bingo charity funds. Alex is the first injured veteran that the Mission Viejo Elks lodge have adopted.

It is a pleasure to report that Mission Viejo stands behind and helps injured veterans like this Marine.

Mission Viejo City Attorney, William P. Curley, filed lawsuit against the Saddleback Valley Unified School District. According to the Orange County Register Curley said he filed the suit because of a statute of limitations under the California Environmental Quality Act. If he did not file he would not have been able to file at all.

Curley, the Mission Viejo City Attorney stated he had filed the lawsuit but did not serve and therefore commence the litigation. This is where it gets interesting and maybe a waist of tax payer money. The lawsuit alleges that while the district paid for an environmental study to be conducted regarding the closure of O'Neill Elementary, it failed to add and the environmental impacts for reopening the facility for adult education. The district has already opened the school for adult ed.

Why is this costly report important? It was a school and it is to be one again. What happened inbetween? Sometimes I feel these kinds of reports are nothing more than a way to spend our money. Then a lawsuit what are we doing. So the Mission Viejo City Attorney filed lawsuit. Ugh.