Tom Lyons

Tom Lyons-Real Estate Expertise

925-216-1105

realestate@tomlyons.com

19 Years of experience in Tri Valley Real Estate

The Lyons Tri Valley Real Estate Report

April 2010

Year / Volume #4-Issue #28

No inventory numbers to discuss for April 2010. It is suffice to say, in our area, there is a shortage of available homes across all price ranges. Right now because of low interest rates, low prices on foreclosures, government tax credits for first time homebuyers, attractive FHA financing programs ..... the demand for homes in the Tri Valley area is extremely strong. Problem is that most buyers who want to buy now can not find a home to buy!

The following article helps explain this more.

http://www.dqnews.com/Articles/2010/News/California/Bay-Area/RRBay100318.aspx

Yet with all of these home sales real estate prices are not appreciating in a way that you would expect. Home prices are going up in most price ranges in our local Tri Valley area, but the increases are modest. Why? The banks are keeping the lid on price appreciation with the appraisals needed to complete a home purchase. Banks, currently, are very strict with current home appraisals. There are new appraisal guidelines in place that make it difficult for many houses to appraise at the agreed upon sales price. Hence, the appraisal comes in lower, the sales price of the home is lower .... Which keeps price appreciation on homes lower than it would be if there was a freer market system in place.

Info on how home appraisals, currently, are hurting price appreciation in our area.

http://www.tomlyons.com/default.aspx?pp=162248

The Elephant in the room continues to be

Foreclosures!! There are a lot of homes in our area that are in foreclosure, or are bank owned. No surprises there. The surprise is that many of these foreclosed homes are not being released back into the market for sale. Banks keep these homes in their REO inventory (real estate owned). This is the euphemism for the term "shadow inventory" which is inventory of homes that should be released for sale .... one of these days.

Our real estate laws of pricing still govern what happens with real estate values.

Here is a link to the laws of real estate pricing.

http://www.tomlyons.com/default.aspx?pp=159995

One of the more important changes for April 2010 are the new federal government laws that go into effect 4/5/2010 with regards to lender short sales. The new guidelines will make it much easier for homeowners to get short sales approved. Plus, the guidelines shorten the entire short sale process, by imposing timeframes on lenders. So if you are a homeowner who is upside down on your property, or if you're facing a financial hardship, please click on the below links. If you know someone who may benefit from these new rules please pass this info on to them.

New federal guidelines for short sales effective 4/5/2010. Just click here.

http://www.tomlyons.com/default.aspx?pp=189174

The federal government has pledged to keep interest rates at record lows in order to help foster the economic recovery. Details are here.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100316/ap_on_bi_ge/us_fed_interest_rates;_ylt=AkEaH_h5k7SrhkHBjkIkNECyBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJtbjBjcjFqBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMzE2L3VzX2ZlZF9pbnRlcmVzdF9yYXRlcwRjcG9zAzEEcG9zAzIEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDZmVkaG9sZHNyYXRl

On 3/25/10 Bank of America announced a program to reduce mortgage principal on homeowners who are either underwater or in financial trouble.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100324/ap_on_bi_ge/us_bank_of_america_mortgages

Search for homes from your mobile phone at http://tomlyons.com/mobile

For 2010 prices on our lower to mid range homes will appreciate. Click for info.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091027/ap_on_bi_ge/us_home_prices;_ylt=AuGBOAb4_apGgXcA_XzKbMes0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTJzNm41ZTlwBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMDI3L3VzX2hvbWVfcHJpY2VzBGNwb3MDMgRwb3MDNgRwdANob21lX2Nva2UEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDaG9tZXByaWNlc3Jp

Our blog info on the recent success stories on short sales.

http://www.dqnews.com/Articles/2009/News/California/Bay-Area/RRBay090716.aspx

Buyer information on how to purchase a home.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20090709/bs_ibd_ibd/20090709realestate

First time buyer tax credit extended!!

Info on the $8,000.00 first time homebuyers tax credit. This income tax credit has been extended through June 2010. In addition, a $10,000 California state tax credit was approved 3/35/10. This is great news for our local housing market.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091029/ap_on_bi_ge/us_homebuyer_tax_credits

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091105/ap_on_bi_ge/us_homebuyers_tax_credit

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/2009/home.html

http://scpr.org/news/2010/03/22/california-legislature-extends-homebuyer-tax-credi/

For all of your real estate needs and questions please check out our websites

http://tomlyons.yourkwagent.com/atj/user/HomePageGetAction.do

http://tomlyons.com/default.aspx

The Lyons Real Estate Report is distributed monthly to approx. 950 households in the Tri Valley area. If you'd like to receive this report monthly, or if you'd like to unsubscribe, please send me an email at realestate@tomlyons.com

Tom

Tom Lyons-Real Estate Expertise

925-216-1105

realestate@tomlyons.com

19 Years of experience in Tri Valley Real Estate

The Lyons Tri Valley Real Estate Report

February-2010

Year / Volume #4-Issue #27

We'll start the Feb. 2010 report with supply and demand numbers.

City Available Houses Pending Sales Months Supply

Livermore 158 97 1.62

Pleasanton 134 53 2.53

Dublin 88 41 2.15

San Ramon 117 81 1.44

Danville 137 57 2.40

Totals 634 329 1.92

The above numbers are important in helping determine what is currently happening with Tri Valley Real Estate. As of 2/2010 there is little available inventory, or not many homes for sale. Especially in the lower price ranges in each of our cities.

Currently, there are many buyers out there, wanting to buy in the lower price ranges, first time buyers and investors mostly .... and there is nothing out there for them to buy. When a house does come on the market, it tends to sell very quickly and with multiple offers that bid the price of the house up. The extension of the $8,000.00 FTB income tax credit has first time buyers scrambling to find and purchase houses in the early months of 2010. Many who plan to purchase have had to rethink where to buy, and what kind of house to buy, in order to take advantage of the $8,000.00 tax credit.

In the lower price ranges ..... In the $200K's-$400K's ... it means that prices are actually appreciating ... and we have seen price appreciation over the past 3-4 months. Buyers are currently lining up to purchase lower priced homes .... Most listings receive anywhere from 5-15 offers!! Prices in the middle price ranges ($500K's- $700K's) have held steady over the past 2-3 months. Upper price ranges in the Tri Valley Area are still soft .... Meaning that supply still outstrips demand.

These improved numbers described on page 1 means that home sellers in the lower to middle price ranges may be able to get more money for their homes if they plan to sell. Why? Presently there are more buyers out there than sellers, demand is outstripping supply .... that translates into higher sales prices on homes.

Foreclosures and short sales and shadow inventory?? A record number of homes continue to be in foreclosure. Many of the recent sales have been short sales as banks, not wanting to foreclose, are now more open to short sales and loan modifications. Many of the homes currently in foreclosure do not hit the market as bank owned REO's. Instead, the banks approve short sales. So the number of foreclosures that hit the market is being reduced. Plus, the banks are stockpiling the REO's they have, not putting them on the market for sale .... In fact, they are waiting for prices to appreciate before they offer them for sale. This unsold number of bank owned homes, or REO's is called "Shadow Inventory."

As usual, our real estate definitions are of great value here ....

Houses sell for current market value which is described as what buyers have paid recently for similar homes. The prices of houses go up and down strictly based on current supply and demand statistics; supply being how many houses are available for sale, demand being how many houses have sold in a given period of time. All other economic factors ... such as interest rate changes, economic conditions in the area, job creation, unemployment, etc., directly affect supply and demand. By looking at supply and demand statistics you can determine where houses prices currently are at.... and where they will be going in the future.

4 months supply of houses is considered a balanced market. Less than 4 months supply is considered a sellers market; prices go up in a sellers market. More than 4 months supply of houses is considered a buyers market; house prices go down in a buyers market. The less supply of houses available, say 1-2 months supply ... house prices may go up 10-15% per year. Eager buyers bid the prices up and market value rises.

Here are a number of recent articles that show where real estate is heading. Please bear in mind that the real estate industry, as a whole, is very dynamic!! Meaning, that prices, inventory, and what generally happens in the real estate market changes all of the time .... And that it changes very quickly.

Current information on the $8,000.00 First time homebuyer tax credit and the $6,500.00 trade up buyer tax credit that expires 6/3/2010.

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/

Bay area home sales continue to be strong. Prices appreciate!

http://www.dqnews.com/Articles/2010/News/California/Bay-Area/RRBay100121.aspx

Purchasing a foreclosure at the county trustee sale.

http://www.tomlyons.com/default.aspx?pp=167275

Mortgage rates possibly going up in the Spring of 2010??

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100110/bs_nm/us_usa_fed_rosengren

Our new foreclosure website for 2010. This site is all new and full of helpful information for sellers and buyers.

http://www.tomlyons.com/default.aspx

Now you can search for available homes from your mobile phone .....

http://www.tomlyons.com/mobile

The Lyons Real Estate Report is distributed monthly to approx. 950 households in the Tri Valley area. If you'd like to receive this report monthly, or if you'd like to unsubscribe, please send me an email at realestate@tomlyons.com

Thanks!

Tom

Here in Northern California, in the counties of Alameda and Contra Costa, if you go to the county courthouse steps any weekday from 9-3 PM you'll see foreclosed properties being auctioned off around the clock. At each county location ..... there can be as many as 4 auctioneers .... all selling houses at the same time.

Investors are making lots of money doing this .... they either buy the properties at discounted prices, fix them up and "flip" them for a profit ..... or they buy them with the intent of renting them out at a CAP rate of 8-10% (or higher) as a hedge against inflation.

Buying properties at the trustee sale is not for the faint of heart .... as you need to have "all cash" to complete a purchase. Plus, you need to complete a ton of due diligence ahead of time .... to make sure that the property is free of liens and to make sure of the top dollar that you can pay for the property in order to meet your investment goals.

The Tom Lyons real estate team offers full foreclosure services for clients who'd like to purchase real estate at the Alameda, and Contra Costa counties foreclosure trustee sales.

We offer:

Full Foreclosure Services

Foreclosure acquisition services

Foreclosure due diligence services

Investment counseling

Real estate "flipping" consultations

LLC's and limited partnership.

Because of the complex nature of foreclosure acquisition through the trustee sale process, the information presented here is limited.

Please email me at realestate@tomlyons.com to schedule a meeting / consultation to discuss your unique requirements.

For your convenience here are a couple of links that will help you in your search for foreclosures in our Tri Valley Area.

Foreclosure.com http://www.foreclosure.com/search.html?q=94566

Foreclosure Radar http://www.foreclosureradar.com/

Now available!

Search for homes, REO's, and short sales from your mobile phone

www.tomlyons.com/mobile

New for 2010 - Our new foreclosure website for Alameda and Contra Costa Counties in California

www.tomlyons.com

Thanks for reading!

realestate@tomlyons.com

Tom Lyons-Real Estate Expertise

925-216-1105

New website for 2010! www.tomlyons.com

realestate@tomlyons.com

19 Years of experience in Tri Valley Real Estate

The Lyons Tri Valley Real Estate Report

2009 Year in Review

Year / Volume #3-Issue #26

We thought it a good idea to summarize the entire year of 2009 ..... then follow that with some ideas and predictions what 2010 holds for us in the Tri Valley real estate market. I hope that you find the information helpful.

Winter 2009-The year started out slow for real estate. Most Tri-Valley cities had a lot of house inventory. On average there was a 6-8 month supply of homes across all cities, all price ranges. The Obama administration had just taken over, the entire country was waiting to see what the new president would do to help the housing market. Sales on existing homes in Jan-March 2009 was sluggish. Sales on new homes were almost non-existent.

Spring 2009-Once the new government announced information on the housing bailout, and once the $8,000.00 tax credit for first time homebuyers, and the $10,000 tax credit for buyers of new homes in California were in approved .... A buying frenzy began to take place, especially in the lower price ranges throughout the valley. Prices on homes, and foreclosures, had dropped to a point where it made more sense, financially, for people to own homes than to rent. Coupled with historically low interest rates (again helped by the government) first time homebuyers and investors started to purchase homes and eat up house inventory.

Summer 2009- The buying frenzy, in the lower price ranges, continues. (Lower price ranges in our area are defined as $200K- $400K in Livermore, $300-$600K in Pleasanton, San Ramon, and Danville, $250K-$450K in Dublin) Available house inventory plummeted to approx. a 1.5 month supply of houses .... Which is a figure that normally suggests that house prices are appreciating. With regards to bank owned REO's and short sales, which made up approx. 60% of the sales on resale houses, it was not uncommon for each house to receive 8-10 concurrent offers within a couple of days of being on the market. There were so many buyers out there, and so few available homes in the lower price ranges, that buyers could not find houses to buy. New home sales continued to stagnate as builders could not compete with the resale foreclosure homes. Sales on resale homes in the middle price ranges did well. Sales on resale homes in the upper price ranges (Upper price ranges generally being $1M+) continued to be slow. Market value on houses in the lower price ranges actually started to appreciate. Market value on houses in the upper price ranges continued to deteriorate.

Fall 2009- The same trend continued into the fall of 2009. House sales in the lower price ranges continued to be strong. Very little available inventory. House sales in the upper prices ranges continued to be slow. New home sales continue to be slow. Prices appreciate, slightly, in the lower end and continue to depreciate in the upper end. Weird market.

As usual, our real estate definitions are of great value here ....

Houses sell for current market value which is described as what buyers have paid recently for similar homes. The prices of houses go up and down strictly based on current supply and demand statistics; supply being how many houses are available for sale, demand being how many houses have sold in a given period of time. All other economic factors ... such as interest rate changes, economic conditions in the area, job creation, unemployment, etc., directly affect supply and demand. By looking at supply and demand statistics you can determine where houses prices currently are at.... and where they will be going in the future.

The Elephant in the room continues to be

Foreclosures!! A record number of homes continue to be in foreclosure. Many of the recent sales have been short sales as banks, not wanting to foreclose, are now more open to short sales and loan modifications. Many of the homes currently in foreclosure do not hit the market as bank owned REO's. Instead, the banks approve short sales and loan modifications. So the number of foreclosures that hit the market are being reduced. The moratorium, in California, on foreclosures, is over ... so expect more foreclosures to get to the market. As of November 2009 there were approx. 1500 homes, in some stage of foreclosure, in the Tri Valley area. "Elephant in the Room" being a euphemism of how the foreclosure market will continue to dominate (in 2010) what happens to our local real estate market.

2010 and beyond...

What is in store for our local real estate market for 2010?? This is not hard to predict. House prices, especially for entry level homes, will remain affordable. Interest rates will continue to be low as the government continues to help the housing market. Tax credits remain for first time homebuyers. What this means is that the real estate recovery began in 2009 ...... and will continue in 2010. Our local real estate market is recovering! Especially in the lower to mid price ranges.

Info on the real estate recovery for 2009.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_home_sales;_ylt=AheMh78cbLxqXIUo8zj6JUas0NUE;_ylu=

http://www.dqnews.com/Articles/2009/News/California/Bay-Area/RRBay090716.aspx

Buyer information on how to purchase a home.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20090709/bs_ibd_ibd/20090709realestate

Information on Bay Area home sales improving in 4th quarter of 2009.

http://www.dqnews.com/Articles/2009/News/California/Bay-Area/RRBay091015.aspx

More information on home sales increasing in 4th quarter 2009.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091102/ap_on_bi_ge/us_pending_home_sales

First time buyer tax credit extended and more!!

Info on the $8,000.00 first time homebuyers tax credit. This income tax credit has been extended through June 2010. In addition, an additional Federal tax credit was added for buyers who already own a home. This is great news for our local housing market.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091029/ap_on_bi_ge/us_homebuyer_tax_credits

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091105/ap_on_bi_ge/us_homebuyers_tax_credit

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/2009/home.html

For all of your real estate needs and questions please check out our websites

http://tomlyons.yourkwagent.com/atj/user/HomePageGetAction.do

http://www.tomlyons.com/

The Lyons Real Estate Report is distributed monthly to approx. 950 households in the Tri Valley area. Please check out our new website for 2010. http://www.tomlyons.com

Thanks,

Tom