Coastalhomefinder.com

If you are alive and breathing and listing to radio and television or reading websites or an actual newspaper, it is likely you have heard all the talk about the real estate market. You might think it is the end of the world, it is not. If you are thinking of buying a home, all this talk may have delayed your decision or even made you question the wisdom of home ownership entirely. Here is one man's opinion from the New York Times, entitled A Dream House After All.

Maybe the best thing to do first is to take a step back and consider what has taken place over the past year in San Diego real estate, as a whole and specifically the North San Diego Coastal towns we focus on at CoastalHomeFinder.com Here is our updated report with San Diego County real estate stat's which includes residential real estate, condo, town home & detached properties is below:

The North San Diego Coastal Market Trends Report:

One thing to note from both reports is that the Months Supply of Inventory for San Diego and the North San Diego Coastal real estate markets fall within the balanced market category, with north San Diego Coastal having a bit higher supply at 6.9 months, and San Diego County having under 5.3 months supply of housing inventory.

A couple of interesting stats that came out recently in the distress area of the real estate market in San Diego: For July, Notice of Defaults, the first step in the foreclosure process fell approximately 50 percent from a year ago. To be sure there are debates on why this is. It could be there are less people in trouble, more loan modifications getting done or more short sales being approved. It is most likely all of these factors.

Foreclosures: July foreclosures in San Diego county were down 32 percent from a year ago. July Sales Volume for San Diego County was down 19.4% according to MDA DataQuick but median price was up year over year 5.6% to $338,000.

I am not sure who, other than the media, has been surprised by the slowdown recently in the number of sales. We should keep in mind that we have just experienced the largest amount of stimulus in history poured into the real estate market. It has now come to an end. With one big exception, mortgage rates are still extremely low. The tax credit has served it's purpose of stabilizing the real estate market. Now the fear debate has heated up again. We are headed for a double dip some say. After 13 months straight of median price increases in San Diego, we are due for a bit of a pause or dip in median prices. I tend to think the over-hyped stories will end up being just that, nice stories, but only time will tell.

There are a couple of facts to consider: Mortgage Rates are at all time, historic lows, and prices are significantly less that they were just a few years ago. Lastly, investors are buying right now, some very smart folks that called the fall of real estate are back in the game buying.

One of the most helpful ways to figure out your best path, especially in times like these is to look at things from three perspectives:

1. What is the best case scenario? 2. What is the likely scenario? and 3. What is the worst case scenario?

Run the numbers. For example, a $417000 loan today in the 4.25% range would cost approximately $2051 per month for principal and interest. If the market dropped to allow you to buy the same house with a $50,000 lower loan amount of $367,000 but mortgage rates went up to 5.5%, your monthly principal and interest payment would actually be higher at approximately $2083 per month. So I suggest looking at it from several different scenarios.

Make sure you are buying for the right reasons and that those reasons make sense long term. If you would like to discuss what your options are in today's real estate market just call me directly at 760-602-1000 or Loren@Coastalhomefinder.com

See this weeks list of coastal distressed deals 

11 Ways to Get Your Home Ready for Appraisal

If you're looking to sell or refinance your home in one of our San Diego coastal communities, you know that a home appraisal is a necessary step in the process. While the value of your home may not be what it was in 2006, it is important for homeowners to be realistic when it comes to getting their home appraised. On the positive side in San Diego we have had 13 months in a row of year over year median price gains, many times accurate value is harder to establish in a real estate market where prices are moving either up or down in a significant manner.

As a member of the Top 5 in Real Estate Network® in North San Diego County, I know how vital it is to list your home at the right price. Price is, after all, only a part of marketing...but it is crucial, and having an accurate assesment done can be a good first step toward making the right pricing decision.

Here are 11 ways to prepare for a home appraisal:

1. The appraiser will need approximately 30 minutes to one hour to complete the inspection phase of the appraisal process, which includes: exterior photos of the front and rear of the home and a photo of the street in front of the property; measurements of the exterior of the home, garage and any outbuildings; a walk-through inspection of all rooms and levels of the interior of the home.
2. Get organized. Put together a checklist that will help you get ready for your appraisal.
3. Be flexible when scheduling the appointment.
4. Have a copy of your home's blueprint to help verify measurements and lot size.
5. Provide a list of improvements made to the property since the purchase. Improvements that should be noted include adding a pool, patio, updating your kitchen or bathroom, and any room additions, etc.
6. Allow your appraiser access to the entire property, including access to any crawl space or attic areas.
7. Keep in mind that a clean home makes a good impression. Be sure to trim the lawn, clean the pool and garage, repair cracked windows or torn screens, check for leaky faucets and secure gutters and down spouts before your appraisal.
8. Point out any amenities that may not be obvious to the appraiser: sprinkler systems, patios, pools, security systems, built-in pool vacuum, etc. Providing an appraiser or agents you may be interviewing a list of improvements, as mentioned above, is very smart.
9. Provide a copy of last year's tax assessment information.
10. Know what year the house was built and when improvements were made.
11. The first thing appraisers look for is comparables, so be prepared and have a list of recent sales of similar properties in the immediate neighborhood.

Following these steps will go a long way toward making the home appraisal process a bit easier. For more information on home appraisals and preparing your home for sale, please e-mail me-and please feel free to forward these tips to any family and friends with a home sale in their future. To see the current activity in your area, homes for sale and recently sold you may use the application below to get the information emailed to you hassle free within an hour.

You may always call me directly at 760-602-1000 as well.

We are here to serve not to hassle, feel free to call or email even if you just have questions.

 Tax Credit Hangover with a side of ebb

The North San Diego coastal real estate market is charging ahead of many markets across America. June 2010 was the 11^th straight month of median price gains, up 15.66% over June 2009. We were due for a pause,  many are calling it the "Tax Credit Hangover", but just as likely is the fact that we need a bit of a pause to catch our breath. To be sure inventories in some locations and price brackets seem to be building, up to 7.1 months supply of inventory in North San Diego coastal detached homes.  For context, last year we had 8.5 months supply of inventory in June of 2009 and this year in April we got down to as low as 4.75 months supply of inventory.

You can download or view my North San Diego Coastal Real Estate Update for July here. This report offers a yearlong month by month graphical display with a breakdown of all the important numbers including Average Days on the Market, Month's Supply of Inventory, Supply & Demand, New Listings and more. This market dynamics report can be done for your specific zip code and price range as well. Just request one by emailing Loren@CoastalHomeFinder.com

A couple other things of note right now are that Notices of Default are down 41% from last year, which means two things are happening. There is a push to cut down the time it takes to do short sales and also there may be less people falling behind on their mortgage payments. Both are good news for the market.

The other item of note is that mortgage rates are at historical lows, if you are in the position to re-finance now would be a very good time to do so. Also there are some great real estate deals in North San Diego County and with rates this low and prices low as well, now is the time to act.  If you are planning on living in San Diego for awhile or want to retire here now is a great time to buy your dream home. This is a list of Coastal Short Sales and Foreclosures now on the market. If you would like to see one of these homes Call (760)602-1000 or email Loren@coastalhomefinder.com

If you would just like to search for homes in San Diego, you can search by school district, draw your own serch area on a map or use our standard search as well.