Adam Brett's Blog - All Things Real Estate in Fullerton and Beyond

Homebuilding In O.C. Rising Slowly

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:52:18 -0500

Homebuilding in Orange County is beginning to rise again. 126 single-family residence permits were issued

in Orange County in September – which was a 63.6% increase from August and a 14.5% from September 2008.

Overall the number of building permits issued in Orange County so far are down 10.6% from 2008. In the last nine months builders have received 955 houses compared to 1,068 in the first nine months of 2008. The biggest drop in permits had to do with multi-family units. In September builders took out a mere 17 multi-family unit permits, a 90.2% drop from last year.

San Diego County and the Inland Empire saw the number of permits increase as well.

Home Prices Are Rising In Spite Of The Economy

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:48:07 -0500

Home prices throughout Los Angeles and Orange County rose 1.6% in August marking the third month of

month-to-month gains. This month marks the longest of those streaks since September 2006.

Unfortunately local home prices are still falling at a rate of 12% per year, but that is the smallest annual rate of decline since November 2007.

O.C. Finance Jobs At 2-year Low

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:44:31 -0500

The real estate and finance market in Orange County has lost 1 out of 7 employees. In the month of September t

here was 202,500 Orange County residents working in finance – although that is 15,400 less people than last year it is also the smallest year over year loss in two years.

The construction industry in Orange County has been hit the hardest – they have lost 10,500 jobs this year alone.

Brokers Saw The Best September In 3 Years

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:37:42 -0500

Since the deadline for the homebuyer tax credit is right around the corner, revenue from broker-handled

deals increased last month to the highest level for a September in three years.

Broker transactions account for roughly 85% of all local home sales and generated $1.4 billion in Orange County in September. Broker transactions include home sellers, brokers and agents. Brokers handled 2,454 homes last month – the most homes for a September since 2005.

Overall revenue was up 12.3% from September 2008, when broker deals generated $1.2 billion. For the first time in 4 years revenue rose from August to September – this year rising $149 million.

O.C. Home Prices Increase For The 8th Month

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:21:02 -0500

The median home price of Orange County homes appears to be on track for this year’s eighth month of

increases. If October ends the way its expected to end it should also be the second month of year-over-year price increases after 24 months of price declines.

For the month of September the median price of an Orange County home was $432,000, up 2.9% from 2008. Overall home prices in Orange County are 33% below their peak.

In September O.C. shoppers purchased 2,980 residences , up 3.5% from last year’s buying activity. Nationwide home sales jumped a record 9.4% in September as new home buyers are trying to take advantage of the tax credit that ends next month.

First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit A Magnet For Fraudsters

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:16:44 -0500

The $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit has been a target for fraudulent claims. There have

been more then 90,000 fraudulent claims made including those made by former homeowners and children.

Eligibility for the tax credit issued by the Obama Administration extended to those who has not owned a primary residence in the last three years and earned less than $75,000 as an individual or $150,000 as a married couple.

The IRS has discovered 167 criminal schemes, opened 115 criminal investigation and has temporarily frozen more than 1110,000 refunds. They found that 582 supposed first-time home buyers were under the age of 18 and 73,7999 claims belonged to people who already owned a home.

Through late August more than 1.4 million claims have been made towards the tax credit.

Haunted Fullerton Walking Tour

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:08:33 -0500

If you are looking for something fun to do to get into the Halloween spirit why not go on the

Haunted Fullerton Walking Tour .

Fullerton is one of the oldest and most haunted cities in Orange County so why not take the tour and see where the ghosts are hiding. On the tour you will find out what businesses have pots and pans flying around when the lights shut off and which famous deceased Fullertonians like to make an appearance.

The tour lasts approximately 2 ½ hours and will cover 1.5 miles in the downtown Fullerton area. The tour begins at the Fullerton Museum Center and leaves at 6 pm. Call 714-738-6545 to make a reservation, the tour ends November 6^th.

Brea Is The Only O.C. City With Rent Increases

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:54:34 -0500

If you are looking for an affordable apartment look no further than Westminster.

The city had the county’s highest percentage of empty units and the greatest rent cuts. Rents in large apartment complexes dropped 9%, averaging $1,312 per month. Almost 11% of units in Westminster’s large apartment complexes are empty.

Mission Viejo and Irvine had the second and third biggest rent reductions. Summer rentals in Mission Viejo averaged $1,400 a month which was a 7.2% drop.

Irvine had the county’s second-highest vacancy rate at 8.5%. Irvine apartment owners cut rents by 7.1% to an average of $1,779 a month.

Rents went down last summer in 22 of 23 Orange County cities studied. Countywide the average rent was $1,523 over the summer, down 5% from the summer of 2008.

The only O.C. city studied to see rents increase was Brea. Brea’s average rent in a large apartment complex increased 3% to $1,469 a month.

Hardest O.C. City To Buy A Home?

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:48:30 -0500

According to the latest O.C. home inventory report, Aliso Viejo is the hottest market in terms of “market time.”

Theoretically all homes for sale in Aliso Viejo could be sold in 1.2 months at the current buying pace. It is the hardest place in Orange County to find a home to buy.

The O.C. city with the slowest market time is Corona Del Mar where – at the current pace – it would take 16.3 months to sell all for sale homes. It is currently considered the hardest place to sell a home.

Asking Prices Stay High, Demand Remains Low

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:43:26 -0500

The higher the asking price on houses in the current market conditions the longer it will stay on the

market. There has been some discrepancy between what sellers are asking for and where the market is currently at. This has caused an 85% ratio of the sale to original list price. The 15% price drop is what is needed in order to move the million-dollar homes.

Currently homes listed for more than $1 million dollars have a market time of 10.37 months. At the current pace it would take 2.48 for all homes for sale in Orange County to be purchased. Homes listed under a million dollars have a market time of 1.88 months.

O.C. Hotel Rooms Continue To Stay Empty

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:36:56 -0500

Summer was the perfect time for visitors to travel to Southern California. Not only is the weather

perfect but this year hotel room rates fell 16%.

Despite those incentives 25% of local hotel rooms went empty – compared to 19% a year ago. The countywide “revpar” score (which measures hotel cash-flow in regards to rates and occupancy) was down 22% for August.

Investors Are Purchasing More Foreclosed Homes

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:31:52 -0500

Last month in Orange County investors purchased 39% or 278 of 718 homes and condos sold at auctions.

Less properties are being returned to banks as lenders and loan servicers offer bigger discounts as high as 60% off debt owed on a first mortgage. Most homes seem to get a discount of 30% off debt owed.

Some investors are putting these homes on the market almost immediately, while others are choosing to rent them out temporarily while they wait for the market to rebound.

Sales of New Homes Rebounding In O.C.

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:20:39 -0500

After dropping to a record low in the winter, new-home sales have rebounded in Orange County. This could be the beginning of the recovery.

Due to the fact that resale homes are in less supply and are being picked off the market quickly, it may be in many homebuyers best interest to purchase a new home. Homebuyers know what to expect when they purchase a new home, rather than a foreclosure and many feel that if they ever want to purchase a new home now is the time since the market is down. This trend is primarily happening west of the 15 freeway though.

Builders are reaping the benefits – the number of contracts sold rose 42% from last year. It was the first year-over-year sales gain in the past six quarters. Net sales doubled from the first quarter of 2009 to the second, and then climbed 13% more last quarter.

O.C. Rents Fell 5% Since 2008

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:40:46 -0500

Rents at large Orange County Apartment complexes have fallen 5% in the last year averaging $1,523.

That is a decrease of $80 a month and marks the fourth consecutive quarterly year-over-year drop. Nationally the average price of rent dropped 3.7%.

Vacancies fell from the second quarter by 1 full percentage point – the biggest drop in 7 years. The average vacancy at the Orange County complexes was 6.6%, compared to 5.3% a year ago.

HAMP Will Be Evaluated In November

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:32:06 -0500

In early November the Treasury Department is expected to report the results of the first batch of

loans modified under the Home Affordable Modification Program.

Currently it seems that one of the major criticisms of HAMP is the pull through rate. Many clients give up before they get to the end leaving lenders unsuccessful. Another problem is the fact that many borrowers who have submitted applications are missing paperwork delaying the process and potentially hurting their chances of getting a modification.

Some lenders are hoping that there will be more “cramdowns” done by bankruptcy judges that would give borrowers the ability to modify their loans another way. Cramdowns could help eliminate the risk of another credit fiasco and keep some homeowners in their homes.

Employers Are Beginning To Hire Again

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:17:14 -0500

Employers appear to be beginning to hire once again. More employers announced plans to hire more people in

the first nine months of 2009 than in the first three quarters of 2008; an increase of 88%.

The retail industry led all sectors with their plans to hire. Retailers announced plans to hire 33,640 workers through September of this year compared to 4,000 in all of 2008. So far though retailers have only hired 95,000 people through September.

The second largest sector for hiring was government and non-profit organizations with plans to add 28.469 workers. Entertainment and leisure was the third industry hiring with an expected job growth of 22,370.

The job market is still tough with only 2.4 million job openings nationwide – down from 3.9 million a year ago. But in August 4 million people were hired.

O.C. Home Sales up 5.1% in September

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:07:16 -0500

Last month Orange County was the only county to see an increase in median home prices.

County	Median	Vs. ‘08	Sales	Vs. ‘08
Los Angeles	$330,000	-8.3%	7,138	13.8%
Orange	$429,000	0.9%	2,828	6.0%
Riverside	$185,000	-22.1%	4,312	-5.3%
San Berdoo	$150,000	-26.8%	3,023	6.8%
San Diego	$325,000	-0.9%	3,454	2.6%
Ventura	$371,750	-3.4%	784	-3.0%
SoCal	$275,000	-10.9%	21,539	5.1%

That gain mixed with a decreasing number of foreclosures selling kept region wide prices to the smallest year over year decline in nearly two years.

The median price of a home in southern California fell 10.9% in September. The smallest drop since November 2007.

Home sales in O.C. were up 5.1 percent last month. Many accredit that to too many sales before September being slowed or delayed but none the less O.C. saw a rise in sales.

Beach City Sales up 19%

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:01:20 -0500

In the month of September 467 homes were sold in beach city ZIP codes, up 19% from a year ago.

The median selling price of those homes was $661,750 a price drop of 1.7%.

South County and beach city home sales were up 18% from a year ago, where as northern and inland county sales are down 1%.

In South Inland ZIPs the median selling price in September was $492,250 of the 716 homes sold. The number of home sales increased 17% from a year ago.

In North inland ZIPs the median selling price was $447,500 and 699 homes were sold. Although the median price dropped 8% from last year, sales were up 6%.

Throughout mid-county ZIPs 833 homes were sold with a median selling price of $350,500, down 5% from a year ago.

Countywide sales were up 6% from a year ago and the median selling price increased by 1%.

More Realtors Using The Internet To Sell Homes

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:53:58 -0500

The California Association of Realtors has put out a new study showing that 55% of 2009 business originated

from the internet compared to 48% in 2008 and a mere 24% five years ago.

The most popular sites used to obtain real estate information are Zillow.com, Craigslist.org and Yahoo! Real Estate. Although CAR is quick to note that not all these sites have accurate and up-to-date real estate information.

The survey also asked local Realtors if they promote their listings online with search engines or on real estate websites other than their own, 70% said yes. The most popular sites that Realtors use are Yahoo! Real Estate, Newspaper web sites, Zillow.com and Craigslist.org.

Am I A Good Candidate For Mortgage Modification?

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:30:33 -0500

Q. In 2005 I bought my condo in South County for $305,000; it is currently worth $170,000. I have a 1^st

^{and 2^nd interest-only loan both at 7%, both adjustable, and with the second coming in as high as 11%. I have kept up with my loans but I can’t get any help refinancing. I tried to refinance in 2006 but the banks told me to wait because time were tough. At this point I can’t afford my mortgages since they come in at roughly $2,000 per month but after the second adjustments I will be paying close to $3,000 a month and that would be impossible. My condo is a one-bedroom and the market watchers say it could be up to ten years for it to fully rebound. Should I short-sale or attempt to wait it out? I’ve managed to keep everything in check for this long I do not want to ruin my credit just to get some help.}

A. You are a prime candidate for a mortgage modification. You have maintained a good credit score, are willing to stay in your home and can afford to make payments at your current market rate. The problem you may run into is that your loans are substantially higher in rate than the current market and can go even higher making them toxic. Also you lender may not own your loan, they may just service it. Hopefully they are becoming more willing to entertain modifications for people like you who are prime candidates.

Should I Take A Owner-Financed Loan?

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:21:45 -0500

Q. I want to purchase a home but I do not have sufficient funds for a down payment. If I get an

owner-financed mortgage, would I be able to apply for a bank-financed mortgage in a year or so and would the money I paid to the owner count as a down payment or would I still need a separate down payment with the bank mortgage?

A. I don’t think an owner financed mortgage is the best option for you, the problem occurs when you want to refinance to pay off the seller. The bank will view your request as a cash-out refinance. The current rules in place state that your new loan cannot exceed 75% loan-to-value. You home would likely have to gain a lot of value in a short amount of time and with the current market that seem unlikely. The only way this scenario works is if the seller will carry back for 10 years or more.

You should consider an FHA loan which will require only a 3.5% down payment.

Fullerton Fire Dept. Pancake Breakfast

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:15:42 -0500

This Saturday is Fullerton Fire Departments Annual Pancake Breakfast. The meal will be served from

7:30 am to 11:00am at Fire Department Headquarters located at 312 E. Commonwealth Ave.

Tickets are $4 per person and free for children under 2. The ticket includes pancakes, eggs, sausage or bacon and a beverage.

Proceeds from the breakfast will be used for the department's public education programs and for the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), which trains residents to assist in overall disaster preparedness and recovery efforts.

There will also be informational booths presenting information on safety and fire prevention.

O.C. Wants To Expand New Home-Buyer Tax Credit

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:07:54 -0500

Orange County officials want to expand a home-buyer tax credit that they had not given out when home loans

went haywire during the housing boom.

The county is now eager to give out certificates to first time home buyers so that they get the federal tax break.

First-time home buyers who meet income and home valuation requirements, can get a credit for up to 15 percent of their mortgage interest. That’s in addition to a nationwide $8,000 first-time buyer credit that expires on December 1, and the regular mortgage interest deduction.

The county has just $300,000 remaining of the $1.5 million allocation it got from the state in July. The $1.5 million allocation translates to certificates based on a calculation that incorporates borrowers’ loan amounts and income-tax credit used.

Home buyers pay $300 to apply for a new certificate and $275 to keep one they have when refinancing. For more information, contact John McCarty at Urban Futures at 714-283-9334.

Property Tax Bills Delayed Due To Computer Error

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:51:10 -0500

Nearly 500,000 property tax bills have yet to be mailed out in Orange county because of a glitch that asked some tax

payers to pay twice.

About 350,000 of the incorrect tax bills had already mailed out when the error was found, the county is expected to resume mailing out the new forms next week.

The bogus forms told local property owners that they still owed property taxs – even though they are already paid through their monthly mortgage payments.

Some property owners who pay their taxes into “impound accounts” as part of their monthly mortgage payment received standard tax bills. Normally, taxpayers with impound accounts get a similar-looking letter, but it doesn’t have return envelopes enclosed and also has the words “INFORMATION COPY” on it.

The Treasurer’s Office blamed the mistake on “a computer programming error.”

Oktoberfest Fundraiser Oct. 18th

Adam Brett - Fullerton, California Realtor (RE/MAX NOC) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:44:43 -0500

The Fullerton College Foundation’s annual Oktoberfest celebration will take place on October 18^th from 2 to 5 p.m.

at the Fullerton Museum Center.

There will be entertainment, food and a raffle. The first place raffle price is a new Ford Mustang; second place is $1,000 and the third place prize is $500.

Raffle tickets are $25 each and can be purchased at www.mustangraffle.com and at the event.

All proceeds from the event go to the General Scholarship Fund for Fullerton College students.