San Diego California real estate blog

CA Home Sales Up 117% - Prices Down 39.9%

brokerforyou.com — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:47:56 -0600

The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today that Home sales increased 117.1 percent in October in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 39.9 percent.

“The year-to-year decline in the statewide median home price was smaller in October than the previous month for the first time in 11 months,” said C.A.R Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “However, there is still no conclusive indication that prices have begun to stabilize.” For San Diego, the report showed the median home price for October was down 9.6% vs. September and off 37.4% from October 2007.*To view the full post and charts, please visit the San Diego real estate market blog

Prices Plunge in 3rd. Quarter

brokerforyou.com — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:01:47 -0600

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index just released, tumbled a record 16.6% during the quarter from the same period a year ago. Prices are at levels not seen since the first quarter of 2004. The 20-city index fell by 17.4% in September compared with a year ago, the largest drop since its inception in 2000. *To view the full post, please visit the San Diego real estate market blog

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$100 Billion Into Mortgages

brokerforyou.com — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:34:24 -0600

The Federal Reserve said it will buy up to $100 billion in direct obligations from mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as the Federal Home Loan Banks. The Fed also will buy $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities, pools of mortgages that are bundled together and sold to investors.

San Diego real estate

Existing-home sales Off For October

brokerforyou.com — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:39:26 -0600

The National Association of Realtors just released data showing existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – fell 3.1 percent in October. NAR's chief economist, Mr. Lawrence Yun, said: “Many potential home buyers appear to have withdrawn from the market due to the stock market collapse and deteriorating economic conditions. We have favorable affordability conditions, but we need more than that to give buyers with jobs the confidence they need.*To view the full post, please visit the San Diego real estate agent sales blog

California Real Estate Down 40%

brokerforyou.com — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:33:55 -0600

In a report released by MDA DataQuick the median sales price for homes in Southern California fell to $300,000 in October, a level not seen since 2003 and a 41% drop from the peak price set in the spring and summer of 2007. *To view the full post, please visit the San Diego real estate agent blog

San Diego Home PricesDrop 14.7%

brokerforyou.com — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:19:26 -0600

Zillow Real Estate Market Reports just released a report that shows home values in San Diego decreased -14.70% in the third quarter of 2008, compared to the third quarter of 2007. This San Diego value loss was 5% greater than the national home value drop for the same period. San Diego real estate

San Diego Home Loan Limits For 2009

brokerforyou.com — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:39:56 -0600

The loan limits for FNMA had been at $417,000 going into this year. As part of the "Economic Stimulus Package" the limits were raised based on a formula to a maximum amount of $729,250. The current loan limit under the formula is $697,500 in San Diego County. These loan limits will expire on January 1st.*To read the full post, please visit the San Diego real estate blog

Real estate investing and stock market investing

brokerforyou.com — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:25:33 -0600

Whether investing in real estate or the stock market, one should not ignore losses because of an irrational belief in the mantra "I'm investing for the long term.” Smart investors always set stop loss points to limit their downside risk. *To view the full post and chart graphic, please visit the San Diego California real estate blog.

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San Diego Home Prices Drop 33% in October - Is A Bottom In Sight?

brokerforyou.com — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:41:04 -0600

DataQuick, a San Diego based real estate tracking company released a report showing the median price for homes and condos in San Diego California tumbled to $300,000 last month from $445,000 in October 2007.

The good news is that there were 21,532 homes and condos sold in Southern California last month, up 67 percent from the year-ago period.

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San Diego 3Br./2.5Ba Sunset/Mountain/Canyon VIEWS

brokerforyou.com — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:52:37 -0600

Bob Schwartz | www.brokerforyou.com | 619-286-5604

8028 Mission Vista Drive, San Diego, CA

San Carlos 3Br/2.5Ba w/Mountain & Canyon Views

3BR/2.5BA Townhouse

offered at $405,000

Year Built	1983
Sq Footage	1,538
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	2 full, 1 partial
Floors	2
Parking	Unspecified
Lot Size	3,571 sqft
HOA/Maint	$88 per month

DESCRIPTION

Most desirable and largest 3 Br. floor plan in Belaire! Semi-attached PUD w/Cent. Air! Premium location w/panoramic views! Newer (Apprx. 3Yr old) copper water pipes & newer roof! Fireplace, cathedral ceilings, 2 car attached garage! Two Br’s have been combined to make a very spacious 2nd. Br. (can be easily restored).

If you have a buyer who likes a view, this home will sell itself!! Newer Roof! Home has been totally re-plumbed with copper water pipes. Upgraded gas stove & space saver micro, breakfast nook, central air, tile & hardwood flooring, upgraded bath sinks, mirrored closets rear yard wood decking. This model combines warm traditional New England styling with modern space, beauty, convenience and efficiency. Spacious living room with dramatic vaulted ceiling. Good sized kitchen with Breakfast nook, Quality cabinets - tile counter tops and a water line for icemaker. Formal dining room bay window. A real feeling of spaciousness and style! All windows dual glazed for energy conservation. Attached garage w/opener & direct access into home. Spacious Master Bedroom! Low dues provide front lawn/greenbelt maintenance. Belaire is a world away in feeling...a world of green hillsides, natural canyons, the San Diego River, and a very attractive community. Right next door is the 5,700- acre Mission Trails Regional Park, one of the nation¹s largest urban-area parks, a preserved wonderland of rugged back country, deep gorges, wood-shaded creeks, lake and hiking trails. Truly, a very unique place to live and share in all that San Diego has to offer without a long commute. All measurements are approximate. Sq. Ft. per tax rolls. Seller to select all related services. Really a must see home and community!

see additional photos below

PROPERTY FEATURES

Central A/C	Central heat	Fireplace
High/Vaulted ceiling	Walk-in closet	Hardwood floor
Tile floor	Living room	Office/Den
Dining room	Breakfast nook	Dishwasher
Stove/Oven	Microwave	Laundry area - garage
Balcony, Deck, or Patio	Yard

OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES

Newer roof & cooper water pipes

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Seller contact info:

Bob Schwartz

www.brokerforyou.com

619-286-5604

For sale by agent/broker

Equal Opportunity Housing

Posted: Nov 14, 2008, 2:46pm PST

20% of Americans Having Difficulty Paying Medical Bills

brokerforyou.com — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:36:27 -0600

A survey by the Center for Studying Health System Change found that nearly 20 percent of Americans report having difficulty paying medical bills. The global economic crunch is forcing a growing number of Americans to scale back on medical care. Consumers are pushing off seemingly less-urgent services in the hope that their financial health will improve. *To read the full post, please visit the San Diego health library news

Bob

San Diego homes for sale

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE Now At A New Low

brokerforyou.com — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:20:46 -0600

The Conference Board's most recent Consumer Confidence Index™ hit an all-time low in October. Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center said: "Looking ahead, consumers are extremely pessimistic, and a significantly larger proportion than last month foresees business and labor market conditions worsening.*To read the full post, please visit the San Diego real estate market blog.

Housing Markets Are Local - Real Estate Conditions

brokerforyou.com — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:18:21 -0600

Local market patterns frequently differ from state and national trends. Differences in housing markets become more apparent when you compare neighborhoods, communities, and counties. For example, in some markets home prices may have fallen by large margins, even as much as 50 percent from their peak. But other markets have experienced small declines, and a few markets have registered slight increases on occasion in recent months. The same is true of the share of distressed sales in different markets.*To read the full post, please visit the San Diego real estate market blog

San Diego Real Esate Sales Increase

San Diego Condominium Sales Price Appreciation

#1 Key To Purchasing Real Estate in the San Diego Market

San Diego California Home Sellers Lose Big

The San Diego California Real Estate Great Depression

1.2 Million Homes in Foreclosure

Survey Says Home Values Must Fall Another 14%

A Record Number of Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure in the Second Quarter

Jumbo Financing and the Impact on The San Diego Real Estate Market

Home Builders Pushed 100% Loans to Move Properties

San Diego County Foreclosures up 125% from 2007

CALIFORNIA HOME FORECLOSURE SALES JUMP 22.5%

Credit Impact of Real Estate Short Sales & Deeds In Lieu

Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rate To 1%

brokerforyou.com — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:30:21 -0600

Today, the Federal reserve cut it's federal funds rate, the interest banks charge on overnight loans, by 1/2% to 1 percent. The last time funds rate was lower than this was in 1958. Will other rate cuts be in the offing? Some analysts think so.* To read the full post, please visit the San Diego CA real estate blog

Bob

San Diego CA real estate agents

San Diego Homeowner Mortgage Help

brokerforyou.com — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:24:53 -0600

Actually, this news may help homeowners in trouble throughout the U.S..The Hope For Homeowners (H4H) initiative that was part of the July stimulus package began to be implemented Oct. 1.The H4H program allows troubled homeowners to keep their home, while enabling lenders to receive a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) guarantee on the loans. *To view the full post, please visit the San Diego California real estate blog

Bob

San Diego real estate agent

Home Value Index - Largest Drop In History

brokerforyou.com — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:15:00 -0600

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index dropped a record 16.6 percent from August last year, the largest drop since its inception in 2000. The 10-city index plunged 17.7 percent, its biggest decline in its 21-year history. *To view the full post, please visit the San Diego real estate blog

Bob

San Diego California real estate agents

San Diego Home Mortgage Lenders …

brokerforyou.com — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 01:05:40 -0600

It's a shame, but in today's San Diego real estate environment, home lenders have taken on the personification of evil. It seems we are always hearing about San Diego banks or home mortgage lenders who do not want to work with homeowners in trouble.

Though this may have held some validity a year or two ago, it is just the opposite today. Effective July 1, 2008, a new California law mandates that the lenders try to contact and work with homeowners prior to filing a notice of default. *To read the full post, please visit the San Diego real estate blog

Existing Home Sales Move Up

brokerforyou.com — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:55:38 -0600

Sales of existing homes rose 5.5 percent, from a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.91 million units in August to 5.18 million in September, and have risen 1.4 percent on a year-over-year basis marking the first annual increase since late-2005. *To view the full post, please visit the San Diego real estate blog

Alan Greenspan … Wrong On Regulation

brokerforyou.com — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 08:30:29 -0500

"I made a mistake," Greenspan said, "in presuming that the self-interests of organizations, specifically banks and others, were such as that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders and their equity in the firms." "The Federal Reserve had as good an economic organization as exists," Greenspan said. "If all those extraordinarily capable people were unable to foresee the development of this critical problem . . . we have to ask ourselves: Why is that? And the answer is that we're not smart enough as people. We just cannot see events that far in advance." *To view the full post and video, please visit the San Diego real estate market blog.

California Home Foreclosure Filings fall 32%

brokerforyou.com — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:24:27 -0500

California home foreclosures - In a report issued today by California-based research group RealtyTrac it was reported that California home foreclosure filings fell 32 percent on a monthly basis but were up 36 percent from a year ago. California remained the third hardest-hit state in the collapsed real estate sector, after Nevada and Florida.

Some prior posts on home foreclosures:

San Diego Real Esate Sales Increase

San Diego Condominium Sales Price Appreciation

#1 Key To Purchasing Real Estate in the San Diego Market

San Diego California Home Sellers Lose Big

The San Diego California Real Estate Great Depression

1.2 Million Homes in Foreclosure

Survey Says Home Values Must Fall Another 14%

A Record Number of Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure in the Second Quarter

Jumbo Financing and the Impact on The San Diego Real Estate Market

Home Builders Pushed 100% Loans to Move Properties

San Diego County Foreclosures up 125% from 2007

CALIFORNIA HOME FORECLOSURE SALES JUMP 22.5%

Credit Impact of Real Estate Short Sales & Deeds In Lieu

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Head Librarian Or Realtor?

brokerforyou.com — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 14:08:46 -0500

If your real estate website has an IDX link, do you provide the full property address to Web surfers? If so, you may be acting more like a librarian than a realtor! Do you really believe Web surfers, the potential clients, who have had in many cases no personal, or even email, contact with you, are going to remember where, let alone who, provided them the address when they believe they are standing in front of their ‘dream’ home? What percent of these people are just going to contact the listing agent whose name appears on the yard sign?

As a listing agent myself, I’d love every agent to show all property addresses on their IDX links! To get real though, let's address a problem that has probably cost you a lot of money, time and aggravation over the years.

I'll preface this by saying that many of the Internet prospects you deal with in your career will likely be good, honest people. However, it seems the inquires generated through Realtor web sites cause even the best, most honest, potential clients, to, either intentionally or unintentionally, waste your time.

As a professional in this industry, your time is the one thing you can't afford to waste. If you run out of money, you can always make more. If you run out of time, all the money in the world won't help you.

So there is a good argument to be made for the notion that time is much more valuable than money.

The impersonal nature of the Internet and ‘instant response’ culture promoted by it can be detrimental to efficient agent time management.

If you have a popular web site, you will notice that a large percent of the inquires requesting property availability, neighborhood/school facts and recent sales data, never contact by phone, or reply back to your emails after you have sent them their requested information.

Actually, with popular sites these time wasters can be a very serous problem. You’ll notice I said ‘can be’ in the preceding sentence. If you follow my suggestions below, the occurrence of this happening through your site will be drastically reduced or eliminated entirely.

Naturally, there will be many who will take exception to my ideas but these same agents are the ones that may show a $750,000 home without even asking one pre-qualification question. Averaging over 700 unique visitors per day to my San Diego real estate site, I know my suggestions really can benefit those of you who implement them. These are not theoretical ideas, but, field tested and proven techniques.

#1. Show the current average home prices for San Diego on the entry page of your site. My data looks like:

California Real Estate Prices

San Diego Average Residential Detached sales price August 2008 -- $512,266(Source:S.D.A.R.)
Calif. median home price - July 08: $350.760(Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region July 08:
Santa Barbara So. Coast $940,000(Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region July 08:
High Desert $177,330(Source: C.A.R.)

Mortgage rates - week ending 09/18/08
30-yr. fixed: 5.78% Fees/points: 0.6%
15-yr. fixed: 5.35% Fees/points: 0.6%
1-yr. adjustable: 5.03% Fees/points: 0.5%
(Source: Freddie Mac)

This one step dramatically reduces the ’dreamer’ type of email.

#2. All inquiry forms on your site should be set up so that if vital information is omitted, the form will remind the visitor when they try to submit it that the fields need to filled in for the form to work.

What information you want is up to you. Many times, personally, I do not require the phone number. This is because I feel that many may fear unwanted ‘sales’ calls. Plus, after all they are contacting me via the Internet vs. my toll-free phone number!

I do require the following basic information:

A. Full name
B. Address
C. Email address
D. Working with an agent? Yes or No!

Depending on the form, other information will be required. Keep in mind, these people know about you and are requesting your time. If they will NOT provide you their basic personal information, how serious can they really be?

Perhaps, key to saving your valuable time is my last suggestion:

Immediately upon receipt of an inquiry from your site, you or your assistant should reply with a request for some small bit of additional information. If you do not receive a timely reply to your inquiry, why invest any more time on this inquiry?

What should you ask for depends on the type of inquire. I ask for such information as:

Their time frame, area of town they my want, will they be available to preview property, would they consider a condominium, etc.

Proper time management is crucial to any successful business. Management of your Internet inquires will increase your productivity! "Until you value yourself, you won't value your time.

Until you value your time, you will not do anything with It." -M Scott Peck

Bob Schwartz is a San Diego Certified Residential Specialist, broker co-owner of a search engine optimization software company Bob's other real estate sites are: downtown San Diego real estate San Diego for sale by owner San Diego Little Italy condominiums San Diego real estate blog San Diego real estate agents

#1 in Google, ,MSN & YAHOO Without Paying ---Realtor does it himself!!

brokerforyou.com — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:57:19 -0500

One should keep in mind that the larger the market (city/town) and the more popular the keyword (XXXXX real estate, XXXXX real estate broker, XXXXX real estate agent, XXXXX real estate blog) the harder it will be to get a top ten standing.

Now, for San Diego, I could easly work to get Bob Schwartz San Diego agent on the top of the search engines (it already is) but I did not tagret this phrase. Why? One only has so much time, and to put it to it's best use I work on the MOST popular keyword phrases.

After all, a buyer in Chicago, looking to purchase real estate in San Diego is far more likely to type into their browser one of the phrases noted in the above 1st paragraph than my name.

Also, keep in mind, the longer the key word phrase, the easier to get a top ranking, but also much fewer searches. So, if I wanted to impress the masses, I could easly be on page one for a phrase like Sunny San Diego County real estate broker but in would bring me NO real estate business!

Bob Schwartz

San Diego Realtor

Via Judi Newberry:

In a hurry? Then read the P.S. first... ;-) .

..

...

...

I got an interesting question from one of my readers the other day...

...or rather, two questions...

"Does search engine optimization really work to drive traffic?" "

And if so, how do I, someone who's not a techie person by any means, do it??"

So, how would YOU answer this guy?

This is what I wrote back to him...

Dear Marty,

Have you ever gone to Google (or any search engine) and typed in the term you were searching for?

Then did you go to any of the pages that came up on that first or second page of results?

Then you already know the answer to your first question... .

..Getting your site listed on the first or second page of a search engine DOES bring you traffic.

And you don't think those sites at the top of the listings got there by chance or accident, do you?

SEO does work!

But a LOT of marketers get so confused by how to do it, that they don't even try.

Which is a shame.

Imagine what an influx of thousands of new visitors to your site every week or even every day could do for your bottom line!

So I did some research on how anyone, even the most non-technical person, could optimize their site to get it to the front of the search engine rankings, and here's what I found...

With just a little study and one special software program, 90%+ Will be able to get their keywords on PAGE ONE of the top search engines!

Now, before you start thinking you can't do this... ...that's it's for techno geeks only... ...that you need to be super computer smart or even know what you're doing... ...relax!

SEO Elite is so user-friendly, even an 11 year old kid can use it.

Check out the endless possibilities.

If you promote ANYTHING online, this is for you.

How would you like to be on PAGE ONE, POSITION ONE in the ‘organic’ (real listings vs. paid/sponsored) first 10 Positions of GOOGLE for your real estate business?

Well, what about doing this for MSN, ASK, AOL & Yahoo? Is it possible for a Realtor themselves to achieve this? The simple answer is SURE! Just look at my husband’s site, www.brokerforyou.com and one of the most completive keyword phrases SAN DIEGO REAL ESTATE BROKER – Yes, check it out for yourself, he has achieved dozens of free, page one placements on the major search engines. Now, most of his business is providing referrals to his associates in San Diego and California!

Forget EVERYTHING you've ever heard about search engine optimization that scared you away...

...picture YOUR site in the NUMBER ONE position on Google and Yahoo...

...and then...

Just look at the videos about this special software...First, click the link below, or just enter http://www.websitetrafficbuilders.com/ in your browser. Next, on the lower left side of the page, click on the graphic of the SEO Elite software box. SEO software

To Your Success,

Judi Newberry

SEO software

P.S. Just because you THINK something is true, that doesn't MAKE it true.

Just because you THINK you can't do Search Engine Optimization yourself, and get your site into the number 1 spot on Google, that doesn't mean you can't.

It just means you've been DECEIVED into THINKING you can't.

Because I'm here to tell you...

...YOU CAN.

And when you do, your income can raise EX-PO-NEN-TIAL-LY.

As in really really BIG.

HUGE, even.

:-)

Just look at the videos about this special software...First, click the link below, or just enter http://www.websitetrafficbuilders.com/ in your browser. Next, on the lower left side of the page, click on the graphic of the SEO Elite software box.

SEO software

San Diego Condo Price Appreciation

brokerforyou.com — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:09:25 -0500

In the table below, www.brokerforyou.com looked at selected San Diego neighborhoods that had 10 or more closed sales in August 2008 & August 2007.

*To view the full post, please visit the San Diego real estate blog

29% of Homeowners Have Larger Mortgage Than Home’s Value

brokerforyou.com — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:39:47 -0500

An estimate by real-estate Web site Zillow.com shows that among people who bought within the past five years, about 29% are under water on their mortgages. From a Moody's Economy.com report it shows that 12 million households, or 16%, owe more than **To read the full post, please visit the San Diego CA real estate blog

Government Vote

brokerforyou.com — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:20:32 -0500

Wall street voices its opinion of the Government bailout. First it was the Government cash taxpayer rebate. Then we had a Government housing bailout effective October 1, 2008. Then, in a third step, the Government bailout program known as the "rescue bill," signed into law on October 5, 2008.

During the three business days after the latest bailout bill was voted on, Wall Street & all other world markets saw huge declines. Note the Dow Jones Index chart shown below: **To view the chart and full post, please visit the San Diego homes sales blog