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Manhattan Beach CA -Beach Cities.. So... Where are the Foreclosures?

By Kaye Thomas

Real Estate Agent with Real Estate West BRE# 701315

September 09, 2007 10:39 AM

The figures in the media on California foreclosures are astonishing. Numerous articles seem to be saying that almost every home in California and Los Angeles County is now or will be in foreclosure. Many feel that the Beach Cities.... Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo and El Segundo will soon see prices plummet by 40%-50% within the next few months.

I'm not saying we won't see our share of troubles if the credit crunch continues but I'm not as sure as others seem to be that we are going to see massive foreclosures and prices dive through the floor in our little slice of paradise.. No question that sales volume is down and sellers are getting realistic about the value of their homes. At this time it appears that homes that were priced way too high are finally being priced at the level they should have been 6 months ago. That doesn't mean prices won't decline... they will as the market is changing and financing is more stringent but perhaps not to the level of many predictions.

As far as foreclosures... maybe there are lots of Beach homes that will wind up in foreclosure in the next 6 months but right now the number of homes in the Beach Cities that are in serious trouble is fairly low. Take a look at these two websites. Countrywide is the largest lender in the nation and in big trouble at the moment.. they should have lots of loans going bad in the Beach Cities but I couldn't find many on their website. Click here for Countrywide Foreclosures by city in California. Foreclosures: How Does your Zip code Fare ....This site is for homes that have actually gone through the foreclosure process and are now bank owned. Again there are not a lot in the Beach Cities. Here is another site from Movoto on their blog California Real Estate and Homes about foreclosures in CA. Another site to check.. Current Foreclosures which I believe may be a leads site.

RealtyTrac is a favorite for many but the fact is their figures are not very accurate. If a home has two loans they show each loan separately which makes it look as if there are two homes being foreclosed on.. when in fact there is only one. They also show a late payment as a problem when it may be a one time event.

<<<< CONTINUE>>>>>

OTHER POSTS:

Southern California Home Prices: Are We really in Trouble?

Manhattan Beach Home Prices: What's Happening?

Foreclosure: You Can't Always Walk Away

Manhattan Beach: Home Prices vs Income

Manhattan Beach: Are You a Bull or a Bear

Manhattan Beach-Beach Cities Real Estate: Foreclosures.. Big Trouble?

Beach Cities.. Market Snapshots

South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold July 2007
South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold June 2007
South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold May 2007
South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold April 2007
South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold March 2007
South Bay-Beach Cities: Sold February 2007
SouthBay-Beach Cities: Sold January 2007

All content copyrighted@ 2007 Kaye Thomas

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Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman

Liberty Homes - Mililani, HI

(RA) AHWD CRS ePRO OAHU HAWAII REAL ESTATE

They continue to say that the reason why there are very few foreclosures here are due to the fact that most homeowners got fixed rate loans ....only something like 20% went for "any kind".

Sep 09, 2007 10:59 AM

Brian Brumpton

Keller Williams Boise - Boise, ID

Boise Idaho Real Estate

It seems there are always two markets at any given time. The one the media reports on (who knows where they pull their stats, it's definitely no great investigative reporting) and the real market that professionals are privy to. The professionals market never appears to be in line with the media's market.

Sep 09, 2007 11:05 AM

David Thomas

HomeSmart Realty, Elite Group Scottsdale, Arizona - Gilbert, AZ

Phoenix,Chandler,Mesa,Gilbert,AZ

It is the same here in Arizona - I am constantly hearing from people about how every other home is in foreclosure but the fact is that in the more afflluent parts of town foreclosures are happening at a rate of 0 - 4/10,000 homes! That isn't the same in the most outer regions and particularly where new home builders were still accepting investor contracts - that is a different story. Unfortunately the media says that all of the Arizona and California markets are one and the same.

Sep 09, 2007 11:20 AM

Kaye Thomas

Real Estate West - Manhattan Beach, CA

e-PRO, Manhattan Beach CA

Sally. I'm sure that's true .. also you have a lot of people like my parents who paid cash for their home which also makes a difference..

Brian- So true.. I don't doubt there will be lots of problems in CA but I do wonder if the effects will be overall or if some local communities will be less affected then others.

David- it does present problems.. buyers expect home prices to dive through the floor and are often angry and bewildered when they don't. I have buyers who are withdrawing from the market because they believe prices will crash 50%.. if it happens they will be happy... but if it doesn't they may lose a few opportunities to take advantage of this market where i thin the uncertainity will produce some very good deals from now toward the end of the year .. if rates on Jumbo loans stabilize. Hey... are we cousins??? LOL

Sep 09, 2007 01:46 PM

Leigh Brown

Leigh Brown & Associates, RE/MAX Executive - Charlotte, NC

CEO, Dream Maker - Charlotte, NC

There are going to be a lot of disappointed 'investors' out there, who think that every great house is going to be deeply discounted within the next couple of months. I've said it before and I'll say it again-the media needs to shut up!

Sep 09, 2007 02:02 PM

Kaye Thomas

Real Estate West - Manhattan Beach, CA

e-PRO, Manhattan Beach CA

Leigh- So much going on in CA is happening in inland areas and very marginal areas. But reading most reports leads one to believe that the entire state is one big subprime loan.

Sep 09, 2007 02:14 PM

Marlene Bridges

Village Real Estate Services, Inc. - Laguna Hills, CA

Laguna Homes|Laguna Condos|Laguna Real Estate

Kaye - Thanks for putting this in perspective. I appreciated Brian Brumpton's comment, "It seems there are always two markets at any given time. The one the media reports on (who knows where they pull their stats, it's definitely no great investigative reporting) and the real market that professionals are privy to."

Another great post, my friend.

Sep 09, 2007 05:59 PM

Anonymous

John

I just published an article about San Jose real estate market. It described the smallest house on sale recently. You may find the article at:

http://sanjosehomesforsale.blogspot.com/2007/09/friday-update-smallest-san-jose-home.html

John

www.movoto.com

Sep 09, 2007 07:22 PM

Kaye Thomas

Real Estate West - Manhattan Beach, CA

e-PRO, Manhattan Beach CA

Marlene- Brian really nailed the problem.. those of us who are actually in the market are not seeing what the media is saying is happening.. consequently if we disagree with the media stance people think we are just unscrupulous REALTORS® who will say anything to get a sale and are lying to our clients.. I can't predict the future.. I can only talk about what I see today.. we are dealing in fact not conjecture.. Right now the facts say that we will see problems through out the state but there are many areas that do not have a huge subprime/Alt-A/ bad credit loan problems. Of course no one wants to believe the market may not crash.. it's not a very popular stance right now..

John- Wow.. that's pretty small . is this lot value and will it be purchased as a scraper or will someone buy to live in?

Sep 10, 2007 06:00 AM

Lynda Eisenmann

Preferred Home Brokers - Brea, CA

Broker Associate ,CRS,GRI,SRES, Brea,CA, Orange Co

Hey Beach girl,

Great info here. An interest comment on the market. Normally when people refer to foreclosures and quoting numbers all too often they use the NOD lists. And we know the vast majority of those are cured and do not go to sale, although I do think that will change somewhat.

I found your foreclosures by zip code to be an interesting link. It actually measures properties taken back by the lender. Our city had 2 in 2006 and 4 in 2007, that was our entire city with a median price of $700 or $900 depending on which of the two zip codes. That still appears to be low to me with a population of 40,000, probably 1/3 the households.

Thanks for the great info.

Sep 10, 2007 02:11 PM

Kaye Thomas

Real Estate West - Manhattan Beach, CA

e-PRO, Manhattan Beach CA

Hi Lynda- Glad you liked the Zipcode link.. I thought it was great because as you noted it measured Bank Owned properties.. not NOD's but properties that reallly were foreclosed. I have four links on the post and I find few foreclosures in our area.. Your area only has 4.. I just keep wondering if there are so many foreclosures throughout the state.. why can't I find the big numbers in our local neighborhoods. Must be a mystery...

Sep 10, 2007 02:45 PM

Lynda Eisenmann

Preferred Home Brokers - Brea, CA

Broker Associate ,CRS,GRI,SRES, Brea,CA, Orange Co

Hi Kaye,

It appears there are large numbers in the inland empire. I think problem areas are more likely to be those of newer construction with space to grow. We're almost land locked here in Brea, not much room left, and areas like yours at the beach, not likely at all.

During the last go-round in the 90's while attending CAR director's meeting in Sacramento. At that time a representative of HUD spoke and the main area of concern even back then was the i.e. I'll be checking your other links.

Sep 11, 2007 04:19 AM

Kaye Thomas

Real Estate West - Manhattan Beach, CA

e-PRO, Manhattan Beach CA

Lynda- You are right... as always.. looks as if the big areas of concern are IE, Cental Valley and Sacramento.. next in line seems to be the more blue collar areas.. for us that means Hawthorne, Lawndale, Gardena, Harbor Gateway and Torrance PO... I'm guessing for you it would be Hawaiian Gardens, Norwalk, Paramount and similar areas.... not sure how Buena Park is now but was always lower end even when I grew up out there.. These are the places where very marginal buyers were enticed by the subprime loans.. and these are always the first areas to take a bath in a downturn.

Sep 11, 2007 11:07 AM