2012 Has Been Good So Far!
A Hopeful Message From the Press Democrat
As a part of my morning ritual I always peruse the Press 
Democrat for good news about the market. And this morning it yielded several gems about Real Estate specifically in Sonoma County and California in general. According to two separate articles home sales in Sonoma County got off to an “uncharacteristically strong start in January” with a huge increase in both completed sales and in signed contracts. This is tied into the second article all about foreclosure activity in January.
Okay, so here are the statistics from article #1. “Buyers began the year by purchasing 318 single-family homes, up 20% from January” two years ago in 2010. That’s quite the increase! Families are also no longer sticking with the starter home price range, where sales have been concentrated over the last few years, but “contracts involved homes in a wide variety of price ranges…more expensive homes means more buyers with home equity and other assets”.
Because of the state of our economy and the Real Estate Market I think buyers have been particularly hesitant to invest their 
money in a home, but as shown by current interest rates and current home prices, NOW is the time to be buying up real estate! So for whatever reason, buyers are beginning to drop their inhibition and “have put their doubts on the shelf… people are beginning to believe more and more that we have hit bottom”.
The second article I stumbled across was on the subject of foreclosures.. a nasty and frightening word for any home owner, it’s true. However with an increase in foreclosed homes also comes an increase of interested buyers because of the prices! According to this article “banks took back more U.S. homes in January than in the previous month, the latest sign that foreclosures are accelerating… but” are “down 15% from a year earlier”. So looking at the larger picture, while foreclosures have increased since December, they’ve significantly decreased since this time last year.
So what does this mean for us Loan Officers and Real Estate Agents in the business? And what does this mean for buyers? Unfortunately time will be the only decider on where the market will go from here, but things are looking good. According to Article #2 “You probably are going to see the pace pick up as the year goes on”. We are in the unique place of having rock bottom prices and interest rates AND competitive purchasing and sales. It’s a win-win market and who knows how long we’ll be in this specific position. So jump on the bandwagon and buy that home you’ve been mulling over or just take encouragement in the fact that the market is getting better and better.
As a side note to all of you buyers out there, there are other 
avenues for financing rather than the generic 30 year fixed rate loans that sometimes ask for an arm and a leg! I provide hard money and private money loans to those who have bad credit or can’t get a bank loan. So if you’re looking to get financed and are interested in Hard Money Loans, give me a call!
If you are interested in looking at the statistics yourself the links to both of these articles are below. Hope everyone had a lovely Valentine’s Day.
Lynn Tardibuono - Expert Real Estate Agent at Sun Pacific Mortgage and Real Estate since 1988.
Here to give you the expert advice and financing you need! 800 Mendocino Avenue, Suite 2, Santa Rosa, CA 5401. (707) 523 2099
Or visit our website at SunPacMortgage.com
Article #1: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120215/BUSINESS/120219722?tc=ar
Article #2: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=146963346
Comments(2)