Over the past few weeks the local Santa Cruz newspaper has written several articles about the health of our local real estate market. The most recent article reported the recent rise in the median prices of homes. Unfortunately the recent rise in median home prices has little to do with the health of our market. It is more reflective of the seasonal pattern of our local market, in which the median price of homes historically rises during our spring and summer months due to the increase volume of homes being sold.
Over the last year, I have written numerous reports about the state of our local real estate market. As you know from these reports and the general media, we are in one of the most compelling real estate markets in our lifetime. This is demonstrated by interest rates being near all time lows, home prices plummeting at record rates, and we have not seen this many bank foreclosed properties since the Great Depression. 2009 was a great year for buyers at the low end of the market (Homes under $500k) and was the major … (0 comments)
santa cruz real estate report: Santa Cruz Notice of Defaults
- 12/10/09 08:49 AM
One of the leading indicators on how well our local real estate market is doing can be determined by the number of Notice of Defaults. As seen by the graph below, we have continued to hover between 150 and 200 NODs from almost the beginning of the year. Thus the ongoing trend of bank foreclosures, short sales, and REOs has been steady through out the year and we have seen little improvement in the real estate market. Therefore Banks are continuing to build an inventory of bank owned property (REOs). This is good news for Buyers for several reasons. One, we can expect many more … (0 comments)
santa cruz real estate report: Banks Control Santa Cruz Real Estate Market
- 11/18/09 09:57 AM
It was just a few years ago, we rarely saw homes being foreclosed by banks and later sold by banks on the MLS as REOs (Bank Owned Properties). On top of that, Short Sales were unheard of in those markets of yester year. However in today's market, a good percentage of homes are REOs or Short Sales and they all have one thing in common. These properties are bought and sold by banks or the banks have final approval of the property sale. As of last month, banks controlled over 50% of the real estate transactions in Santa Cruz County. For the most part, Bank control of transactions … (1 comments)
santa cruz real estate report: Santa Cruz Market Segments
- 11/11/09 09:49 AM
As we near the end of 2009, there are some trends that have developed in the Santa Cruz Real Estate Market. For example, the low-end of our market has been on fire. We are seeing multiple bids on homes priced less than $500k. This is a result of several different factors, first is the availability of loan programs thru FHA, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae, second is the First Time Buyers $8000 credit, lastly a steady volume of bank owned and short sale properties with low prices. As seen by the chart below we have more property pendings that available home inventory. Thus … (0 comments)
santa cruz real estate report: Santa Cruz Notice of Defaults
- 11/05/09 04:46 AM
This is just a quick update on where we are with Notice of Defaults in the greater Santa Cruz area. As you can see by the graph below, Notice of Defaults have been bouncing between 150 and 200 month since the beginning of the year. Thus we have not seen a real improvement in the market. In the meantime, the shadow inventory that the banks are holding is continuing to grow. So we are going to continue to see the impact of distressed properties on the market for some time to come. Hopefully we will see a downward trend in the Notice of Defaults next year … (0 comments)
Like most areas through out the United States, Santa Cruz real estate has had its fair share of lost value. However some areas in Santa Cruz County like the beach areas have not been hit as hard. For example the greater Watsonville and south county area has been hit a lot harder than the beach areas of Santa Cruz. This is due in part to the higher demand for beach properties and a scarcer inventory of beach homes. But another reason is that there are a lot less bank owned properties for sale in the … (0 comments)
Over the last few months, most experts have been predicting that the bottom of the Real Estate market will happen late 2009 or early 2010. There are several things that have to happen if a recovery is to occur. First mortgage interest rates have to remain low. The lower end of the real estate market is currently being fueled by low interest rates that are allowing first time homebuyers and investors to pick up properties that are 40% to 50% off their market high prices. As I mentioned in my earlier … (1 comments)
santa cruz real estate report: Santa Cruz Home Inventory
- 05/12/09 07:36 AM
Santa Cruz County Inventory May 12th 2009 These are interesting times in Santa Cruz County with regards to real estate. This is the time of year that Buyers get real active in finding the right property to purchase. Our high season for local real estate happens like the farming season for our fruits and vegetables, from May to September is our busiest time of the year. But this season we have a different pattern as compared to previous seasons. If you look at the graft below, you will see a snapshot of the housing inventory of Santa Cruz County and there … (0 comments)
santa cruz real estate report: Breakdown of Santa Cruz Home Sales
- 03/05/09 09:33 AM
Most people would be surprised at the percent breakdown between Foreclosure Sales, Short Sales, REO, and regular Grand Deeds in Santa Cruz County. The graph below does a good job in showing what is really happening in our local real estate market. As you can see the majority of homes that closed last month are a result of the normal sale between a homeowner and a buyer via a Grant Deed. We also have a smaller number of Banked Owned Properties (REOs) in which the Bank had previously foreclosed on the property and is now selling the property on the … (0 comments)
April 20th 2010;)
;)
