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        <title>Real Estate Blog</title>
        <link>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/</link>
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            <guid>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/six-keys-to-selling-your-home-in-todays-market.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/six-keys-to-selling-your-home-in-todays-market.html</link>
            <author>tleocadio@sbcglobal.net (Tony Leocadio Admin)</author>
            <title>Six Keys To Selling Your Home in Todays Market</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Monday, May 14, 2012—		According to the National Association of Realtors®, more than 4.25 million homes sold in 2011. That's a lot of real estate and such numbers raise the question: How are sellers doing it?"Because individual homes are unique, there isn't one single strategy that works equally well for every property," says Wendy Forsythe, the executive vice president of a real estate company. "The real trick is understanding that today's marketplace is cash driven, quick and highly competitive. Owners who understand their local markets and work with a knowledgeable agent are those most likely to succeed."In March roughly one-third of all sales were cash, meaning a large number of buyers are not dependent on lender financing, the sale of their existing home or a settlement that might be 45 to 60 days in the future.Instead, they can act quickly and in many cases seek properties which can be bought today and occupied tomorrow.To ready a home for sale in today's marketplace, Forsythe says owners should consider six basic keys to selling success.Six Keys to Success1) Curb appeal counts. Most home buyers want homes which look great from the outside. It's not just a question of curb appeal -- it's about perception. If a home looks good from the street it probably means the property is ready for a new occupant without a lot of cost or hassle.Buyers tend to pass on a home that doesn't appeal to them from the street -- not even bothering to look inside. An experienced local REALTOR® can show you how to generate the most curb appeal with the least cost.2) A clutter-free home. With the new emphasis on cash sales and speed owners must show homes which are free and clear of clutter. A clutter-free home will make interior spaces look larger and eliminates the need to get rid of stuff when you are in the throes of moving. It makes sense to donate or reduce clutter before a home is placed on the market -- not only as a sales tactic but also as a practical step toward relocation.3) Working condition. Having your home's systems in good mechanical condition is an advantage in today's market. Most distressed homes can't compete when it comes to such basics as working heating, plumbing and air-conditioning. Properties that can readily pass a professional home inspection are often easier to finance, and are generally more appealing to buyers who don't want to face the unknown costs and delays sometimes associated with major renovations.4) List and negotiate properly. According to Forsythe, "a seasoned REALTOR® can show owners how best to market a particular home according to such factors as location, price, condition and financing. Owners want to work with us because our experience brings value and confidence to a transaction, factors that are enormously important in a changing marketplace."5) Seek prequalified buyers. While many sales may be for cash, the majority still require financing. It would be frustrating to enter into a sales contract with a potential buyer who ultimately cannot obtain financing to purchase your home -- meaning you have lost time -- and potentially money -- and then you have to start over. When a home is shown by appointment, the buyer should have a pre-qualification letter in hand.Such letters from lenders are not binding but at least show that the purchaser sat down with a loan officer and has some realistic sense of what he or she can reasonably afford.6) Distressed properties. Roughly 30 percent of today's home sales involve "distressed" properties -- a term which includes short sales and foreclosed properties owned by lenders. You need to consider the distressed properties in your neighborhood when pricing and marketing your home. These properties typically sell at discount, especially in major foreclosure centers and sometimes require substantial repair and rehabilitation. "Home sellers can compete with these offerings," according to Forsythe. "There's no question that a large number of distressed properties in a local market will impact prices, but price is not the only factor buyers consider. While distressed homes work for some purchasers, they're not the right choice for buyers who want homes that offer move-in condition -- homes in better shape that can often command higher prices."While the housing market is just in the beginning stages of a recovery, it's still possible to successfully sell your home by making sure you're catering to the kind of buyers in the market today, and by making sure that you -- and your home -- are ready to move as quickly as these buyers are.
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            <pubDate>Mon, 14 May 2012 09:21:54 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/home-prices-rise-in-half-the-us-cities.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/home-prices-rise-in-half-the-us-cities.html</link>
            <author>tleocadio@sbcglobal.net (Tony Leocadio Admin)</author>
            <title>Home Prices Rise in Half the US Cities</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Prices for single-family homes climbed in half of U.S. cities in the first quarter as real estate markets stabilized. 


The median sales price increased from a year earlier in 74 of 146 metropolitan areas measured, the National Association of Realtors said in a report today. In the fourth quarter, only 29 areas had gains. 








 



Home Prices Rise in Half of U.S. Cities as Markets Stabilize 







 




A development in Oswego, Illinois.














 








     May 7 (Bloomberg) -- Michelle Meyer, a senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, talks about the U.S. economy and real estate market.     She speaks with Tom Keene on Bloomberg Television's "Surveillance Midday." (Source: Bloomberg) 








The U.S. housing market is showing signs of bottoming as improving employment and record-low mortgage rates boost demand while inventories of available properties tighten. At the end of March, 2.37 million previously owned homes were available for sale, 22 percent fewer than a year earlier, the Realtors said. 


“The housing market is still depressed but it had a good quarter,” Patrick Newport, an economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts, said in a telephone interview today. “We’re on the mend but it’s still something that will take two or three years before we’re back to normal.” 


The national median existing single-family home price was $158,100 in the first quarter, down 0.4 percent from the first three months of 2011, according to the Realtors group. 


The best-performing metro area was Cape Coral, Florida, where prices increased 28.1 percent from a year earlier. Prices rose 19 percent in Grand Rapids, Michigan; 16.9 percent in Palm Bay, Florida; and 16.6 percent in Erie, Pennsylvania. 


Biggest Declines 


Kingston, New York, had the biggest decline, with the median selling price tumbling 22 percent in the quarter. It was followed by Stamford, Connecticut, with an 18 percent decline; Mobile, Alabama, at 14.7 percent; and Atlanta at 12 percent. 


The median selling price is influenced by the mix of homes on the market and probably was boosted by a smaller share of transactions involving distressed properties. Those homes, which sell at discounts, accounted for 32 percent of first-quarter sales, down from 38 percent a year earlier. 


Prices are more volatile than normal because they are affected by the prevalence of distressed sales and “sudden upswings” in buyer interest in some areas, said Lawrence Yun, the group’s chief economist. 


‘Broad Shortages’ 


“We have broad shortages of lower-priced homes in much of the country, with very tight supply in Western states for homes through the middle price ranges,” Yun said in the report.“This is good news for many sellers who wish to list now, or for those waiting for prices to improve.” 


Sales of previously owned homes rose 5.3 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to the report. Purchases climbed 11.7 percent in the Midwest, 6.6 percent in the Northeast, 4.1 percent in the South, and 1.4 percent in the West. 


Fannie Mae, the nation’s biggest mortgage-finance company, today reported a $2.7 billion first-quarter profit after a $6.5 billion loss a year earlier, citing smaller declines in home prices as one of the reasons for improvement. The Washington-based company said that it won’t need Treasury Department aid to balance its books for the first time since it was seized by federal regulators in 2008. 
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Fri, 11 May 2012 11:42:52 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/the-spring-home-buying-season-is-upon-us.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/the-spring-home-buying-season-is-upon-us.html</link>
            <author>tleocadio@sbcglobal.net (Tony Leocadio Admin)</author>
            <title>The Spring Home Buying Season is Upon Us !</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
It looks like there's spring in the spring homebuying season.



Ponder that Newport Beach-based Surterre Properties says it recorded a company-record $376 million in residential real estate sales in the first quarter. Also, Surterre's first-quarter new escrows jumped 70 percent in a year to $544 million from $321 million in 2011's first three months.









Spring homebuying season may be blossoming.  Newport Beach-based Surterre Properties says it recorded a company-record $376 million in residential real estate sales in the first quarter.







CEO Gary Legrand: "I think it's remarkable what our company has been able to accomplish since we opened our doors in 2006, especially in such a challenging real estate market."



Surterre isn't an anomaly. The Orange County home inventory report from Steve Thomas and ReportsOnHousing.com — data as of April 26 includes – showed soaring demand and tight inventory.



Thomas calls the report "staggering." He notes that: "Listing Inventory is at its lowest point since June 2005; Demand is at its highest level since June 2005; The expected market time is at its lowest level since June 2005; Closed sales have not been this low since October 2006 (May 2010 was at a similar level, but only temporary due to the expiration of the first time home buyer tax credit); The distressed property inventory is at lows not seen since September 2007."



Thomas' signature housing measurement is his "market time" benchmark. It tracks how many months it theoretically takes to sell the entire inventory in the local MLS for-sale listings at the current pace of pending deals being made. By this Thomas logic, as of April 26 — we see ...



•Market time of 1.51 months for Orange County buyers to gobble up all homes for sale at the current pace vs. 1.63 months two weeks ago vs. 3.49 months a year ago vs. 2.45 months two years ago.



•Or, Orange County homes take 4 fewer days to sell at the current buying pace in the past two weeks and 59 less days in a year.



•Of the eight Orange County pricing slices Thomas tracks, seven had faster market time vs. two weeks ago; and seven improved over a year ago.



•Orange County homes listed for under a million bucks have a market time of 1.23 months vs. 5.47 months for homes listed for more than $1 million. So, basically, it is 4.5 times harder to sell a million-dollar-plus residence! (And just so you know, the million-dollar market represents 25 percent of all homes listed and 7 percent of all homes that entered into escrow in the past 30 days.)



Thomas tracks pending sales, which occasionally failed to close. As for officially completed sales, the spring homebuying season looks strong, too. DataQuick's Orange County homebuying report for the 22 business days ending April 9 showed:



•Total Orange County sales of 2,911 residences closed in the latest period — that is up 11.4 percent vs. a year ago.



•58 of 83 O.C. ZIPs had year-over-year sales gains in the period — or 70 percent of the market.



•Five of 83 O.C. ZIPs has sales gains of 100 percent or more in the period.



•Discounting helped. Median selling price for all residences of $403,500 — that is off 6.2 percent vs. a year ago.



•Note: 17 of 83 Orange County ZIPs had both rising sales and prices in the period.



Thomas writes: "Back in the early 2000's, buyers zealously bought homes without regard to someday becoming sellers. Contrast that with the subsequent, unprecedented downturn, the housing market transitioned into a deep, six-year hibernation. The sleeping giant, housing, has awakened. The most fascinating aspect of this latest shift in the market is that absolutely nobody forecasted this major step in a housing recovery.


 


Courtesy of the OC Register
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 09 May 2012 13:46:54 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/buying-a-home-wont-get-much-cheaper.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/buying-a-home-wont-get-much-cheaper.html</link>
            <author>tleocadio@sbcglobal.net (Tony Leocadio Admin)</author>
            <title>Buying a Home Won't Get Much Cheaper</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
 (CNNMoney) -- Buying a home may never get any cheaper than this. Several housing experts are predicting that this year will be the last chance for bargain hunters to cash in on the best deals of the weak housing market. 


With home prices down 34% nationally since 2006 and mortgage rates at historic lows, homes have never been more affordable -- but it won't stay this way for much longer.


Stuart Hoffman, chief economist for PNC Financial Services (PNC, Fortune 500), said he expects home prices to flatten out by the third quarter and start climbing by next year. 


A number of factors will help bolster the housing market, he said, including a decline in the number of foreclosures and continued job growth. In addition, homebuyers will have better access to mortgages as they get their finances in order and improve their credit scores. 


Some economists, like Trulia's Jed Kolko, expect home prices to pick up even more quickly. Trulia's data shows that the national average for asking prices already increased 1.4% in the first quarter of 2012, compared with the last three months of 2011.


Mortgage payments at lowest level in decades


"This is a strong indicator that we will start seeing home price indexes, like the S&amp;P/Case-Shiller, start to report home price increases this summer," he said. 


Prospective homebuyers who've been sitting on the fence shouldn't worry if they aren't quite ready to make the leap. Analysts are predicting that the initial price gains will be modest, at least, in most markets.


Hoffman, for example, is forecasting a 2% increase in 2013 compared with 2012. Meanwhile David Stiff, chief economist for Fiserv, predicts that prices will turn in the last quarter of 2012 and will rise 4.2% for the 12 months through September 2013. 


Foreclosures start to fade. One major factor that will drive the trend is the cooling of the foreclosure crisis. Stan Humphries, chief economist for Zillow, said that the percentage of mortgage loans 90 days or more late, a good predictor of future foreclosures, is "falling fast." 


That percentage dropped 15% year-over-year to 3.1% through the end of 2011, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. And the decline is accelerating: More than 70% of the decline came in the last three months of the year.


0:00/2:33Should you buy a home in 2012?



Before things slow down, however, buyers should brace themselves for a temporary spike in the number of foreclosures as banks start expediting the processing of hundreds of thousands foreclosures that were stuck in the system following the robo-signing scandal. That backlog should move more quickly now that new guidelines for processing foreclosures have been outlined in the $26 billion foreclosure settlement. 


Many of the bank-owned properties currently coming out of the foreclosure pipeline are being snapped up by investors who are fixing them up and renting them out -- often to those who were displaced by the foreclosure of their own home. That has helped to lift prices on foreclosed properties, according to Alex Villacorte, the director of analytics for Clear Capital, which specializes in housing market valuations. 


Home buying much cheaper than renting


"That could have a significant impact on the market overall in terms of providing a rising floor to home values," he said.


In some markets hit hard by foreclosures, the turnaround in prices is already underway. Phoenix recorded an 8.4% jump in home prices during the three months ended April 30, compared with the three months ended January 31, according to Clear Capital. 


"It's crazy," said Tanya Marchiol, founder of Team Investments, a Phoenix real estate investing firm. "Stuff I was selling six months ago for $60,000 to $80,000 is now $90,000 to $110,000."


Miami saw a 4.6% increase quarter-over-quarter through April, and Tampa, Fla., was up 4.4%, according to Clear Capital.


Goodbye 3.8% mortgage. In addition to home prices, mortgages could also move higher. 


Mortgage rates have been at or near historic lows for much of the past six months. The average interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage has not topped 4.5% since July 2011 and this week, it hit 3.84%, a new low.


But rates aren't expected to remain at these record-low levels much longer. As the economy continues to recover, rates will move higher, said Doug Lebda, CEO of LendingTree, the online lending site. Although, he said,  they will "stay very reasonable." 


The Mortgage Bankers Association is forecasting that the 30-year fixed will hit 4.5% by the end of the year.


Greater demand for loans will help fuel the increase, according to Lebda. 


6 Ways to get a great mortgage deal


Even though mortgage rates have been cheap, borrowing for home purchases has been sluggish. The Mortgage Bankers Association estimates that homebuyers will take out mortgage loans totaling about $415 billion this year, an increase of less than 3% compared with 2011. Next year, however, it forecasts that amount will almost double to $706 billion. 


As housing markets stabilize and prices stop falling, homebuyers will be even more confident about buying, said Humphries. 


"People can now see the light at the end of the tunnel," he said. "And that can be enough to get them off the fence." 
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Mon, 07 May 2012 15:53:51 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/multiple-offers-to-buy-homes-are-back.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/multiple-offers-to-buy-homes-are-back.html</link>
            <author>tleocadio@sbcglobal.net (Tony Leocadio Admin)</author>
            <title>Multiple offers to buy homes are back</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
The Orange County housing market is starting to rebound nicely. While median prices continue to be down, and most of the transactions are taking place in the first home price range, we are seeing houses under $2 million in all areas of Orange County moving faster than they have in the past couple of years.


We are seeing sellers happier about the prices they are getting, and our agents are the busiest they have been in years, with more buyers in all price ranges.


Us: In 2006, home sales stalled. We ended up with almost 18,000 homes on the market. Now, there are fewer than 7,000, lowest in seven years. Do we have a housing shortage?


Cam: I don’t know if I would call it a shortage, but it is definitely moving back toward being a seller’s market, especially in the affordable price range under $500,000.


Last month, in one of our offices, over 80% of the offers made were in a multiple offer situation. That is something that we have not seen in many years. There are not enough homes in the first-home price range, where we are seeing pent up demand absorbing the homes as soon as they come on the market.


The question is; will the distressed properties that still need to come on the market have an effect on the level of inventory in Orange County?  I doubt it, especially in the affordable range, but that remains to be seen.


Us: What’s the outlook for home buying and selling this spring?


  Real estate and real estate values are very localized business and therefore the supply and demand, as well as price trends across different markets and sub-markets (even in Orange County) vary.


Well, this is going to be a good spring for sellers who are selling homes compared to a year ago spring time (across all Orange County price ranges).  However, the demand for homes and condominiums under $500,000 (where the greatest concentration of all sales activity is) is far greater than supply.  In fact, we are seeing upward pressure on prices in this price range.


While the activity and pending sales in higher priced homes (from $1 million to $5 million) is improving, these sellers are going to have to continue to be patient and work with their agents to insure that their home is priced right and as importantly, that the home is marketed and staged properly.


As to home price trends and demand for homes between $500,000 to $1 million, the demand is not as great compared to the lower priced range homes in the affordable price range, but still stronger than homes priced over $1 million.


Of course, this is also a function of the geographical market location of the property within the county.  Clearly homes closer to the coastal markets (under $1 million), remain in more demand than Inland Markets and in some high-end coastal markets is non-existent.  Accordingly, for buyers, the additional demand we are seeing may create opportunities or challenges depending on the price segment being pursued.


Buyers need to work with their Realtor in evaluating the price trend in each segment and local market and decide how fast to make a move in order to avoid multiple offer situations where the property is priced well and marketed properly so that the best offer is made on a house upfront.  At First Team, we have tested and proven proprietary software that is designed to graphically do price trajectory for each neighborhood and community across the entire county to help guide buyers and sellers.


Us: Prices are still – not just down, but WAY down. How long until we see home prices rising again?


 Well when you look at prices below $750,000, you will see a stabilization taking place. Home prices are not dropping in this range, and in fact we are seeing homes in this range selling for more than the asking price right now. The keys to housing prices move up include a stronger economy in general – which we are seeing in O.C. earlier than the rest of the country; available credit – which we are just starting to see; more jobs – which is a positive trend in O.C.; and stronger consumer confidence – which appears to just be starting.


The other key point is that we have to clear out the distressed properties that the banks were sitting on which keeps putting pressure on prices and other sellers. While we are not completely through the distressed selling yet, we are making good strides and 2013 looks like a good time frame for those homes to have a reduced influence on the market.


Us: We’ve heard it before. The market is coming back. Heard it in 2009, 2010. Why should we believe it now when people say that?


 Well right now the key is that we are seeing homes staying on the market for a much shorter period of time, the overall inventory is lower than it has been in more than eight years, we are seeing multiple offers, and the economy is rebounding. This is the first time in many, many years that all of those macro conditions and signals are lining up favorably at the same time. We believe that this says we should have a stabilized 2012 and a stronger and improving 2013.


Us: CoreLogic reported that 11,000 O.C. homes were in some stage of foreclosure. More than 100,000 O.C. homes were under water. How long until the foreclosure crisis is behind us?


 The foreclosure situation is only a crisis if it is driving down the whole market, having a disproportionate effect, or overwhelming the system. I think that we have already passed that point.


While the foreclosure situation will continue to damper the whole housing market, we have already weathered the worst of it in O.C. While it is very hard on the families going through it, the market is doing a better job of getting those homes sold and owned by either other families or investors who are renting those homes to families who would like to live in them.


It is going to be a while until the situation is totally cleared up, but the market is showing signs of being able to handle the distressed homes that are coming on the market.


Us: So who is buying right now?


: It is an interesting mix of people who currently make up the buyers pool. First are first-time home buyers who have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the market to stabilize who are coming into the market in large numbers to buy a home, adding to the pent-up demand.


Second, in all price ranges above the affordable and  into multi-million-dollar price ranges in the coastal markets,  buyers are coming in, picking up the best locations and well-marketed homes, and getting a discount on the price, but paying all cash for the property.


Third are investors who believe they are buying low, they can rent out the properties and be cash flow positive, and they will get the upside in equity as the market continues to rebound. And fourth, we are continuing to see a strong international interest in living in O.C., and those buyers continue to play a significant role in the current housing market, especially in the over $1 million price range.


 


Courtesy of the OC REGISTER
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Sun, 06 May 2012 13:36:02 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/homeowners-bill-of-rights.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/homeowners-bill-of-rights.html</link>
            <author>tleocadio@sbcglobal.net (Tony Leocadio Admin)</author>
            <title>"Homeowners Bill of Rights"</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
























A anti-blight bill sponsored by Rialto 
Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter that is also part of a package of legislative 
proposals called the "Homeowner's Bill of Rights" is up for a vote today at the 
state Assembly. 



Carter's bill would maintain cities' power 
to issue heavy fines against owners of blighted properties. The bill would also 
offer a grace period to property owners making good faith efforts to keep 
properties in good shape. 



The Rialto assemblywoman's bill is one of 
the less controversial parts of the "Homeowners Bill of Rights," which a group 
of legislative Democrats proposed in an alliance with state Attorney General 
Kamala Harris. 



More heavily-debated proposals - opposed 
by the California banking industry - would increase documentation requirements 
for foreclosures and also prohibit the filing of a notice of default against any 
homeowner who makes a timely application for loan modification. 



Another of the more controversial bills 
would require creditors to create a single point of contact for borrowers facing 
foreclosure and create a $10,000 civil penalty for "robosigning," which would be 
defined as processing foreclosure-related papers that have not been checked for 
accuracy. 



The California Bankers Association opposes 
these proposals on the basis that they would create a virtual moratorium on 
foreclosures and thus increase incentives for "strategic defaults." 



 


 


Courtesy of the OC Register

















































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            <pubDate>Thu, 03 May 2012 18:39:38 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/home-sales-dollars-up-58-million-in-2012.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/home-sales-dollars-up-58-million-in-2012.html</link>
            <author>tleocadio@sbcglobal.net (Tony Leocadio Admin)</author>
            <title>Home sales dollars up $58 million in 2012</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Total dollars poured into homebuying rose slightly in Orange County during the first quarter of the year, generating the second-highest amount of revenue for home sellers and their agents since home prices melted down in 2008, figures from the California Regional Multiple Listing Service show.


Given the small number of homes currently on the market and reports about home sellers getting multiple offers, 2012 could shape up to be an improved year for housing.


 




Click to enlarge




On the other hand, there’s a dark side to the latest CR-MLS report.


Revenue still is down 16% from the first quarter average for the past eight years. And average home prices remain below year-ago levels this year so far.


The regional MLS tracks housing data for homes sold through the broker-run property-listing database. The numbers show:




Orange County home sales generated $3.18 billion in Q1 2012.


That’s up nearly $58 million — or 1.9% — from the first quarter of 2011, when home sales generated $3.12 billion.


Sales revenue this year is almost $554 million greater than in 2008, when dollars generated from first-quarter sales fell to a post-boom low of $2.63 billion.


Looking at the impact on the industry, real estate commissions likely increased roughly by $3.5 million over 2011 levels and by $33.2 million from 2008.




Despite lower home prices, the MLS’s latest data show that home sales dollars were up in March, driven by a gain in homes changing hands.


The latest MLS report shows further:




That the combined value of all homes sold in Orange County totaled $1.35 billion in March.


That’s $59.2 million — or 4.6% — higher than the total revenue generated a year earlier.


March’s total was 16.6% less than the March average of $1.6 billion for the past eight years. And it’s 48% less than in 2005, when home sales here generated $2.6 billion.


Last month’s total equates to approximately $80.8 million in real estate agent commissions (assuming that the typical commission is plus or minus 6%). That’s $3.6 million more than was generated in March of last year and $74.6 million less than was paid to brokers and agents in March 2005.


There were 2,635 homes sold through the MLS in March , or 13.6% more than in March of last year.


But the average price fell 7.9% to $511,154.


Of the homes sold, 1,178 — or 44.7% — were either bank-owned or “short sales” (home selling for less than was owed on the mortgage).




Courtesy of the OC Register






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            <pubDate>Thu, 03 May 2012 18:37:26 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/pending-home-sales-increased1.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/pending-home-sales-increased1.html</link>
            <author>tparise@sbcglobal.net (Tony Parise)</author>
            <title>Pending home sales increased </title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 


 


 


 


 


 




March Pending Home Sales Rise, Market Recovering!


Monday, April 30th, 2012 at 11:01am. 6 Views, 0 Comments.

 




Pending home sales increased in March and are well above a year ago, another signal the housing market is recovering, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 4.1 percent to 101.4 in March from an upwardly revised 97.4 in February and is 12.8 percent above March 2011 when it was 89.9. The data reflects contracts but not closings.The index is now at the highest level since April 2010 when it reached 111.3.Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said 2012 is expected to be a year of recovery for housing. "First quarter sales closings were the highest first quarter sales in five years. The latest contract signing activity suggests the…

 


 




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            <pubDate>Tue, 01 May 2012 16:24:24 -0500</pubDate>
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            <author>tparise@sbcglobal.net (Tony Parise)</author>
            <title>Pending home sales increased </title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 


 


 


 


 


 




March Pending Home Sales Rise, Market Recovering!


Monday, April 30th, 2012 at 11:01am. 6 Views, 0 Comments.

 




Pending home sales increased in March and are well above a year ago, another signal the housing market is recovering, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 4.1 percent to 101.4 in March from an upwardly revised 97.4 in February and is 12.8 percent above March 2011 when it was 89.9. The data reflects contracts but not closings.The index is now at the highest level since April 2010 when it reached 111.3.Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said 2012 is expected to be a year of recovery for housing. "First quarter sales closings were the highest first quarter sales in five years. The latest contract signing activity suggests the…

 


 




Read Full Post » 


 




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            <pubDate>Tue, 01 May 2012 16:24:16 -0500</pubDate>
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            <link>http://www.youragentgreg.com/blog/monday-april-30-2012-mortgage-rates-moved-into-record-low.html</link>
            <author>tparise@sbcglobal.net (Tony Parise)</author>
            <title>Monday, April 30, 2012— Mortgage rates moved into record low </title>
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Mortgage Rates dip to New Lows 


Monday, April 30th, 2012 at 11:04am. 4 Views, 0 Comments. 


 


 


Monday, April 30, 2012— Mortgage rates moved into record low territory again last week, with the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate ticking lower to 4.09 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.43 discount and origination points. The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate pulled back to 3.28 percent—also a record low t—while the jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage held at 4.61 percent. Adjustable mortgage rates were mixed, with the average 3-year adjustable down for a third consecutive week to a new low of 3.06 percent, while the 7-year and 10-year ARMs both inched higher, to 3.20 percent and 3.53 percent, respectively. Although… 


 


 


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            <pubDate>Tue, 01 May 2012 16:21:36 -0500</pubDate>
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