OC Housing Blog

Some improvement is projected for existing-home sales in the months ahead, with broader gains seen by the fourth quarter as buyers take advantage of new provisions provided through the recently passed housing stimulus bill, according to the latest forecast by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

The Pending Home Sales Index is a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in June. This index rose 5.3 percent to 89.0 from a downwardly revised reading of 84.5 in May, but remains 12.3 percent below June 2007 when it stood at 101.4.

The fluctuating data indicates a housing market in transition -which is no surprise. However, the rise in pending home sales was country wide with all four regions showing gains. This is a welcome development because a rise in contract activity is necessary for an overall housing recovery. Analysts are expecting that with the tax credit now available to first-time home buyers and increases in home sales with trend could be sustained into 2009

Across the Region

• South: jumped 9.3 percent to 92.4 in June but is 16.6 percent below June 2007.
• West: rose 4.6 percent to 101.0 in June but remains 1.7 percent below a year ago.
• Northeast: increased 3.4 percent to 79.6 but is 15.4 percent below June 2007.
• Midwest: rose 1.3 percent in June to 79.6 but is 13.3 percent below a year ago.

The pickup in contract signings appears to be broadening with many affordable markets in mid-America now showing year-over-year gains

What about distressed properties?  There is a lot of competition for distressed properties, often generating multiple offers. Many are still selling for above their asking price. Plus, time on the market is relatively short so you must plan to act quickly!

 The current expected market time for foreclosures is 1.5 months.  Approximately 20% of the distressed inventory is foreclosures.  In comparison, approximately 80% are short sales.  The market time for short sales is just over 8 months.  The latest statistics are showing only 25% of listed short sale homes are actually closing escrow. Many short sales do remain on the market until they receive formal lender approval which probably contributes to the long market time, but also many people are avoiding them because of the process associated with purchasing this type of property.  Currently we are seeing many of these homes go off the market-not sure why? -But could be due to the increased willingness of lenders to negotiate loan modifications. Expect competition on all on short sales as well but be prepared to wait for as long as 45 days to hear an answer. Much of the current non-distressed properties are very competitively priced so don’t overlook some of the great homes that won’t require this tedious process!

The new “School Finder” website (www.SchoolFinder.ca.gov), jsut unveiled by Governor provides Academic Performance Index (API) scores, student-teacher ratios, and graduation rates. Data comes directly from the school districts to the state so the information is reliable and accurate. “School Finder” provides data on schools in every region of California, from elementary to high school, including traditional schools, alternative and adult education schools, as well as charter schools. The information of up to three schools can be viewed one next to another for an easy comparison of the merits of each.

There is still time to get your ticket for Irvine’s 5th Annual Public Schools Foundation House Raffle! Some of the drawings are over and early prizes have been awarded. Still time to win the house! Final day to enter is July 25th and drawing will be on August 9th. Visit http://ipsf.net/ to find out more! This years home is in the Cortile track in Woodbury. Good Luck!

The following information reflects real estate activity in Orange County, as reported in the SoCal MLS 06/27/2008:
OC sales reported to the MLS in the past week were over 1000 for the 7th consecutive week, compared to 671 for the same week last year. Inventory is at its lowest level since the end of February. Inventory typically rises through spring and summer, then peaks in late summer and early fall. This year, inventory has remained relatively stable, to this point of the year inventory peaked in mid-March and has declined slowly since then. Current inventory is actually less than it was the last week of December of last year. Compare that to 2007 when the inventory increased by 6000 homes from December of 2006 to the end of August 2007.
Current Market hotspots: Short sales and REO sales currently account for nearly 50% (49.68%) of the pending sales and about 37% of the current listings.

This is my first post in my new blog. My goal will be to keep you informed of real estate new relevant to the Irvine area!I hope you will find the writings here useful and informative and hopefully sometimes interesting! I will try and keep you informed of real estate new relevant to the Irvine area! Please visit often and leave a comment if you have one!