July 2009

California & Orange County Home Buyers Motivated By Price

Hartanov Team

Friday, July 24th, 2009 at 2:37pm. 188 Views, 0 Comments.

California and Orange County home buyers were motivated to buy a home because of decreasing prices, according the the California Association of Realtors's 2009 Survey of California Home Buyers. Other surevy results include:

• Number of first-time buyers rose to 38 percent in 2009, compared with 19 percent in 2008.
  
• 68 percent of buyers said price decreases motivated them to buy a home.
  
• 39 percent reported low interest rates helped them move to a better location.
  
• 49 percent of all buyers purchased a home through a traditional market sale.
  
• 38 percent purchased a REO/bank-owned property.
  
• 13 percent of buyers purchased a short-sale property.
  
• 88 percent of traditional market sales were financed through fixed-rate mortgages.
  
• 75 percent of short sales were financed through…

Read Full Post

Orange County CA Foreclosure Trends - June 2009

Hartanov Team

Saturday, July 18th, 2009 at 7:27am. 193 Views, 0 Comments.

There are 25,872 Orange County CA foreclosure homes with an average sales price of $383,706. There were 4,961 new foreclosure filings in Orange County in June, according to RealtyTrac.com.
Orange County CA Foreclosure Activity and Home Price Index

Foreclosure activity slightly higher in June compared to May figures. Home appreciation in June increased compared to the month prior.

Read Full Post

Jumbo Loan Market Hard Hit

Hartanov Team

Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 4:58pm. 195 Views, 0 Comments.

The jumbo mortgage market has been severely restricted, with climbing interest rates and limited availability, and these problems are affecting the entire housing market.

According to insights from National Association of Realtors research, sales of homes priced above $750,000 have stalled and inventory has climbed from 18.7 months in 2007 to 41.1 months in 2009.

While mortgage rates on conforming loans up to $417,000 are near 50-year lows, jumbo loans currently carry unusually high interest rates. In many cases, wary lenders with overly stringent credit standards add to the problem by treating jumbo loan applicants with high credit scores and sizeable down payments as higher risks than buyers in the conforming market who have lower credit scores and less…

Read Full Post

How To Use Tax Credit For Home Buying Expenses

Hartanov Team

Friday, July 3rd, 2009 at 8:10am. 199 Views, 0 Comments.

Until recently, the $8000 first-time home buyer tax credit could only be accessed when you filed your tax return. The Federal Housing Administration has changed this be adding another component to the temporary $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit. Qualified FHA buyers now have the option of monetizing the funds.

Through short-term bridge loans, buyers can access the money immediately instead of amending their 2008 tax return or waiting to file in 2009.

These buyers then have the option of adding it to their FHA-required 3.5 percent down payment, covering closing costs or buying down their interest rate. Instead of having the money after the fact, you can now use the tax credit to help you buy a home.

Interested in learning more. Visit…

Read Full Post