New homes sales slip for February, prices go up

The numbers are out for the real estate market for the month of February, and it appears that the sale of new single family homes fell, but the prices of homes went up. A recent article on CNBC has the figures, to read the full article click on the link. A few numbers stood out for me as a REALTOR in San Diego.

“The Commerce Department said on Friday sales slipped 1.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted 313,000-unit annual rate. January’s sales pace was revised down to 318,000 units from the previously reported 321,000 units.

Sales for November and December were revised up a bit.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales at a 325,000-unit rate in February. Compared to February last year, new home sales were up 11.4 percent.

The median price for a new home rose 8.3 percent to $233,700, the highest level since June. Compared to February last year, the median price was up 6.2 percent.”

Homes for sale in San Diego

A duplex in Mission Hills, San Diego for sale for a little over $525 000

These numbers are across the nation, for the San Diego real estate market I would agree the number of sales have dropped. The reason for sales dropping in the San Diego real estate market from what I observe is the lack of inventory. I work with a number of buyers in a few different price points, and right now we are really not seeing a huge amount of inventory to work with. All my buyers are new home buyers and investors so they are waiting for the right deal, but they are not it any rush. I was with a fellow REALTOR last week and we both commented we have great pipelines of buyers, just a lack of inventory. So seeing this article say sales were down makes sense to me, but not because of any reason other than lack of inventory.

I know there is a huge inventory of homes that are sitting on the foreclosure list, the reason I know this I worked with a company that was putting door hangers on homes that were in foreclosure. One day we decided to go knock on some of their doors, to our surprise almost 80% were empty and abandoned. So think about that for a moment, the bank has homes in their inventory right now, where they are uninhabited, yet they are not available for sale. The banks really need to talk to their third party inspectors, find out which homes are vacant, and put these homes on the market. The banks are assuming that people are living in these homes, the reality is many of them have already moved out of state, or elsewhere and the home is empty. You cannot help these people by delaying the foreclosure process, they are gone already. Putting these homes up on the market would pick up the sales figure and we can get more new home owners in the system.

The other part of the story from CNBC was the increase in price, I got to say as REALTOR in San Diego that probably sees about 25 homes a week, I have yet to see the price go up on a home that I have on my prospects lists. That list by the way is over 300 homes in San Diego, I see plenty of price reductions, and expired listings, but no price increases. My lowest buyer is for $400k, and my highest is at $1.6 million, so not to see any price increases is a pretty large spectrum. That being said, a friend of mine listed their home in Encinitas for sale, and will end up selling it for more than they asked for it. The reason is they got multiple offers from committed buyers who wanted their home. So if that qualifies as an increase in price than I can see in those situations the numbers being swayed. I have yet to offer more for a home for any of my buyers, and on average the offer I get accepted is about 5 to 10% below asking price.

I can only hope the banks pull their act together, and see who needs help in their homes, and who has abandoned their home. Put those homes back on the market, and with the current pool of real estate buyers the homes will move quickly. If you are thinking about buying a home in San Diego to live in, or for investment purposes I would love to help you. Downtown San Diego has 206 condo’s for sale right now from as low as $180 000 for a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom. For around $380 000, you can get fully upgraded 3 bedroom home in the Clairemont area of San Diego. If you have cash you can move on some great real estate deals very quickly, with financing it’s a little tougher if you are looking for a condo due to HOA issues, buying a home is easier with a loan right now. You can call me at 858-314-8145 or fill out the contact form on the top right side of the screen.

There is no doubt if you have the financial ability to buy a home, it’s better to own then to rent in this low price real estate market. The potential to make money while you live in your home at today’s prices is pretty close to slam dunk even if the market at some points goes back to 70% of what it was. Case in point I just sold a condo out by San Diego State that at the height of the market was worth almost $300 000, the new buyer picked it up for $110 000, for this 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo. If it goes back to $200 000, the buyer will make $90 000 on their investment. Think about it, let’s talk, I can show you other examples just like this, where the chance to almost double your money on your real estate investment is very possible.

Thanks for taking the time to read my opinion on the Real Estate market in San Diego, real estate is very much a referral driven business. If you know of anyone that is looking for a home I would love the referral, and I look forward to helping many more buyers get homes in sunny San Diego.

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Good time to buy a new home in San Diego

USA Today wrote a great article about the falling prices of real estate, and whether it is a good time to buy a new home. As a REALTOR here in San Diego I see a lot of great real estate deals, right now the home market is a little dry but the condo market has a large inventory.  What I liked in the article was they quoted two great wealth makers, Warren Buffet and Donald Trump. Both of these men have shown a great talent for acquiring wealth and taking advantage of drops in the economy to increase their wealth.

“Housing is one of the great investments right now. I tell people all the time when they come up to me, they say, “What should I do, Mr. Trump?” I say go buy a house,” said Donald Trump recently in an appearance on CNBC

“legendary investor Warren Buffett’s recent declaration that if he had a way to manage them, he would buy a couple of hundred thousand single family homes and rent them out.”

As you see the wealth of this country is on to the fact that there are great deals in real estate, and if you have the money, preferably cash you can pick some great real estate right here in San Diego. I say preferably cash only because it enables you to move quickly and have shorter escrows and less contingencies. As attractive as that is with the banks interest rates so low, if you qualify you would be smart to use a loan rather than your cash since who knows what the future holds.

Good time to buy a home in San Diego

Buy a new home in San Diego, or a real estate investment property

I am currently working with multiple buyers here in San Diego and I am seeing a few different signs in the real estate market in San Diego. First off, a large amount of properties are sitting on the market for a long time, they then either continue to drop in price or are taken off the market. Second, I am seeing amazing fully refurbished homes in the $400 000 range in the Clairemont area. These homes have all the upgrades and are ready to move in, the benefit of Clairemont is easy access to freeways and schools. The last trend I am noticing is a huge amount of short sales that get approved by the bank, and the buyer does not qualify, so the home is left on the market. That to me is a huge opportunity for real estate investors in San Diego since the bank has already approved the short sale and you can close very quickly.

I am also working with real estate investors looking to buy condos and town homes in San Diego and rent them out, with positive cash flow, a hold time of 5 to 7 years, these investors are pretty close to guaranteed a very nice return on investment.

If you are looking to buy a new home for yourself, or as a real estate investment in San Diego I would love to help you out. To contact me you can call me Gavin Linde, at 858-314-8145 or contact me by filling out the contact us form on my Real Estate BLOG. We finally got acceptance on my short sale in the San Diego State area, the buyer picked it up for $110 000. What a great real estate investment for the buyer, and a relieve for my seller.

I do have to say I get asked a lot is this the bottom of the real estate market here in San Diego. My answer is NO, we are in the window of the bottom but not the bottom yet, with all the foreclosures, short sales, and strategic defaults on the horizon prices are still going to drop, in my opinion.

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San Diego home prices continue to fall as foreclosures loom

This morning The S&P/Case-Shiller Index of property values was released, and the property values 3.4% from October of 2010. Bloomberg covered the drop in estimates, you can read the full article here. I took note of  few points that made total sense to me as a REALTOR here in San Diego.

” The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities dropped 3.4 percent from October 2010 after decreasing 3.5 percent in the year ended September, the New York-based group said today. The median forecast of 27 economists in a Bloomberg News survey projected a 3.2 percent decrease.

The real-estate market is bracing for another wave of foreclosures that may keep pressure on home prices, indicating any housing recovery will take time to develop.”

I really think that percentage drop is a little light in my opinion, since it take 20 cities across the US. When I take clients looking to buy a new home in San Diego I am seeing home prices close to 2003 sales prices in many areas of San Diego. I agree with the wave of foreclosures that are going to hit the real estate market in San Diego. When I take a look at Foreclosure Radar I see way to many homes in the foreclosure process, and it seems like the bank have their act together more too.

San Diego real estate prices continue to fall as foreclosures loom

San Diego home prices continue to drop as foreclosures loom

My short sale listing in the San Diego State University area is at the bank right now and is expected to close in less than 120 days as per escrow, that is down from the 6 months or more it used to take to close a short sale. You have to remember my client has a note for almost $250k and we submitted an offer for $110 to the bank. That’s over half price and is the current fair market rate for a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo in that building.

The whole fair market value is based on what other properties in that area, and of that size sell for. Can you imagine when the foreclosure hit what will happen to the value of properties surrounding it, they will fall significantly. I am taking a client tomorrow to see a home in Bird Rock that is almost 3300 sq foot and is going for between 950k and 1.1 million dollars. This same home was close to $2 million when the economy was at its peak. Right now I am working with a few real estate investment clients that are looking to buy homes that they can rent out with cash flow potential. From downtown San Diego to Del Mar you have properties that are prime for this time of investment property investor. This is due to the fact of the huge amount of units that were built in the last 7 years that rent out very easily because they are close to major freeways.

If you are thinking of buying a new home in San Diego, or buying an investment property to rent out I would love to help you. You can always contact me through my web site at www.gl-investments.com or you can call me 858-314-8145.

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Home prices across the United States are at 2003 pricing

The recent article in USA Today about current home prices and home ownership has some good points, being a REALTOR in San Diego I definitely see many of these issues on a daily basis. Some points that stood out to me from the article were:

“Consumer attitudes have gotten a lot more negative about long-term commitment,” said Standard and Poors’ David Blitzer, after reporting home prices through September had fallen a deeper-than-expected 3.9%, compared with the third quarter of 2010. “They dropped to new lows. This takes them below the point we saw in 2009, where briefly we all thought this thing was about to turn around.”

“Every time we think things are turning around in the housing market, we get hit with some new problem, like last year’s so-called “robo-signing” foreclosure paperwork scandal, which managed to stall the cleansing of distress in the market for over a year. Now that foreclosures are ramping up again, prices are coming down again.”

To be polite let’s just say the current real estate market is a mess. Prices are definitely not at the bottom, and as much as the news and maybe your REALTOR wants you to believe they are, I am still seeing a consistent drop each month in the prices of real estate in San Diego. Not to mention the huge inventory of real estate the banks are sitting on, either waiting to foreclose on, or waiting to put on the market for some reason.

Condo prices across the United States are at 2003 pricing
6955 Alvarado Road Condo on the market for $100 to $120 000

Recently I am coming up with a new issue and that is in the San Diego condominium market, the HOA’s have not maintained their certs. That means if you attempt to purchase a condo in San Diego, and your offer gets submitted, only once you are in escrow do they ask for the condo cert from the HOA. Without that being current, most large institutional lenders will not do the loan, that means cash offers only. (There are some lenders that claim they can get a loan done without current HOA certs for qualified buyers. They are called limited review lenders. Personally I do not see how that possible to make a loan when you are aware there could be issues with the property.)

I just had that come up on my listing at 6955 Alvarado Road, by San Diego State. This listing is a short sale, and one of our offers was a financed offer with 30% down. Right before we accepted another REALTOR told me that a deal in that complex had fallen out of Escrow because the HOA certs were not current, so I have now changed my listing on the MLS to cash offers only till we figure this out. A condo cert addresses owner occupancy rates, litigation and  levels of delinquent HOA dues

My other buyers right now are all holding on the sidelines to see what happens since most who started looking for homes this year have seen the prices of the homes they are looking at continuously drop. Since they are cash buyers that would be money they are losing instantly out of pocket. One of the home I sold at the beginning of this year in downtown dropped in value almost $50 000 in less than 60 days after we purchased it. He financed it and is there for the long term but was still upset. If he was a cash buyer he would be out of pocket $50 000 immediately. Another one of my buyers is looking for homes in Mission Hills, one of the homes we looked at in June that we almost put an offer in on dropped over $200 000 less than 60 days later. The reality is even with these low interest rates tempting people to buy a home, it’s still very unstable.

The flip side is how much lower are we really going to go, and if you really find the perfect home for you then buy it, and that is the point I am with my buyers right now. The tough part is finding that perfect home, because there is not a lot of single family home inventory in San Diego. On the other hand there is a huge inventory of condos right now in San Diego, some of them are truly steals, so it’s going to be interesting to see what happens with these condo certs.

Now is a great time if you are interested in buying a new home in San Diego to live in or as an investment. If you would like to some help finding your new home or have any questions it would be my pleasure to help you, you can call me at 858-314-8145 or through my web site at http://gl-investments.com/contact/.

 

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Real estate prices continue to fall in San Diego

Home prices continue to fall in San Diego and the rest of the country for a variety of reasons. This morning’s article in USA Today shows some of the real estate price drops from the third quarter. Below are some numbers from the article that stands out to me a Realtor here in San Diego working with buyers.

“Most analysts say they expect prices to sink further because unemployment remains high and many more millions of foreclosures are anticipated over the next few years”

“Sales are on pace to finish this year behind last year, lowest in 13 years, even though the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgages is hovering near a historically low 4%.”

I am working with about half a dozen buyers right now in San Diego and feeling comfortable buying a home right now is a tough sell. The last property I sold in Golden Hills was a great deal for my buyer because the lot was huge and the home was incredibly renovated. Another home I sold in downtown San Diego has lost 10% already since my buyer bought, that is a huge drop in less than 6 months. The good news is his home is brand new, and he plans on living there for at least the next 7 years, so in the end he will be fine.

Real estate prices continue to fall in San Diego and the rest of the nation

Great rental investment oppertunity as Real estate prices continue to fall in San Diego

 When I show homes to my buyers I am noticing many of the homes in San Diego on the MLS right now are older homes that need renovation. I am also noticing a drop of at least 1% a month so far this year on the homes in San Diego that are listed for sale. REO properties in San Diego are very rare since the banks are trying to save the home owners, and the condominium market is dominating the listing. The downside here to my buyers is the Home Owners Association fees, they are still way to high.

I have a San Diego State University Condominium for sale listing at 6955 Alvarado Rd #54, CA 92120, and after 5 weeks on the market we have received just 2 offers so far. The HOA on this property is $310 a month which is a huge deterrent for buyers. Most buyers do not want to even think about buying a condominium in San Diego right now because of the high HOA’s unless it’s an investment property for them. My new home buyers are mostly cash buyers too so when buying a home for cash any drop in the price is a drop out of your pocket instantly since it’s not like a mortgage amortized over 30 years.

If you are in the market to buy a home in San Diego and you are approved for a loan, then it’s a great time to contact a Realtor and start looking at homes. My opinion is we still have room to go down, but the effects of that will cause even more problems with the future comps. The flipside is buying a home in San Diego right now at these prices beats the money you are paying in rent every day, why renters that qualify to own a home are still renting blows my mind. If you are renting a home in San Diego and you are qualified to buy a home let me show you the properties in your price range, you will be amazed at the selection of homes right now on the MLS to fit any budget. You can contact me, Gavin Linde by phone at 858 314 8145, or through email by filling out this contact me form. Buying a home in San Diego is a great investment in your future, a great tax deduction, and a sense of pride in owning your own real estate in sunny San Diego.

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San Diego State Condo for sale 6955 Alvarado Rd #54, CA 92120

I just listed a condo for sale by San Diego State University, SDSU, for between $100 000 and $120 000. This 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo located at 6955 Alvarado Rd #54, San Diego, CA 92120 can be seen on Redfin if you are not a realtor with access to the MLS. To see the condo for sale listing on Redfin just click the link.

This 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condominium is great For Investor or First Time Home buyer! Super Clean and Spacious 2 Bed 2 Bath Condo. Located Close to Freeways, the trolley, and SDSU. Perfect for SDSU Student or for someone looking for a condo as a rental investment. The last condo sold in this building for $121 000, so this one should go somewhere in the range of $100 000 to $120 000. For those familiar with this area of San Diego it is right across the street from DZ Akins, the trolley is quarter mile up the street too. If you continue west on Alvarado you drive right into San Diego State University.

Condo’s similar to this one rent for around $1200 a month which makes it a great rental investment opportunity. At the height of the market this condo was appraise for $290 000, so even if it recovers to $200 000 in the next 5 to 7 years it’s a great investment in my opinion for as little $25 000 down payment.

San Diego State Condominium for sale 6955 Alvarado Rd #54, CA 92120
San Diego State Condominium for sale 6955 Alvarado Rd #54, CA 92120, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms

To see what it would cost for you to buy this condominium by SDSU at the current market rates I like to look at the Google mortgage calculator. These calculators give you a good idea of what your monthly mortgage will be, and shows you multiple lenders rates. When I plug in a purchase price of $120 000, with 20% down, I get an average monthly payment of around $515 per month. The home owners association fees for this condo are $310 per month, and lets estimate taxes at 1% of total price per month, so that’s another $120 per month. If you add that together you get a monthly payment of roughly $945. With rents in that area at $1200 less your monthly payment you could have cash flow of $255 per month, or $3060 per year, if you purchased this a rental property.

This sales is a short sale and is subject to lender approval. If you are interested in purchasing this property as a rental investment, or as a primary residence I would love to help you. You can contact Gavin Linde  at GL Investments or you can call me directly at 858 314 8145. To see another example of a rental property in San Diego I did one case study for a downtown investment property and for a UTC/La Jolla investment property. What I like about the prices of these investment properties is the cash flow relative to the 20% down, the upside can be tremendous once the property markets settle in the future. All signs are also pointing to higher rent prices as the peoples who lost their home to foreclosure are moving into rental. If you have good credit and some money for a down payment now is great time to buy a new home, or buy a rental investment property in my opinion.

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Buying an investment property in San Diego for you or your children

The San Diego real estate market continues offer great opportunities to either buy a new home or to buy and investment property. A recent article on MortgageLoan.com commented on how the demand for rental homes is up sharply.  The statement below from the article is spot on with what I am seeing as a Realtor here in San Diego.

Rental demand has surged over the past year, with the number of tenant households increasing by 4 percent in one of the few sectors of the housing market that is showing strong growth.

Although some of those were due to former homeowners forced into tenant status by foreclosure or other financial stresses, the majority were merely young people who chose to not to pursue homeownership during a period of economic uncertainty. That’ according to Freddie Mac’s most recent Housing and Economic Analysis, released this week.”

One of the areas in San Diego I have seen hit the hardest is the downtown area, where condominiums are selling for up to 50% below the peak price. Due to factors such as low owner occupancy and high HOA fees you are seeing these units sit on the MLS for long periods of time. Getting loans on some of these building is very hard and the cash buyers are seeing value in buying single family homes with no HOA fees. Many of the past owners of these condo’s lost their property in foreclosures or short sales and are now renters. Take a look at a case study I did of the downtown rental market in San Diego recently, great positive cash flow from a newer condo in downtown.

Another area where I am seeing a large condo inventory is UTC, University Town Center.

Buying an investment property in San Diego for you or your children

Buying a rental investment property in San Diego for you or your children

I went on to Craigslist here in San Diego and pulled up an apartment rental in the UTC area, this is close to La Jolla, all major freeways, and the University of California San Diego campus. The apartment that caught my eye was a 2 bed, 1-1/2 bath end unit condo. Attached 2 car garage. Tennis courts and pool. New carpet, newer linoleum, and fixtures. Washer and dryer, located in the Woodlands Condo area in La Jolla very close to UTC. As you can see this property is being rented out for $1700 per month

I then pulled a similar property in the Woodlands Condo area that was recently listed on the MLS and is currently contingent. This property has the same layout and was listed at $240 000. When I take the sales price and put it into the Google Mortgage Calculator with 20% down I get an average monthly payment of $916 per month. The HOA fees for this condo are $250 per month and an estimated tax would be another $240 per month. If you take the $916 + $250 + $240 = $1406. This condo rents for $1700, this would give you a positive cash flow of $294 per month, or $3528 per year.

In 2008 these units were selling for on average about $360 000, so the potential to sell it in 7 to 10 years and make a great return is there. My point is right now if you live in San Diego, have cash in the bank, or equity in your home, picking up an investment property for a rental is not a bad idea. If you are a recent college graduate, or a young adult that has just moved back in with your parents, talk to them about investing in some real estate for you. For a condo like the one above with a roommate the mortgage payment would be even lower. If you split the rent fairly it would $850 per person, that would take the cash flow per month to $1144 ($294 + $850).

If you are interested in buying a home in San Diego for you, your family your child, or a home as an investment property for a rental now is a great time to start looking. Give me a call at 858 314 8145, or you can contact me by email. If you are on Facebook or Twitter or both we would love to have you as friend.

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Great time to buy a home in San Diego with the 30 year mortgage rate at 4.01%

Everyone keeps saying in the real estate market we are at the bottom, I think we still have a ways to go. With the 30 year interest rate dropping this week to 4.01% it adds some spending power to new home buyers. A lower interest rates means those new home buyers that are renting at a comfortable payment form them can now buy a home for more in San Diego for the same payment as rent, or if pre qualified for a fixed amount your payments would now be lower each month.

Great time to buy a home in San Diego with the 30 year mortgage rate is at 4.01%

Great time to buy a home in San Diego with the 30 year mortgage rate is at 4.01%

 To illustrate what this means to a new home buyer, take a look at my article from July on buying a rental property in San Diego as an investment. My example back then was as follows:

“I went into MLS and pulled up units for sale in Aqua Vista and currently only found a 3 bedroom. When I switched my search to sold I found a 1 bedroom exactly like the one for rent that sold in January of last year for $175k.

So just to run some simple numbers on this property with a basic Google mortgage calculator with 20% down, your payments as the owner on this property would be around $750 plus the HOA’s for this type of unit are $519, so your total monthly would around $1269. This unit is renting for $1700 a month, which would give you positive cash flow of $431 per month, or $5172 per year.”

Now let’s run this same scenario of $175 000, with today’s interest rates, and you use the same Google Mortgage calculator, with 20% down, your payments are now $658 a month, so that is almost a $100 cheaper a month for the same property in downtown San Diego. With a extra $1200 per year in cash flow. I wish I would of taken note of the interest rate back in July so I could illustrate the difference, but the almost $100 savings a month is powerful enough I think.

As I am constantly looking for homes in San Diego for buyers I am noticing that the homes are sitting on the MLS for a very long time, and then they go through the reduction stage, and if they don’t sell at that point, they either go into short sale, foreclosure, or the owner takes it off the market. I am also noticing the owners of homes in San Diego, especially in the over a million dollars range are switching agents and then relisting the home as new home for sale on the MLS. That is just irritating my buyers, and me too, because we do not have a large amount of inventory right now, and it adds a new home for sale that is not really a new home.

Me personally I see interest rates coming down even more, the problem is financing is very strict and time consuming. The last home I sold went 1 week late in Escrow because the bank changed some personnel and some policies and we almost lost the deal. Everything worked out in the end, and I have to say the bank took care of my client as if he was the President, I have never seen such amazing customer service.

I keep saying this, now is a great time to start thinking about buying a home in San Diego if you qualify for a loan, cash buyers are totally different since they can move in and out of transactions quicker. So if you are thinking about buying a home in San Diego give me a call at 858 314 8145, now is a great time to start looking.

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Mortgage defaults rise sharply in August and median prices of a homes drop further

It sure is an interesting time for real estate right now in San Diego and across the country. Even with the low mortgage rates and the strong desire to buy a home in San Diego, buyer still have a hard time qualifying for a loan.

Today on yahoo new they reported that mortgage defaults surged from August to July, to read the full article click here. I bolded the statements that stood out to me.

In all, 228,098 U.S. homes received a foreclosure-related notice last month, a 7 percent increase from July, but a nearly 33 percent decline from August last year. That translates to one in every 570 U.S. households, said RealtyTrac. California saw a 55 percent increase in homes receiving a default notice last month, while in Indiana they climbed 46 percent. Foreclosures weigh down home values and create uncertainty among would-be homebuyers who fret over prospects that prices may further decline as more foreclosures hit the market. There are about 3.7 million more homes in some stage of foreclosure now than there would be in a normal housing market, according to Citi analyst Josh Levin.”

I hope the banks figure this out quicker since the housing market will not recover until we clear these homes out of the pipeline. It also makes new home buyers nervous to buy a home in San Diego because they fear the bottom is not there yet. I personally think we are in the window of the bottom of the San Diego real estate market, the prices will drop further but not much. I understand my cash buyer being hesitant right now because any drop is cash out of their pocket immediately. As opposed to my buyers that are financing their purchase over 30 years.

I am seeing a lot of price reductions right now on home in San Diego as I get my MLS updates each week for my client. What I am not seeing is to many new homes coming on to the market, so I hope so of these homes do get foreclosed on so we can get more inventory. Home in San Diego right now are just sitting on the market in my searches, and after price reductions many are getting close to having to be a short sale.

Something needs to happen soon to get the real estate market in San Diego moving for buyers, I am seeing a huge increase in rental property available and I am advising buyers to think about purchase rental income properties right now. If you have not read my case study on buying a down town San Diego property for rental investment read it and you will see the potential for great returns in the next 5 to 7 years with cash flow.

Thanks again for reading http://www.gl-investments.com, if you are looking to buy a home in San Diego to live in or to rent out please call me at 858 314 8145, I would love to help you. You can also find GL Investments on Facebook and Twitter.

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Mortgage applications continue to decline as fewer homes are sold

If you are looking to buy a home in San Diego right now it’s a great time to start looking at your options. First though you have to see what your financing status is before you begin this process, because if you are not paying cash the loan restrictions are pretty tight.

Today CNBC reported that mortgage applications and refinance application continue to decline, to read this article click here.  A summary of this article is pretty much the numbers.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, dropped 9.6 percent in the week ended August 26.”

As a REALTOR here in San Diego that makes total sense to me I am seeing my buyers are very much in the looking stage and less in the buying stage right now. Unless it’s a great deal like a home we found in Golden Hills for under 300k and is exactly what my buyer wants. My other buyers are being very picky since honestly they can be in this San Diego real estate market.

Mortgage applications continue to decline as fewer homes are sold

Mortgage applications continue to decline as fewer homes are sold

I have buyers looking in the six figures in Mission Hills and La Jolla and the amount of choices they have are tremendous. The reason they are not buying is because the prices keep getting reduced or the house is taken off the market. Hence the above report of the decline in mortgage applications.

What you are seeing right now are sellers that either have a low cost basis in their homes and want to sell, children who inherited the home, or short sales due to financial troubles. The normal sellers don’t want to let their prized possession go for the current market prices unless they have owned if for over 15 years and never refinanced. So on those cases they take them off the market, and my buyers lose their home as an option to buy. What we are buying are homes where the owner is either relocated for work, or new developments where the builders are selling for cost.

The rest of the homes for sale in San Diego are sitting on the market right now and most are very close to short sales. I also read today that Bank of America is selling off some of its mortgage business, if that is true I wonder if the new owners will just flood the market with the foreclosures or turn them into investment properties and collect rent.

The window of opportunity to buy a home in San Diego is now, it might not be the bottom, but it is really close and with interest rates at around 4.32% for a 30 year fixed your payments will be close if not less then what your rent is now.

Give me a call, I would love to help you find a new home, 858 314-8145, or you can contact me here. If you are more aggressive there are also a boatload of duplexes in San Diego for investment property that I am scouting for a buyer and its truly amazing the inventory and the prices for these multi-family homes in San Diego.

The benefit for buying a multi-family home in San Diego is you can rent some out and live in the one, it’s a great tax write off and the rental income offsets your mortgage.

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