More on Tax Credits and Tax Savings for the Energy Efficient

Follow the link to this article for more about tax credits in the Stimulus Bill for being energy efficient, i.e., tankless and solar water heaters!

Your Next Home: Belmont Heights & Alamitos Heights Stats

Yes, there are a few single family properties that have been on the market for a long time, in this area there are 55 single family listings in "active" mode, and 3 properties have been on the market exactly one year or longer. Taking those out of the calculations, the average days on market (DOM) for this area is 104 days for the actives.

There are 12 in escrow--DOM of 67 excluding one of the sales that has been on the market for close to a year--and two sold in less than 14 days. Inventory as of January 6, 2009 showed 5.2 months of inventory supply (all property types) for Long Beach--compare that to 8.1 months of inventory supply for January, 2008.

For 90803 zip code (Belmont Heights, Naples, Belmont Shore, Bluff Park) in January 2009, the inventory supply is at 6.8 months.

Did you know that 6 months is considered the national turning point for a change to or from a buyer's or seller's market? Meaning less than 6 months inventory on the market (the amount of time it would take to sell all properties on the market at the current selling rate) is when the market flips over to favoring the seller.

If you'd like the market picture for your neighborhood or area of interest, I have that information also available by e-mail.

So if you're interested in this area, there are some great opportunities especially considering the interest rates which lowers your monthly payment, saving you thousands of dollars over the life of your loan. Take a look again at my December post on the cost of waiting to buy.

Your New Home in the Long Beach Ranchos

A favorite area of Long Beach is "the Ranchos", a neighborhood of houses developed and built by Cliff May.

Built when the California ranch style home was really coming into style, these economical houses were the "tract home" version of the newly popular ranch style. They commonly feature interior courtyards and open floor plans, which are two of the reasons they are still so popular. Updated homes have improved cooling and insulation, but the overall characteristics of well lit rooms, open kitchens and living rooms, and large sliding glass doors to the outdoors, are what popularized the "Southern California lifestyle' of the post-World War II era.

Current listings are in the range of $515,000 to $649,000 (this is down more than $100,000 at the peak of the market). Original floor plans ranged from about 1100 sq. ft to about 1400 sq. ft., with attached 2-car garages, board and batten siding on single story homes on slab foundations, open kitchens with built-in ovens and formica counters, hardwood floors and low-pitched rooflines. While not officially an historic district, this area has many loyal followers of this style who more and more create additions and remodels that adhere to the Cliff May style. Interestingly, Cliff May, who was not an architect but was proficient at building homes, was descended from one of the early California families and loved the old Spanish/Mexican influence architecture designs in the early villas that were also characterized by courtyards and the feeling of outdoor acess with privacy. The "Ranchos" are not homes with the traditional "front yard"--over time the courtyards have accommodated landscaped patios, tree-covered decks, or great areas for fenced-in pools.
Contact me for more on selling prices in this neighborhood! Click on the link to see current listings in the Ranchos.  If there is something listed but you don't see it here, please let me know!

Loan Pre-Approval and Credit Scores

So often I hear from prospective buyers that they are afraid the loan pre-approval process will lead to a drastic lowering of their FICO (credit) score because, of course, their credit record must be viewed in the process.
So here it is from the horse's mouth: "Shopping around for an auto loan or mortgage shouldn’t hurt, if you keep your search to six weeks or less", per Craig Watts of Fair Isaac Corporation, the company which developed the FICO credit scoring system used throughout the world of credit.

Other factors that make up your score are length of credit history, how many accounts you've recently opened, balance due on your credit lines and the total amount available to you (keep your balance under 50%), and your payment history counts for 35% of your score. Many times people do not realize that having a 30-day late pay recorded on your credit history can be almost disastrous for some loans, or that the big car purchase or the last minute furniture purchase before you closed escrow may send your credit score over the cliff at the last minute before you close escrow. Yes, the lenders check your credit report once again just before the schedule closing to make sure you're still in good shape.

There are more impacts to your credit score, for instance in a short sale or foreclosure, but this article gives a good basic outline so you know what to expect.

Remember, getting pre-approved for a loan should not be impacting your score negatively, and should not be a reason as to why you can't go forward with the process. Also, if your score does fall for some reason, it will come back up within 60-90 days at a certain rate once you start eliminating the problem. It's important to talk with the loan officer first to find out what is needed or must be changed for qualification for a loan--another mistake people make is going ahead and taking certain actions, such as cancelling a credit card after they paid it off, which actually may hurt rather than help them. So don't be afraid to ask a professional first about what the best course of action might be in terms of qualifying for the loan.

Will the Real Home Value Please Speak Up?

December, 2008 median home price: Is it $387,021 for Los Angeles County, or is it $278,000? Well, for one thing, you have to dig a little deeper. Dataquick's $278,000 median price figure is for "Southern California" which includes at least 5 counties (single family and condos), and if you've been following the reports, you know that Riverside County has taken a very large "hit" thus lowering the overall median for Southern California. The other important thing to know is that condos prices have softened considerably, and are lower overall than detached single family home prices. Zillow's median price of $387,021 is based on Los Angeles County alone, and is considerably higher based on its own calculations of "size and characteristics of homes in the area -- whether they were sold or not -- and other factors". California Association of Realtors for Los Angeles County is $336,980 (not including condos).

The thing to remember is that "all real estate is local". So if you would like to know the prices for your area, contact me for reported sales in your zip code or neighborhood.