Recent Market Activity in Long Beach--It's A "Sold" Time

The constant reporting on the number of foreclosures, i.e., such as this today from Inman News:
"California had the highest volume of foreclosure filings, with filings reported on 71,930 properties" is not saying what else is going on.

Unfortunately, I've had less time recently to devote to writing as many posts, but in checking the local Southern California MLS today for all residential and commercial listings, including leases, there are 2,473 active listings, with 555 in escrow (backup and pending categories).

Since April 1st, 564 properties have closed escrow; of that same number, in the last 30 days, 238 properties have closed escrow. Is it just because it's Spring and Summer, or is the market actually picking up. Another casual statistic overheard today is that Long Beach's inventory has in the past few weeks been reduced by one-third.

If activity in recent weeks is any indication, $300,000 is the bottom of the market in many areas for single family residences and $200,000 is the bottom for 2-bedroom condos. The bank-owned properties are so attractively priced in many cases that the investors and first-time buyers are having to compete with each other in multiple offer situations. In the last week, one condo was on the market 4 days and received 15 offers, another single family received 30 offers, and the same story for two other houses in the South Bay, also just listed days before, in residential neighborhoods. The winning offers on these properties were as much as $50,000 over asking price (in the case of the condo) and $20,000-$30,000 for the houses in this scenario, as-is, no repairs.

In spite of more activity, loan requirements are not necessarily that much easier, for example, some banks are going to 15% down payment requirements after July 1 (for conventional loans), and all lender sources have tightened up their FICO requirements. If you're buying a condo, be aware that new FNMA guidelines are requiring a closer look at the HOA's financial reserve funding status, plus a few other issues.

So if you're interested in a property, maybe this is finally the time for you to find your new home. You can take a look at http://www.juliahuntsman.com, but for a more targeted search, go to HomeBuyers Market (where you can mute the auditory on the video if you want to just watch).

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