San Diego Real Estate

November 8, 2011

How To Handle High Closing Costs

When you add everything up, closing costs can increase the price of a home by as much as $10,000, sometimes more. Those who are cash-poor can ask relatives for help. But some lenders advertise another option: If borrowers agree to accept a mortgage interest rate from a quarter to a full percentage point higher than they would ordinarily qualify for, they can receive credit toward their closing costs. Such mortgages […]
October 24, 2011

Is Supply vs. Demand Hurting San Diego Housing?

Is low demand or poor supply the biggest cause for concern in the current housing market? Of course, one of the biggest problems facing the U.S. housing market right now is that there aren’t enough buyers for homes. Mortgage rates are hovering near their lowest levels in most Americans’ adult lifetimes, but demand is anemic. But we have written about a surprising trend: housing inventories have shrunk over the past […]
September 27, 2011

Realtors Expect 1% Rise in Calif. Home Sales

Home sales in California, the most populous U.S. state, are likely to rise 1 percent in 2012 after being “essentially flat” this year, the California Association of Realtors forecast today.   Sales of existing homes are expected to rise to 496,200 units from a projected 491,100 in 2011 and 491,500 last year, the Los Angeles-based group said in a statement. Median prices probably will rise 1.7 percent to $296,000 from […]
September 13, 2011

Downtown Condo Market

Although condominiums in downtown San Diego aren’t changing hands at a blistering pace, both new and resold inventory continues to shrink. Mark Mills, a downtown condominium specialist with RE/MAX Real Estate Consultants, wrote that out of estimated 8,000 condominium units constructed between 2001 and 2008, only about 3 percent remain available. “There are not many markets like this anywhere in America where supply is so limited,” Mills said. “This is […]
September 10, 2011

Mortgage rates hit record lows in Freddie Mac survey

  Mortgage rates have plunged to all-time lows amid concerns the economy is stalling again, Freddie Mac said in its weekly survey. Lenders were offering the 30-year fixed-rate home loan at an average rate of 4.12% this week, down from 4.22% last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The 15-year fixed loan was at 3.33%, down from 3.39%. Both of the rates set records in the survey by the giant mortgage […]
September 2, 2011

Feds sue big banks over mortgage securities

From cbsnews.com     The U.S. government has sued several of the country’s largest banks over mortgage-backed securities they sold that lost value in the housing market collapse. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, filed the lawsuit Friday seeking seeks compensation for more than $41 billion of losses related to subprime mortgage bonds. The suit could hamper a broader government mortgage settlement […]
August 24, 2011

Were summer home sales hot or cold in San Diego?

From signonsandiego.com San Diego home prices and sales were down in July, show Monday’s real estate report from La Jolla-based DataQuick. The county in July recorded 3,041 total sales — including single-family resales, condos and new homes — the lowest number for a July since 1995 when there were 2,373. Sales were down 11.7 percent from June and 0.9 percent from a year ago. A similar month-over-month decline was seen […]
July 19, 2011

Foreclosure filings declines, time to foreclosure increases in some states

On average it took less time to foreclose in California, Arizona, and Nevada in June 2011, countering what has been a growing trend to extend the foreclosure process, according to the latest report from ForeclosureRadar.
July 18, 2011

LAW AGAINST SHORT SALE DEFICIENCIES EXPANDED

Governor Brown signed into law
July 11, 2011

Bought at Auction and Sold for a Profit in Under 30 days.