Lake County Real Estate Blog

Hi To All,

2008 is now behind us and I've got the numbers to prove it. I just posted the new Lake County Sales Chart so that you can see for yourself how the year went overall.

Predictions for 2009 are not very positive but, if you look at the stats I've included, the actual number of sales in 2008 are down only about 2.8% from 2007 so there is reasonably good buying activity. Home prices are down significantly, especially when comparing Dec. '07 to Dec. '08 (be sure to see the stats below the chart as well).

If you are looking to purchase for the long term, the market can be looked at in a positive light as prices are excellent right now. Investments are being made for the future. I am hoping that the new administration now in Washington will focus more on Main Street and less on Wall Street so that help truly comes to those homeowners who need it and foreclosures finally begin to dissipate this year. Let's hope we really get the "change we can believe in".

Thanks very much and Happy New Year! - Steve McKenzie

Hi,

A very Happy New Year to everyone. I wanted to end 2008 and begin 2009 on a positive note. The following article probably says it best in real estate terms and bodes well for the new year especially if you are considering a home or investment purchase in 2009.

I will have my Lake County sales stats for all of 2008 in early January. Thanks very much to all of you and...HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Steve McKenzie

NEW YORK, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Interest rates on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped for a ninth consecutive week, reaching their lowest level in 37 years, according to a survey released on Wednesday by home funding company Freddie Mac.

Interest rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to an average of 5.10 percent for the week ending Wednesday, down from the previous week's 5.14 percent, Freddie Mac said.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has not been lower since Freddie Mac started the Primary Mortgage Market Survey in 1971.

"Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell for the ninth straight week and represented a third consecutive all-time record low since Freddie Mac's survey began in April 1971," Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said in a statement.

Mortgage rates have dropped dramatically ever since the Federal Reserve unveiled a plan last month to buy up to $500 billion of mortgage securities backed by government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae (FNM.P), Freddie Mac (FRE.P), and Ginnie Mae. The program also entails buying up to $100 billion of debt issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.

Mortgage rates appear destined to head even lower.

The Fed on Tuesday moved forward aggressively with an effort to drive down mortgage costs, setting a goal of buying $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities by mid-2009. For details, see [ID:nN30607943].

The battered housing market is critical to the U.S. economy, with a wide-ranging impact from the construction industry to the sale of appliances and furniture. After hurting growth for multiple quarters, an improvement in the housing market could portend a turnaround for the world's largest economy, which has been in a recession since late last year.

The housing market is in the worst downturn since the Great Depression as a huge supply of unsold homes, tighter lending standards and record foreclosures push down home prices.

Hi To Everyone!

The market has been pretty interesting the last couple of months. Sales for both July and August were actually higher than they were last year in those same months. My own estimate of current sales is that there is a lot of activity in my office with sales doing very well so far this month.

A couple of reasons that might account for this increased activity are that prices are just great here right now and also that interest rates haved dropped significantly. That is a great combination and seems to be having a big impact. If you have been waiting on the sidelines for the "right" time, this might well be it.

Keep in touch and check back often. I will be updating my blog and my site as often as possible. If you have any questions about properties here in beautiful Lake County, please call of email me anytime.

Very Best Regards,

Steve McKenzie 

Hi,

The June sales numbers are in and for the third month in a row, they are above the monthly sales average. In an unscientific poll taken yesterday at a meeting of realtors in my company, the consensus was that there is more sales activity in the last couple of months than there has been for some time.

There are still foreclosures on the market around the county. One area in particular has seen quite a lot of activity, Hidden Valley Lake in southern Lake County just north of Napa County. Prices are really excellent there right now and some extremely nice homes are bargins in comparison to other areas. I have seen a good number of escrows open there in the past month or so.

At this point, very good prices along with a very good selection of available homes, are driving sales here in Lake County. As we scrape somewhere along the bottom of this market, buyers seem interested and sellers are pricing their properties well.

The old saying is still true - all real estate is local! I will do my best to keep you up to date with the local Lake County real estate market. For today the news from here is that for the third month in a row sales are above average.

Best Regards,

Steve McKenzie

Hi Everyone!

Home sales increased 18.1 percent in May in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 35.3 percent, the California Association of Realtors reported today.

"Home sales exceeded 400,000 last month for the first time since early 2007. While this is a welcome sign for the market, it was due in part to the large share of distressed homes for sale in many parts of the state," said C.A.R. President William E. Brown. "Sales also rose above their year ago levels for the second month in a row after 30 consecutive months of year-to-year decreases. The lower prices associated with distressed sales along with favorable interest rates both contributed to higher sales levels."

The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during May 2008 was $384,840, a 35.3 percent decrease from the revised $594,530 median for May 2007, C.A.R. reported. The May 2008 median price fell 4.7 percent compared with April's $403,870 median price.

This is great news for buyers as there are great homes to be found all around Lake County. Foreclosures and short sales are the focus of many buyers these days depending on the area, but many other homes are well priced as well.

Thank you for reading my blog and I'll be in touch soon with more information and the June sales numbers.

Steve McKenzie

Hi Everyone,

Home sales held fairly steady in May 2008 with only three fewer sales than in April 2008, our best sales month so far this year. Prices are well down from May of last year as we continue to scrape somewhere along the bottom of the market. The average residential home price in May of 2007 was $332,555. In May of 2008 it was $261,040. That is a drop of approximately 21.5%!

There are some foreclosures in the mix as well at this point. I am hearing rumors that in surrounding areas such as Sonoma and Sacramento, foreclosures are gettting multiple bids and are often going for well over the asking price. We have not yet seen that yet in Lake County but we often trend a little behind those areas when it comes to market changes.

If you get a moment, please take a look at the updated sales comparison page and please let me know if there is some more information you would like to see there. I will keep tweaking it over time to make it as useful as possible and to keep you updated on Lake County market activity. 

Thank you for reading my blog and come visit anytime, I'm always happy to tour available homes with you.

Best Regards, 

Steve McKenzie  

Hi Everyone,

I have just updated my Monthly Sales Comparison page and for the first time since September of '07, sales are above the monthly average. I would not call it a trend yet but it is an encouraging sign.

If you take a moment to visit the comparison page, please be sure take a look at the some of the other stats as well. Prices are excellent right now for buyers and there are great homes available. Search the MLS from my home page to see for yourself, it's the top button on the left side of the page.

Thank you so much for staying in touch and please be sure to contact me anytime by phone or email if I can answer any questions about property you have seen, or about the market in general. If you are thinking of investing in a vacation or retirement property, or of relocating, I'll be glad to show you the possibilities here in beautiful Lake County on your next visit. 

My very best regards to you all!

Steve McKenzie  

Hi,

Just a quick note today to let you know that I have completed the March sales comparison chart. It can be found on my website at the center tab located at the top of the page. It's titled  "Monthly Sales Comparison". The numbers are very good news if you are a buyer in Lake County. They're not so good if you're a seller. I will do my best to keep you up to date on market conditions here in Lake County and will write again soon.

Come and visit anytime to see what great home values you can get for your money. I would be more than happy to show you around. The weather is great, the lake is beautiful, the air is clean, and prices are fantastic.

Best Regards,

Steve McKenzie

I just listened to this interview on www.MarketWatch.com with Joel Naroff, chief economist with Commerce Bank. He is discussing the record drop in home prices in January as seen in the home sales index mentioned mentioned below. Here is a little bit of what he had to say:

The record drop in home prices as seen in the S&P/Case-Shiller index for January show "the problems are being reflected in the prices, and that's the market working" says Commerce Bank chief economist Joel Naroff. While the drop is painful, Naroff says, "We're getting towards that bottom. Maybe not in prices, but prices have come down enough that we're probably going to see stability if not a slow rise in sales as we go through the summer into the fall."

This is very wolcome news for buyers! To hear more just click on the link provided below (or above). It's under five minutes and worth the time.

Thank you very much for reading my blog! - Steve McKenzie

http://www.marketwatch.com/tvradio/player.asp?guid=%7BC2DB7640-9AF0-4D0D-82FE-09FBB8527F62%7D 

Hi

As Mom used to say "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything." Well, I haven't written in a while because I've been scouring the media to find a good sense of perspective about the current market. I think I'm making progress. 

I came across a couple of interesting articles that help somewhat. One is by Scott Burns and can be found on MSN.com and the other is by Marcie Geffner which was in the Sunday SF Chronicle real estate magazine. They both look at the current foreclosure situation and offer a perspective not heard (by me anyway) on TV or in print media up to this point.

They both have looked at the numbers and concluded that the foreclosure "crisis' may well be overblown. As Scott Burns said "this news will disappoint the doom and gloom crew and all those seeking the excitement of financial upheaval".

The statistics would seem to bear them out. The actual national average rate of foreclosures was still only 1.033% at the end of 2007. About 30% of all home are owned mortgage free and another 30% or more are rented and thus paying for themselves. This means that for all the "noise about a crisis" out there, only 7/10ths of 1% of all homes out there were in foreclosure.

Further they say, the national numbers tend to mask what are essentially regional problems in various areas of the country. For example, in the top 100 real estate markets, only 34 had foreclosure rate above the group average while 51 had averages of 1% or less. The Stockton area has a high rate of about 4.9% while Providence Rhode Island has a rate of .41%.

I think what it comes down to is that all real estate is local in nature. Here in Lake County there are some foreclosures as well but while they factor into the market, they do not drive the market as a whole and the market is not "depressed" overall. There are many homes on the market and prices are lower due to the credit crunch but this situation will dissipate in time and the market pendulum will begin to swing back to a buyer and seller balance.

Keep an eye on the residential market here in Lake County by visiting the Monthly Market Comparison page on my website. It's the tab at the top of my homepage in the center. You can track the "health" of the market over time and hopefully get a sense of where the market is now and where it is going.

I hope you find this information of useful and I thank you so much for taking the time to read it. - Steve McKenzie