Can you handle more bad news: foreclosures, real estate recession, price of gas lose to $5 a gallon, stock market down, your equity melting, and an overall economic slowdown. Southern California's housing market took another beating last month as median prices fell an average of 27% from a year ago -- the sharpest drop in at least 20 years. The median home sale price in six Southern California counties was $370,000, down from $505,000 a year earlier. DataQuick said that was the biggest annual decline it has recorded since it began tracking prices in 1988.
The dramatic price drop was attributed largely to sluggish high-end sales, more sellers dropping their asking prices and lenders selling off more of their aggressively priced, repossessed homes. People shopping for homes are also doing their best to beat down prices, even if it means delaying the purchase of homes they truly want.
The market will continue to soften in 2008 and 2009. If you are in contact with a realtor and they are giving you a lot of reasons why you should buy right now - BE AWARE that they might not have your best interest in mind. Take your time!!! we are currently working with couple of buyers and we are convincing them to wait a little bit longer. Why should you rush if waiting means saving $50,000 or $100,000? However, we recommend that you start getting informed as soon as possible. Give us a call and we will help you get started with your search. It is all about timing and knowledge!!!
O.C. Home Supply at 2-year Low
Orange County´s supply of houses for sale shows inventory at 8.4 months based on May´s improving sales pace. That´s the lowest number since March 2006, association figures. The theoretical estimate of how long it would take to sell all the homes for sale at a given month´s sales pace has fallen from 15 months in February. How´d that happen? Couple of reasons: bargain hunters, price reduction, and sellers put things on hold. The median selling price of an existing Orange County house was $523,890 in May, down a record 26.6% from $714,130 in May 2007. Last month´s pricing was the lowest amount in nearly 4 1/2 years.
Here´s a breakdown of home prices and sales changes in May for O.C. and the region:
Area
Median Price
Price vs. ?07
Sales vs. ?07
O.C.
$523,890
-26.6%
24.5%
L.A.
$422,160
-29.2%
9.9%
Palm Springs
$283,480
-27.7%
13.7%
Inland Empire
$257,660
-34.9%
78.9%
San Diego
$446,610
-27.1%
-22.3%
Ventura
$487,790
-30.3%
-12.7%
Irvine Short Sales & Foreclosures Stats
Currently there are 840 Active properties listed for sale in Irvine, CA., of which 414 are attached Condos, and 426 are detached single family homes. Of these 840 homes and condos for sale, 152 are Short Sales listed for sale, which represents 18% of the total inventory. 11 of these properties Active for sale are Bank Owner Foreclosures which represent just 1.3% of the total inventory of homes and condos for sale in Irvine, Ca.
Today, there are 245 properties that are under contract pending in escrow in Irvine, CA. Of this total, there are 58 Short Sales properties that are pending in escrow, which represents 23.6% of the total number of properties in escrow. In addition, there are 19 Bank Owned Foreclosures that are pending in escrow in Irvine, which represents 7.7% of the total pending properties.
For more information regarding Bank Owned foreclosure properties, or short sale properties listed for sale, please call us at: 949-910-4744
O.C. Foreclosures Hit New Record in May
Banks foreclosed on a record 1,131 houses and condos in Orange County in May - a new record; the first time the total topped 1,000 in a month, and 68 percent higher than the peak during the 1990s of 674 foreclosures in October 1996.
Experts say foreclosures are spiking for several reasons. Some borrowers are unable to afford their mortgages after low teaser rates end; some homeowners, especially in the mortgage industry, have lost their jobs amid the housing downturn and tepid economy; and falling home prices make it more difficult for borrowers to refinance their mortgage or sell their home if they are having trouble paying.
Here´s a table with Notice if Defaults and foreclosures going back to 2006:
Year
2008
2007
2006
Month
Defaults
Forec.
Defaults
Forec.
Defaults
Forec.
January
2,352
802
847
153
384
25
February
2,254
733
811
164
316
14
March
2,476
698
986
204
407
28
April
2,598
898
855
234
374
22
May
2,468
1,131
1,021
276
444
37
June
1,108
311
462
13
July
1,167
367
440
44
August
1,476
469
498
59
September
1,239
444
588
78
October
1,448
530
599
104
November
933
364
665
102
December
1,895
644
688
121
TOTAL
13,786
4,160
5,865
647
New Buyers
We have a young family looking to buy a small house in O.C. Our buyers are pre-qualified for $550,000 and would not mind purchasing a property in need of repairs.If you know a neighbor looking to sell, please let us know. We continue to be blessed by your referrals and we would like to thank you for all the leads.We do appreciate them and we know that your friends and acquaintances value our services.
Handy Man of the Month - Armando Handy Man of the month is Armando. His specialty: is painting, baseboards, crown moldings. We have so many friends and clients who have used Armando and they all thrilled with his work. We can recommend a couple of great people to you that we have used over the years. You will find them reliable, and eager to make sure that you are totally satisfied. Drop us a line and we will get you in contact with them.
Client's Quote
Arno & Tricia just sold our house in Tustin in June in less than a week. How did they do it? Perfect staging, aggressive marketing, and realistic listing price. We are so happy and relieved and when we hear all the real estate horror stories around us, we feel so blessed to have trusted Arno and Tricia. Alex & Lisa Jones
Thank you again for your referrals, they mean a lot to us...
k market down, your equity melting, and an overall economic slowdown. 
Handy Man of the month is Armando. His specialty: is painting, baseboards, crown moldings. We have so many friends and clients who have used Armando and they all thrilled with his work