The bell could be ringing signalling the bottom – we all know there is no bell to signal the true bottom. But let’s see if Ben Bernanke can ring the bell for us. CNBC.com and Jim Cramer are looking toward Bernanke for his Plans to Buy up Long term government bonds – a new step aimed at keeping the country out of recession by lowering rates on mortgages.
Jim Cramer of CNBC’s Mad Money fame – is urging homeowners to refinance and get those potential homebuyers to get their mortgage applications started.
Do I hear the bell ringing??
The 4th quarter is closing on us quickly – how did it get to be March 10th already – and we’ve got Daylight Savings Time started now too – which makes it seem even later in the year. Maybe the spring feeling in the air will get people moving. The 2009 Stimulus Package sure hasn’t seemed to have made a dent yet. The brakes are really on right now here in the Hollywood Riviera. There are 38 homes currently “for sale” or active on the market (and that’s just what is on the MLS.) They most likely are more than that as “pocket” listings – which is a house for sale if someone brought them a buyer. Of those 38 homes – the average sales price right now is 
$1,241,034. And the average price per square foot is $548. If you compare this to last year in March 08 we had 22 homes for sale on March 26, 2008. They had an average sales price of $1,295,490 and average $/sq ft was $593. That’s over 50% more homes for sale this year vs. last year same time.
Let’s look at what is “pending sale” (or in escrow) same time last year vs this year. 6 properties are currently in escrow vs. 10 this time last year – that is not great news for us – especially when you consider that the 10 “in escrow” properties last year was quite low from the year prior to that. The average pending price this time last year was $1,212,600 vs this years pending average price of $1,076,667 – that represents an 11% difference. We noted that the 2008 average price was 6% off from 2007, but I don’t think the slide is over yet. Our area is really starting to feel the crunch. It is the “spring” selling season – it’s started. I sure hope it really “starts” soon!
Let’s also look at what SOLD so far this year – 2009: only 6 houses have closed escrow this year and the average sales price is under $1 million for the first time in a long time….although with only 6 closed that is really not enough to give an accurate picture. For the first time however – part of these 6 solds included to “REO’s” or bank owned properties.
Finally, NBC Anchor, Brian Williams has had enough of anchoring “the nightly depressing news” to the depressed public. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now – as a matter of fact I wrote a blog about it back in August 2008 – Why Not Share Some Good News For Once. Basically, viewers of the NBC Nightly News are sick of hearing all the bad news – constantly. So NBC Nightly News decided to put it out there to all their viewers – “send us some good news stories.” They have been inundated with so many stories they are going to find it hard to report all the good news. I personally will start watching NBC Nightly News to see some of the “good news” out there in the world. Maybe if we all start hearing some good news things will turn around again.
Here’s some good news from C.A.R. – California Association of Realtors : The unprecedented price declines have dramatically improved affordability in the state. C.A.R.’s Housing Affordability Index for First-Time Buyers, which measures the share of all households that can afford the entry-level home, rose to 59 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, meaning that nearly six in 10 households in California could afford the entry-level home (defined as 85 percent of the median home price) in the fourth quarter. Affordability has nearly doubled from a year earlier when the affordability index was at 33 percent and now stands at its highest level since the start of the decade. The index is based on an entry-level home price, a 10 percent downpayment, an ARM effective composite rate, and a 40 percent debt-qualifying ratio.
Our state is in a drought situation – February 27, 2009, Govenor Schwarzenegger declared….and I still drive down the street and see people “watering their sidewalks, driveways and even worse, the street in front of them.” Sweeping up these areas is just as effective. I love it when I see someone watering the street in front of their house – they are usually hosing the debris in front of their house away and down the street to land in front of someone else’s house. That is just down right rude if you ask me and incredibly lazy. Get a broom and a dustpan – sweep the debris in front of your house into the dust pan - and throw it away in your own trash can. Now that makes sense in so many ways…our state may have to enforce drought restrictions soon.
Residential water consumption is the biggest contributor to California’s urban water use – over 2.2 Trillion gallons a year! That’s half the annual flow of the Colorado River: one of California’s main sources of water. There are so many neat ways to conserve water these days – http://www.BeWaterWise.com is a great resource. There are a lot of Rebates the State of CA is offering to those who purchase the following items for their home: 1) Low Flow Toilets 2) High Efficiency Clothes Washers 3) Weather Based Irrigation (which I didn’t even know existed – what a great idea. Nothing worse then driving down the street on a rainy day and see someone with their sprinklers on full blast!) 4) Synthetic Turf. Synthetic Turf seems to be the new thing these days. What a great idea if you ask me. No watering, no grass cutting, and it’s always green regardless of the sun exposure or how many trees are on it or how many kids play on it!! And you can install a “putting green” as part of the plan – pretty cool!
Let’s all get Waterwise and save our resources and our planet!
Will the market here €œthaw€ soon? Someone needs to tell those buyers out there that the bottom is here – we are so close if not there now. Here in the Hollywood Rivera we are seeing the hit now – part of the problem for the beach city areas close to the beach is the lack of €œjumbo financing.€ In our more expensive neighborhoods if there is no jumbo financing there are no deals€¦.and this is what€™s happening right now. We are in a €œfreeze€ currently here – 42 homes for sale and only 5 in escrow is one of the worst ratios we€™ve seen in a long time. Well, it€™s almost time for the €œthaw€ because jumbo money is going to start coming into play again. Major banks are heading into the jumbo segment, originating big loans at affordable rates. Bank of America, the country€™s largest mortgage lender is rolling out a large program to finance loans between $730,000 and$1.5 million with fixed 30-year rates starting in the 5% range. These loans will be available through their retail network starting April 27th. (LA Times March 22, 2009)
