Studio City CA Real Estate & Homes

Prospective buyers should take advantage of lower home prices to buy into better locations, especially closer to work. With gas costs soaring into the stratosphere, new home buyers can save a great deal of time and money by focusing on location, location, location!

We now have a prefect storm scenario forming. Lower home prices, low interest rates, strong inventory and higher fuel costs are contributing to more robust sales.  Today’s existing home sales report shows a strong and unexpected increase in sales, though not to me. I have been projecting that the market slide would slow and/or end before year’s end. Today’s numbers suggest that I am right about this one. It will however, take a lot more time for prices to begin to return to pre-recession levels. We still have a glut of foreclosures to clear out. The prognosis for the market regaining its energy is good. It’s still a buyer’s market right now, but it will not stay that way indefinitely. I suggest that you may not want to delay your next purchase for too long. Otherwise you may find yourself on the upside of the market and that could prove costly. Avoid this situation bu purchasing now! You will find further information on my website at. www.runningrealty.com( check out my “Run With It” feature)  and be sure to view  my Features Listings at www.realtor.com for some exceptional homes in Studio City and 91604.

In a way, the “Bubble” in Real Estate sales was more the creation of the media than the actual, on the ground events. Not that everything was coming up roses, although for many it was. It seems that “perception is the new realty” and notwithstanding the “greed” factor that fostered the malignant spread of bad loans all across the country, the diagnosis was finally determined and yes, we have a cancer among us. Break out the chemo and radiation!

So here we are. Politicians scramble to address (not fix) the ailments now affecting our economy and the Real Estate market. I guess the next thing we’ll see is the President declaring “THE WAR ON REAL ESTATE”. That’s what we do..declare war and throw a lot of money in the general direction of the problem, hoping it will straighten itself out. It hasn’t worked for any other wars so far so don’t expect that it will do so any time soon.

I predict that if we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot, over the next 12 months, some semblance of normalcy will return to Real Estate across the country.  It will happen sooner than later in some markets. In fact, there are pockets around Los Angeles that are actually seeing marked improvement. I swear to you that I have seen “multiple offers” this week on well priced homes.

The key now is smart pricing. If the home is not overpriced, it will sell. There are loads of pent-up buyers just waiting to get in the game again. My “featured listings” on Realtor.com are experiencing thousands of hungry eyes. Studio City, my area of expertise, has been insulated from most of the havoc out there. I am confident that this down cycle will again turn up, maybe sooner than later. It’s just a question of whether or not you get in before the next move up. I know it’s out there..waiting..don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Talk about obfuscation! That great stimulus package touted by GWB, may not be all that! At first glance, the loan limit has been raised from $417,000 to $729,750. Sounds great! BUT, and wait for it, although the FHA essentially underwrites or guarantees the loan, it appears that guarantee is an empty promise. We now have a new category loan, from $417,001 to $729,750 called either a Conforming Jumbo or a Jumbo Lite, depending on who you speak with. This new tier is being stepped on to the tune of higher rates and points. Not as low as conforming and not quite as high as Jumbo. See, the whole idea behind raising the limit was to allow first-time home buyers an easier path to finance. What’s going on is more GREED!! The whole idea of a conforming loan was that it had a great low rate BECAUSE it was guaranteed. This new range although guaranteed ( to protect the lenders) is somehow and quite mysteriously not guaranteed enough? To my mind it either is or isn’t! There shouldn’t be any middle ground! Or should I say muddled ground. I welcome your comments.

With Tuesday’s agressive Fed rate cute, the government has delivered a strong jolt to the markets and, if you’re plugged in, you no doubt felt it too! I think Jim Morrison said it best “the time to hesitate is through”. Get ready to make your fortune in real estate. You don’t need to be investing in foreclosure and short sale workshops. Buying under the aforementioned scenarios are a very risky proposition and exposure is high. The truth is that those very scenarios have placed a great deal of downward pressure on the market and excellent deals are on the table right now AND the downside is minimal. Great rates are available for creditworthy buyers, and with low prices right now, you have an unbeatable combination. Don’t be left on the sidelines as the real estate market begins to reform its next swell. Who needs Wall Street and its volatility? Low interest rates now favor long term real estate investment. The time is now, GET IN THE GAME!!!

As real estate inventories continue to rise, and prices have flattened or dipped in your market, it may now be the time to jump back into the fray. The Federal Reserve to its credit has aggressively cut rates and stabilized credit card and home loans. If you’ve been conscientious about protecting your credit, you may now be eligible for your payoff. At this point in time, we are looking at the best buying market in over 10 years.

OK, I know what your going to say. The market may continue to drop. Yes, that’s true. However, I believe that Seller’s have already forfeited their recent appreciation so there is tangible profits to be recouped with a purchase now.

No one knows when we will hit rock bottom. Just how much more a home price will fall may be mitigated by capturing the sacrificed appreciation now. If you can buy and hold for 5 years or more; you can rest assured that your home will increase in value dramatically when (not if) the market rebounds.  Poor timing could result in making your purchase as the market turns and you could lose far more than if you buy as the market is clearly in a downturn. 

Savvy buyers understand that profits are made ahead of the curve. This may be counter-intuitive, but it is fact.

I say go for it!

Is it just me or are newspapers in large part responsible for the current state of affairs in real estate?  On a daily basis, we are bombarded by article after article bemoaning the demise and unravelling of the American Dream. Home ownership, the lofty goal of every American, is being threatened not by foreign powers who wish us harm but by a malicious press whose sole objective is to terrify and instill fear in the hearts and mind of real estate buyers and sellers. They obviously took a page out of Dubya’s playbook. It worked for him, it’ll work for us.  Over the last 5 years, these doom and gloom writers extolled the “bubble”; and for 5 years they were dead wrong. Prices rose and the market continued to boom.  It’s like flipping a coin; at some point, your going to flip “heads” and voila!, the bubble has finally burst.

For those of us who have lived longer than 20 years, we can remember 15% and higher interest rates, high foreclosures and stagnant markets. These are natural cycles and are to be expected from time to time. I would like to go on record and predict that the Real Estate market will recover it’s former glory and then some in the next 2 years.

It should also be noted that this market downturn is regional and spotted. Many markets have seen slight price increases although the sales volume may be a bit lower.

Don’t believe everything you read, especially in the newspapers. I for one believe that the histrionics and ranting is nothing other than the death rattle of a dying empire being beaten to a pulp.

In the immortal words of the Governor of the great State of California, “I’ll be back”. You can bet the farm it will be a resurgence in Real Estate long before we see an increase in newspaper sales.

 ”All the fear the news can print”.

When it comes to selling your home, nothing says “buy me” like a vacant home. Not!!

When the furnishings and draperies are gone, even large, expensive homes can look like empty generic boxes. A vacant home often sells more slowly and for 5 to 10 percent less than a similar property that is well furnished. That’s because most people buy on emotion and have a hard time warming up to a stark, empty place. A lived in home has greater emotional appeal than a vacant house. When you see someone else’s sofa, chairs and coffee table in the living room, it’s easier to picture your own furniture there.

 Vacant homes have a distinctive echo and sometimes odor because doors and windows are not opened.  A vacant house can suggest a highly motivated – maybe even desperate – seller. It suggests to the buyer that the seller is carrying two house payments and that stealing the property is possible and encourages low ball offers. When houses are vacated, every nick and scratch shows up. That means that you should definitely go in to clean and repaint. You can get as much as a tenfold payback on the cost of a can of paint when you sell. That has more value than nearly any other improvement you could do.

Leave the draperies on the windows when you move. Keep the light fixtures throughout the property. Leave good quality furniture in the house if you can. It helps give the buyer a sense of value and a better perspective on where to place their furniture and if it will fit. If not, I recommend using a professional staging company in order to show the home in its best light. I would be happy to refer you to several excellent companies for ideas and pricing. Feel free to contact me for more ideas on preparing your home for sale.

ian@runningrealty.com

Word on the investment street where you live says that we can expect to see a substantial  increase to the conforming loan limit. Currently the magic number is $417,000. In California terms, this limit is laughable. Every loan above $417,000 is a Jumbo loan and that rate has recently jumped from a 1/4 point (per cent)  to a full point or higher differential. This  has been one of the big stumbling blocks to continued Real Estate growth as cautious lenders shy away from riskier (jumbo) loans. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has asked that this increase should be significantly higher at least in the near term and he would like to see this happen sooner rather than later. I agree with Mr. Bernanke in that a loan limit as possibly high as $700,000 would ease credit restrictions. This limit level would allow numerous borrowers to qualify for Freddie and Fannie loans that at least have the backing of the U. S. Government. This support translates to lower rates and thus will allow the backlog of buyers to once again get into the market. Generally this limit adjustment takes place in November, but, given the current situation, perhaps we may see this implemented this month.  

With all the doom and gloom being plastered across every major newspaper and financial website, it’s a wonder that the sky hasn’t fallen. It took about 5 years of constant badgering in the press about the “bubble” before all these geniuses finally saw a weakening in the real estate markets. We now know that it was the freewheeling (read greedy) lenders, banks, brokers etc. that caused this market downturn. Trusted ratings companies sold their AAA ratings to the highest bidder; and brother it wasn’t you.