April 2010 Newsletter - 21 days left for $8000/$6500

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5 Reasons why you should be Under Contract
by 4/30/2010…or not.

1 Federal Tax Credit Expires 4/30/2010 for 1st timer
2 Double Dip on the State Tax Credit for 1st timer or new construction
3 Free Mortgage Protection Program ends 6/30/2010 for 1st timer
4 Entry Level price homes Rising
5 Interest Rates are Rising

Why you do not need to be under contract by 4/30/10
If you are not ready – timing, finances, home to sell,
job uncertainty/relocation or ?

To get the Federal Tax Credit, you must be in contract by April 30th and close on that home by June 30th. The same applies for the $6500 repeat buyer credit. http://sandiegohomes4ucom.blogspot.com/2009/11/homebuyer-tax-credit-update.html

From NAR, the National Association of Realtors:

The Senate Finance Committee and Capitol Hill in general, are not inclined to extend this program again. The National Association of Realtors, the lobbyist for this program, were cautioned that any discussion regarding a further extension of the program was not likely, and would certainly be met with opposition.

We now have a new State buyers tax credit for $10,000.

That takes over where the Federal Credit stops…Close after May 1st,
and you need to be under contract by 12/31/2010.
Limited funding so may not last long.

YES, you can double dip if you are in escrow
by 4/30 and closed by 6/30/2010.

Check out the important details and differences at:
http://sandiegohomes4ucom.blogspot.com/2010/03/new-ca-homebuyer-tax-credit-up-to-10000.html

Please check out my blog, especially these two about what the current market is locally...not nationally, along with the differences in buying Bank Owned, Short Sale & regular sale homes. Both are a must read for buyers.

San Diego Area Home Buyers Alert - big challenges in the 1st quarter.
http://sandiegohomes4ucom.blogspot.com/2010/01/san-diego-area-home-buyers-alert.html

Foreclosed/bank owned homes, Short Sales and regular sales in the San Diego market.
http://sandiegohomes4ucom.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html

Fed to allow interest rates to rise in the first quarter 2010
(it just happened – up from 5% to 5.3% this week alone.)
http://sandiegohomes4ucom.blogspot.com/2009/12/fed-to-allow-interest-rates-to-rise.html

Thinking about buying a home but concerned about your job stability?
The C.A.R. H.A.F. Mortgage Protection Program may help.

If you lose your job, you can get up to $1500 a month and a co-borrower can get up to $700 if they lose their job. You could get that money for up to 6 months. Some conditions apply.
There is no cost to the buyer! For details, see my Blog:
http://sandiegohomes4ucom.blogspot.com/2010/03/buying-but-concerned-about-job.html

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Limited Sellers Window of Opportunity

You must act quickly.

Sellers, this may be your best window of opportunity for 6 months to a year so get top dollar for your home.
Buyers are in fierce competition for homes, especially under $500K.
Many experts are saying that we will have a little flow over of buyers after the Federal Tax Credit goes away but after that, the market is expected to be slower. The New State Tax credit is helpful but the money spread over 3 years and not all first time buyers will qualify for the full $10,000 because the Tax Credit is limited to what they pay in State Taxes which could be less.

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Foreclosure Avoidance Information Online

If you know someone if distress and they own Real Estate,
I may be able to help.
I do pre-foreclosure counseling at no cost to the property owner.

We now have a web site dedicated just to helping owners learn more about the different options they have available to avoid foreclosure. Learn how to save your home or save your credit or both at:
http://HAFAShortSaleConsultant.com/

The site has information on HAMP, HAFA, Short Sales, Deed in Lieu, Strategic Default and more. It is a great resource to pass on to anyone in any stage of financial hardship.

Dennis Smith earns Certified Distressed Property Expert Designation (CDPE)
to help homeowners in danger of foreclosure, anywhere in the US.
http://sandiegohomes4ucom.blogspot.com/2009/12/dennis-smith-earns-certified-distressed.html

Sunshine Smith has also earned her SFR,
which is the National Association of Realtors certification for “Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource”

Please contact us if you, or ay one you know or talk with, needs this information. Call us direct or view the website at
http://HAFAShortSaleConsultant.com/

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San Diego Area Market Report

Median price for single-family, re-sale homes up
for the sixth month in a row in February, 13% year-over-year.

San Diego was one of the first to experience the problem and we are the first to come out of it.

As of 4/09/2010
Active listings: 9535, up over 5% from February, only a 3.6 month supply
Of those, only 773 (up from 667 in Feb) are Bank Owned Foreclosures, a 32 day supply.
2217 (2120 in Feb) are short sales (almost 25%)
There are also another 6170 Short Sales that are Contingent or Pending!!!
Five to six months is a balanced buyer/seller market. In the lower price ranges, we are in a strong sellers market, in the higher prices, we are in a buyers market.

Pending Listings: 4528, down from 5785 in Feb.
1025 of these pending sales are Bank Owned.
1981 are Short Sales and 1585 are regular sales (down from 2744 in Feb).

House & Condo Sales by the Month with Average Price:
Mar 2010 were 2793 at $423,372 at $246.45/sqft WOW!!! Up 7%
Feb 2010 were 2113 at $397,932 at $234.06/sqft
Jan 2010 were 2040 at $391,775 at $230.39/sqft
Feb 2009 were 2197 at $341,818 at $209.39/sqft

I am usually seeing multiple offers on most bank owned properties.
Prices are rising on the under $500K properties
and especially on the under $300K properties.

Many are going over the asking price on well priced, attractive homes.
Even non bank homes, in the under $500K range, that are well priced, are getting multiple offers.

Each community is different.
Some went up and some went down.
Go to my web site for the full report,
plus a city-by-city breakdown with trend charts
for each city.

See my Monthly and Annual Reports for full details at:
http://dennissmith.rereport.com

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Bank Owned Foreclosures

REO’s/Foreclosure listings are down from over 3000 last year to under 773 today.

The following are 2 links to over 200 Bank Owned Foreclosures across North San Diego County. Please contact me to get a personalized list of Foreclosures and/or regular homes for sale that meet your criteria.

http://tinyurl.com/Full-Page-List-04-05-2010 Full Page List of Bank Owned Homes
http://tinyurl.com/One-Line-List-04-05-2010 One Line List of Bank Owned Homes

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• View my profile on Linkedin.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/dennisdsmith
• View my Facebook profile at http://www.facebook.com/people/Dennis_Smith/638651626
• Follow me on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/sandiegohomes4u
• Let's linkup.

Please call or e-mail us with any Real Estate questions.

We appreciate your referrals.
Please call us when you hear of anyone who is considering buyiny or selling, almost anywhere, of if they are having financial problems with Real Estate.

Sunshine Smith, SFR Realtor® &
Dennis Smith, SRES, ABR, e-PRO, CDPE Realtor®
Taylor Place Real Estate
dennis@sandiegohomes4u.com
http://SanDiegoHomes4u.com/Home.htm

Local: 760-436-0087
Toll Free: 888-668-9053

View area homes for sale at http://www.sandiegohomes4u.com/MLS_Search.htm

Serving all your San Diego County Real Estate Needs

Know anyone thinking of buying or selling anywhere in the US or Canada?
I have a referral network to find one of the best agents in their area.

From NAR, the National Association of Realtors:

We now have a new State buyers tax credit for $10,000.

YES, you can double dip if you are in escrow by 4/30 and closed by 6/30/2010.

YES, you can double dip if you are in escrow
by 4/30 and closed by 6/30/2010.