BusinessWeek: Now is the Time to Buy

Investors are returning as the real estate market recovers.

BusinessWeek’s real estate guru Marc Roth points out these opportunities, which he says make sense if investors are willing to look over the property carefully and ask tough questions.

Options they should consider include:
-Buying a single-family house. This could be a first home or a dream home or a home to rent out. -Buying a multi-family investment property.
-Snapping up a vacation property. There are deep discounts to be found in high-end resort areas.
-Investing in a Real Estate Investment Trust.

REITs were hit hard in the downturn, but many are on their way back.

Source: BusinessWeek, Marc Roth (08/26/2009)

Study Says Americans Still Want to be Homeowners

Despite all of the bad news in the media about homeownership and mortgages, most Americans still believe buying a home is a great investment, according to a new study commissioned by Bankrate.com.

Among the findings from the study:
-92 percent say that a home is a good investment for the future.
-48 percent worry about losing or being unable to afford their homes.

"These results provide an interesting illustration of the public's mindset in a difficult economy," says Julie Bandy, editor in chief at Bankrate. "While nine out of 10 still believe in the American dream of homeownership, nearly half worry about losing their homes.”

Source: Bankrate.com (08/18/2009)

Real estate expert: S.D. at leading edge of recovery

The chief economist for the National Association of Realtors predicted yesterday that mortgage interest rates will rise to 6 percent next year but saw no evidence of a “double dip” in housing price declines.

Economist Lawrence Yun, keynoting the San Diego Association of Realtor's regional real estate summit, said California and San Diego are at the leading edge of a real estate recovery, based on rising prices and sales.

He noted that demand locally is strong enough that there is just a 2½-month inventory of homes for sale. With construction running at a sluggish pace, he said a shortage could develop next year as buying interest picks up.

“Usually, there is a 5 percent or 10 (percent) to 15 percent recovery” in sales, he said. “That's been the past, historic experience. California markets have seen a 50 percent increase and there have been some markets up 100 percent.”

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Coronado Best Buys List, August 19

Greetings!

A flurry of sales activity on the Island this week! There are 35 properties currently in pending on Coronado Island right now—that’s a big jump from our last list, when only 25 properties were in contract. 20 of these properties are under or just above 1 million, proving that the lower-end properties are still holding strong. Only 5 properties in escrow are over 2 million.

Some interesting facts:
-In the last month, 13 sales closed escrow.
-More than half of last month’s sales were UNDER 1 million.
-ALL 3 properties that closed escrow last month over 2 million were CASH purchases, reflecting the tightening of jumbo loans.
-On average, sellers got 87% of the asking price.

Former Best Buys currently in contract:
78 Kingston, condo, 2/2--$824,900
649 B, house, 2/1--$895,000
438 D, house, 3/3—$850,000-$950,876
1010 E, house, 2/2--$1,295,000
740 Coronado, house, 3/2--$1,319,000
845 J, house, 3/2--$1,750,000

Here's the FULL BEST BUYS LIST for August 19, 2009:

$485,000 730 E Condo, 2/2, a charming condo with nice upgrades.

$525,000--553 F Avenue, condo, 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom. PRICE REDUCTION. Wow!

$599,000—1112 2nd Street, condo, 2/3. Short Sale subject to Lender Approval. Townhome & 250sqft Roof Deck & SPA conveys w/ sale. Views of Bridge and Downtown City Lights. 1st Flr offers open floor plan with newer HWD FLRS & Fireplace. 2nd Floor offers One spacious BDRM & BA. Master BD/BA w/ private Balcony & Fireplace. Front half of oversized tandem 2 Car Gar is converted into a 3rd BD. Garage with Built-in Storage Cabinets and small storage room accommodates One Car and plenty of room for bikes and other toys. A Must SEE!

$704,000—835 D #2, Condo, 3/3. Price Reduction! Roomy and upgraded condo in the heart of the Village. High ceilings. Private location in the complex. Deck / yard area behind home. 3 bedroom home. More than 1700 square feet!! Granite countertops, stainless appliances.

$750,000--514 Ninth Street, house, 2/1. Great Location! Just a few blocks from the Beach! 3200 sq foot lot . 941 sq foot "fixer" craftsman bungalow built in 1924. Ready for a full remodel or build to suit your desires!

$779,000—407 E, house, 3/3. PRICE REDUCTION FROM $925,000. Bright, Open Airy with high ceilings. The main floor space is very open and comfortable. Brand New Construction, 2 car finished tandem garage with direct access. 3rd floor finished attic with viewing deck. Central vacuum, Intercom, wired for internet and alarm. Granite counters with high end SS appliances & fixtures. 2 balconies plumbed for BBQ. Single family home w/own private entrance & yard. No HOA Dues. Possible 8k first time buyer tax credit.

$839,000—14 Antigua, condo, 2/2. The Coronado Cays welcome you to the prestigious Antigua Community! This upper view unit provides the most desirable eastern views with a large patio over the Bay (great for entertaining) along with your personal boat slip! Relax in the inviting cozy living room with fireplace. The kitchen opens to the dining area facing the water view. Mirrored wall provides beautiful bay reflections & lots of light. Private master suite with large full bath and generous closet space.

$859,000—5 Half Moon Bend, house, 3/3. Beautiful well mainted home in the cays. Steps to the boat dock. Partial view of marina from bedroom window.

$995,000—842 D, House, 3/2. TWO ON ONE -GREAT PRICE AND 2 REALLY NICE UNITS. Large lot approx. 3400sqft with FRONT HOUSE IS A CHARMING 2BR 1 BA HOME WITH BOTH A FRONT AND BACK YARD, FIREPLACE, HARDWOOD FLOORS COVED CEILING...THEN A SEPERATE 1 LARGE BEDROOM STUDIO, UPDATED AND CUTE WITH ITS OWN PRIVATE YARD AREA.GREAT LOCATION WALK TO EVERYTHING..SHOPS, RESTAURANTS AND BEACH..ALSO INCLUDED IN SALES PRICE ARE CONCEPTUAL PLANS FOR REMOLDELING OR REBUILDING SEPARATE UNITS...WOW.

$1,395,000--710 I Avenue, house, 3/3. This quaint California Craftsman home located in the "heart of the Village" boasts everything wonderful about living in Coronado. Everything is right at your fingertips; bike or walk to shops and restaurants and take in everything Coronado has to offer. Then come home to your quiet place in the beautiful tree lined neighborhood. Enjoy beautiful hardwood floors throughout the living space. The private master suite, located on the second floor, provides intimate space, a large master bath, spacious closet.

$1,299,000-$1,374,000—853 G, house, 3 / 4. **VA APPROVED -END OF SUMMER PRICING**Nearing Completion! Fabulous new homes designed by AK Design & Development and built by Falletta construction. Finished with a Nantucket influence, enjoy over 2,100 sq. ft. of coastal living just three short blocks to our famous Coronado beach. 3+ bed/3.5 baths, rooftop terrace, lavish master retreat with balcony, soaring ceilings and large bath complete this brand new 2009 built beach house... perfect for a primary residence or vacation residence.

$1,469,000—468 B Ave, house, 4/3. Priced to sell! Great open floorplan with 10ft. ceilings, lots of natural light and hardwood floors. Custom kitchen opens to large family room with french doors to the cute backyard. Terrific family home. Close to Spreckels Park and the heart of the village.

We update this list every two weeks based on price, location, square footage, and condition of ALL homes currently on the Coronado MLS. To subscribe to the Coronado Best Buys List and get pictures and additional information, please email christinevt@prusd.com with BEST BUYS in the subject line.

Good Morning America: San Diego is the a Top City to Buy a Home Now

Good Morning America recently ranked the "Top 5 Cities to Buy a Home" and San Diego came out #3 in the nation, after Virginia Beach, VA and Albany, New York.

According to an article accompanying the show:
More than a third of homes in San Diego are foreclosures, which could result in possible bargains in a normally costly market.

The home values are falling, but statistics indicate San Diego will bottom out in the next year.
"San Diego is not at a bottom yet, but it will hit a bottom at some point in the next year," said Amy Bohuntinsky, of Zillow.com "That's something that we can't say about a whole lot of markets."

"The market appears to be turning the corner for the better, inventories are beginning to shrink and this is a good sign that home prices will soon stabilize in many parts of the country," Yun said. "We are beginning to see buyers coming back to the marketplace, and the housing market appears to have turned a corner for the better."

Click here for the entire article.

San Diego Home Prices Continue Rebound!

San Diego County home prices continued their climb last month from the low points of the recession, reaching a median $320,000, MDA DataQuick reported Monday.
That represented a $5,750 increase from June, or 1.2 percent, but left the median still 12.1 percent below year-ago levels.

The median has risen $40,000, or 14.3 percent, from the $280,000 low set in January. However, it is far below the all-time figure of $517,500 set in November 2005.

Two factors may be at work in the rising price trend, the DataQuick figures suggest. One is the relative decline in low-priced foreclosures being resold to new buyers – 37.4 percent of resale transactions in July, compared with 38.6 percent in June and a peak of 55 percent in January.
The other factor is an apparent shift in market mix, in which more higher-priced homes are selling relative to lower-priced properties, thus pulling up the overall median.

A glance at the sales in selected ZIP codes indicates some increases in activity in pricier markets and a flattening or decline in activity in some lower cost areas.

Overall sales totaled 3,532 transactions in July, a 3.2 percent increase from June, a typical seasonal boost, but more importantly, an 11 percent year-over-year increase.

It was the 12th consecutive year-over-year sales increase – further evidence that buyers are venturing back into the market. Sales had previously dropped for 48 straight months on a year-over-year basis.

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San Diego Home Affordability Doubles in Two Years!

San Diego County's declining home prices have boosted first-time buyer affordability to 59 percent, more than twice what it was two years ago, the California Association of Realtors reported Friday.

First-timers typically pay 85 percent of the region's median price for a single-family resale home, the trade group said.

For the second quarter of the year, such buyers in San Diego needed a household income of $52,550 to cover the $1,750 monthly payment on a $259,000 home.

A year ago, only 46 percent of households had the income to cover a first-time home selling for $369,700 and carrying a monthly mortgage payment of $2,269. In the second quarter of 2007, only 23 percent had the necessary income to afford an even more expensive home.

Statewide, first-time affordability rose from 49 percent in the second quarter of 2008 to 67 percent in the second quarter of this year, ended June 30. Nationally, first-time affordability stood at 76 percent, up from 69 percent over the same period.

The highest affordability in the state was 86 percent in the high desert area, where the median starter-home price was $91,110, and the lowest was 36 percent in San Francisco with a price of $557,600.

Source: San Diego Union Tribune, 8/14/09

New Listing: Urban Retreat on Cortez Hill

This 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo was JUST LISTED for $349,000.

Your urban retreat awaits! You’ll love this tranquil, peaceful condo nestled in Cortez Hill surrounded by greenery and the new dog-friendly “Tweet Street Park” with meandering pathways and lush landscaping. Yet, it’s just a heartbeat away from all the action, entertainment and excitement of downtown San Diego.

The huge 600 square foot balcony accessible from both the living room and the master bedroom is perfect for relaxing and entertaining, and always boasts a nice coastal breeze that defies even the hottest weather. (But there is A/C just in case you need it.)

This newly-renovated complex features a fresh, modern interior and a large Jacuzzi perfect for unwinding after a long day. Unit has hardwood floors, new carpet in the master bedroom, new counter tops, mirrors, floor, lighting and plumbing in master bath, new paint throughout, and other upgrades.

This condo was purchased as a vacation home and was rarely used by its owners over the last two years. The complex has recently undergone a $10,000 assessment and updated the interior common areas and doorways. Now it’s complete and yours to enjoy! Seller must sell. Can sell furnished.

NOT a short sale, NOT a foreclosure...and VA approved!

Visit http://www.1640tenth.com/ for more info.

Fed Says, "Recession Ending," Leaves Rates Alone

The Federal Reserve ended its policy-making meeting Wednesday with the declaration that the recession is ending and it would move toward more normal policies.

The Fed said, “Economic activity is leveling out.” It added that it expected inflation would remain “subdued for some time.”

The Fed said it will keep the short-tem key interest rate near zero, but it will end its program to buy $300 billion worth of Treasury bonds by the end of October. Buying bonds was one of the Fed’s efforts to drive down the cost of home mortgages.

“In a way, it’s more of a thumbs-up than if they had said they were continuing the Treasury-buying,” said Edward McKelvey, an economist at Goldman Sachs. “They’re saying that things are going according to plan, and that the policy is O.K.”

Source: The New York Times, Edmund L. Andrews (08/12/2009)

Forbes Magazine: Coronado one of the Best Luxury Zip Codes in the U.S. to Sell a Home

Forbes Magazine named Coronado one of the best zip codes in the U.S. in which to sell a home.

"A city of only 24,000, it's half resort town and half affluent enclave, with its residents pulling in $105,000 a year at the median level," says the article. " While few sellers are getting their asking prices (these sellers recently reduced their price by $200,000), a flurry of recent activity in the market makes Coronado one of the best luxury zip codes in the U.S. in which to sell a home. While most other pristine suburbs languish with few sales, there have been 51 transactions in Coronado in the last 90 days, a terrific mark when you consider there are only 212 active listings.

"The spring bounce has helped lead the market to a 6.6% increase from this time last year, according to the Forbes Luxury Housing Index, a weekly review of the nation's 500 most expensive ZIP codes based on real estate statistics from Altos Research. That makes it this week's second-highest gainer.

"Whether the market can sustain such a sales rate is anyone's guess, but at least for now it's showing signs of life."

Click here to read more.

Coronado Bridge Turns 40 Today!

When the San Diego-Coronado Bridge opened in 1969, it became an instant landmark that forever changed the small city nearly surrounded by the Pacific.

Coronado officials had looked at proposals to make the city more accessible since the 1920s, but it wasn't until former Hotel del Coronado owner John Alessio and then-owner M. Larry Lawrence began lobbying Gov. Edmund G. “Pat” Brown that a bridge plan gained traction. It was approved by state officials in 1965, with funding to come from state toll revenue bonds.

Forty years ago tomorrow, the bridge opened, ascending at a 4.67 percent grade from Coronado before curving 90 degrees toward San Diego. The curve makes the span long enough so it can rise to a height of 200 feet, allowing even the Navy's tallest ships to sail under.

The bridge's opening turned a sleepy town filled mostly with Navy employees in time-worn homes into a modern, traffic-filled city that has attracted millions of tourists and scores of developers and wealthy new homeowners.

The city's population hasn't grown much since the bridge opened – 19,550 in 1965, compared with 22,845 today – but it's a denser community.

Since 1969, 254 people have jumped off the bridge, which is 240 feet high at its apex. Nine survived.

Click here to read more.

Wall Street Journal: Buyers Shouldn't Wait on Falling Prices

Fear of overpaying for property is common these days, especially in places where prices continue to be unstable.

Here are some reasons why it doesn't always pay to wait on falling prices:
-Waiting for the right time can be expensive. Some buyers would have more equity today, despite falling prices, if they had bought when they were first considering it, instead of continuing to pay rent.
-Financing is fickle. Some people who were highly qualified last year can’t find financing this year because the credit market has tightened or their personal financial situation now makes them an undesirable borrower.
-Interest rates are headed up. If prices decline by another 10 percent, but interest rates increase by 1 percentage point, the monthly payment will be the same.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Douglas Heddings (07/27/2009)

USA Today: Housing Market has Bottomed Out

Economic recovery is still a few months away, say economists surveyed by USA Today, but two-thirds of them think existing-home sales have bottomed out.

Both housing and automotive markets “have the potential to generate some quite large percentage increases,” says Bill Cheney, chief economist at MFC Global Investment.

Overall, economists say unemployment won’t peak until the first half of next year and credit markets will remain tight.

"I think (the recovery) is going to be anemic," says Allen Sinai, chief economist at Decision Economics. "I don't think consumers have the wherewithal to buy a lot of cars and a lot of houses."

Source: USA Today, Paul Davidson; Barbara Hansen (07/27/2009)