Charming 2 Bedroom Coronado Condo: $485,000!

This is the least expensive 2 bedroom condo on the Island! Lovingly updated with slate floor, new fixtures and stainless appliances in kitchen, this 2 bed/2 bath unit is located just a few blocks from beaches and 1 block from schools. Owner very motivated to sell!

Contact christinevt@prusd.com to view this unit or for more info at anytime.

4 Perks of New Homes

It could be a great time to buy a brand now home because prices are down and builders are motivated to unload declining, but still significant, inventories. Here are a few reasons for buying new rather than existing properties.

● Buying new means new everything. New homeowners don’t have to replace carpeting, paint, or redo the kitchen.
● Mortgages on new homes are often lower. That gives new homebuyers bargaining power.
● Appreciation is greater. New homes tend to gain more value than existing homes during the first five to seven years.
● New homes are often more energy efficient. Research shows that homes are 30 to 35 percent more energy efficient than a home built 10 years ago.

Why it's Better to Move Up in a Down Market

Math smiles on buyers who move up in a down market, according to experts. And smart homeowners are taking advantage of the times to get a bigger house--even if the one they live in is worth less than it was when they bought it.

Real estate agents from the foreclosure epicenters of Florida and California to more stable markets like the Seattle area are using that advice to lure move-up buyers.

“Do the math,” said agent Mark Zawideh, who has been selling homes in the suburbs west of Detroit, where prices have declined 18 percent in the last year alone. “If you’re in a $200,000 house (the median price in the area) and you lost 18 percent, that means you lost $36,000,” Zawideh said. “But if you’re moving up and buying a $500,000 house, that person just took a $90,000 loss, so you can see you’re making 54,000.”

“Obviously, if you’re selling for less than you could have gotten two years ago, you’re disappointed, but you really need to look at your bottom line,” said Walt Molony of the National Association of Realtors. “If you’re trying to trade up, whatever you’re going to trade up to is going to sell at a discount, too. You need to look at your net.”

Click here for the full story from MSNBC.com.

How to Get that Valuable First Time Homebuyer Credit

Congress included an attractive tax credit in the economic-stimulus law, but the fine print is tricky. Here’s help to see if you qualify, and to determine whether to claim it this year or next.

The new law sweetens a provision known as the "first-time homebuyer credit." In essence, if you meet certain qualifications, you may be eligible for a tax credit of as much as $8,000. You also have a choice of claiming the credit on your federal income-tax return for 2008 or 2009. A credit is typically more valuable than a deduction, since it eliminates your taxes on a dollar-for-dollar basis — and in this case, you may get it even if you don't owe any taxes.

But Congress made the homebuyer-credit fine print so devilishly tricky that many Americans are likely to have to pay an expert for help in deciphering it.

Click here for a Q & A from the Wall Street Journal that helps you understand how you can claim this tax credit.

Federal Housing Help Plan Launches

The Obama Administration’s program to rescue distressed home owners got off the ground this week. The program was announced on Feb. 18, but it took several weeks to put the bureaucracy in place.

Six of the nation’s largest banks signed up to participate, the Treasury Department announced Wednesday. They are JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, GMAC Mortgage, Saxon Mortgage Services, and Select Portfolio Servicing.

Treasury says it is allocating $50 billion to the program. The Department of Housing and Urban Development will provide the rest.The plan calls for loan servicers to reduce interest rates so a family’s monthly mortgage obligation is no more than 38 percent of its pre-tax income. Loan servicers also can reduce loan balances. After the loans are modified, the government then provides enough money to reduce payments to 31 percent of income.Participating servicers get $1,000 a year for each modification and another $1,000 a year for three years if the borrower remains current. Servicers get an extra $500 if they do the modifications before the borrower falls behind in his payments—and the borrower gets $1,500. Also, homeowners get $1,000 a year for five years if they remain current on their payments. The money must be used to reduce their principal balances.

Source: CNN, Tami Luhby (04/16/2009)

Economists See Rebound in September

Economists surveyed a Wall Street Journal article expect the recession to end in September.

However, the majority also believe that the economy will not begin to grow until the second half of 2010, which is when they expect the unemployment rate to go down.

Economists are seeing more signs of a recovery in the broader economy this year. On average, the economists expect the recession to end in September, compared with the October forecast last month. This marked the first time since the start of the recession that the economists didn’t push the date of recovery further into the future.

Click here for the full article.

Home Prices Flat and Sales Rocket 43%

San Diego County home prices remained virtually flat in March for the third straight month, with sales of entry-level homes the strongest, in the clearest sign yet that at least the market's bottom rung may have stabilized.

The county's median price was $285,000, unchanged from February and up $5,000 from January, MDA DataQuick reported yesterday. Sales skyrocketed to 3,020, up 43 percent from a year ago; it was the biggest increase for any March in five years.

“The sales are the first thing that has to improve to bring stability into the housing market, and there's a good reason why the sales are improving, and that's affordability,” said Esmael Adibi, director of Chapman University's Anderson Center for Economic Research.

Click here for more.

Source: San Diego Union-Tribune