Mortgage rates sink to record all-time low

Via Associated Press today:

Mortgage rates sink to record low
National average for a 30-year fixed loan dips to 4.69 percent


Mortgage Rates fell this week to the lowest level on record, giving consumers added incentive to lock in low payments on home purchases and refinancings.

Mortgage Company Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate for 30-year fixed loans sank to 4.69 percent, from 4.75 percent last week.



That's the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971. The previous record of 4.71 percent was set in December. Rates for 15-year and five-year mortgages also hit lows.

Mortgage rates have fallen over the past two months. Investors wary of the European debt crisis and the turbulent stock market have shifted money into the safety of Treasury bonds, driving down yields. Mortgage rates tend to track the yields on long-term Treasury debt.

Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day.

Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to an average of 4.13 percent, the lowest on records dating to September 1991 and down from 4.2 percent a week earlier.

Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 3.84 percent, down from 3.89 percent a week earlier. That was also the lowest on Freddie Mac's records, which only date back to January 2005.

Average rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 3.77 percent from 3.82 percent. That was the lowest average since May 2004.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. One point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount.

The nationwide fee for loans in Freddie Mac's survey averaged 0.7 a point for 30-year, 5-year and 1-year loans. The average fee for 15-year loans was 0.6 of a point.

WOW!

Steal this Ranch- Bank Owned Horse property-559k

Off the Ojai Road, about fifteen minutes out from Ojai, about as far out of Santa Paula as you can be and still have a Santa Paula Address lies this two and a half acre ranch with barn, greenhouses, groves and a 2400 sq ft 3/3 home. I love the country up here, you're in avocado and lemon country and the fragrant blossoms perfume the air this time of year. In the winter, you can expect snow. The trails go on forever, and at night you can actually see the stars- all of them. The house needs some work (of course), but come on, where's your cowboy spirit?

I think if I owned this I'd raise baby greens, chickens, and rotate some hops and timothy grass on an acre! And plant some Syrah grapes! Oh, and there's plenty of room for Alpacas! Plus some goats for goat cheese! Plenty of chores to do as you can see.


See this and other equestrian-oriented bargains- give me a call!

“Mars vs. Venus” Differences Hold True for Home Hunters, According to ZipRealty Survey

VENUS


MARS




New survey from national brokerage reveals top must-haves and biggest turn-offs in a home for buyers


EMERYVILLE, Calif., June 10, 2010 – Forget that “man cave” or home theater room: what men crave more than women in a new house is a luxurious bathroom, a guest bedroom, a dining room and views. On the other hand, female house hunters value a home office more than a kids’ playroom, dining room or luxurious bathroom. These are just a few of the more surprising findings of a recent survey of 1,000 house hunters released today by real estate brokerage ZipRealty (NASDAQ: ZIPR, www.ziprealty.com ).

Other survey highlights:

· Both men and women home hunters rated green features higher this year compared to 2008, with 27 percent of this year’s respondents ranking a green home high priority.
· The percentage of home shoppers ranking a home office as a high priority is up from 35 percent in 2008 to 39 percent in 2010.
· The three biggest turn-offs when viewing a home in person are structural damage, bad odors, a busy street and an awkward floor plan. While searching online, lack of parking and few or no photos and low square footage are the biggest deal-breakers.



Male versus Female House-Hunting: Must-Haves and Deal Breakers Differ


“Overall, the same things you would always expect to top the list of ‘must-haves’ and ‘deal breakers’ for house hunters still show up, but it is interesting to see men place a higher priority than women on things often characterized as stereotypically female priorities, such as a luxurious bathroom and a dining room,” said ZipRealty Vice President of Marketing Leslie Tyler. “Also, women’s growing desire for a home office may speak to the fact that more women are working from home these days.”


· A higher percentage of women reported ample storage and a large yard as a high priority compared to men, and reported that when viewing a home in person they would be turned off by small bedrooms and a lack of common space more often than male respondents. In fact, 60 percent of women compared to 49 percent of men reported they wouldn’t consider a home with small bedrooms.
· Forty-four percent of men rated a home with a view as a high priority, compared to only 33 percent of women, while 28 percent of men reported a luxurious bathroom as a high priority, compared to only 23 percent of women, and more than 70 percent of men indicated a guest bedroom as a must-have, compared to only 63 percent of women.
· A higher percentage of men reported when searching for homes online disdain for outdated furniture or paint and unkempt landscaping compared to women – and men reported more often than women in person, they’re more likely to be turned off by a lack of curb appeal than women are.

About This Survey
This report is prepared by ZipRealty, Inc. as of May 2010, based on a survey of approximately 1,000 ZipRealty.com registered users. While ZipRealty believes the survey is reasonably representative of typical homebuyer interests and preferences, the results reflected in this survey and our statements throughout this report are not a representation or warranty of any kind. ZipRealty does not assume, and expressly disclaims, any liability associated with a potential homebuyer’s or homeseller’s use of this information. This report and all of the statements, pictures, and results of our survey are ZipRealty, Inc. information.



About ZipRealty, Inc.
ZipRealty is a full-service residential real estate brokerage firm. The Company utilizes its user-friendly Web site and employee real estate agents to provide home buyers and sellers with high-quality service and value. ZipRealty's Web site provides users with access to comprehensive local Multiple Listing Services’ home listings data, as well as other relevant market and neighborhood information. The Company's proprietary business management system and technology platform help to reduce costs, allowing the Company to pass on significant savings to consumers. Founded in 1999, the company operates in 35 major markets in 22 states and the District of Columbia. For more information on ZipRealty, visit www.ziprealty.com or call 1-800-CALL-ZIP.

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"There's something you don't see every day"

I sell a lot of high end Real Estate, in addition to horse properties , condos, lots, you name it. I mention this because every time I think I've seen it all in home features, something NEW pops up.

Have any of you ever seen a TV In an outdoor BBQ? I confess, this is a new one for me. How does this work? Certainly the grill part can't still operate? If I see one locally I'll let you know. This one is in Palm Desert.

NEW HOME SALES SOAR

From Todays WALL STREET JOURNAL Sales of newly built homes soared in April as buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that sales of new single-family homes rose 14.8% from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 504,000.

Demand for new homes had also surged in March, when sales climbed 29.9% from the prior month. Sales in April were 47.8% higher than a year earlier

The recent surge in housing sales was likely the result of expiring government incentives, which provided an $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers and a $6,500 credit for repeat homeowners. Contracts for those homes had to be signed by April 30. Buyers have to complete purchases by June 30.

The housing market is stabilizing after both sales and prices plummeted during the recession. Sales of existing homes, a far bigger number than newly built homes, jumped 7.6% in April, the National Association of Realtors said earlier this week.

Construction of new homes also is picking up. Starts for single-family homes rose 10.2% in April from March, the fourth-straight monthly rise, Commerce said earlier this month.

New-Home Sales Jump
Indices of home prices are no longer dropping precipitously; the closely watched Case-Schiller index has fallen for the past six months, but is above year-ago levels.

Some economists say the April tax-credit deadline pulled forward some sales that, with the absence of the tax credit, might have taken place this summer. That could cause home sales to sag in coming months.

"Sales are on a mildly upward trend if you kind of look through those numbers," said Peter Newland, a Barclays Capital analyst, "but certainly that won't be apparent in the next few months, as you see the payback from the tax credit."

The increase in sales brought the backlog of new homes down to five months, based on the current rate of sales, from 6.2 months in March.

The median price of a new home fell to $198,400 last month from $219,600 in March, which was likely influenced by the tax credit also.

"Those who wanted to tap the tax credit tended to buy cheaper houses," said Aichi Amemiya, a Nomura Securities International Inc. economist.

History for sale in Calabasas

When we were young, riding the trails of Malibu Canyon bareback, this ranch was occupied by ......ghosts of the past. More than once we heard eerie noises coming from this house, and one of my relatives from south of the border once heard the noises and said somberly "La Llorona", reverentially nodding his head. "La Llorona" was a mythic tale of a heartbroken woman whose soul mourned so deeply her cries of sadness were often heard on the night wind.

Fast forward to present day, this place has been de-spooked,all spiffed up, and is on the market for 899,000. Not bad for an acre in Calabasas, an actual slice of the old west, built in 1916, 3 BR 2 BA, 1700 Sq Feet. 1.2 acre parcel, a far cry from the past days when this ranch was probably six thousand acres or so, and stretched eastward through Mulholland to the Stokes family compund and south all the way over to the Tapia Hacienda and Casa Medina farther up the Malibu Canyon. I imagine if you listen on a warm summer night when the Santa Anas blow, you may yet hear a dim echo of a distant past where love made ghosts cry eternally in the night......
Call me to view this and other Calabasas Horse properties.

Real Estate Cycles

Nice house, huh? This is one of several homes in a small gated community that I sold as new in the 90's. Right after the upswing of the LAST real estate cycle low of 1993. I'm mentioning this because we sold these homes (7900 -10,100 sq ft., 1/2 acre- 1 acre lots) from $800,000 to 1,100,000.

Fast forward to the current real estate cycle low. Based on experience, I'd say we passed it, or we're in it, but factors seem to point to increased activity and slight increases in property values which indicate the cycle is beginning anew.

This is important, because a lot of you don't know that there are professional doomsayers who are part of a cottage industry and since the last real estate cycle, they have become VERY active, because FEAR always sells.

They tell you that the entire real estate market is melting down, that wave after wave of defaults are about to hit, that "peak oil" will render suburbs vacant wastelands. And they ask you to subscribe, and once people do this , they have a vested interest in accepting this narrative, so there's even more negative background noise in the real estate market than ever before.

If what they were saying was true, you'd see property values decline to zero. Less than zero. I have seen this, but never in California urban markets. If what the doom and gloomers said was true, you'd see prices decline to previous cycle lows, right?
Well. Not exactly. Those homes in the gated community I sold in 1994 for a million dollars? At the top of the last cycle one sold for 4 million dollars. Today? they are on the market for 2.1 million to 4 million. But, and this is important, THEY NEVER DECLINED TO THE ORIGINAL SALES PRICE, OR LESS.

In fact, I often point out to people folks that bought at the high of the last cycle in the 90's were "underwater" for a time, but eventually the old high was surpassed as the next cycle gained strength. Folks that bought at the high in the 90's cycle eventually saw gains of over 30% in their home value. If what the real estate doom gurus are saying was correct, this would not have happened. Homes would be selling for $46,000, a price average from 1974. Didn't happen.

As for the next "wave" of defaults, which will drag the markets down again, banks have learned from the past cycle. The important take-away from the S&L crisis was that you can't throw all your defaults on the market and not have it affect your other holdings. These days, lenders are packaging these defaults in portfolios of ten- twelve properties, and selling them to investors. The investors in turn improve the properties, and rent them for cash flow investment, or sell them at a profit. Either way, the default property is improved, property values propped up, and the markets are much more stable.

Stop thinking of your home as an "investment". That's Wall Street trying to use a false comparison. They want you to put your money in the market, and often play up the negative aspects of market cycles. Your home is actually a savings vehicle. On the ZIP Realty website, there's a link called "investor info". This is a great tool that illustrates what I'm talking about. It shows how much equity you will have in your property, aside from the market conditions, if you make your payment for ten years. That's a real number, not projections from a guru. Keep that in mind.