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Palm Springs Real Estate

June 6, 2010 // 1 Comment »

The average price of a Palm Springs home for sale, along with the average sales price of other Coachella Valley communities’ homes for sale, rallied in the month of April. According to a May 29, 2010 article in KPSP 2 News, “If you’re trying to sell a home or condo in the valley there is some good news. Compared to the same time period last year home prices are up quite a bit…According to a report just released from the Palm Springs Regional Association of Realtors, the median home price in the Coachella Valley rose 31% in April, compared to the same time last year.” The article by Jackie Pedroza went on to say that “The median price jumped from $150-thousand dollars to more than $190-thousand dollars…Currently across the valley, there are around 5 thousand active listings for homes and condos. Of those 40 percent are priced at or below 300-thousand dollars.”

This same positive news for the Palm Springs real estate market was reported on by a May 25, 2010 article in the Desert Sun. This piece found that “The median price for Coachella Valley home sales in April rose 31 percent in April compared to the same time last year, Palm Springs Regional Association of Realtors data show. It rose to $197,040 from the $150,140 median in April 2009.” The article by Debra Gruszecki continued to say that “Scott Newton, president of the Palm Springs Regional Association of Realtors, said the April numbers show a market that is moving out of high-season and is so focused on median price that inventory is getting low. ‘That creates higher demand,’ he said. ‘Higher demand creates slightly higher prices.’”

A high foreclosure rate has led to growth in the number of short sales among Palm Springs real estate, according to a May 23, 2010 article also in the Desert Sun. This piece noted that “With foreclosures continuing to pummel the Coachella Valley floor and home values dropping real estate agents are working with property owners in bigger numbers to drive short sales…Real estate experts say they’re seeing spurts of multiple bids and cash buys on homes priced below $250,000 by investors with deep pockets, buyers from other states or residents with equity in their home, a move-up mentality or frazzled nerves from a volatile stock market.”

Posted in California

Hawaii real estate investment

February 11, 2010 // No Comments »

Have you ever wondered just how nice it would be waking up in the morning, feeling the tropical breeze of the ocean, strolling in the white sand beaches, swimming in the crystal clear Hawaiian beaches under a bright sunny day?  Don’t you just love having summer virtually all year round?  If all these tickle your senses, chances are you might be interested in having your own Hawaii real estate.

As you might have known by now, Hawaii is an island paradise well-known for its tropical climate.  Here you can enjoy the warm breeze of the ocean, as well as the most spectacular views both in land and in sea.  And because Hawaii is an island paradise, this means Hawaii real estate here is a true goldmine of an industry, even in the midst of financial crisis and other global issues.  An investment in Hawaii real estate has excellent appreciation capabilities, and the perfect artillery against inflation.  Your investment in real estate can easily provide you with long term stability given the proper conditions.  Success in this kind of business will greatly be determined by your location, so your choice in this category is a very critical one.  Hawaii is a very busy place all year round, with tourists from all over the globe eager to experience the feeling of serenity and bliss that only this place can offer.  The ocean and landscapes of Hawaii truly make it a perfect place for real estate business.

Before you make decisions about where to make your investment, it is important to have a good knowledge and understanding of the island’s structure and geography (Hawaii is made up of several different islands), as well as the various activities in the locality.  On Oahu real estate properties can also have varying orientations – you can choose between vertical or horizontal properties.  Honolulu homes, townhouses and apartments are your options if you are inclined with horizontal type of real estate, while Hawaii condos, multi-level apartments, rest houses and villas are perfect examples of vertical properties.  Choosing between horizontal or vertical real estate will depend entirely on your taste and personal preferences.  You might also want to take into consideration other important factors such as the price threshold, choice of neighbourhood, number of bedrooms/bathrooms etc.  Remember that location is the key here, and it will greatly influence the future of your real estate property.

Single family homes and condo units are available in well-known locations such as Ewa Gentry, Salt Lake, Mililani, Waialae Iki, Makiki Heights, Punahou, Ocean Pointe and Village Park.

Acquiring real estate properties in Honolulu can easily ensure you financial security and stability for both you and your loved ones’ future.  Let’s face it, real estate is a basic need for everyone and making a sound investment in properties like these help you reap the benefits of your hard-earned money.  For starters, think about just how much your property will be worth in a few years time because of appreciation.  Already have a piece of property in Honolulu?  Why not have it rented out to guests and tourists if you have a home or apartment?  If you can also invest some time and effort, you might want to try converting your place into a bed and breakfast business.  You can also purchase a good beachfront property and rent it out to businessman at commanding rates.  Hawaii is moving very progressively, especially nowadays as the number of real estate developers continue to flock here and build luxurious structures all over the island paradise.

I’m sure many will agree if I say that government taxes is one of the many burdens we citizens face on a regular basis.  Here’s some good news – home owners in Hawaii are entitled to tax benefits offered by the local government.  For example, tax deductions are given for the interest you pay on your home mortgage.  The interests in your current liabilities can also be deducted, making use of your home as security.  Keep in mind that the property you have right now can easily increase in value within a couple of years, and that means paying less taxes too.  Ultimately, your investment in Hawaii real estate will provide a big boost to your financial security and net worth.  This is one of the places where your money is truly put to good use.  It’s about time you make an investment – an investment in you and your family’s future.  Start investing in Hawaii real estate now and you will definitely not regret it.

Posted in Hawaii

Medford real estate

December 30, 2009 // No Comments »

Real estate in Medford can look forward to better days, claimed Greg Stiles of the Mail Tribune on October 27, 2009.  His newspaper article claims that “buyers have snapped up foreclosures and short sales like hors d’oeuvres and appetizers and local industry leaders hope they will find the main course will be just as desirable.”  On the facts and figures side of things, “the latest figures compiled by Southern Oregon Multiple Listing Service show 233 pending sales — 44.7 percent more than a year ago. New listings, meanwhile, have declined, helping to reduce the bloated inventory that accumulated after the housing bubble burst four years ago.”

According to the statistics, Medford real estate is not fairing too well.  Compared to the previous month, Yahoo! Real Estate reported on November 16, 2009, that the median price of homes for sale dropped two percent to $244,000 while foreclosures also dropped by a similar amount to about $183,000.  However, while these figures may seem appealing to some, realtors caution that the median sales price can sometimes be misleading, as it represents only the median price of the specific homes that sold during the time period and not necessarily the entire market.  On the whole, however, Medford homes for sale are doing much better than similar properties elsewhere in Oregon or even on the west cost of the U.S.

Stiles wrote a follow-up article on November 7, 2009, to provide more information regarding the local housing market.  According to the report, the extension of the federal tax credit will help to continue the market stimulation that has helped out the Medford real estate market previously.  “With the first-time homebuyers tax credit and expanding coverage to include current owners, local real estate agents hope to see the trend continue. Congress extended the tax credit, slated to end Nov. 30, through April 30, 2010. Many current homeowners also are eligible to receive a credit of $6,500 if they buy during the prescribed period.”  Most notably, East Medford was the biggest segment of the market with 138 sales in the past three months, up from 114 in 2008.

Posted in Oregon

Ashland real estate

December 16, 2009 // No Comments »

Despite a harmful global recession and construction freezes on properties around the world, Ashland real estate is still the target for some build-happy property owners.  While the current credit crisis and failing mortgage market make building a new home a bad idea at this time, the Oregon city is still seeing a steady amount of building permits.  The city is capitalizing on this trend by adding on an extra fee to those people seeking building certification and permissions.  Andrea Calcagno of the local television station KDRV reported on November 9, 2009, that real estate in Ashland continues to be developed at a surprising rate although “people who want to build a home or business in Ashland may soon be paying an extra dollar per square foot to the Ashland School District.”

The article claims that “If passed, the tax would be $1 for every square foot for residential building and .50 cents for commercial building projects.”  The Ashland School District says the money collected by the tax is predicted to be between $100,000 and $300,000 a year.  Similar rules and laws have already been implemented in forty-nine other districts in Oregon.  Accordingly, applications for housing permits are expected to decline one the law is put into place.  An indirect effect of this is an increased demand for Ashland homes for sale after construction of new homes begins to taper as the results of the additional fees come into full effect.

The Yahoo! Real Estate Market Snapshot updated on November 16, 2009, showed a slight decrease in the median price of homes for sale, down 1.9 percent to just over $429,000.  The price for foreclosed properties rose 2.2 percent from the previous month to just under $290,000.  These numbers are quite mild in relation to several other cities and areas in the United States that suffered much more over the same period.  Currently, experts estimate the worst of the recession to bottom-out some time in 2010, much to the relief of property owners and potential buyers alike.

Posted in Oregon

Atlanta Real Estate Market Update

// No Comments »

The Atlanta real estate market continues to suffer as a result of the recession of 2008.  Consumer confidence in Atlanta is low, home values are low, and there is a large inventory of new and foreclosed properties on the market.  However, the credit crunch in Atlanta seems to be the largest problem for bringing about the recovery of the Atlanta real estate market.  Housing is generally affordable now, but people who are interested in buying a new home now are having trouble getting the loans they need because lenders have greatly tightened their approval requirements.  Most people now will have trouble seeking the financing they need unless if they can make a relatively large cash down payment or have perfect credit.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has reported that the Atlanta real estate market continues to suffer, especially due to the credit freeze in Atlanta.  To make things worse, many banks in Atlanta are not willing to reduce prices for foreclosed or distressed properties that they own, opting to wait for a more favorable market.  Real estate experts believe that regulators will be needed in order to force banks to act accordingly to allow the Atlanta real estate market to begin to make a recovery.  However, for private home sellers, the Atlanta Journal Constitution has noted that those homes are selling relatively quickly, primarily due to the willingness of the homeowners to be flexible with the home price.  Although there haven’t been many promising signs of recovery in the near future, many real estate experts are optimistic that the Atlanta real estate will be poised for recovery sometime in 2010 or most likely 2011.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle has reported that according to a survey taken in the fourth quarter of 2009 by LoopNet, most people don’t expect a recovery in the Atlanta real estate market until 2011.  Consumer confidence is reported to be down, and the number of people expecting a recovery in 2010 as opposed to 2011 is also down.  Many people also expect that the Atlanta real estate market will continue to decline by about 11 percent in the coming months before bottoming out sometime around the second quarter of 2010.  People also felt confident that the lack of access to debt financing was the number one obstacle to the recovery of the Atlanta real estate.

Posted in Georgia

Boulder Colorado Real Estate

December 15, 2009 // No Comments »

The Boulder real estate market is in slightly better shape than the rest of Colorado, although there are still serious problems with the region, and the city seems to be facing a rather tepid recovery. According to a November 25, 2009 article in the Boulder County Business Report, “It’s a cliché phrase in the real estate world, but experts at the Boulder Valley Real Estate Conference & Forecast told audience members that ‘now is the time to buy.’ Giving their views for 2010, local and national real estate experts said they expect the economy to slowly recover, and along with it interest rates likely will rise. About 500 people attended the conference presented by the Boulder County Business Report on Nov. 19 at the Millennium Harvest House Boulder. Lead sponsors were Re/Max of Boulder and The Colorado Group. Brad Blackwell, retail national sales manager of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, said the U.S. Federal Reserve plans to slowly withdraw its emergency support from the mortgage markets, which likely will raise rates starting in January.”

Boulder home sales are at least partially dictated by price levels in the city, at least according to a November 24, 2009 article also in the Boulder County Business Report. The piece noted that “Home prices in Boulder County depreciated annually for the first time in 21 years, according to the latest figures from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The agency, which tracks conforming loans and refinances across the nation’s metropolitan statistical areas, said home prices decreased 0.56 percent year-over-year in Boulder County during the third quarter.”

One potential problem area for real estate in Boulder was the level of foreclosures, which, although lower than the rest of the state, are still considerably higher than before the recession. According to a November 19, 2009 article in the Denver Post, “New foreclosure filings in Colorado reached a record high of 12,468 during the third quarter, according to a report released Thursday by the Colorado Division of Housing…The rates in Boulder and Broomfield counties, by contrast, were 329 and 230 households per completed foreclosure, respectively. Industry observers say completed foreclosures are down because borrowers are seeking help with loan modifications from Colorado’s foreclosure hotline.”

Posted in Colorado