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Makena real estate market

June 8, 2010 // No Comments »

The Makena real estate market, one of the more resort-heavy and tourist-friendly sectors of the larger Maui real estate market, seemed to be still showing signs of strength despite an extremely high rate of foreclosure. According to a May 20, 2010 article from the Lahaina News, “The market is starting to turn, indicated by the increase in unit sales…Anecdotal evidence from agents, lenders and escrow personnel indicate that a good portion of the transactions in process (not yet closed) are outside the tax credit program, and that there is strong buyer-showing activity that should result in future sales.” The piece went on to note that “Condo median prices are showing some small upticks. The inventory includes many short sales and REO (bank owned) properties that will need to be absorbed as sales before we can move ahead to a more normal marketplace, at which time prices will start to rise. Interest rates have started to rise from historic record lows, which may also motivate would-be buyers to go ahead and buy.”

One of the largest examples of Makena real estate, the massive Makena Beach & Golf Resort, was recently purchased at a government-mandated auction. According to a May 29, 2010 article from the Honolulu Star Bulletin, “The lender in the Makena Beach & Golf Resort foreclosure case ended up being the highest bidder for the property, but that might not last long. A court-mandated public auction for the Maui property was held at the Maui County courthouse yesterday morning.” The piece, written by Gene Park, continued to say that “Wells Fargo Bank had the highest bid at $55 million. The financial institution is owed more than $192.5 million in principal, plus interest and other costs on its mortgage loan. The only other bidder, who wished not to be disclosed, put in a bid for $50 million.”

This same news, which might help to stabilize the fortunes of Makena homes for sale, was mentioned in a May 28, 2010 piece from KITV News. This report said that “The bid was submitted on behalf of Wells Fargo Bank as trustee for the mortgage lending trust that foreclosed on the former Maui Prince Hotel last year…The 310-room hotel sits on 1,800 acres of East Maui.”

Posted in Hawaii

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

Colorado real estate market

May 25, 2010 // No Comments »

The Colorado real estate market seems to be rallying strongly, especially when considering the metropolitan areas of Denver and Colorado Springs. Although foreclosures continue to increase slightly, the inventory of foreclosures is being cleared more rapidly than in previous months. This is according to a May 13, 2010 article in the Denver Business Journal, which found that “Foreclosure sales in Colorado shot up 53.6 percent in the first quarter of 2010 from the same period a year earlier, and new foreclosure filings rose 6 percent, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs’ Division of Housing reported Thursday.” The piece by Mark Harden continued to say that “But officials said the year-ago foreclosure-sales total was pushed down by a national moratorium on processing foreclosures. They said that between first-quarter 2008 and first-quarter 2010, a comparison that straddles the moratorium, foreclosure sales rose a more modest 13.3 percent, or an average of 6.7 percent per year.”

Colorado homes for sale in Denver sold for slightly more compared to last year, according to a May 11, 2010 article in the Denver Business Journal. This article found that “Single-family home prices in metro Denver slipped in March from the previous months but rose 4.1 percent from 12 months earlier, according to a report Tuesday from Integrated Asset Services LLC.” The piece, written by Mark Harden, continued to say that “The monthly ‘IAS360 House Price Index’ report from IAS, a Denver-based default-mortgage services company, said the median single-family home price in the Denver-Aurora metro area declined 0.7 percent in March, following a 0.2 percent rise in February. But year over year, the index showed a 4.1 percent increase in the area’s median price between March 2009 and March 2010.”

Colorado real estate in the Colorado Springs area also rallied strongly in recent months, according to a May 5, 2010 article in the Colorado Springs Gazette. The piece, written by Rich Laden, continued to say that “Colorado Springs-area home prices and sales rose again last month, the latest in a string of improved showings the local resale market. Home sales totaled 792 in April, an 11.9 percent increase over the same month last year, according to a Pikes Peak Association of Realtors report.”

Posted in Colorado

Newport Beach real estate market

May 23, 2010 // 1 Comment »

The Newport Beach real estate market is currently showing mixed signs, but is one of the riskiest housing markets in the country. According to a May 12, 2010 article in the Orange County Register, “New National Association of Realtor home price data for metropolitan areas shows an Orange County house costing 2.93 times what the median-priced American home sold in the first quarter. That’s no bargain, despite a horrific drop in local home prices: Last time this so-called ‘Orange premium’ was this high was 2008 as the market was toppling.” The piece by Jon Lasner continued to say that “Curiously, this ‘Orange premium’ in this downturn did not hit the lows seen in the mid-1990s real estate recession. The index bottomed at pricing of 2.38 American homes for my ‘Orange premium.’ The recent upswing in the ‘Orange premium’ could mean that the emerging firmness in local house pricing may be ahead of the overall economics.”

The average price of a Newport Beach home for sale, along with Orange County in general, rallied in the month of March, according to an April 22, 2010 article in the Orange County Business Journal. This piece found that “The median price of an existing Orange County home rose by more than $10,000 in March from February, spurred in large part by low mortgage rates and generally affordable prices, the California Association of Realtors said on Thursday.” The piece, written by Mark Mueller, continued to say that “The median price for an existing stand-alone OC home sold in March was $493,120, a 2% increase from February, and a nearly 11% increase from a year ago. The number of sales here in March jumped 39% from a month ago, and was up about 15% from a year ago, the Realtor association said.”

This good news for Newport Beach real estate, however, still does not alleviate the huge risk involved in the Orange County real estate market. According to a May 2, 2010 article in the OC Metro, “Orange County’s housing market is among the riskiest in the nation, according to a new study from Walnut Creek-based PMI Group.”

Posted in California

Las Vegas real estate market

May 22, 2010 // No Comments »

The Las Vegas real estate market continues to be one of the most distressed areas in the entire nation, with home sales continuing to decline and foreclosure rates remaining at extremely high levels. According to a May 10, 2010 article in the Las Vegas Sun, “The federal tax credit designed to spur home sales appears to have ended on a whimper in Las Vegas and may foretell a downturn in the housing market in the coming months, analysts said. The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Monday that sales in April fell 7 percent compared to March and dropped nearly 8 percent compared to April 2009.”

The piece, composed by Buck Wargo, continued to say that “The drop off in the year-over-year sales is the first since March 2008. The decline was unexpected since April was the last month for buyers to sign contracts for new and existing homes. Dennis Smith, president of Home Builders Research, who monitors the Southern Nevada housing market, said he believes the drop off in sales is a reflection of the declining amount of foreclosure properties in the market.” The only potential bright spot for the Las Vegas real estate market was a slight increase in home prices as reported by Fox 5 News.

The extremely high rate of foreclosures facing Las Vegas homes for sale was reported in an April 29, 2010 article in the Atlantic. This piece said that “Maybe they should call it Foreclosure City instead of Sin City. Las Vegas was again the source of the highest foreclosures density in the U.S. during the first quarter, according to a new RealtyTrac report documenting foreclosure rates in the 209 largest metropolitan statistical areas. It had an incredible one foreclosure for every 28 properties. That’s even worse than Nevada’s overall 1-in-33 foreclosure rate for the quarter. The city’s foreclosure density was also nearly 5x the national average.” The article, written by Daniel Indiviglio, continued to say that “Las Vegas is a prototypical example of this phenomenon. It has 19% fewer foreclosures than a year earlier, but 13% more than a quarter earlier.”

Posted in Nevada

Columbus real estate

May 18, 2010 // No Comments »

The Columbus real estate is facing mixed signals, with some suggesting that a recovery might be imminent and others pointing towards a continued slide. According to an April 23, 2010 article in the Columbus Dispatch, “Propelled by bargain prices and the imminent end of a federal tax credit, homebuyers snatched up properties throughout central Ohio and the rest of the nation in March. In the Columbus area, 1,704 homes changed hands during the month – 25 percent more than in March 2009. Statewide, sales rose 15.5 percent, and across the nation, they were up 6.8 percent.” The piece, written by Jim Weiker, continued to say that “Central Ohio homes sold for an average of $151,719 in March, 6 percent more than a year ago. The average home sold in 89 days, almost three weeks faster than last March. Real-estate agents and builders are reporting a rush of activity as buyers try to claim up to $8,000 in tax credits.”

Commercial real estate continues to be one problem for the Ohio and Columbus real estate markets. According to a Mary 11, 2010 article from WKYC News, “As home foreclosures continue to sweep the country, experts say the next shoe to drop will be in the commercial real estate market. Between lenders and unemployment numbers, the perfect storm is about to hit according to real estate analysts. ‘Well, commercial real estate tends to lag behind the residential,’ says George Pofok, Vice President at CRESCO Real Estate.” The piece, composed by Kyle Maureen, continued to say that “The writing is on the wall. Signs are everywhere that the commercial real estate market is in jeopardy. For lease, for sale, and some, foreclosure.”

Foreclosures were another potential stumbling block for Columbus homes for sale, according to an April 30, 2010 article in Business First of Columbus. The article, written by Kevin Kemper, found that “Home ownership in Central Ohio has continued its dramatic erosion this year as another wave of foreclosures washes over the region. Despite the improving economy and the best efforts of the homeowner-assistance programs, 3,714 foreclosure-lawsuits were filed in the eight-county Columbus region in the first quarter, up 5.4 percent from a year ago.”

Posted in Ohio

Paradise Valley Real Estate

April 24, 2010 // No Comments »

A rather affluent town in Maricopa County, the city of Paradise Valley, Arizona, is a suburb of the Phoenix metro area and is home a population of around $15,000. The city has a high-priced real estate, with many homes with values of $5 million to $20 million, and it was thus heavily impacted by the crash in the U.S. real estate market that began in 2008. Since then, the Paradise Valley real estate market has seen its ups and downs and is still searching for stabilization.

According to statistics made available by John Hall Associates, local Phoenix realtors, the number of active listings of Paradise Valley homes for sale has shown a general declining trend over the past 12 months. In April 2009, there were 582 homes for sale, and that number has since gradually fallen to 470 homes for sale in April.

Sales activity levels in Paradise Valley have also fluctuated but are now relatively in good shape, compared to a year earlier. In March 2009, there were just seven homes sold in Paradise Valley, the lowest figure of the last 12 months. That figure spiked for the year in December, when there were 43 homes sold, and has since leveled out to 30 homes sold in both March and February.

Foreclosures in Mesa have been up and down as well. There was a high of 37 foreclosure notices issued in March 2009. That figure fell to a low of 11 in November and most recently stood at 19 in March. There were nine trustee sales in March as well, slightly lower than the high of 14 in July and above the low of four in May and August. The price of Mesa homes per square foot has remained relatively stable. Homes for sale had an average price in March of $461 per square foot, just below the $510 per square foot price of one year ago. Homes sold, meanwhile, came in with an average price of $282 per square foot, down from a year ago’s figure of $319 per square foot.

Posted in Arizona

El Dorado Hills

March 23, 2010 // No Comments »

El Dorado Hills is a census-desginated place in the Sacramento region that is home to some exclusive and high-priced real estate communities. The El Dorado Hills real estate has, unsurprisingly, suffered in recent years as the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble dampened the appetite and mood for real estate transactions in the area as buyers hesitated or were unable to secure financing and sellers saw the values of their homes plummet.

From November of 2009 through January of this year, there were 149 homes, two condos and 10 land properties up for sale in El Dorado Hills, according to RE/Max, a local realtor agency. Of those properties, 48 that sold were bank-owned properties and 39 were short sales. The range of prices of properties sold stretched from as little as $150,000 for a condo to $1.2 million for a more than 5,000-square-foot home in Serrano, a short sale, as it was listed at more than $1.5 million.

In the middle of February of this year, there were 294 El Dorado Hills homes for sale listed, a decline of more than 20% from September 2009. The average asking price was around $665,500, down more than 8% from six months ago, while the median price was $522,500, down around 4.9% from six months ago. Of those 294 homes for sale, 21 are bank-owned, 45 are active short sales and  86 are short sales with accepted offers awaiting bank approval.

From the three-month period of November 2009 through January 2010, there were 149 homes sold in the community, an improvement of almost 10% from the previous three-month period. The average sale price during the November-January period was just over $482,300, down only 0.02% from the previous period. Likewise, the median price was $432,000, down only 0.35% from the previous period. Homes spent longer on the market during the most recent period, at 113 days versus just 100 days from August through October. The market, however, ended up with just a 5.9 months’ worth of inventory, an improvement of the last period’s 8.1 months, as some of the excess inventory was cleared out of the 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