Homeownership, Insurance

Are You Covered?

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Are You Covered?Insurance and homeowners go together like peanut butter and jelly. Lenders require fire insurance at a minimum for homes with a mortgage, but many owners opt for more comprehensive coverage with a homeowner’s policy.

However, comprehensive doesn’t mean that everything is covered. Filing a claim is not the time to learn that you don’t have the right coverage. Are you covered? Here are some topics you should discuss with your insurance agent to get a better understanding of your policy and whether some adjustments might be in order.

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California, Homeownership, Housing Market, real estate

Real Estate’s Still Hot in California

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It’s been hot, hot, hot in California! And it’s not just the weather. Our real estate markets have been hot too. California had over half of the twenty hottest U.S. markets according to the National Association of Realtors®.

San Diego is right in there, placing seventh on the list. If you look at October’s list, you’ll see we’ve moved up to sixth place.

Real Estate's Still Hot in California
Home Buyers, Home Sellers, Property Taxes, tax

How to Move But Not Increase Property Taxes

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how to move but not increase property taxesAccording to a survey by the California Association of Realtors, one of the top reasons home owners have not considered selling is a concern that property taxes on another home would be too expensive.

For certain groups of people living in San Diego County and some other counties in California, there is a way to move but not increase property taxes.

California voters have passed several propositions, Propositions 60, 90 and 110, that allow eligible property owners to transfer the base year value of an existing principal residence to a replacement dwelling.

What do these propositions do? Who qualifies, and what are the benefits?

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Housing Appreciation, Housing Market, Market Statistics, North County, San Diego County

San Diego County Real Estate Report October 2015

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HomeDex San Diego County Real Estate ReportThis month’s San Diego County real estate report shows September home prices dropping slightly in both San Diego County as a whole and in North San Diego County according to the North San Diego County Association of REALTORS® and the Greater San Diego Association of REALTORS®.

Although this recent dip in prices slightly improves affordability in San Diego County, it follows strong price increases over the spring and summer months. Experts expect these increases to continue even with the interest rate hikes anticipated later this year. UCLA Anderson Forecast’s third quarter report predicts employment and income growth in California paired with a shortage of new construction through 2017. This, combined with our ongoing lack of resale inventory, will maintain pressure on housing prices in San Diego County.

To read the full housing statistics reports, click on the links below.

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Home Sellers, Homeownership, Housing Market

Why Homeowners Aren’t Selling

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Why homeowners aren't sellingEvery month I tell you inventory is still low. This is not only the case for San Diego County and North County, but also for most of California. What’s keeping people from selling their homes? The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) recently surveyed Californians and found some interesting answers why homeowners aren’t selling.

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Housing Appreciation, Housing Market, Market Statistics, San Diego County

San Diego County Housing Market Report September 2015

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HomeDex housing market reportAfter an exceptionally hot summer of home sales, the San Diego County housing market report for August cooled a little. North County prices for all property types dropped 1.4 percent compared to July, but still saw a sustainable 3.8 percent rise over the previous year.

But even with August’s cooling, the North San Diego County market remains pretty hot. In addition to the continued year-over price increases, there were increases in both closed and pending sales compared to the previous year. We also saw both a month-over and year-over decrease in the supply of available homes.

The format for the monthly HomeDex report has changed. If you click on the links below, you can see detailed North County monthly indicators along with local market updates for Metro San Diego County, East San Diego County and South San Diego County.

To read the full housing statistics reports, click on the links below.

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Credit, Home Buyers, Home Loans

Things That Can Kill Your Credit Score

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Things That Can Kill Your Credit Score

Some people take their credit for granted and don’t start paying attention to it until they need it. Doing this could cause them to pay more interest or keep them from getting a loan altogether.

There are several things that can kill your credit score. Knowing what they are and dealing with them ahead of time will save you time, money and headaches.

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Homeownership, Housing Appreciation, Housing Market, Market Statistics

San Diego County Housing Market Report August 2015

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HomeDex housing market reportThis month’s San Diego County Housing Market Report shows continued price gains and tight inventory in the North County and San Diego County real estate markets.

Those continued price gains and our shortage of homes for sale are making news. Zillow ranked San Diego as one of three markets with the biggest decrease in supply of for-sale homes in July, and our markets are making realtor.com’s “hot” lists nationwide.

Take a look at the North County and San Diego County summaries below, or click on the links for a detailed view of July’s statistics.

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Homeownership

Hot, Hot, Hot!

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hot, hot, hot, soldThe North County and San Diego real estate markets are still hot, hot, hot! Even though we are no longer experiencing the extraordinary, twenty to twenty-five percent annual price increases we saw in 2012 and 2013, our market is still sizzling, and everyone is talking about it.

San Diego is Hot

After hitting twelfth place in June, San Diego moved up to number eight in realtor.com®’s July 2015 list of the 20 hottest markets in the country. In these medium to large-sized housing markets, listings on realtor.com® are viewed as much as three times more often than they are compared to the national average. In addition to viewings, they rate the hotness of these markets by how fast listings in these cities are selling. The median market time in San Diego County in July was just 17 days.

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Home Buyers, Home Sellers, Negotiation

You Need a Champion

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championThe Super Bowl and World Series determine the football and baseball champions. Since there can only be one champion, the other team loses the competition. In feudal times, a knight might champion for the king or a patriotic, romantic or religious cause.

Fierce competition can occur when buying or selling a home because each party wants to get the best deal possible. When the buyer and seller are not be equally matched, and they rarely are, it is important to have a champion on your side to fight for your cause.

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