Home Buyers, Home Loans, Homeownership, Housing Appreciation, Housing Market, Interest Rates, Mortgage

Is the Window Closing?

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window closingWith interest rates lower than they’ve been in over 40 years, it may be difficult to think of a “window of opportunity” closing.  However, it isn’t difficult to understand that it may very probably cost more to live in a home in the near future due to rising interest rates and prices.

Zillow recently reported results from a nationwide study that home values are expected to appreciate by 4.5% through the end of the year.  Coupled with Freddie Mac’s projection that rates are going up, the cost of housing for buyers by the end of the year will be higher than it is now.

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Homeownership, Housing Appreciation, Housing Market, News

Housing Statistics Reports for San Diego County and North San Diego County March 2014

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homedex logo housing statistics
The housing statistics reports for San Diego County and North San Diego County are showing a slowing of the rate at which prices are increasing, but are still indicating tight inventory for buyers and a strong market overall.

While the median price for all North County home sales remained the same, countywide single-family detached homes saw a one percent decrease in their median prices from January 2014 to February 2014 and single-family attached homes dropped 1.64 percent. Year-over countywide detached homes had a median price increase of almost 16 percent, and attached homes saw an increase of 20 percent.

The number of sales and listings countywide increased from January 2014 to February 2014 as is typical this time of year, but the greater increase in sales is still keeping inventory tight as shown below.

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

FULL COUNTY REPORT    NORTH COUNTY REPORT

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Home Buyers, Homeowners, Homeownership

What Do You Want in a Neighborhood?

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When looking at this recent survey of what people want in a neighborhood, I thought it was interesting how important walkability and public transportation are to people buying a home. Since Southern California is so car dependent, these are issues for many of our communities.

Even with our excellent weather and wonderful communities, Walk Score does not rank San Diego County highly on their walkability scale. We have no cities scoring 50 or above on their scale of 0 to 100. The city of San Diego scores the highest in the county at a still car-dependent score of 49.

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Home Improvement, Homeowners, Tips and Ideas

Making Room in Your Rooms

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making room retain or removeThe more things you have, the more you have to take care of.  And in this case, the more that you have to store that gets in the way of finding the things that you actually use.  Periodically, you need to go through every closet, drawer, cabinet and storage area to get rid of the things that are just taking up space in your home and your life.

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Home Buyers, Home Sellers, Homeowners, Homeownership, Housing Appreciation, Housing Market, Market Statistics, News

Housing Statistics Report for San Diego County and North San Diego County February 2014

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homedex logo housing statistics

The January numbers from the housing statistics report for San Diego County and North San Diego County show continued year-over rising prices along with possible easing and seasonal slowing. This is not surprising since January closings usually represent homes that went under contract in November and December and the market is typically less active during these months due to the holidays. Most real estate analysts also predict a slowing down of the rapid price increases we have experienced in San Diego County over the past 18 months.

While the median price for all North County home sales decreased slightly, the median price for North County single-family detached homes increased by 5.46 percent compared to December 2013 and 22.47 percent over the last 12 months. Median prices for detached homes in all of San Diego County dropped by 1.45 percent from December to January, but were still up by 21.48 percent compared to January 2013.

The median price on single-family attached homes in North County dropped by 0.59 percent in January 2014 compared to December 2013, but were still up by 18.25 percent compared to the previous year. Attached homes in all of San Diego County saw an increase of 1.67 in their median price compared to December 2013 and an increase of 24.49 percent over January 2013.

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

FULL COUNTY REPORT    NORTH COUNTY REPORT

Continue reading Housing Statistics Report for San Diego County and North San Diego County February 2014 →

Home Buyers, Home Sellers, Homeowners, Homeownership, Housing Appreciation, Housing Market, Market Statistics, News

Housing Statistics Report for San Diego County and North San Diego County January 2014

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The December 2013 housing statistics show prices continuing to increase with a 17 month trend of year-over price gains for North County detached homes and a 21 month trend for non-North County homes.

As is typical around the holidays, activity slowed down with listings of North County detached homes decreasing by 13 percent and sales dropping by 3 percent compared to November. Hopefully the new year will bring enough of an increase in inventory to maintain a healthy market. To read the full housing statistics reports, please click on the links below the snapshot.
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Home Buyers, Home Loans, Homeownership, Housing Appreciation, Housing Market, Interest Rates, Mortgage

Expect Increases in Mortgage Rates and Housing Prices

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crystal ballThe two most frequently quoted constants in life are death and taxes.  Two more things would-be homeowners can expect in the near future are increases in mortgage rates and housing prices.

Interest rates have been kept artificially low for several years by the Federal Reserve in an effort to strengthen the economy. Policy is shifting to allow them to seek their own natural level and that will surely result in higher mortgage rates.  Rates on 30 year fixed mortgages are up over 1% from January, 2013.

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Home Buyers, Home Sellers, Homeowners, Homeownership, Housing Appreciation, Housing Market, Market Statistics, News

Housing Statistics Report for San Diego County and North San Diego County December 2013

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In November we continued to see a slow down in appreciation coupled with a tightening of inventory. This resulted in a decrease in prices compared to October, but still gave us increases in year-over pricing for single family detached homes in the North County area at 11 percent and outside of North County at almost 15 percent.

Prices of attached homes fared even better in North County with a 10 percent increase over the previous month and 30 percent compared to November 2012.

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Home Improvement, Homeowners, Homeownership, News, tax

Energy Efficiency Tax Credit Expiring Soon

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energy efficiency tax creditThe energy-efficient home upgrades tax credit is scheduled to expire on December 31st this year.  If you need to make improvements to your home, this could be an incentive to do it before the end of the year.  If you have already made qualifying improvements without realizing the tax credit is available, it may seem like a holiday gift you weren’t expecting.

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Home Loans, Homeowners, Homeownership, Housing Market, Interest Rates, Mortgage, Refinancing

Interest Rates – Are They on the Way Up?

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Bureau of Labor Statistics Unemployment Rate 2003 to 2013Interest rates increased about ¼ percent in the last two weeks, Mortgage Market in Review. Is this trend going to continue? There’s no clear answer just yet. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a drop in the unemployment rate in November to 7 percent, the lowest it’s been in five years.
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