No More Dead Grassroots Movement

by Cynthia Aina
Thursday, May 08, 2008

According to Wikipedia, a grassroots movement... is one driven by the constituents of a community.

Walking out to my car on a warm Saturday morning, I am thankful to my neighbor who had started a grassroots movement of his own... what I'm going to call the "No More Dead Grassroots Movement". For almost 6 months, my awesome neighbor, Frank Veloz, has mowed, watered, and tended to the garden and the front lawn of the house abandoned next to his.

Finally, just last week, the bank has taken possession, and thankfully, has turned the water on and started landscaping service. I say thankfully, because as you can clearly see driving through your neighborhood, sometimes the banks/realtors will go this extra mile, and sometimes they won't.

Unfortunately, things are going to get worse before they get better.

Recently, Joseph Ascenzi with TheBizPress.com reported

"One in every 38 houses in the Inland region received a foreclosure notice of some kind during the first quarter of this year, the second-highest foreclosure rate per household of any metro market nationwide during that time."

Mr. Ascenzi goes on to report, "In all, 37,239 foreclosure notices - default notices, auction sale notices or bank repossessions -- were issued on properties in Riverside and San Bernardino counties during the first three months of this year, a 230.8% increase compared with the first quarter of 2007, according to RealtyTrac in Irvine, which charts foreclosure rates throughout the United States. The activity represented a 39.1% jump in foreclosures compared with the fourth quarter of 2007, RealtyTrac found."

"Unfortunately, I think we're looking at the tip of the iceberg," said Steve Johnson, director with the Riverside office of Metrostudy, a housing information and consulting firm based in Houston. "Because of the jobs we've lost and the other economic problems we're having, I think we're going to see a lot of foreclosures for at least nine more months. I believe this has become an economic issue, not just a subprime issue."

The "tip of the iceberg"? 9 more months? And although the article is saying 1 in 38, I don't know about you, but the ratio is much higher in my neighborhood. Yikes!

To minimize the damage to the asthetics of our neighborhoods join me, and caring neighbors like Frank, in supporting a "No More Dead Grassroots Movement" here in Menifee. Here are some suggestions:

1. If you are losing your home, stay in it and take care of it until the house goes to bank sale. (The banks really do want you to stay until they take it. By doing so, the property has less chance of being vandalized, the landscape stays green, and you can take advantage of the bank's "Cash For Keys" program. If you don't know how long before the bank sale, your friendly neighborhood Realtor can usually get this info from the MLS Realist website.) Note: this also applies to Renters in foreclosure homes.

2. When you do move-out, keep the eletricity and the water on for at least a couple of weeks. That will give the Realtor time to switch over service.

3. If your neighbors move out unexpectedly, do what you can to help maintain the front yard of the property. Do not assume that the bank will immediately take over the maintenance of the property. Get together with your other neighbors and take turns mowing and watering.

Although we, as a community have no control over the number of foreclosures each neighborhood will see, we DO have control over the way our neighborhoods look.

I know there are other Frank Veloz' out there, and if you have one of these in your neighborhood, PLEASE show your appreciation to him or her and POST A COMMENT on this blog.

Just Say NO... to Dead Grass!

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Update on Menifee CA Real Estate and Surrounding Markets

by Stefan West
Thursday, February 28, 2008

Tomorrow brings around a once in 4 year event - mainly February 29th, better known as leap year. In my household this means my newly crowned 4 year old will be chortling for birthday presents while his little brother attempts to steal at least one new toy to play with. What has this to do with Menifee real estate? - Honestly, not much except....

Tomorrow also brings the end of February and the warm up to the buying season in Menifee CA real estate, or so we all hope. The economic news has not been fantastic BUT the news and political awareness of it is driving key changes that could really start to take effect this spring and summer.

For instance, this week alone I have received more calls from first time home buyers than I have over the previous 2 months. Wall Street saw some headlines about finally reaching bottom and the Fed is still planning on further reducing rates. This is all vital news for Menifee real estate as well as Murrieta and Temecula.

Due to the increase in real estate activity we are experiencing, I plan to bring on a couple additional agents in my company.

The key challenge remains the banks. They are very tight right now and absolutely devastating the market with pricing drops necessary to move Menifee foreclosure properties. But I will say that investors are out and aggressively looking. If I didn't have a huge, expensive birthday party this Saturday (ok, its not that expensive - I am a conservative soul), I would be out working this entire weekend straight with buyers.

One new thing I have seen in Menifee real estate is investors approaching me on Short Sale properties with the intention of buying it and perhaps even renting directly back to the sellers for a couple years lease option. This is dependent of course on the investor feeling good about the seller's viability to pay a lower payment consistently. And the seller doing the necessary credit repair, but the end result is the seller stays in the home and the investor can make a decent profit when they sell it back in a 2-3 years.

The seller is happy because they get the property at a lower price in the future without having to move their family. However, it isn't as turn-key as it sounds since a lot of seller see what is out there and perhaps want to find new Menifee homes in the near future that are now within their reach financially with some credit work done.

To sum things up, the Menifee real estate market remains very challenging right now but I am directly seeing much more buyer activity. We are reaching a peak point where the banks really need to lighten up on real estate but need to start lending again as well. As we move into Spring and then Summer I hope to see a solid reduction in properties on the market. Below are some sales figures picking up from my last post.

December 2007 Sales - 46
January 2008 Sales - 34

Have a great leap year everyone and let's hope Spring and Summer start reducing the amount of properties on the market.

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Capital Pacific Homes Offers Price Guarantee

by Steve
Sunday, February 17, 2008

The Orange County Register reported today that Capital Pacific Homes, which is building some home developments here in Menifee, is offering a price guarantee against falling home prices when you buy a one of their homes.

Under the plan, buyers can back out of deals and get their deposits back if the home loan appraisal issued about 30 days before closing shows that the home value is less than the price tag.

I'm not certain 30 days before closing is enough time to prove that your home value has lost its value. I'm sure you'd have to hire an appraiser to just before taking ownership to prove this, and I don't most think will fork over money to hire one.

Moreover, when buying a new home, buyers have already invested themselves into that home by picking out tile, carpeting, outlets, cabinets, and so on.

Also, I don't think home buyers are putting off buying homes for fear of falling home prices. Most people buy homes based on need. Investors, on the other hand, are staying from certain homes.

Capital Pacific Homes is currently building the following communities in Menifee...

Calder Ranch (link)
Marsden (link)

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Home Prices Hit Four Year Low

by Steve
Thursday, February 14, 2008

The North County Times reports today that home values in Riverside County have hit a four year low, averaging $331,500, it's lowest level since July 2004....

Prices continued to plummet across Southern California, with Riverside County's median sale falling to $331,500, its lowest level since July 2004, according to the monthly report by DataQuick Information Systems.

I just looked at my home's value on Zillow.com, and it pretty much reflects the same trend.

The article went on to quote Gene Wunderlich, a Realtor in Wildomar, that we're going to see more depreciation. I tend to agree.

I'm not a real estate expert, but everything I've read so far about our economy says that 2008 is going to just as bad as 2007. It doesn't look like the economy is going to get better until 2009.

Countryside Marketplace is supposed to open its first stores in September 2008. That should help create more demand for Menifee homes. But any demand that gets created here will be swallowed up by new home builders.

Labels: Housing Market

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Menifee CA Real Estate and Foreclosure Update

by Stefan West
Saturday, December 29, 2007

Happy Holidays to all the wonderful people of Menifee!

It has been a busy month for all of us and this is my first chance to post in a bit. While the Menifee real estate market has been tough, there are a lot of things to be grateful for. I am grateful for my two wonderful boys, my fantastic wife, and have been blessed with incredible clients over the years! So Merry Xmas if any of you happen to read this!

Whenever I do an update of any sort, I try to show a market trend via some actually meaniful "end result" real estate statistics and then cross check that with my personal level of business. Usually, my business level is more indictive of the market then the statistics since they follow the cycle.

Statistically, in Menifee real estate there have been the following closes in the 4th Quarter:

Oct. 2007 - 34
Nov. 2007 - 45
Dec. 2007 - 30 (so far through the 28th)

I imagine that we will end up closing 35-40+ homes in December since there are over 50 deals currently pending. There is a lot of pressure on Menifee bank owned homes to close by year end, although many will spill over into the new year.

So the level of production has been pretty consistent from that statistic. However, my business has been climbing aggressively over the last month. Many of the Menifee bank owned homes are dropping to all time lows, pricing them on the same level as rentals. If you can rent or buy, people tend to buy.

So, there is quite a bit of activity going on right now, believe it or not. There is also a hot zone in pricing. For instance, the $250k price point in Murrieta and Temecula real estate is interesting. When a property hits that level and is even remotely decent (1300+ square feet, 3 bed, 2 bath, etc) it goes in a matter of days, usually with multiple offers coming in.

The banks are behind many aspects of this Menifee real estate market. From failed loans to foreclosure properties to generating eligible buyers. Now that the banks have gotten more aggressive with house pricing, things are starting pick up.

However, in contrast to attractive pricing, the banks are making it harder and harder for Menifee real estate buyers to qualify. I just had a buyer ready to go, in escrow and the bank changed the program days before his close, ruining the deal and making us start all over.

In many respects the Menifee real estate market is in the hands of the banks. They control a majority of properties (and thus pricing) on the market in terms of Menifee foreclosures and short sales. So when they lower prices it redefines the market. And by restricting more and more buyers, they control both the supply and demand. The average homeowner is going to be a spectator for a while unless they are in a short sale or foreclosure situation.

Many of you have heard the Federal Reserve is working on different methods to get things improved. The main one is the lowering of interest rates which has helped. Another is them pouring more money into the system to give banks more to work with. However, until the banks are willing to loosen up it is simply a hose turned on full but kinked by the bank's foot shutting down the flow.

I think that things will be tighter in terms of lending for the next couple months and pricing will go a tad lower as the banks completely liquidate holdings. The new legistlation will help reduce future Menifee foreclosures and once the banks lighten up on Menifee real estate they can start relaxing a little more in lending. In many ways, they are continuing to shoot themselves in the foot and will figure that out sooner than later.

The Menifee real estate market will probably begin to see more properties moved as the price lowers enough that people can qualify for loans and buy instead of rent. Depending on the banks, we could start to see pricing holding water in the Spring.

So going into the new year, I believe we are nearing a bottom from what my own business is seeing. I deal with dozens of clients each month and there are certain patterns that seem to click. I think Menifee real estate has a little way to go but we are finally getting there. I don't like the price drops but I do like seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

I hope this information is useful to you. If you know anyone that is considering buying, please have them speak with a broker knowledgible in the Menifee real estate market. There are some great opportunities right now. And please, if they are considering buying from a builder, they absolutely must talk with a experienced broker first! There are way too many mistakes being made on this front lately!

Happy Holidays and New Year - May 2008 bring you and your family the very best!

Sincerely,

Stefan West
Diversified Realty, Broker
951-894-6199

Labels: Menifee Foreclosures, Menifee real estate market, Menifee Shortsales, Real Estate Menifee

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October home prices post record decline

by Holly
Wednesday, December 26, 2007

NEW YORK - U.S. home prices fell in October for the 10th consecutive month, posting their largest monthly drop since early 1991, a widely watched index showed on Wednesday.

The record 6.7 percent drop in the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index also marked the 23rd consecutive month prices either grew more slowly or declined.

"No matter how you look at these data, it is obvious that the current state of the single-family housing market remains grim," said Robert Shiller, who helped create the index, in a statement.

To read more of this article go to:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22397888/

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CALHFA Recieves $100 Million for Home Buyer Program

by Anna Hill
Thursday, November 15, 2007

The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) recently received an additional $100 million to help fund the California Home Buyer's Down Payment Assistance Program (CHDAP). The funds are made available through the passage of Prop. 1C, approved by California voters in 2006. To date, more than 18,000 California families have received CHDAP loans since Prop. C's passage. An additional $145 million in down payment assistance loans have also been made available since the passage of Prop. 46 in 2002, which also funds the CHDAP. That figure includes roughly $30 million in recycled funds and interest payments.

http://www.calhfa.ca.gov/about/publications/press-releases/2007/pr2007-25.pdf

permission to reprint content from C.A.R. Newsline.

With prices as low as $225,000 in Menifee for a 3 bedroom home and 1st time home buyer programs, now may be a good opportunity to get into a home.

Anna Hill
Century 21 Executive Properties
951-272-9019
Anna-Hill.com

Labels: CHDAP

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