Housing & Economic Recovery Act of 2008

In a previous blog entry dated July 26, 2008 I mentioned the New Housing Rescue Bill. Great news! President Bush just signed this bill into law. The Housing & Economic Recovery Act of 2008 has now become a law! This is great news for consumers and our country. Homebuyers will now soon have access to better options for financing and first time homebuyers (or those who have not owned for 3 years) will get a tax credit that will help them get into the real estate market. If you would like to read more about this new law click on the link below.

Housing & Economic Recovery Act of 2008

Where are the BEST Deals?

Everyone has been hearing over the past couple months it is “such a great time to buy.” “You have got to buy now.” “It will never be a better time to buy.” Ok, so we know there are great deals out there and it is a great time to buy. There are tons of deals out there, but where are the best deals?

Many consumers have recently been looking for short sales and foreclosures. These are terms no one really knew or heard about in the years past. But now these words seem to be plastered all over the media and real estate related news. Bank owned properties can be very good deals - but not always. They are often priced just as if they were a regular house on the market. Past owners often destroy the property before leaving. Short sales can be good deals. These are properties that are being listed for a price less than what is owed on them. The sellers and bank are usually pretty motivated on these sales and just trying to make the sale come together. This usually helps both parties by skipping the actual process of going through a foreclosure. Bank owned properties and short sales are great deals when the banks or owners just want to get rid of them and prevent sitting on them for too long.

Some of the best deals in Truckee right now are new construction homes. There are quite a few spec homes currently listed in the Truckee area. It is very unfortunate for some spec home builders in the area who are anxious just to get rid of some of the homes they have built. Building costs in Truckee have gone up so much this year that there is not a lot of new home construction projected for the next couple years. The homes that are brand new right now will likely still be some of the newest out there in the future.

The price range with the best deals right now is the upper ranges like over $1 million. Most homes on the market right now are discounted to some extent and will likely be worth more in a few years. If all homes are discounted around 10% right now, then homes in the $500,000 range are currently discounted by $50,000. Homes above the $1 million range are discounted by $100,000. That means that homes in the upper price ranges have more potential to be worth more in the future.

There are tons of great deals to be taken advantage of right now. Many properties are decent values, but some are exceptionally good values! These are just some places to start searching for investment opportunities and I’m sure there are many more!

Tahoe Donner Weekly Market Update

We saw quite a lot of action in Tahoe Donner again this week. 6 more homes went into escrow! There are 172 active single family homes in Tahoe Donner and 10 new homes came on the market this week. 23 homes are currently under contract. 8 homes sold this week. The lowest was priced at $385K and was a bank owned property. The highest priced home sold for $1,260,000. The average days on market for these sold homes was 111 days and the average list to sales price was 88%. The aborsption rate for Tahoe Donner is still about  13% and there is about 7 1/2 months of inventory.

Tahoe Donner Best Buy

The inventory in Tahoe Donner has continued to stay right around 170 homes for the past couple weeks. The homes that are priced well are not lasting long on the market. Currently there are 174 single family homes in Tahoe Donner. This is, in my opinion, one of the best values for a house in Tahoe Donner right now. It is listed for only $263/sq. ft.!

Best Deal in Tahoe Donner

New Housing Rescue Bill

A new bill was submitted to Congress and the President on Wednesday, July 23rd. This is another attempt for the Feds to step in and try to assist with the problem of foreclosures. This new bill will help up to 2 million borrowers refinance their current mortgages with an FHA (Federal Housing Administration) loan. This should help borrowers save money with these refinancing programs. First time home buyers will receive a tax credit and states would be authorized to issue an additional $11 billion to refinance subprime loans.

To qualify for this assistance, borrowers must live in their homes and have financed the property between January 2005 and June 2007. At least 40% of their gross monthly income must be going towards their household debt. Borrowers must show that they are not able to continue making payments to qualify for this assistance. If any home equity lines of credit are on the house, they must be paid off before borrowers receive this assistance. The total debt cannot be in excess of 95% of the home’s appraised value at the time of appraisal. There are little up front costs for borrowers for this refinancing option, but consumers must agree to certain terms including an insurance premium of 1.5% of the principal annually to the FHA.

The bill was passed to Congress and the President on Wednesday. Both are expected to sign this bill.

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