The combination of affordable home prices, low interest rates, and the federal tax credit for home buyers have created an opportune time for many buyers to purchase a home. Many real estate analysts also believe that most housing markets have stabilized, but that some markets may decline further.

KEEP THIS IN MIND

• Buyers should keep in mind that housing markets are local and can vary greatly from one neighborhood to the next. Working with a REALTOR® familiar with the area in which the buyer is searching can help the buyer select a house that best suits their needs.

• California’s housing market has shown signs of stabilization since early last year. Sales of existing, single-family homes bottomed out in August 2007, and the median home price reached its trough in February 2009. In January, California’s median home price was 17.2 percent above the low for the current cycle.

• The federal tax credit for home buyers was extended and expanded late last year. Qualified first-time buyers may be eligible to receive a tax credit of up to $8,000 on homes purchased before April 30, 2010. Repeat buyers may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $6,500. Visit http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=187935,00.html for more information about the federal tax credit for home buyers, including eligibility requirements.

• The Federal Reserve has helped maintain low interest rates, which, in turn, has assisted home buyers. However, the agency plans to stop purchasing mortgage-backed securities at the end of this month, which likely will increase rates on 30-year fixed mortgages. Buyers may be able to lock in a low interest rate by working with their lender.

To read the full story, please click here:

http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/02/real_estate/real_estate_deals.moneymag/index.htm

March

As of today, March 11th 2010 @ 7:30 am:

Current active single family residential and condo listings for all of South Lake Tahoe, Ca; 291. The listing price starts at $126,000 and tops out at $12,900,000.

Homes sold from Jan 1st 2010 to March 11th 2010 are: 80. Of the 80 homes sold, 47 or 59%, are foreclosure (bank owned or short sales). The sold price started at $67,000 for a condo and the top sales price was $1,225,000 for a Tahoe Keys home sold by Jana Nelson from Paradise Real Estate.  You should notice that there are a lot of great opportunities for buyers for both bank owned/short sales as well as sellers that are competitive with the bank owned and short sales properties.

If you would like to search for current homes for sale please use this easy search tool for South Lake Tahoe Ca. and Nv real estate. There is also an option to get instant email notifications of brand new listings as they get posted by real estate agents in the South Lake Tahoe area.

If you are looking for a bank owned property in the South Lake Tahoe Area, CA or NV, contact Jana Nelson at 1-800-996-2001.

“It looks like we hit the bottom in pricing around April 09 and we’ve been kind of bouncing along the bottom for a while with a recent trend upwards, but note the sales volume below showing a very dramatic increase in sold units!”

This dramatic increase in units sold is due to the large amount of bank owned and foreclosed properties selling. If you are interested in getting the most up to date foreclosure/bank owned list in South Lake Tahoe, contact Larry Sabo with Paradise Real Estate.

California’s Unsold Inventory Index (UII), a closely watched index indicating the number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate, declined to 3.8 months in December, the lowest level in five years, according to the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.). By comparison, the UII for existing, single-family homes stood at 5.6 months in December 2008.

KEEP THIS IN MIND

• • Some economists believe that California’s housing inventory is artificially low because many discretionary sellers—homeowners who do not have to sell their homes—are waiting on the sidelines until home prices rise. Others believe there are more foreclosures to come, as unemployment in the state continues to rise. However, C.A.R. predicts that foreclosures will remain flat in 2010 compared with 2009, as lenders are listing properties for sale at a more metered pace.

• • California’s housing market has shown signs of stabilization since early last year. Sales of existing, single-family homes bottomed out in August 2007, and the median home price reached its trough in February 2009.

• • In December, the median price of an existing, single-family home rose to $306,820, an 8.4 percent rise year-over-year, the second consecutive year-over-year increase, and the 10^th straight month-over-month increase, according to C.A.R.’s December sales and price report.

• • With affordability near-historic highs, low interest rates, and home buyer tax credits, many properties in California are receiving multiple offers and sparking bidding wars. Home buyers who find themselves in bidding wars should work closely with their REALTOR® to ensure they are crafting realistic offers that are more likely to be accepted by the seller.

South Lake Tahoe, Ca. listing report as of 1-29-2010

Local Broker Dan Spano of Paradise Real Estate reports current statistics for residential homes and condos in South Lake Tahoe. This report does not include the Nevada side of the South Lake Tahoe area. As of today there are 438 active listings. Of the 438 there are 86 listings pending (in escrow) status. Of the 86 listings in escrow there are 37 that are short sale.

A few more statistics are the median days on the market 128/146. The minimum list price was $81,000 and the maximum list price was $12,900,000.

This report shows that there is activity in the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate market and for those interested in searching for properties available today you can go to: http://www.idxcentral.com/sltbor/idxsearch.cfm?idxid=dspano  This is a very valuable search tool and includes an option for Short Sales and Bank Owned properties. Please note that even though the bank owned properties are priced to move quickly there are private sellers that are willing to compete with the bank owned properties and lower their listing prices below what the banks are willing to list at.

Dan Spano, President/Broker of Paradise Real Estate

1. A foreclosure is a proceeding in which a financer of the home seeks to regain the property because the owner has defaulted on their payments. The first step is to find out how foreclosure works in your state. Procedures and legal requirements differ, so get a sense of how soon you can go after a home that appeals to you. Here are links to laws regarding foreclosures in California and Nevada.

2. Investigate the advantages. Since a bank or other lender wants to recover as much of its investment as quickly as possible, foreclosed homes are often unloaded at significant discounts– upwards of 30 percent or more. The best way to do this is to find a local agent experienced in foreclosures . Some sellers won’t accept offers from unrepresented buyers.

3. Before making any offers you should check your credit report and correct any defaults or outdated information. Get pre-qualified for a mortgage. Depending on the agency handling the sale, it may be required.

4. Find foreclosure listings in real estate magazines, newsletters, newspapers and Internet search engines. Call lenders for real estate owned (REO) properties lists of foreclosures. Government agencies such as Fannie Mae (fanniemae.com) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (hud.gov) also advertise foreclosed homes for sale. Check public records for other leads. A lender deciding to foreclose must file a notice of default in the local county clerk’s office.

5. Tour the property and inspect it as closely as possible. Some foreclosures–unlike fixer-uppers–are in fairly good shape. Others may be behind in maintenance. Have your agent check nearby or comparable homes to see if the asking price for a foreclosed home is, in fact, a good deal. Check to see if the foreclosed home has any liens on it, such as unpaid property taxes. Find out who is liable for those costs.

6. Find out if there is a listing broker and make an offer.

7. Have the home inspected if the seller allows. Some sellers include this as part of the sales agreement, but the buyer still pays for it.

8. Be prepared to deal with more paperwork with a foreclosure than you would with a conventional purchase, particularly when a government agency is involved.

9. Be particularly aggressive in negotiating with a bank. They’re very keen to sell a foreclosed home fast, as it’s just sitting on their books doing nothing. HUD and other agencies often auction foreclosed homes. However, buyers are frequently unable to inspect any property before making an offer. With so little information, the higher the bid for the property, the higher the risk that you may end up with a money pit.

10. The biggest difficulty in going after a foreclosure is your competition, if the property is priced really low you will be competing with other offers and the banks weigh each offer on it’s merits. Is it all cash? Are there short time frames for inspections? Loan funding if applicable and closing? The banks goal is to get the money into their account ASAP so they can start using it again.

The caveat is to assure yourself that you don’t run into unforeseen problems with the property after you have bought it which can be tough to do with short inspection time periods. Then if there are problems with your loan and you can’t close on time you are stuck with the hefty per diem penalties on a daily accrual. To top it off since the lending guidelines have become so strict it is difficult to close a deal in less than 45 days any more and the banks want you to close in 3 weeks! Because there can be such great reward and such great risk involved, we recommend doing your homework first.

If you would like to skip these steps and incur no extra cost in your search for a foreclosure in South Lake Tahoe, the easiest way is to contact Paradise Real Estate and we will assign the real estate consultant that has the most foreclosure experience in the type of property you are seeking.

California remains ahead of the nation in market recovery with many first-time home buyers entering the market due to affordable home prices, low mortgage rates, and first-time home buyer tax credits from the state and federal governments. However, credit still is tight and unemployment remains high, which could hinder a full market recovery until 2011.

KEEP THIS IN MIND:

 Home sales in California hit bottom more than two years, and the median home price of an existing, single-family home reached its trough in February, according to data collected by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.). In November, the state’s median home price rose in year to-year comparisons for the first time since August 2007.

C.A.R.’s closely watched “2010 California Housing Market Forecast,” projects that the median home price in California will rise 3.3 percent to $280,000 in 2010 compared with a projected median of $271,000 in 2009.  Some economists are forecasting another surge of foreclosures in 2010. However, C.A.R.’s economists expect that foreclosures will remain flat this year compared with 2009. In 2008, many lenders flooded the market with foreclosures, and as a result, the state’s median price declined by historic levels. By comparison, in 2009, lenders listed properties for sale at a more measured pace, which helped moderate another home price decline.

Government efforts to maintain a low interest rate environment have stabilized the market. However, a mortgage analyst at a financial publishing company predicts that rates likely will rise to 5.5 percent by mid-2010 and close the year at 5.75 percent to 6 percent. 

 Lake Tahoe Home Prices for 2010:

Local real estate broker of Paradise Real Estate in South Lake Tahoe, Ca. also believes that we will finally see the median home prices start to increase by mid 2010. One thing for sure, nobody really knows what will happen but we do have some real good positive indicators from where the rubber meets the road which are our local real estate agents.

If you are interested in buying or selling property in the South Lake Tahoe Region, you cannot afford not to read this report! View This Accurate Report Below.

If you would like more valuable information regarding home values in South Lake Tahoe or if you need help finding the South Lake Tahoe home of your dreams contact Larry Sabo from Paradise Real Estate.

This certainly appears to be good news indicating that buyer’s are willing to buy and as the inventory clears out there will be no other direction in prices other than upward.  This is a great opportunity to take advantage of the bank owned pricing in anticipation of future appreciation before they are gone.

Larry Sabo – Realtor  California & Nevada