Welcome to the "Z" Team!

When you compare the cost of owning a home to renting, you’ll find that buying may soon make more sense, Paul Diggle, a housing economist at Capital Economics, told MSNBC.com. 

Diggle’s analysis of the housing market showed a 33 percent drop in home prices, record-low mortgage rates (with 30-year fixed-rate mortgages available under 4 percent now), and a 15 percent rise in rents since the housing market turned sour are making more consumers take a closer look at buying. We find this is applicable to the “Sierra Foothills” of El Dorado, Placer, Amador and Sacramento Counties of California.

“The median monthly mortgage payment of about $700 has fallen to about the level of a median monthly rent check,” an article at MSNBC.com notes about Diggle’s analysis. “If mortgage rates keep falling and rents keep rising, the equation will tip even further toward owning.”

Case in point: Diggle says that a buyer who purchases a median-priced home and stays there for at least seven years would likely come out ahead by about $9,000 than if they chose to rent for those seven years. Diggle’s calculations factor in rents continuing to rise 3 percent a year. Plus housing prices staying flat for the next two years before rising in 2014. 

But while more Americans may be motivated to buy, many still can’t, Diggle notes. Home owners who lost their home to foreclosure may be forced to wait on the sidelines before owning again, other Americans may not have a 20 percent down payment that more lenders are wanting, lack a high credit score to qualify for the best financing, or have steady employment. 

Source: “Home Buying Could Soon Beat Renting,” MSNBC.com (Jan. 23, 2012)

 More assistance at: www.sierraproperties.com or email: zeller@realtor.com

Nearly three out of every four home owners say they are satisfied with their purchase – and the No. 1 reason for their satisfaction is pride they feel about owning a home, according to HomeGain’s 2012 National Home Ownership Survey.

In addition to pride, home owners also said they enjoy the freedom and control they have to make improvement and upgrades to their home. Positive thoughts like these reflect what we are hearing here in the “Sierra Foothills” region of Placerville, El Dorado County, California.

Of the 1,400 home owners surveyed nationwide, satisfaction was found to be highest in the Northeast at 77 percent, followed by the Southeast at 73 percent, the West at 71 percent, and the Midwest at 68 percent.

“The HomeGain 2012 National Home Ownership satisfaction survey shows in spite of declines in the values of homes nationwide, satisfaction among home owners remains high at 72 percent,” said Louis Cammarosano, general manager of HomeGain.

Source of data is Erica Christoffer, REALTOR® Magazine.

More information at: www.sierraproperties.com or email: zeller@realtor.com

Fallen home prices and record-low mortgage rates have pushed housing affordability to a 40-year high. Meanwhile, rental prices are continuing to rise at a fast pace, according to a new report released by Hotpads.com, a rental listing service. 

Rental prices in many areas like ours in the Placerville, CA. increased about 3.5 percent in 2011, and prices are expected to continue to rise in 2012. Meanwhile, home prices fell by about 1.5 percent in 2011 but are expected to level out in 2012. 

“In a lot of cases it’s getting to a point where it makes more sense for people to buy because rent has been going up significantly faster, while home prices have been falling,” Paul Gleger, author of the report, told AOL Real Estate. 

Source: “U.S. Rental Market Stays Hot in 2011,” Hotpads.com (January 2012) and “Rental Prices Climb, Buying Remains More Affordable,” AOL Real Estate News (Jan. 18, 2012)

More news from the “Sierra Foothills” of El Dorado, Placer, Amador and Sacramento Counties of California at: www.sierraproperties.com or email: zeller@realtor.com

A new Spanish-language property search website that offers Spanish-speaking home buyers MLS listings based on the California Living Network’s database.   Powered by NAR’s REALTOR.com® (www.realtor.com/california), home buyers can search for California homes using common sorting characteristics such as city, price range, and number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Results appear in a list or on a map, and driving directions are available in Spanish. The website also is a useful tool for REALTORS®, allowing agents to forward their clients a link to a specific property in Spanish.

Si usted esta interesada en comprarar o vender una casa, podemos ayudarle. Hablamos espanol. Llamenos hoy con sus necesidades!

To view the site, please visit www.sucasa.net.

For more Spanish-speaking assistance in the Placerville, El Dorado County or Sacremento regions, call (530) 409-8351 or email: zeller123@gmail.com.

In their most recent report, the Census Bureau reported that the new-home market continued its rebound, with sales of new houses once again inching up last month. New-home sales rose 1.6 percent from October to November to an annualized rate of 315,000, and sales were up nearly 10 percent compared to November 2010.

The median sales price of a new home in November was $214,100, the Census Bureau reported, and the inventory of new houses nationwide decreased to a six-month supply at the current sales pace.

“Inventories of new homes are very low: There’s nothing on the shelf, so any increase in new home sales will translate directly into new housing starts,” Bob Denk, senior economist at the National Association of Home Builders, told CNNMoney. “That means putting people back to work.”

Other recent good news for the housing market: November sales of existing homes increased 12 percent year-over-year, new-home building starts were up nearly 21 percent year-over-year, and mortgage rates reached new record lows last week, pushing housing affordability even higher.

Source: “New Home Sales Edge Up,” CNNMoney (Dec. 23, 2011)

More news from the El Dorado, Placer, Amador or Sacramento Counties of California regions at: www.sierraproperties.com or www.dougandbudzeller.com

In several markets, Bank of America is reporting that it has picked up its pace in moving through its inventory of foreclosed homes faster than it has in the past, The Wall Street Journal reports. 

Brian Moynihan, Bank of America Corp.’s chief executive,  said at a press conference that in cases where banks can take ownership of the properties quickly and get them cleaned up, they are able to get them back on the market and selling the fastest. 

“It moves as fast now as it’s ever moved,” Moynihan said at a press conference. 

But, overall, Moynihan says mortgage delinquencies are dropping in its portfolios and that home prices seem to be hovering at “a bottom” as the backlog of unsold homes reaches the market. 

Source: “BofA: Foreclosed Homes Selling Faster,” The Wall Street Journal (Nov. 15, 2011)

Other information about the Sierra Foothills and Placerville, El Dorado County, California regions at: www.sierraproperties.com

Living near an occupied property in foreclosure can bring down home prices nearly twice as much than just living next door to a vacant home, according to a new study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, which analyzed sales data of nearly 10,000 homes in the Cleveland area. This data seems to be in line with our Placerville, CA. regions.

“The impacts of homes with multiple indicators of distress are larger than the impacts of homes that are only vacant, delinquent, or recently foreclosed,” the researchers found.

Some findings from the study:

• Homes within 500 feet of at least one vacancy sold 0.8 percent lower. 
• Occupied home that had recently entered the foreclosure process lowered the sales price of nearby homes by 1.8 percent.
• Sales within 500 feet of a home where a delinquent borrower abandoned the home saw, on average, a 3.1 percent drop to home values. 
• The largest drop was from homes that were tax delinquent, vacant, and foreclosed: Home sales prices within 500 feet were found to be 9.6 percent lower. 

Source: “Study Finds Foreclosures Harm Home Prices More Than Vacancies,” HousingWire (Oct. 20, 2011)

The “severely out of balance” housing market is greatly hampering the nation’s economic recovery, and solving the supply-and-demand issues in the housing market needs to be an “immediate priority,” Elizabeth Duke, member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, said late last week to the Federal Reserve Board Policy Forum during a speech, “The Housing Market Going Forward: Lessons Learned from the Recent Crisis.”

Duke said that addressing the swelling inventories of REOs is critical for helping to rebalance the housing market. An inventory of at least 1 million REOs this year as well as 2012 and 2013 is expected to pass through the market, and “REO properties are weighing heavily on the market for owner-occupied house” and bringing overall home prices down, Duke said.  

“Such conversions might also be in the best interests of lienholders and guarantors if recoveries from renting out properties exceed those from outright sales,” she said. “Over time, as financing conditions ease and the number of REO properties to be sold declines, the share of properties sold to owner-occupants and sold to investors for rental will adjust commensurately.” 

Source: “Fed Duke: Balancing Housing Market Supply-Demand ‘Immediate Priority,” Market News International (Sept. 1, 2011)

Other articles relating to the Sacramento and Placerville, California regions at: www.sierraproperties.com

Many home buyers have been sitting on the sidelines due to economic fears and concerns that the U.S. could be heading for a double-dip recession. But a new poll from the Associated Press shows that most economists say a recession is not likely within the next 12 months, yet the economy will continue to be weak into 2012. 

The 43 private, corporate, and academic economists surveyed this month by the Associated Press reported the likelihood of a recession within the next 12 months is 26 percent. They cited high unemployment and weak consumer spending as two leading culprits that will hold back the economy into 2012.

The economists surveyed said they are optimistic that economic growth, job creation, consumer spending, and home prices will all rise over the next year — but the gains are expected to be so slight that many won’t notice, the Associated Press reported. 

Meanwhile, the markets will be anxiously awaiting Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech on Friday at a conference for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City to see if he unveils any new steps to help revive the economy. 

Full atricle at: “AP Survey: Economists Doubt Another Recession Within 12 Months But See Weakness Into 2012,” Associated Press Newswires (Aug. 23, 2011)

Other articles relating to the Sacramento and Placerville, California regions at: www.sierraproperties.com

Housing isn’t hurting everywhere: A tech rush in Silicon Valley is once again causing mega-mansions to be in demand there. Real estate pro Alex Wang says he’ll get 17 or 18 offers on a property at times, and that buyers are even purchasing homes for hundreds of thousands of dollars over the asking price. Also, many of these buyers are paying cash and closings are happening quickly.

The social media tech boom in Silicon Valley has caused mansions to become sought-after, but with limited inventory of homes for sale, new construction and bidding wars are increasing, Fox News reports. 

In Palo Alto, Facebook’s headquarters, the median sale price of a single-family home rose nearly 5 percent over last year to $1.3-million in June, DataQuick reports.  

“The social media and explosion of high-tech IPOs are also creating a new work environment where people aren’t always in the office,” says Allison Buffam, marketing manager with SummerHill Homes. “They want to be able to be at home and work as well, and they want the best home they can afford.”

 Source: “California Bay Area Mansions Are in Demand Due to Tech Boom,” Fox News (Aug. 11, 2011)

 Other articles relating to the Sacramento and Placerville, California regions at: www.sierraproperties.com