The Federal Reserve says they are definitely, positively going to raise interest rates.

Check out this article from today's L.A. Times.  Click here for link.  Yup, the Fed now says that there is no doubt they'll raise interest rates, and soon. Nooooo!  The good news is that the rise will come gradually, so it doesn't shock the economy.

What that means for home buyers: interest rates have been gradually inching up this fall anyway, but it means that buyers will have higher mortgage payments than in the recent past.

What this means for home sellers: there will be fewer buyers, especially for starter homes and condos.  There probably may still be multiple offers on properties, because inventory is short.  However, if a house for sale sits on the market for more than a few weeks, a price reduction is probably warranted.

Ask the Realtor: should I sell or buy a California home in the winter?

This is kind of an anniversary post for me.  Please read on.

Most people think that real estate goes dead during the fall and winter, even here in Southern California.  That's not entirely the truth, but most home sellers want to celebrate or have a quiet time in peace, and most buyers do not want to even contemplate moving over the holidays.  But here's the upside of home sales at this time of year.

In late November/December/early January, there isn't as much on the market.  So if you're a home seller, this is an opportunity to capture the interest of serious buyers.  (However, if you want to wait and capture the rising spring market, I'm down with that, too.)

And if you're a home buyer, you'll know that if a house is on the market during these months, the sellers are very serious.  This is also the time of year that prices don't go up, so you may get a really good deal.

But nobody wants to move at this time of year.  Too many hassles, too much else to do, etc.  So here's the work-around: sellers can arrange to rent back the home for a few weeks.  Many Realtors will caution everybody against this, but if each side believes the other side is trustworthy, it can work out really well.  Buyers, your first payment isn't due until the end of the first month that you own the new home, so the rent-back monies can be paid up front and can offset your closing costs.

Here's where the anniversary part comes in.  This is exactly what my husband and I did last year when we bought our new place.  We had an offer accepted on November 17, closed on December 17, the sellers rented back for a month, and we moved in on January 21.  It was a win-win all around.

Home buyers and (some) home sellers are coming out of the woodwork in the San Fernando Valley

Something must have happened during last weekend's rockets' red glare, because all of a sudden, everybody I know is busy with several sets of home buyers and some home sellers.  What happened to you, people?

Perhaps buyers realized that lots of home prices might come down a bit in the next few months.  That often starts to happen in early July. Maybe sellers realized that prices have peaked for the year, too.  And then, interest rates are still low and haven't seen the predicted rise.

Nobody can predict the market, but I would recommend that sellers sell now, especially in the areas of Burbank and Studio City -- people want to buy homes in good school districts before their kids start school.  And, if interest rates do go up, as all experts predict they will by the end of the year, that will have a negative effect on home prices.  And I would recommend that buyers buy now -- interest rates won't be this low much longer.

Agent Hospitalized After Being Attacked By Feral Cat | NewsGeni.us

Agent Hospitalized After Being Attacked By Feral Cat | NewsGeni.us  This is just too good not to post.  Probably the buyer client wasn't preapproved for a loan, which really aggravates any seller.

I have three offers outstanding...

...and I'm leaving town for the holiday.  One of the many, many things I'm thankful for this holiday is the internet so I can keep in touch with my business!  Please think good thoughts for my buyer clients.  And by the way, what are you thankful for?

Getting a home loan ain't what it used to be...

The owner of our company, Michael Williamson, is buying a Studio City home to live in.  He talked with our office this a.m. on his challenges in getting a home loan.  Mind you, he has gotten home loans 16 times before and says, "I thought I knew everything." Of course, he's putting down a lot of cash and has a very high FICO score too.

But getting a loan ain't as easy as it used to be, says Michael.  It took him an extra 16 days to get loan approval.  The lender kept asking for one piece of paper after another, and one explanation letter after another.  This even involved asking about ONE missed payment from a tenant on a property he owns in Palm Springs!  And this guy is way more qualified than most buyers.

So if you're a home buyer, and your lender asks you for something that doesn't make sense, don't get frustrated, just provide what you can as quickly as you can.  And if you're a home seller, please know that the lender doesn't particularly care about our contractual deadlines and go easy on your home buyers if loan stuff is late -- it truly is out of their hands.

From Activerain: Irresistible forces are meeting immovable objects. Real estate in 2010

IRRESISTIBLE FORCES ARE MEETING IMMOVABLE OBJECTS. Real estate in 2010.

IRRESISTIBLE FORCES ARE MEETING IMMOVABLE OBJECTS!. . . .  WE ARE TRULY LIVING IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE WITH SELLERS ON ONE SIDE OF THE CURVE AND BUYERS ON THE OTHER!  Can they come together and form "WHITE MATTER".  Or, will be all be drawn into that BLACK HOLE of negativity. 
Why, what do you mean, Lenn??? 
What "irresistible forces"?  What "immovable objects?"
NO. 1 IRRESTIBLE FORCE:   SELLERS' LENDERS WHICH, AFTER 3 YEARS OF SERIOUS and UBIQUITOUS SHORT SALE ACTIVITY, THERE ARE:

• No Short Sale Guidelines for the lending industry.
• No lenders with established published Short Sale processing procedures.
• No conformity of qualifications for Owner acceptance for Short Sale.

THE IMMOVABLE OBJECT?  THE LENDER and THE INTRACTABILITY OF SHORT SALE PROCESSING by sellers' lenders who follow no logical or timely attempts to get to the closing table.   Oh sure, we read "bragging rights" advertising and blogs (advertising) by listing agent describing "closed in 19 days" or "processed in 45 days".  Yet, the preponderance of short sales that the Buyers' Brokers in my network close have been taking an average of about 135 days.   That's not fiction.  That's fact established by tracking the "contract to close" period for 12 months - 73 short sale transactions by 11 experienced Realtors. 
NO. 2 IRRESISTIBLE FORCE:  PROSPECTIVE HOME BUYERS WHO BELIEVE THAT ALL SELLERS ARE DESPERATE TO SELL AND WILL ACCEPT OR NEGOTIATE ANY LOW OFFER INCLUDING:

• Bank owned properties that are discounted to about 90% of local market.
• Short Sale listings with 8 DOM that are discounted to about 90-95% of local market.
• Non-foreclosure or non-short sale listings that are priced to sell at the low end of local market.
• Fixer-upper listings that are discounted to 25% below market.  THE IMMOVABLE OBJECT?  THE INTRACTABILITY OF

BUYERS WHO BELIEVE THE NEWS REPORTS THAT ALL OWNERS ARE DESPERATE TO SELL AND ANY OFFER IS REASONABLE.  One of the results of the frequency of low offers is that sellers are pricing unrealistically high to counter the low offers that they expect from unrealistic buyers.  The belief that buyers can "pick up" real estate at prices well below the local market may be inspired by Realtor advertising touting their "negotiating skills" which often amount to little more than writing low offers.  Without good research into the individual property listings with consideration of recent closed sales, general condition, local attractions, shopping, schools, transportation alternatives, etc., simply writing low offers doesn't take an experienced real estate buyer's agent.  Such superficial representation can be performed by any licensee.
NO 3 IRRESISTIBLE FORCE:  HOME OWNER SELLERS WHO BELIEVE THAT THEY CAN DICTATE THE CONDITIONS FOR THE SALE OF THEIR HOME.

• Sellers who eschew agent prepared CMAs and price their property based on how much they want to clear.
• Price their home based on the price for which a home in the neighborhood sold 11 months ago.
• Owners who refuse to address deferred maintenance items prior to listing.
• Owners who ignore agent provided sold pricing trends and expect the market to always go up.
• Owners who believe that "as is" means that a buyer must accept the property "as is".

THE IMMOVABLE OBJECT?  THE PROPERTY.  A piece of land with or without an improvement that has no heart or brain.  A property that listens to no one.  A house that refuses to morph into what the seller wants to believe he is selling and refuses to be reduced to the image of what the buyer believes is it's value.
THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY IS ON THE PRECIPICE OF DRAMATIC CHANGE.  Much has already changed in the past 3-4 years.

• Home values have plummeted across the country.
• Foreclosures and Short Sales dominate many local real estate markets.
• Mortgage loan qualifications have become dramatically more difficult.
• Negative equity has stripped many home owners of their financial security.
• Loss of credit limits the ability of buyers and sellers to buy and sell real estate.
• Unemployment excludes many from the real estate market for some time.
• The high percentage of First Time Home Buyers with marginal credit and no cash reserves. 

IS THERE ANY GOOD NEWS??  Of course there is.  There always is:

• Home buyers have many new and late model homes on the market from which to select their dream home.
• Home prices should, in time, show positive equity for today's buyers.
• Mortgage payments are low when compared to past values.
• Interest rates are low which should benefit owners for many years to come.
• New homes have been reduced in priced to about 3/4 of the 2006 price range. 

IS THIS A GOOD TIME TO BUY A HOME?  Clearly, if a person is financially able and motivated towards home ownership, this is an a good time to buy a home.
IS THIS A GOOD TIME TO SELL A HOME?  If an owner is realistic about the local market values and has sufficient equity or assets to close.  Other than need, it's not a good time to sell.  However, the picture doesn't appear to be changing any time soon.
IS THIS A GOOD TIME TO JOIN THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY AS AN AGENT?  Only if a person has sufficient savings and/or income from other sources to be able to finance a real estate practice start-up and pay living expenses for probably a year or more.  It may take that long to build an income stream from real estate sales.  Many home buyers believe that they can do the job themselves with the help of the Internet.  Many agents don't understand Internet advertising.
DON'T FORGET TO REBLOG!  THANKS.
Courtesy, Lenn Harley, Broker, Homefinders.com,  800-711-7988.

How the stimulus bill helps home owners

The recently-passed national Stimulus bill contains good news for home buyers. If you're a first-time buyer, or haven't owned property in three years or more, you are entitled to an up-to $8000 tax credit. Also, the jumbo-conforming loan limits in expensive areas have been raised to $727,000. This is good until December 31, 2009.

Open House Traffic is Better than Expected

Sunday, May 18, I held an open house for my listing at 934 N. Avon in Burbank. It's a great 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath Tudor with both character and modern updates, and it's in a fabulous area of Magnolia Park. I had it advertised in both print and on the internet, of course. The turnout was much better than I expected. Here are my numbers. We had about 19 to 20 groups in (a group can be 1 person or 10 people, but they are all together and represent one purchase). The "normal" number of groups last year, before everything went dead in August, was about 15 groups. It was a first open house, so usually the neighbors account for at least 5 to 6 of the groups. Here, there was only one couple who were neighbors. Everybody who came seemed to be a serious house-hunter. Almost every group was at least a 30-yr-old plus couple and at least half the groups had kids. Of those, several had infants. As we all know, couples with kids are the backbone of the middle-class real estate market. And, the temperature in Burbank was over 100 degrees. Nobody visits open houses when it's that hot except for serious lookers.

What does it mean? Is the housing/credit crisis over? No. But I think last month's loosening of credit -- the first since August -- is certainly responsible for buyer activity. Will we get an offer from this? I'll keep you posted. I expect at least several second looks.