This Week in Real Estate - 8-28-2015 - One Year Later

The How is the market?

This by far is the most common question I am asked regarding real estate. This week, with the anniversary of the South Napa Quake, the question was how is the market compared to a year ago? Have we recovered for that?

In all honesty, the earthquake had only a minimal impact on the market. Real Estate has been chugging along since 2012 and that event provided only a minor speedbump in the trend.

I love a few good charts so here we go.

First question is always about price. We have been seeing prices increase in both terms of median price and price per square foot for years when looked at as a Year over Year comparisons.

Second question comes to inventory.

We had a glimmer of hope earlier this year that inventory might be improving, but that was quickly swallowed up by the demand from buyers. We are still struggling to get a good supply of inventory (if you are thinking of selling … call me for my 100% list price GUARANTEE)

-Kris

Home Tip of the week.

Have you been watching the stock market this week?

To say it has been a little volatile would be an understatement. But when it comes to investing, unless you are a day trader, we tend to forget that the market has been doing incredibly well for the last 7+ years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up from the 10000 threshold hit in 2010. The DJIA surpassed the previous high of approximately 14,000 (pre-recession) in January of 2013.

But these events of the past two weeks have reminded me of the great advice I get from Mark Richmond at LPL Financial.

Here is Mark’s tip for getting your financial house in order. You can contact Mark at 707.603.2663 or m.richmond@lpl.com for a review of your financial home as well.

Getting your house in order applies to more than your home; it applies to your physical, mental and fiscal well-being.  For most of us today our lives run at an incredible pace: kids, school, work, social obligations and the upkeep and maintenance of our home and finances.  Most of the experts agree that if you want to accomplish tasks without fail, make them habits.  A habit is something you accomplish after repeating an activity 12-times in succession.  An easy way to make sure that you accomplish home and financial maintenance is to build routines or habits.

MAKE IT A HABIT

Create a 12-month calendar of your financial and home maintenance chores.  For your home it will include things like gutter maintenance, carpet care, setting your clocks for each time change and changing furnace and water filters and seasonal cleaning.  For your finances it is reviewing your savings and retirement plans annually, budgeting your monthly expenses and tax liabilities.  January tends to be a good month to budget for the year.  Budget both the necessities and more discretionary items like vacations and automobiles.  For your home, make sure your gutters are not full and that your weather stripping is holding – they both have a few more months of abuse to endure.  April tends to be a good time to look at your tax and savings habits.  You’ve just digested your annual visit with the IRS (aka filed your tax return) and so can evaluate where your retirement plan is taking you and increase (or not) your 401(k) or IRA contributions to provide you with tax and retirement relief.  March and April are also the traditional “Spring Cleaning” months and the month you set your clock forward (March 9th, 2014).  Change your heater, water and air conditioner filters.

May and June are gardening and outdoor improvement months in preparation for the summer and are also a great months to think about your educational savings plan for your children and grandchildren.  October tends to be a good month to prepare for winter by changing your heater and water filters and making sure you will maximize your tax deductions for the year and have adequately prepared for any tax liabilities.  Review and reforecast your budget too as the holidays are just around the corner.  Cut out unnecessary expenses (the 10,000+ Cable TV channels you now pay for but rarely watch) and any other unwanted services or unread subscriptions that may have accumulated over the year.

By making these tasks a habit you will better maintain your home and personal finances.  For more information and helpful hints, please subscribe to our firm’s online newsletter by emailing mark.richmond@napavalleyfinancial.com and placing “Newsletter” in the subject line.

This Week in Real Estate - Price Opinions Vary

Homeowner price opinions are higher than appraised values.

The market that we have been experiencing has been hot, but nationally we should be aware that it might not be that hot. Appraiser opinions of home values were 2.33% lower than homeowner estimates in July, according to the Quicken Loans national Home Price Perception Index.

The gap between homeowner estimates and appraiser opinions of value in July was nearly double the gap between these values in May.                       

“Many homeowners around the country are seeing the national headlines about home value increases and they are optimistic about their equity increasing,” said Quicken Loans Chief Economist Bob Walters. “While some areas are seeing the same level of home appreciation, or even more, there are also some areas that have slower home value increases. This can lead to homeowners and appraisers not quite seeing eye-to-eye.”

Homeowners are increasingly overvaluing their homes, according to the national HPPI. The study showed appraisers’ opinions of home values was, on average, 2.33% lower than homeowners’ estimates in July.

Last month’s gap was nearly double the difference between opinions in June when appraisers’ opinions were 1.40% less than homeowners’ estimates.

“A slowing of home value increases adds to the misunderstanding of local home values,” Walters continued. “Appraisers are viewing the housing industry every day; they know when home values growth may be slowing. Homeowners may think values are still skyrocketing, when they have instead returned to more healthy appreciation in their area.”

Home values across the nation continue to rise above last year’s levels, although they are practically flat on a monthly basis. The HVI reported national values decreased 0.27% from June to July, but increased 3.89 since last July.

Home Tip of the week.

Monday at 3:20am I think I will wake up again and thank God that the earth is not shaking. We as a community have healed most of the wounds we suffered on that day, but there will be signs for years of the damage done that morning.

But today is about remembering the strength we have as a community and how to be prepared for the next one.

One sign of the recovery is this home. 

2265 3^rd St Napa, CA 94559. It was listed for sale on 8/24/14 and fell off of its foundation. Yesterday this proud old home with a new foundation, new electrical and new plumbing was back on the market with Davidson and Bennett. It features too many period charms than I want to list here but proud to see it back on the market.

But one thing we can all do is be prepared. Do you have your earthquake kit ready? Have you checked it since last year?

Here is a list to help you build your kit -

http://www.ready.gov/kit

There are many that you can also buy online.

To hear more about our recovery you can watch the KQED special today at 9am regarding the Napa quake.

http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201508210900

This Week in Real Estate 8-14-2015 - Foreclosures below pre-recession levels

Foreclosure activity below pre-recession levels
 
This news we have seen in the Napa area for the past year. We have had very little distressed inventory in the Napa area for a year. In 2014 the foreclosure sales were already pre-recession level. Now the rest of the country is following suit.
 
This is a great article from DS News.
 
http://dsnews.com/news/08-11-2015/foreclosure-inventory-rate-drops-to-below-pre-recession-levels
 
With nearly a 30 percent year-over-year decline in June, the nation's foreclosure inventory rate—the share of residential homes with a mortgage in some state of foreclosure—is at 1.2 percent, the lowest level since 2007, according to CoreLogic's June 2015 National Foreclosure Report released Tuesday.
 
The foreclosure inventory rate has now declined year-over-year for 44 consecutive months, including June. The 1.2 percent foreclosure inventory rate represented about 472,000 homes, down from 664,000 in June 2014.
 
Although the national foreclosure inventory rate is back to pre-recession levels, the rate remains high in select areas hit hardest by the crisis, such as Florida and New Jersey.
 
"The foreclosure rate for the U.S. has dropped to its lowest level since 2007, supported by a continuing decline in loans made before 2009, gains in employment, and higher housing prices," said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. "The decline has not been uniform geographically, as the foreclosure rate varies across metropolitan areas. In the Denver and San Francisco areas, the foreclosure rate has fallen to 0.3 percent, whereas in the Tampa market the rate is 3.5 percent and in Nassau and Suffolk counties it is an elevated 4.8 percent."
 
The serious delinquency rate—the share of residential mortgages that are more than 90 days overdue, including those that are in foreclosure or REO—also took a substantial drop in June 2015 down to 3.5 percent, about 1.3 million homes, the lowest number since January 2008.
 
"Serious delinquency is at the lowest level in seven and a half years reflecting the benefits of slow but steady improvements in the economy and rising home prices," said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "We are also seeing the positive impact of more stringent underwriting criteria for loans originated since 2009 which has helped to lower the national seriously delinquent rate."
 
Completed foreclosures, which are an indication of the actual number of homes lost to foreclosure, dropped by nearly 15 percent year-over-year in June from 50,000 to 43,000. The number of completed foreclosures nationwide in June 2015 represented a 63.3 percent decline from their peak of 117,000 reached in September 2010, according to CoreLogic.
 
Despite the year-over-year decline and the large dropoff from their peak total nearly five years ago, completed foreclosure bumped up by 41,000 in May to 43,000 in June, which is more than double the monthly pre-recession total. From 2000 to 2006, completed foreclosures averaged about 21,000 monthly. A total of about 5.8 million homes have been lost to foreclosure since the beginning of the financial crisis in September 2008. About 7.8 million homes have been lost to foreclosure since home prices peaked in the second quarter of 2004, according to Corelogic.
 
-Kris
 
Tip of the Week.
 
How would you like to save at least $500.00 in home repairs?
 
Did you know that Kristofer Chun Real Estate will provide Home Warranty coverage while your home is listed with us? And we still GUARANTEE to sell your home for 100% of list price!
 
We also have a buyer’s program that will help you protect your home. If you purchase a home with Kristofer Chun Real Estate, we will provide you a FREE Home Warranty provided by your choice of Fidelity Home Warranty or Old Republic Home Protection.
 

This Week in Real Estate - 8-7-2015 - Check you Hazard Insurance

Better check your Homeowners Insurance

Check with your insurance company, the massive wild fires are triggering alerts for these companies to limit their potential losses.

In many cases premiums could be increasing significantly or some Insurance Companies are not offering or renewing fire policies in some of our local areas.

This happens every time there are significant fires, but with the recent extreme droughts, the effects are more wide spread than ever.

-Kris

Tip of the Week.

It is that time of year again. How quickly the summers just fly by, but here are some great tips from greatschools.org to keep the Chaos down in your home during back to school.

#1. Ease into the school-year schedule. Getting back into the school routine can be a challenge for everyone in the family. To make the adjustment easier, start early. A few weeks before school starts, move bedtime back to an earlier time. Put a positive spin on going back to school. Talk about the fun things your child will learn, the old friends he’ll see and the new friends he’ll make.

#2. Take advantage of the slower pace during your time away from school to set up for the busy school year ahead. Many schools send out school information and a packet of forms to fill out before school starts. Have the necessary immunization records available for easy reference. Update school emergency contact and health information for the coming year. As you read through all the school information, mark important dates (such as back-to-school night, parent-teacher conferences and school holidays) on the family calendar.

#3. Save money at the sales. It’s always a great idea to buy what you know you’ll need early, if you can. Keep in mind school dress codes while shopping. Some schools prohibit short skirts and tank tops for girls and “sagging” (baggy trousers that hang low) for boys.

#4. Plan for the other activities before school begins, discuss what extracurricular activities your child will participate in. If your child needs a little extra encouragement to audition for jazz band or to take that early morning Italian class, now is the time to go over the benefits of these activities. If, however, your child needs to have limits set, have her pick her favorite activities and forgo the rest. Be realistic and don’t fall victim to over-programming. Make sure to leave enough time to do homework and for family time.

#5. Have set routines and a place to study at home. It will make it easier for your child to be organized and successful at school. Set up a well-lit, quiet place with a good work surface to do homework. Try to keep this place dedicated to homework and free of other clutter. Establish a regular homework time. This will help your student to complete assignments on time.