Firing All Guns At Once

by | Dec 8, 2012 | Bubbleinfo TV, Builders, Carmel Valley, Frenzy | 8 comments

The Carmel Valley market should bust loose in February when Pardee opens not one but two new tracts – here are the details on the one in PHR:

Construction is under way by Pardee Homes at its Watermark, a neighborhood of new luxury homes in the Pacific Highlands Ranch master-planned community.

The 87-home single-family detached neighborhood is expected to open for sale in late February 2013, according to Matt Sauls, director of marketing for Pardee Homes.

Pricing is anticipated to be from $1 million.

Each of the three two-story floor plans will have five bedrooms and square footage ranging from approximately 3,394 to 4,163 square feet. Room options may include an available outdoor living room, game nook, library or complete suite with private entry.

“Watermark includes Pardee’s LivingSmart brand by incorporating standard and optional measures that boost energy efficiency, help reduce water consumption and improve indoor air quality,” Sauls said.

With LivingSmart, energy efficiency exceeds California’s Title 24 criteria with water-thrifty appliances, plumbing and the use of low volatile organic compound materials, officials said.

Buyers can also add such features as photovoltaic systems for in-home solar power, whole house water filtration, and tankless water heaters.

Semper Fidelis

by | Dec 7, 2012 | Military

A Marine who survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was returned to the USS Arizona for eternity.  “He wanted to be with his friends”.

Divers took an urn holding the cremated remains of Frank Cabiness from the late Marine’s family, swam over to the sunken battleship and placed the container inside during a solemn ceremony in December 2011.

Hawaii-based Marines from the 3rd Marine Regiment performed a rifle salute during the ceremony. Cabiness died in Lewisville, Texas, at the age of 86.

His son, Jerry Cabiness, said his father always wanted to return to his ship.

“He said it was because that’s where he belonged. Because he lost all of his friends there and he wanted to be with them,” Jerry Cabiness said after the service.

The family took some time to fulfill his father’s wishes because they had some financial problems and it is expensive to travel to Hawaii, he said.  “But we finally got it done. And it was a beautiful ceremony. The Marines did him proud,” he said.

Dozens of Arizona crew members who lived through the December 7, 1941 attack have chosen to have their ashes interred on the battleship after death.

Many do it out of a desire to join those they left behind.

Pool Demo

by | Dec 7, 2012 | Bubbleinfo TV, Remodel Projects, Vendors, Why You Should Hire Jim as your Buyer's Agent | 5 comments

This video shows a remodel in progress being completed by one of my clients.  The 2,506sf house was built in 1961 on a 12,000sf lot, and the seller was the original owner.

They are removing the pool – we finally get to witness a pool demo!  This video starts with my “before” photos – but click on this old-pool photo to enlarge.  >>>

Long-time owners are selling – if you can get your arms around doing a thorough remodel, I have the people who can help!

“Flinch” Period

by | Dec 7, 2012 | Forecasts, Frenzy, Market Buzz, Market Conditions, Spring Kick

What will buyers do when faced with rapidly-rising list prices?

We know that sellers are going to be adding more frosting to their already better-tasting cake.  Here is the San Diego detached-home graph, showing the recent list prices going through the roof (note how the sales-price gains are moderating):

Look at the difference in list pricing between 2011 vs. 2012!

The natural thing for buyers to do is pause.

Then some combination of outrage/disbelief/indifference kicks in, followed with the typical scoff, “we’ll see if anyone else goes for that!”.

Thus, from February 4th to around mid-March is the critical “flinch” period.

Because those first few weeks after the Super Bowl will be when we see if the most-motivated buyers, spurred by low rates, inflation fears, and overall frustration & anxiety, will jump in and pay whatever it takes.

If the scoffers see a bunch of OPTs go pending in their target areas, then they might follow.  If they don’t, then the standoff is on for 3-4 months, as a glut of unsolds starts to build.

Win-Win?

by | Dec 6, 2012 | Market Buzz, Market Conditions, North County Coastal | 17 comments

With mortgage rates dropping steadily, the buying power has increased 9% nationally this year:

Who has benefited around NSDCC? 

Of course we’re just looking at averages, your mileage may vary.  But it look like both buyers and sellers have benefited – prices are up slightly, which means that the buyer’s payment should actually be a little lower than anticipated:

Sept-Nov # of Sales Avg SF Avg $/sf Avg SP
2010
591
3,009sf
$385/sf
$1,120,111
2011
590
2,982sf
$381/sf
$1,099,623
2012
814
2,944sf
$389/sf
$1,122,646

If this year’s rising prices were entirely driven by dropping rates that have now flattened, could next year be disappointing for sellers? Can sellers just live with this year’s prices?

I don’t think buyers are married to an exact payment; if they can get close to their desired goal (within a couple of hundred bucks per month) they will proceed with the purchase. But if sellers ask them to bump it up another notch, will buyers give in?

http://firsttuesdayjournal.com/homebuyer-purchasing-power-pushes-the-recovery/

Debt-Tax Relief on Cliff

by | Dec 6, 2012 | Short Sales, Short Selling | 1 comment

California state law already provides debt-tax relief, so owner-occupants here are covered.

Homeowners and banks are accelerating sales of properties for less than the amount owed as a U.S. law that gives them a tax break expires at the end of the year.

The transactions, known as short sales, increased by 35 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, while sales of bank-owned homes dropped 20 percent, according to a report today by mortgage data seller Renwood RealtyTrac LLC. Together, they accounted for 41.5 percent of home purchases in the quarter.

Short sales have accounted for as many as 1.1 million transactions since 2009, helping to reduce the inventory of homes owned by banks that can blight neighborhoods and flood the market. Barring a last-minute extension of the 2007 Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, homeowners will be taxed on the forgiven principal. With Congress focused on the so-called fiscal cliff, federal spending cuts and tax-rate hikes set to kick in on Jan. 1, the law may not be extended, leading to a drop in short sales and a rise in foreclosures.

“If you’re struggling to pay your mortgage, it’s not likely you can afford an extra $25,000 or $35,000 tax bill to avoid foreclosure,” said Edward Mills, a financial policy analyst at FBR Capital Markets in Arlington, Virginia. “Mortgage forgiveness has become part of fiscal cliff politics.”

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