Spring 2012 San Diego Real Estate Market Update

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There’s a good chance you have heard the words “buy now” when it comes to real estate. Well there’s a real good reason for that. Despite the market crash and subsequent hardships our marketplace has had to endure since then, things are looking up. For the first time since 2007, banks have eased up on their inhibitions of loaning money. The fed still has not done much to increase interest rates that have been at all-time lows and prices remain at their most affordable in many people’s lifetimes.

With more people obtaining financing, the cost of borrowing lower than ever before and prices that allow you afford your dream home – now is a phenomenal time to tap into the market.

Sellers Enjoying Multiple Offer Situations

In many cases, sellers are presented multiple offers on their homes – giving them room to breathe and a chance to make even more money than asking price in many cases. Fewer concessions needed on the part of sellers is also making the process more enjoyable for them. At a time when just a few months ago sellers needed to pull out all kinds of tricks out of the bag to entice buyers, sellers are finally enjoying the spotlight. Well-priced homes in great condition and in a desirable location are going fast. In fact, our average Days On Market was 31 days last year and it has gone down to a phenomenal 11 days this year so far!

Buyers Still Control the Market But Have Fewer Choices

Sales have been on the rise and as a result our inventory of homes is dwindling. Today’s savvy buyers know that before interest rates climb back up and when there are no longer a variety of choice homes available – they need to seize the opportunity today. While a shorter Days On Market average works great for sellers, it means a different thing altogether for buyers. While browsing for homes, keep one thing in mind: If you see it, like it and want it – make an offer on it!  Not only do you have the potential to avoid getting in the middle of a multi-offer bidding war but you will be able to beat that DOM clock and get into your dream home before it’s too late.
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Almost to the midway point of 2011, we are expecting to see more of the current upward trend for the rest of the year. This means you should act fast whether you are an existing homeowner looking to trade up into your dream place or a first-time buyer wanting to secure unbelievably low mortgage rates. Contact us today – our success is in your success and we look forward to serving you!

Keep Your Home Safe While on Vacation

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With summer fast approaching, you might already have vacation on your mind...so I wanted to share with you on this little video clip my favorite safety tips. In fact, I have multiple critical steps to prepare your home for safe keeping while you're away, to keep your nest safe and secure.

This is exactly what I did to prepare my home while I'm on vacation:

The best way to keep your home safe in your absence is to make it appear you are home, leaving absolutely no clue you're actually away. Light, time and noise are your greatest weapons to accomplish this. Follow these tips to ready your home and keep it safe:

- Ask someone you know and trust to keep an eye on your house.

For short trips, ask one of your neighbors to pick up your mail and your newspaper. If you are going to be gone longer, however, be sure to stop by the post office and have your home mail delivery stopped until you return.

Be sure to provide neighbors, friends and family members with emergency phone numbers so you can be reached quickly. It's a good idea to leave a spare house key with a relative or neighbor as well.

- At least a couple of weeks before you leave for vacation, decide what to do about your pets. You may want to have a friend or neighbor stop by each day to provide food, water and exercise. Or you may want to hire a professional pet sitting service or take the pets to a reputable kennel. This decision should be made well in advance so that proper arrangements can be made.

- Use timers on lights, televisions and radios to provide sound and illuminate the inside of your home.

- If you still have a home phone, change the setting on your answering machine so it picks up on the first or second ring—or just turn down the ringer. A constantly ringing phone is also a good sign no one is home.

- For long absences, you may want to turn off the main water valve. This will help avoid problems with frozen pipes in winter and leaking pipes in the warmer months as well as other plumbing issues.

- Keep shades up and blinds and curtains open to make it appear you're home.

- Keep bushes and shrubs near your home's entrance and walkway well trimmed. This will eliminate hiding spots for burglars.

- Keep the outside of your home well lit. Burglars won't go where they can be seen.

- Ask a neighbor to park in your driveway, occasionally moving his or her car indicate your coming and going.

- Leave the air conditioner on. A silent compressor on a hot day is a good indication you aren't home.

- Have the lawn mowed my a friend or lawn service if you are away longer than a week in the warmer months.

- This one is tough for those addicted to Facebook but posting to Facebook where you are at all times you are not only sharing this with your 'friends'. Those posts and photos allow others to find out when you are away and where you are. This isn't as concerning when you are local as you could post a comment or photo as you are ON your way home or just arrived but when your, say, at Disney World, those with ill plans regarding your trip away from home.

- Be sure to turn down the temperature on the hot water heater and unplug televisions and other appliances. These appliances will be drawing electricity whether they are on or not. Unplugging them will help lower your electric bill.

- Turn your thermostats down (or up) before you leave. There is no reason to spend money heating or cooling the home when you are not there.

- Don't forget about the plants. If you are having a friend or pet sitter care for your pets, ask them to take care of your plants as well. Simply soaking the plants with water before you leave is not enough. A better idea is to create a self watering system if you cannot have someone care for the plants. For small plants, make a self watering system by filling a plastic container with pebbles. Then fill the bottom of the container with water. This allows the plants to slowly absorb the moisture they need, without the danger of their roots becoming waterlogged. Larger plants can be mulched with a damp towel or newspaper to prevent the loss of moisture.

- When the day to leave for vacation finally arrives, try not to make that departure too obvious to those passing by. If you have a garage, be sure to pack the car with the garage door closed. If you do not have a garage, you may want to pack a couple of items a day in order to avoid broadcasting to the world that your home will be unoccupied.

- This last tip isn't a security measure for your house but for your credit (you know I always care about that as well) as you need to keep tight check over your credit in order to purchase or refinance your home!

With all the excitement of the upcoming trip we sometimes get carried away, plan only for the trip and security of our home for while we are away and leave for our stress-free trip. But wait!! You suddenly realize the day before you return the date! You've missed your mortgage payment, car payment, credit card, and utility due dates by a week or more! This happens more than I'd like to hear and the credit company doesn't accept this as a viable hardship excuse. :-) So ensure you plan ahead. Go on and sit down to make all the payments needed to be made in advance before your trip and all those due up till a few days after your return for good measure to ensure you don't get tied up with the return home and forget this very important task to protect your credit rating!

As you can see, there is a lot to think about before you jump in the car or on a plane for vacation. Use this checklist as a way of bringing peace of mind to you and your family. Enjoy your vacations without worrying about the safety of your home while you're away.

Be Un-Emotional When Buying a Home In Order to Get the Best Value!

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Want to break your heart and your bank account at the same time? Then buy a new home based on the fact that you've fallen in love with it!

Needless to say, you should never do this!

In some cases, when you fall in love with the "pretty face" of a house, you fail to look underneath and find problems like bad wiring, leaky roofs, bad foundations, etc. This is an extremely expensive way to buy a home!

A funny and sad example of this is shown in the 1986 film, The Money Pit, starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long. They make the mistake of falling in love with a home and think they're getting a $1,000,000 property for only $200,000.

Once they get into the home, they find out it'll cost a million to repair it! It's got wood rot, a bad roof, bad plumbing, bad electricity, even bad raccoons!

Well, that's Hollywood exaggeration, of course. After all, The Money Pit was a comedy. But, when things like that happen to you, it's no joke. Repairs can cost you a lot of money and heartache, not to mention dangerously rising blood pressure!

So, again, never ever fall in love with a house at first sight! Easier said than done, you say? How do you avoid this tendency? Below, I offer some solutions to the problem!

Solutions 1: Get Cold Hard Facts about the Home!

When I talk about "cold, hard facts," I'm talking about getting the house evaluated by a certified home inspector.

It's well worth the money to have this job done because the inspector will cast the objective eye you lack on the property. He or she will evaluate every aspect of a house - roof, plumbing, wiring, foundation, etc.

And then, that inspector will provide you with a written report that may range anywhere from 20 to 50 pages. It will give you a point-by-point summary of what needs to be corrected.

The cost of a home inspection varies with the region of the country. Nationally, they range from $200 to $400. But, for the investment of, say, $200, you prevent yourself from losing thousands of dollars in repairs in two ways.One, you can simply walk away from the deal. Or, two, you can require that seller fix all items before you sign a contract!

Bonus: Often, you can ask that the seller pay for the home inspection!

Solution 2: Cool Off and Take Your Time!

Infatuation with a home is fun and exciting, and you can have the overwhelming temptation to buy an attractive home practically "on the spot."

My advice - walk away and come back several hours later, especially after you've viewed other properties! By then, it's likely you'll have a more objective eye.

Solution 3: Keep It Simple!

By this I mean that you should stick within your price range. You want the best hom e at the best price within your means! So, if you see an outwardly gorgeous home at, say, $10,000 above your price limit, say, "I love you, but you're way too pricey for me!" and walk away from the temptation!

Solution 4: Rely on Your Realtor!

At heart, I and other professional realtors like me, want you to have a home that meets your needs in the best way possible. That means preventing you from buying a home that's in substandard shape and/or beyond your means.

To be perfectly blunt about it, I rely on great word of mouth from satisfied customers to make the most of my real estate career. So, you have my promise that I'll do my absolute best to get you into the house of your affordable dreams!

Need that objective eye to help you make a smart home-buying decision? Contact us today.