Enclosed is the update of
activity for April, 2012 thru June 2012.
There were a total of 108 new
listings. There were 89 pending
sales. Of the residential sales there
were 58 sales between $250,000 and $600,000, 18 sales between $601,000 and
$999,999, 9 sale over $1,000,000, 1 commercial sale and 4 land sales. There were 70 sale completes. Their were 87 price decreases and no price
increases. The number of current
listings are up at 293 listings specific to the Santa Ynez Valley.
Rates continue to fluctuate
on a daily basis. Conforming 30 year
fixed rates up to $417,000 are at 3.625% at no points and Jumbo Conforming
Loans which are loans up to $626,500 are at 3.75% at no points and Super Jumbo
Loans which are loans up to $1,000,000 are at 4.50% at no points for
origination. The Jumbo 30/5 year ARM Interest Only is at 3.0% at no
points. The 11th District Cost of Funds
index (COFI) is down at 1.118 for the month of July. The 6 month LIBOR rate is at 0.73; last month
it was at 0.74; 12 months ago it was at 0.40.
Instead of talking my own
opinions in this letter I thought I would include an article I spotted in the
WSJ today. It makes some interesting
points and I thought was very well written.
They also agree with us that every piece of economic advice needs to be
skewed to your own particular area so I will try to put a North County/Santa
Ynez Valley slant on this article.
The great news is that home
prices at least in the price ranges under 1 million have stabilized here in the
Valley also. And with a little more data coming in this year that may also be
true for the upper end also. They appear
to have stabilized at the mid year 2002 values; that is not the greatest news
for those purchasers who bought in the 6
years after that date but it appears the downward spiral is over. The economy and the real estate market still
has a long way to go because the bounceback to the previous highs will be a
long time coming. The recession of 1989,
yes we were in real estate way back then, took until 2000 to recover. The WSJ provided us with a great graph which
gives us an instant summary snapshot into that recovery and it matches my data
collection very closely. Their advice if
you are waiting to make a move.......Dont't hold your breath.
Our local market will like
all other markets will depend on two factors: rents and valuations. If it is
cheaper to rent, than buy or rents are stagnant, prices will need longer to
recover. If rents are rising, you can
expect prices to rise also. That last one is a true statement for Santa Ynez
Valley properties, rents are on the uptick. We are lucky.... we have great
schools.... great weather......great neighbors, low crime and a great community. We have Location, Location, Location in
spades. I want to make a statement about great schools and why I put it first
on my list... they remain one of the most important aspects of our community
life. Keep our great teachers, keep our
schools updated both curriculum and facilities, and keep them safe. Those concepts should be of MAJOR importance
to us as community members and property owners or future property owners
whether we are 5 and just entering the school system or 65, just watching or if your lucky enjoying your grandchildren go through
the school system..
I am not going to be able to
put more more into this newsletter and stay on one page so read the enclosed
article. I thought the part about your
market value in relation to your loan amount was really an eye-opener. If you are underwater by 50%, home prices
will have to rise 7% per year for the next 10 years for you to get back to
even. I am sure they are calculating in maintenance costs but that is a long
range plan. It might be a good one for some people but evaluate it in terms of
your own finances to see if it works for yours or let us help you figure it
out..
Be sure and check out our
Website and Property Search engines. You
can still find everything available throughout the County and as far North as
Paso Robles at www.MacbethRealEstate.com. Looking for Short Sales,
Auctions, REO's we have access to those too through RealtyTrac and Foreclosure
Radar. Have a Short Sale, facing foreclosure, call us for information. At the very least we can provide you with the
knowledge to make an informed decision.
Just give us a call and let us know what you need. We may be reached
during the day at our office 805-688-2969, and in the evening at
805-688-2986. Our toll-free number is
1-800-300-7977. My cell phone is
805-689-4178 and Marlene's is 805-689-2738.
So whether you need to buy or sell, call us. We would like to show you
what we can do! In the meantime we thank
you again for your loyalty and support in seeking us out when looking at
properties in the Valley and for choosing in 2012 to get your information about the Santa Ynez
Valley and other areas on the beautiful
Central Coast from.........
Your Real Estate
Professionals
Providing Old-Fashioned Service Using Today's
Technology
David and Marlene Macbeth, CDPE, CIAS, e-PRO, GRI