Simi Valley Homes - Ted Mackel

My Blog has moved

2008-05-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

This blog has moved

Please visit

www.homebuysblog.com

for updated information on Real Estate and local information for Simi Valley & Moorpark.

Thanks for stopping buy!

Congratulations!!!!

2007-08-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

I was elected by the Simi Valley Moorpark Association of Realtors to serve as the Treasurer for the 2008 term. I have served on the Budget and Finance committe for three years and have been a director for 2007.

Credit Secrets?

2007-08-15T15:43:00.000-07:00

Credit and Credit scores are very mysterious. Mysterious to the point that many people do not pay much attention to their Credit status until it is time to make a purchase. The little (and I stress little) step you take today can pay huge dividends later when you go to purchase that next home, car or appliance, etc.

If you have not looked at your credit recently there are two way you can do this. Well there are more than two, but the following two are the best. You need to see your reports in a raw form. The best way to do this is to order a hard copy of each report from each Credit Reporting Agency (aka - CRA). Each report will cost approximately $10.00. If you believe you might have a few challenges then this first option is the best.

Let me stress............NEVER USE A FREE REPORT SERVICE.

Free reports make it more difficult to dispute and errors on your reports (this topic will be covered later). The $30.00 you spend for the hard copies will be well worth it if you need to dispute. Additionally DO NOT ORDER YOUR REPORTS FROM ANYONE OTHER THAN TRANSUNION, EQUIFAX & EXPERIAN. Third party company reports will not have many of the details you may need to see in order to optimize your report.

The second place to get your report is a little more expensive (between $45.00 and $50.00 for all three) and that is www.myfico.com. myFICO.com is the only website you can go to and get your REAL FICO SCORES. All the other websites that claim to have your score, have what is affectionately called a FAKO (Pronounced FAKE-O). The Fair Isaac Corporation owns the secret formula for the scores and does not share that with anyone. The formula is closely guarded just like the recipe for Coke and Kentucky Fried Chicken. The score you see on myFICO.com will be the same score that a car dealer will pull or any other lending source.

What is a Trimerge report? A Trimerge report is a report you can order from third party providers which will include all three reports combined into one report. While these reports are helpful, they are not as detailed as the reports recommended above. If you sign up for a credit monitoring service then you will have access to a trimerge report. This is good for monitoring purposes and costs less, but if you need to dispute or work on your credit, the hard copies are a must. The good news is if you dispute items on your report and they are removed, the CRA will send you a new updated copy of your report at no additional charge.

To order you report mail your payment and request to the following companies:

Equifax
PO Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Currently $8.00

Experian
PO Box 2104
Allen, TX 75013
Currently $9.95

TransUnion
PO Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022-2000
Currently $8.00

You will need to include a copy of your Driver's License if you mail in your request. You may also order over the phone with a credit card.

Also when you request your report you will want to OPT-OUT at the same time. When you opt out you will have your name removed from the mailing lists the CRA sell to credit card companies and others. you will recieve less junk mail when you opt-out. This option is good for 5 years and must be renewed.

This is the first installment......More to follow......

More Foreclosure News

2007-08-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

Every newspaper seems to have an article on the mortgage industry and the dilemma of subprime mortgages. The Stock Market is taking a beating with fallout and consumers are now on the sidelines trying to figure out if a crash is in process and when the best time to buy a home might be.

If you are one of these buyers trying to decide, then ask the following question:

The home I am looking to purchase is going to be

a) A home I plan on living in longer than 5 years.
b) An investment which I intend to own less than a year to rehab and flip.

If you answered 'a', then the time to buy is now. The variables you cannot account for in the next 12 months include interest rates and lending requirements. Because of the lending fall out, requirements to qualify for loans is getting tougher not easier. If you have less than stellar credit your lending options are getting smaller everyday. If rates go up, even with a moderate reduction in prices your monthly payment will not go down. The Fall and holiday months in this area see a slow down in activity, which will open up buying opportunities as sellers who need to sell will not be as picky if an offer comes their way.

If you answered 'b', then now is the time to get a business plan and do your home work. I really feel unless you have the capital to show up at the foreclosure sales, the homes listed on the Multiple Listing Service will not be priced low enough for a short term flip. Inventory is up and the number of homes sold is low. You will not only need capital for rehab, but maybe several months reserves for payments & utilities while you try to sell.

I think this is a good time to buy. My wife and I answered the question under 'a' and we have purchase a home and are in escrow to close the first week of September.

My next blog entry will be on credit, how to boost your score and what to do to keep from lowering your score.

Why Foreclosures are not the best deal.

2007-07-30T13:24:00.000-07:00

There are good investment decisions to be made in real estate, however, foreclosure proerties are not an automatic choice. There are major differences in the foreclosure market of the early 1990s compared to the foreclosure market today.

Today, the market is not flooded with foreclosures.
The majority of homes in foreclosure today had 100% financing so there is no equity at this point to negotiate over with the bank or seller.
If the owners did not have enough money to pay the loans, then what is the likelyhood that they put any money into the property to maintain it, then just to give the property back to the bank in pristine condtion?
If you purchase a foreclosure property, how much money will you need to repair and upgrade the property if you plan to keep the property? If you plan to flip the property how much more will you need for the costs to sell?

Considering the the above, it is easy to see that foreclosures are trickier than ever.

Looking at the option to flip, you will need to get the property far enough below market value to:

Repair and upgade the property
Cover carrying costs (i.e monthly payments, taxes, insurance and maintenance costs) until the property sells.
Pay the sales costs (i.e. escrow, termite, title insurance, commissions, etc.)

Let's look at pre-foreclosures. These are homes with a Notice of Default, notifying the owner that their home will be sold at Trustee sale if they do not cure the default. During this pre-foreclosure period you will have one of two options. If by chance the owner has equity in the property, you now have to try and negotiate with the seller to obtain a deep enough discount so you can meet the objectives in the list above. Finding owners in foreclosures with equity is very rare today. The second option is what you will most likely come across. This is a seller in foreclosure with no equity, which now you have to negotiate with the lender on this property for a short pay.

What is a short pay? A short pay is when there is more money owed against a property than what the property can be sold for. You are now in the position to try and get the lender to allow the seller to sell the property for less than they owe. This brings about a few issues that will greatly impact your success.

The banks are not bending over backward at this point to cooperate. The banks have been requiring sellers to take back an unsecured promissorry note for the difference of what they owe and what the property sells for. Where is the motivation for the seller in this situation? The seller's credit is already in shambles with multiple mortgage lates. The promissory note can be collected on in the future and if not paid, a judgement can be obtained. Lates on a promissory note combined with the lates from the mortgage and then a judgment would be far worse on the seller's credit than just letting the property go back to the lender. If the seller just walks away from the property they will have not have any more responsibility to repay the bank.
If the bank does not require an unsecured promissory note, then the seller will now have a tax liability for the difference in the sales price verses the amount owed on their property.

So where can you make money in the foreclosure market? If you have the money and banking connections to go to the Trustee sale and buy stright from the sale, then you will improve your chances. Otherwise there are other sectors that are unrelated to foreclosures and the subprime market that will hold good buys in this real estate market.

HELP, The Sky is Falling!!!!

2007-07-28T23:11:00.000-07:00

After reading the papers all week, you'd think that the economy is falling apart and that real estate was the culprit. Three issues are impacting the Real Estate Market and one is a bigger deal than the others.

1. Subprime Lender failures
2. Foreclosures are increasing
3. The ratios of the increase of incomes to the increase in home prices

If you guessed #1 or #2 were big issues, then guess again.

Subprime loans are not the bulk of the market, they make up a segment but certainly not the largest segment. Subrpime lenders with a combination of rapidly increasing home prices caused this problem and those people qualifying for these loans (for the most part) were not taking these loans out blindly. With homes going up in double digit percentages each month, many people wanted to get on the easy money train. These buyers willingly signed up for 100% financing with the carrot that their new purchase would increase 20% in the following 12 to 18 months and then they could refinance at that point into a better loan on the inflated equity.

This worked for a while. Buyers were encouraged by TV programs (i.e. Flip This House) and buyers heard from co-workers (at the water cooler) how they flipped houses and were making large profits. What the buyers and most real estate agents were not paying attention to was, that by the end of 2005 a very important ratio was changing and this ratio would end the party for novice real estate speculation.

The above chart shows how dramatically Incomes and home prices have behaved recently. The gap has reached a peak. This peak does not necessarily dictate a correction. The correction of the early 1990s was driven by high (10%) unemployment and local conditions including the Northridge earthquake.

Here is what is evident.........at least evident when you read past the headlines.

Home prices above the median price are still increasing with no signs of stopping.
Home prices below the median price are decreasing moderately in some areas.
Home prices below the median price are taking the longest to sell.
The number of homes sold last year compared to this year is dramatically down.
Foreclosures are still only 50% of what they were during the real estate crash of the early 1990s

What does this mean for Sellers and buyers?

For Sellers - Price and condition equally are king, followed by location. If you do not have serious upgrades, your task will be harder. Do not put your home on the market unless you are serious about moving. This is not the time to test the waters and see what might happen.

For Buyers - Are you planning to keep the home you buy for 5 years or longer? If yes, then buy now. There is no guarantee that rates will stay this low forever, get a good loan at a good rate today and enjoy that next home. Historically the Real Estate market between 1926 and 1996 increased 11.1% annually adjusted for the highs and lows. From 1996 till the present we have had huge gains which drive the number up even higher. Will the next 5 years bring 11.1% gains? I am not a fortune teller so I cannot say, but the cost of living will be up in the next 5 years and most likely as the historical rates show, real estate will be up higher than the cost of living.

Welcome Back To Me!!!!

2007-07-26T18:05:00.000-07:00

After some time away from trying to BLOG, I will make another attempt. I read the buisness section of the paper every morning and feel it is my duty to help decipher the information that is being protrayed about the current Real Estate conditions. If you would like to comment on my posts, you are welcome. Any comments that are advertisements for other businesses will be deleted. Please keep your comments related to the post.

Free Conference on Wealth Building!!!

2006-05-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

On the evening of Thursday May 25th, I will be a featured speaker at Washington Mutual Bank located on the corner of Sycamore and Cochran in Simi Valley. I will be speaking on issues related to building wealth....such as goal setting, advanced planning, time management..........and how these all relate to making smart real estate investments. I will also discuss the market conditions and how this will impact future real estate decisions.

Washington Mutual will have speakers there to discuss, banking, investments and loans. This will be a very valuable meeting that you cannot miss. Everyone in attendence will recieve a copy of David Bach's "The Automatic Millionaire", so please RSVP so I can have enough copies available (805) 432-7705.

What's Happening with the Market?

2006-04-01T23:13:00.000-08:00

This is the most common question I have heard since last fall. The southern California real estate market has definately changed. The question to really ask is changed from what?

Over the last several years, homes sold so quickly with multiple offers, and many sold for more than the asking price, that many people have forgot what normal market timing is. This lack of a market frenzy has many people wondering if the bubble has burst.

Nationally there are 1.2 million Real Estate Agents with the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR is projecting that as many as 400,000 agents will leave the business by the end of 2006. In 2005 13% of the agents sold no homes and 25% sold 1 to 2 homes. The market last year for the first 3 quarters was moving fast and furious, yet 38% of the agents were working below the poverty line.

What does this all have to do with the market? Well, what we are seeing now is normal market timing for selling a home. This normal timing is approximately 120+ days to sell a home, 30 to 60 days if the home is priced correctly. Because the time to sell a home is now back to normal, many of the agents who forgot what is was like or never knew what it was like are facing hard reality. Homes are still selling, yes there are more homes on the market, but they are still selling at a good steady pace. The bubble we are about to see is the real estate agent bubble and all these agents that have relied and built their business on the market conditions of the last several years are going to be dropping out at excellerated rates.

Are you part of my Client Appreciation Program?

2006-03-15T10:57:00.000-08:00

Each month I send out an item of value to my friends, family and clients. This valuable real estate information includes information on budgeting, organization, home improvement, identity theft, protecting your credit, remodeling guides, curb appeal for your home and more. Many of these items have worksheets attached so you can take full advantage of the information.

I am dedicated to being a resource to you before, during and after you purchase or sell a home and these items of value are only a small part of the service I provide. Other value I bring to the table is that I know many good people who provide services you may need for your home, from pool cleaning, carpet cleaning, tradesmen to lenders. I am here for you lean on when you need some help, so please call.

I work by referral which is much different that those who claim to be supported by "word of mouth" or say "by referral only". The difference is as I said earlier, I am a resource to you now, no matter what stage you are in concerning real estate. So if you find the resources I provide to be of value and you know of anyone who may benefit from this level of service; please let me know how I can follow up with your friends and famliy and provide these same resources to them.

Century 21 Hilltop-LaCarre is now Century 21 All Pro!

2006-02-15T15:52:00.000-08:00

My former broker/owners have sold our offices to Jimmy LaPeter who is the broker/owner of the Century 21 All Pro Franchises in Anaheim, Corona, Garden Grove & West Covina. When Jimmy's offices are combined with our Simi Valley, Moorpark and San Fernando Valley offices, we now become the 15 highest producing Century 21 franchise in the world of over 9,000 franchises. Our Simi Valley, Moorpark and San Fernando Valley offices were ranked again, number one in our region for 2005 as we have been years before; now under new leadership, continued success will make our offices an ongoing dominant force in the southern California real estate market.

The Century21 name is the most recognizable name in the real estate industry in all marketing studies. This is important to my clients who list their homes with me, as the Century21 name can bring national exposure unmatched by anyone else. Those of you who know my wife Cathy and I from the days we owned and operated the Gold's Gym Franchise in Simi Valley, will understand why I understand the importance to be aligned with the number one name in any given industry. That advantage was clear in the health club industry as it is even more obvious in the Real Estate industry.

Jimmy LaPeter's top notch expertise in operating extremely high volume real estate offices is welcome and will be exciting. Jimmy has high energy and has set clear goals for our company. This energy and direction will help create even more value and exposure for all my clients no and in the future.

2005-09-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

Record Closing!!!

For those of you that may not know, I have a large background in retail commercial leasing, negotiating leases for large national tenants as well as local businesses. I also have a background in lending for shopping centers and other commercial real estate investments, apartment lending and single family lending. This tenure and experience has placed me in positions to work on very challenging real estate projects that do not come along regularly.

I just sold an assisted living complex in Ventura County valued at $22.5 million consisting of a 150 unit facility built on 9 acres. This is the second largest project I have worked on in my real estate career. This sale is the largest sale brought in by an agent at both the Hilltop and LaCarre franchises in the last 30 years.

Why should you Opt Out?

2005-06-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

The last time you sold or bought a house or refinance, you were probably inundated with offers for new loans. If you wonder why you get so many pre approved credit card offers, wonder no more. The Big Three Credit Reporting Agencies are selling your information. Opting out from the three agencies will stop these unwanted offers and also offer protection from identity theft.

A simple letter to each of the agencies will opt out your information and keep you off certain marketing lists in the future.

You can find a sample at the Federal Trade Commission's website at this link:

http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/cred-ltr.htm

Median Home Prices up 20.4%

2005-03-24T03:54:00.000-08:00

The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during February was $471,620, a 20.4 percent increase over the revised $391,550 median for February 2004, C.A.R. reported today. The February 2005 median price decreased 2.9 percent compared with anuary's $485,700 median price. (Taken from the California Association of Relators).

Inventory is still Low.

2005-03-15T08:34:00.000-08:00

Inventory Levels for the Simi Valley Moorpark area is below 300 properties. 18% of the available listings are currently vacant.

East Simi - 59 listings
Central Simi - 47 listings
West Simi - 53 listings
Wood Ranch - 31 listings
North Moorpark - 38 listings
South Moorpark - 28 listings
Santa Rosa - 18 listings

Foreclosures Down in 2004

2005-02-24T06:24:00.000-08:00

The number of mortgage default notices sent to California homeowners decreased by 32.9 percent in 2004, according to a recent report by DataQuick Information Systems. Strong appreciation rates and record home sales helped keep foreclosure activity to its lowest level in more than thirteen years. Lending institutions sent default notices to 56,125 homeowners in 2004, compared with 83,600 in 2003. The Los Angeles and Ventura counties saw the strongest decline in foreclosures, decreasing 48.5 percent and 42.8 percent, respectively."There's always going to be a certain level of financial stress out there," said DataQuick President Marshall Prentice. "People lose jobs, get divorced or have costly medical emergencies even in the best of times. Right now, though, because of increasing home values, virtually everyone can sell or refinance if they're really in trouble." (Taken from the California Association of Realtors Newsline Report)

Market update 2-12-05

2005-02-12T12:21:00.000-08:00

The last five weeks of activity at Caravan has shown a tightening market. During the summer and fall we were seeing 60 to 80 home show up for preview on caravan. The last five weeks has averaged 20-25 homes. Total inventory has dropped from a summer high of 850 to 333 as of this post. The vacancy ratio is still on the high side with 65 of the 333 listing availble (are vacant).

Several homes in my office went out this week after being on the market less than 7 days with multiple offers.

Market Update 1-7-05

2005-01-07T10:58:00.000-08:00

Inventory has been declining. During the summer there were as many as 850 homes for sale and 150+ were vacant. As of today there are 510 homes for sale with 98 of them vacant. New inventory on caravan this morning was low, but it will still be a few weeks before we will know what kind of trend there might be for this year.

Simi Valley (not including Wood Ranch)

3 Bedrooms - 106 total with a $445k - $560K range
4 Bedrooms - 113 total with a $480k - $650k range. There are a few pockets of newer developments that are ranging in the $700k to 1 million range, but these are very specific neighborhoods with most of these homes built after 1998.
5 or more Bedrooms - 38 total with a range from $480k to 1 million. The difference in neighborhoods is very noticeable. This would include models such as the Tempos & Mountain Valley's up through Silverthorne.

Simi Valley Wood Ranch

3 Bedrooms - 14 total with a range of $475k - $600, with a few areas going into the $800k range.
4 Bedrooms - 10 total from $680k to over 1 million.
5 or more Bedrooms - 12 total from $700K to over 1 million

Moorpark

3 Bedrooms - 38 total from $450K to $600k range with some up to the 1 million range depending on location and year built.
4 Bedrooms - 36 total from $500k to over 1 million
5 or more Bedrooms - 17 total from $750k to over 1 million

The above information shows very broad information. You will not be able to determine the value of your home without a comparative market analysis. This information will help you understand trends and over time can help show which way the market is trending. If you would like a free comparative market analysis of your home, please call me at (805) 432-7705 or send me an email ted.mackel@century21.com.

Happy New Year!

2005-01-03T10:37:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone. I decided to change the format of the updates from last year. I will no long provide the Weekly Caravan information, but I will update the total inventory for Simi/Moorpark with other leading market indicators about every 4 weeks. If you have direct questions, please send me an email at ted.mackel@century21.com and I will help you with any other data you might need.

Market Conditions

2004-10-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

Currently there are 757 homes for sale in Simi Valley/Moorpark; of these 757 homes 142 are vacant. While the market has dropped below the 800 level, vacant listings are still high.

30 year mortgage rates have dropped back to levels that we saw in the beginning of this year which has stimulated some increased buying.

The October numbers will not be ready for a couple more weeks. August had 379 properties listed, 226 escrows opened and 232 escrows closed. September had 326 properties listed, 256 escrows opened and 215 escrows closed.

10-26 C21 Tuesday Caravan

2004-10-26T18:03:00.000-07:00

13 homes were featured in this morning's Caravan

2 -2 Bedrooms
6 - 3 Bedrooms
4 -4 Bedrooms
1 - 5 Bedrooms

10-22 SVMAR Friday Caravan

2004-10-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

52 homes were pitched at today's Caravan.

5 - 2 Bedroom
21 - 3 Bedroom
17 - 4 Bedroom
7 - 5 Bedroom
2 - 6 Bedroom

This was not a particularly good day to have your home on caravan as there was a SVMAR member meeting that followed the Caravan meeting. The member meeting ran over one hour and really cut into time that Realtors set aside to preview homes.

10-19 C21 Tuesday Caravan

2004-10-19T21:27:00.000-07:00

Six new properties were pitched this morning

4 - 3 Bedroom Homes
2 - 4 Bedroom Homes

Another lite week, which is good for these sellers as these home will be previewed by more than 50 agents.

10-15 SVMAR Friday Caravan

2004-10-15T18:52:00.000-07:00

48 Homes were featured today

4 - 1 Bedroom
6 - 2 Bedroom
16 - 3 Bedroom
15 - 4 Bedroom
6 - 5 Bedroom
1 - 6 Bedroom

Caravan seems to be leveling off around 40-50 homes per week. This is good for both buyers and sellers, but it is still a strong buyers market. Inventory is still up.

10-12 Tuesday C21 Caravan

2004-10-12T16:36:00.000-07:00

This morning's Caravan featured 6 homes.

2 - 1 Bedroom Condos
2 - 3 Bedroom Homes
1 - 4 Bedroom Home
1 - 5 Bedroom Home

Friday 10-8 SVMAR Caravan

2004-10-08T14:03:00.000-07:00

Friday Caravan hosted 40 homes.

5 - 2 Bedrooms
11 - 3 Bedrooms
16 - 4 Bedrooms
8 - 5 Bedrooms

New Caravan inventory seems to be leveling off below 50 new offerings each week.

10-5 Tuesday C21 Caravan

2004-10-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

This morning's Carvan hosted 13 new listings.

4 - 3 Bedrooms
7 - 4 Bedrooms
2- 5 Bedrooms

We are starting to see homes in the new Wild Horse Canyon development already up for resale. So far the first look is not thrilling. The resales in that development have ceramic tile and substandard appliances for homes listed over 1 million dollars. The lot sizes were very nice and the location is excellent. It was obvious that the owners could either not afford the proper upgrades for 1 million dollars homes or they are in for a quick profit.

10-01 Friday SVMAR Caravan

2004-10-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

This morning's carvan hosted 47 homes.

6 - 2 Bedrooms
21 - 3 Bedrooms
15 - 4 Bedrooms
5 - 5 Bedrooms

Again it looks like the new listings are leveling off. Several of the homes on Caravan had been on Caravan before.

Why post Caravan data?

2004-09-30T21:41:00.000-07:00

If you are thinking of Selling your home, you can quickly look through the caravan numbers for each week and quickly get a sense for what kind of competition you will be up against. On heavy Caravan days, it is impossible to see all the homes and Realtors will tend to preview homes that meet their (active) buyer's needs and then go to the caravan homes that offer a money drawing of food. Also it is important that your home is pitched at Caravan. Unfortunately many homes on Friday are not pitched. They are still on the list, but extra description is given. Tuesday C21 Caravans have an advantage in that all the listings are pitched and usually a higher number of agents will see your property on Tuesday over Friday.

If you are planning to buy a home, you can quickly get a rough idea of how many homes are hitting the market each week.

9-28 Tuesday C21 Caravan

2004-09-28T16:12:00.000-07:00

This moring's caravan hosted 12 homes.

1 - 2 Bedroom condominium
5 - 3 Bedroom Homes
5 - 4 Bedroom Homes
1 - 5 Bedroom Home

Total homes for sale in Simi Valley/Moorpark have leveled off at the 850 with 150 of those listings vacant.

Century 21 Lunch meeting with C.A.R. Economist

2004-09-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

This afternoon Leslie Appleton Young, Chief Econimist for the California Association of Realtors was invited to speak to the agents of Century 21 Hilltop-LaCarre. Nearly 200 of our agents attended the meeting to hear what may lie ahead for California Real Estate.

We were shown a plethora of charts and graphs on the economy from Job growth rates to spending habits. What was interesting is that Leslie forecasted a 10-15% increase in home values by this time next year and she believes that loan interest rates should stay relatively stable. What was concluded and already evident to most, is that the 20-30% increases we have been seeing cannot be sustained.

9-24 Friday SVMAR Caravan

2004-09-24T16:06:00.000-07:00

47 homes were pitched at Friday's meeting.

7 - 2 Bedrooms
14 - 3 Bedrooms
18 - 4 Bedrooms
8 - 5 Bedrooms

Still lot's of incentives are being offered to increase showing and to entice a possible offer. With inventory leveling at the 850 total listings for Simi Moorpark, many sellers are still impatient trying to attract buyers.

9-21 Tuesday C21 Caravan

2004-09-21T21:40:00.000-07:00

This morning's Caravan hosted 10 homes.

1 - 2 Bedroom Condominium
3 - 3 Bedroom Homes
3- 4 Bedroom Homes
2 - 5 Bedroom Homes
1 - 6 Bedroom Home

9-17 Friday SVMAR Caravan

2004-09-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

65 homes were pitched this morning.

1 - 1 Bedroom
7 - 2 Bedrooms
20 - 3 Bedrooms
23 - 4 Bedrooms
10 - 5 Bedrooms
1 - 6 Bedrooms

12 were condominiums. Price reductions and commission incentives were announced. 3% Selling commissions are becomming very typical across the board from all Brokers.

9-14 Tuesday C21 Caravan

2004-09-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

16 Homes were pitched on Tuesday morning's Caravan.

3 - 2 Bedrooms
8 - 3 Bedrooms
4 - 4 Bedrooms
1 - 5 Bedrooms

Four of the homes were condominiums.

9-10 Friday SVMAR Caravan

2004-09-10T16:24:00.000-07:00

61 homes were pitched at Friday's meeting

3 - 6 Bedroom
4 - 5 Bedrooms
24 - 4 Bedrooms
22 - 3 Bedrooms
7 - 2 Bedrooms
1 - 1 Bedroom

Several of the homes had been on Caravan before. Price Reductions and commision incentives continued.

9-6-04 Century 21 Tuesday Caravan

2004-09-07T10:56:00.000-07:00

5 homes were pitched at caravan this morning. New listings at both Friday and Tuesday Caravan are starting to slow a little, probably due to families getting back to school. Total inventory has not slowed and is moving toward the 900 level.

Not all homes that are newly listed are placed on caravan, so even if the caravan numbers are low, inventory can still increase. Homes are still selling at a regular pace, what we are facing is a very large supply of homes for sale which will take a longer time to sell.

9-2 SVMAR Friday Caravan

2004-09-02T22:42:00.000-07:00

There were 38 listings pitched.

1 - 1 Bedroom
8 - 2 Bedroom
14 - 3 Bedroom
12 - 4 Bedroom
3 - 5 Bedroom
1 - 6 Bedroom

9 0f the listings were condominiums. Total inventory has moved past 870 and vacants have moved past 175.

8-31 Century 21Tuesday Caravan

2004-08-31T22:39:00.000-07:00

13 listings were pitched.

1 - 1 Bedroom
1 - 2 Bedroom
5 - 3 Bedroom
5 - 4 Bedroom
1 - 5 Bedroom

3 of the listings were condominiums.

8-26 SVMAR Friday Caravan

2004-08-26T22:32:00.000-07:00

58 homes were pitched.

4 - 2 Bedroom
27 - 3 Bedroom
20 - 4 Bedroom
5 - 5 Bedroom
2 - 6 Bedroom

6 of the listings were Condominiums. Total inventory is still at the 850 level with over 160 of those listing vacant.

8-24 Tuesday Caravan

2004-08-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

The following new listings were pitched at this morning's meeting:

1 - 6 Bedroom
11 - 4 Bedroom Homes
2 - 3 Bedroom Condos
5 - 3 Bedroom Homes
1 - 2 Bedroom Condo

The bulk of the offerings were in the $400,000 to under $700,000 range and the market is showing no signs of inventory slowing. The SVMAR is still reporting closed escrows for each month just over the 200 mark each month. What has happened since last May is that inventory is increasing way beyond buyer demand.

8-20 Friday SVMAR Caravan

2004-08-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

The following listings were pitched at Friday's SVMAR caravan:

2 - 1 Bedroom Condos
7 - 2 Bedroom Condos
16 - 3 Bedroom Homes
22 - 4 Bedroom Homes
5 -5 Bedroom Homes
2 - 6 Bedroom Homes

Numerous Price Reductions and Commission Incentives continue to be announced.

As of this post, 857 homes are currently active and available for sale in the Simi-Moorpark area. Of the 857 homes that are available 161 are vacant. Available property is still on the rise as well as the vacant homes. This show continue as more sellers vacate early in order to get children in schools by the beginning of September. We are still seeing over 200 homes close escrow each month for the Simi-Moorpark area and eventhough this is good news, the inventory supply is still growing thus giving buyers more choices.

Tuesday 8-17 Century 21 Caravan Results

2004-08-22T10:31:00.000-07:00

The following homes were pitched at Tuesday's meeting:

3 - 4 Bedrooms
1 - 3 Bedroom
3 - 2 Bedrooms

Two were condos and one a duplex. Commission increases to buyers agents and price reductions continued.

Friday 8-13 SVMAR Caravan Results

2004-08-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

The following listings were pitched at Friday's meeting:

5 - 2 Bedrooms
19 - 3 Bedrooms
18 - 4 Bedrooms
7 - 5 Bedrooms
2 - Mobile homes

3 condos were pitched, 3 homes had been on caravan before and one was a BOM. Seller desperation continued to be evident with numerous price reductions and increased commissions/incentives for buyer's agents.

Fed Raises Rate to 1.5%

2004-08-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

Quarter Point move in interest rates hits as expected.

While this move will not show up on mortgages and refinance immediately, the move up will definitely have an impact on the pool of potential home buyers. As rates move up another group of buyers will not be able to afford inflated home prices. With the market in Simi Valley Moorpark set to break the 850 home level for total homes available for sale, this news will not help sellers. Of the 837 homes available for sale in Simi Valley, 146 are vacant.

We have our first single family detached home to drop below $400,000 in Simi Valley since March of this year. The home is a Tempo Starter, 2 Bedroom 1 Bath listed at 389,900.

If you noticed that the last two Caravan reports were not posted, I have been out of town and will be at Caravan this Friday.

From Cleveland OH
-Ted

Tuesday Century 21 Caravan Results

2004-08-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

20 Listings were hosted by the Century 21 Hilltop-LaCarre Tuesday Caravan.

10 - 3 Bedroom Homes
5 - 4 Bedroom Homes
4 - 5 Bedroom Homes
1 - 2 Bedroom Home

2 of the homes were condominiums and 3 of the homes were vacant. 4 Price Reductions were announced.

As of this post there are 817 homes available for Sale in the Simi Moorpark Area. 137 of these listings are Vacant.

For single family dettached homes there are the following available:

400k-450k = 39
451k-499k = 123
500k-550k = 123
551k-599k = 96
600k-650k = 55
651k-699k = 53
700k-750k = 31
751k-799k = 37
800k-850k = 20
851k-899k = 26
900k and up = 92

Thank You to all who came to my BBQ Open House!

2004-07-31T10:39:00.000-07:00

What a great time we had Thursday evening at my Open House BBQ Party. Over 40 people attended. Hamburgers, Hotdogs, Pizza and Soft Drinks were enjoyed by all. The kids all had a blast, with balloon animals and the magic show.

Sean Hart from Olympia Funding was on hand to answer questions on home loans and at the end of the night we were happy to see how much free information was taken home by those who came.

It was great to see old friends and meet some new friends in a very relaxed atmosphere. This event was so much fun and because of the feedback I have received, Sean and I will be hosting more of these kind of events in the future.

Friday Caravan Results

2004-07-31T10:11:00.000-07:00

The SVMAR Friday Caravan hosted the following:

1 - 6 Bedroom Homes
6 - 5 Bedroom Homes
29 - 4 Bedroom Homes
23 - 3 Bedroom Homes
3 - 2 Bedroom Homes
1 - 1 Bedroom Homes

6 were condominiums, 1 BOM and in addition to the 63 listings we had, Price reductions were announced and several homesthat have been on the market a while,were offering increased commission to the buyer's agent or other incentives.

The total available inventory for Simi Moorpark as of this post is 812 with 131 of those listing vacant. It looks like we have hit a plateau for right now. The inventory was on the increase each week from May 1st and since the 800 level has been reached, inventory looks to have stabilized at this level for the last 7 days.

The good news is that there are just as many homes being sold as there were earlier this year, but what makes this difficult for sellers is that these same buyers have 20-30 (or more) homes to choose from in their price range and they have time to make their decision. This will put pressure on sellers who's homes have defferred maintenance issues, location issues or pricing issues. If you need help trying to determine what position your home will take in this market, please call or email me today for a FREE Home Inspection and
FREE Market Evaluation today.

Tuesday Caravan Results

2004-07-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Century 21 Hilltop - La Carre Caravan hosted 13 homes.

2 - 5 Bedrooms
8 - 4 Bedrooms
3 - 3 Bedrooms
1 - 2 Bedrooms

2 of the homes were Condominiums. One BOM was announced as well as 8 price reductions.

As of this evening there are 801 active listings for Simi Valley Moorpark and of those listings 128 are vacant.

233 Homes SOLD in June!

2004-07-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

That's right, there were 233 homes that closed escrow in June. The average was at 200 per month in the preceding 3 months. Even though inventory has increased, buyers are still out shopping for homes. What we have seen is that prices are 20%-25% higher than last year at this time, but that the large increases have begun to stabilize. The homes that sold in June sold at 2%-3% higher than the month prior.

As I have been posting, intelligent pricing is very important in determining if and when your home will sell.

BBQ OPEN HOUSE PARTY THIS THURSDAY!

2004-07-24T19:09:00.000-07:00

DON'T MISS MY BBQ OPEN HOUSE PARTY THIS THUSRDAY EVENING!

Located in Indian Meadows. I will be serving hamburgers and hot dogs for the whole family. There will be entertainment for the kids, so come an enjoy a relaxing evening and FREE dinner at 5566 Salinas Court in Simi Valley.

This will be a great chance to talk about the real estate market whether you are ready to buy or sell or even if you are not sure what you want to do. Sean Hart from Olympia Funding will be there to answer any questions about financing and some of the new exciting loan programs that are coming available.

Go to mapquest and print out a map to 5566 Salinas Court in the 93063 zipcode area and join us any time between 4:30 and 8:30 pm.

Friday SVMAR Caravan Results

2004-07-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

The activity for the Friday SVMAR Caravan is as follows:

11 - 5 Bedroom Homes
30 - 4 Bedroom Homes
18 - 3 Bedroom Homes
9 - 2 Bedrooms Homes

9 of the homes above were Condominiums, 1 BOM, 2 Sold, a few were re-caravans. Before the meeting began we had 8 price reductions and one listing offering a 4% commission to the agent representing the buyer.

We set a new level this Friday with active available homes for sale in the Simi Moorpark area busting past the 800 mark. Another factor that has put this buyer's market in prospective is that the number of listings that are vacant is now equal to the total inventory levels we had in April with 124 of the listings vacant.

Don't miss out on some great buys.

2004-07-20T22:01:00.000-07:00

The mad rush to get out of California has been on for the last 6 weeks. Idaho, Arizona and Texas are the unscientific poll winners. This is creating some great buying opportunities. There are currently 114 vacant listings on the market out of 777 total listings. This is quite remarkable in that it was only last April that there were only 125 total active listings. One hot market is the $450,000 to $500,000 range which has 144 of the 777 total listings.

Make sure to give me a call. The inventory levels are so high that it is impossible for most agents to keep up on all the great properties. As a full time Realtor, I see more property than most. I attend both Caravans each week and report on the activity here on my blog, I preview property on the days in between Caravan and I work in an office with some of the highest producing agents in Simi Valley; where we are very cognizant of market activity.

C21 Tuesday Caravan Results

2004-07-20T21:57:00.000-07:00

Today's Caravan hosted 20 listings.

1 - 5 Bedroom
8 - 4 Bedrooms
7 - 3 Bedrooms
4 - 2 Bedrooms Condos

16 Price Reductions were announced as well as 1 BOM

Total Active and Available listings for Simi Valley - Moorpark is 777.

What does all this inventory mean to sellers?

2004-07-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

While the frenzy of earlier this year has cooled off, homes in Simi Valley are still selling 20% higher than last July. The next big jump in prices is not going to surface any time soon and sellers still have tremendous equity in their homes if they have stayed away from the cash-out refinance game.

The gigantic pool of inventory has not kept buyers away and homes are being sold each day. The homes that are moving the fastest, generally have the best location, upgraded masterbath and kitchen (at minimum), upgraded windows and tidy appearance. Homes with deferred maintenance, located on busy streets and or near noise, need to be priced lower than the competition or they quickly become lost in the sea of new listings and price reductions that hit the market each day.

Another consideration is that Big Sky will come online sometime near September, once these homes are available for sale, the inventory for Simi Valley-Moorpark will double. If you plan to sell now, intelligent pricing is going to determine whether your home sits or sells.

SVMAR Friday Caravan Results

2004-07-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is late. 88 Homes were on Caravan.

9   - 2 Bedroom
25 - 3 Bedroom
46 - 4 Bedroom
7   - 5 Bedroom
1   - 6 Bedroom

We had 16 price reductions announced, 6 homes were re-caravan, 1 sold prior to the meeting and 7 were condos. Moorpark accounted for 16 of the homes.

As of this afternoon we have 757 homes active and available for buyers to choose from. This covers the Simi Moorpark area.

C21 Tuesday Caravan Results

2004-07-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

This morning's Caravan hosted 16 homes.

8 - 4 Bedrooms
7 - 3 Bedrooms
1 - 6 Bedroom

Of these homes 3 were condominiums.

We had almost as many Price Reductions on other listings.

As of this afternoon there are 716 active listings available in the Simi Valley Moorpark area.

85 Listings on SVMAR Friday Caravan

2004-07-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

Another 80+ home Caravan.

1 - 1 Bedroom
4 - 2 Bedrooms
28 - 3 Bedrooms
40 - 4 Bedrooms
12 - 5 Bedrooms
1 - 6 Bedrooms

Half a dozen of the homes had been on caravan before and were reintroduced with large price reductions. Several of the homes were offering increase commissions to the agent representing the buyer and we had 17 homes from the Moorpark area.

The frenetic calls from Selling agents that the sellers must sell immediately is now too common to raise much reaction. The buyer's market is on.

As of this evening, there are 695 active listings for the Simi Valley Moorpark area.

Sizing up the competition

2004-07-07T22:30:00.000-07:00

The number of new listings are on the rise and showing no signs of slowing. Your home will be in for steep competition and if you are not ready, your home will sit until you either lower the price and/or make your home more attractive.

Here are ways you can size up the competition and make you home stand out.

Preview the competition - You can call me to show you the homes in your neighborhood that will be on the same show list as your home.

Make a good First Impression - Even if your home does not have the upgrades as some of the other competing homes, a neat, tidy and home that looks well maintained will give you a leg up. See my article First Impressions.

Intelligent Pricing - Be realistic in your expectations. The banks and appraisers have become very cautious; buyers may qualify for the loan but appraisals are not coming in like they used to and the banks are rejecting pushed appraisals. Buyers have 10 times the inventory to look at and they are not writing quick offers. Prices are still much higher than last year, so staying with the recent comps will be very important.

Schedule me for a Free 25 Point Home Preview Inspection.

Market Activity 7-5 through 7-7

2004-07-07T22:16:00.000-07:00

The market activity for SVMAR is as follows:

12 - Back on Market
42 - Changes
40 - Price Reductions
34 - Pending
77 - New Listings

Back on Market (aka BOMs or aka BOMBs) are homes that have fallen (Bombed) out of escrow for various reasons including Appraisal issues. Changes are all the listings that have had the information changed and this can include the listing price. Realtors will change listing information just to get the property back on the MLS Hot Sheet for a few days.

Total Active Listings for SVMAR is 683 as of this post.

19 new listings on Caravan this morning.

2004-07-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Carvan new inventory is as follows:

1 - Condominium
1 - 5 Bedroom Home
1 - 2 Bedroom Home
6 - 3 Bedroom Homes
10 - 4 Bedroom Homes

1 rental property was listed - two separate 3 bedroom dwellings on one residential lot in Central Simi.

Market Activity 6-30 through 7-2

2004-07-03T00:22:00.000-07:00

Market Activity for the Simi Valley Moorpark area is as follows:

11 - Back on Market
53 - Price Reductions
54 - New Listings
41 - Pending

Total Active Listings are 649 as of this wee hour in the morning,

52 New Listings on Caravan

2004-07-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

This morning's Friday SVMAR Caravan had 52 new listings. Before the listings were pitched, there were approximately a dozen price reductions and of those reductions, half had raised commissions as incentives to try and get these properties sold. The over pricing phenomenon of earlier this year has clearly run it's course. Homes that are priced above comps are not selling.

This morning's breakdown is as follows:

23 - Four Bedrooms
15 - Three Bedrooms
8 - Five Bedrooms
5 - Condominiums/Townhomes
1 - Two bedroom home.

3 of the condominiums and one home had sold before our meeting this morning.

Interest Rates Rise!

2004-07-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

The Federal Reserve raised it's bench mark interest rate a quarter point (25 basis points) yesterday. This will help those who have money in savings accounts, but the rates on credit cards, auto loans and HELOCs will go up.

Higher rates will make it more expensive to borrow. This will create less borrowing, which in-turn means less money will be available in the economy.

This one quarter point move will have an impact on home buyers and could take some buyers out of the market. With the dramtic increases in real estate inventory levels and fewer buyers, price reductions will continue as we have been seeing over the last 6 weeks.

While this all sounds gloomy, over all home prices seem to be stablizing at January -March pricing. The overpricing frenzy is slowing and those home sellers that try to price over the recent sales are learning the hard way that the market has changed.

Market Activity 6-26 through 6-29

2004-06-29T23:24:00.000-07:00

Market Activiy as follows for SVMAR

6 Back on Market
33 Price Reductions
42 Sales Pending
32 New listings

As of Today there are 608 single family homes Active and Available for sale in the Simi Valley Moorpark area.

27 New Listings at C21 Caravan this morning

2004-06-29T22:45:00.000-07:00

Tuesday mornings boasts the largest participated Caravan in the Simi-Moorpark area. Century 21 Hilltop-La Carre hosts it's own Caravan every Tuesday morning. Not only is this Caravan attended more than 2 to 1 over the SVMAR Friday Caravan, more agents preview C21 listings, giving C21 listings more exposure than the exposure that non C21 listings receive on Friday Caravan.

The listings breakdown as follows:

11 - 4 bedroom homes
10 - 3 bedroom homes
6 - 2 bedroom condos

Home pricing averaged in the high 400K to mid 500K range, with a few homes over 700K and one home over 1 million. Condos were still all above 250K with Wood Ranch condos ranging over 400K.

This evening local news on KABC 7 reports the slow down in the real estate market.

Next update

2004-06-26T22:54:00.000-07:00

I will not be updating the BLOG on Saturdays, Sundays or Major Holidays, unless there is urgent news. I am available on weekends through my contact information on my website.

-Ted

2004-06-25T23:49:00.000-07:00

Market Activity Report

2004-06-25T23:21:00.000-07:00

Today's Activity is as follows:

15 Price Reductions
2 Back on Market
28 New Listings Loaded
9 Sales Pending

As of Today there are 597 single family homes Active and Available for sale in the Simi Valley Moorpark area.

86 properties on Caravan this morning.

2004-06-25T22:52:00.000-07:00

What is CARAVAN? Caravan is a day during the week when The Simi Valley Moorpark Association of Realtors holds a meeting to pitch the new listings that have been taken in the last 7 days. This is to better expose new listings to the Realtors that participate in the Caravan meetings. Generally the area's top agents attend these meetings on a regular basis. While there are over 700 Realtors that are members of SVMAR, it is unfortunate that this meeting is sparsely attended.

Of the 86 properties pitched this morning, 4 had been on caravan previously and one property had been sold before this morning. 7 of the properties were in Moorpark. 39 were 4 bedroom homes. 26 were 3 bedroom homes. 12 were 5 bedrooms. 1 was a 6 bedroom home. 2 were mobile homes. 5 were condos/townhomes.

Prior to May of this year we were averaging 20 homes each caravan with 30% sold before caravan. Since May the average started at 40 homes a week with the last two weeks at 60 homes. Inventory levels are rising and buyers have been cooling off. Last Sunday and Monday saw the first articles in the Daily News and Star, hinting at market conditions that are only known by local full-time Realtors.

Welcome to my blog!

2004-06-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

At this blog you can find out all the things your Realtor does not want you to know or probably more true will be the things your Realtor doesn't know about the Real Estate market in Simi Valley.

Make sure to visit my website as I write more at length articles and post them in the information section.