| The May edition of my newsletter is now available. While most of the content of the newsletter is included below, there are charts and graphs and pictures that aren't included in this email, but are included online. Also try my new interactive market statistics site. I encourage you to check it out... I think you'll love it! HIGHLIGHTS
- Santa Cruz County home sales up ninth month in a row. Year-to-date, home
sales are up 28.4%.
- Inventory declined for the eleventh month in a row: 19.7% from last March.
- The median price for homes fell 4.4% from February, but was down 36.5% year-over-year.
For the four-page printable version of the report, click here: Santa Cruz Real Estate and Community News To view the on-line market statistics with a city-by-city breakdown, go here: Interactive Market Statistics
Or to check out a house you noticed: search listings or use the map-based search. P.S. If you find my newsletter useful and know someone else who might, please feel free to forward this e-mail to them.  Walter Stauss
Lifestyles Real Estate
(831) 246-4663
http://www.831.com
mailto:walter@831.com
DRE #01105052
Santa Cruz County Home Sales Rise Ninth Month in a Row
The median price for single-family, re-sale homes rose 10.9% from March. This is the largest month-over-month gain since February 2008. The median price was off 33.5% year-over-year. The average price gained 21.1% month-over-month, but was down 24.5% compared to last April.
Sales of single-family, re-sale homes were up, year-over-year, by 16.2% in April. Year-to-date, home sales are up 25.2%.
Inventory was down 24.5% from last April. This is the twelfth month in a row inventory has declined year-over-year.
The drop in inventory and the rise in sales combined to push our Days of Inventory indicator down 53 days to 177 days. In a balanced market, the supply of homes is usually around five to six months. For condos, the indicator was down a whopping 115 days to 158 days.
The sales price to list price ratio rose dipped 0.2 of a point to 97.2%.
Days on market dropped 37 days to 64 days.
Condo sales were up 43.5% from March, and were up 43.5% year-over-year. Year-to-date, condo sales are up 38.6%.
The median price for condos rose 22% from the month before, but was down 12.7% compared to last April.
Condo inventory was down 32.6% compared to March 2008.
The real estate market is very hard to generalize. It is a market made up of many micro markets. For complete information on a particular neighborhood or property, call me at 831.246.4663.
Bernanke Says Recovery Is around The Corner Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke added to the recent upbeat mood on the economy today, telling Congress that the recession was easing and that growth should begin by the end of the year.
But Bernanke warned that the recovery would be slow and unemployment rates would continue to remain high even after the recession had ended.
Bernanke's testimony to the Joint Economic Committee amplified on his comments on CBS' "60 Minutes" in March that the recession would end later this year if government rescue actions succeeded. He was more upbeat and detailed today, offering fewer qualifications. His forecast built on assessments by top economic officials in the Obama administration that the recession was showing signs of ending.
"We continue to expect economic activity to bottom out, then to turn up later this year," Bernanke said, noting that the Fed believes the housing market is beginning to stabilize. "We expect that the recovery will only gradually gain momentum and that economic slack will diminish slowly. In particular, businesses are likely to be cautious about hiring, implying that the unemployment rate could remain high for a time, even after economic growth resumes."
He said unemployment would probably peak early next year and then come down slower after that. The unemployment rate was 8.5% in March, the most recent data available.
The nation's economic activity has decreased by more than 6% in the last two quarters. But Bernanke said there was "a bit of good news" in the data from the first three months of this year, noting that about half of the 6.1% decline in gross domestic product came from businesses accelerating the liquidation of their inventories.
"As inventories are worked down, then firms will be able to increase their production to meet what looks to be some stabilization in final demand," he said.
While businesses will be slow in hiring new workers to rebuild their inventories, that slower growth should continue to keep inflation low, Bernanke said.
"It's very hard for serious inflation to take off when you have this kind of slack in the economy," he said.
How to Buy a House at a Foreclosure Auction
A property owner who misses several mortgage payments has a pre-foreclosure grace period of a few weeks to a few months — depending on the state — to bring the payments up to date and stop any foreclosure proceedings. If the owner does not bring the delinquent payments up to date, the property will be sold at a public auction, which is announced via a Notice of Trustee's Sale (NTS) or Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NFS).
NOTE: Buying foreclosure properties at the courthouse steps can be challenging and the most risky option because:
- You are competing with seasoned investors who track the auctions daily.
- You will likely have to pay cash for the property, because financing an auctioned property isn't possible in many states.
- You may not have much time to research the title and condition of the property beforehand.
- If there is a money encumbrance attached to the property — a tax lien, a mechanics lien or a second or third mortgage — you, as the new owner, will have to pay it off in full.
Here's how to buy a house at auction:
1) Find properties and look at them. Look for foreclosure auction notices in the local newspapers or subscribe to an online listing service like RealtyTrac. You can also call the city or county recorder for the latest foreclosure auction schedule.
After you find a property, drive by it to get a better idea of its condition and neighborhood. This could facilitate a casual meeting with the owner (you may be able to still work out a last-minute deal before the auction) or yield a wealth of unexpected information from a talkative neighbor. Take pictures and notes, but the owner may still be living in the home so be discreet.
2) Confirm auction status, date, time, location and requirements. After a property is scheduled for auction, the owner has a chance (typically less than a month) to stop the auction by paying the amount owed to the foreclosing lender. Auctions may also be postponed without a new date being published. Cancellations and postponements are announced at the time and location of the originally scheduled auction. You can find out beforehand by calling the trustee — the person or party (often an attorney) who is filing the paperwork to initiate and carry out the foreclosure.
Location: Most auctions are at a public place in the same county where the property is located. In many states, all the auctions in each county are at the same location. You can typically get that information from the trustee or county clerk. If you call the county clerk, make sure you clarify that you are looking for the location of mortgage foreclosure auctions, not tax foreclosure auctions.
Depending on the state, bidders are required to bring: - the full amount they want to bid in the form of cash or cashier's check, or
- a certain percentage, usually 10 percent, of the bid amount in the form of cash or cashier's check (like a deposit), and pay the remainder of the amount within a certain time frame if
This story continues on my web site. Go to www.831.com and click on Newsletter. 5 Maintenance Issues You Shouldn't Ignore
Consumer Reports magazine advises home owners not to put off important maintenance projects, noting that waiting until the economy rebounds could end up making the repairs more costly while putting a family's health at risk.
The magazine identifies five crucial maintenance issues:
Check the gutters: Clogged gutters, broken fasteners and separations where the gutters meet the fascia board will lead to roof leaks if they haven’t already.
Inspect the roof: Cracked, curled and mussing shingles mean a roof is nearing the end of its useful life. Cracks around chimneys, skylights, and roof valleys can also suggest the roof might be leaking.
Look for bugs: Termites and carpenter ants can bore through a home in a few short years. Probe the sill plate on top of the foundation with a screwdriver to check for rotten wood. Also look for carpenter ants and termites along windowsills and walls.
Avoid mold: Mold and mildew can cause musty odors, dank air, and make residents sick. Check under carpets and around windows for visible mold or mildew.
Don’t ignore cracks: Foundation cracks wider than 3/16 of an inch can be a problem. These require examination by a structural engineer.
Green Corner
What are VOCs?
VOCs (volatile organic compounds) You can't see VOCs, but they're all around us, and they aren't listed as ingredients on the objects we bring in our home (but they're often there). VOCs are a wide range of carbon-based molecules used in a many products that find their way into our homes. Under normal conditions, they vaporize, effectively leaving their host and entering the air (that's the "volatile" part) where they combine with other airborne compounds to form ozone, which isn't good to breathe.
Though they exist everywhere in the environment they are most well-known for the harm they can cause indoors, where they can be introduced via paint, carpets, furnishings, and cleaning agents.
Concentrations of VOCs can be up to 1,000 times greater indoors than out! Common VOCs include formaldehyde, used in many glues and adhesives, including those found in wood veneers, plywood and particle board, and polyurethane, which is used in many foams, paints, varnishes, and construction sealants.
At high concentrations, some VOCs can cause chronic and acute health effects; others are known carcinogens. But even low to moderate levels of multiple VOCs can produce acute reactions. Bottom line: Avoid volatile organic compounds as much as possible.
Water-based glues, adhesives, finishes, and soy-based foams will help keep VOC levels to a minimum in furnishings and decor. Buying green cleaners helps ensure that you aren't adding toxins to the air when you clean them.
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