Stunning Remodel in Santa Clara, CA!!!

Wow, this home is done and ready for your enjoyment! An all new open concept gorgeous cherry wood cabinets and stainless steel appliances complemented by granite slab counters overlooking the great room. New 30 year comp roof, windows, landscape, plumbing, electrical, new bathrooms, hardwood floors refinished, crown molding throughout, new doors, and much much more!

Centrally located within 4 miles; Intel Corp, Amusement park, AMC Theatres, possible home of the niners, highway 101, and Mission College. There is even a youth activity center about 14 homes away that includes a skate park, indoor basketball, and much more rec programs for babies to high school students. Now, this is a place to call home…  Click here for Virtual Tour  

Don’t hurt your Credit Scores while renting that home or apartment!

Did you realize that in 2011 Experian, one of the three leading credit-reporting companies, added a section to millions of credit reports showing one-time rent payments, and raised the credit scores of many people?  The company said that this in 2012 it would add in negative marks, including mentions of bounced checks or of tenants’ leaving before a lease was up.

Now two other companies, CoreLogic and FICO, are planning a new credit report and score that incorporates payment histories from landlords, as well as payday and other nontraditional loans, child support and, later on perhaps, utility and mobile phone bills.

Incorporating rental payments into credit scores could affect millions of people who have not established credit histories through credit cards, student loan repayments and other credit sources. That includes recent college graduates, students and some divorced people. “The biggest impact is on individuals who were not previously scoreable,” said Brannan Johnston, the managing director of Experian’s rent bureau.

Experian has mostly major property managers and apartment companies reporting rent histories, via their accounting software. Most small landlords are not, though Experian is considering a system that could allow more independents to report on-time and problem renters.

So, if you are thinking of buying this year it is something to keep in mind.  Especially if you are trying to build your credit scores before you make the big move.  The lower the credit scores, the less you qualify for and the higher the interest rates may be.

Real Estate Update for Santa Clara County January 2012!

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Raymond’s Real Estate Update for Santa Clara County and San Jose Real Estate 2012!   I always like to start this out by telling everyone that I state real numbers whether they are good or bad.  Something I wish the media would do.  Should you want detail information for a certain zip code as I have done for a few neighborhoods below feel free to email me, and if I have numbers for that particular area I will supply them.  I hope you enjoy…

Santa Clara County inventory is down to 1,468↓ single family homes as of December 31, 2011.  The county hasn’t been this low since December 2004 when there were only 848 homes available on the market.  That is down from December 2010 by 35.6%↓ while pending properties are up 10% from Dec.11 over Dec.10.  As of today January 19th there are only 1,541 single family homes currently available on the mls, and that number hasn’t been that low since January 2005.  Also, the median price for 2011 in Santa Clara County closed out with a 2.5%↑ increase overall sitting at $538,000 .  Everyone knows that at the end of the year we always have a slight decrease only to increase in the next several months.  So, be ready…

Something else to think about is the absorption rate for single family pending properties as of December 2011…up 58.4%.  It hasn’t been that high since March 2010 when it hit 58.5%.  The Rate of Absorption measures the inverse of Months of Inventory and represents how much of the current active listings (as a percentage) are being absorbed (sold or pending) each month. The Absorption Rate is presented as a percentage (%) of the current inventory.  Another great sign for you future home sellers…not so good for the future buyer if you are still waiting for the real estate market to bottom.

Interest rates hit another record low for the eighth time in one year on a 30-year mortgage as of today…3.88% according to the Associated Press, down from 3.89% a week ago.   This is rate is obviously on loans less than $417,000.  

Take a look at some graphs below showing actual numbers for Santa Clara County Real Estate, San Jose Real Estate, Almaden Valley Real Estate, Santa Clara Real Estate, Evergreen Real Estate, Campbell Real Estate, Blossom Valley, and Los Gatos Real Estate. 

Santa Clara County median price 3.9%↓ Nov.11-Dec.11 or 2.5%↑ for the year.

ALMADEN VALLEY median price 9%↓ Nov.11-Dec.11 or 3.8%↑ for the year.

 

EVERGREEN median price 2.6%↓ Nov. 11-Dec.11 or 8.7%↓ for the year. 

 

CAMPBELL mls area median price 1.5%↑ Nov.11-Sept.11 or .2%↑ for the year.

City of SANTA CLARA median price 1.7%↓ Nov.11-Dec.11 or 2.4%↑ for the year.

LOS GATOS-Monte Sereno median 4.5%↓ Nov.11-Dec.11 or 9%↑ for the year.

BLOSSOM VALLEY median price 2.2↓ Nov.11-Dec.11 or 1.1%↓for the year.

Thanks for reading Raymond Chavez Real Estate Blog!  In the mean time don’t forget to visit www.raymondchavez.com to connect with me on LinkedIn or Facebook!

FHA Extends Anti-Flipping Waiver to Speed Sales

The Federal Housing Administration is extending its “anti-flipping” waiver through the end of 2012, which allows buyers to purchase homes that have already been sold in the last 90 days.

The waiver, which was soon set to expire, is “intended to accelerate the resale of foreclosed properties in neighborhoods struggling to overcome the possible effects of abandonment and blight,” Carol J. Galante, the acting Federal Housing Administration commissioner, said in a statement. “FHA remains a critical source of mortgage financing and stability and we must make every effort to promote recovery in every responsible way we can.”

An anti-flipping rule originally took effect in 2003 to stop a spike in home flipping that was being blamed on driving up home prices during the housing boom. The rule prevented FHA-backed loans from being used to purchase homes that had been owned by a seller for less than 90 days. But the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development decided to reconsider the 90-day limit in 2010 after skyrocketing foreclosures and abandoned homes were causing blight in neighborhoods across the country and hampering nearby property values.

The temporary waiver to the anti-flipping rule will allow buyers and investors to quickly resell refurbished homes and not have to wait 90 days to do so. Since the waiver took place in 2010, FHA has insured nearly 42,000 mortgages worth more than $7 billion on homes resold within 90 days of the last purchase, according to HUD.

“It’s certainly an inducement to move real estate and reduce inventories,” says Don Cameron, a real estate investor who owns a franchise of We Buy Ugly Houses in South Florida. “Why wait 90 days before you can close on a home?”

The waiver, however, still prevents predatory flipping, and sellers must justify any increases in value if the sales price of the property is 20 percent more than what the seller had recently purchased it for (such as by providing extra documentation on renovation expenses). Sales also must be in “arms-length, with no identity of interest between the buyer and seller or other parties participating in the sales transaction.”

Source: “Government Extends Waiver of Anti-Flipping Law, Allowing Homes to be Bought and then Sold in 90 Days,” McClatchy-Tribune Regional News (Dec. 29, 2011) and HUD.gov

Real Estate Update for Santa Clara County November 2011!

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Raymond’s Real Estate Update for Santa Clara County and San Jose Real Estate 2011!   I always like to start this out by telling everyone that I state real numbers whether they are good or bad.  Something I wish the media would do.  Should you want detail information for a certain zip code as I have done for a few neighborhoods below feel free to email me, and if I have numbers for that particular area I will supply them.  I hope you enjoy…

Well, even though you may think we are coming into the slower months of the year the month of October was tied with being #3 best month so far for homes that went into contract between a buyer and seller.  I know most seem to think spring or summer, but here in Santa Clara County that’s not the case because of our great weather.  

Santa Clara County inventory is down by 27.3%↓ compared to same time last October 2010 while pending properties are up 8.2% from Sept. 11-Oct.11.  Giving us realtors only 2,222 single family homes to list throughout the County that has a population of 1.7 million people.  It just goes to show that not everyone is reading the newspaper or 3rd party sites such as Zillow that seem to always say how bad the market is doing here in Santa Clara County, and because they have such a high readership…many fall into the trap and believe them rather than read the fine print like Zillow’s disclosure on how inaccurate they are. 

Some more great news is late last night Congress reinstated the FHA conforming loan limits back to $729,750 for those 1st time buyers in the highest cost markets such as Santa Clara County.  A big deal if your home is listed below $755,000 because that will enable buyers that ony have 3.5% down payment to possibly qualify for your home.  As of yesterday that same buyer with 3.5% down could only purchase $646,000 as a FHA buyer.  However, Congress chose not to apply the loan limits restoration to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie-and-Freddie-backed mortgages will remain at 115 percent of local area median home prices up to $625,500.  In other words if you did not want to use FHA at 3.5% because you have 20% down, any loan above $625,500 is considered a Jumbo Loan.  That equates to about 3/8 of a percent more or a loan at $625,500 would have an interest only payment of $136 per month more.  That is at $625,500 where as prior to Oct. 1st it was a loan above $729,750 and at this amount with a 3/8 of a percent more adds up.  FHA buyers…you have until the end of 2013 or save up the 20% down.  Of course the interest rates won’t be at 4% so why wait?

Take a look at some graphs below showing actual numbers for San Jose Real Estate, Almaden Valley Real Estate, Santa Clara Real Estate, Evergreen Real Estate, Campbell Real Estate, Blossom Valley, and Los Gatos Real Estate. 

ALMADEN VALLEY median price 30.8%↑ Sept.11-Oct.11 

EVERGREEN median price 37.9↑ Sept. 11-Oct. 11 or 24%↑ for the year

 CAMPBELL mls area median price 2.5%↑ Sept.11-Oct.11 2.9%↑ for the year

City of SANTA CLARA median price 2%↓ Sept.11-Oct.11 or 3.1%↓ for the year

LOS GATOS-Monte Sereno median 3.3%↓ Sept.11-Oct.11 or 8.1%↑ for the year

BLOSSOM VALLEY median price 3.5↓ Sept.11-Oct.11 or .7%↑ for the year

Thanks for reading Raymond Chavez Real Estate Blog!  In the mean time don’t forget to visit www.raymondchavez.com to connect with me on LinkedIn or Facebook!

Real Estate Update for Santa Clara County October 2011!

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to Raymond’s Real Estate Update for Santa Clara County and San Jose Real Estate 2011!   I always like to start this out by telling everyone that I state real numbers whether they are good or bad.  Something I wish the media would do.  Should you want detail information for a certain zip code as I have done for a few neighborhoods below feel free to email me, and if I have numbers for that particular area I will supply them.  I hope you enjoy…

In a normal Real Estate Market for Santa Clara County the inventory would generally peak in September of that year, but for obvious reasons peaking in September or the word normal has not been used for a while.  This year we peaked in June, in 2010 it was September, and 2009 it was February.  So, you see the trend is much different year by year these days.  Todays current inventory of 2,396 is down↓ from August 2011 to September 2011 3.5%↓ and down 28.4%↓ from September 2011 over same month prior year September 2010.  At the same time pending properties have increased by 2.6%↑ from August 2011 to September 2011 and up 20.2%↑ from current month September 2011 over a year ago September 2010.   

What will be interesting to see is how the Santa Clara County Real Estate Market and the San Jose Real Estate area will be affected now that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA conforming loan limits that Congress failed to extend…the $729,750 loan limits and allowed them to expire Sept. 30.  This means the maximum loan amount that Fannie, Freddie, and FHA will buy or guarantee is $625,500, and anything above that amount will be non-conforming and will require a jumbo loan.  These loans typically carry a higher mortgage interest rate and require a higher down payment, increasing the monthly payment, which will particularly be hard on middle-class buyers and sellers.  The biggest hit will be buyers that only have 3.5% for a down payment and not the full 20% down.  Example, an FHA buyer with only 3.5% down could have bought a home listed up to $754,515 before October 1^st.  Now, that same loan allows that same buyer to only buy up to $646,875 as an FHA buyer with 3.5% down.  The average sold price of a single family home in Santa Clara County as of September 30, 2011 is $722,000, so you can see it will affect the county in some way. 

Take a look at some graphs below showing actual numbers for San Jose Real Estate, Almaden Valley Real Estate, Santa Clara Real Estate, Evergreen Real Estate, Campbell Real Estate, Blossom Valley, and Los Gatos Real Estate. 

ALMADEN VALLEY median price 2.7%↓ Aug. 11-Sept. 11 or .5%↓ for the year

EVERGREEN median price 13.1%↓ Aug.11-Sept.11 or 11.2%↓ for the year

 CAMPBELL mls area median price 3.3%↓ Aug.11-Sept.11 2.4%↑ for the year

City of SANTA CLARA median price 7%↓ Aug.11-Sept. 11 or 1.4%↓ for the year

LOS GATOS-Monte Sereno median 10.6%↓ Aug.-Sept.11 or 14.2%↑ for the year

BLOSSOM VALLEY median price 7.3%↑ Aug.11-Sept.11 or 5.9%↑ for the year

Thanks for reading Raymond Chavez Real Estate Blog!  In the mean time don’t forget to visit www.raymondchavez.com to connect with me on LinkedIn or Facebook!

New Listing in Evergreen Foothills! A must see…open house this Sunday!

Click here to see a virtual tour of this home.   Don’t forget to drop by this weekend Sunday 1:30-4:30pm 9/11/2011!