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Phil Levy

Author: Phil Levy

Member Since: 2009-11-22 00:10:12
Website: http://www.jpscvrealty.com

Posts by Phil Levy:

Golf Open to support family of Deputy Cameron Glover

Posted in Events in SCV
June 15th, 2010 by Phil Levy

A committee recently formed to organize an open golf outing to help the family of the late Sheriff’s Deputy Cameron Glover who recently died after a tragic off-duty automobile accident.  The event will be held at Valencia Country Club on Monday, July 12, 2010 with a shotgun start at 8:30am.  The fee is $179.00 ($159.00 for law enforcement and fire).

For reservations, to become a green sponsor or simply volunteer some time please contact Kristy Cordero at 661.877.9215.

GloverGolf (2)_1GloverGolf (2)_2

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Santa Clarita Valley Single Family Residence Stats for April 2010

Posted in Housing Market Statistics
May 29th, 2010 by Phil Levy

For the month of April 2010 Single Family Residence (SFR’s) median prices increased over 4% both year of year and month over month.  This may be attributed to the build up of the expiration of the federal tax credit which expired for all homes that were not in escrow by April 30, 2010.  Some of this momentum will likely carryover into May and June but now we also have the California income tax credit which should be motivating buyers.

The market is still quite difficult for buyers with less than two months of active listing challenging buyers.   Prices have not yet rebounded sufficiently to encourage sellers to list their homes unless they are highly motivated.  Buyers who are really motivated need to work with agents who have the expertise to find the right house for the them.  At the same time Sellers need to work with an agent who will price the home to sell for the maximum price, coach them on making the home look its best, and maximize its exposure to the market.

I like to exclude Condo’s for this indicator, because by isolating just one segment of the market provides a clear vision of where the market is going.   I could use Condo’s only and if someone is interested in this please contact me and I’ll provide these figures.

 

 CMM_Report_MSI_chart CMM_Report_MedianSoldPrice_chart

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Santa Clarita is nation’s 51st most affluent city

Posted in Uncategorized
April 12th, 2010 by Phil Levy

Today’s Signal reported that Santa Clarita ranked in the top 15% of 420 cities with populations exceeding 75,000.  The measurement by Portfolio.com included the following factors; per capita income, household income, threshold for the top 20% of household incomes, and the ratio of median home value per $50,000 of household income.    Go to http://www.the-signal.com/news/article/27203/ for the Signal’s article. 

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New Short Sale Procedures adopted by the Treasury

Posted in Uncategorized
April 6th, 2010 by Phil Levy

Yesterday, on April 5, 2010 the Treasury announced new short sale protocols that provide the owners of distressed primary residences with vastly improved short sale procedures with those lenders that adopt them.  These improvements include pre-approved proceeds (i.e. selling prices), established timelines, and $3,000 in relocation expenses and relief from any contingent liability.

So far Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, GMAC and Wachovia have signed on.  While these new protocols or a facsimile of them have not yet been adapted by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, they are expected  to do so soon.

Detailed information will be available soon at www.jpscvrealty.com.

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March 2010 Single Family Home Stats show little change

Posted in Housing Market Statistics
April 6th, 2010 by Phil Levy

CMM_Report_MedianSoldPrice_chartCMM_Report_MSI_chart 

Looking back over the past two years at the critical Median Price and Month’s Supply of Inventory metrics reflect little change – at least for the last year.

The attached charts reflect the latest market update for single family homes in the Santa Clarita Valley. The first chart depicts the Median Sold Price by Month. As of March 2010 the median price was $409,950 compared with $403,000 in March 2009. This represents a 2% increase. Units sold remained about the same at 176 for March 2010 vs 168 for March 2009.

Likewise the Month’s Supply of Inventory remains at historically low levels of about 2 months. In March 2009 it was 4 months. Average days on market declined from 72 to 62. Bottom line is that buyers are still having a difficult time finding a home, despite the continuing reduced prices from two and three years ago. Although prices seem to be trending somewhat higher it’s not yet sufficient to bring the increase in inventories level needed for a balanced 5 to 6 month supply of inventory.  Short sales and foreclosures still dominate the market.

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Governor Signs New California Homebuyers Tax Credit

Posted in Uncategorized
March 26th, 2010 by Phil Levy

Yesterday, March 25, 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 183 into law. This bill establishes a new homebuyer tax credit fund of $200,000 divided into two equal components. The first applies to qualified first time homebuyers that purchase existing homes and the second applies to all homebuyers who purchase new or previously unoccupied homes.

Qualified buyers will receive the benefit a tax credit equal to 5% of the purchase price, with a maximum of $10,000. It is applied to the buyer’s Franchise Tax returns over the succeeding three years. The home must be utilized as the taxpayer’s principal residence for a minimum of two years otherwise the tax credit must be repaid.

The homes most either close escrow between May 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010 or any date through August 11, 2011 providing that an enforceable contract is executed prior to January 1, 2011.

The fund is granted on a first come, first serve basis until exhausted. First time buyers are defined as those who have not owned a home in the previous three years.

Learn more here http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/14712/

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Santa Clarita Valley Single Family Residence Price Trends as of 11/09

Posted in Uncategorized
December 11th, 2009 by Phil Levy

 

The following charts depict pricing  trends for single family residences in the Santa Clarita Valley for the past two years ending November 2009. 

The first chart labeled Median Sold Price by Month clearly shows a pricing bottom in Dec.  The figures on top of each bar represents the average days on market (DOM) pertaining to the closed sales for each month.

The second chart depicts Months Supply of Inventory defined as the number of active listings divided by number of closed sales for a particular month.  This is an indicator of the undersupply or oversupply of available listings.  Real Estate Professionals generally regard 6 months of inventory as representative of a balanced market.  The blue line above the bars depicts the average DOM pertaining to the these active listings an indicator of how long it takes listings to go into escrow.  November 2009 shows 1.7 months of inventory, a two year low.    The consequence of this low inventory level is multiple offers sometimes even above the asking prices.  This is a tough and frustrating market for buyers since so many of the homes are either short sales which require a cumbersome and time consuming process to secure the lenders’ approvals.   However buyers are also encouraged by an historically high affordability level.

CMM_Report_MedianSoldPrice_chartCMM_Report_MSI_chart

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Only 12% of eligible homeowners are utilizing Mortgage Mods.

Posted in Uncategorized
December 9th, 2009 by Phil Levy

The first step in evaluating a distressed homeowners financial situation is to determine whether they might be eligible for a mortgage modification under the Making Home Affordable program.  Way too few homeowners are availing themselves of this potentially ideal solution and way too many homeowners let their homes slip into foreclosure without even seeking an evaluation from of a qualified real estate agent.  Most agents will provide service free of charge and without any obligation.  See the attached flyer for more information.  Mortgage Mod Flyer

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23% of Nationwide Mortgages are upside down

Posted in Uncategorized
December 9th, 2009 by Phil Levy

A recent posting on CNNMoney.com reported that 25% of all nationwide residential mortgages exceed the value of the homes securing them as 9/30/2009.  In California this figure is approximately 35%.  This report posted on November 24th, 2009 was based upon figures compiled by First American CoreLogic. 

As gloomy as this report appears recent signs of price stabilization may indicate that the situation may be stabilizing.  (Ed Note:  This may be aided by a hopefully albeit slight improvement in the employment outlook). 

Solutions for upside down homeowners are available and foreclosure is not inevitable.  These include refi’s, mortgage mod’s, and short sales.   Contact your qualified real estate agent for a free assessment.

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Hope for Improvement in Housing Despite High Mortgage Delinquencies

Posted in Uncategorized
December 7th, 2009 by Phil Levy

Nationwide mortgage delinquencies for the third quarter 2009 remain high according to figures published by Mortgage Bankers Association.  Overall mortgages in default or in the foreclosure process (i. e. notice of default or notice of sale) totaled 14%.  Prime mortgages were high as well at 10% while subprime mortgages were 42%.

Undoubtedly the high level defaults is the consequence of declining home values and joblessness.  Property values dived 40% or more since their 2006 peak, while the mortgages balances in some cases climbed.  An unemployment rate of 10% or higher does not account for the underemployed or those that have withdrawn from the job market.  So the actual unemployment picture is much worse.  Potentially compounding the situation are 2005 five year adjustable rate mortgages which will reset in 2010 and 2011.

There is reason for optimism however inasmuch as the overall economy is growing again and only 11,000 jobs were lost in November 2009 – a recession low.  More telling perhaps is the rate of temporary jobs which increased in November by 52,400.  Skittish employers may prefer temps to permanent employees until they have visibility of sustained growth prospects for their businesses.  Employment will be a key driver to an improved demand in the housing market.  

Nationwide homes are increasing as well as reflected in October 2009’s 6.2% increase in new home sales and existing homes sales increasing by 10.1%.  New homes turned in their best figure in over one year.  While existing home sales increased by the highest since 2007.

In the Santa Clarita Valley low prices and high affordability have created a high relative demand for homes   SCV’s unemployment picture at 7.9% (in November) is better overall than either the nation (10.2%), the state (12.0%), or LA County (12.7%).  Over 50% of the listings are short sales or bank owned homes keeping a lid on increasing prices.  These same low prices seem to have dissuaded non-distressed sellers – although they might have an ideal opportunity to move up.  Stores abound among REALTORS® regarding multiple offers.  Consequently our actively listed inventory remains relatively low at around 3 months. 

With politicians at the national level now focusing on job creation, I believe there may be reason to be guardedly bullish on housing at least in the short to intermediate term.

 

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