End of Year Post - Goodbye 2008!

Happy New Year from the Team Green Family!

Collette and I are still new to blogging, but we did not want to pass on the opportunity to submit one last entry before 2008 is a memory. This past year was one of great change for us and we have enjoyed being able to share it with each of you. We are confident that 2009 will be even better and are anxious to find out what is in store for all of us. As far as we are concerned it cannot get much better thanks to our terrific family, outstanding clients (um, yeah, we mean you) and the loving mentorship we get from Del and Trish, our managing brokers. In addition, a shout out to the makers of the game called “Rock Band” for the Wii, to which we owe many hours of blissful delight since Christmas morning. I think I have actually racked up more hours on it than the kids have. I still owe Collette a lamp for the one I kicked over during an outrageous guitar solo. Collette is a terrific singer by the way; I guess there is a little rock star inside of us all. On to business…

In reviewing today’s mortgage interest rates, we noted that the 30 year fixed rate is 5.1%. Wow!  Add that great rate to the fact that the credit market has loosened up a bit and we have a recipe for success for both buyers and sellers! If you have been holding off or waiting for the perfect time to buy, it does not get much better than this.

As for market stats, here is a summary of activity for December.

Click here for the market summary.
Click here for a graph of active listings.
Click here for a graph of expired and sold listings.

The first thing that stands out for me when reviewing these numbers is that December was the 4^th busiest month of 2008 in terms of home sales in our area. Not bad considering it was also the peak of holiday season. We also saw the number of active homes on the market rise again in December, confirming our previous post about why some families move during the holidays versus waiting or trying to “time” the market. The drop in new homes on the market, as well as the rise in number of expired listings is par for the holiday season.

This month’s stats include the percentage of “Short Sales” and “Real Estate Owned” or “REO” properties (Bank Owned) contributing to active and sold listing is also telling. The way these statistics read for December is that 44% of all active listings were either short sales or REO properties. Short sales and REOs accounted for 63% of all sales for the month. Now is definitely the time to snatch up a short sale or foreclosed property for your primary residence, or as your first venture into investment properties. If you want to learn more about your investment options in this market, please use the link below to contact us, or simply give us a call.

Buying or selling, if you are ready to make a move, call us at 818.568.8402, or click here to contact us.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Still not sold on us? See what our clients are saying about us by clicking here.

Happy New Year!

Holiday Post

Happy Holidays from the Team Green Family!

I woke up before the rest of the house this morning to carve out a few minutes to write this entry. Our beautiful Southern California sunrise was hidden behind fog and rain early today. This is not unusual this time of year, but it is definitely not our normal weather pattern. We really are spoiled by fantastic weather in Los Angeles.

The cold air and the Christmas decorations throughout the house made me a little homesick for Central Texas and the various family traditions I observed while growing up there. One of my all-time favorites was all of our immediate family staying the night at my grandparent’s house on Christmas Eve. Opening Christmas presents on Christmas morning was always a treat, but I can still smell the blueberry muffins that Grandma made for us every year. As I checked on our five beautiful daughters (all still fast asleep) I can only dream that I am providing them with the same types of fond memories and that they will cherish the rest of their lives. If how deeply they are sleeping, or how loud some of them are snoring, is any indication, Collette and I are doing a great job. I am using every ounce of willpower I can muster not to post snoring videos here. A blog can be a powerful tool and, like Spiderman says, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Now on to business…

A good friend and client of ours asked us a few days ago what our holiday plans consisted of. She was surprised to hear that we had some work-related tasks to do around the holidays. It is true that the real estate business slows slightly during the holidays, but not as much as you might think. We get the same types of shocked and amazed looks when we meet new people and they find out that we are real estate agents in today’s market. We usually get the sympathetic, head tilted to the side, “oh wow, you guys must be really hurting for business in this market” response. This usually gets a smile out of us and usually the same response. Depending on the circumstances of the conversation, it normally goes something like this…

The holidays can be a pretty darn busy time of year. The public has it in their heads that people only buy and sell real estate, or move for that matter, when nothing else is going on, or when the market prices have peaked. Fortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Quickly think back to all of the times when you have had friends or family tell you that they were moving. How many of those times did they say that they were moving because the market prices had peaked, or because they were trying to time the market? I will bet you that those types of responses are rare; at least for a primary residence, (income property is another story). The truth is that most people move because they need to and not necessarily because they want to. The most common reasons include:

· moving for work reasons
· they need a larger residence
· they want an upgrade to their primary residence
· they need a smaller residence with less square footage to maintain
· they want to downsize their primary residence to save money

As for when they move, we find that people are constantly moving for one reason or another. The list of reasons seems endless. The same holds true for those thinking about putting their house on the market during the holidays. One of the most interesting things about working in real estate is that each client’s situation is different and it is fun to be a part of their solution for whatever challenges lie ahead for them, whether it is moving for a new job, or expanding their family and needing more room. Whatever your situation is, we are here to help; that is what we do.

Buying or selling, if you are ready to make a move, please do not hesitate to call us at 818.568.8402, or click here to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Still not sold on us? See what our clients are saying about us by clicking here.

Happy Holidays!

Inaugural Post!

Welcome to the inaugural post of Team Green Realty’s blog. We have a newly redesigned site that we hope you will enjoy and find useful. We will be posting information about real estate to this site often, to include our local Los Angeles area market conditions. We will also be posting a little bit of ourselves here as well and invite you to join in on our discussions at any time. If you prefer, you can receive an email each time the blog is updated by using the links on this page to subscribe. There are also links on this page to email our blog to your friends and colleagues.

We are here for you, so please do not hesitate to ask questions or jump in at any time.

We would like to start with this month’s market snapshot for Burbank and the San Fernando Valley. Here are this month’s basic numbers compared to previous months this year. We will be including the Glendale and Pasadena areas in future statistics and discussions.

Click Here for Overall Stats
Click Here for Total Active Listing Stats
Click Here for Sold, New and Expired Listing Stats

So what does all of this mean? Well, that is an excellent question and I am very glad you asked. We will start with the easy stuff first.

As you can see, the total number of active listings declined in November. This is partially due to a drop in new listings for the month and a slight increase in expired listings. Expired listings are those listings that were contracted to a listing agent to sell within a given time period, however, they did not sell within that specified time; therefore the listing has expired.

This decline in total available houses on the market in these areas is not necessarily a bad thing. There are a few aspects of our local market that have been driving prices down:

• A high number of short-sales and foreclosures available, which tend to drive down the value of neighboring properties
  
• A high number of total inventory
  

While the total numbers of sales throughout this year look pretty good, they have not been able to keep pace with the total amount of active listings (or inventory) available. This is reflected in the monthly absorbtion rate. This rate is basically the total number of homes sold that month, divided by the total number of homes available. We use this figure to estimate how many month’s supply of homes are on the market, or in other words, how long would it take to sell all of the current inventory.

The basic law of supply and demand is that when homes are readily available prices tend to drop. As we see the monthly absorption drop, prices should start to stabilize and then potentially rise. What does this mean for you?

Buyers: In many areas prices have already started to slowly stabilize and, based on where were sitting, it is an excellent time to buy a home. It is still a buyer’s market and there is plenty of inventory for buyers, including plenty of foreclosures and short sales to choose from and save money. Loans are easier to get approved than in past months as the credit market has loosened somewhat. It is still not as easy as it once was, but the interest rates are phenomenal and VA loans with no money down and less than stellar credit are available. FHA loans with as little as 3.5% down are available with reasonable credit. In short, this is a terrific time to buy! If you have the time and patience to wait our a short sale or foreclosure, you can save even more money.

Sellers: Unless you are selling your home and moving to a different market, or not purchasing another home, I have good news for you. If you want to make a move, our standard logic applies when staying within one market. “If you sell high, you will buy high and if you sell low, you will buy low.” So while prices may be down and you may not make as much on your existing home, the good news is that your new home will be cheaper as well. Also note that the average days on market, or in other words, the average time it will take to sell your house, has increased slightly to 88 days. This means that if you want to sell your home quickly, reasonable pricing and solid appeal to buyers are your best assets in addition to agents who will actively market your property…agents like us.

Buying or selling, if you are ready to make a move, please do not hesitate to call us at 818.568.8402, or click here to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Still not sold on us? See what our clients are saying about us by clicking here.

Happy Holidays!