Low inventory of Homes in Lake Tahoe
The first official day of Spring may still be a few days away, but the Spring housing market is already underway. Buyer traffic is rising along with home prices, but one traditional Spring phenomenon is sorely absent: rising supply. The raw number of homes for sale is now at its lowest level in over 13 years, according to the National Association of Realtors, and the numbers continue to fall.
Supplies are down across the nation. In South Lake Tahoe listings are down 45.9% percent from a year ago causing fierce competition among home buyers.
It’s a seller’s market again. We have very low inventory and almost no distressed homes on the market. Most properties that are being listed are going into escrow within a few days and in many cases receiving multiple-offers.
As a result, short sales, where the home is sold for less than the value of the mortgage, are rising as a share of total distressed sales, while bank-owned home sales are falling. Investors are now competing for such little supply that they are ironically pricing themselves out of the market.
We are seeing this trend all over the country and it’s the same story in South Lake Tahoe CA, where there were 419 listings in March of last year and just 264 listings on the market today. Real estate agents are doubting that they will see a surge in inventory this Spring.
Source: RETahoe.com – posted on March 9th, 2013 by Fernanda Dozier - http://www.retahoe.com/2013/03/low-inventory-of-homes-for-sale-in-south-lake-tahoe/
Save the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction!
The mortgage interest deduction is vital to the stability of the American housing market and economy. It is imperative that you join us in telling Congress to oppose any plan that modifies or excludes the deductibility of mortgage interest.
Is the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction important to you personally and to your business? In case you missed it, several vague references have been made to “closing loopholes” and “limiting deductions” in discussions of how to avoid the “fiscal cliff” by increasing revenues. Unfortunately these references have been made by both House Republicans and the Obama Administration. And we know that the MID is chief among those revenue raisers.
REALTORS have been able to protect the Mortgage Interest Deduction over the years, but this time, it is really at risk to being limited or even possibly eliminated.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:
* Respond to National Association of Realtor’s Call to Action – it just takes a few clicks! http://bit.ly/TUNqwq
* Forward the Call to Action to friends & family.
* Share what you’re doing & how important it is on Facebook & Twitter. Use hashtag #savethemid. Ask people to share with others as well!
* Talk about it with friends, clients, vendors & service providers
It’s so important that we let our legislators and the Obama Administration know how important the MID is to us. Please take a few moments and take action today.
Thank you!
So. Tahoe Real Estate Market Following National Trends
According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the median sales prices increased in the third quarter of 2012 as compared to the same period last year throughout 120 of 149 metropolitan areas. In fact, home prices rose in 81% of US cities. While not quite there yet, South Tahoe’s home prices are showing signs of a similar trend coming our way. When comparing the sales for the month of October in 2012 as compared 20 2011, we find the following: The median home price rose from $236,000 to $270,000 and the percent of sales to list price rose from 95.7 to 96.8%,
When looking at the average median home prices for South Lake Tahoe for the past 12 months (November 1 – October 31) we still see an overall decrease in value, from $285,000 in 2011 as compared to $239,450 in 2012. However the median home price for the past three months has steadily risen from $234,000 in August to the reported $239,450 at the end of October.
“The housing recovery still faces a number of potential headwinds,” Paul Diggle, property economist for Capital Economics Ltd. in London, said in a note to clients after CoreLogic’s report was released. “But our central case is that tight supply conditions will mean that house prices will continue to rise steadily next year.”
Distressed Sales
The National Association of REALTORS® also reported that foreclosures and short sales, in which the price is less than the mortgage balance, accounted for 23 percent of third-quarter deals, down from 30 percent a year earlier. The numbers reported for South Tahoe again represent similar trends. During the third quarter of 2012, distressed sales made up 39% of the overall purchases. This number is down from the 46% reported during the third quarter of 2011. The breakdown of distressed sales for the third quarter is as follows: Of the 193 homes sold, 39 were REO sales (bank-owned) and 36 were short sales. During the 2011 third quarter there were 154 homes sold which included 46 REO’s and 25 short sales. Year to date, we are seeing continued improvement in the ratio of distressed sales vs. traditional sales. As of January 1 through November 9, there have been a total of 631 homes sales (single family and condos) of which 42.5% represented distressed sales. Among these distressed sales, 155 were REO’s and 113 were short sales. During the same time period of 2011, there were a total of 497 sales involving 47.1% distressed sales with 154 REO’s and 80 short sales.
According to an article published by Bloomberg on November 7, 2012, “a survey by Fannie Mae, the nation’s biggest mortgage- finance company, showed Americans expect home prices to increase an average of 1.7 percent in the next 12 months. The share of respondents who said they expect home prices to decrease fell to 10 percent last month, down 13 percentage points from a year earlier and the lowest level since the monthly survey began in June 2010, Washington-based Fannie Mae said.” The Bloomberg article went on to quote Paul Diggle, property economist for Capital Economics Ltd. in London: “The housing recovery still faces a number of potential headwinds,” following a note to clients after CoreLogic’s report was released. “But our central case is that tight supply conditions will mean that house prices will continue to rise steadily next year.” Once again, South Lake Tahoe’s real estate market is following the national trends. Comparing October 2012 to October 2011, we find that the monthly supply of homes (how many months it would take to clear the current inventory based upon current rate of closed sales) dropped from 8.4 (buyer’s market) to an encouraging 5.8 (balanced market.) As of October 31, there were only 237 homes for sale as compared to 408 the previous year. As of today, November 9th, 2012, there are only 206 homes currently active within the South Tahoe Association of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Services.
Source: Home in Tahoe – posted on November 9th, 2012 by Theresa Souers - http://www.homeintahoe.com/so-tahoe-real-estate-market-following-national-trends/
Great news for El Dorado County’s First Time Homebuyers!
With mortgage interest rates below five percent and housing prices at record lows, local first time house hunters with modest family incomes may benefit from El Dorado County’s First Time Homebuyer Loan Program.
The El Dorado County Health and Human Services Agency’s Housing Program has received approval for $800,000 from the State’s Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) fund to provide low-interest rate deferred payment loans to eligible homebuyers to help with the purchase of a home in the unincorporated areas of El Dorado County. Funding for this program is provided through the California Department of Housing and Community Development HOME Program and the County’s revolving housing loan fund.
Eligible applicants must provide a down payment, the greater of $2,500 or two percent based on the purchase price of a home. Individuals must also qualify for a fixed-rate 30-year first mortgage through a commercial lender and have a total household income at or below 80% of the area median income based on household size. With a few exceptions, eligible applicants cannot have owned a home or been on title to real property within the last three years. Current annual maximum household income limits are: one person, $42,650; two persons, $48,750; three persons, $54,850; four persons, $60,900; five persons, $65,800; six persons, $70,650; seven persons, $75,550; eight persons, $80,400.
The County’s First Time Homebuyer Loan Program is designed as a gap financing program for applicants who would not qualify for a bank loan sufficient to purchase a home due to limited income. The loan program includes loan amounts up to $80,000 at three percent interest with payments deferred for 30 years. Loans are available while funding lasts to eligible buyers on a first-come, first-served basis after completing an application process.
For more information about this program, visit the El Dorado County web site at www.edcgov.us or call the El Dorado County Housing, Community and Economic Development Block Grant Programs at (530) 642-4864.
For more information : Click here
Last Quarter 2010-Home Sales Rise
WASHINGTON — New U.S. single-family home sales soared in December, rising faster than expected to their highest level in eight months.
Early Wednesday, the Commerce Department said sales jumped 17.5 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted 329,000 unit annual rate after a downwardly revised 280,000-unit pace in November. Prices in December were the highest since April 2008, raising cautious optimism for a housing market recovery.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales rising to a 300,000-unit pace in December from a previously reported 290,000 unit rate.
Compared to December last year, sales were down 7.6 percent. Overall 2010 sales dropped 14.4 percent to a record low 321,000 units.
Data last week showed a surge in sales of previously owned homes in December, but progress could be frustrated by a glut of homes from an unrelenting wave of foreclosures. The housing market has remained on the margins even as the broader economy shows signs of gaining strength and broadening out.
At December’s home sales pace, the supply of new homes on the market fell to 6.9 months’ worth, the lowest since April, from 8.4 months’ worth in November. There were 190,000 new homes available for sale in December, the lowest in 43 years.
The median sales price for a new home increased 12.1 percent last month from November to $241,500, the highest since April 2008. Compared with December last year, the median price was 8.5 percent, the biggest increase since August.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
