Archive for July, 2006

Playing Thru

Monday, July 31st, 2006

To many, golf is just not just a game, but a way of life. As popularity for golf increases, so does demand for golf real estate properties. One new website moving to meet this demand is Golf Real Estate Online. The website has Golf Community Profiles and a Golf Home Buying Guide which focuses on [...]

Increasing Agent Incentives To Sell

Friday, July 28th, 2006

A recent article in the Voice of San Diego points to a new trend that appears to be evolving in San Diego. The question becomes will other metro areas soon see a similiar practice. Sellers in their zeal, or desperation, to sell their condos in a slowing market are deciding to offer higher commissions to [...]

Best Places to Live

Thursday, July 27th, 2006

Money Magazine’s annual listing of the Top 10 Places to Live for 2006 are: 1. Fort Collins, CO 2. Naperville, IL 3. Sugar Land, TX 4. Columbia/Ellicott City, MD 5. Cary, NC 6. Overland Park, KS 7. Scottsdale, AZ 8. Boise, ID 9. Fairfield, CT 10. Eden Prairie, MN What a difference a year makes. [...]

Housing Market Breakdown

Wednesday, July 26th, 2006

The NAR announced that sales of existing homes in the United States fell 1.3% in June to its slowest level since January. However, the national median existing home price for all types of housing was $231,000 which was up 0.9% from the June 2005 median price of $229,000. Inventories of unsold homes rose to 6.8 [...]

Weyerhaeuser limiting housing starts

Tuesday, July 25th, 2006

Weyerhaeuser Co.’s home-building unit, Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Co. (WRECO) has announced that it will not pursue a policy of chasing sales through wholesale discounting. That means limiting their housing starts in some areas that have seen a decline in real estate demand such as Southern California, Las Vegas, Phoenix and the suburbs of Washington, D.C. [...]

CA: Escrow & Title Fees See Chopping Block

Monday, July 24th, 2006

California’s Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has had enough with the title and escrow industry. He views the California system as dysfunctional and spotted with illegal kickbacks, gratuities and questionable partnerships all designed to squeeze consumers. Multi-million dollar penalty and fines don’t seem to change their practices so he’s decided to hit them where it hurts [...]

Banks Banned From Real Estate

Friday, July 21st, 2006

On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved legislation that would permanently ban U.S. banks from engaging in real estate activities. However, it is unknown when the legislation will be considered by the full Senate. The NAR, an advocate for the legislation, took the position that banks should be barred from investing in potentially risky commercial [...]

Fannie Mae Concerned About San Diego County Real Estate

Thursday, July 20th, 2006

Inventories have surged in San Diego and the surrounding areas and home price gains have peaked and are perhaps falling down. That’s the opinion of Fannie Mae as they turn their attention to the San Diego County market. Fannie Mae defines San Diego county as one region that is experiencing low affordability after a rapid [...]

Hispanic Real Estate Buying Up

Wednesday, July 19th, 2006

According to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the homeownership rate among the nation’s 42.7 million Hispanics hit a record 49.5 percent in 2005 and 50 percent in the past quarter of 2006. The rise in Hispanic home-buying trends is credited to education by many in the industry. Several Spanish-speaking seminars [...]

Condo Glut Effecting San Diego Market

Tuesday, July 18th, 2006

DataQuick is reporting that San Diego’s June median price for existing and new homes fell 1% to $488,000 from $493,000 a year earlier. Sales also fell 24.1% over that time. The cooling demand for condos is being blamed as more and more units hit an already glutted market. The median price for resale condos fell [...]