If you didn't get the message already, let me confirm that the Federal Tax Credit for Home Buyers has been Extended and Expanded. The tax credit will be extended through April 30, 2010, with a 6-day extension if a binding contract is in place prior to the deadline. First-time home buyers will continue to receive a tax credit of up to $8,000, while existing homeowners will receive a credit of up to $6,500. This is some of the best news we've had in a long time for the Real Estate market.  While the economy appears to be recovering slowly, I do think some of the uptick in the real estate area has been from the first time buyer tax credit.  Now that is has been expanded to include existing homeowners I think that will continue.  I worry what will happen when it ends but my home is that the economy will be feeling a recovery by then and it won't be as shocking as it would have been at the end of December. 

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I think we all know that mortgage rates have been low for several years now but are you really aware how low?  I was shocked on the weekend when I wrote an offer on a single family residence, for a single buyer and attached a copy of his qualifying letter to the offer.  I followed up on Monday morning with his lender and told her we had written the offer for a 30 year fixed rate loan with a rate no higher than 5.5.  I have 6% on my home I've lived in for 7 years and I have always thought that was a steal.  I was hopeful she would say you are well within what we can do today, but no she said oh that's way over what we need.  In fact, she was able to lock him in to a 30 year fixed rate loan at 4.785%.  I was shocked.  It had significant affect on his monthly payment.  Let me show you what I mean.  If he was financing $100,000 and the rate was 5.5%, his payment would be $568/mo, principal and interest.  If he finances the same amount at 4.875%, his monthly payment drops to $528/mo, that's $40/month or $500/year!  If you are purchasing a home that is 3 or 4 times that amount your savings will be significantly higher.  I did some research after my conversation with the lender and I found an article by one of the banks that said the rates last week and this week are the lowest they have been since 1971!  I know inventory is low and it's especially difficult at the lower price point, but if you are thinking about purchasing, between these rates, and the government tax credits, you really need to get into high gear and get it done.  There are still some really nice single family homes and condos in the Long Beach area.  Let me know if I can help you with your search.  What a great time to be looking to buy.

I had the opportunity last Friday to attend a luncheon in Bellflower where Don Knabe, LA County Supervisor for the Fourth District, was the speaker.  Don has an office in Bellflower and has been involved with the City and it's service organizations for many years.  This luncheon was sponsored by the Kiwanis club.  Of course with Thanksgiving less than a week away, they spent time talking about the serious need in Bellflower and the County for food this year.  Don generously brought a personal check with him to the  luncheon for $350.00 to help the Kiwanis Club buy turkeys and put together food baskets for those in serious need.  Today the Kiwanians got together to package those boxes with canned goods and other food items.  Every box had a turkey and many very needy families in our community will have a good meal.   Don took the opportunity at lunch to give us an update on things in the County.  They aren't good.  Budgets still need to be cut more as the State continues to make cuts to the County Budget.  I was shocked when Don said that the area he covers in the fourth district has a budget larger than many Governor's have for their entire state!  He did not paint a rosy picture of the year ahead.  He talked about the damned if you do,  damned if you don't position he is in.  No matter what you cut and what you support somebody won't get something and somebody that no one wants to get anything will get something.  He also gave us an update on Martin Luther King Hospital.   I was thrilled to learn that it will become a part of the UC Hospital system and will be a teaching hospital.  The corruption and blatant lack of care that are this hospitals history will no longer be!  It will be a hospital filled with bright energetic young doctors working hard to make a difference.  If you haven't spent anytime wondering about the state of the county, or how people like Don can do that job - follow what he's doing.   I know he's a politician but it sure doesn't feel like it.  It feels more like I'm talking to a good friend who has a thankless job and doesn't see to know it.  Support him, let him know you think he's doing some right things, and if you don't agree with him let him know that.  He's one of the few that really does want to hear how you think it's going.  By the way, Don is a big fan of the Bellfower flag sponsored by the Kiwanis.  That's the big flag on the 91 freeway that you can see forever.  He has been a financial support and a moral support since the program began.  As a thank you. Kiwanis presented Don with a replica of the Keep it Flying Flag.  He thanked them and assured him he had enough coffee mugs!

This has been a frustrating year - and I don't mean just for me - I especially mean for buyers and sellers.  I just got off the phone with a seller that told me she can't understand why she hasn't gotten any offers on her property and it's been on the market 20 days.  But it's priced higher than the market value and it's a very high end home.  The media - here we got again - has led everybody to believe that everything on the market is such a steal they should jump on the bandwagon.  Well that just not true.  The houses that are a steal are the ones that are already owned by the bank, usually in need of some repair and that are priced between 250 and 300,000.  Who in their right mind thinks 300,000 is a steal.  But you would be shocked to learn that many of these homes are being purchased by investors and they are paying all cash.  They can spend very little to make them liveable, close quickly, which makes the bank happy and rent the property for more than it would take for them to recover their investment.  On top of that they have the luxury of time to wait for the market value to rise again.  Not many of us have that luxury with that much cash just sitting around.  There are some homes on the market that are priced fairly and priced to sell.  These don't last long.  There are still far more buyers than sellers in the market and this continues to make the market driven by the Sellers.  The extension of the home buyers tax credit sure doesn't hurt either!

I can name a few and I'm sure you can as well.  I had the opportunity yesterday to attend a luncheon and hear a speaker who is a real estate attorney and works for the California Association of Realtors.  His group gets to field a ton of phone calls from Realtors and Brokers all over the state.  They call to ask questions that will protect their clients and them in a transaction.  The question can be about anything from the time of the offer to the time of the close.  As they say 'they have our back' and just add another level of protection to clients of Realtors.  This gentleman speaks and gives us updates on what's happening in the marketplace, changes to the laws (CA just passed a bunch of laws on Oct. 11 to protect consumers in loan modifications) and changes to contracts and forms.  During the question and answer phase at the end, one of the questions he was asked was 'what is the most common question' asked to attorney's on the 'hotline'.  Half of the attendees in the room shouted an answer in unison.  He smiled and said you are right!  The answer to his question 'complaints about other Real Estate agents'.  I say Real Estate agents because allot of people still do not realize that when the State of California issues you a Real Estate license that does not make you a Realtor.  You must join both the National Association and the State Association and a local Association to be a Realtor.  These associations provide education, up to the minute legal advice and lobbying efforts at all levels of government.  Although these things are all important, the lobbying efforts are critical.  It's these efforts that help congress understand the meaning of their actions to us 'regular' folks on the street.  The biggest lobbying effort right now is to extend the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.  We have to pass this law.  So when you hear a Realtor complain about the agent on the other side of the transaction my first question is always is this a Realtor or an agent.  Realtors live by a strict code of ethics and are held to a higher standard.  That's important - to me - to my clients and it should be to you.

I am fascinated that the news continues to report on "everything you need to feed bad about regarding buying or selling a home".  Wouldn't it be great if there was a news station that actually had upbeat news stories.  Not fluff but real world good news.  There is a bunch of it out there, especially when it comes to buying or selling a home.  There are more people buying homes today as First Time Buyers than ever and they are getting good loans from great lenders and they are actually qualifying under real rules.  That is something to celebrate.  One question Long Beach buyers ask me constantly, and I know it's the same everywhere, how do I know how much I can qualify to buy.  I tell everybody the same thing, don't start looking for a home until you have met with a lender and discussed your current credit report, your buying power and know exactly what you will qualify to buy.  The cardinal rule when you start the process to buy is to stop spending!  On anything other essentials.  Don't charge anything else on any credit cards until the transaction is closed.  Every purchase can affect your credit score and ability to qualify.  Be sure to work with the lender to get your credit report in great shape before you start searching.  You don't want a disappointment or a frustrated effort and that's exactly what you will get if you don't have your lender relationship locked up before you go shopping.  And don't forget continue to pay everything on time.   Here's the bottom line: Obtain your preapproval from a reputable lender (your Realtor can probably recommend several that work in your local area), leave your existing credit lines in place, and refrain from shopping for all but essential items until your transaction closes.  Sellers will feel much better about your offer if you have a strong Approval letter from a lender with a good reputation - somebody they have heard of so they don't worry about how real it is.  How simple is that - and what great news!  And get a lender, get qualified, and call me. 

I had the opportunity yesterday to hear a presentation on a proposed development plan for the 2nd and PCH property where the hotel currently sits.  It's a crazy intersection for traffic and like the speaker said, a development on that corner could make it worse.  But my favorite thing he said was it is the gateway to Long Beach for many that are visiting.  You get off the 405 at 7th/22 exit and enter the Eastern side of the City from Studebaker.  You come up PCH from Seal Beach and you are at that intersection.  Not very impressive and then when you get to that corner - less than a block from the Ocean, the empty lot in front of the Hotel greets you.  It would be wonderful to have a new development on that corner.  It would contribute to revenue for the City, show us as progressive and put a 'live/work' community befitting of the 21st century right at the entrance to our wonderful hometown.  This is a difficult problem the City is trying to solve, whether it's what to build, how to handle the traffic or just getting everybody to agree something needs to be done on that corner.  I for one vote for moving forward.  I don't know specifically what that means but I liked what I saw and heard yesterday.  This is not a plan for that intersection it is one proposal the City is considering.  If you want to see and hear more about this proposal check out www.secondandpch.com  I'd love to hear what you think about one of the proposals for this intersection.  We are still years away from getting something done but wouldn't it be great to know the plan is moving forward.

I had the chance today to hear some stats about what's happening in the Long Beach market.  I learned that in Aug. the median price in Long Beach was $320,500, down 14.5% from Aug. of 2008, but that Lakewood had a median price of 400,000 up 1.3% from one year ago.  Some other stats you may find interesting.  First time Buyer home index is 67%.  In a great market we are happy if 20-25% of our first time buyers qualify to buy a home so this market is exception.  The interest rates today for 30 year fixed conforming loan with 20% down is 5 1/8 to 5 1/4, depending on credit scores, etc.  Our total inventory in Long Beach is way down from what we usually expect and in total we probably have less than a 4 month supply and that's all areas of the City combined.   Today the median time on the market is 35.2 days.  That says that there is a large pent up demand for property in the Long Beach area. The are still good buys to be had and if you thought the investors thought it was great before, in this day of less inventory they are aggressively going after property.

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