Good News for Real Estate?

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is reporting the sales of existing homes rose to its highest level in 13 months and highest percentage increase in 5 years. What? How did this happen? Well, I'll tell you; Real estate values are lower than I've seen them in 10 years and that together with the fact that the national commitment rate for 30-year fixed rate loans fell in September to 6.04% from 6.48% in August. A year ago in September, 2007, that rate was 6.38%.

The national median home price fell 9.0% from a year to $191,000, but fully 35-40% of these transactions represent distressed properties, either foreclosures or short sales, according to Lawrence Yun, the cheif economist for NAR. Interestingly, these homes are not being bought by speculators, but as a primary residence about 80% of the time Yun reports.

Remembering that 2.5 years ago the least expensive detached home in Valley Center was listed for $520,000, let's visit the Valley Roadrunner for examples of what you can buy today:

3 flat acres with an old ranch house listed for $225,000. It is a remodel opportunity, but so was the one mentioned above.

Almost new 4 bedroom, 3 bath home on 2.2 acres with a pool and spa. This is a short sale with a suggested offering price to the bank of between $420,000 and $458,000

3 bedroom, 3 bath 2,200 square foot home on 3.2 acres with views and privacy just reduced to $425,000

When Warren Buffett published his recent New York Times piece entitled "Buy American. I am." this is what he was talking about. There is money available to borrower and rates are once again at an all time low. How many of you remember the recession in the late 80's when interest rates were upwards of 18%? I do and real estate still sold and owners still made money from it. How many of you remember when interest rates crested above 10% for the first time ever in the late 70's? I do, and now you know how old I am. During that time we never thought we'd see them under that high watermark again, so when we did, I thought we'd all hit the jackpot! Now look where we are today. All time low rates coupled with exceptional, and for many, affordable values.

I know that many of us are burdened with homes that we can't sell, and unfortunately, in some cases can no longer afford. There's help available. Please call on me any time for support and suggestions. I can help and it is my pleasure to do so. If you are in a position to buy, now is the time. Please visit my website, AmeliaSmith.com, where you can search more than 20,000 listings from Yuma to Yountville and find exactly what you're looking for.

It is always my pleasure to serve your real estate needs.

Gaining Steam

There is a plan being floated by FDIC Chairwoman, Sheila Bair that would help forestall foreclosures and address what the Bush administration has admitted is one of the "root causes" of our financial crises. The $40 billion proposal would allow the government to give banks a financial incentive to modify troubled mortgages and make the government at least partially responsible for any losses from them if they end up in foreclosure again anyway.

My question is whether this means that our government would be the one foreclosing and eventually evicting people from their homes in the event that they defaulted anyway.

An article in today's Wall Street Journal cites some alarmig predictions predicting that 7.3 million American homeowners are expected to default on their mortgages in the next 2 years with 4.3 million of those losing their homes.

The Federal Housing Administration has weighed in with their $300 billion "Hope for Homeowners" program launched this month. Through this program qualified borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth can get government insurance for a new loan if the lender agrees to reduce the existing balance of their present loan. There is an informational video on the website and you can apply for a new mortgage online.

There's lots of resources available and it seems more are becoming available every day. The key to the whole thing is to DO something. Call your lender and discuss the options. Educate yourself and research the information to find a solution that makes sense for you. If you're confused or unsure how to begin or which direction to take, please call on me. I will make every effort to help you sort out the options and find the one that's right for you.

It is always my pleasure to serve your real estate needs, no matter what they are.

Save the Dream - ONE FAMILY AT A TIME

There are now hundreds of thousands of families all across America facing foreclosure because they simply cannot afford their mortgage payments, or they owe far more than their house is currently worth. To make matters even worse, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports that approximately 50% of home owners who do lose their homes to foreclosure never once contacted their lender.

With this stark reality in mind, I am asking you to help “Save the Dream” of home ownership for just one family facing foreclosure. I believe that we have both an opportunity and an obligation to help our neighbors and our local communities by trying to prevent as many foreclosures from occurring as possible.


Several housing counseling agencies have been formed to help homeowners begin the
process of exploring a loan workout solution and, with hope, stay in their homes. Collectively, we can make a difference. Below are links to two of the best resource sites available to educate and share with people in need of learning more about how they can help themselves avoid foreclosure:


Housing and Urban Development

Hope Now


Or contact me for support and guidance. Please let me know how I can help. It is always my pleasure to be of service and I look forward to talking with you soon.

Buy American

Illustration by Brad Holland

In 2008, Mr. Warren Buffett, an investor and philanthropist, was named the richest man in the world with an esitmated worth of $62 billion according to Forbes, and $58 billion according to Yahoo. Bill Gates had previously held the position for 15 consecutive years.

Mr. Buffett is currently the Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., but his Omaha, Nebraska beginnings were far more humble. According to Wikipedia, he filed his first tax return at 13 years old and deducted his bicycle as a business expense for $35. As a freshman in high school, at 15 years old, he and a friend bought a used pinball machine for $25 and placed it in a barber shop. Within 3 months they had several more in different locations. I was not surprised to learn that Mr. Buffett still lives in the same house that he purchased for $31,500 when he was 27 years old. It is estimated to be valued at $700,000 today.

Mr. Buffett wrote an op-ed piece for the NY Times entitled "Buy American. I am" in which he offers "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful." He's relating to the equities market, of course, but I think it translates to real estate investments easily. Further he speculates that likely inflation will accelerate declines in the value of cash, which he considers "a terrible long-term investment."

In other words, according to Mr. Buffett, now is a great time to buy. I know we've all heard this before and, looking back, wish we had, in fact, bought something. Well, let's do something about it this time before we get any older. In his opinion piece, Mr. Buffett quotes Wayne Gretzsky to illustrate this point. "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been."

It is always my pleasure to serve your real estate needs. How may I help? Please do not hesitate to call on me.

Photoshop photo courtesy of Freakingnews.com

MSN.com has a MoneyBlog called Smart Spending, and by clicking the link you will go to a blog piece written by Donna Freedman, a veteran journalist in Washington who contributes to the blog and moderates the message board.

In the piece she writes about the differences between this recession (there I said it) and the last one that my grandparents lived through. She illuminates jarring contrasts between their ability to "make do" with theirs and she does it with sharp insight and good humor. I don't know about you, but I have to keep my wits about me right now as well as my sense of humor.

One of her more salient points, and one that is close to my heart, is that we don't have the physical space, or the zoning, to plant a garden or raise pigs. She states that we are limited to what we can buy in stores and food prices are soaring. Our grandparents ate what they had, which was often flour and lard, but we, on the other hand, don't know how to make biscuits and are afraid of lard.

It's a good read and allowed me to consider that our grandparents may have had an easier time of living through financial adversity. Their recession was certainly not any more fun than ours, but things were simpler back then.

The photo-shopped picture above was created from the famous "American Gothic" painting shown below. Created in 1930 by Grant Wood, it is one of the most familiar images in 20th century American art.

Fire season is upon us again and the first Santa Ana winds are predicted for tomorrow. I hope everyone is considering preparedness as I am. For me, it means brush clearing, tree trimming and notification. During the last fire storm in Valley Center, I was alerted by the reverse 911 system and received a recorded message around 5am that my area was being evacuated. The system worked perfectly for me. It alerted me on my home phone which rests within immediate reach beside my bed.

Land lines are already in the system as it utilizes the 911 database. But, if you don't have a land line, as many no longer do, you may not receive this potentially life-saving call. The County of San Diego has made it possible to receive an email or a call on your cell phone, but you have to visit the AlertSanDiego page of the County website to register that contact information. There is a lot of other valuable preparedness information on the site as well.

So, here's wishing you, your family and friends a safe and uneventful fire season. But, it never hurts to be prepared.

Please do not hesitate to call on me for all your real estate needs. It is always my pleasure to be of service.

Daylight savings time will come to an end on 11/2/08, the first Sunday in November, and clocks will be set back 1 hour at 2 am, becoming 1 am local standard time. Well, except in Hawaii and most of Arizona where they don't use it. So, where did this phenomenon come from? Whose idea was it? What is the purpose?

Willima Willett, A Londoner, first seriously advocated the idea of shifting daylight and published a pamphlet entitled "Waste of Daylight" in 1907. On an early morning ride one day he was struck by the fact that the blinds of nearby houses were closed, even though the sun was up. It was, apparently however, the brilliant statesman, Benjamin Franklin, who first conceived the idea in 1784 in an essay called "An Economical Project."

In the United States a law was first enacted in 1918 to preserve daylight and provide standard time so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less. The poster at left is from that successful campaign. For more information about the poster please visit Wikipedia. In 1919 after World War I the unpopular law was repealed. It continued in some locations causing confusion particularly in the broadcasting and transportation that had to publish new schedules each time a state or town began or ended daylight savings time. For instance, in the 1960's, in one 35 mile stretch of highway between West Virginia and Ohil, one bus line and its passengers had to endure 7 time changes. So, in 1966, the Uniform Time Act was signed into law by then President Lyndon Johnson creating daylight saving time to begin on the last Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday in October. The law has been revised a couple of times to get us to the beginning and ending dates we have today.

Daylight saving time, or summer time, is thought of as a way to make better use of daylight. We change our clocks during the summer months to move an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. The rationale is that people like it, there are perceived energy and economic benefits, fewer traffic accidents and fewer violent crimes. DST was extended into November on the theory that more people would turn out to vote if it is still light when they return to work. Retailers love it as people are out of their homes playing and shopping instead of at home watching TV.

Personally, I love DST because I'm an outdoor person and it allows me more time outdoors in my garden and with my animals. The only problem with it for me is that I really miss it when it's gone. Please remember to change your clocks this November 2.