Your home's value is in your hands

Most of  us know that the value of our home is pretty important.  If you don’t know exactly what your home is worth, then you need to come see us at the San Diego Business Showcase.

Your home’s value is important

Since much of an average homeowner’s financial portfolio is tied up in the value of their home, knowing exactly how the market is affecting that value is important.  Will you be able to access funds from your home?  Are you upside down?  Can you take advantage of loan programs, equity financing or other tax planning techniques to better use the value of your home?

Free Home Valuation

Come to our booth at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on April 7, 2010, between the hours of  2 p.m. to 7 p.m.  We’ll offer you a complimentary valuation of your home, answer questions you may have, or just talk about the housing market here in San Diego.  We’re experienced real estate professionals who know what you need to know, and how to make it easy for you to get that information.

Sign up for VIP Treatment

Take advantage of signing up early, and receive VIP access to reports and valuations for you home and those homes of interest in your neighborhood.  Head to The VIP Real Estate Opportunity at our website, and get yourself on track for having information available 24 hours a day.

If you want a question answered immediately, just give us a call at 760-802-9713, and we’ll be happy to help.

 Think you have this much time to sell your home?

Are you coming to the San Diego Business Showcase? I’m hoping you’ll say “Yes”, and mostly because if you have been sitting on the fence, wondering whether you should sell your home now, I want to be able to meet with you and give you a number of reasons why now truly is the time to sell.

Home Prices are NOT going up…any time soon

That’s what I truly believe based on my experience and knowledge of the San Diego real estate market.  Any by real estate market I mean your home! I hope that you will take the time to read this article by Jeff Brown, a well respected Realtor in San Diego. This guy absolutely nails it for those of you who love financial analysis. Even if you ultimately find points of disagreement, it’s something you should be thinking about, and how that will affect your home value, your investment portfolio value, and the value of all of your undertakings in the next several years.

San Diego Business Showcase is the place to discuss selling your home

Let’s go back to my initial question.  Do you think you have this much time?  It’s a rhetorical question, of course, since you don’t, but because we have been taught to believe that we have all the time in the world to watch our home values increase, we only have to sit back and wait until the inevitable happens. 

I really want to meet with you, talk, network, explore your ideas, the data, and the reasons why you may want to sell your home now rather than wait until the next big increase in property values. 

And I think that doing this while visiting San Diego’s premier business networking eventwill help you put the issues related to home values in a unique perspective you can’t get just by reading, perusing the Wall Street Journal, or even the internet.  Coming to this event is inexpensive (just $10 to get in…and there’s food as well). 

Give me a call, or email me at DonReedySanDiego@gmail.com  I’ll send you some information, as well as an entry into a drawing for some really cool prizes we’re giving away. 

Real Estate Trends for Condos and Townhomes in Carlsbad

Carlsbad, California is one of the most beautiful places to live in Southern California. Prices for homes here tend to run higher than other North County San Diego Communities, partially because of the beautiful beaches, and partially because of the community itself.

Recently the prices of condominiums and townhomes in the Carlsbad area have increased.  At the same time, however, the number of homes that are for sale has increased as well, indicating that the demand for these condos may be decreasing.  This may be because the quality of condo for sale is increasing, indicating a potentially good sign for the housing market here.  We’ll just have to wait and see.

Average Sales Price of Carlsbad Condominums and Townhomes

As you can see by the chart above, the average Carlsbad attached home, either condo or townhome, is now at $577, 592.  This is for an approximately 1500 square foot home with three bedrooms and two and a half baths.

How to Search for Carlsbad Condos

Click here for Carlsbad Condos for Sale. If you need more help with questions about the City of Carlsbad, its benefits, schools or businesses, please contact Carlsbad real estate agent Don Reedy at your convenience.

For release:
Thursday, May 13, 2010

C.A.R. reports entry-level housing affordability at 66 percent in the first quarter of 2010

Quick Facts:

·  C.A.R. First-time Buyer Housing Affordability Index stood at 66 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared with 69 percent in the first quarter of 2009

·  The median price of an entry-level home in California was $246,270 in the first quarter of 2010

·  The estimated monthly payment including taxes and insurance was $1,380 in the first quarter of 2010

·  The minimum household income needed to purchase an entry-level home in California in the first quarter of 2010 was $41,540.

LOS ANGELES (May 13)  — The percentage of households that could afford to buy an entry-level home in California stood at 66 percent in the first quarter of 2010, compared with 69 percent for the same period a year ago, according to a report released today by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®(C.A.R.).

C.A.R.’s First-time Buyer Housing Affordability Index(FTB-HAI) measures the percentage of households that can afford to purchase an entry-level home in California.  C.A.R. also reports first-time buyer indexes for regions and select counties within the state.  The Index is the most fundamental measure of housing well-being for first-time buyers in the state.

The minimum household income needed to purchase an entry-level home at $246,270 in California in the first quarter of 2010 was $41,540, based on an adjustable effective interest rate of 4.33 percent and assuming a 10 percent down payment.  First-time buyers typically purchase a home equal to 85 percent of the prevailing median price.  The monthly payment including taxes and insurance was $1,380 for the fourth quarter of 2010. At $41,540, the minimum qualifying income was $3,910 greater than a year earlier when households needed $37,630 to qualify for a loan on an entry-level home.

At 84 percent, the HighDesert region was the most affordable area in the state.  The San Luis ObispoCounty region was the least affordable in the state at 52 percent, followed by the San FranciscoBay region at 53 percent.

Leading the way…® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States with more than 155,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

Affordability Statistics for San Diego County

The affordability index is 58%, meaning that 58% of the people who could buy a home in San Diego County will qualify as far as being able to “afford” a home.  The entry level point for these buyers is $322,120 with a monthly payment of principle, interest, taxes and insurance of approximately $1810.  The qualifying income is $54,300.

Don Reedy – Part of the Hadley Home Team

Since Sandi Hadley is one of the premier real estate agents in all of San Diego, and one of the nicest as well, I thought it would be nice to introduce you to her.  Without further todo….

Sandi Hadley

Meet Sandi Hadley…

Experience

Sandi Hadley is a full time, professional REALTOR® specializing in North San Diego County including San Marcos, Carlsbad, La Costa Valley, Escondido, Vista, Oceanside, Valley Center, Encinitas, Bonsall and Fallbrook.

Honors

A consistent multi-million dollar producer, Sandi has been named Number One Agent in the San Marcos Office for dollar volume transactions and Number One in closed transactions. Sandi ranked #17 for number of closed transactions within Prudential in San Diego County, out of 1800 agents for 2008. Sandi Hadley also earned the Legend Award for being Prudential’s prestigious Chairman Circle for 11 years in a row– 1997 to 2008. Sandi also received the PREA 100 Award for being no. 65 in the company out of 45,000. This places Sandi in the top 1% of all Prudential agents nationwide.
Although she is one of the area’s top producers, Sandi is also dedicated to her clients. That dedication has been rewarded through the “Excellence in Service” Award for Customer Service and recognized by San Diego Magazine for Customer Service 2009.

Education

Believing that education is one of the keys to success, Sandi has worked to achieve three of the real estate industry’s most prestigious professional designations. Her GRI designation indicates that she is a Graduate of the REALTOR® Institute. The CRS designation after Sandi’s name shows that she is a Certified Residential Specialist. This designation is awarded only after a rigorous course of study and documented experience and is held by fewer than 3% of all REALTORS® nationwide. Sandi is also designated as a “Fine Homes Specialist” and “Resort & Recreational Specialist”. Other courses that Sandi has taken to help her in assisting clients in the most efficient manner include:
* VIP Sales Associate Course
* 1031 Exchanges
* Marketing Techniques for Today’s Market
* Secrets from the Archives of a Marketing Genius
* Joe Stump’s 4 Day Marketing Workshop
* Howard Brinton’s “All Star Power” 4 Day Workshop

Personal Information

Sandi Hadley came to real estate from a long and successful career in business. For 18 years, she was the owner of Linger Awhile, a chain of gift stores in San Diego County. Sandi owned three permanent stores as well as several seasonal shops at Christmas. Prior to that time, Sandi was a stockbroker. She was, in fact, the first female partner in a securities firm to go public in the United States.

Memberships

In addition to being a top-notch professional, Sandi is also a concerned member of the community. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Project Concern International and past member of the EYE Counseling and Crisis Center. She is a past Board Member of St. Clares Homes For Battered and Abused Women and also a past Board member of Harmonium. In honor of her commitment, Sandi was given the Volunteer of the Year Award in 1994 by the Philanthropy Council and Woman of the Year award from Womens Impact Network (“WIN”) 1997 for giving without expectation. She supports her husband who is a Board Member of San Diego Youth and Community Services.

Want to see how much we can do for you to sell your home? Contact us at the Hadley Home Team to tell us how. If you’re reading to start looking for homes to buy, then get your FREE VIP Membership to preview homes in all of San Diego County.

California Residential Purchase Agreement

Just wanted to share some notes over the next couple of weeks to all buyers and sellers regarding the newly amended Residential Purchase Contract.

Buying a Home?  New information on the Initial Deposit

As you probably know, when purchasing a home it is common for the seller to ask for an initial deposit from the buyer.  This initial deposit is of benefit to the seller, but also the home purchaser as well.  Let’s talk about a few purposes, and caveats, for the initial deposit.

Initial Deposit Represents Your Liquidated Damages

Let’s say you agree to purchase a home, and you have removed all the contingencies (reasons to not move forward).  The seller knows at that point that you have done your inspections, completed your loan work, and that within the next couple of weeks the loan will be funded, the property will close escrow, and the seller will take the proceeds from the buyer and move ahead with his or her life.

Often the seller of a home will not proceed with moving plans until all the contingencies have been removed, and they are certain that the home is going to be sold.  Imagine then, that the seller hires a moving company, pays to have the contents of the home shipped, and then, on the day escrow is to close and the home seller is to be paid, the buyer simply says “I’m not buying.”  That would not only be an irritating problem, but potentially a financially disastrous one as well, particularly for the seller of the home.

The California Purchase Agreement for homes specifies that in damages that are caused by either party for the specific instance above are to be limited by the initial deposit, and that initial deposit is defined as Liquidated Damages. So even, for instance, if the family selling their house suffers financially to the tune of $20,000, if the initial deposit was only $5000, then that limits the amount the seller can force the buyer to pay because of their default.

The initial deposit is also called earnest money, and by the term you can see that it is intended to be enough money so that the buyer and seller know that the consequences of knowing and abiding by the home purchase contract are serious.

Believe me, the issue of the initial deposit should be fully explained to you buy your Realtor in any real estate transaction. Initial deposits are very important in not only protecting financial interests, but can also play a part in the negotiating of the purchase itself. There are additional pitfalls to the initial deposit that are likewise impacted by other parts of the residential purchase agreement, and these also should be carefully reviewed with your agent.

If you have a question, please contact us, and if you are studying to become a better real estate consumer, then we hope this has been helpful.

Vista CA Condo and Townhome Pricing

Vista, CA is continuing to suffer from tepid sales of condominium and townhome sales.  The inventory of 78 homes (condos and town homes) have been on the market for approximately 160 days, and you can see that the trend for prices continues to fall.

With condo prices ranging from $65,000 to $349,000, it would seem that there are enough homes to appeal to buyers if they were serious buyers.  But again, this market continues to show no signs of improving soon, and so for both buyers and sellers our advice remains the same.  ACT NOW to Search for Homes while the market favors making money for sellers and making sense for buyers.

New California Home Purchase Contract

April 30, 2010

There’s a new Sheriff in town, and its name is the updated Residential Purchase Agreement from the State of California.  Beginning on Wednesday, April 28th, this new contract version took effect, and during the next couple of weeks we’re going to take you step by step through the changes that affect both how you purchase a home, and also what protections and changes are now available to home owners and home buyers while using this new contract.

The new contract is intended to accomplish a couple of things.

First, the contract simplifies the process somewhat by providing context for a number of forms that have to be filled out by buyers and sellers. Take the issue of agency, for example.

Before a Realtor can begin working with you on the contract itself, an agency relationship has to be formed. Both the buyer and the agent have to discuss what agency is, and how that agency relationship will affect the duties and obligations of both during the purchase process. There continues to be an “Agency Disclosure” form that outlines the obligations of the listing agent, the selling agent, the buyer and seller, but information about this form and its importance now appears on the first page, prominently, on the Residential Purchase Agreement itself. This should make it more apparent to the buyer or seller that this agreement (Agency Disclosure) is important.

Secondly, the Residential Purchase Agreement (RPA) follows a much more logical path, correcting some past fuzzy areas, making it clearer to both parties the timelines and who is responsible for costs and disclosures, and (sort of an insider correction for Realtors themselves) making it easier for buyers and sellers to know where to initial and sign.

In the next few weeks we’ll talk about specific aspects of the RPA, making you more informed, and hopefully making your purchase or sale of your home easier to understand.

Wondering whether to rent or buy a home?

It’s an age old question. Is it better to RENT, or better to BUY? Let’s do some very simple analysis, and in later posts we’ll learn more about why buying a home makes sense much of the time, while renting a house is likewise a good move from time to time. Check out the chart below…….

Rent verus Buy a Home?

CLICK ON THE CHART TO MAKE IT EASIER TO READ

If you’re currently renting, and your rent is $1500 a month, then you can look at the chart and see that if you paid $1610 a month for a mortgage payment you could qualify for a $300,000 loan at 5% interest (the current rate). Used to be in San Diego that $300,000 wouldn’t buy you much, but that has changed!!

Consider the other opportunities that come with owning a home, and the least you should do is take some time to contact us about seeing if this really makes sense for you.

Showing properties 1 - 15 of 500+. See more city of San Diego real estate.
(all data current as of 2/6/2012)

1. $13,478,000 : 3675 Ocean Front Walk, San Diego
   
   8 beds, 8 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 5,900 sq ft

   Lot size: 4,320 sq ft

   Year built: 2008

   Parking spots: 7

   Days on market: 152
2. $12,500,000 : 1865 SEFTON Pl, San Diego
   
   5 beds, 5 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 6,769 sq ft

   Year built: 1912

   Days on market: 173
3. $12,000,000 : 8259 Run Of The Knolls, San Diego
   
   12 beds, 13 full, 2 part baths

   Home size: 28,957 sq ft

   Lot size: 3.25 ac

   Year built: 2012

   Days on market: 70
4. $10,500,000 : 4592 Rancho Del Mar Trl Lot 28, San Diego
   
   7 beds, 8 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 11,998 sq ft

   Lot size: 43,560 sq ft

   Year built: 2006

   Days on market: 259
5. $8,500,000 : 5090 RANCHO DEL MAR TRAIL-Lot 11, San Diego
   
   6 beds, 6 full, 2 part baths

   Home size: 11,144 sq ft

   Year built: 2004

   Days on market: 269
6. $6,595,000 : 4740 Rancho Del Mar Trail Lot 2, San Diego
   
   7 beds, 8 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 11,207 sq ft

   Year built: 2003

   Parking spots: 12

   Days on market: 202
7. $5,585,000 : 4761 Rancho Del Mar Trail, San Diego
   
   5 beds, 6 full, 2 part baths

   Home size: 10,336 sq ft

   Year built: 2004

   Days on market: 185
8. $5,500,000 : 100 Harbor Dr 3803, San Diego
   
   3 beds, 3 full, 2 part baths

   Home size: 4,170 sq ft

   Year built: 1992

   Parking spots: 5

   Days on market: 47
9. $4,995,000 : 7852 Corte De Luz, San Diego
   
   5 beds, 6 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 7,419 sq ft

   Year built: 2009

   Parking spots: 14

   Days on market: 153
10. $4,550,000 : 2500 Sixth Ave 1106, San Diego
    
    3 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths

    Home size: 5,853 sq ft

    Year built: 2006

    Parking spots: 6

    Days on market: 230
11. $4,500,000 : 4934 Del Mar Mesa Rd, San Diego
    
    6 beds, 7 full, 1 part baths

    Home size: 8,854 sq ft

    Lot size: 4.21 ac

    Year built: 2004

    Days on market: 13
12. $4,495,000 : 4915 Rancho Verde Trail, San Diego
    
    5 beds, 5 full, 2 part baths

    Home size: 8,529 sq ft

    Year built: 2005

    Parking spots: 6

    Days on market: 7
13. $4,495,000 : 815 Armada Ter, San Diego
    
    6 beds, 6 full, 1 part baths

    Home size: 8,316 sq ft

    Lot size: 17,898 sq ft

    Year built: 1934

    Parking spots: 8

    Days on market: 313
14. $4,445,000 : 7905 Entrada De Luz 115 E, San Diego
    
    5 beds, 7 full, 2 part baths

    Home size: 9,000 sq ft

    Lot size: 3.25 ac

    Year built: 2012

    Days on market: 19
15. $4,375,000 : 8242 Run Of The Knolls, San Diego
    
    5 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths

    Home size: 7,659 sq ft

    Year built: 2010

    Days on market: 1

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

This is an older post, but I like it because it’s playful and still informative. Sandi Hadley and myself (Don Reedy) work together in the North County San Diego housing market to list homes and help buyers purchase homes. We’re always available to talk, and that’s what this innovative post is about. Let’s talk…….760-802-9713.<!–blockquote>