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Archive for January, 2009

Foreclosures Up…But Pre-Foreclosures Down In 4th Quarter: Could The End Be In Sight?

January 29th, 2009 categories: Contra Costa, Foreclosures / Short Sales, Market Update, Solano

Even though foreclosures in the fourth quarter were up substantially over the same period a year earlier, the number of pre-foreclosures actually dropped throughout the state in the last quarter of 2008, compared to the last quarter of 2007, according to a just-released report from real estate data guru Dataquick.

Statewide, notice of default recordings were down 7.7% during that period, but here in the Bay Area they were down 12.2%, led by Solano County, which had 20.9% fewer NOD’s recorded in the last quarter of ‘08 than during the same quarter of ‘07. Contra Costa was down 17.6%.

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Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Inventory Down Everywhere In Solano Except Benicia

January 26th, 2009 categories: Benicia, Buying, Fairfield-Gr Valley, Market Update, Selling, Solano, Suisun City, Vacaville, Vallejo

Weekly Housing Inventory Report

Benicia was the only city in our Solano County market area which saw an increase in housing inventory this past week, putting it almost right back where it was when the year began.

With a net gain of six homes, Benicia’s inventory stands at 105 (70 single family homes and 35 condominiums/townhomes) — a 6.1% increase over last week.

Vacaville saw the biggest decrease with a 5.7% drop (24 homes) from a week ago, followed by Suisun City (-5.2%), Fairfield-Green Valley (-3.0%) and Vallejo (-2.5%).

That’s the second week in a row that all four communities saw a reduction in their housing supply. On the surface, that might seem to be an indication that perhaps the market is reaching its bottom.

However, before you get too excited with the drop in inventory in those cities, keep in mind that Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac have temporarily suspended all foreclosures (see this story) and all four cities have been a hotbed for foreclosure activity.

The foreclosure ban ends Jan. 31, which means that all those homes which normally would have been repossessed between late November and now will likely hit the market in February and March. If that’s true, the decline in the housing supply in Fairfield, Suisun, Vacaville and Vallejo could be short-lived.

To see the full detailed report, click on the graphic or HERE. And be sure to check back weekly; I normally update this custom report every Monday or Tuesday.

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Did Benicia Act Too Soon When It Closed Mills Elementary School?

January 24th, 2009 categories: Benicia, Viewpoint

It’s been several years since Benicia Unified School District closed Mills Elementary, the oldest of its five elementary schools and the only one located downtown.

Back then, it seemed like the sensible thing to do. The population base was maturing and as a by-product of that, school enrollment, particularly at the elementary school level was declining. The district couldn’t justify keeping five schools open when four offered plenty of capacity for Benicia’s youth population.

But now that property values have declined — back to about 2002 or 2003’s levels here in Benicia, we’re again seeing more and more first-time and young-family home buyers.

That’s a stark contrast to what occurred during the earlier part of this decade, when rapidly rising home prices essentially slammed the door shut on most first-time buyers. With even a modest single family home priced well into the $500,000’s as recently as 2006, most homebuyers who were in their early adult lives were effectively priced out of Benicia housing market.

Today, though, with some single family homes priced as low as the $300,000’s, doors which had previously been closed to many young families wanting to live in Benicia have opened again — and in a big way, thanks too to record-low mortgage rates.

A perfect case in point is our daughter’s young family. Still in their 20’s, they moved back to Benicia and rented a townhome in 2005. At the time, the prospects of she and her husband ever being able to buy a home in Benicia were daunting. They were just starting out in their respective fields and watched as home prices continued to climb — on just about a weekly basis. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: 2 Comments »

MLS Graph For Solano County Compares Nov-Dec ‘07 with ‘08

January 23rd, 2009 categories: Benicia, Fairfield-Gr Valley, Market Update, Solano, Suisun City, Vacaville, Vallejo

Our MLS today came out with a graph showing how November and December 2008 compared with the same periods in 2007 for Solano County.

The graph pretty much mirrors the report I prepared several weeks earlier — where I compared all of 2008 and with all of 2007 throughout the county. To see that post, CLICK HERE.

As with my Jan. 12 report, our MLS system’s graph also shows sales up but prices down in ‘08. Days on the market was also down in November & December compared to those same months in ‘07.

Our MLS separates Solano County into two parts:

  • Southern (Benicia and Vallejo)
  • Northern (Fairfield/Green Valley, Suisun, Vacaville, Dixon & Rio Vista

The reports: SOUTHERN SOLANO and NORTHERN SOLANO

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

I Got My Country Back Today!

January 20th, 2009 categories: Viewpoint

I’m not usually one to write politically slanted articles, but today’s post really has nothing to do with politics. Rather, it has to do with reclaiming something I lost eight long years ago. I hope you’ll take it in the positive, uplifting spirit that’s intended.

For eight  L-O-N-G  years, I was a man without a country. Today I got my country back.

Oh I’ve always been a resident of the U.S. and never stopped believing in it. Throughout the last eight years, I followed and believed in the laws, principles and rights upon which our great nation was founded. But even though I believed and supported my country, the people who ran it didn’t believe in me. Or at least that’s how it felt.

Even though I always remained a part of my country, sadly, from 2001-2008, my country didn’t really seem to want to be a part of me. Until today.

They believed in doing things the way they wanted to do it. They believed in ignoring the wishes of the people they were chosen to serve. They believed a quick wink or a sarcastic smile was the way you got things done. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: 3 Comments »

Housing Inventory Down Throughout Solano County This Past Week

January 19th, 2009 categories: Benicia, Buying, Fairfield-Gr Valley, Foreclosures / Short Sales, Market Update, Solano, Suisun City, Vacaville, Vallejo

Weekly Housing Inventory Report

Surprisingly, at a time of year when you’d expect housing inventories to start rising again, throughout Solano County, every city in our market area saw a decline in active listings compared to the previous week.

That’s an about-face from last week’s report, when Benicia was the only city that saw a drop (and only by a single listing). This week, Suisun City saw its inventory drop by 12.5%, followed by Benicia (-5.7%), Fairfield-Green Valley (-2.8%), Vacaville (-1.6%) and Vallejo (-0.7%).

It’s possible this is just a one-week blip and that we’ll again see inventory increasing in the coming weeks, as normally happens after the first of the year. But the decrease in inventory could also be due to several market factors.

  • First off, there’s a double incentive of record-low interest rates and very low prices, which is bringing many new buyers into the marketplace. So new buyers are entering the marketplace much earlier in the year than normal.

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Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Free Prescription Drug Discount Card Now Available To All Solano County Residents

January 17th, 2009 categories: Local Stuff, Solano

Everyone likes something for nothing, right? Well, if you ever purchase prescription drugs that aren’t covered by insurance and live in Solano County, you may want to apply for a county-sponsored Prescription Discount Card, which will provide 20 Percent Savings off the retail price of most commonly prescribed drugs.

The cards are available to all residents with no age or income restrictions, according to the county’s web site. You can obtain one even if you already have existing health insurance. They can be used at participating pharmacies here in Solano County as well as at any one of 57,000-plus participating pharmacies nationwide.

According to the County’s web site, participating pharmacies in Solano County include: Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Nut Tree Theme Park In Vacaville Closes Indefinitely Due To Continued Low Attendance

January 17th, 2009 categories: Local Stuff, Solano, The Economy

The Nut Tree “Family Park,” a small Vacaville theme park with kiddie rides is yet another victim of the woeful economy. Earlier this week, the Nut Tree announced that it was closing the park “indefinitely” due to two straight years of lagging business.

We took our grandson there three different times last year. Twice we went mid-week during the summer and it was like a ghost town — we pretty much had the park to ourselves; there couldn’t have been more than a dozen other patrons either time. The last time we went was on a weekend, but it was the same day they had a fall festival, so it was much more crowded that day. Even so, we never had to wait in any lines. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »

Do You Know How Much You Can Borrow? Bay Area Loan Limits Much Lower In ‘09 Than ‘08

January 15th, 2009 categories: Buying, Loans / Financing

Amid all the hullaballoo surrounding the housing crisis and world economy these days, a major lending change went into effect Jan. 1 which, to date, has gotten rather little fanfare.

But for some Bay Area mortgage borrowers, the impact could be mean the difference between getting a loan or falling short of what’s needed to complete a purchase or refinance.

I’m talking about the new conforming and FHA loan limits, which, throughout Solano County, Contra Costa County and the rest of the Bay Area, have all been adjusted downward from what they were in December.

And if you were planning to borrow an amount near the maximum of last year’s mortgage loan limits, you may be in a for a huge shock, since those loan ceilings no longer exist. They’ve been replaced by lower loan limits, which vary by county. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: 2 Comments »

New Fannie Mae Policy Will Halt Evictions Of Those Renting Foreclosed Homes

January 14th, 2009 categories: Foreclosures / Short Sales

Fannie Mae will no longer evict renters who are living in properties that are foreclosed upon, but will instead offer them new market-rate leases on a month-to-month basis, under its new National Real Estate Owned Rental Policy, which was just announced.

Up until now, renters of homes that have gone into foreclosure have often been the most unfortunate victims of the current real estate saga. In many cases, they keep paying their rent month after month, completely unaware that the landlord is in default.

Often, the first time they realize the owner is about to lose the house is when a process server posts a notice of sale at the property. All of a sudden they need to look for a new place to live and usually in a big hurry, too. Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Rod Herman | Discussion: No Comments »