Costa Mesa's residential resale stats are in for August, and they are slightly contrary to the western states trend of a decrease of 17.7%.
Buyer's took advantage of interest rates that crept well below 6% for 30 year fixed mortgages.
CMAug.pdf will show you there were 67 homes and condos that sold overall in August, certainly a better number than the year previous. September will show an improvement over last year's period when only 39 homes sold; currently, through Sept. 23rd there have been 40 homes and condos sold in Costa Mesa.
Looking for information about the local Costa Mesa market? Call Colin Delaney at 714-743-9882 or colin@verandahomes.com.
©Colin Delaney 2008
Well, this is a story that goes to show you that you might not really know your neighbors as well as you think you do.
I joke that someone has finally found the elusive "money tree" and low and behold, it's right here in the Mesa Verde neighborhood of Costa Mesa!!
The way the economy has been, it's not surprising, but two alledged perpretrators were arrested this week for forging $50 and $100 bills and passing them off to retailers. The Secret Service was involved in helping catch the crooks, and they mentioned that the forgers actually did one of the best jobs that they had seen recently.
Too bad they couldn't do it legally, ala President Bush and the government's $700 Billion Money Tree!!
P.S. let me know if you want to buy the home with the money tree in Mesa Verde, I know where it is and they are open to offers :)
Perhaps you saw Jonathan Lanser's article in the Orange County Register yesterday about his "Zippy" awards (homes/areas selling well by zip code) for communities that are performing best through the downturn.
Not surprising, but Balboa Island topped the list - it's hard to imagine a time when those lots were selling for less thatn $20,000 and they had a hard time selling.
The zip code that was not surprising to me? Huntington Beach, 92648. I've had clients looking in South Huntington Beach for some time, and if we don't move quickly on the "good deals" or well priced properties, they sell fast. I've been surprised - right next door in Costa Mesa it is taking 60 days to move the same property, whereas HB properties are moving (when priced right) out the door in about 14 days.
Why? Proximity to the ocean perhaps, but I believe a lot of the forward momentu has to do with how good the school district is and how well the schools are performing.
Thinking of buying a home in Huntington Beach? Give me a call at 714-743-9882 to find the best deals in the best neighborhoods.
Taste of Newport, Fantastic Entertainment Lineup
If you haven't been to the Taste of Newport recently, you're missing quite a fun night! Located along Newport Center Drive, there are many restaurants and winerys that setup low cost tasting booths for those interested in a bite (or a full meal) while strolling through an open air Newport Beach party!!
Definitely worth a night on the town - there is great entertainment this year, from UB40 for Regae fans, alternative rock faves ThirdEyeBlind, and Styx for the older rock set. Great stuff!! Check it out!
Have you seen the recent crisis with the insurance giant AIG and maybe heard rumors about WaMu's demise? Or perhaps yo heard recently that Bank of America bought out Merril Lynch??
Obviously these financial giants have been rock solid for a long time- look at the 150+ year history of Lehman brothers. Ultimately, these companies were brought down by the ARMs and other silly mortgages that they collaterized and backed as secure financial instruments.
OK, OK, you can get that stuff on CNBC, I know. What's in it for me you ask? As of yesterday, mortgage rates on traditional 30 year fixed rate products were 5.5% with no points!!!
Now couple that with this fact- if you bought the average 3 bedroom house in Costa Mesa you would roughly spend about $500,000, giving you a mortgage of $2838 with no money down! Guess what? It is still hard to rent a nice home in Costa Mesa for that same payment.......I'm trying to lead you to the conclusion that now is the right time to buy. Sometimes it's important to look past the turbulence and look at the fundamentals.
Sometimes you have to look past the chaos of the world around and really look to see "what's in it for me"......it's a great time to buy.
Give me a call at 714-743-9882 or e-mail me at colin@verandahomes.com to discuss the best mortgage products that would allow you to buy a home with as little as 3% or even no money out of pocket.
The Costa Mesa Real Estate resale statistics were just released through the end of July 2008, and they were not pretty, although homes sold in Costa Mesa in August will show an improvement.
Total sales were 321 of residential homes and townhomes, off by nearly 29% for the same sixmonth period last year in 2007.
Most of the activity now is happening on the lower end of the price scale, around $350,000 to $525,000 where the majority of the bank owned homes and foreclosure activity is happening.
August, however, looked a lot better than last year. Official numbers are not in yet, but it looks like a little over 60 homes and condos sold in Costa Mesa, which would be a 10% jump from the same month last year.
Curious about the best deals, or the best time to buy or sell a home in Costa Mesa? Call Colin Delaney at 714-743-9882 or feel free to e-mail me for info at Colin@Verandahomes.com.
My how the market has changed- a year ago we were trying to figure out how short sales worked, and now a great majority of the homes coming into our local Costa Mesa market are bank-owned homes.
It is really interesting as you look back 6 months or so....At first, the banks were pricing their homes right in line with where the market was at, and now it seems they are creating the lower end of the Costa Mesa market. Most of the bank owned homes are coming on in the $375k-$525K price range, and most are experiencing incredible demand.
I represented a client in February who bought a bank owned home and it was a pretty interesting negotiation- we did the ping-pong routine for about five counter offers, then finally put our foot down with a best and final offer. We got it- and we actually shaved $80,000 off of their asking price. My client is in a great positioin- he sold his home a couple of years ago for an outrageous sum, and although he needs to put money into fixing the current home he purchased, he is still way ahead.
What is different about earlier this year and today with bank owned homes is that the prices have come down even further and many, many more people have become interested in them. And why not? When you can put 20% or even 10% down and it becomes a cash flow positive investment, it makes great sense. The Costa Mesa home you purchase today will certainly be worth more in time, and frankly I think we will see this market return sooner than expected.
I submitted another offer for a Costa Mesa home recently and there were already 15 offers on the banks desk- only 2 days after this home came on the market!!
If you are looking for a bank owned home in Costa Mesa or anywhere nearby in Orange County, call me at 714-743-9882 and I would love to talk to you about our auction buying program called ClientDirect.
29 Offers- Seems like a good way when you are selling to get a decent price for your home, huh?
One of my clients just offered on a Costa Mesa bank-owned home, and in the space of 48 hours, the agent representing the bank had 29 offers in for the bank.
Sounds like the home was priced incorrectly? You're right, but that was probably the strategy the bank was using to draw interest and it worked!
If you are looking for a bank owned home in Costa Mesa, give me a call at 714-743-9882 and I would be happy to tell you approximate values, etc, and what nieghborhoods are selling for. Costa Mesa real estate will continue (unfortunately) to have quite a few more foreclosed and bank-owned homes come on the market in the near future.
We even have a program that helps you to identify foreclosures and buy directly at the auction, prior to having to compete with 29 offers!!!
Colin Delaney, colin@verandahomes.com
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