Mortgage Protection Program helps unemployed in CA

In April of this year, the California Association of Realtors' non-profit organization called the Housing Authority Fund launched what they call their C.A.R. H.A.F. Mortgage Protection Program.

In short, this new program was created to provide some relief for new homeowners who loose their job.

Here are the basics:
1.) You must be a 1st time homebuyer in the state of California
2.) You must open escrow on 4/2/09 or later and close escrow before the end of 2009.
3.) You must use a California Realtor(R)
4.) You must be a w-2 employee (cannot be self employed)

If you'd like to know more, please check out the details at the CAR website: http://www.car.org/aboutus/hafmainpage/carhafmortgageprotection/

Mitch Todd/Realtor

415-259-7082

Marin County single family home sales average $1.125M in March 2009

Marin County stats - updated 04/08/09 for sales through March 31, 2009 according to data recorded in BAREIS (local Mulitple Listing Service).

+Single Family homes sold = 87 homes. Year to date, there have been 217 Single Family homes sold in Marin County, that's a 22% reduction as compared to the same period in 2008.
+Average price of sold Single Family homes in March 2009 = $1,124,922. That's a 40% increase over February 2009, and a 6% decrease compared to March 2008.
+Average time sold Single Family homes remained on the market = 103 days

Quick: what is the cheapest and quickest way to reduce your home's carbon footprint?

New windows? Solar panels? New instant-on hot water heater? Not at all-it's the simple caulk gun. Homes in the US are amazingly inefficient. Studies show they waste 30% of the energy they consume. About a third of the energy lost could be saved by plugging up holes.

Take a gander at this article in the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123629700922046051.html#video%3D06EB46ED-E130-4DD1-BD3F-32CCBCCA2B60%26articleTabs%3Darticle

And go get some caulk!

Heads-up for TIC investors

In January 2009, Anne Kruaskopf, Senior Special Counsel of the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission), indicated in a 'no-action' letter (found at http://www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/cf-noaction/2009/omni011409.htm) that a proposed offer and sale of undivided tenant in common (TIC) interests might fall under the Securities Act of 1933.

While this letter is in response to a very specific set of circumstances and stops short of a definitive ruling, it serves as a warning to TIC investors to carefully consider each and every offering presented to them.

Mitch Todd/Realtor

Associate Broker, MBA and Owner of Tam Realty

415-259-7082

KQED's upcoming special on SPAWN's efforts to help the Coho Samon

KQED filmed in the San Geronimo Valley last Friday for their upcoming special on the plight of the Coho Salmon in the San Geronimo Valley. Their film crew followed Chris Pincetich, SPAWN's Watershed Biologist from the headwaters of the Lagunitas Creek through SPAWN's creek restoration sites downstream to Tomales Bay. They also spent some time at the Native Plant Nursery in our backyard. They filmed the volunteers who staff the nursery every Friday. The 1000's of native plants grown here are used in the creek restoration efforts.

We look forward to seeing KQED's program and hope that it will bring attention to the Coho's struggle to survive despite encroachment on their habitat, trash in their ocean and devastating storms in recent years.

Fairfield REO statistics: January 2009

1/15/09:

Here's a snapshot of the REO market in Fairfield as of the beginning of January 2009.


Items of note:
1.) Asking price and Selling price are merging: indicates that buyers and sellers both agree on price. This predicts the bottom of the market (for this segment in this market) as there is no downward pressure from buyers.
2.) Sales prices have adjusted downward dramatically over the last 6 months.
3.) Volume of REO activity has exploded - now dominating the market.

Questions or Comments? Call or email me....

Mitch Todd/Realtor

owner, Tam Realty
415-259-7082

Recovery: Marin Condo/Townhomes

Are we nearing the bottom for condos and townhomes in Marin County?

One sector of our real estate market here in Marin has begun to stand out, condominiums and townhomes.

In my previous blogs, I have presented the raw statistics of units sold and price changes over the last year or two. Now I've taken that analysis to the next step - and below you will find sales data for the last 15 years. You can clearly see the market correction over the last couple of years. More than that, though, I've plotted a baseline 5% appreciation line as a comparison (see notes below for sources).

You can see that the chart below reflects a sales volume in line with "pre-boom" figures. It also predicts a sales price (average sales price, in this case) nearing that of historical appreciation rates (see notes below). Furthermore, many analysts and economists have targeted a 35%-37% drop in nationwide sales prices to mark the bottom of the market. For Marin County condos/townhomes, that means that we are quickly nearing the target bottom. Now, keep in mind that the concept of an actual bottom of the market is fuzzy at best (will we know when we reach it), and that each market nationwide will certainly perform independently.

Enough said - check out the chart and contact me with questions and comments!

Mitch Todd/Realtor at Tam Realty

415-259-7082

NOTES:

---I selected an average rate of appreciation of 5% after researching several sources. First, nationwide appreciation before the real estate boom (1975 - 1998) averages just over 4%. California appreciation for the same timeframe averaged an astounding 7.9% (source: Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight). Inflation (excluding the high inflation period of the '70s) has run around 3.5% (source: Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight). So, I've settled on 5%. You may consider another rate - feel free!

---Another note: I have selected average sales price for my data - honestly, it's easier for gather than median. That said, average sales price can be skewed by 'out of the ordinary' sales, high or low. As a rule of thumb, in Marin County, average sales prices exceed median sales prices due to a few select 'luxury' products skewing the data. For condos/townhomes, sales on DeSilva Island are an example of this. For reference, Dec. '08 average sales price for a condo/townhome in Marin was around $474K, while the median price was around $405K.