Where is this real estate market going? Today, published in our local newspaper “The Record”

WASHINGTON (AP) Home construction plunged last month to the lowest level since October as the economy remained weak and demand for housing plummeted.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A research firm reports mortgage default notices in California are at their lowest levels in three years after a fifth-straight quarterly decline.

***Below is a blog from Realty World Northern California & Nevada***

Foreclosures Likely to Surpass 2009 Levels

Repossessions climbed 38 percent in the first six months of 2010 compared 2009 and were up 5 percent from the first quarter, foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac announced Thursday.

In all, lenders repossessed nearly 528,000 homes in the first six months of the year. If that rate continues through the end of the year, repossessions will likely top 1 million in 2010, up 100,000 from 2009. [Read More]

Are you confused yet? Well I’m not! The real estate market is not getting any better since the government got involved in trying to help certain homeowners with workouts, modifications, short sales and foreclosure delays with the intent of helping troubled borrowers.

The real estate market is not going to recover unless the government allows the market to be free and a lender can enforce the terms of a note secured by a deed of trust. It really is that simple!

Less government, less regulation and less taxes will improve the economy!

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Number of Homes for Sale vs. Sold vs. Pending

June 2009 there were 1066 homes for sale in Stockton, California in comparison to June 2010 where there was an increase to 1088 homes for sale. The number of homes sold in June 2009 was 612 and in June 2010 the number of homes sold decreased to 456. In June 2009 there were 671 pending sales which decreased to 633 in June 2010.

More graphs and charts from our MLS and TrendVision Reports

STOCKTON – Crime fell in Stockton last year, even as the Police Department was whittled down to accommodate a shrinking budget and crime-fighting programs seen as successful were canceled to maintain patrol staffing.

The overall decline in Stockton – although murders increased – exceeded a nationwide decline in crime, according to a preliminary report the FBI released Monday.

The number of violent crimes reported in Stockton fell from 4,322 in 2008 to 3,703 in 2009, a 14.3 percent decline. Nationally, violent crime declined by 5.5 percent.

Based on the FBI’s population estimate, that decline represents a drop in Stockton’s violent crime rate from 14.7 violent crimes per 1,000 residents to 12.7.  Read more

California:

Los Angeles Times: California home default cases plunge
By Alejandro Lazo
4/21/2010
Mortgage default notices declined 40.2 percent statewide in the first three months of the year compared with the same period in 2009, according to MDA DataQuick.
 
National:

Wall Street Journal: Land prices jump as home builders move in
By Dawn Wotapka
4/21/2010
Across the U.S., home builders are battling to acquire land lots in preparation for ramping up home construction. While volume is tough to track, analysts report that land deals have been rising rapidly in recent months, causing land prices in some of the nation’s weakest housing markets to rise for the first time since 2006.

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I found this article today on Comcast while having my morning cup of coffee…guess I better lock my mortgage refinance ASAP

WASHINGTON — Rates for 30-year home loans surged last week, rising to the highest level in eight months due to the improving economy and the end of a government push to keep rates low.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 5.21 percent this week, up from 5.08 percent a week earlier, Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s the highest since mid-August, when the average rate was 5.29 percent.  [more]

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Image via Wikipedia

Here is some very good news for the California housing market! Check out HousingWire.com

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a new bill this week that would extend the $10,000 homebuyer tax credit to Californians.

The state legislature on March 22 passed assembly bill (AB) 183, which gives the Franchise Tax Board authority to extend $200m in tax credits to homebuyers in the Golden State. Buyers of new, unoccupied homes are allocated $100m in credits, and first-time homebuyers of existing homes get another $100m.

The credit is extended from May 1, 2010 to Dec. 31, 2010. The credit is available to buyers on a first-come, first-serve basis, and it’s applied in equal amounts over a three-year period.  Read more

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Homeowners defaulting on mortgages today may be surprised to learn years from now that they still owe thousands of dollars – and a collection agency is coming after them to get it.

That’s because lenders have been quietly selling second mortgages and home equity lines left unpaid after foreclosures and short sales. The buyers: collection agencies, which in California have up to four years to make a claim.

If they win court judgments, these collectors could have years to pursue borrowers with repayment plans, and even garnish their wages, … read more  from Sacramento Bee, Real Estate by Jim Wasserman.

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More news for the housing market…I found this article today on Recordnet.com 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of new homes plunged to a record low in January, underscoring the formidable challenges facing the housing industry as it tries to recover from the worst slump in decades.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new home sales dropped 11.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 309,000 units, the lowest level on records going back nearly a half century. The big drop was a surprise to economists who had expected sales would rise about 5 percent over December’s pace. Read more if you like bad news…

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California:

Press Enterprise: Inland foreclosure pressure eases; short sales rise
By Leslie Berkman
2/11/2010
In January, combined filings for defaults, trustee sales, and bank repossessions declined more than 24 percent in the Riverside and San Bernardino counties region. It was led by a nearly 50 percent decline in notices of default. Also, from December to January the amount of all foreclosure-related filings declined almost 13 percent.

National:

Los Angeles Times: U.S. aims to stop backing mortgages
By Walter Hamilton and Jim Puzzanghera
2/11/2010
The Federal Reserve plans next month to end a $1.25-trillion mortgage-bond-purchase program that has helped keep mortgage interest rates near a record-low 5 percent. 

Inman: ZipRealty: Fewer sellers slash prices
2/11/2010
Sellers reduced the asking price on 40.4 percent of available homes in January, down from 44.8 percent in December, to an average discount of $21,925, a rate of 6.54 percent lower than the month before, according to ZipRealty. The report covers 27 of 36 U.S. metropolitan areas in which the company operates.