The Sunnyvale housing market

The Sunnyvale housing market, a part of the larger San Jose and Santa Clara County real estate markets, showed strong signs of improvement in the most recent tracking periods. According to a May 31, 2010 article in the Mercury News, “The local housing market continues to show improvement in sales and value of homes, though overall home sales in the nine-county Bay Area and the state as a whole, showed mixed results during the month of April, according to [the] latest real estate sales and price reports.” The piece, written by Rose Meily, went on to note that “MDA DataQuick reports sales for all new and resale homes and condos in Santa Clara County rose 3.1 percent in April compared with the same period last year. A total of 1,656 homes sold in April, up from 1,606 homes sold in April 2009. The median home price for all homes jumped 20.7 percent from $405,000 in April of 2009 to $489,000 this year.”

The performance of Sunnyvale homes for sale was a substantial improvement over the rest of the Bay Area, which actually saw a decline in home sales in the month of 2010. According to a May 20, 2010 article in the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, “Bay Area home sales fell slightly below the year-ago level and remained well below average in April, according to a report Thursday by MDA DataQuick. In April a total of 7,003 homes closed escrows in the nine-county Bay Area, up 0.2 percent from 6,992 in March but down 1.9 percent from 7,139 in April 2009.” The piece continued to explain that “Some of April’s sales activity might have been delayed until at least May as buyers decided to take advantage of new state tax credits that became effective May 1.”

The Sunnyvale real estate market was actually cited as one of the most improved in the United States. According to Businessweek, “Of the 50 largest metros, San Jose saw the largest increase in home prices, 8.3 percent year-on-year during the first quarter, according to CoreLogic data. This was driven by a decrease in inventory – supply of single-family homes in Santa Clara County dropped 19 percent year-on-year in May…”

Tempe real estate market

The Tempe real estate market, a small portion of the larger Maricopa County and Phoenix area housing markets, showed signs of improvement in the month of May, as foreclosures began to taper off. According to a June 10, 2010 article from the Arizona Republic, “A new Arizona State University real-estate report shows home foreclosures may be leveling off, but the author says it’s unclear if the trend will continue because of the number of defaults and late payments still plaguing the market. Foreclosures were 33 percent of the market’s recorded activity in May, down 40 percent in March, according to the latest realty-studies report.” The piece, composed by John Yantis, went on to state that “A number of issues will continue to affect the real-estate market, he said. Defaults and late payments remain at record levels, and they could be a precursor to additional foreclosures. Income may not increase enough for people to hold onto their current homes, especially if they are confronted with a change in an adjustable-rate mortgage that could reset in coming months, Butler said.”

The report itself went into more detail about the challenges confronting Tempe and Phoenix-area homes for sale. The Arizona State University study quoted professor of real estate Jay Butler as saying “The key question is whether this is a harbinger of the future of steadily lower foreclosure activity or a ‘blip’ with a return to higher levels. Defaults and late payments are still at record levels and could be a precursor of additional foreclosures. The main issues center on whether income will increase enough for people to hold onto their current homes and whether they can maintain payments on their houses, especially if confronted with a change in an adjustable-rate mortgage that could reset in coming months.”

The amount of land purchased in the Tempe housing market and other sectors of the Valley increased dramatically in recent months. According to a June 14, 2010 article from ABC 5 News, “Analysts say the Valley’s housing market could be showing another sign of making a comeback. Experts with Land Advisors, a Scottsdale-based brokerage firm, say home builders have bought $90 million dollars worth of land in the Valley so far in 2010.”

Aliso Viejo housing market

The Aliso Viejo housing market continues to face conflicting indicators, although most reports point towards an increasing median price. According to a June 10, 2010 article from the OC Register, “The latest home affordability calculations from the California Realtors Association show that for Orange County a minimum income of $69,770 is needed to afford a starter home ($413,680 median price in the first quarter.) Estimated monthly payment, including taxes and insurance, on an entry level home was $2,330.” The piece went on to state that “The recent “Paycheck to Paycheck” housing affordability report by the Center for Housing Policy suggests that $129,850 of income was needed in the fourth quarter to buy a median-priced O.C. home!…For the first-time buyers based on the number of households that can pay 85% of the median home price making a 10% down payment and assumes [the] buyer would spend 40% of his or her income on monthly house payments.”

The average price of an Aliso Viejo real estate increased significantly over year-ago levels in the most recent tracking periods. According to a June 4, 2010 article from the Orange County Register, “For the 22 business days ending May 18 – DataQuick’s latest real estate buying report – Orange County saw…$440,000 median selling price that is up 12.8% vs. a year ago yet -32% below June 2007’s peak of $645,000. A median of $440,000 was last seen in Orange County in August 2008.” The piece, posted by Jon Lansner, went on to say that “The most recent median is 19% above the cyclical low hit in January 2009 at $370,000 – a current bottom that was 43% below the peak…In this most recent period, Orange County shoppers bought 3,056 residences – that is +12.8& vs. year-ago buying activity.”

This same trend was observed across nearly three-fourths of Orange County communities such as Alison Viejo. According to a June 11, 2010 report from the Orange County Register, “57 of O.C.’s 83 ZIP codes had gains in their respective median selling price. Overall, prices were +9.9% vs. a year ago. Taking sales volume in consideration, home pricing is up in ZIPs representing 73% of the Orange County market.”

East Bay real estate market

The East Bay real estate market has been facing mixed signals in recent months, with some signs indicating the possibility of a renewed recovery and other pointing towards continued weakness. According to a March 11, 2010 article in ABC KGO News, “For the first time in a long time, some of the Bay Area’s hardest hit counties are seeing their foreclosure numbers drop compared with last year. In San Joaquin County, foreclosure filings have dropped 42 percent since February 2009; in Alameda, foreclosure filings are down 16 percent and in Contra Costa County, filings are down 3 percent.” The article, written by Laura Anthony, continued to say that “At least temporarily, fewer bank-owned properties are coming on the market. In some areas of Contra Costa County, there is intense competition for them among buyers.”

East Bay homes for sale are also showing contradictory signs, with home prices and home sales trending in opposite directions. According to a March 19, 2010 article in the San Francisco Chronicle, “The volume of Bay Area home sales dipped in February compared with a year ago, while the median price continued to rise, according to a real estate report released on Thursday. ‘The increase in the median reflects just how odd things were a year ago,’ said Andrew LePage, an analyst with MDA DataQuick, a San Diego research firm.” Mr. LePage continued to state that “Over half of the resales (then) were foreclosures, and the less expensive inland counties had an unusually high portion of the sales. With the more expensive counties now contributing more sales, it’s easy to post a double-digit increase in the median price. It does not reflect a 20 percent appreciation in the typical home.”

The same basic trend for East Bay real estate for sale was noted in a March 19, 2010 article in Housing Wire, which said that “In the San Francisco Bay Area, home sales improved from January to February, but remained below last year’s level. However, the median price paid continued a five-month-long run of year-over-year increases, according to MDA DataQuick. There were a total of 4,987 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area in February.”

Oceanside housing market

The Oceanside housing market, a coastal portion of the larger San Diego County real estate market, showed continued signs of improvement in the most recent tracking periods. According to a June 10, 2010 article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, “San Diego County foreclosure filings were down 29.6 percent from last year and 1.9 percent from last year and 1.9 percent from April, RealtyTrac reported today.” The piece, composed by Roger Showley, continued to report that “The Irvine-based company reported 5,386 default notices, foreclosures and other actions in may. That pushed San Diego County’s ranking among distressed housing markets from 18^th in May 2009 to 26^th last month, out of 203 areas surveyed…For San Diego, the May count was one distress filing for every 211 homes in the county. Nationally, there were 322,920 filings in May, 3.3 percent less than in April and up 0.5 percent from May 2009.”

The average purchase price of an Oceanside real estate rose strongly over the last several tracking periods. According to a May 25, 2010 article from the Voice of San Diego, “There’s no doubt housing prices have come roaring back this year. New numbers released this morning showed San Diego County home prices rose again in March – marking the 11^th straight month they’ve been headed up.” The piece, written by Kelly Bennett, went on to state that “Local prices rose 10.8 percent between March last year and this March – when buyers scrambled into the market to take advantage of an expiring federal tax credit. That was the second largest increase in any of the 20 cities measured in the Standard & Poor’s Case Shiller home price index, a closely watched indicator for the housing market. On a month-to-month basis, March’s prices showed an increase of 1.5 percent from February.”

The shifting Oceanside housing market has made it more affordable to rent in the region, according to a June 5, 2010 article in the San Diego Union Tribune. The piece, composed by Roger Showley, said that “It pays to rent – not buy – for most people in San Diego County, says Trulia.com. In its first survey comparing buying vs. renting, the San Francisco-based website ranks San Diego the eighth-highest market that favors renting instead of owning out of 50 cities surveyed.”

Diamond Head Real Estate

Diamond Head, Hawaii, refers to the area on Oahu near the volcanic tuff cone, so named because explorers in the 1800s thought calcite crystal in the rock were diamonds. Today the area is one of the islands’ most popular tourist spots and is a U.S. monument. Diamond Head real estate tends to be rather high-priced, as the area is in high demand, and it consists of both single-family homes and a number of condominiums.

According to statistics published by the Honolulu Board of Realtors, the Diamond head area residential real estate sector has continued to struggle a bit into 2010. In March, there were 23 new listings of Diamond Head homes for sale, down 28% from a year earlier. There were 22 homes sold in March, better than last year, when there were just 20 sold. The median sales price for homes in March was down 4% to $710,000, and the average price was down 27.5% to around $722,000 from more than $994,000. Homes are selling more quickly, though. The average number of days homes spent on the market before selling was 42, down 57% from a year ago, when that figure was 97 days. At the end of the month, there were still 97 homes on the market for sale, down from 124 one year ago. Thus far in 2010, however, the median price of homes in Diamond Head is up 5%, at $775,000, though the average year-to-date is down 8%.

The condo market shows similar trends and is, on the whole, showed much room for optimism in March. There were 21 new listings in the month, the same figure as last year, and at the end of March, there were 82 condos still left on the market for sale, down by four from a year ago. There were 10 condos sold in Diamond Head in March, up from just four sales in March 2009. The median sales price was off just a slight 0.8% from a year ago to $470,000, while the average sales price was up more than 40% to around $769,000. Condos for sale spent an average of 72 days on the market once listed, a decline from last year of more than 45%, when condos spent 131 days on the market, on average, before selling. So far this year, the median condo price in Diamond Head is up 13% to $396,500 and the average price is up 70%. There have been 23 condos sold in the first three months of the year, up from only eight at the same time last year.

Miami Beach Real Estate

The Miami Beach real estate market seems to be slowly stabilizing, as is the rest of Southern Florida. According to a May 5, 2010 article in the Miami Herald, “Propelled by low prices, attractive interest rates and federal incentives to lock in offers by the month’s end, the number of new contracts on South Florida homes soared in April. Compared with March, pending sales of single-family homes and condominiums increased last month in both Miami-Dade and Broward, mirroring the national upward trend in contracts signed, according to data released Tuesday by the Realtors Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches.” The article, written by Hannah Sampson, continued to say that “Compared with last April, the number skyrocketed. The number of pending home sales overall ticked up by 6.6 percent in Miami-Dade in April, with 10,392 compared with 9,751 in March. In Broward, pending home sales increased from 8,173 in March to 8,525 in April, up 4.3 percent.”
On the other hand, Miami Beach homes for sale may be adversely impacted by a much higher than normal rate of foreclosures. According to an April 29, 2010 article in the Miami Herald, “The number of foreclosures in South Florida shot up more than 71 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared to the same time period last year. Even with one in every 46 homes in some stage of foreclosure, the region still doesn’t break the top 10 large metropolitan areas in terms of foreclosure rates.” The piece, composed by Hannah Sampson, continued to say that “According to a RealtyTrac report on foreclosures in the metropolitan areas with a  population of at least 200,000, the area that includes Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach ranks eleventh.”
This same serious problem for Miami Beach real estate was echoed in an April 29, 2010 article from CBS 4 News, which said that “The foreclosure crisis may be subsiding in some areas of the country; but in South Florida, the bottom continues to drop out of the market. According to numbers from RealtyTrac, foreclosures in South Florida have grown 71 percent in the first quarter when compared to the same time frame in 2009.”

Rocklin, California Real Estate

A mid-sized city in the Sacramento area, just north of that city, Rocklin, California, is home to around 55,000 in Placer County and is home to a population with a median household annual income of almost $85,000. Though the Rocklin real estate sector initially suffered many adverse effects from the withering national real estate market that onset in 2008, it has since begin to show some new signs of life and that i may be out of the worst period.

According to statistics from local Re/Max realtors, near the end of January (as of Jan. 27), there were 265 Rocklin homes for sale, a decline in inventory of 6% from four months prior, in September. Of these homes, 25 were bank-owned, 48 were active short sales and 108 were short sale-contingent. The homes ranged in price for as little as $138,000 to as much as $1.7 million.

The average asking price at the end of January was $444,225, a more than 11% increase from four months’ earlier, when it was just over $397,000. The median asking price was $349,000, a 4.6% improvement from four months earlier, when it was $333,687. The fourth quarter of 2009 saw sales activity in Rocklin improve. From October through December, there were 196 homes sold, versus just 181 from July to September. The sales prices, too, were higher.

The average sales price during the fourth quarter was $338,653, up 6.25% from the third quarter, while the median sales price was $310,000, up 3.7% from the third quarter. Despite the increased sales activity, however, homes spent four more days, on average, on the market before selling than in the previous quarter, at 80 days. Sales activity for the year’s final quarter was an improvement of more than 18% from the same quarter in 2008, but both median and average prices were down for the year, by 5.5% and 7.3%, respectively.

The Benefits of Online Banking

With the rapid advancement of technology and especially the internet, online banking has become a common practice. However, some people hesitate to take advantage of these online resources due to stories of fraud and sensitive financial information being stolen. But with the types of online security banks use today, many people can safely reap the benefits of online banking.

Of course, the most obvious advantage of online baking is convenience. Almost all of your financial business can be done online now, so you no longer need to search through your endless drawer of bank statements, drive to the bank, wait in long lines, and fill out numerous forms by hand. Along with 24 hour access to online banking, you also receive up to date financial information about your deposits, payments, statements, and other transactions extremely quickly, allowing you to track your expenses more closely, which can help you budget yourself and save more money. Online banking also allows you to pay bills easily, often, you only have to spend about 15 minutes to set up your vendors, and after that paying bills will only take mere seconds. You can also opt to automatically send bill payments via online.

Although banks use advanced online security technology to protect the financial security of their customers, it is still extremely important to practice safe online banking. Be aware of all that you do online and do not hesitate to take action if you see any strange transactions being reported in your online banking records or and information that you believe is incorrect. Be cautious when entering any sensitive financial information. Banks should never ask for sensitive information over the phone or email. Contact your bank if you are suspicious of something the bank sent you or something they are asking for. Online banking is not necessarily 100% impervious to hackers or scammers, but with safe practices the benefits of online banking will be great.

Hawaii Real Estate

An inherent part of acquiring Hawaii Oahu real estate, folklore and mythology from the
Hawaiian culture is an important hurdle for newcomers to Hawaii.  In part due to the
close-knit communities fostered as part of the island way of life, urban legend has
become a prominent aspect of modern day life.  Night marchers have long been a part
of Hawaiian legend.  The ghosts of ancient warriors are said to roam large portions of
the island chain carrying torches, typically in areas that were once large battlefields in
old Hawaii.  Most legends regarding this phenomenon says that if a human looks a night
marcher in the eye, he or she will be forced to march among them for eternity.  Carrying
pork over the Nuuanu Pali is another local piece of folklore, warning that doing so will
cause the car to break and not restart until the pork is removed.  The legend is
grounded in the Hawaiian volcano goddess Pele’s feud with a demigod.  Present day
hot spots include Morgan’s Corner on Nuuanu Pali Drive, Seven Bridges of Manoa, and
the Waialae Graveyard.  While these tales are simply urban legend, new residents in
Hawaii should seek an understanding of these stories in order to immerse oneself into
the new culture.