Fremont Real Estate Blog

From DS News   Home Prices Continue Steady Climb Through Off-Season The winter season has not stopped home prices from posting both monthly and yearly gains, according to recent reports, and the Federal Finance Housing Agency's (FHFA) October home price report was no different. According to the agency's Home Price Index (HPI), home prices in October rose 0.5 percent from September and 5.6 percent from October 2011. The index current sits 15.7 percent below the April 2007 peak. » Read More     - sunil   SUNIL SETHI REAL ESTATE Helping Families Find Homes with Great Schools in Fremont, Newark and Union City. Love Us on Yelp!   Like Us on Facebook     Property Search | Featured Listing | Neighborhoods | Home Value | School Score | Property Tax    To access most updated listings on MLS from your phone, Download my FREE app from "My Mobile App" .    

Provided by New Haven Unified School District.   In the wake of the Connecticut tragedy, the New Haven Unified School District is making available the attached information about helping children cope with trauma. More resources are available on the District website ( www.nhusd.k12.ca.us ).     - sunil   SUNIL SETHI REAL ESTATE Helping Families Find Homes with Great Schools in Fremont, Newark and Union City. Love Us on Yelp!   Like Us on Facebook     Property Search | Featured Listing | Neighborhoods | Home Value | School Score | Property Tax    To access most updated listings on MLS from your phone, Download my FREE app from "My Mobile App" .    

From DS News               Study Argues FHA's Underwriting Policies Set Families Up for Failure The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has a mission of making the American dream of homeownership accessible to low- and moderate-income families and first-time homebuyers. However, due to FHA's underwriting policies and practices, Edward Pinto, resident at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), argued the administration has instead put "a high percentage of low- and moderate-income families and communities at risk of excessively high foreclosure rates." » Read More     - sunil   SUNIL SETHI REAL ESTATE Helping Families Find Homes with Great Schools in Fremont, Newark and Union City. Love Us on Yelp!   Like Us on Facebook   Property Search | Featured Listing | Neighborhoods | Home Value | School Score | Property Tax    To access most updated listings on MLS from your phone, Download my FREE app from "My Mobile App" .    

From DS News   Foreclosure Starts Plunge to 71-Month Low, REO Activity Increases A significant drop in foreclosure starts brought down foreclosure activity in November, according to a foreclosure report from RealtyTrac. Foreclosure starts were filed on 77,494 U.S. properties in November, a 71-month low and the lowest level since December 2006, RealtyTrac reported Thursday. The decrease represents a 13 percent drop from October and a 28 percent decline from November 2011. While foreclosure starts fell, bank repossessions rose annually for the first time in 25 months. » Read More     - sunil   SUNIL SETHI REAL ESTATE Helping Families Find Homes with Great Schools in Fremont, Newark and Union City. Love Us on Yelp!   Like Us on Facebook     Property Search | Featured Listing | Neighborhoods | Home Value | School Score | Property Tax    To access most updated listings on MLS from your phone, Download my FREE app from "My Mobile App" .    

More signs that point to a robust housing recovery   From DS News Rental Income Rises 12% Over the Year in September Rental income of residential properties, which CoreLogic defines as "gross rents for homeowners and renters minus the associated cost of financing and other expenses," rose 12 percent from September last year. Furthermore, "[t]his growth shows no signs of slowing down," according to CoreLogic. The data provider attributes the 12 percent growth to "fundamental shifts in the housing market, driven by a large increase in affordability and rising rents." » Read More   - sunil   SUNIL SETHI REAL ESTATE Helping Families Find Homes with Great Schools in Fremont, Newark and Union City. Love Us on Yelp!   Like Us on Facebook     Property Search | Featured Listing | Neighborhoods | Home Value | School Score | Property Tax    To access most updated listings on MLS from your phone, Download my FREE app from "My Mobile App" .    

New Home Builders Seeing Improvements       From DS News   NAHB: List of Improving Markets Hits 201, Up by 76 The number of new improving markets observed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) skyrocketed in December, according to a release from the group. The NAHB/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI) surged to 201, up 76 metros from November's data. The number of states represented in the index also increased, rising to 44 (plus the District of Columbia) from 38 previously. December marks the fourth straight month to see an increase in the IMI. » Read More   - sunil   SUNIL SETHI REAL ESTATE Helping Families Find Homes with Great Schools in Fremont, Newark and Union City. Love Us on Yelp!   Like Us on Facebook     Property Search | Featured Listing | Neighborhoods | Home Value | School Score | Property Tax    To access most updated listings on MLS from your phone, Download my FREE app from "My Mobile App" .    

My prediction is another 6-9 months and short sales and REOS should be gone.   From DS News   LPS: Foreclosure Starts Plummet in October Foreclosure starts fell even further in October after a steep drop in September, according to data from Lender Processing Services (LPS). In October, foreclosure starts numbered about 124,000, which represents a 22 percent decline from September to October and a 48 percent decrease from October 2011. LPS explained the plunge in foreclosure starts was likely driven by new borrower notification requirements outlined in the national mortgage settlement. However, LPS believes the influence of the national mortgage settlement will not have a lasting effect. » Read More     - sunil   SUNIL SETHI REAL ESTATE Helping Families Find Homes with Great Schools in Fremont, Newark and Union City. Love Us on Yelp!   Like Us on Facebook     Property Search | Featured Listing | Neighborhoods | Home Value | School Score | Property Tax    To access most updated li

So if the banks are now healthy I propose we implement a program to encourage big banks  to get smaller so they’re not too big to fail.   What I recommend is that we reduce or eliminate FDIC for too big to fail banks. Doing so would let consumers decide if they want to keep their money in a “too big to fail bank” or move to smaller bank offering FDIC. The hard part of deciding which banks are too big to fail has already been determined, so now we just need to implement this simple but very effective change. Also I would require all banks to disclose their financials and exposure to very assets classes in the lobby of the bank in electronic form for anyone to peruse.   Insurance encourages people to do unwise things. Eliminating it should create more rational behavior.   -sunil     From DS news   FDIC-Insured Banks Improve Earnings in Q3, 'Problem' List Shrinks FDIC-insured banks continued to show improving health in the year's third quarter, the agency reported Tuesday. Co

I hope you will find the following snapshot of local Real Estate inventory interesting. The table represents aggregated values based on MLS data for the specified date. Housing Inventory Snapshot November 30, 2012   Average List Price Median List Price Average Days On Market Santa Clara County, CA Single Family under $1M $657,783 $649,000 57 Single Family over $1M $2,720,064 $1,899,000 88 Condo/Townhome under $600K $385,592 $385,000 42 Condo/Townhome over $600K $985,838 $799,000 46 San Mateo County, CA Single Family under $1M $672,941 $655,000 51 Single Family over $1M $4,119,810 $2,295,000 88 Condo/Townhome under $600K $444,372 $498,000 95 Condo/Townhome over $600K $866,827 $770,000 46 Santa Cruz County, CA Single Family under $1M $617,641 $619,900 77 Single Family over $1M $2,198,958 $1,654,000 131 Condo/Townhome under $600K $388,424 $369,000 90 Condo/Townhome over $600K $845,575 $775,000 137 Monterey County, CA Single Family under $1M $517,377 $495,000 83 Single Family over $1M $2,

If you keep inventory tight, rates low of course it’s sustainable.   Per DS News   Housing Recovery Is Sustainable, According to Market Analysts Despite a number of potentially damaging headwinds, the ongoing housing recovery will remain sustainable for the foreseeable future, analysts for Capital Economics say in a recently released report. The housing industry's rapid rebound took many experts by surprise--even the researchers who authored the report admit they "have been slightly taken aback" by the recovery's speed. However, they point to several major indicators that show the current upturn is more than a temporary blip or a false recovery. » Read More     SUNIL SETHI REAL ESTATE Helping Families Find Homes with Great Schools in Fremont, Newark and Union City. Love Us on Yelp!   Like Us on Facebook     Property Search | Featured Listing | Neighborhoods | Home Value | School Score | Property Tax    To access most updated listings on MLS from your phone, Dow