Fast Facts

Calif. median home price: August 2010: $318,660 (Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region August 2010: Santa Barbara So. Coast $777,000 (Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region August 2010: High Desert $127,860 (Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index - Second quarter 2010: 64 percent (Source: C.A.R.)

Mortgage rates: Week ending 9/23/2010 30-yr. fixed: 4.37 Fees/points: 0.7% 15-yr. fixed: 3.82% Fees/points: 0.7% 1-yr. adjustable: 3.46% Fees/points: 0.7% (Source: Freddie Mac)

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Short -Term Mortgages

Shorter-term mortgages make sense for some people, not for others

Loans that must be paid off in 15 or 20 years instead of the standard 30 have benefits, but there may be better ways to invest your cash.

Click here to read the full LA Times story

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A Housing Rebound?

A housing rebound? Yes, it’s possible

Despite continued discouraging data from the real estate sector, a few bullish arguments are beginning to emerge. One MIT economist even believes that demand for new homes exceeds residential construction.

Click here to read the full CNN story

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Reverse Mortgage Fees Reduced By 95%

From Clark Howard.com

Reverse mortgage fees reduced by 95%

Reverse mortgage fees have been reduced in the industry, which now makes this usually high-cost option possibly more viable for senior homeowners.

A little background for those who aren't familiar with reverse mortgages. Reverse mortgages can be done by people who own their homes free and clear (or close to it) and need money to live each month. Traditionally, this has been seniors who aren't getting enough from Social Security to meet their monthly bills.

With a reverse mortgage, the bank pays you each month and gets the equity in your home over time. It's something that's appealed to people who are "house rich, cash poor."

The problem with reverse mortgages, however, has been that the fees have been way too high. While you might pay fees of up to 1.5 percent on a typical refinance, a reverse mortgage in the past could easily come with fees of up to 10 percent.

Now the Federal Housing Administration -- the main player behind the scenes for reverse mortgages -- has lowered the fees by 95 percent. That means the fees will be next to nothing. There remains an ongoing insurance fee of a little over one percent annually that you pay to cover the event that you might live a lot longer than they expect.

So the great news is that the huge upfront costs may not be part of the picture when you go to shop. Why "may not" instead of "will not"? Because there is no provision in new rules that prevents a lender from cheating senior citizens. They can front the loan and, instead of passing the savings on to you, they can pile on junk fee after junk fee.

If you're in the market for a reverse mortgage, you need to do your homework beforehand. Clark recommends three steps:

• Thoroughly review the lengthy reverse mortgage guide put out by AARP (regardless of what you think about their politics.)
• Consult Reverse.org for a shortlist of reverse mortgage pros and cons.
• Check with multiple lenders. This the best way to protect yourself from those who would try to fleece you.

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Garage Sale

Your Neighbors Are Having A Garage Sale

This Friday, Saturday & Sunday (Sept. 24-26)
8 am-3 pm

3119 Studebaker Road
(between Wardlow and Spring)

Clothing, toys, videos, books, electronics, furniture, camping gear, lots of sunglasses, record albums, pet cage and toys, golf clubs/balls, briefcase, luggage, and many other items.

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Great Starter Home!

3753 Iroquois
(N/Wardlow & E/Palo Verde)

2 BR / 1 BA / 887 SQFT
$389,900

If you or somebody you know is looking to buy a home, call Bob & Sue today!

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10 Reasons To Buy A Home

Read the Wall Street Journal article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703376504575492023471133674.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond

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Long Beach May Reimurse You To Improve The Exterior Of Your Home

The City of Long Beach has a “Home Improvement Rebate Program” that may reimburse the property owner(s) up to $2000 to improve the exterior of their properties. Please email us and we will send you a copy of the 10 Neighborhood Improvement Strategy (NIS) areas where the property needs to be located. If you have any friends, family or co-workers that live in any of these areas, you may want to forward this email to them.

Watching The Numbers

Watching the number of homes both for sale and in escrow in East Long Beach gives us a barometer on what is happening in our local real estate market. Obviously, a rising number of homes in escrow is a good sign of things. On the other hand, a rising number of homes currently for sale can have a depressing result on prices. We will be constantly watching these numbers and posting them here. As of today the numbers stand at:

Date	Homes On Market	Homes In Escrow
SEP 10	168	83
Apr 20	114	85
Jan 02	77	72
Nov 7	78	78
Oct 21	66	90
Oct 4	73	87
Sept 21	70	86
Sept 03	69	97
Aug 13	76	80
July 14	107	93
July 1	69	98
June 13	77	105
June 8	69	106
May 30	66	102
May 18	59	102
May 10	78	88

Please add your comments and questions below...

Choose Your Neighbor!

Your Neighbors Have Chosen Us To Help Sell Their Home

3148 Iroquois
(N/Spring & E/Palo Verde)
3 BR / 2 BA / 1,870 SQFT
$489,000

If you know anybody looking for a home in your neighborhood, please call Bob & Sue!

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New Listing!

2609 Studebaker Road

3 BR / 2 BA / 1,738 SQFT
$479,000

Please call us for a private viewing.

Paying Off Your Home In 15 Years

Paying off the house in 15 years...

A growing number of homeowners are choosing to pay down their mortgages at a faster rate – even if it means a substantial jump in their monthly payments.

To read the full story, please click here.