July Home Sales Report : The good, The bad and The not so ugly...

by Moureen Hardy
Aug 27th 2010

According to a NAR report published Aug 24th, 2010; nationwide sales of existing homes plummeted by 25.6% from July 09 to July 10. The pronounced decline in resales has been reported for months now and is largely attributed to the ending of the First Time Home Buyer's Income Tax Credit that ended April 2010. According to the NAR report, the reported sales activity of 3.83 million units for July 2010 are some of the lowest monthly numbers reported in fifteen years. 

In Southern California, news were slightly better. Sales of new and existing homes for July 2010 were 18,946. That number of sales is off by 21.4 percent from July 2009 numbers of 24,104  according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego.

The median price paid for a Southland home was reported at $295,000 last month. That was down 1.7 %  from $300,000 in June of this year. The silver lining is that July's median price is up 10.1 percent from $268,000 for July 2009. The calculated low point of the current cycle was $247,000 in April 2009. The high point was $505,000 in mid 2007. The median’s peak-to-trough drop was due to a decline in home values as well as a shift in sales toward low-cost homes, especially foreclosures.

Foreclosure resales accounted for 34.2 percent of the resale market last month, up from 32.8 percent in June but down from 43.4 percent a year ago. The all-time high number of foreclosure sales was February 2009 at 56.7 percent, according to DataQuick.

Common Mistakes of First Time Home Buyers

By: Stephanie Larkin

Buying your first home is exciting. No more rental payments to a landlord making money for someone else. Instead, you are purchasing your own home and investing in yourself. Money paid to your home mortgage is really investing in your future. It is no wonder that first time home buyers are so excited, sometimes so excited that they make mistakes. There are a few common mistakes of first time home buyers, which with some knowledge and direction can be avoided.

First of all, it is always good to research the housing market and see what is out there. Yes, the very first house you look at may look like its perfect, but there are others out there for sale too. Be sure to at least look at a few before deciding on the one you want to buy.

Watch the cost of the home, do not be swayed into thinking that you can not barter down the cost of the house, you probably can.

Insist on a home inspection by a qualified inspector. There are plenty of people who will provide you with a home warranty when you buy their house and try to sway you from having the house inspected.

Having a home warranty is important and many first time home buyers just don't know that they should or could get one when they are buying an older home. Home warranties are not a new product; they've been around for many years, but many people think that they are for new homes only, not realizing that they can be purchased for older homes as well.

A home warranty makes great sense when you are purchasing an older home - you just don't know the house very well until you've lived in it. A home warranty protects first time home buyers from major expenses for repairs and replacements that could come up.
A first time home buyer can make a major mistake if he or she does not understand that if something goes wrong, they are fully responsible to fix it. There is no landlord to call and the costs are all theirs to bear. This is one of the major reasons it is so important to invest in a home warranty when you purchase an older home. If any major repairs need to happen, most often the home warranty will cover the costs, making owning a home much more feasible.

Choosing the right home to purchase

Here are some tips to help determine which house is best for you.
Once you've settled on a couple of preferred neighborhoods for your home search, it's time to pick out a few homes to view. Having a house features “wish list” keeps you focused on which features are most important to you.
When narrowing down your home search, consider the following:

How First Time Home Buyer Loans Work

By Justin Pritchard, About.com

First time home buyer loans allow buyers to get into a house more easily. However, just because you’re a first time home buyer doesn’t mean you should use a first time home buyer loan. These programs have restrictions and strings attached. While they are a perfect fit for some, first time home buyer loans are the wrong choice for others.

What is a First Time Home Buyer Loan?

A person’s first home purchase is a big deal. It takes time, energy, and money. To help with the money hurdle, some people use first time home buyer loans. These programs vary depending on where they’re offered, but the general idea is this: first time home buyer loans give financial assistance to qualified borrowers. They may do this in the following ways:

• Allow for a very low (or no) down payment
• Subsideze interest costs (they pay all or part of it)
• Offer grants
• Forgive loans
• Limit fees that lenders are allowed to charge
• Defer payments

Who Gets First Time Home Buyer Loans?

As you might imagine, individuals who have never owned a home are good candidates. In addition, some programs offer first time home buyer loans to people who have not found a home within the last three years. Again, check to see what’s available to you.

You may have to meet certain income restrictionsto qualify for a subsidized first time home buyer loan. In general, these programs try to limit benefits to people with low and moderate income levels. If you earn too much, you won’t qualify for the program.