Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 61
Let’s say that your home is in the perfect location, you've already updated the interiors to raise your property's value and painted your doors and interiors in popular, sought-after colors. What else can you do to squeeze out an even bigger payday once you decide to sell? It's time to turn your attention to landscaping. But landscaping can be very expensive. Several years ago, when I investigated doing a backyard makeover, I interviewed a landscape engineer who came highly r... Full story
Here’s a blinding flash of the obvious, Fallbrook and much of North County is rural country, and rural areas have different concerns than do coastal and other developed “lot and block” neighborhoods. In established neighborhoods, there isn’t much concern about encroachment since the structures and lot lines will have been approved by reviewing authority when the real estate development map was created and approved. To make the point, my partner and I have two active escrows... Full story
I get this question a lot; are we in a seller’s market, a buyer’s market, or a neutral market? The follow-up question inevitably is, what is the market going to do? To that question, I generally respond that if I knew that answer with certainty, I’d be a rich man today. Here’s what I do know however (let’s see if these statistics are meaningful to everyone). As of Friday afternoon, June 23, there were 108 active listings in 92028 across all categories (manufactured homes, co... Full story
Prices have not been falling as many economists forecasted, but increasingly we are seeing offers come in somewhat less than full price and without the level of competition previously witnessed. Inventory very gradually has been increasing, but we are not seeing the normal “spring bloom.” For the first time in months, there are more homes available for sale than there are in escrow. Prices, interest rates, inflation, concerns about the economy and, lately, rising une... Full story
Presents: The end of the remodeling boom? By Melissa Dittmann Tracey A slowdown in renovation projects is settling in after a pandemic-fueled boom, but there are plenty of reasons why the pullback may not last long. During the pandemic, Americans became ultra-focused on upgrading their homes, taking on remodeling and DIY projects in record numbers. But as recession fears mount, more homeowners are putting on the brakes and showing less willingness to dole out large amounts of... Full story
If the game of chicken over the debt ceiling leads the U.S. to default on its obligations, mortgage rates could leap above 8%, Zillow recently warned. Even if a debt ceiling crisis is avoided, there’s talk the Federal Reserve may keep raising rates to fight inflation. Bond market investors always look ahead, so mortgage rates are on the ascent and approaching 2023 highs. With would-be homebuyers already coping with inventory shortages, purchase loan requests dropped 4% last w... Full story
In preparation to write this article every week, I do a lot of reading and sometimes I “borrow” other’s writings if they are salient. Much discussion has been had about the recent prime interest rate increases and what the Federal Reserve will do during the upcoming June meeting. As discussed below, Fed member Lori Logan from Dallas is of the belief that more interest rate hikes are needed which a lot of us feel isn’t the right approach now particularly in view of the number... Full story
I came upon this information on the San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/Clerk website. Since we have a high number of veterans in our market and likely a high number with service-related disabilities, I decided this information might be valuable either to the disabled veterans and/or to spouses of disabled veterans. I copied and pasted the General Info section and the FAQs (frequently asked questions) as these seemed the most salient. People seeking additional information... Full story
Some might ask; Bob, is this article timely? 1031 Exchanges are not snap decisions, they require deliberate thoughtful action. Plus, the mortgage interest rates will come down so future purchases won’t feel so daunting; good planning will save capital gains taxes. My articles are about education and awareness, not about selling. By Alicia Tuovila and other internet sources With appreciated stock, you can sell your shares over a number of years to spread out the capital g... Full story
As reported by Don Nichols of Inman News on April 18, amid a slower market and an internal pivot, iBuying giant Opendoor on Tuesday, April 18, announced that it was laying off 22% of its workforce. In total, the company cut 560 positions, according to a statement Opendoor provided to Inman. The cuts, which were announced internally April 18, primarily focused on operations roles. In the statement, a company spokesperson described the move as a “very difficult decision” but sai... Full story
The below article was written by Ben Verde who is a staff writer for Inman News, one of the most respected real estate news sources in America. My article last week dealt with this subject on the micro level of Fallbrook-Bonsall plus a mention that all North County markets were experiencing the same phenomenon, stable prices despite ominous predictions of dramatically falling prices. Verde’s article describes the same thing but treats it from a macro perspective of the e... Full story
Like many people, I have been reading about falling real estate prices across our great nation and especially in California. The idea of falling prices though, seems so foreign given the 2-year super-hot real estate market that ended in June-July 2022, and which came to a screeching halt October 2022 due to the Federal Reserve continuously ratcheting up the federal funds interest rates to combat inflation, which drove mortgage interest rates up to 7.3% that month. Consensus... Full story
Never let a crisis go unutilized; in every crisis there is opportunity. Three failed banks this week, including the number 2 and 3 largest banks in the country. Silicon Valley Bank failed due to funding volatile high tech start-ups and the falling value of bonds, purchased when interest rates were near zero. Bond values have been diminishing due to the Federal Reserve’s rapid and aggressive raising of the prime interest rate to combat inflation, but which causes devaluation o... Full story
As we live in the unincorporated area of North San Diego County and, as our basis was originally in agriculture, our real estate concerns are different than suburban areas. This article will topically address some of the areas that local real estate professionals are concerned about and will hopefully demonstrate why employing local real estate professionals makes sense. Local area knowledge: Areas of building challenges like clay soil, large concentration of boulders, steep... Full story
Now that spring is in the air (along with a lot of moisture) people are increasingly expressing interest in entering the real estate market as buyers. If the Federal Reserve is successful in calming inflation, then mortgage interest rates ought to start a downward trend toward the 5% range when industry “experts” think there will be a surge of real estate interest. Accordingly, if there might be a real estate transaction in your future, smart money says to be ready for it by... Full story
At our local area marketing meeting Wednesday morning, it was disclosed that there were an equal number of homes pending as there were active listings; this means there is a paltry one-month supply of homes on the market. In a healthy market we’d see 4-6 months’ supply on the market. With this statistic in mind, any hope of meaningful price reductions appears unlikely; this kind of imbalance exerts upward pressure on prices. Which defies what we have been hearing from nat... Full story
If there aren’t enough resale homes on the market then the next logical discussion is, what about buying raw land and building a new custom home which meets all your wants and needs? I represented a great local builder for over 12 years who taught me so much about the concerns of new construction, and I’ll pass along some of the bullet points associated with building new construction in this article. I will identify wavetop issues and if it whets an appetite within you to con... Full story
Below is a good article which seems to bode well for the real estate market in the near future, perhaps even spring of 2023. After interest rates peaked in October 2022 above 7%, the market slowed to a crawl. The numbers of transactions fell noticeably, which coupled with seasonably slow periods over the holidays, caused near panic in the minds of buyers and sellers alike. Inflation was at a 40-year high which further undermined consumer confidence. The good news is that... Full story
I read the article below and I’m not surprised given the level of “craziness” in the real estate market the last 2 ½ years. Buyers were in a frenzy to purchase homes and were willing to remove their contingencies (protections) with the submission of their offers. Once the offers were accepted (always above list price and in competition with multiple other offers) buyers were happy that they “won.” Buyers made their purchase decisions based on their own assumption... Full story
The IRS Code Section 1031 exchange allows an investor to trade real estate held for investment for other investment real estate and incur no immediate tax liability. Under Section 1031, if you exchange business or investment property solely for a business or investment property of a like-kind, no gain or loss is recognized until the newly acquired property is sold. IRS Code Section 1031 will not allow the avoidance of capital gains taxes in all cases. The exchange of U.S. real... Full story
In preparation to write this column every week I do a lot of reading and research. I read this article and thought “Wow, he’s ever more optimistic than I am” and he invited me to share his article. Enjoy! Sign of the times: What the market could be signaling Peter Prudden It’s apparent that housing has started to take it on the chin as the Fed hits the brakes hard and fixed mortgage rates have surged. Home sales are slumping and house prices have started to roll over; clearly... Full story
Over the past few weeks, publicly traded real estate companies revealed how much money they made or lost between July and September, which was one of the most tumultuous times in recent housing history. Though mortgage rates have been rising for much of the year, they shot up past 6% during the third quarter, which at the time was a stunning development and far above what most experts had predicted at the beginning of 2022 when interest rates languished in the 3%... Full story
Oh, the difference six months can make! Our local real estate market went from a slam seller’s market to a neutral-bordering-on-a-buyer’s market starting in May 2022 when the effects of rising inflation and soaring interest rates were starting to become apparent. These factors resulted in some buyers no longer loan qualified and/or no longer having the will to compete for real estate purchase. Discouraged, many buyers were frozen in place. Additionally, world events and unc... Full story
Bob Hillery CR Properties By the time this article is published, Veterans Day will have passed a week ago but it's never too late to thank veterans for their service to our great nation. Whether a veteran served 3 years or 30+ years, all gave some and some gave all; our great nation owes a debt of gratitude for all veterans’ contributions. That said, it’s a great segue to a discussion about the Veterans Administration loan for military active duty, reserves and veterans who... Full story
I heard some interesting remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. I am in disagreement that the $16B in aid to Ukraine is the reason for our current high inflation though; we had fuel and transportation expenses rising well before the Russian invasion due to policy decisions at the national level. Our deficit for 2022 is $1.35T which well dwarfs the amount we have spent overseas to help a country maintain their freedom. To make such a statement sounds like a... Full story
