February 2008 RSS Feed

The sales statistics for January are now in, so let's take a look and see how the 2008 year in real estate is shaping up for the San Clemente area:

The San Clemente average sales price dropped 13 percent compared to Jan 2007, bringing the average price to $941,872. The number of new listings decreased 32 percent, while sales decreased 27 percent. Meanwhile, the average market time increased 16 percent, with average market times of 116 days vs. 100 days in 2007.

If the gardener in you is itching to compete, you have two opportunites coming up in which to put your landscaping talents to the test. The California Friendly Landscape and Sunset's 2008 Dream Garden Awards are two events in which you can display your horticultural thumb.

California Friendly Landscape focuses on low water landscapes, sustainability, reducing runoff and green waste, organic principles and California-friendly plants, with a $2500 prize.

California Friendly Landscape

• Deadline to enter: April 3
• Website: rogersgardens.com/gardencontest.

The Sunset Dream Garden is about great design ideas, landscapes that function for their intended use, and plants that are appropriate for our climate. the grand prize is $500.

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. . . then this beautiful photo montage will certainly describe the incredible quality of life we enjoy here in San Clemente CA.

Are you ready to make San Clemente your home?  Begin by searching at San Clemente Real Estate, or visit Orange County Real Estate to learn more about our services.  For more personalized service, please call The Hartanov Team at 949-481-3739. 

Good news for homeowners! President Bush signed the economic stimulus package will allow the Federal Housing Administration, as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offer mortgages above the current conforming loan limit of $417,000 to as much as $729,750 in high-cost areas for loans originated between July 1, 2007 and Dec. 31, 2008.

The increases call for raising the conforming loan limits to 125 percent of an area’s median home price capped at $729,750. This should be welcome news for home buyers.

The complete news release can be found by visiting the web site of the  California Association of Realtors.

For more information on how this can benefit  you as a new home buyer, please contact The Hartanov Team at 949.285.3739.

A “buyer’s market” occurs when there are a lot of homes for sale and they are staying on the market for a long time.  During times like this, home buyers are in a great position to negotiate for lower prices and incentives.

The guidelines for buyers' incentives vary among loan options, so make sure to get pre-qualified first so you can ask your loan officer about the allowable incentives for your loan program and down payment.

So, what can you ask for?  Here are some ideas:

If you are putting ten percent or more down, you can ask for up to six percent of the price of the home. If you are putting less than ten percent down, you can ask for three percent of the price.  This “cash back” could be used to cover your non-recurring closing costs…

A crowd of some 3,000 people gathered at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on Wednesday, February 6  to attend the California Coastal Commission meeting where they were to vote on the proposed 241 Toll Road Extension.  The extension would continue the road from Rancho Santa Margarita - Oso Parkway to Hwy 5 just south of San Clemente.  Both supporters and opponents were able to speak.

The Surfride Foundation and The Sierra Club handed out T-shirts with the slogan "Save the Park, Stop the Toll Road".  Supporters contented the road is a vital transportation link for the future.

At sometime past midnight, the 12-member Coastal Commission voted no for the toll road. It appears that supporters of the extension will be forced to appeal the decision to Washington for…

On Tuesday, February 5, San Clemente voters gave a resounding "no" vote to the developers proposal to build build 224-homes on 51 acres at the Pacific Golf Club. The final count of just over 18,000 votes (out of 38,000 registered voters)  was 68.5% -no and 31.5% -yes.

This reverses the City Council decision made late in 2007. Apparently, the public thinks that having open space is important and the traffic issues would be significant if the homes were to be built. The funds that the developer was to contribute toward various potential projects in the city will go by the wayside. Only time will tell now what will happen to the survival of the Pacific Golf Club.