August 2008 RSS Feed

The San Clemente average sales price decreased 5 percent in July compared to July 2007, bringing the average price to $890,150. The number of new listings decreased 13 percent, while sales decreased 24 percent. Meanwhile, the average market time increased 33 percent, with average market time of 106 days vs. 80 days in 2007.

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San Clemente	New Listings	Sold Listings	Average Sales Price	Average DOM
July 2008

Have you considered switching to Solar Energy? Now may be the time to take advantage of a new program offered for homeowners in San Clemente.

On Tuesday, August 12, 2008, the San Clemente City Council, by a 5-0 vote, agreed to waive permit fees as an incentive for homeowners to convert to Solar Energy. It is effective immediately. Depending on whether for a solar water heating system or a solar panel electrical system, a permit could range from $230-$430 or even more depending on the scope of the work.

San Clemente Green is one company promoting a program on it's website at  www.SanClementeGreen.org which offers a leasing plan allowing people to pay over time for Solar Energy installations.

San Clemente plans to publicize the waiver and should be…

When deciding where they want to live, San Clemente home buyers are increasingly taking into consideration whether or not there are ‘staycation’ opportunities in the area. Rising gas prices and challenging economic times have made ‘staycation’ this year’s buzz word in travel.   If you haven't heard the term yet, a ‘staycation’ is a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions. No stressful lines or airport delays to deal with!   The emergence of ‘staycations’ is just another reason San Clemente is a home buyers’ dream come true. Just take a look at City of San Clemente website to get a taste of what the city has to offer in the way of recreation:  

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As a long-term investment, homeownership is still one of the best investments for individual households.
 
Everywhere you look, headlines say the housing market is in a free-fall, foreclosures are rising at an alarming rate, and mortgage money is so tight that buyers can’t get a home loan at any price.

In today’s economy, is buying a home and investing in San Clemente real estate a good idea? As a long-term investment, homeownership is still one of the best investments you can make. And the operative word here is “long-term.”

Why is San Clemente real estate a good investment, you ask. The housing market, like all markets, is cyclical and will inevitably have ups and downs. But, homeownership has a track record that is virtually unmatched by any…

President Bush signed into law this week The Housing and Economic Recovery Act. This is the most sweeping change to housing reform since the New Deal of 1934. It is designed to assist more Americans invest in home ownership and shore up the faltering housing and mortgage markets.

Like any legislation, it comes with the good and the bad. I encourage you to write your Congressmen to see if we can get legislation to revoke some of the bad.  For example, effective October 1, 2008, FHA will increase the minimum required down payment from 3% to 3.5% for San Clemente home buyers. The legislation also calls for the elimination of seller down-payment assistance programs such as AmeriDream and Nehemiah by October 1, 2008.

As of July 14, 2008, upfront MIP…

The San Clemente average sales price decreased 7 percent compared to June 2007, bringing the average price to $887,448. The number of new listings decreased 19 percent, while sales decreased only 5 percent. Meanwhile, the average market time increased 5 percent, with average market time of 87 days vs. 83 days in 2007.

San Clemente	New Listings	Sold Listings	Average Sales Price	Average DOM
June 2008	…