February 2011 RSS Feed

You now can view only new listings within the last 7-days on a single page for each listed city on The Hartanov Team real estate web site.  New listing pages also have a New Listing banner if the listing is new within the last 3-days. Banners also show if the property is a Short Sale or Bank Owned.  The new listing information is updated throughout every day, so it is always current information. You can see the exact number of days on market (DOM) on each property details page.

Take a look at San Clemente new listings.  New listing pages are also available for Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Ladera Ranch, San Juan Capistrano and Talega which can be viewed at Orange County newest listings last 7-days.

You can also search for new…

The Beaches, Parks and Recreation Commission approved the second planning phase for the state-of-the-art playground known as Courtney's SandCastle slated for the under-construction La Pata-Vista Hermosa Park.

The Sandcastle is a universal playground which will be developed as a part of the Vista Hermosa/La Pata Community Park. It will serve both special need children and adults as well as able bodied children. The Parks Foundation, the City of San Clemente, and the Junior Women’s Club came together in 2004 to build the playground, originally planned for Steed Park.

The Sandcastle is named for Courtney Faye Smith who has been confined to a wheelchair because of a rare muscular degenerative disease – Spinal Muscular Atrophy. When Courtney and her…

If you are among those who received a tax credit of up to $7500 when you purchased your Orange County home in 2008, you are now required to begin repaying that credit with this year’s tax return. The entire amount is payable in 15 equal annual installments.

The IRS is sending letters of explanation of the repayment procedure to all taxpayers who claimed the credit in 2008. Generally speaking, all first-time 2008 home buyers will need to pay an additional $500 on their taxes from 2010 to 2025, provided the house is not sold before then and remains the owner’s primary residence.

If you sell your Orange County home before 2025, any profits will first go to paying back the tax credit in full. If you sell at a loss, the difference will be forgiven,…

San Clemente residents and business owners are being asked to conserve water during a nine-day shutdown of the Diemer Filtration Plant, which supplies 85 percent of San Clemente's water.

The plat will undergo upgrades and improvements for a new ozone treatment system. City and plant officials are urging those in San Clemente to watch their water usage more so than usual from February 26 to March 6.

Here are 25 ways to conserve water in your home and yard:

Water conservation in the home...

1. Check faucets and pipes for leaks

2. Don't use the toilet as an ashtray or wastebasket

3. Check your toilets for leaks

4. Use your water meter to check for hidden water leaks

5. Install water-saving shower heads and low-flow faucet aerators

6. Put plastic bottles or float…

FHA is changing AGAIN! As of April 18th, FHA is increasing their monthly mortgage insurance premiums.  What this means for Orange County home buyers is you may not be able to qualify for as much home…especially if you are pushing the maximum limits to begin with.

Here’s an example. On a $180,000 loan amount, the current monthly mortgage insurance is $135 per month.  After April 18th, that increases to $172.50 per month.  $37.50 is not a huge difference, but certainly something to be aware of!

If you are buying a home this spring you will save on your monthly payment by having a contract and your loan in place before April 18th. Confused? Have questions? Need help with your Orange County home purchase? Give us a call…we can help!

Home sales rose sharply in the final three months of 2010, mostly due to more stable prices, according to a report from CNN.com. Sales jumped 15.4% in the fourth quarter to an annual rate of 4.8 million units compared with 4.16 million units during the third quarter of 2010. Prices of single-family homes stabilized, rising 0.2% compared with 12 months earlier and the national median for homes sold during the period was $170,600.

"Home sales clearly recovered in the latter part of 2010, and are helping to absorb the inventory, including many distressed properties," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors.

Let’s compare January 2011 to January 2010 San Clemente home sales to see what improvement has taken place in our…

Home sales rose sharply in the final three months of 2010, mostly due to more stable prices, according to a report from CNN.com. Sales jumped 15.4% in the fourth quarter to an annual rate of 4.8 million units compared with 4.16 million units during the third quarter of 2010. Prices of single-family homes stabilized, rising 0.2% compared with 12 months earlier and the national median for homes sold during the period was $170,600.

"Home sales clearly recovered in the latter part of 2010, and are helping to absorb the inventory, including many distressed properties," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors.

Let’s take a look at Orange County real estate market statistics for January.

Orange County Home Sales - January…

California residents and business owners affected by the winter storms can access low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Read the article from the San Clemente Times with more information:

The agency declared a disaster following the denial of the state’s request for a major disaster declaration. The disaster declaration includes Orange County as well Inyo, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.

The time period for the flooding was designated as December 17 through January 4.

“The U. S. Small Business Administration is strongly committed to providing the most effective and customer-focused response possible to assist those residents and businesses…

The California Association of Realtors@ closely monitors and analyzes trends in the residential real estate industry. The table below contains the latest reported existing home sales series, median home prices, unsold inventory index, median time on market, first-time buyer housing affordability index, and the latest mortgage rates.

 

January 2011 statistics show San Clemente had 96 new foreclosures with an average foreclosure sales price of $602,625 vs. an average sales price of $690,211, according to RealtyTrac.com, resulting in a $87,586 savings.

There were 52 new foreclosures in the 92673 zip code and 44 new foreclosures in 92672, for a total of 96 new foreclosures in San Clemente. 1 in every 230 housing units received a foreclosure filing in January.

San Clemente Foreclosure Geographical Comparison

The San Clemente foreclosure rate was 0.24% above national rates, 0.06% below California rates, and 0.09% above Orange County rates in January.

San Clemente Foreclosures By Month

The number of bank-owned homes increased from 8 homes in December to 14 homes…