Crescent City Real Estate News

Crescent City Real Estate Agent Assists Veteran Home Buyers -

If you are a veteran, thank you for your service to our country.

As the mother of a captain in the army and an Iraqi War Veteran I am proud to assist those who have served our country in the United States Military.

I have experience working with VA programs and the special requirements and documents that can go along with these loans. 

I can recommend lenders who specialize in VA loans and who have a proven track record of professionalism, efficiency and are knowledgeable and capable of completing the VA transaction from start to finish.  Together, we provide you the smoothest home purchase possible.

If you are a veteran home buyer in Del Norte County, please give me a call.  I look forward to making your dream of home ownership a reality.

       

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009--*both in number and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®

*PER CCMLS

Home prices not expected to bounce up...well, duh! -

Why the duh? 

Per RealtyTrac:

• 1 in every 411
  housing units received a foreclosure filing in June 2010

Per HousingWire:

• The level of foreclosures starts in mortgages owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government sponsored enterprises (GSE), is at its highest point ever in 2010 as the rate of new foreclosures continues to increase.

Per the Associated Press:

• Thought the housing crisis was over? Not quite.
• Homes are expected to lose still more value in many metro areas over the next year.
• Parts of the country already pummeled by the housing crisis will be hit hardest.
• Areas that have rebounded or held up well will suffer too.
• The number of homes for sale or headed for foreclosure is so high that economists think prices will be even lower by next July.
• Prices are expected to drop by 2 to 10% in the coming year depending on the area (I think this is still being optimistic.)

I agree it is good to have a positive outlook but am not in the camp that thinks that my positive outlook will overcome the foreclosure effect on the housing market and economy. 

The positive outlook on this situation is this, people are still buying and selling homes.  If you are a first time home buyer who has been priced out of the market, congratulations, call an agent and mortgage broker because you may find you can now purchase a home.  If you have to sell, work with a good agent who FOLLOWS YOUR MARKET and knows the trends and how to price competitively and your home will sell. 

Cal me for you Del Norte County real estate needs.

       

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009--*both in number and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®

*PER CCMLS

Don't change a thing until your escrow closes. 

What does that mean exactly?

• Don't charge anything on your credit cards
  
  
• Don't get married
  
  
• Don't get a divorce
  
  
• Don't purchase a car
  
  
• Don't change jobs
  
  
• Don't start attending school
  
  
• If you're attending school already, don't take out additional student loans
  
  
• Don't borrow any money
  
  
• Don't retire

In short...DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING.

Why not?  Underwriters are checking their list and checking it twice.  It is becoming common for an underwriter to rerun credit and do additional verification of facts right up to funding.  A little change, like deciding to retire or purchasing a car could send your underwriter into paroxysms and bring your escrow to an untimely death.  In order to keep your purchase from becoming a dead escrow, keep your situation, not just financial but everything, the same as it was the day you completed your loan app.  If you HAVE to change something, call your lender and ask how it will effect the loan BEFORE you actually make the change. 

Please take this to heart.  The loan process has become a mine field.  Lenders and banks, once a permissive lot who gave out money to anyone who could fog a mirror have gone to the other extreme and now want documentation, verification, attestation, authentication, certification, confirmation, information and substantiation and they may want it more than once during the loan process. 

To repeat, don't change anything with your life situation during your escrow.  Keep your situation the same throughout the escrow process and things should go relatively smooth at least as far as your qualifying for the loan goes. 

There are other mountains to scale during the escrow process for instance the appraisal...the grand Pooh-Ba of the escrow process.  We'll save appraisal pitfalls for another day.

       

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009--*both in number and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®

*PER CCMLS

Crescent City/Del Norte County Market Report for June 2010 - Encouragement for sellers

I'm going to write an encouraging market report for a change.  Don't get overly excited, however...

The median price was still low at $145,000 for residential listings sold in Del Norte County for June, however, there were 19 sales, the most in one month so far this year and two sales over $300,000, one for $435,000 and the other for $356,000 (an REO).  The home that sold for $435,000 has an ocean view and sold for $115 a square foot, down from the high of a few years ago when ocean view properties were selling in the upper $200's a square foot. 

It shouldn't come as a shock that the Del Norte County real estate market has declined 40% since the high in 2006 and continues it descent.  Sorry I forgot I was writing an encouraging report.

There are currently 291 active residential listings on the market.  At the current rate of 19 sales a month, we have an absorption rate of 15 months, down from the high of 22 months.  If you are selling your home, that should be encouraging. 

However, you knew a "however" was coming, four of those 19 June sales were REO's and 2 were short sales.  These types of sales continue to add to declining home values along with financing that is very difficult to obtain and economic hardships being felt in every sector, including Del Norte County's largest employers, the State of California as well as other government entities.  Employees are getting squeezed at every turn right now, expect one, home prices if you're a buyer! 

Homes in the under $200,000 range are selling at a brisk pace, 74% of June sales, giving first time home buyers a chance at the American dream and investor's a better return on their money than they can get in most venues.  Del Norte County's median price is $229,000. 

Give me a call if you are trying to sell your home, are thinking about selling your home or want to purchase a home.  I am happy to discuss current trends in the Del Norte County real estate market and how you can meet your real estate goals in the current market, even if you need to sell. 

Fran has sold 9.06 of the volume so far in 2010 (next closest agent has sold 6.71), more than any other agent and has sold more listings than any other agent.  Fran attributes this to knowing the Del Norte County real estate market and working full time, being accessible to her clients 40+ hours a week.  Give her a call to reach your real estate goals, even in this market!

       

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009--*both in number and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®

*PER CCMLS

Crescent City/Del Norte County Real Estate Market Report - May 2010

Number of residential sales improved over April 2010 and May 2009 sales, however the median price has dropped 21% from the May 2009 median of $180,000. 

The effect of foreclosures, declining prices, can not be denied. REO (foreclosure) sales comprised 56% of May 2010 sales and 37% of sales so far for 2010.

Upper end sales continue to remain stagnant with only two homes closing in May over $300k and one of those sales was an REO.  So far in 2010 homes $300,000 and over were 11% of total residential sales.

What does it mean?  It's a buyers market and there aren't a lot of buyers.  The buyers that are out there are experiencing a difficult time getting pre-approved (even with the best of credit) and escrows are taking longer than usual to close, upwards of 60 days or more, as well as having to overcome many hurdles along the way, appraisals just to name one. 

If you must sell at this point in time, your home needs to be priced competitively for your price range.  Buyers who do make it successfully through the mine field of pre-qualification expect nothing less than an all out bargain.  If you don't have the stomach for that, you best wait until the market picks up a bit for sellers.  That may be awhile though and prices, in my humble opinion, are going to continue to decline so you better take that into consideration.

I work with quite a few asset managers, the folks banks contract with to liquidate their foreclosures, and they all agree that we have not yet seen even half of the foreclosure inventory hit the market.  Banks seem to be holding onto a great deal of inventory for whatever reason and when these homes do enter the market, they will have a negative effect on home values in their neighborhoods. 

Here is the market at a glance for May, 2010:

• May 2010 median price - $142,500, median price for May 2009 - $180,000
• May average price - $162,306
• Average days on market - 156
• 2 homes sold over $300,000, one of those was an REO
• 56% of May's sales were REO's
• 37% of all 2010 residential sales were REO's
• 2010 average sale - $169,689
• 2010 median sale - $161,000
• 2010 average days on market - 177

If you have questions about pricing your home in this market, please give me a call.  I would be happy to give you current market data for competitively pricing your home.

I have sold more homes, both in volume and number of sales so far in 2010 than any other agent in my market.  The reason, I work full-time, market my properties extensively on the internet and return prospective buyers phone calls and emails quickly.  My goal is to give the best customer service available in Del Norte County.  Please give me a call with your Del Norte County real estate questions.

       

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009--*both in number and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®

*PER CCMLS

Home sellers,

I felt compelled to give a market update, even though we have another two weeks to go until months end, which is when I normally email my market report and update.  The reason is that many sellers are very anxious right now and understandably so.  If your home is priced above $300,000 I don't need to tell you that the market is slow for this segment of the market.  I pulled up all the listings over $300,000 and the average days on market is 270 days!  That's a lot when you consider the average days on market for homes under $300,000 is 174.  If you have sold a home in a sellers market, you now know it is quite a bit different (and a lot more fun) than selling in a buyers market. 
 
I would like to encourage you that RE/MAX and I are doing all that we can to get exposure for your listing.  I personally have virtual tours and/or websites for all my listings, RE/MAX has a billboard south of town and is installing one north of town both on 101 to promote the RE/MAX name.  As the weather improves you will have flyer's at your listing and RE/MAX Coastal Redwoods will keep our office open more hours to be convenient for more buyers.  In addition, you can feel confident that you are being ably represented by a full time agent who is at the office 5-6 days a week, available to potential buyers of your listing.  I am ALWAYS available by phone, text message or email and you can expect a prompt and courteous reply to your inquiries and to your buyers inquiries. 
 
Most buyers of upper end homes ($300k and above) are relocating from outside Del Norte County.  You can feel confident that your home is well represented on the internet.  To test this, just enter your address and city name into Google and see what happens. 
 
The predominant buyers right now are first time home buyers who have been priced out of the market for a very long time and are jumping at the chance to own a home, something many folks never thought possible.  These buyers are, for the most part, using the USDA GRH program, which only finances stick-built homes that are in fairly good condition.  Many of these buyers need the seller to pay for their closing costs in order to complete the transaction, so if you own a home under $250,000, don't be surprised if you are asked to pay these expenses.  The predominant form of financing a manufactured home is FHA which requires 3 to 3.5% down, something many folks have a struggle to come up with.  If the manufactured home has been moved more than once, then the only financing available is conventional with 20% down, something even more folks struggle to come up with.  
 
Most folks that purchase a home above $300,000 in Del Norte County are "move-up" buyers and generally need to sell their home before they can purchase.  These folks want to feel confident in their job, the economy, and their financial situation before making a move, something many of us are struggling with at this point.  My hope is that we will see a more positive economic outlook on the horizon which should spur "move-up" buyers to...well, move-up, giving some relief to the upper end homeowners. 
 
Again, I would like to encourage each of you that RE/MAX Coastal Redwoods and I are doing everything we can to sell your home.  I am available at your convenience to review your pricing information and give you a market comparison specific to your property.  Just give me a call.
 
Thank you again for your confidence in working with RE/MAX Coastal Redwoods.  We truly appreciate your business.
 
Warm regards,

Fran Gatti

       

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009--*both in number and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!

Brought to you by Fran Gatti at  No one works harder for you!  Bus: 707-464-5400, Cell: 707-218-8162 Email: frangatti@remax.net Website: FranGatti.com My Blog: Fran's Blog RDCPro®

*PER CCMLS