Archive for the ‘Beacon Hill Homes’ Category

Laguna Niguel Homes for Sale

Orange County Foreclosure Sale Report for the City of Laguna Niguel

In the week ending 10/21/2011, there were two Laguna Niguel homes that sold to private party at the foreclosure sale (trustee sale).

The property located at: 24772 RIGGER LAGUNA NIGUEL CA 92677  has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, and has approximately 2000 square feet of living space.  It was built in 1989, and it was sold for $360,000.

The property located at: 25 RED ROCK LN,  LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA 92677  has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, and has approximately 1881 square feet of living space.  It was built in 1989, and it was sold for $421,000.

It is uncertain at this time if the above Laguna Niguel homes were purchased by investors looking to put these homes up for sale shortly or if they were bought by would-be homeowners.  If you would like to find out more information about these two Laguna Niguel properties or any homes for sale in Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo please call Jodi Paris, your Laguna Niguel Real Estate Broker.

 Laguna Niguel homes had an increase of 5.1% rental price increase according to RealFacts.  Aliso Viejo homes had a 1.1% average rent increase. The smallest rental increase was in Mission Viejo where homes rented for just a 0.4% increase.  According to some of my colleagues who are real estate agents in Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo, rental homes in Laguna Niguel and in Aliso Viejo are in very high demand.   

“Rental rates have finally emerged out of a two-year slump that followed the global economic meltdown,” a RealFacts news release said.  It is not just in Orange County, 38 out of 47 US markets had rental increases in home prices.  These rental prices are back to pre-recession levels.

It is amazing in times when mortgage rates are at a low (A 30-year fixed is available at 3.825 percent and a 15-year fixed is available at 3.375 percent) that more homes in Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel are not selling to would be homeowners, but to real estate investors who buy rental properties in Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo.  It costs more to rent a home in Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo than it is to buy a home in Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo. 

Some of the contributing factors might be that the US median income fell 2.3% in 2010 to $49,500 according to a recent CoreLogic report.  Credit scores have also fallen.  Investors with cash and good credit are taking advantage of the low mortgage rates and low pricing and are buying home in Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo, while the average person is having a harder time qualifying since lending has tightened and consumer confidence is way down.

If you are looking for Laguna Niguel homes for sale or Aliso Viejo homes for sale, please contact Jodi Paris, a licensed real estate broker who specializes in Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel homes for sale by calling or texting the phone number listed on this website.

Yes, it is another one of those headlines that make you scratch your heads.  While most Realtors focus on the positive side of the headline – sales jump up 6.5% in Orange County in September when comparing the number of units sold to September 2010 (recent DataQuick survey of OC Homes) .  However, the sad part is that the price of the homes has declined 6.7% on average.  The current median price in Orange County stands at $420,000.  In Laguna Niguel, the median price for a 2 or less bedroom unit is at $460,000.  The median price for a 3 bedroom unit stands at $525,000, and the median price for units that are 4 bedrooms or more stands at $665,000.

An interesting spin of the news is a claim that much of the sales activity was for lower priced homes which in turn pushed the median prices down.  Well, this is a nice spin but unfortunately I see the same model homes that sold for a certain amount a year ago selling for much less now, so I believe that the drop in price is unfortunately real.

It isn’t all gloom and doom though.  I have personally experienced more demand at the lower prices that we reached in September and into October.  In fact the inventory at those price levels is certainly shrinking, and I have represented buyers in multiple offer scenarios on properties that could not get offers in the previous month. 

Although no one can forecast tops and bottoms for any market, I strongly believe that today’s home prices in Laguna Niguel coupled with the amazingly low interest rates presents incredible opportunity for home buyers.  If you just run a quick comparison as to how much house can someone who has $100,000 for a down payment and has net income after all expenses (including property taxes, insurance, etc.) of $86,000 you get about $500,000 on a 30 year fixed loan at current rate ($400,000 loan).  If we compare it to the fixed interest rate of 7.5% (2005-2006 rates), the same buyer would only be able to afford $354,000 ($254,000) loan.

So in a way, the buyer that pays $500,000 for a house, today, would only be able to buy a house for $354,000 back in 2005-2006.  That same house he is buying for $500,000 used to be $900,000 at the height of the market. 

For the same house and with the same $100,000 down payment, the buyer would pay $2086 mortgage today. This buyer would have paid more than $5600 per month for the same house in 2005-2006.  This is why I feel that now, more than ever, it makes sense to buy a house.