News of the HomeFront

The number of active listings for the month of October are again much less than the previous month of September. Further compared to 2010, October they are decreased about 25%. If you are a seller, this is good news, less competition. This is probably due again to slow processing of foreclosure properties/short sales by the banks.That trying time between opening your home to buyers to view and receiving the funds from the sale has lessened a bit too. Now it is down to 125 days from listing to close as opposed to last months figure of 135 days.The BOM'D ratio (escrows that opened but did not close) has come down to 1:2.5. Good news again unless you happen to be one of those that fell out of escrow. That is a very emotional time for all involved. The most common reason is that the buyer, despite being a pre approved buyer, they did not qualify for the loan. Either the guidelines from Fannie/Freddie changed or they had a financial setback like, i.e., losing a job, medical problem. No one feels good after an escrow fails......including the agents.

Tips to buyers and sellers:

Recently lowered conforming loan limits are making getting loans harder. It is probably going to  impact the real estate market recovery in this area of the United States. They were lowered proportionately across states/counties. Our area was given the highest it can be but it still is much less than most home loans for this area. That translates to higher interest for a home in that price range and thus makes fewer buyers able to qualify for purchase. One of our Senators, Diane Feinstein,  has introduced a bill for the new year to be considered. It would raise our limits back up. Let her know how you feel and give her the support to get tough for us by contacting her at her LA office number 310-914-7300.