San Jose Real Estate * REALTOR ® * Richard Gonzalez » Real Estate

Silicon Valley Foreclosure Inventories Record Low; How Does This Impact Your Home Search?

Richard Gonzalez — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:28:49 +0000

Forclosureradar.com posted its most recent findings today indicating that Bank Owned inventory continues to tighten. Furthermore the report indicates that California is among the high foreclosure activity states that is seeing a slowdown in foreclosure inventories. Santa Clara County bank owned inventories have slipped to a new low of 1939 for February 2012 as compared to the previous year.

06085 – Foreclosure Inventories

Bank Owned

Bank owned activity has certainly made it easier for investors to benefit from the foreclosure activity while first time home buyers have had little luck in competing with investors to pick up these opportunities. The map below shows the bank owned inventory as of today for the City of San Jose alone. There are more than 7,000 properties that are 90 days or more in the foreclosure process for Santa Clara County.

Impact on your home search

For this reason I continue to think that short sales are the best opportunity for patient home buyers who want a good deal and are willing to work within the constraints of short sale timelines.

Relates article:The Foreclosure Report – February 2012

2011 Q4 Data Reveals what it takes for First Time Homebuyers to Buy a Home in Santa Clara County

Richard Gonzalez — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:26:40 +0000

The California Association of REALTORS® affordability report for Q4 is out and 64 percent of Santa Clara County residents have the ability to buy a home based on these numbers.

The Numbers for Santa Clara County

64 percent of Santa Clara County homeowners are able to afford a home
$466,650 is the entry level price
$2,300 Monthly payment
$68,880 minimum income to qualify

See full articles here:

C.A.R. Affordability index Q4 2011

First-time Buyer Housing Affordability Index Methodology

Bay Area home sales mostly up although prices fall. (mercurynews.com)

Bank Foreclosures in San Jose Increase From 2011 Low; is this The Year Banks Give Up On Homeowners?

Richard Gonzalez — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:58:02 +0000

The Latest Foreclosure data shows December being one of the lowest foreclosure months on record, but is this the calm before the storm? Take a look at December 2011 data showing 79 foreclosures(red).

San Jose,CA – Foreclosure Outcomes

Bank of America May Lead The Way!

Image via Wikipedia

A San Francisco Times article published late last year pointed to data by foreclosureradar.com showing significant foreclosure activity by Bank of America.

Read Article here: Bank of America said to fuel big increase in California foreclosures

Related articles

Mortgage deal means more foreclosures (money.cnn.com)

Why the City of San Jose has Money Burning in Their Pockets For Homebuyers

Richard Gonzalez — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:19:53 +0000

The City of San Jose Housing Department And Housing Trust of Santa Clara County are in the final stretch to use up all of the 23 Million award given through the National Stabilization Program part two. The second round of these dollar have been earmarked for revitalization of communities affected by foreclosures and to assist homebuyers purchase a home.

Who is Involved?

The Housing Trust of Santa Clara County is responsible for the distribution and education of these funds along with the Housing department for the City of San Jose. Although the City of San Jose is driving this opportunity to targeted areas the Santa Clara County Housing Trust is charged with educating the community. Other organizations involved in this effort are Neighborhood Housing Services, www.recovery.gov and NHORA(The National Hispanic Organization of Real Estate Associates).

Whats in it For the Public?

Opportunity to not only become a homeowner but also to begin the recovery of the housing market in Santa Clara County. Economists do tend to agree that the recover of the housing market will start in the Silicon Valley primarily because of Facebook and Google’s continued growth. In fact most of Santa Clara County is dealing with a housing shortage and multiple offers for home buyers.

Who Can Qualify?

There are income limitations to qualifying for these programs among them is the Purchase Assistance Loan(PAL).

	Maximum Income by Household Size — FY2012
Household Size	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Income Limit	$ 88,200	$ 100,800	$ 113,400	$ 126,000	$ 136,100	$ 146,150	$ 156,250	$ 166,300

Some of the guidelines include the following;

You do not have to be a First-Time Homebuyer to qualify, however you must live in the home as your primary residence.
Purchase price of home must be 1% below appraised fair market value.
You must complete an 8 hour HUD approved Homebuyer Education class.
Property is subject to environmental review and home inspection by the City of San Jose.

How To Get More Information?

Contact the Housing Trust Of Santa Clara County for more information http://www.housingtrustscc.org/

Class registration contact: jeanette@housingtrustscc.org

Foreclosure Data May 2011; Time to Foreclosure Climbs to 341 Days in Santa Clara County

Richard Gonzalez — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:45:23 +0000

May Foreclosure data didn’t show much of a difference other than the continued climb to a one year average from the time of a default to sale date. This trent continues to show evidence that foreclosure modification efforts and short sales are allowing homeowners more time to help them stay in their homes.

06085 – Foreclosure Inventories

Foreclosure inventories stayed steady with little change to the amount of people who defaulted on their loans(green) and even less sale activity(blue). This is the first month that showed 0% activity in REO inventory levels(red).

06085 – Foreclosure Filings

Notice of sales increased(blue) while people who received a notice of default fell slightly(green).

06085 – Foreclosure Outcomes

Cancellations fell last month reducing the amount of foreclosure postponements for people currently in default(grey). Postponements(cancellations) are a good indicator of modification and short sale activity. The number of properties going back to the banks as a result of a sale increased slightly(red).

06085 – Time to Foreclose

The average time a homeowner had before losing their home to foreclosure has continued its steady climb and is close to one year(green). Bank are taking an average of 200 days to sell properties(red).

NACA Non Profit in San Jose This Week to Help Modify Your Loan

Richard Gonzalez — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 18:01:47 +0000

Project Homeowner

I’m sure by now you must have heard some news about a foreclosure prevention event going on in downtown San Jose this week but do these guys really help where most people have run into decline after decline to a modification request. I can’t really say that NACA will save your home from foreclosure but what I can tell you is what I have seen in my own experience with Project Homeowner.

Project Homeowner

A few years ago the Department of Real Estate and CHASE got together to create a traveling foreclosure prevention roadshow very similar to what you now see on a regular basis at events like the NACA one in San Jose.

What has changed from few years ago is the investors willingness to participate in such events by allowing the borrower to modify.
What hasn’t changed are the general guidelines of most investors and that is “Does this modification help the homeowner?”.

Project homeowner was revolutionary because it was able to bring the big lenders to the table (CHASE, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, etc…) and a few years ago lenders did not have staff on the ground to accommodate this need.

What NACA brings to the table

One of the reasons NACA has had much success nation wide is because of the media attention and I would imagine the lenders looking for an opportunity to create positive public relations impact with it’s homeowners.

Some things never change

The bottom line is this;

If the lender owns the note(your loan) then your chances of a modification increase greatly. If an outside investor owns the note the bank must ask for investor for approval in order to modify your loan.
Either way this scenario has not changed from past years and can dramatically increase your chances of a successful modification.

It doesn’t hurt to try

I received a call from a client over the weekend asking me if they should try to modify though NACA and may answer was “absolutely yes”. The great thing about this event is that most of the big lenders have staff to help escalate your situation to a level where the decision makers can help you get to your goal.

NACA Foreclosure Prevention infomration:

https://www.naca.com/index_main.jsp

April Foreclosures; Silicon Valley Showing a Slowdown in Foreclosure While Short Sales and Mods Are Working

Richard Gonzalez — Wed, 18 May 2011 13:00:09 +0000

06085 – Foreclosure Filings

Foreclosure Filings* have dropped over since February as shown by the Notice of Sale indicator down 32% from the previous year.

06085 – Foreclosure Outcomes

Foreclosure Outcomes* show cancellations are way up over the previous year possibly fueled by successful short sales. My own experience tells me that modifications made up a very small percentage of these cancellations. REO indicator also shows that properties are not going back to bank compared to the previous year again fueling my thought that properties are having success in short sale and modification attempts.

06085 – Foreclosure Inventories

2011 Foreclosure Inventories* have stayed steady with a steady drop in scheduled sale dates possibly fueled by modifications or short sales.

06085 – Time to Foreclose

Foreclosure Timeframes*
The interesting fact about this chart is how many months it’s taking for a bank to foreclose compared to the previous year there are clear signs that banks are moving though the foreclosure process much faster 5.97% compared to 21.66% from the previous year.

*Foreclosureradar.com

Santa Clara County Foreclosures, Bank Owned Homes, Short Sales (foreclosureradar.com)

Silicon Valley Affordable Index Q1 2011; New Numbers on What it Takes to Buy in San Jose

Richard Gonzalez — Tue, 17 May 2011 17:42:58 +0000

The California Association of REALTORS® have released the affordability numbers for the state of California and among them is the very expensive bay area and Santa Clara County is among them. Here is what they found.

In Santa Clara County only 37% of the population can afford to buy a home at the $545,000 median range.
The required take home to purchase is $117,630.
Your monthly payment will be around $2,940.

The Chart below shows the cost of home ownership in California.

C.A.R. releases Q1 2011 Housing Affordability Index (car.org)

March – April Market Update; Santana Row Area Selling in Less than 30 Days

Richard Gonzalez — Sat, 14 May 2011 19:24:37 +0000

Check out my video update for the Santana Row area neighborhoods. Find out how long it takes to sell a home in these neighborhoods and what the market is telling us about the recent sales.

Sold Data*

(See Video update)

Available Properties Data*

Total Avilable Properties: 104

Total Available Days on Market: 93

Average List Price: $647,847

Accepted Offers (Pending Properties)*

Total Accepted Offers(in contract): 87

Average Days on Market: 67

Average List price for accepted offers: $499,633

Median List price for Available and Accepted offers: $574,800*

* Source: mlslistings.com

Silicon Valley Affordable Housing Week; Crucial New Facts About Available Programs and Assistance

Richard Gonzalez — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 19:42:38 +0000

Affordable housing and down payment and assistance programs are changing with the state budget deficit and elimination of the San Jose Redevelopment department.

First time homebuyers are now forced to look at the remaining Down Payment Assistance Programs(DAP) available though the rest of this year and for the foreseeable future.

The Santa Clara County Housing Trust has created a week long program to help you navigate through all the changes and help people in need of housing information. Among them we still have access to the 23 Million dollar grant for affordable housing and stabilization of the Santa Clara County communities.

Here is a list of available programs during affordable housing week.

Saturday, April 30

All day: Rebuilding Together Day of Service – Home Rehabilitation for Seniors, Disabled and Families.

(Multiple sites in Santa Clara County) Contact: bjackson@rebuildingtogether-sv.org

10am – 6pm: 8-Hour Homebuyer Education Class, Project Sentinel

(San Jose) Rose Garden Library, 1580 Naglee Ave., San Jose.

Contact: mediate4us@housing.org

Tuesday, May 3

11am – MidPen Housing Fair Oaks Plaza Construction Tour. (Sunnyvale)

660 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086.

Contact: kish@midpen-housing.org

1pm – 2pm; Palo Alto Housing Corp., tour of the Tree House. (Palo Alto)

(currently under construction, hard hat area), 488 W. Charleston Road, Palo Alto, CA.

Contact:cgonzalez@paloaltohousingcorp.org

6pm – 8pm: NHSSV Class, Foreclosure Intervention & Loan Modification.

(San Jose) Roosevelt Community Center, 901 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose, CA 95116.

Contact: jangulo@nhssv.org

Wednesday, May 4

8:30am to 3pm: Silicon Valley Housing Summit at Oshman Community Center (Palo Alto)

3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto, CA. Hosted by Silicon Valley Leadership Group & Housing Trust of Santa Clara County. Contact: http://housingsummit2011.eventbrite.com

6pm – 8pm: Housing Trust of Santa Clara County, NSP Workshop (San Jose)

Santa Teresa Library, 290 International Circle, San Jose. Contact: Dan@housingtrustscc.org

6pm: South County Housing, Housing Fair (Morgan Hill)

Jasmine Square Community Rm., 16530 Monterey Rd., Morgan Hill, CA. Showcasing Madrone Plaza & Alexander Place. Contact: Robyn@scounty.com

Thursday, May 5

12pm – 1pm: Habitat for Humanity Construction Tour (Morgan Hill)

16804 Cory Drive, Morgan Hill, CA. Contact: espaulding@hfhsv.org

3pm – 5pm: Affordable Housing Resource Fair (Cupertino)

West Valley Community Services, 10104 Vista Dr., Cupertino, CA 95014
Contact:sarons@wvcommunityservices.org

6pm – 8pm: NHSSV Class, Homebuyer (San Jose)

Education & Orientation
Roosevelt Community Center, 901 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose, CA 95116
Contact:jangulo@nhssv.org

Friday, May 6

10am-11am: InnVision Villa Tour, (San Jose)

184 S. 11th St., San Jose, CA 95112. Contact:jburkhead@innvision.org

1pm – 2pm: Family Supportive Housing, Charities Housing & the Core Companies Three-Site Tour (San Jose)

686 N. King Rd. (Park on Dobbin St. at King). Showcasing Family Supportive Housing, Kings Crossing & Belovida. Contact:fwright@charitieshousing.org

Saturday, May 7

9am – 12 noon: First-time Homebuyer Seminar & Resource Fair, SILVAR & City of Cupertino Cupertino Community Hall, (Cupertino)

10350 Torre Avenue Cupertino, CA 95014. Contact: verag@cupertino.org

For the most up to date information: http://www.housingtrustscc.org/news-events/events.php