Well, as the summer comes closing in, we continue tracking the real estate market and statistics in the city of Laguna Niguel.  Generally, we’ve been optimistic about the market place and about inventory over the summer, and honestly we still are!  (The picture looks different…)

At this point, inventory is on the rise - this is dangerous for Sellers, since increasing inventory brings increasing competition in attracting buyers, and this means that Sellers are truly in a beauty contest and a price war! 

The inventory this week is very precise - there are 417 Active Listings in Laguna Niguel.  Of those active listings, there are 296 Regular Sales, and 121 Short Sales. 

There are 200 In Escrow listings, of which only 74 are Regular Sales.  There are 126 Short Sales in Escrow. 

The monthly inventory (the number of months to sell all active listings if no other homes were listed), therefore, is 296/74 = 4 MONTHS OF INVENTORY exactly.

The inventory has therefore increased by approximately 18% - this makes for a much softer market as the number of motivated sellers increases.  This is to be expected since the market has increased, allowing a number of sellers to sell without taking a loss, which has opened the door for more listings.

As a buyer, the time is ripening - keep watching for good deals!

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Just a brief reminder:

If you or someone you know is looking for a home with a panoramic ocean view in a great location in Laguna Beach, we have a spectacular listing down that way, and the views are unreal - panoramic from north coast all the way down past south Laguna, plus a canyon view - and all of this space and without any steps, making this home a super unique opportunity.

Plus the 2700 square feet of living space and the shocking price tag of 1,330,000 makes this the best buy in Laguna Beach!  Call for a showing!!

THE BEST BUYS ALWAYS COME WHEN OTHERS ARE NERVOUS OR CAN’T BUY. 

Check out this mortgage advice.  See the linked article on mortgage rates and new loan regulations.  Apparently some banks are offering “deeds in lieu” to more distressed homeowners.  For most short sales are a good option.

When you are ready to buy or sell be sure to call the JonRon RE Team at Keller Williams Realty.

BE THANKFUL FOR YOUR FREEDOMS THIS WEEKEND AND BE THANKFUL TO THE ONE WHO GIVES THEM.

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A Picture is Worth….

When we take a new listing, sellers often ask us how we take photos - this is a very important topic.  Pictures of a listing will make ALL the difference.  This did not use to be the case (any of you old-tyme Realtors remember the Multiple Listing Book??).  It used to be that we could just take a front photo and that would suffice, but times have changed!  Why?  The internet makes EVERYTHING different.

Photos are a very important part of sales - the latest statistics indicate that over 90% of home buyers look on the internet FIRST before looking with an agent at the properties they’ve selected.  This is an important change - the internet provides immediate access to information about listings and also provides the opportunity for buyers to preview homes without leaving their chairs.  Now, rather than having to rely on agents to find homes, buyers can find, preview and select homes 24 hours a day. 

The Realtor you hire should be taking advantage of this fact - the market is such that buyer foot-traffic is a necessary ingredient for a sale at a good price.  With the VAST majority of buyers looking on the internet, the best way to reach them, and to bring them into your house, is by making their preview an enjoyable experience - the only way to do that is with fantastic photos taken by a professional with the right camera.

Check out the difference between these two photos:

1. Professional -

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2. Self-made -

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What’s the difference?  Same kitchen, but a wide-angle lens, lighting effects, positioning, etc.  What difference does it make to you?  A TON!  A listing with photos like #1 will bring buyers to see - a listing with photos like #2 will bring fewer.

So what is the moral?  Hire a realtor who goes the extra mile to take excellent photos - its worth every penny….and thousands more!

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We don’t generally like to toot our own horn.  In fact, success and awards are funny things because you receive them AFTER the work is done, so in some ways, they are DE-motivating.  However, given the excitement this stirred for our team this year, we thought we’d share the exciting news with everyone. 

The numbers for the first quarter are out and the JonRon Real Estate Team ranked #28 NATIONALLY for the Keller Williams company.  That may not mean much until you realize that Keller Williams is the third largest real estate company in the nation! 

 So we are very excited to see how the year pans out!

What does this mean for you?  It means that real estate is more than just hiring a friend to get your house sold!  the average sales price in South Orange County exceeds 1/2 Million Dollars!  Don’t trust that kind of money to anyone who isn’t very experienced with handling sales - its in your best interest, both financially and legally, to work with an expert.  This year, our record speaks for itself….expertise isn’t learned in a book, but in the field.  We’ve had the kind of experience and skill you should expect when selling your most valuable asset.

NEW LISTING!!!! MID-CENTURY MODERN CHRIS ABEL STYLE IN LAGUNA BEACH

Designed and built by an architect for his personal home in 1963 - full of classic designs and touches.  Awesome ocean and canyon views.  $1,650,000.  Call for a showing.  JonRon RE Team 949-364-0400.

Live three blocks from Doheny Beach.

Price $410,000.  ALMOST APPROVED SHORT SALE.   BUYER WALKED.

CALL THE JONRON REAL ESTATE TEAM FOR DETAILS.

DON’T BE FOOLED BY STATISTICS or by the advice of Friends.

Listening to the news will mislead you.  Talk to a local Realtor.  Listening to your friends will mislead you.  Talk to a local Realtor.  Time and time again I am amazed at just How Local the real estate market is.  I just visited my daughter in Mid-Town Manhattan.  Talk about a unique local market!!!  In Orange County each city is different and each price range is different as far as real estate sales go. 

Consumers are smart but inventory is fairly low.  If you look at homes in escrow compared to the number active for each city it appears to range from 2 weeks supply to 7 months supply along the coast.  One always has to take into account the number of short sales that are showing pending sale status.  They do not clear out each month but linger from 2 to 10 months so in Aliso Viejo we see 240 pending sales and only 159 active listings.  A bank owned REO property came on in Laguna Niguel on Saturday listed at $816,000 with a new kitchen and panoramic views and by Tuesday there were 8 offers on the property.  This is because inventory in that move up price range is very low and the REO property can close quickly. 

For those of my friends living in the subdivision of Rancho Niguel in the city of Laguna Niguel there are only 13 properties for sale out of about 1100 homes.  That is a very low inventory for this time of year.  Total active listings today in Laguna Niguel for all prices is 293 and total active listings in the city of Mission Viejo today is 348.  Those are low numbers.

For real time market knowledge call a Realtor.  Actually call Jon Buck or Ron Buck the father son team at Keller Williams Realty (third largest in the USA).

NO NOT OC HOME BUYERS.  SPECTRAL TARSIER PRIMATES!  They live in Indonesia and hunt bugs at night.  Kind of like taking a second job at night to make that payment.

Sorry I couldn’t resist.  They are cute but “their eyes are bigger than their brains” according the the LIFE series currently on TV.  Now home buyers who bought in 2005 and 2006 might be feeling that way themselves.  Just remember that there are only 5 Mediterranean climates in the world and Orange County CA is one of them.  People will always want to live here.  I do.

Try to hang on.  The OC Register today said that “In Orange County the median home price was up 12.2 percent as selling prices increased in three-fourths of the local ZIP codes last month.  Just six of O.C.’s 83 ZIP codes had price gains in March 2009.”  The numbers of home sales have also increased for 21 consecutive months.  A ray of hope for home owners.

We track housing inventory in the MLS for four local cities (Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo & Dana Pt.) and we have yet to see any appreciable increase in available home inventory in April.  Numbers of “Active” homes went up about 10% in March but seem to be holding steady now. In the ”old days” spring was the big listing time for sellers.   We see the short sales running about 55% of all actives under 600K, so you have a chance as an equity seller to get top dollar right now because many buyers don’t want to wait it out.  For more information call the JonRon Team at Keller Williams Realty.

Great home for sale on a safe cul-de-sac with a PANORAMIC VEIW.  $734,900

New Kitchen & Baths plus a single loaded cul-de-sac.  This home has one bedroom/office downstairs and three up with an awesome canyon and city view from the master bedroom. Taxes are a low 1% with no Mello-Roos bonds.  The home is located in the Rancho Niguel Subdivision. Did we mention the ”Blue Ribbon” schools?  Everyone living in Rancho Niguel has the use of “The Club” which boasts a 8 tennis courts, 2 indoor racquetball courts, sports courts, weight room, kids pool and year around heated lap pool.  The club is guard gated and open 6AM to 9PM.