Bye Bye Foreclosures

With more than a 40 percent drop in the number of mortgage default notices in the first three months of this year as compared to the first three months of last year, it sure looks like the housing market won't be flooded by a fresh wave of foreclosures.

Unexpect Rise in Home Prices

LA is leading the way, with a 1.8% increase in January over December. This makes the eight consecutive month that prices have risen.

$10,000 State Tax Credit for Home Buyers

The governor and legislature have agreed to offer a $10,000 state tax credit to first-time home buyers at a cost of $200 million. It is set to take effect on May 1.

A similar program that passed last year was wildly popular. Buyers snatched up all $100 million in available credits within months.

By the way, a "first-time Home buyer" is defined as anyone who has not owned a home in the previous three years.

Southland Homes Prices Jump 10%

Home prices in the southland jumped 10% from February 2009 through February 2010. Orange County led the way with a 11.2% jump. The price gains are mostly at the entry level, where inventory has become significantly reduced.

The news is probably not welcome to potential buyers who are hoping that prices would have fallen even further, but homeowners are loving it.

Rates Unchanged, Defaults in CA Drop

Although most analysts say the Fed will probably raise rates by the end of the year, the central bank for the moment at least decided to keep rates at record lows ... with one opposing vote pointing to an improving economy.
Meanwhile, the number of homes in California entering the first stage of foreclosure fell 24.3 percent in the fourth quarter compared with the previous quarter.

Prices Up, Sales Up

The median sales price in SoCal climbed 4% from December 2008 to December 2009, while the number of sales jumped 12.1%, according to DataQuick. This improvement in the housing market was no doubt spurred by very low interest rates, relatively low prices, and the federal tax break.

While some experts say that 2010 is going to see continued improvement, we still have hurdles in market fundamentals: high levels of unemployment, more foreclosures on the horizon, and the end of the tax credit on April 30.

Home Buying Tax Credit Set to Expire

First-time home buyers and current home owners who want to move up have until April 30, 2010, to get an accepted offer if they want to take advantage of the federal tax credit. That's the date the program will expire, and both the housing industry and Congress are saying that the deadline will not be extended again: Los Angeles Times

Review a quick summary on how the tax credit works.