Category Archives: Real Estate

Home-Flipping Opportunities May Be Falling

Posted on August 5, 2013 | Leave a comment

Nearly two out of three real estate investors in California who work with a Realtor plan to buy and hold homes for more than a year instead of flipping them for quick profits, a recent survey from the California Association of Realtors shows.

That stat suggests a general shift in industry strategy. When foreclosures flooded the market and home prices plummeted, investors picked up heavily discounted properties, renovated them and executed quick sales.

Considering buying a “flip” but think the upgrades are not worth what the agent is reporting. Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for your value questions.

Nearly 30 percent of San Diego County home sales in June were completed by absentee buyers, likely investors or second-home buyers, show figures from real estate tracker DataQuick. The share of absentee buyers peaked at 31.5 percent in March.

“It’s probably the most competitive that I’ve ever seen it in San Diego,” Denney said. “It’s still a lucrative business, but you have to have an amazing team to put out an incredible project. And you’ve got to know what you’re doing. The days of not knowing much and making a lot of money are kind of over.”

Read entire article at: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jul/30/tp-home-flipping-opportunities-may-be-falling/

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Low Inventory Driving RE Prices High In Australia? Is the Same Thing Happening In USA?

Posted on August 2, 2013 | Leave a comment

The widening gulf between price guide and the auction result has revived an often-asked question: are buyers over-eager or are agents telling fibs on the price guide?

Is this happening in the USA? In some markets it may be yes as the “typical” home buyer may be in competition with a lot of cash buyers.

Each market is different. Get an appraisal and you will get a disinterested party’s opinion of the value of the property instead of taking someones word for it. For example: You are in Australia and you see a property on the internet that you may like to buy in San Diego (contact www.scappraisals.com). You have all the great photos on the website and contact info but that is about it. You could order an appraisal from an appraiser in San Diego (www.scappraisals.com) and they will go out and inspect the property, research the property and give you opinion of value of the property. Not only do you have an unbiased opinion of the value of the property (that may help you in negotiations) but the property was inspected by someone who has no interest in the sale and will make recommendations if more inspections are required (the appraiser is not a building inspector, but if they see a mold-like substance they may recommend a mold inspection). Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for appraisal questions.

Buyer’s agents are divided.

”I’m not seeing a lot of underquoting, I’m just seeing a lot of silly prices being paid and that’s borne out of frustration at the lack of stock,” said Patrick Bright, from EPS Property Search.

”People are paying ‘fed-up’ money so they don’t have to keep looking.

”I’ve had clients tell me to do that recently.”

But another agent, who did not want to be named, said underquoting was on the rise especially in the eastern suburbs, lower north shore and to a lesser extend in the inner west. In most cases it involved properties under $2 million and some agents were underquoting by as much as 20 per cent.

”They’re just getting back to their old ways now,” he said.

The Department of Fair Trading launched a crackdown on underquoting at the height of the spring selling season last year.

Undercover officers swooped on more than 50 auctions around Sydney after receiving more complaints from buyers. Eight agents were found to have kept inadequate or non-existent sale files to substantiate the estimated price of 17 properties.

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

As Housing Warms Up, Appraisers Feel the Heat

Posted on July 8, 2013 | Leave a comment

Home appraisals were difficult to do during the housing market downtown because there weren’t enough recently sold comparable homes to help determine a property’s value.

Now the local housing has picked up steam. That has provided more comparable properties to consider in an appraisal, but appraisers say it doesn’t make their job of putting a value on a property any easier.

Want to know what your home is worth in La Jolla? Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com ; they specialize in high value properties in San Diego County.

Appraisals are still throwing a wrench in home deals, real estate agents said, forcing sellers to lower their price, buyers to bring money to the closing table or the two sides to meet somewhere in between and renegotiate the contract.