Volume 1 | Issue
7 | July 2011
In This Issue:
A Note From John: This Month's Note from
John: Housing Market Forecast
Featured Article: 5 Credit Mistakes
New Listings New and upcoming listings |
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*I
have much more data at my fingertips than can go in the
newsletter. If you would like more specific information
about a particular area or neighborhood, even if it is
what the neighbor's house really sold for, just call or
email me and I will be happy to provide the information
for you.
** These statistics reflect
active, pending and sold single family homes for the
month ending June 30th, 2011. |
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Loan
(National Average)
15 Yr Fixed Conforming 30 Yr Fixed
Conforming
30 Yr Fixed Jumbo 5/1 ARM Conforming |
Rate
3.68% 4.58% 5.02%
3.13% |
Interest rates per
MonitorBankRates
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MEANINGFUL LINKS |
John Fischer Real Estate
San Ramon Valley School District
Pleasanton School
District
Acalanes School District
Danville Express
Groupon
Blackboard Eats |
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If you have a family member, friend
or co-worker who is thinking about buying or selling
their home, please forward this email to them or have
them contact me at:
jfischer@rockcliff.com
Your referrals are truly appreciated! |
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Recent Testimonial from a Satisfied Client:
"John Fischer was wonderful to work with during the
sale of our home. We are confident that we got the best
possible price for our home because of John's patience
and hard work.
John spoke with us frequently to keep us updated on the
process of the sale. He took care of every detail and
relieved us of a lot of time and worry. We would not
hesitate to call on John again in the future." |
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Housing Market Forecast
What's with the housing market and the forecast
for pricing?
In last week's
edition of Bloomberg Businessweek, it was stated that, The
"S&P's/Case -Shiller 20-city"
index of prices has fallen back to where it was in 2003,
with Phoenix prices at 2000 levels and Las Vegas
visiting 1999. Lower prices have made homes more
affordable than they've been in a generation."
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said in a July 3
appearance on CNN, "It's very unlikely that we will
see a significant further decline in prices, but the
question is, when will we start to see sustainable
increases?" One big problem is the huge reduction in
housing starts and a vicious cycle of foreclosures,
prices falling, and buyers remaining on the sidelines.
With foreclosures flooding the market, single-family
housing starts have plunged.
Scott Simon, a portfolio manager for Pimco, says that
three of ten homes are now sold for a loss. American
homeowners have equity equal to 38% of their homes'
worth, down a third since 2005 and half what it was in
1950. The decline is attributable to people who have
negative equity. Simon also points to the affordability
index which is near an all-time high and double its
level in 2006 - meaning buyers should find many more
homes within their budgets.
The rise in affordability should have spurred
purchases and boosted prices, but instead means that the
credit is not available to most people. Simon believes
that loose lending practices seen during the housing
bubble allowed 5 million renters to becomes homeowners,
and that the market is in the protracted process of
evicting this group.
On a local perspective, luxury housing in the east
bay has declined approximately 40% since 2005. With
interest rates at a very low level, this is a great time
for buyers to take advantage of these lower prices. This
will be a great opportunity for people with cash to buy
at incredible prices. Lenders are lending to buyers who
can illustrate very good credit and buyers who can
produce W-2's work best.
- John Fischer |
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5 Deadly Credit Mistakes You Might Make
Having
good credit is one of those things in life that is a necessary evil. After
all, having credit implies that you will have debt as well. And when it
comes to owning or buying a home, good credit can make the difference
between affording the home/qualifying for the home or not.
So, here are some tips to help get and keep your credit score in the pink
(or green if you prefer).
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Not Getting an Annual check up: Well before you
plan to purchase or refinance a home loan, get your yearly free credit
report. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires the Big 3 credit bureaus
to provide consumers a free credit report every 12 months. Go to
annualcreditreport.com
to order yours. Note that they (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) may
offer you a subscription to their credit monitoring service. You do
not have to make any purchase to get your credit report. Download
this helpful report on
accessing your free credit reports.
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Not reviewing your credit report regularly:
Carefully review the credit reports you just ordered and dispute any
incorrect information on the report including incorrect former
addresses, accounts that don't belong to you, limits that are listed
lower than they actually are and derogatory items that should have aged
off. Read this article from the FTC on
Credit Repair: How to Help Yourself.
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Keeping your Balance too High: The credit gurus
recommend that you not charge more than 30% of your limit on any one
card. So, if you have a card with a limit of $10,000, keep your balance
below $3000 at any given time.
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Closing Your Accounts: Although this seems
counter intuitive, don't close any credit card accounts that you have
paid off. Having that account in good standing is a plus for your credit
score. Bonus Tip - have one or more of your regular bills (like
your cell phone or cable bill) charged to that card and pay it off every
month. This keeps the card active and your credit happy.
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Charging Living Expenses on Your Credit Card:
Never charge groceries or other consumables on a credit card. Instead,
use your debit card for these expenses and be sure to record them in
your check register. If you have a smart phone, try signing up for a
free account at mint.com or
Pageonce.com to track your
spending and bills. Their apps will send an alert to your phone when you
are overspending, using up all your minutes on your cell plan or have a
bill due.
There is plenty of help out there if you have questions
about your credit, household budget or preparing to buy a home or refinance
your mortgage. I am always available if you need me. I'm happy to help if I can or point you in the right direction to get your questions
answered. |
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Tremendous Danville location near Diablo Country
Club. Approx. 1600 square feet, single family home,
single level on court with 4 bedrooms, 2
baths and
beautiful pool. List Price - Approximately $649,000.
PENDING
Although this home is pending, another similar
listing in Diablo Hacienda will be coming soon. |
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Have a question about Real Estate, buying or selling a
home or the community? I encourage you to get in touch
with me, I'm here to serve. Click here to get
answers
Ask Your Question |
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I've been selling residential real estate for the past
six years here in the Diablo Valley. After graduating
from UCLA and then getting my MBA, I spent most of my
career in corporate sales starting with Xerox in the
1970's.
Following that, I proceeded into IBM computer sales and leasing.
My wife, Janeen, and I have lived in the same house in
Alamo since 1983 and have raised three children. They
all graduated from Monte Vista High School and have gone
to UCLA, UC Davis and University of Washington. Our
youngest, Kelsey, is now attending UC Hastings School of
Law. |
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