This is a reblog and I apologize to those who have read it before. To those who haven't read it, it contains helpful information. Bridging the price gap between home buyers and sellers can be a challenge in today's market. Sellers, many of whom have a hard time accepting that their home has lost value, often expect to sell for more than buyers are willing to pay.Buyers, on the other hand, are concerned that home prices could drop further. So, they're making sure that they don't overpay.There are exceptions to the rule. Very desirable homes in the best locations sometimes sell for over the asking price, particularly if there isn't much inventory of similar homes on the market. Some foreclosure properties at bargain prices are attracting multiple offers. Prices are rising in select areas.... 07/02/2009

(4) DON'T Wait much longer to get into the Real Estate Market Your agent should show you everything available that meets your requirements. Don't make a decision on a house until you feel that you've seen enough to pick the best one. Go to the Multiple Listing computer with your agent to make sure that you are getting a COMPLETE list or connect to a service like Listingbook, available on my website that allows you to set your criteria. In late 2004 and early 2005, homes were selling quickly, usually a few days after listing. In that kind of market, agents advised their clients to make an offer ON THE SPOT if they liked the house. That was good advice at the time and it is again. Today's urgency is, if you are on the low end of the market. Inventory is extremely low for this time of year... 06/29/2009

View all the Mission Viejo Foreclosures. Search addresses, map the properties, view pictures and virtual tours. No cost with easy registration. Updated every 4 hours. Mission Viejo (anglicized pronunciation IPA: /ˈmɪʃən viːˈeɪhoʊ/) is a city located in southern Orange County, California in the Saddleback Valley and has been named the safest city in the US according to a 2007 Morgan Quitno crime statistic survey (compiled from FBI data). Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master planned communities ever built under a single project in the United States, and is rivaled only by Highlands Ranch, Colorado in its size. As of the 2007 census, the city had a total population of 98,483. Mission Viejo is suburban in nature and culture. The city is mainly residential, although there ar... 06/23/2009

Where is the market going for S. Orange County? What can we read into the Statistics? I have been doing a report each month since Feb 19th, showing how many detached houses were available each month in Mission Viejo, breaking them down into; number of defaults, short sale, REOs and equity sellers.   Detached houses available February Total 216 available, equity sellers = 57.6% March     Total 214 available, equity sellers = 57.9% April       Total 205 available, equity sellers = 62.9% May       Total 189 available, equity sellers = 66.6% June      Total 169 available, equity sellers = 70.4% Inventory is down 21.8% since 2/19/09. Equity sellers are increasing in their percentage of the market share, going from 57.6% to a total of 70.4%. This shows that some sellers, who are not distresse... 06/17/2009

Just did a check on how the market in my area is doing. I work out of Mission Viejo, CA Population is over 95,000 Total Active on the market        5/19//09- - 189 detached houses.               6/17/09- - 169 detached houses. Short Sale Active        5/19/09- -49 out of 189                            6/17/09- - 42 out of 169 REO Active       5/19/09-- 7 out of 189                               6/17/09- - 5 out of 169 In Default Active properties       5/19/09- - 6 out of 189                              6/17/09- - 3 out of 169 That leaves 119 out of 169 as equity sellers for 6/17/09 June has changed a small amount 119 out of 169 are equity sellers and last month it was 126 out of 189 showing an increase of equity sellers. Inventory is down in a month that is usually higher. June is one... 06/17/2009

Successful Mission Viejo Short Sale!!! The seller purchased the home 3 years ago for $ 488,000 and never refinanced. The Mortgage was behind 2 months when the sellers listed the home with Ann Urias. They had two mortgages 1st $ 412,000  2nd $76,000 We received an offer for $337,000 FHA LOAN The 1st lender accepted $305,000 2nd lender accepted $ 4,000 The bank paid all past due taxes, hoa fees, escrow, title, and commissions. From the day we received the offer the short sale process took 6 weeks for short sale approval and then 30 days to close escrow. These sellers received a full settlement.   Interested in short selling your home contact Ann Urias with ReMax Homes and Estates Pre-Foreclosure division.   www.orangecountyshortsalerealtor.com for more info. List with an experienced Orang... 06/15/2009

It is time for Lake Mission Viejo to start it's summer concert program. Member of the Lake Association may attend for FREE! This is one of the most enjoyable inexpensive evenings you can do with your family. Bring the blankets or beach chairs to sit on the grass while the kids play in the water, have a picnic or buy food at the concession stand and as it gets dark lay back to listen to the band. Starting this year off is Chris Botti on June 27th. Having performed here before he has many followers from Mission Viejo. His first album was released in 1995 and made him one of the world's top selling instrumental artists. On July 11th Jonny Lang will be engaging us with his unique vocal style and classic blues guitar work. Jonny started with his first recording when he was only 15 years old ... 06/13/2009

   I used the two cities of Mission Viejo and Lake Forest, combining the number of units, to show what is going on in South Orange County. The first chart is showing the units under contract for the last 25 months. As you can see we have increased the of units under contract by almost double for last month in comparison to May 2007.     This is showing our supple and demand for the same 25 months time. Supple is down 37% compared to 2007. A continuation of a market like this and prices will go up.    06/10/2009

RE/MAX Homes & Estates Pre-Foreclosure Division 9241 Irvine Boulevard, Suite 150, Irvine, California 92618 (714) 588 -7676 ∙  www.orangecountyshortsalerealtor.com   If you are in a situation where: • You lost your job • Your Medical Expenses are too high • Just went through/going through a divorce • You are behind on your payments • You have no equity • You can't afford the cost of selling your home • Your income has been reduced • You are in foreclosure   WE CAN HELP YOU! It's easy and doesn't cost you any MONEY! Our services are Free!!! WHEN THE DEBT EXCEEDS YOUR HOME'S VALUE... we can help is with a SHORT SALE.   Benefits of a Short Sale: • Avoid Foreclosure • Avoid Bankruptcy • Reduced damage to your credit • Postpone your foreclosure sale date • A short sale will stay on your credi... 06/09/2009

New first time buyers have a difficult time with all the terms we throw at them. We get so use to dealing with the terms, they become everyday vocabulary to us but to them it is a foreign language. Step back some and remember when you were learning real estate, how many times you had to get the dictionary out to better understand what you were reading.  Not only that but we still find ourselves having to learn new terms, so lets have patients with buyers and take the time to elaborate on the definition of some term that is new to them.  Between what we give them to digest, loan broker or bank throws at them, escrow papers up the yig/yag, title papers that are hard for a pro to get tough, inspection and appraisal, it is a wonder that a house ever gets sold. What would happen if we took a... 05/26/2009

O.K. folks I an searching for buyers that are middle of the price range, have some cash for downpayment and good credit scores. Laterly and I mean the last 6 months, all my buyers are great people but I have to put a square peg into a small round hole. Buyer at the lower priced houses, lose to the investor who is paying cash. If they had a lot of money, we could out bid them and over pay but at least we would WIN a house. We now are going 15% over listing price and at the maxium they can buy a house and still qualify for. One couple has put in 8 offers just to lose to a cash deal which the banks love. The other couple had to ask their mother to sign on as a co-signer so they could go higher with an offer to ?maybe? WIN. This doesn't feel like a buyers market to us. I have buyers on the ... 05/24/2009

Just did a check on how the market in my area is doing. I work out of Mission Viejo, CA Population is over 95,000 Total Active on the market        4/19//09- - 205 detached houses.               5/19/09- - 189 detached houses. Short Sale Active        4/19/09- -63 out of 205                            5/19/09- - 49 out of 189 REO Active       4/19/09-- 7 out of 205                               4/19/09- - 7 out of 189 In Default Active properties       4/19/09- - 6 out of 205                              4/19/09- - 6 out of 189 That leaves 126 out of 189 as equity sellers for 5/19/09 May has changed a small amount 126 out of 189 are equity sellers and last month it was 129 out of 205 showing an increase of equity sellers. Inventory is down in a month that is usually higher. This really ... 05/19/2009

Mission Viejo has a total of 317 houses For Sale right now. There are only 10 REOs in that total, this amazes me! It wasn't like that 4 months ago, even worse 6 months ago, so what happened? Everyone got out of all the bad loans and moved on or they were able to refi and stayed in their homes.  Now we have buyers wanting to get those fantastic deals and we don't have any to sell them. The ones that are available and priced correctly sell for over asking, with multiple offers. Will we have an aboundance again in the near future? I for one hope so! I think buyers will be at the front of the line next time instead of saying "I'll wait to see what happens". In December when I told them this is a good deal, my clients were too scared to get off the fence and now I have put in offer after off... 05/14/2009

There is good news for Shops At Mission Viejo, "Farrells  Ice Cream Parlour" is COMING. This is good news for me too. I remember when my boys were ages 4 thru 10, that we had birthday parties there. Of course you over eat and stuff yourself. "Pigs Trough" was a family special that we all shared in NEVER finishing. By the time I had granchildern there were none left near us so I never got to take them there. It is never to late. Grandchildern will be 17, 20 and 24 before it opens but I've never grown up so it will be the same for me. Please check out the link and see what Farrell's is all about. http://missionviejolife.org/2009/05/08/ice-cream-parlour/ 05/13/2009

What a weekend, all good! Got time, well, took time for the family and Mother's Day! We have to remember we work but we live for our relationships with family and friends. Some live far away so talked to them on the phone, catching up on what's happening in other parts of the country. As long as they are healthy, happy and doing good, I'm pleased. Wish I could give them a big hug in person but this will do for now. Spent most of the day with one of my sons, one granddaughter, my son's girlfriend and her son, ate too much, laughted a whole lot and went to a movie. Came home with that warm feeling you get when all is right and you shared with others your true self. It was all good! Next best thing had a new buyer contact me this morning that they found a house and want to put an offer in ... 05/11/2009

Sellers that want to be buyers of a larger home should proceed with process now. They have an opportunity to buy a bigger and better house now than they did 2 or 3 years ago. This is the time they should be looking to upgrade to the larger home from their starter house. They need to take advantage of the lower prices and great interest rate that are now available to get more for their money. Once they sell their starter home they will be in the best bargaining posistion and the power will be on their side. When they move up to that larger home, it may be at or close to the same payments they have now, because of the low price and interest being low.  Remember if a house that cost them $200,000 before went down 20% then the house that had cost $320,000 also went down 20% is at $266,000 w... 05/08/2009

The move is on! There are buyers out there looking to purchase a home, this is good! It may be the summer rush or that consumers realize the prices are good. In the past week more inquires for what is on the market and what the prices are doing. Prospects are signing on my web site to do searches from the MLS and checking to see if they can qualify for a loan. There aren't very many REOs available right now in Mission Viejo,Lake Forest  or other parts of Orange County. In Jan. you could of purchased a single family 3 bedroom 2 bath 1200 sq.ft. for under $300K not now. I'd say lowest price is around $330K. I hope the buyers that were saying "Oh, I'll wait and see, maybe buy in the summer", haven't missed the bottom. I feel, there will be an up and down till next Jan., only because the ma... 05/05/2009

I am asked on a regular basis "What do I do now that I have my license?" I usually start droning on about databases or open houses and I get a similar response every time for the questioner, usually astute note taking and the focused attention on what I’m saying. This is a great question for my ego because everything I have to say is gold and I get a ton of attention.     Recently however, I have started telling people the truth about that particular question. I have realized that anybody that has ever even asked me that question is gone within 6-months or less. The part that really stings is that they never sold a thing and stole a ton of time from me in the process. "Why are they gone in 6-months?" "Because if you have to ask then your to stupid to be a Real Estate agent.   Isn't it o... 05/04/2009

I have noticed that the lower priced detached homes are not going down in price in Mission Viejo or Lake Forest CA. In the last 2 months there have not been many REOs available which would of made the bottom line lower. We have within the 2 cities 542 houses total available today and only 23 of those are REOs, that means that less than 1/2% are Lender owned properties. The news media doesn't look at each city and see that we are getting better. Now looking at sold properties for Nov. and Dec., total sales were 327 and of that amount, lender owned was 127. This equals 38% that were sold were REOs. That is a huge percentage. I read conflicting reports on lender owned properties saying that the lenders are holding up foreclosures and settling with the owners. Some reports state there is no... 04/29/2009

Well, O.C. Mission Viejo and communities surrounding it ,did it again. Home prices are up! Median price was up $15,000 in March since Jan 1, 2009 reaching $385,000 and the volume rose 46.3 percent from one year ago. Orange County Register is saying it may be setting up for the bottom but not yet. The default figures are up for March as well, making it clear that there are more distressed houses coming on the market soon. Defaults have been on hold and as they are released we will see a new wave of REOs. The one thing about REOs is they are now priced close to what they sell for and they are gone quickly. The price changing and going up is not new for us from Jan to March, it happens most years during the same time frame. Data Quick analyst, John Karevoll, points out that most likely the... 04/24/2009