Two prominent home-price indices continued to show declines in September and October, with one outlook indicating no more than flat growth in the next two years.

A home-price index report from loan data aggregator Lender Processing Services showed the national average sales price for single-family homes fell 4.4 percent year over year and 1.2 percent month to month in September, to $202,000.

LPS’ Home Price Index, tracks monthly sales in more than 13,500 ZIP codes. Prices declined on a monthly basis in all ZIP codes covered by LPS. The top 20 percent of homes (selling for more than $317,000) saw a slightly smaller monthly decline, 1.2 percent, than the lowest 20 percent (selling for less than $102,000), which saw a 1.4 percent drop.

“Home prices in September were consistent with the seasonal pattern that has been occurring since 2009,” said Kyle Lundstedt, LPS Applied Analytics’ managing director, in a statement.

“Each year, prices have risen in the spring, but revert in autumn to a downward trend that has not only erased the gains, but has led to an average 3.7 percent annual drop in prices to date. The partial data available for October suggests a further approximate decline of 1.1 percent.”

A report released by property data firm CoreLogic bears out the monthly decline in October. For the third straight month, nationwide single-family home prices fell on both a monthly and yearly basis, dropping 1.3 percent from September and 3.9 percent from October 2010. Excluding distressed sales (short sales and real estate owned home sales, also known as REOs), October’s index fell 0.5 percent from a year ago.

“Home prices continue to decline in response to the weak demand for housing. While many housing statistics are basically moving sideways, prices continue to correct for a supply and demand imbalance. Looking forward, our forecasts indicate flat growth through 2013,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, in a statement.

The index was down 32 percent in October from an April 2006 peak. Excluding distressed sales, the drop was 22.4 percent. CoreLogic’s index is based on 30 years of data for repeat sales transactions, and “price, time between sales, property type, loan type and distressed sales.”

Who ever would have guessed that we would actually see interest rates in the 2% to 3% range – especially for a prolonged period of time?  It AMAZES me that these rates have continued.  When I bought my first house in 1997, my interest rate was 8.5%, and everyone told me what a great rate that was.  REALLY????

If you are looking for a $500,000 home today, this is what it would look like at different rates (assuming a $500,000 purchase, 1% in property taxes and $500/year in hazard insurance)

As you can see, just a 3% change in interest rates can make as much of a difference as $1,000/mo in your payment.  As most of us are looking at buying a home, we normally buy at the absolute top of our price range.  We always want the nicest home we can get at the best payment possible.

So, if you are seriously looking for a home, this might be the time to jump into the market!  It seems to be the “perfect storm” for potential buyers – historically low home prices AND historically low interest rates.

If you have any questions, always feel free to contact The Mewborn Team.  We’re always happy to answer any questions or find you a resource that will be able to meet your needs!

Not surprisingly, there are a number of factors that determine the sale price percentage of your list price.

The biggest factor is current comparable inventory.  The more comparable inventory there is on the market, the more competition you have, and the “less valuable” your property may be perceived as.  On the flip side, if you happen to be only one of 9 listings in La Costa Oaks, then there is limited competition – so your property will likely be perceived as more valuable – likely bringing in a higher sales price.

One of the other major factors is the time of year you may be selling.  There are often more buyers out, looking to move in the summer.  Because there are more people looking, you have a higher likelihood of finding that person that may just fall in love with YOUR house, and be willing to pay more.

As La Costa Oaks real estate agents, we have seen a NUMBER Of times, that your first offer, is often your best offer!  Therefore, we always strongly encourage clients to price their property appropriately and be ready to entertain realistic offers early in the sale process.  It will give you a much higher likelihood of success in selling your home at a higher price.

If you have any questions about selling your La Costa or Carlsbad home, please feel free to contact The Mewborn Team for a free marketing consultation.  We would be happy to provide you with any information necessary to make the best decision possible regarding your Carlsbad real estate sale!

According to the California Association of Realtors, California’s median price was has increased about 1%  in November – up to $280,960 in November, but down 5.2 percent from a year earlier.

The statewide median price had remained around $290,000 from February through September, so the past two months’ decline may be the fairly typical holiday slow down.

2012 is expected to be a transition year – depending much on the national and international economies.  It is expected to closely mirror any economic growth that we may (or may not) experience in 2012.

Although there are state and national real estate trends, San Diego  real estate tends to be very localized – with some market seeing growth, while other San Diego real estate markets may be trending downward.

To look at your specific market conditions, and to get a comparative marketing analysis on your Carlsbad real estate, please contact The Mewborn Team for more information!  We’re always happy to provide no obligation information.

By renting, they are not responsible for home improvements, large maintenance expenses, taxes, and other unforeseen expenses!  They are instead able to budget for their rent, without the headaches and big costs that come up with home ownership.

But also, with this change, we are seeing people that would have been home owners have to either stay in or re-enter the rental market, creating rental shortages – ultimately driving rental prices up.  The US Census Bureau has reported that vacancies in the rental market are as low as 9.2%, down 1.4% from last year.  The last time we have seen rental vacancies this low was in 2003.

According to CNNMoney, the expectation is that in San Diego, rents may rise more than 31 percent by 2015.  Although we don’t know what will happen in the short term in the San Diego real estate market, we do know that historically, San Diego real estate averages 6-8% appreciation per year in the long term.

Between the expected rental increases and appreciation potential, if you happen to have enough money to put down on a rental property to ensure that any expenses would be covered by the rent, it may be time to buy a Carlsbad or San Diego rental property.

If you have any questions, and would like to know more about if buying San Diego rental property might be right for you, please contact The Mewborn Team for a no obligation consultation.

Carlsbad, CA

In today’s real estate market, more and more people are looking foreclosure out of both necessity and financial strategy.  If you give back your house, they can’t still hold you accountable for the loan, can they? 

Although California is a non-recourse state that typically says no – more and more banks are finding themselves successful in recouping losses from borrowers who refinanced their homes and used the funds for things other than improving the home itself!

In addition to the more severe credit penalties, a debt on a house you don’t even own anymore is really making foreclosures less desirable.  If you can not afford to make the payment on your home, you really may want to talk to a real estate professional about the possibility of a short sale instead.  In a short sale, you actually sign documents with the lender, releasing yourself from the obligation of the loan.  If you have any questions at all about your possibilities of a foreclosure or short sale, please contact The Mewborn Team.  We would be happy to schedule a no obligation marketing consultation.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday inched up 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted reading of 145.49. The index was off 5.3 percent from November last year, nearly matching analyst’s estimates that it would fall by 5.1 percent.

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Average prices are up a bit to $616,935 in November, with an average of 55 days on the market and homes being sold at an average of 96% of their listing price.