Admin Note: I found a solid article on mortgage loan refinancing specifically with a loan modification program. As mortgage rates decline, but home values decrease, loan modifications with a home loan refinance will become more popular. Here’s the link:
http://mortgagemade.com/making-home-affordable-loan-modification-program-examples.php
I received a sales letter from Improvements Catalogue, and did a double take as to how much I liked their home curb appeal sales pages. A home for sale needs a spruce up on curb appeal, especially this time of year when things are beginning to turn green and home buyers are coming out of hibernation in full scale house-hunting mode.
Consider these “quick fixes” for your all-important front porch curb appeal:
How about some elevated plant stands to set off the front entry way?
Plant Stand
If you have steps leading up to the home, rubber door mats add a touch of elegance and safety for you potential home-buyers.
Rubber door mats
A solar address panel would look great – imagine a possible buyer arriving at dusk just as it lights up.
Solar address sign
These relatively low cost ideas will do wonders for getting a home buyer’s mind in the right “buying” frame of mind as they enter your home.
In a recent AP story, it appears California is taking the brunt of the housing downturn. This is not unusual. Remember that the California housing market has been volatile for 30 years.
It appears the housing market has not bottomed out yet. For the third quarter, 2008, the S&P Case-Shiller national home-price index fell 16.6%. While it would appear the market has further to fall, hopefully the rate of decline for the housing market slows down.
Of the top 100 markets, here are 10 with the worst forecasts.
1. Los Angeles
2008 median house price: $375,340
2009 projected change: -24.9%
2010 projected change: -5.1%
The median home price in the L.A.- Long Beach-Glendale metro area is projected to fall nearly 25% in 2009 – the biggest drop in the country.
2. Stockton, CA
2008 median house price: $248,050
2009 projected change: -24.7%
2010 projected change: -4.0%
3. Riverside, CA
2008 median house price: $256,540
2009 projected change: -23.3%
2010 projected change: -4.8%
4. Miami-Miami Beach
2008 median house price: $293,590
2009 projected change: -22.8%
2010 projected change: -6.4%
After falling 22% in 2008, home prices in Miami are predicted to plunge another 23% next year.
5. Sacramento
2008 median house price: $225,140
2009 projected change: -22.2%
2010 projected change: -2.3%
6. Santa Ana-Anaheim
2008 median house price: $532,810
2009 projected change: -22.0%
2010 projected change: -3.5%
7. Fresno
2008 median house price: $257,170
2009 projected change: -21.6%
2010 projected change: -3.3%
8. San Diego
2008 median house price: $412,490
2009 projected change: -21.1%
2010 projected change: -2.9%
9. Bakersfield, CA.
2008 median house price: $227,270
2009 projected change: -20.9%
2010 projected change: -2.5%
10. Washington, D.C.
2008 median house price: $343,160
2009 projected change: -19.9%
2010 projected change: -5.7%
Source: Associated Press
Thus, it would appear median home prices in California will remain soft at least another year.