Coming as no surprise following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, SunCal's biggest backer of the Marblehead Coastal real estate development, SunCal has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this past Thursday on this community according to the Los Angeles Times.  This 313 home planned coastal community in San Clemente represents just one of 23 SunCal housing projects in various stages of Chapter 11 due to the collapse of Lehman Brothers.  SunCal will need to make quick decisions on which communities to sell off and liquidate and which ones to keep in order to ride out the real estate storm.  SunCal, nevertheless, has indicated it has no plans to sell off Marblehead Coastal.  

SunCal  has indicated that it has "alternative sources" of financing to maintain the wetlands at Marblehead Coastal, some of the 125 acre open space to remain on this piece of land.  Hopefully the other communities that SunCal sells off will help to raise the capital to build this highly anticipated community once the real estate market settles and supports this type of development.  In the meantime, this 243 acre development sitting on an ocean front plateau will continue to be delayed and remain vacant.  Hopefully some good news will arise from this soon. (Marblehead Coastal is the yellow box at the bottom of the picture)

For more information on Marblehead Coastal real estate or to request updates from our team as they arise, please contact us. 

According to this article in the Orange County Register, the San Clemente City Council approved a plan to build a 2,100-foot-long connection linking the Forster Ranch Ridgeline Trail to a recently-built trail in San Juan Capistrano.  This connection will allows San Clemente residents easy access to the variety of trails throughout San Juan Capistrano and into Cleveland National Forest.  As one of the interviewees in the article happily stated, "It's going to be the Mountains to the Sea Trail."  The City Council is allocating $20,000 to pay for the connection, and a completion timeframe has yet to be determined.

One of the primary assets to living in San Clemente is being in the middle of a beautiful natural setting, and outdoor junkies have a nice pick of hiking, biking and walking trails throughout San Clemente.  This move by the City Council is great news for outdoor enthusiasts and San Clemente residents, as they will now have easier access to the many trails of San Juan Capistrano along with a path to Cleveland National Forest.  The San Clemente City Council rightfully recognizes the amount of interest outdoor activities garner from its residents and consistently seek to improve the options, from building new parks to its support of the Coastal Trail in North Beach and this new trail connection.  If you have any interest in outdoor activities, you will find fewer places in Southern California to match the scope of all that South Orange County, including San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano, has to offer.

In a recent article in the OC Register, the author compares the seller's market of a couple of years ago to today's market when speaking about pricing one's home for sale.  In a seller's market, it was easy for the homeowner to list their San Clemente real estate above the current value, because prices were continually rising due to low market inventory and constant bidding wars.  Now that we are in a buyer's market, it is crucial for the owner to sell the home quickly in order to receive the best value.  As the article illustrates, San Clemente homes that sold within 30 days of listing in 2007 received a minimal 3% discount from their asking price, while homes that were on the market longer than 30 days received an average 10% discount from the listed price. 

While you should not completely devalue your home just to get it sold quickly, it is very important to be reasonable when it comes to setting the listing price.  It is human nature to feel that something you own is worth more than it actually is, and in these erratic economic times, people are looking for ways to make the extra buck.  However, it is crucial not to price your home out of the market during a buyer's market, because the home will just sit there, forcing you to lower the price on a consistent basis.  This plays right into the psyche of buyers in this type of market, so you need to find the most competitive ways to create urgency with your home sale.  First, the initial listing price is crucial; if your home is overpriced, buyers will not waste their time until the inevitable price drop comes.  Your agent should provide you with a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis), showing you current comparable San Clemente homes for sale, pending sales, recent expired listings and home sales from the past 6 to 12 months.  The article makes a great suggestion - once you have this list in front of you, pretend that you are a buyer and have your agent take you on tours of the current comparable listings.  A visual comparison of your home to others will go a long way in helping you set the listing price. 

Another arena that is vital to a quick home sale is reaching a wide array of potential buyers through creative and aggressive marketing of your San Clemente property.  In a buyer's market, simply placing a sign on your front lawn and an ad in the local paper will not create the buzz you need to sell your home.  Today's buyers are a lot more savvy in their real estate search, with many turning to the internet for guidance.  Studies have shown that between 75-80% of homebuyers begin their real estate search online, making an internet presence for your listing crucial if you want a lot of buyers to see the place.  The first two weeks your property is on the market are the most important, because this is the timeframe when you will get the most traffic in your home, both from buyers and real estate agents.  To ensure a high volume of traffic (which will aid in reaching the goal of selling the home within 30 days of listing), you need to be aggressive with your marketing.  Find out from the potential listing agents how they plan on marketing your home: print ads, online or both.  If they propose advertising online, find out the websites and do a little research on them to see the amount of hits they receive and where they are ranked on internet search engines (Yahoo, Google, etc.).  You will want your listing to be seen by as many people as possible, so make sure your agent plans on being creative and hitting as many arenas as possible.  This is something that is a specialty of San Clemente Coastal Living - we are a top-ranked website in a variety of keyword searches that promises front-page placement on our website.  While we cannot guarantee that this will sell your home, we give you a better chance by utilizing the popularity of our website along with a variety of innovative online and print marketing tools.

When it is finally time to set the price, use all of the above methods to set a competitive value for your home, and you will have a good chance of seeing a sale in a short period of time.  For more information on tips to selling your home quickly and how San Clemente Coastal Living can assist in this process, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Having dealt with various investors (second home / vacation home clients), San Clemente Coastal Living thought it would be appropriate to address some 1031 Exchange basics.  First, as an investor, you must realize that in order to do a 1031 exchange it cannot be done on your principal residence.  Please note, however, you do not have to pay capital gains tax on a $250,000 gain if single or $500,000 gain if married on your principal residence based on IRS guidelines.  In order to successfully do 1031 exchanges, including into your eventual dream home, you need to understand the basics.

First, to qualify for a 1031 exchange, the San Clemente real estate that you plan to sell or purchase must meet four basic rules:

• Be exchanged with a like-kind property; in other words any other piece of real estate
• The replacement property must be identified within 45 days after the sale of the previous property
• The exchange transaction must be completed within 180 days
• The property must be used for productive purposes in a business or for investment purposes (cannot be your principal residence)

Beyond these basics, you should note that it's possible to do a 1031 exchange on a second home or vacation home.  In order to do so, you must own the property for at least two years, rent the property during each year for a minimum of 14 days at fair market value, and not use the property for your own personal use for more than 14 days.  If you have met these criteria for two years, now you can do a 1031 exchange into any other piece of real estate that qualifies.   

On the other hand, if you are an investor working towards your San Clemente dream home (i.e San Clemente ocean view home or condo), there are ways to do it through 1031 exchanges, however, pay special attention to the rules.  First, you must rent out your home for at least 14 days during the year and not use it for more than 14 days either.  At the end of the two years, you can now convert your San Clemente home into your principle residence.  In the meantime, if you have not taken any cash from your 1031 exchanges, you have deferred all tax on your gains (i.e. equity) to buy into your new home.  This beats taking money out of the stock market to purchase that home as it would be subject to capital gains tax.   Also, don't forget that when you sell your principle residence to get into this home, you don't have to pay tax on the first $250,000 gain if single or $500,000 if married.

If you are an investor that has done 1031 exchanges over the years and are ready to sell, don't forget that capital gains tax is still at 15% and there is a strong possibility that this will be raised in the near term to 20-25%.

For more information on 1031 exchanges or San Clemente real estate, including a second home and/or vacation rental, please contact us for a free consultation.

For the month of October, San Clemente real estate continues to show improved signs we are working through the glut of inventory to bring supply and demand back into balance, the key for prices to stabilize.  New listings on the market continue to show a large decrease from prior year and homes sold and under contract continue to improve month-over-month.  In addition, San Clemente average sales price continues to demonstrate its strenth relative to the rest of Orange County and California. 

New listings year-to-date are down 22.6% from the same period prior year, representing approximately 300 less homes coming on the market.  Sales, on the other hand, are up 20.5% from prior month with 53 homes sold in the month of October compared with 44 for September.  This brings the total year-to-date sales up to 510 homes as compared with 566 proior year, which is only a 9.9% decrease as compared with an 11.5% decrease prior month year-to-date.  Homes under contract at the end of the month were 40 as compared with 24 prior year-to-date, representing a 66.7% increase.  This may be an early indication of good news to come for November sales.  Lastly, the average days on market for the month of October dropped to 80 days as compared to 98 days for October 2007, representing an 18.4% decrease.  While days on market are still 10% higher than prior year-to-date, October's significant decrease indicates we are working back to historical averages.  The decrease in new listings and the average days on market coupled with the increase in homes sold and under contract are all positive indicators that the San Clemente real estate market is working through its inventory in order for prices to stabilize.

The average sales price year-to-date is $868,704 as compared with $991,835 for the same period prior year, representing a 12.4% decrease.  San Clemente real estate continues to hold on 2.5 to 3.0 times stronger than Orange County and California real estate respectively.  These sales prices on a year-to-date average are 86.6% of the original listing price and 94.1% of the final listing price before entering into contract.   

For more information on San Clemente real estate, please explore our website or contact us for a free consultation.

As of early November, San Clemente real estate for sale included approximately 97 total foreclosures and short-sales, representing 17.5% of the current properties for sale.  The total number of San Clemente foreclosures as of November represents a decrease of about 7.5% as compared to our previous update in September.  This is good news as this decrease represents another indicator we are working towards the bottom of the cycle.  As we near the bottom of the cycle, price declines begin to slow before bottoming out and the great deals may begin to dissapear.

San Clemente foreclosures currently range in price from $189,900 for a 560 square foot condo in Rancho San Clemente to $1,730,000 for a 5,633 square foot estate in Viscaya Talega.  The average price for a foreclosure is currently $653,763 with an average price per square foot of $306.  In our last analysis of the foreclosure and short-sale market, the average price per square foot was $308 or 0.6% higher.  For Talega real estate, the newest development of San Clemente, the average price for a foreclosure is $754,415 with an average square footage of 2,667.  This results in an average price per square foot of $282 for Talega foreclosures or short-sales. 

In terms of the concentration of San Clemente foreclosures,  Talega has the most at 34 or approximately 35% of the foreclosure and short-sale market.  Other areas of high concentration include North San Clemente and Rancho San Clemente with 19% and 18% of the San Clemente foreclosure and short-sale market respectively.  Foreclosures west of Interstate 5 closer to the coast represent 9.3% of the total foreclosures while east of the 5 represents 90.7%.

For more information on San Clemente foreclosures, please explore our website or contact us for a free consultation.

The San Clemente Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the 17th annual "Taste of San Clemente" at the Courtside Restaurant in the Rancho San Clemente Tennis & Fitness Club.  The event will host over 20 local restaurants serving a variety of foods, along with drinks provided by 16 premium wineries from throughout California, a variety of microbrews and other assorted cocktails.  There will be live music provided by the Baytown Band.  This is a great event for adults every year held in a beautiful setting, and the wide assortment of foods and drinks will satisfy every palette.  Some of the restaurants include Blue Danube, The Melting Pot, Taka-O Japanese Restaurant, Cafe Mimosa and many more.

The event begins at 6:00 pm and concludes at 10:30 pm.  Tickets are $75.00 per person (price includes food, drinks, valet parking and a complimentary commemorative wine glass or beer mug), and "Taste of San Clemente" is limited to 250 people, so buy your tickets soon.  For detailed information about the event, please visit the San Clemente Chamber of Commerce website.

This article on CNN outlines great ways to obtain the best deal on your homeowner's insurance policy.  As premiums have skyrocketed over the past few years, the following are methods to help keep this cost down in the purchase of your San Clemente home or condo.

Get a CLUE report.  CLUE, which stands for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, is a database that keeps records of every claim a homeowner makes against their house, such as a broken pipe, window, etc.  When you purchase a home, you will receive this report as part of the due diligence process.  If the home has a history of damage or claims against it, this may drive the insurance policy up.  Like a credit report, however, a CLUE report may contain errors.  Luckily, you can receive a free CLUE report by visiting choicetrust.com, and if you believe the report contains errors, then you can visit consumerdisclosure.com.

Don't over or under insure your home.  A homeowner's policy should cover 100% of what it would cost to rebuild your home and not the entire home's value that includes the land.  For example, your home may be worth $1 million, but it may only cost $300,000 to rebuild and therefore, this would be the amount you would insure.

Consider taking a risk.  If you move from a $500 deductible to a $1,000 deductible you could save approximately 20% on your premium.  Therefore, consider taking the highest deductible you are willing to stomach with your emergency fund.

Don't be loyal to one insurer.  Some insurers may give a 10% discount to long-time customers, however, it is still worth exploring your other options as you may find a better deal.  You can get quotes from InsWeb.com or Insure.com.

Keep good credit with your insurer.  In other words, just like your credit score can be impacted, so can your insurance depending on the number of claims you make and whether you pay on time.

Please visit other sections of our website or blog for more information on your San Clemente real estate purchase or please feel free to contact us for a consultation.

While San Clemente real estate prices have come down from their highs, many individuals are struggling to afford a home due to higher downpayment requirements required by lenders and the recent legislation that is doing away with downpayment assistance programs.  Therefore, at San Clemente Coastal Living, we thought it would be appropriate to address creative ways to afford the San Clemente home or condo of your dreams.  The following are various strategies that we can structure for your purchase:

• In today's market, many sellers (those who are not in a short-sale or foreclosure) may be willing to provide financing.  Some sellers may be willing to finance all or part of the purchase price and let you repay them gradually as you would with a mortgage.
• Consider doing a shared equity arrangement with friends, family or an outside investor.  Under this scenario, your co-investor will buy a portion of the house and share in appreciation when the house is sold.  This investor will benefit from all the tax write-offs of an investment property for their share of the ownership, which includes being able to depreciate the property.  In the meantime, you will be able to enjoy the write-offs of a primary residence for your share of the property.  Since you will occupy the house, you will pay the mortgage, property tax, and all related maintenance costs.  This can be a win-win situation for both parties.  If family or friends cannot invest, there are companies out there that could potentially provide an investor on your behalf.
• Perhaps your family will loan you money for a downpayment which you can payback as if it were a mortgage or whatever seems fit for both parties.  If you have little credit history, a lender may want a co-signer.  In this case, it may be worth structuring the deal to offer your family the upside of sharing in the long-term appreciation of the home as addressed in the previous point.
• Don't forget about your 401K as a means for a downpayment if you are buying your first home.  If you are single, you can withdraw $10,000 from your 401K without being taxed for early withdrawal, or $20,000 if married.  Who cares how your 401K is performing as the money going into this account is all pre-tax.  So if your effective tax rate is 30%, then you are saving 30% quicker by using your 401K as a means for your downpayment versus using after tax money in your savings account.
• If there are no other options to come up with the downpayment this year, then consider leasing the property with an option to buy.  This will give you more time to save for your downpayment and test out the house for a year.  In addition,  many owners will apply some of your rent towards a downpayment.  Be sure, however, you would want to buy this home as you may have to pay a small nonrefundable option fee to the owner.
• An option once the real estate market settles and credit becomes more available would be trying to qualify for a short-term second mortgage to assist with a higher downpayment.  This may be possible if you have good income and little other debt.
• The government is currently offering a $7500 tax credit to first-time homebuyers, so you could borrow the money short-term from family or friends and return it once you receive this credit on your tax return.  This credit, however, will have to be repaid to the government as if it were a loan.

For more information on creative ways to afford San Clemente real estate and how to structure your transaction, please contact us! 

In the latest unnerving chapter of the Marblehead Coastal saga, the San Clemente City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to call in performance bonds against SunCal Marblehead LLC to complete infrastructure projects in the development.  According to the Orange County Register's article on this matter, the City Council authorized city attorneys to file suit against SunCal claiming that they are in default of a 2005 development agreement; if there is no response by SunCal, the City Council will then call millions of dollars in performance bonds to complete projects such as finishing Avenida Vista Hermosa west of Interstate 5 and the widenings of Avenida Pico and El Camino Real near the development.  The City views these improvements as vital public safety issues and can no longer wait for SunCal to work out its financial troubles with bankrupt Lehman Brothers, SunCal's financial backer in the Marblehead Coastal project.

Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers and other financial giants, money is tight right now and real estate development has slowed dramatically due to lack of funding available for these projects.  It is likely to be a few years before we see home and commercial construction on the site of Marblehead Coastal, so the City Council's vote seeks to remedy the safety issues caused by unfinished roads.  The widenings of Avenida Pico and El Camino Real is of great concern, and rightly so; the sudden narrowing of major San Clemente streets is dangerous and causes unnecessary traffic.  This move by the city forces SunCal to finish these infrastructure improvements in a timely fashion, something they have been unwilling to do since the 2005 development agreement was signed. 

It is frustrating to see such a wonderful coastal development like the planned Marblehead Coastal community fall by the wayside, both from a real estate and economic standpoint.  The commercial and entertainment portions of the planned development would be a nice boost for San Clemente from a financial and social perspective, adding to an already wonderful coastal town.  On top of that, a prime piece of coastal real estate is sitting untouched, which is frustrating to a real estate professional like myself as I'm very excited to see more examples of why San Clemente real estate is some of the best California has to offer.  While it will take time for the vision of Marblehead Coastal to come to fruition, at least the city is taking the right steps to ensure that SunCal improves public works projects instead of making San Clemente residents deal with SunCal's lack of progress on these fronts.

For more information on Marblehead Coastal and San Clemente real estate, please contact us.

For the month of September, San Clemente real estate continues to show signs we are working towards a bottom.  New listings on the market continue to show a steep drop and home sales are approaching 2007 sales volume based on San Clemente homes and condos sold and under contract at the end of the month.

For the year, new listings on the market are down 23.8% from prior year.  This is great news as inventory is not building up as quickly, which helps to alleviate some of the downward pressure on home prices. 

Average sales price year-to-date for San Clemente real estate is $880,826 as compared to $995,776 prior year, representing a 11.5% decrease.  Buyers and sellers should keep in mind that Orange County and California real estate have faired much worse over the past year with price drops over 25% and 35% respectively.  While the San Clemente real estate market has been subjected to the correction, prices have held on much stronger indicating that demand for housing in this market is clearly above the county and state averages. 

Year-to-date, there have been 454 San Clemente homes and condos sold as compared with 513 prior year, representing a decrease of 11.5%.  While sales are still down with prior year, it should be noted that in August sales were down much more from prior year at approximately 16.3%.  This change is due to September 2008 sales of 44 compared with 33 for September 2007 or a 33% increase.  October could show signs of improvement over prior year as well as homes currently under contract at the end of September are 39 as compared with 25 prior year, representing a 56% increase.  October sales, however, may not fare as well depending on how the financial crisis impacts the market, how quickly the government's bailout plan could begin taking effect, and how consumer behavior will be effected by all of this.

For more information on San Clemente real estate, please explore our website or contact us!

According to this article in the Orange County Register, home sales in Orange County showed gains over year-ago totals for the third month in a row, with the September mark hitting an all-time year-to-year percentage gain since DataQuick began tracking home sales data 20 years ago.  The total amount of Orange County homes and condos sold in September 2008 totaled 2,667, an increase of 62% from September 2007.  As stated in a recent blog on our website, San Clemente home sales rose almost 33% from year-ago totals.  After a 33-month lull where home sales showed declines from the previous year's numbers, it looks like buyers are finally re-entering the marketplace to take advantage of the excellent deals in Orange County and San Clemente real estate.  The median selling price in Orange County is down 25% from last year, while San Clemente real estate has seen an 11.5% decrease in sales price from year-ago numbers. 

From people looking to purchase their first home to investors searching for the next great investment opportunity, this is truly an excellent time to explore the San Clemente real estate market.  For more information on San Clemente homes and condos, please do not hesitate to contact us.

An article on CNN Money titled "9 Ways to Tough Out Tough Times" provides a number of ways to protect yourself during times of economic instability like our current situation.  While many of the talking points concern one's financial portfolio and tips for trading in an unstable stock market, a couple of ideas deal directly with real estate buyers. 

The fifth item discussed in the article concerns raising and maintaining your credit score, one of the most important components analyzed by lenders when deciding whether or not to help finance your new home.  Not only does good credit make a lender feel more comfortable about lending money, but better credit may help you to get a lower interest rate.  The article states that the two most important factors with maintaining good credit are your payment history and account balances.  Paying bills on time should be a no-brainer (and accounts for 35% of your credit score), but keeping your account balances below 50% of your credit limit dramatically improves your overall credit score (this accounts for 30% of the total score).  The article also advises you to not open unnecessary accounts or make too many credit requests, as multiple credit inquiries could ding your score.   Credit history is important because it establishes your payment history, showing any potential lender that you have a good background with regards to paying off debt.  Even if buying a home is not in the foreseeable future, taking these steps now can make obtaining a loan for your first home that much easier.

The seventh talking point in the article concerns finding a great deal on a mortgage, something that is on everyone's minds these days when thinking about a real estate purchase.  One of the reasons that the housing market is in trouble is due to unscrupulous lenders taking advantage of people with little money and substandard credit by offering them loans that looked good on the surface but turned out to be nightmares when the interest rates adjusted.  In these tough times, banks are much more careful when lending money, and securing a good interest rate might mean putting down at least a 20-25% down payment.  The article states that buyers can find good interest rates without having to deal with mortgage brokers, who may add upwards of 27% to a loan's fees.  The article suggests going to a site like bankrate.com, where you can put in your desired location and loan amount to discover different lenders in the area and their loan terms.  Once you narrow down the list to a couple of potential lenders, contact each of them and ask for a good-faith estimate (usually free of charge).  The interest rates you receive from each may be in the same ballpark, but pay attention to the additional fees they charge for loan origination, document preparation, etc.  This takes a little work on your part, but it could end up saving you a nice chunk of change in the long run.

For more information on tips to help your purchase of San Clemente real estate become a reality, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

This week the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) reported that August sales in California were up 57% from the same period a year ago.  In the San Clemente real estate market, sales were stable with prior year, however, homes under contract were up 280% indicating that buyers are being priced in and finding deals they are willing to stomach in the current environment. 

As we continue to reiterate, San Clemente real estate has held on very strong relative to the state.  In August 2008 the median price was down approximately 10.2% over the 12 month period while California median price according to C.A.R. was down 40.5%.  This means that San Clemente homes and condos have held on about 75% stronger when compared to the state. 

All of the above is some positive news for San Clemente real estate.  For more information, please contact us!

President Bush has signed into law the $700 billion bailout of our nation's financial system.  While there were many mixed emotions over the bill, it is a necessity to restore credit to our financial markets, specifically the real estate market.  While the bill will take months to take effect on Main Street, it is a key first step to help home sales pick up and prices stabilize in our nation's real estate markets.  

San Clemente real estate has held on much stronger than other markets in the region; however, this bill is key to restoring confidence as sales pick up, inventory clears, and prices stabilize.  All of these factors will result in fewer San Clemente foreclosures and return the market to historical averages.  In addition, the bill helping to restore the credit markets will allow buyers who have traditionally been approved in normal markets get approved once again.  This is great news for San Clemente residents selling their homes.

For more information on San Clemente real estate, please explore the rest of our website or contact us!