BHAUS EIGHT March 2022 Newsletter

Hello community,

Happy March! Weather is still a little cold in the mornings, but we are starting to feel the California sun in the afternoons. Many things are happening in our local communities and abroad, and we hope that you and your loved ones are safe. As of March 1st, California is no longer requiring masks for unvaccinated workers indoors, although still recommending them in most indoor settings. Students within LAUSD are also not required to wear masks in their classrooms.

If you have young kids, don’t forget summer camps are starting to book fast!

This month we have great information below regarding the strong SouthBay real estate market, economy and mortgage news, as well as a “info chat” on Short Sales for our investor community.

BHAUS New Listings:

COMING SOON in the city of Barstow:

Listed at $350,000 |3Bed + 2Bath | 1,1717 SF (click below for listing details)

https://matrix.crmls.org/Matrix/Listings/SBHAENSON268/MyResiListings.mls

NEW LISTING (Vacation Home) in the beautiful Prescott, AZ.

Listed at $585,000 | 3Bed + 2Bath | 1,424SF

Click here for listing details https://www.bhauseight.com/blog/bhaus-new-listings

SouthBay Real Estate.

Overall February 2022 saw average home prices increase, days on market decrease, and more listings added to the market (great news as it will ease the supply/demand issue we’ve been having).

In February, we saw a 6% (+$72K) price increase across all property types in the Southbay versus last month, although prices remained flat versus February 2021. Days on Market dropped by 48% (-16 days) vs last year, and we also had a drop in total sales. The great news is that across many cities in the South Bay we are starting to see an increase in new listings from last month (although still down versus last year), same trend we have seen across California in the last 7 of 8 weeks according to C.A.R.

Looking ahead, the market will continue strong during this Spring selling season, with the tight supply/demand easing up, although we are expecting increases in mortgage rates.

Home Stats by City.

Below are the snapshots of average home prices, # Sold listings, DOM, # New listings by city, inclusive of all types of properties (ie: Single Family Residences, condos, townhomes) compared to February of last year.

Economy & Mortgage News.

Prior to the current global events in Ukraine, The U.S. economy was moving ahead with great momentum, albeit an increasing inflation. According to C.A.R., employment outperformed expectations again while labor participation increased. Unemployment rate decreased to 3.8% in February, with California having one of biggest decreases in unadjusted UI claims. There is great optimism that our economy will continue to thrive despite global and domestic pressures.

Mortgage rates dropped last week due to investors’ flight to financial safe haven in the bond market, causing U.S. Treasury yields to recede. C.A.R. published rates for a 30-year fixed mortgage dropping to a weekly average rate of 3.76%, giving potential buyers and opportunity to jump into the market before rates continue to rise in the coming months, as expected.

Investor Corner.

For our investor community, we’d like to discuss short sales as a few of those listings have been coming up.

Short sales are properties that are being sold by less than the actual mortgage (what seller owes the bank), therefore the seller’s lender must approve the sale. Our team was very active in short sales in the last RE down turn, so we are very familiar with the process and can help you navigate it successfully, whether on the listing or buying side. The most important thing to know is that once a buyer sends an offer, it will take a few weeks (4-8 weeks) to get an answer from the lender. All contingencies (inspections, etc) to protect you as a buyer still remain in place, since once the lender approves your offer, the timelines begin per contract and the transaction follows the “normal” path to closing. In addition, most short sales and REOs (bank-owned properties) will not offer any repairs, so if repairs are too much for you to handle, you can still back out of the transaction with no repercussions (given you have not removed your inspection contingency).

If your timeline allows a short wait upfront while lender reviews offer, these properties should be of great interest to you as they sell for under market value as bank wants to unload them from their portfolios.

Our team sends these short sale listings out in our Investor Corner emails as soon as they get listed. They move very fast, so if it’s something that interests you, make sure your financing is in place (or cash if you are a cash buyer) and you have the flexibility to view the property with little short notice (most of these listings do not accept “blind offers”, meaning you must view it before they accept your offer).

To subscribe to our weekly emails of investor opportunities including short sales, please email Sonia directly at Sonia@bhauseight.com

From BHAUS to yours.