Marsha Dashiell's Real Estate Blog

If you have the cash, which most investors do, then you are living life in the fast lane. With record numbers of foreclosures and short sales, now is the perfect opportunity to capitalize on the American Dream. However, in most cases, this is a dream that will not end soon.

Record numbers of investors and cash-buyers in January drove Sacramento County home sales to normal levels for the month but dragged down the median sales price to tie a 10-year low.

Sacramento County’s housing market kicked off the new year with 1,561 total sales – new and resale homes and condos – a 5.4 percent increase from the same month last year and just under the 1,584 home sales January has averaged over the past two decades, according to figures released Thursday by La Jolla-based researcher DataQuick Information Systems.

Of those home sales last month, 34.3 percent were to absentee owners. That’s the largest percentageof absentee buyers for any month since 2000 when DataQuick began tracking such data.

“The investors and others targeting lower-cost properties stayed busy during the holidays,” said Andrew Le- Page, a DataQuick analyst. “This is all about bargain hunting.”

Nearly 38 percent of sales in the county last month went to buyers paying cash – often the mark of an investor.

The median price in January was $160,000 – matching the median price in February 2009 as the lowest since December 2000, when the median was $159,000.

Distressed properties – short sales and foreclosures – continue to dominate the market, according to DataQuick.

In January, more than half of all resales were homes that had been foreclosed on some time during the prior year.

Conversely, January set a record low for sales of new homes. Only 40 new homes sold in Sacramento County last month.

Whether you are an investor, or a new family trying to take a piece of the pie, this is the perfect time to jump into the real estate market. Rates are still at historic lows, as well as the home prices. You may not see another opportunity like this in your life time.

*Robert Lewis of Sacramento Bee contributed to this posting

Everyday, I try to search the web for some useful information that I feel will make my audience smart to the mortgage industry. I always feel that a smarter boworrer is a stronger bowerer. So with that in mind, I found this article on CNBC and thought I would share it with you.

Published: Friday, 11 Feb 2011 | 3:44 PM ET By: Reuters

The Obama administration declared the death of the existing U.S. housing finance system on Friday, setting in motion an uncertain project that will take years and reshape the way Americans buy and own homes.

Following is a rundown of who stands to be the biggest winners and losers from the administration’s plan to wind down government-controlled mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

The Winners

— Big banks that are willing to invest in mortgages

The proposed reforms will likely help the bank industry, especially larger firms, by allowing them to raise the prices that they charge consumers for mortgages, analyst Paul Miller of FBR Capital Markets said.

— Mortgage securitizers

Wall Street firms have said record low interest rates and government competition have been a major factor keeping them out of the mortgage credit market. But reducing the government’s role can be a “game changer,” Martin Hughes, chief executive officer of Redwood Trust, said at a securitization conference this week.

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“Why isn’t the private sector up and running? It really is uber-government support for mortgage financing,” said Hughes, whose real estate investment trust profits by taking on the riskier parts of private securitizations.

Wall Street investment firms have been rebuilding mortgage finance desks since 2009. Other non-bank entities such as PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust asset manager BlackRock and private equity firm WL Ross & Co. have laid foundations for private lending in recent months.

But after the housing crisis, many investors are still reluctant to load up on mortgage-backed securities that don’t have a government guarantee linked to them. It could take years for faith in securitization to return to prior levels.

— Mortgage insurers

Private mortgage insurance backstops home loans where the buyers make a down payment smaller than 20 percent of the purchase price. Buyers pay for it but the insurance protects the lender’s interests.

Insurers collectively face potential claims on hundreds of thousands of delinquent mortgages from the last few years, but could be reinvigorated if they get the opportunity to write large amounts of new business in years to come.

The end of Fannie and Freddie is expected to bolster top industry players MGIC Investment, Radian Group, PMI Group and Genworth Financial. Shares of all four surged on Friday.

The Losers

— Homebuyers

The biggest losers in the Obama administration’s reform proposals will inevitably be people seeking to buy a home, or people that own homes.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner conceded on Friday that mortgage costs will rise in coming years, as government support is withdrawn and the private sector takes on a bigger role.

The ultimate shape of the reforms is far from clear, however, and no one is able to say exactly how the changes will translate into bottom-line costs for homebuyers.

Credit Suisse speculated this week that rates on a basic 30-year fixed mortgage could rise as much as 2 percentage points if the government withdrew its backing of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Higher mortgage rates could make homes less affordable for buyers, and could also weigh on home prices, hurting sellers.

— Banks that sell mortgages to investors rather than holding them

Mortgage Costs to Rise As Government Lessens RoleFannie/Freddie Reform: Reaction ReduxUS to Move Gradually on Mortgage Reform: GeithnerObama to Propose Insurance for Mortgage SecuritiesBig Changes Coming for Mortgage MarketStates with the Highest Foreclosure Rates
Smaller banks that have traditionally sold most of their mortgages to Fannie and Freddie have less ability to hold large mortgage portfolios on their balance sheets, and are more likely to suffer from the proposals, FBR’s Miller said.

Banks that operate as agents and have traditionally sold most of their mortgages to the GSEs or private investors, such as Bank of America are also expected to have to adjust their business models as a result of the proposals.

— Wall Street

In the near term, Fannie and Freddie’s demise could hurt the Wall Street firms that help sell their bonds and hedge their interest-rate risk. As two of the most regular issuers in the country, the government-sponsored enterprises were a steady source of fees for a roster of major investment banks.

In the long-term, these issues could be more than offset by the banks’ profits from securitization and higher mortgage rates, which is why many big banks for years have been lobbying for the government to decrease its support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Cover of Curb Appeal

Roll up your sleaves and get ready to add some curb appeal to your home. By remodeling your lawn and adding some appeal to it, you increase your chance for a quick sale, a sale with a potential higher revenue. Alot of ideas to add value to your lawn are very minimal in cost, but do take hard work and labor. Your end results can be very beneficial if you do it correctly.

The following is one of many examples of a successful remodeling of the landscape. Hopefully by watching this you may get a spark of inspiration and your creative juices ignite a drive in you in which ultimately brings you a higher sale price! If nothing else, it is a very entertaining video.