“Sales are subpar, prices mainly flat and I don’t anticipate much change,” said Andrew LePage, an analyst with San Diego’s DataQuick, which produced the report. “Lots of people are stacked up on the sidelines, waiting for a better time to buy or sell when things are more certain.”

The median price for all homes – resale, new and condos – sold across the nine Bay Area counties in November was $363,500, down 4.3 percent from a year ago.

The total number of properties changing hands edged up 3.4 percent to 6,317, compared with last year.

Not much inventory

Low inventory remains an issue as many people are reluctant to sell, said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker’s Bay Area region.

“The home seller who becomes a move-up buyer is almost like a missing generation,” he said. “We have some people out there with an appetite (to buy) who have a down payment and can qualify, but because of the ho-hum market, there isn’t inventory for them.”

Turley said he sees about 4 1/2 months’ worth of inventory for high-end homes and just a few weeks’ worth on the low end.

Cindi Hagley, managing broker at Prudential California Realty in San Ramon, observed similar dynamics.

“We have multiple offers on almost everything we sell for under $400,000,” she said.

But at the other end, “People who could theoretically afford to buy bigger homes are hunkering down a bit,” Hagley said. “People are downsizing” rather than moving up.

High-end sales are also taking a hit from a change in the conforming loan limit, which eliminates most government-backed mortgages between $625,501 and $729,750. Lawmakers restored FHA loans in that bracket, but Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages are no longer available.

“We don’t know yet to what extent FHA and the private mortgage market can fill that void,” LePage said.

The tighter financing for high-end homes is reflected in declining sales volume.

Low-price purchases

For instance, in Santa Clara County, November sales of homes over $800,000 were down 18.2 percent from a year earlier, while sales of homes under $300,000 rose 22.3 percent compared with November 2010, LePage said.

Throughout the real estate downturn, sales of higher-end homes have declined dramatically. Mortgages above $417,000 accounted for about 29.7 percent of November’s purchase lending, DataQuick said. Before 2007, such “jumbo” mortgages represented almost 60 percent of local purchase loans.

Distressed sales – foreclosures and short sales sold for less than is owed on the mortgage – remain a potent force, accounting for almost half of all resales in the Bay Area in November.

Investor activity remains high, with absentee buyers snapping up 22.6 of all homes sold last month compared with a regular monthly average of 13.9 percent since 2000. All-cash buyers represented 27.9 percent of November sales.

Other national reports out this week underscored the market’s continued malaise:

– Real estate service Zillow.com said values nationwide were down 5.1 percent in October compared with a year earlier. In the San Francisco metropolitan area, it said, values fell 6.3 percent and are now 33.8 percent off their peak.

– Foreclosure service RealtyTrac said November foreclosure filings nationwide were down 14 percent compared with a year ago. But the company said that despite that seasonal slowdown, numbers suggest a new surge of foreclosures in coming months.

California foreclosure auctions hit a 10-month high in November and the state had the nation’s second-highest foreclosure rate (after Nevada) with 1 in every 211 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in the month. Bucking the national trend, California foreclosure filings rose 11 percent in November compared with 2010.

– Move.com, the nation’s largest online collection of for-sale listings, with data from all of the country’s 900-plus multiple listing services, showed national inventory down 21.3 percent in November compared with a year ago and median list prices up 4.05 percent.

In the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin, Move.com showed median list prices basically flat compared with a year ago and inventory down significantly. Homes in those counties sold much faster than those elsewhere in the country, with an average inventory age of 76 days versus 114 days nationwide.

E-mail Carolyn Said at csaid@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page D – 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/15/BU6K1MCHQJ.DTL

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) October 17, 2011

With the economy bumping along the bottom, and stalemates in Washington preventing any legislative action, many people are starting to talk about a double-dip recession. But AccessBanc Mortgage, a Bay Area mortgage broker, says there is one group benefiting from the bad economy: borrowers. Mortgage-backed securities have recently hit all-time lows, which means interest rates on home loans are at ridiculously low rates, making it an excellent time to refinance a mortgage.

“Right now is an incredible opportunity to get historically low interest rates on a mortgage,” says Greg Erny, a Principal at AccessBanc Mortgage. “If you have been considering taking out or refinancing a mortgage loan, you won’t find a better time to apply. Even if you obtained a loan within the last year, interest rates have probably gone down low enough to refinance again.”

In an attempt to boost the slower-than-expected economic recovery, the Federal Reserve recently began purchasing more long-term bonds and mortgage-backed securities, which has the effect of pushing down long-term interest rates. This year, interest rates on the 30-year Treasury Bond had already hit a 60-year low, and this move by the Fed will most likely push them even lower.

For those looking to purchase a new home, this is great news. Home prices are currently low, and with interest rates at unheard-of lows, people may be surprised to discover the kind of home they can now afford.

For current homeowners, refinancing has never looked better. “If you thought your current mortgage rate was low, you’d better check again. Given these ridiculously low rates, it’s time to call AccessBanc Mortgage to determine whether it is time for you to refinance again,” says Erny.

For more information about historically low interest rates or any of AccessBanc’s products or services, call them at (408) 514-5312 or visit www.accessbanc.com.

About AccessBanc

AccessBanc is a San Francisco Bay Area mortgage broker committed to offering the most seasoned, professional, and competent loan consulting talent available. Because their Loan Consultants enjoy favorable lender terms, use state of the art technology, and apply innovative solutions to knowledgeably work the market, they can offer prospective borrowers extremely competitive mortgage rates and great service.

Their services include: refinance, home purchase, first-time homebuyers, conventional conforming loans, jumbo loans, second/vacation homes, investment/rental properties, pre-qualification and pre-approved letters, and home equity loans / lines of credit. From home finance in Marin to first-time homebuyers in San Jose, AccessBanc’s carefully selected Loan Consultant Team can help Bay Area borrowers find the right loan.

AccessBanc Mortgage is a Real Estate Broker licensed by the California Department of Real Estate, License #00892684. NMLS #311147.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebbay-area-mortgage-broker/san-francisco/prweb8881754.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/10/17/prweb8881754.DTL