The Truth About Realty.com

An overzealous San Diego developer recently ran a deal offering two homes for the price of one, in the latest sign that the housing market is in pure shambles.

According to a flyer obtained by the L.A. Land blog, those who purchased a home starting at $1.6 million in the San Pasqual Valley (near the San Diego wild animal park) would receive a free second row home valued at about $400,000 in nearby Escondido.

Of course restrictions applied, and the deal has since run out as of May 31, but it just goes to show how much oversupply is rotting away on the housing market.

The deal was offered by Michael Crews Development, who told local news stations that the company was just looking to reduce excess inventory, although I’m sure a little PR was behind the stunt as well.

Because in the real world, this type of deal would be a lot more complicated than your typical BOGO (buy one, get one free), namely because you have to consider financing two homes as opposed to just one.

And that involves two mortgages, which at this time, are more difficult to obtain than ever, especially in depreciating markets like San Diego.

The ad states that you can give one home to a family member, to guests, or simply use it as a rental property, but to me, that sounds like double trouble.

Two hard-to-obtain mortgages and two stagnating property values, hmmm…

(photo: ikkoskinen)

Less than a year after it was built, a home newly constructed by the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” team was listed for sale.

The Pennsauken, New Jersey property was built in less than a week by thousands of volunteers last summer as a favor for a man and his five sons who were apparently living in poverty.

The 3,000 square foot, 0.12-acre lot, four-bedroom home was listed last week by ZipRealty for $499,900 and has since been taken off the market.

The owner of the home failed to comment on the record, but was reportedly angry with the a local publication for running the feature story.

Unfortunately, the next most expensive listing in the area is being offered at a mere $324,900, which leaves the prospect of a sale rather grim.

Local real estate agents have warned that it will be difficult to sell the property for this reason, likely because few (if any) banks and lenders would be willing to settle on a value that exceeds all neighboring homes, especially during a nationwide housing crisis.

It’s unclear why the family put the home up for sale, but it’s hard not to speculate that the housing crisis has something to do with it.

The story, reported by local paper, “CourierPostOnline.com” details the listing and the drama that has now ensued.

(photo: kf)

Former MLB slugger Jose Canseco has walked away from his mortgage amid slumping real estate prices and hefty legal fees, according to the Wall Street Journal.

According to the WSJ, Canseco purchased the 7,300 square-foot Encino, CA home for $2.8 million in 2005 with a Washington Mutual loan, but it later fell into default in October and was recorded as a foreclosure in February.

Apparently the drop in house values recently stripped about $1 million in equity from the home, making its mathematically appropriate to just walk away.

There was also reportedly an IRS tax lien and a judgment related to a bar brawl involving himself and his brother in Miami in 2001 tied to the property that totaled $1.3 million altogether.

The news broke after Canseco conducted an interview with Inside Edition, while shopping his new book titled, “Vindicated”.

Asked how a baseball star who released two tell-all books could possibly have financial concerns, Canseco noted that his situation was complicated.

He basically explained that a few divorces coupled with taking care of his family for the last two decades got expensive, especially when he was the relied upon source for cash.

Canseco added that he has a much more modest home now, and no longer the neighborhood’s mega-hotel.

(photo: baltimike)

According to a report released by comScore, a global Internet information provider, real estate related traffic rose 5 percent in December 2007, compared to a year earlier.

The company counted about 32.7 million visits to real estate websites during the month, despite a recent downturn in housing.

The biggest mover was Trulia, a real estate search engine that saw its unique visitors nearly triple to more than 1.6 million in December, beating out rival Zillow.com.

Here are the top 10 most visited real estate sites for December, according to comScore:

1. Move Network
2. MSN Real Estate
3. Yahoo! Real Estate
4. Rent.com
5. Apartments.com
6. HomeGain.com
7. Trulia.com
8. ServiceMagic.com
9. HPCInteractive
10. Zillow.com

Want to be closer to your favorite team? Perhaps be just a stone’s throw away from the stadium so you can tailgate in your own backyard for big Saturday matchups? Well, before you get too excited, you may want to size up real estate prices in popular college towns prior to packing your bags.

Below is a list of the top 10 most affordable college real estate markets, followed by the 10 most expensive, according to average sales price, based on the third annual Coldwell Banker College Home Price Comparison Index.

Top 10 most affordable college markets for home prices in 2007:

· Ball State University, Muncie, IN, $150,000
· Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, $151,250
· University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, $153,750
· Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, $162,000
· Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, $163,250
· University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, $163, 278
· University of Louisiana Monroe, Monroe, LA, $164,499
· University of Houston, Houston, TX,$169,736
· Rice University, Houston, TX,$169,736
· Utah State University, Logan, UT, $172,978

Top 10 most expensive college markets for home prices in 2007:

· Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, $1,677,000
· Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, $1,381,250
· University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, $1,306,333
· University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, $1,306,333
· University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, $1,287,500
· San Jose State University, San Jose, CA, $1,145,000
· University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, $843,750
· Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, $708,000
· Florida International University, Miami, FL, $638,333
· University of Miami, Miami, FL, $638, 333

The Coldwell Banker College Market HPCI examines housing markets that are home to 119 Football Bowl Subdivision (I-A) schools.

Coldwell said college towns are a popular place to live, both for retirees and first-time homebuyers, noting that many of these communities draw many of their alumni back home.

The loan tied to the 2,700 acre Santa Ynez Valley ranch-cum-amusement park owned by Michael Jackson is apparently in default.

If the $23 million dollar loan and subsequent interest (believed to be $212,963) aren’t made up-to-date, there is a chance that the property could be foreclosed upon.

It’s unclear what type of financial shape Michael Jackson is in, but it’s doubtful that the current real estate bubble burst has anything to do with it.

Though it’s unlikely that Jackson’s property was financed with a high-risk mortgage, even if it was, the current housing shake-up shouldn’t be enough to stop a multi-millionaire from making his mortgage payments.

Regardless, the property could add to the growing number of foreclosures currently being chalked up throughout the country.

Earlier this year, Jackson closed the house on his Neverland Ranch and laid off some of the employees there after he moved to the middle eastern country of Bahrain.

Fannie Mae Chief Executive Daniel Mudd said in an interview today in Washington that the housing slump will continue longer than earlier anticipated, estimating a downward trend beyond 2008.

Mudd said that home prices would fall 2 to 4 percent this year, and “more next year.”

Fannie Mae expects increased credit losses as a result, thanks in part to record foreclosure rates.

According to the Commerce Department, home purchases slowed by 8.3% to an annual pace of 795,000, while the median price dropped 7.5 percent from August 2006, the biggest decline since 1970.

Earlier this month, the National Association of Realtors felt home prices would stop their descent in the first quarter of 2008, though new estimates are much more bearish.

KB Homes Chief Jeffrey Mezger mirrored negative sentiment, explaining that the oversupply of new and resale homes is putting more downward pressure on new home values and exacerbating any chance of a recovery.

Meanwhile, Fannie Mae is looking for a 10 percent increase to its current loan portfolio, citing the need for expansion to help at-risk homeowners who have little or no option to refinance.

The current constraints won’t be lifted until Fannie Mae gets in the habit of reporting timely financial reports.

The company expects to release its 2007 results in February, at which point the current caps may be eased.

Forbes recently released another top 10 list, this time the “top 10 riskiest U.S. Housing Markets”.

The level of risk is based on a number of factors, including percentage of homeowners with an adjustable-rate mortgage, percentage of homeowners with a loan-to-value of 90% or higher, price to earnings ratios for the cities, and vacancy rates.

Because mortgage rates are thought to rise in coming years, many believe high concentrations of adjustable-rate mortgages will lead to more defaults, foreclosures, and a dead market.

Along those same lines, high loan-to-values could lead to mortgage defaults as well, with homeowners walking away if very little equity is invested.

The price to earnings ratio for cities is the market’s median home price divided by annual rents minus taxes and insurance for those properties. So it can indicate if a market is overvalued and due for a correction.

Finally vacancy rates were used, which measure the economic stability of a housing market, through supply and demand.

After careful analysis, the top 10 list of Riskiest U.S. Housing Markets:

1. Miami
2. Orlando
3. Sacramento
4. San Francisco
5. San Diego
6. Phoenix
7. Kansas City
8. Cincinnati
9. Chicago
10. Denver

In the latest report from The National Association of Realtors sales of existing homes dropped by 3.8 percent in June, making it the fourth straight month existing home sales declined.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.75 million units is the slowest sales pace in 4 1/2 years, signaling a very real housing bubble burst after so many fruitful years.

And no part of the country was spared, with nationwide sales drops of 7.3 percent in the Northeast, 6.8 percent in the West, 2.8 percent in the Midwest and 1.7 percent in the South.

There were two pieces of good news amongst the bad, including the fact that inventory of unsold homes dropped by 4.2% in June to 4.2 million units and the median price of an existing home rose to $230,300 in June, a 0.1% increase from the sales price a year ago, a signal that price stabilization may be on the way.

Unfortunately, many potential buyers are still feeling out the market, especially with mortgage rates at near highs and tougher underwriting standards.

The news comes on the heels of more bad news from the nation’s largest lender, Countrywide, who now says the subprime problems have spread to A-paper borrowers as well.

Surprise, surprise.

Who wants it?

The Aspen, Colorado home of a Saudi Arabian prince has been listed on the market for $135 million dollars.

The home is the most expensive single-family residence property listed in the United States, a 95 acre estate built in 1991 for the family of Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former ambassador to the United States.

The property is referred to as “Hala” meaning “Welcome in Arabic”, although its asking price translates to quite the opposite.

The home was originally listed in October, and since then has received 1,000 viewing requests, though only about 11 have been granted.

Based on the asking price, the only qualified buyers will need to be billionaires, a relatively small group of 946.

“Hala” is 56,000 square feet, features 15 bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, a beauty salon and barbershop, and a staff of 12 overlooking the Aspen valley.

Properties these days are spending a lot of time on the market, and it’s probably safe to say that this one may take a while to sell, that is, if they can find a mortgage!

The selling agent noted that though the property comes at an unbelievable price, it will likely be a second, third, or even fourth home for the buyer.

Pictures licensed by Joshua and Co.