Price Trends in the Bay Area The Obama Administration's newest effort to help families remain in their homes. The 'Making Home Affordable' program was created to help as many as 9 million homeowners who want to stay in their homes, but are struggling with their finances. As with most legislation of this type, some of the details are still pending and subject to further clarification – but I would invite you to call me so we can begin to discuss how they might benefit you. There are two important elements of this program: One part of the program will be available to 4 to 5 million homeowners who have a solid payment history on an existing home loan owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Many of these homeowners have been unable to refi and take advantage of lower interest rates because their homes have lost value. This plan allows for rate and term refis up to a 105% loan-to-value, which will help many homeowners take advantage of today's lower rates or refinance an adjustable-rate home loan into a more stable product, such as a 30-year fixed rate loan. To qualify, the home must be your primary residence and have a loan balance not exceeding $729,750. While there are still a few unknowns in the mix, this program will help a large number of homeowners cut their monthly expenses and benefit from the lower home loan rates available today. The second part of the program will help up to 3 to 4 million at-risk homeowners avoid foreclosure by reducing monthly home loan payments. This program lets home loan servicers modify eligible loans for those who have experienced financial hardship. The plan is designed to help these at-risk borrowers decrease the payment amount on their existing loan. Help Is Here The housing and job markets continue to be hard hit by the contraction in the economy. But combined with earlier measures, such as the $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers, the Making Home Affordable program may actually have some legs to help the housing market and economy overall. Regardless of which opportunity may be right for you – the best first move is to pick up the phone and let's start talking. Temporary Drop in California Foreclosure Activity January 27, 2009 La Jolla, CA.--The number of mortgage default notices filed against California homeowners fell last quarter to its lowest level in more than a year, the temporary result of a procedural change that took effect in September, a real estate information service reported. Lending institutions sent homeowners 75,230 default notices during the October-through-December period. That was down 20.2 percent from 94,240 for the prior three months, and down 7.7 percent from 81,550 for fourth-quarter 2007, according to MDA DataQuick. Recorded default notices peaked in second-quarter 2008 at 121,673. Last year lenders filed about 40,000 "notices of default" monthly from March through August. In September default recordings plunged to 14,995 as a new state law took effect requiring lenders to take added steps to keep troubled borrowers in their homes. While recordings were back up to 39,993 in December it's unclear whether lenders were mainly playing catch-up, or whether a new wave of foreclosure activity was building. "No one expected defaults to stay at the much lower levels we saw immediately after the new law took effect last fall. The bigger question is whether or not the housing market has hit a low and is dragging along bottom, or if the markets that so far have remained unaffected by the foreclosure problem are due for a fall. With today's atypical market trends, it's impossible to predict," said John Walsh, DataQuick president. Most foreclosure activity was still concentrated in affordable inland areas where the availability of so-called subprime financing fueled a buying and refinancing frenzy in 2005/2006. Those sub-markets, which represent about 25 percent of the state's housing stock, account for more than 50 percent of the default activity. That ratio is the same now as a year ago, indicating that the problem has not yet migrated into more established, expensive markets. Most of the loans that went into default last quarter were originated between October 2005 and January 2007. The median age was 29 months, up from 21 months a year earlier. More than three million home loans were originated in 2006. That dropped to two million in 2007, and 1.1 million last year. On primary mortgages, California homeowners were a median five months behind on their payments when the lender filed the notice of default. The borrowers owed a median $12,867 on a median $351,000 mortgage. On home equity loans and lines of credit, borrowers owed a median $4,267 on a median $60,000 credit line. However the amount of the credit line that was actually in use cannot be determined from public records. MDA DataQuick is a division of MDA Lending Solutions, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates. MDA DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts. Notices of Default are recorded at county recorders offices and mark the first step of the formal foreclosure process. Although 75,230 default notices were filed last quarter, they involved 73,575 homes because some borrowers were in default on multiple loans (e.g. a primary mortgage and a line of credit). Multiple default recordings on the same home are trending down, DataQuick reported. Mortgages were least likely to go into default in San Francisco, Marin, and San Mateo counties – the historical norm. The probability was highest in Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties. Trustees Deeds recorded, or the actual loss of a home to foreclosure, totaled 46,183 during the fourth quarter. That's 41.9 percent below 79,511 for the prior quarter, and up 45.8 percent from 31,676 for fourth-quarter 2007. In the last real estate cycle, Trustees Deeds peaked at 15,418 in third-quarter 1996. The all-time low was 637 in the second quarter of 2005. There are 8.5 million houses and condos in the state. For 2008 as a whole, 236,231 homes, or 2.8 percent of California's housing stock, was foreclosed on, MDA DataQuick reported. Foreclosure resales have emerged as a significant market factor, accounting for 55.1 percent of all California resale activity last quarter. A year ago it was 19.0 percent. Foreclosure resales varied significantly by area, from 10.7 percent in San Francisco County to 79.2 percent in Merced County. Posted by Michael Guddal, Realtor MSEE on April 15, 2009 at 10:55 PM About Michael Guddal, Realtor MSEE Educated as a scientist and engineer with a BS in Physics from UCSB and a MS in Electrical Engineering (MSEE) from UCD, I have researched areas like astrophysical phenomena and silicon chip manufacturing. I have also served as a US Naval officer in the field of nuclear propulsion. Why did I give all that up to become a Realtor? In 2001 I started investing in cash flow positive rental property and fell in love with real estate. After several years of owning and managing positive income properties, I began to realize the potential of working for myself in real estate. I am a self-starter, but I also enjoy a team environment. I strongly believe all investments, both personal and income generating, require a knowledgeable team to make a quick, efficient and successful transaction possible. With my licensed experience since 2004 and my experience in buying and managing rental properties I am capable of meeting your real estate needs. Being a member of the Local, State and National Association of Realtors grants me access to research resources not available to the public. From those resources I am able to acquire the knowledge and information to help find the ideal property for you. With my team on your side we will help you search for your next big investment! Also at 41111 Mission Blvd Fremont, CA As of 11/22/09 the Michael Guddal, Realtor MSEE RePage is ranked at 9 with 25,485 points. The monthly top RePage owner will receive a cash prize. Help this agent by bookmarking this site and posting it to blogs and other Web pages and encourage others to visit.

Local Information for Livermore, CA

Latitude: 37.685496 -- Longitude: -121.764096

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Livermore is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 80,723 as of January 1, 2005. Traditionally, Livermore is considered the easternmost city in the San Francisco Bay Area before entrance to the Central Valley. It was founded by William Mendenhall and named after Robert Livermore, his friend and a local rancher that settled in the area in the 1830s. After the discovery of gold in California, Livermore became a popular stopping place for prospectors headed for the Mother Lode, as it was one day's journey by horse or stagecoach from San Jose. Livermore's culture retains some vestiges of the farming and ranching traditions that have existed in the valley since the time of Robert Livermore, but now largely reflects the values of its suburban population. Livermore has a strong blue-collar element, as well as many professionals who work at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and various hi-tech industries within the Bay Area. -- Source: Wikipedia.com