1)         C4HAP applicant receives an eligibility letter

2)         They find a house

3)         The realtor makes an offer with language that the purchase price shall be contingent on the appraised value of the property.  Per the regulations, the purchase price must be 1% below the appraised value.  The County has an appraiser that will be doing the appraisals on a 48-hour turn around.  The County is paying for this appraisal and is used for the purpose of determine the purchase price.  It does not replace the appraisal you will do for their primary mortgage.  The lender will obtain their own appraisal just like normal.

If you purchased a home in Redding in 2000 you would have paid on average about $150,000.  By the end of 2009 the average sales price of a home in Shasta County was $215,000, a 43.3% increase over the decade.  Because so much of our market is price range specific I took a look at a few area neighborhoods to see how they fared over the last 10 years.

Ravenwood had a whopping 73.8% increase from $123,076 in 2000 to $213,993 at the end of 2009.

Starview Estates homes were selling for $82,760 in 2000 and $135,720 by the end of the decade. A 63.9% increase.

Western Ranches had a 40.9% increase from $178,867 to $252,182 over this time.

Sunset Terrace was the worst performer I found at 12.4% ($250,227 to $281,413)

How long will it take for home prices to regain 2006 levels is impossible to predict but 2018 is the estimate quoted in the union-tribune article.  If that were to occur here the average home purchased in 2010 for $215,000 would be worth $323,835 in 2018 (50.6% gain).

My take away from this? Real Estate remains a very solid long term investment.  I believe that  Real Estate is unique in that those with patience and discipline are able to leverage a relatively small initial investment combined with a monthly housing expense (mortgage instead of rent) and realize significant gains over time.  It is my opinion that we are in a market most likely to produce very good returns for buyers.

Interested in taking advantage of this opportunity? Contact me at 530.515.9097 or reddinghomes@gmail.com to get started.

• $8,000 for first-time homebuyers
• $6,500 for move-up homebuyers
• Must be in contract by April 30, 2010 and close escrow by June, 30.

If you want to take advantage of this tax credit it would pay to get started right away. No guarantees that there will be future credits. “This is probably the last extension,” said Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.

This is especially important for move-up buyers who need to sell in order to buy their next home during tax credit period. The good news for move-up seller/buyers is that this time pressure combined with the extra $8,000 available to first-time buyers will most likely boost entry level housing prices.

Either way, no time to lose.

Source: LA Times

News coming from Washington is that the first-time homebuyer tax credit will be extended and expanded to include move-up buyers who have been in their homes at least 5 years. More at Forbes.com