Real Estate Trends - Palmdale, Lancaster, Quartz Hill and the Greater Antelope Valley February 14-15 - 2010 Palmdale and Lancaster California are on the cutting edge when it comes to solar-power.  Currently there are more the 5 new solar-power projects in the planning phase.  Once these projects get off the ground more jobs will be coming into the area.  If you are looking to move into the high desert you should consult a REALTOR®. Keller Williams Realty AV Ranked #1 in the Antelope Valley Janet O'Brian is a Certified Short Sales Specialist in California is ready to help you with your Situation… Pre-foreclosures                                                                                                  Monthend Numbers Jan '10 Dec '09 Nov '09 Oct '09 Sep '09 Aug '09 Listed 691 598... 02/15/2010

Alert Con Artist Warning for Home Equity Conversion Loans The government has issued a warning for those interested in Home Equity Conversion Loans commonly known in the real estate/mortgage business as HECM loan.  Increased awareness of HECM loans for either conventional or FHA guaranteed loans the government has seen an uptick in deceiving buyers. Real FHA HECM loans offer to buyers are intended to add safety with stricter controls and licensing requirements for FHA approved lenders, but some con artist operate outside the range of FHA rules that are there to protect the borrower.  Reverse mortgage and HECM con artist are tricking the borrower into signing away their equity; other tricks are intended to help the con artist profit by illegally taking the equity built up in a “flipped” h... 02/13/2010

For the last 2 years our business focus has been on Short Sales and have successfully negotiated for our clients deals that create Win-Win situations.  Let us be your advocates who will explain the plain truth about this challenging Real Estate Market.  Let our knowledge, experience and expertise guide you through the Short Sale process.   Together we have adapted to these changes by increasing education and becoming: • PSC (Pre-Foreclosure Specialist Certified) • CPS (Certified  Short-Sale Professional) • Top Producers. Our superior negotiation skills come from a background in sales over the last 20+ years.  Our goal is your satisfaction from our professionalism, integrity and passion for our work. Our short sale / pre-foreclosure team is highly trained to service your needs.  Our guar... 02/10/2010

Short Sale vs. Foreclosure: Which is the Better Option? Losing your home to foreclosure due to an inability to keep up with your monthly mortgage payments is one of life’s most unpleasant experiences. It is also an event that keeps on affecting you long after your home is history by devastating your credit score. Regrettably, most people cannot be 100% sure that they will remain safe from foreclosure because they can’t foresee the unexpected. Occurrences such as serious illness, a major accident, divorce or job loss can happen to anyone. So it’s a good idea to understand the available alternatives should the worst occur. For more information  Short Sale vs. Foreclosure Keller Williams Realty AV Ranked #1 in the Antelope Valley Janet O'Brian is a Certified Short Sales Specialist in Calif... 02/09/2010

Real Estate Trends - Palmdale, Lancaster, Quartz Hill and the Greater Antelope Valley February 8 - 2010 Lancaster California Main Street is getting a 10 million dollar makeover.  Downtown Lancaster Boulevard’s beautifications is planned to start in March and run through October.  With a 10 million dollar bank roll more jobs will be coming into the Lancaster area. Keller Williams Realty AV Ranked #1 in the Antelope Valley Janet O'Brian is a Certified Short Sales Specialist in California is ready to help you with your Situation… Pre-foreclosures                                                                                                  Monthend Numbers Jan '10 Dec '09 Nov '09 Oct '09 Sep '09 Aug '09 Listed 691 598 756 659 701 691 Pending 556 507 667 593 725 564 Sold 369 517 565 549 ... 02/08/2010

Real Estate Trends - Palmdale, Lancaster, Quartz Hill and the Greater Antelope Valley February 5 - 2010 For the first time in two years active resale home in the greater Antelope Valley is above 1,300, with active core over 900.  Banks seem to be releasing some of their stockpile of REOs.  Short Sale are keeping pace with the REOs at present.  With the First time buyer ($8,000) and repeater ($6,500) tax credit being extended through the end of April now is the time to make the jump and buy. Heard on NPR “In the days before the housing crisis, the idea of a bank foreclosure filled a homeowner's mind with dread and shame. Now, with so many Americans owing more on their homes than they're worth, some people are taking a whole new approach: essentially saying, "Foreclose on me, please." It'... 02/05/2010

Palmdale Regional Medical Center is nearing completion and is to open in 2010. Bring hundreds of high paying medical jobs into the area, the 100 million Regional Medical Center the project started in 2005 and will provide over 230 licensed patient beds when operating at full capacity.  Furthermore the Palmdale Regional Medical Center will have 24-Hour Emergency Department with 35 treatment bays. Keller Williams Realty AV Ranked #1 in the Antelope Valley Janet O'Brian is a Certified Short Sales Specialist in California is ready to help you with your Situation… Pre-foreclosures                                                                                                  Monthend Numbers   Jan '10 Dec '09 Nov '09 Oct '09 Sep '09 Aug '09 Listed 691 598 756 659 701 691 Pending 556 507 667... 02/04/2010

Real Estate Trends - Palmdale, Lancaster, Quartz Hill and the Greater Antelope Valley February 3 - 2010 January numbers are in without any surprises.  We did see a small holiday affecting the pace of closed transactions, however new escrows out paced December ’09.  Buyer appetite is strong even with new FHA rules coming into play.  The big change in the Palmdale, Lancaster real estate market for 2010 is Short Sales are out pacing bank owned (REO).  REO’s are running 26% of the core area, while Shore Sales are 30% and with “normal listing” at 44% of the total.  We are projecting Short Sales will be 35% and REO’s holding at 28% by spring. Keller Williams Realty AV Ranked #1 in the Antelope Valley Janet O'Brian is a Certified Short Sales Specialist in California is ready to help you with ... 02/03/2010

Keller Williams Realty AV (Antelope Valley) in the Palmdale, Lancaster area has for the 5th straight year has lead the entire Antelope Valley with sold and customer satisfaction period. Keller Williams Realty AV (Antelope Valley) has the most active professional realty agents of any realty office in the Antelope Valley. Keller Williams Realty AV (Antelope Valley) has beaten out all other Keller Williams offices nation wide in profit sharing for 2009! If you are looking to make a move Keller Williams might just be the right place to start! Richard & Janet - Certified Short Sale Professional Realtors 661-733-0507 OR 733-0508 Keller Williams Realty AV Serving Palmdale, Lancaster in California www.HomesByJR.com www.ShortSaleByJR.com 01/29/2010

Alert Loan Mod Scams are popping up more and more these days and some are even trapping REALTORS & victimizing some for the second time.  If you’re facing foreclosure, check out your options first.  Find out if there is an upfront fee for the loan modification if there is, be cautious, also get a good faith estimate of you monthly payment.  How long the new monthly payments will last and if there are and rerating or change of the any of the loan terms sometime in the future.  Another options is selling short also known as a pre-foreclosure sale, a short sale expert can guide you through the process at no cost to you.  Janet O’Brian is a certified Short Sales Specialist and does all the negotiating with your bank and doesn’t farm out your personal information to a third party.  Janet’s a... 01/29/2010

Real Estate Trends - Palmdale, Lancaster, Quartz Hill and the Greater Antelope Valley January 27 - 2010 Keller Williams Realty AV (Antelope Valley) in the Palmdale, Lancaster area has for the 5th straight year has lead the entire Antelope Valley with sold and customer satisfaction period.  Keller Williams Realty AV (Antelope Valley) has the most active professional realty agents of any realty office in the Antelope Valley.  Keller Williams Realty AV (Antelope Valley) has beaten out all other Keller Williams offices nation wide in profit sharing for 2009!  If you are looking to make a move Keller Williams might just be the right place to start! Keller Williams Realty AV Ranked #1 in the Antelope Valley Janet O'Brian is a Certified Short Sales Specialist in California is ready to help you... 01/27/2010

Real Estate Trends - Palmdale, Lancaster, Quartz Hill and the Greater Antelope Valley January 26 2010 Why does my property have negative equity? Here are a few common reasons: Person bought at the height of the market and the market has now declined or paid more than the property was worth. The area has become less desirable for any number of reasons, so property values have declined. Person purchased the home with little or no money down and wants to sell within a few years of purchase… and the property value has not increased during that time. Therefore, costs associated with selling the property may create a balance due at closing, Person refinanced the home (with a high appraisal value) and now has little or no equity. Person bought in a brand new subdivision or recently developed ... 01/26/2010

Real Estate Trends - Palmdale, Lancaster, Quartz Hill and the Greater Antelope Valley January 25 2010 Well we know who’s in the Super Bowl great games hope the big game is a good… Keller Williams Realty AV Ranked #1 in the Antelope Valley Janet O'Brian is a Certified Short Sales Specialist in California is ready to help you with your Situation… Pre-foreclosures                                                                                                  Monthend Numbers Dec '09 Nov '09 Oct '09 Sep '09 Aug '09 Listed 598 756 659 701 691 Pending 507 667 593 725 564 Sold 517 565 549 564 612 The new look of the Dailys which are a set of number tracking the current trand in the Ral Estate Market in the Antelope Vally. Dailys* New Listings 11 Back on Market 1 Price Increases 0 Price Reduc... 01/25/2010

Real Estate Trends - Palmdale, Lancaster, Quartz Hill and the Greater Antelope Valley January 22 2010 Palmdale, Lancaster are in the News, Rain and Snow has hit the high desert with a series of winter storms not seen in years.  The Water pours over the spillway at Littlerock Dam Thursday making its way to a nearby road. Overflow of Littlerock Reservoir resulted from the daily rainstorms that pounded the Antelope Valley and all of So Cal this week. Water district officials count on the reservoir to meet their customers’ water demands.  And were pleased with weather conditions after 3 years of drought which almost drained the lake. Keller Williams Realty AV Ranked #1 in the Antelope Valley Janet O'Brian is a Certified Short Sales Specialist in California is ready to help you with your Sit... 01/22/2010

Short Sale, or in the business it called taking a haircut.  In other words the bank agrees to take less than the balance of the loan.  The process can be complicated and confusing as there are requirements the banks have, and these requirements differ from bank to bank, so having a Certified Short Sale Professional working for you is a must… Keller Williams Realty AV Ranked #1 in the Antelope Valley Janet O'Brian is a Certified Short Sales Specialist in California is ready to help you with your Situation… Pre-foreclosures                                                                                                  Monthend Numbers   Dec '09 Nov '09 Oct '09 Sep '09 Aug '09 Listed 598 756 659 701 691 Pending 507 667 593 725 564 Sold 517 565 549 564 612   The new look of the Dailys whic... 01/21/2010

Short Sale are the new REO and we were positioning our business in 2007 for this market.  We have hade our ups-n-downs with the banks as they were hit with the mortgage meltdown, it seemed they only foreclosed.  Out business is mainly helping folks sell short. In the past few months we have seen most of the banks working to streamline the process with some still getting up to speed. Our office Keller Williams Realty AV is in the Antelope Valley near where the space shuttle lands when in California.  We were hit hard in 2007 and have started to recover in 2008.  2009 was the turning point as sales hit over 9,000.  We saw a shift in the market as well when the banks regrouped and started to manage the Bank Own homes and slowed down the release of their inventory and started moving into th... 01/20/2010

Real Estate Trends - Palmdale, Lancaster, Quartz Hill and the Greater Antelope Valley January 20 2010...Relatively large annual sales gains were recorded last month in many well-known, high end markets including Newport Beach, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills. Furthermore, some of the more reasonably priced inland areas that saw strong 2009 sales recorded year-over-year declines last month. Those markets included Palmdale, Lancaster, but they are well on the way to recovery.  The Palmdale, Lancaster Real Estate market is the most affordable in Los Angeles County. The percentage of So-Cal homes sold above $500,000 last month rose to 20% of all sales, up from 16% percent a previous year and the highest since it was 23% in August 2008. On average since 2000, $500,000+ sales have made up 36.5... 01/20/2010

Real Estate Trends - Palmdale, Lancaster, Quartz Hill and the Greater Antelope Valley January 19 2010... Palmdale Lancaster area in the Antelope Valley in the northern part of Los Angeles County remains the best for buying a home.  Price are stabilizing and inching up in pockets.  Also inventory is starting to increase with Bank Own homes out pacing short sale for the first time in months.  Calif. lowest median home as of January 2010: High Desert $125,800.  Ana Verde a housing development just off the 14 freeway has dropped over 50% in value in the past two years.  With large homes to choose from it is seeing a raise in sale during recent months.  If you are looking for a great deal and are looking for a lager home Ana Verde might be a great place to start looking… Janet O'Brian is a ... 01/19/2010

Here we are, another beautiful day in the high desert! The weather people have been forecasting doom and gloom for our area for three days now, and I still work up to sun in the sky today. All of the weather predictions showed rain and high winds, up to 75 MPH, for the Palmdale / Lancaster area for last night, but when I awoke at 0600 it was neither raining or showing any signs of winds last night. I laughed last night as I watched the news when the weather forecaster mentioned such high winds (not that we don't get such things) and buckets of rain. They predicted massive mud flows in the area of the Los Angeles hill sides that suffered the recent hill fires of last summer. They pretty much guaranteed that the commute to anywhere this morning would be close to impossible. In short, the ... 01/18/2010

Real Estate Trends - Palmdale, Lancaster, Quartz Hill and the Greater Antelope Valley January 14 2010...The New Year is starting off just like we predicted sales are picking up as buyers looking for a home are jumping into the market in the Palmdale, Lancaster area in SoCal… Ana Verde a housing development just off the 14 freeway has dropped over 50% in value in the past two years.  With large homes to choose from it is seeing a raise in sale during recent months.  If you are looking for a great deal and are looking for a lager home Ana Verde might be a great place to start looking… Janet O'Brian is a Certified Short Sales Specialist in California is ready to help you with your Situation… Pre-foreclosures                                                                                   ... 01/14/2010