Archive By Section - HOME SCENE
Typical payment drops $2,500 a month
The first-time homebuyer story of four years ago in Manteca now seems like ancient history. The most popular loans were interest only with the typical monthly payment coming in at $4,000. Hardly any buyers were from Manteca let alone the Northern San Joaquin Valley. They were almost all exclusively Bay Area residents pushed eastward over the Altamont Pass. Manteca prices - $450,000 for a median price home of 1,900 square feet with three bedrooms and ...
Buyers of homes with deep value cuts will reap tax advantages for years to come
Call it the Darwin Proposition 13 effect. A home that sold for $413,000 in early 2006 is typically selling for about $178,000 today. Not only are the buyers getting more home for the dollar but they are getting a long-term tax break that will put them in a better position than a homeowner who bought a similar home in 2006 and holds on to it. Property taxes are typically one percent of the valuation in ...
Tale of two Manteca houses
There is still no rhyme or reason to the Manteca housing market as it enters the third year of full-scale foreclosure frenzy.
The case for a $10,000 California tax credit for homebuyers
The best way to keep California's housing construction pulse from straight-lining might just be Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal for reviving and expanding the $10,000 state home buyer's tax credit.
So is this the bottom?
Are things leveling out in the Manteca housing market? •The median price of existing home sales that close escrow has been virtually at a steady $175,000 for close to six months when you look at any particular point in time and include all homes sales going back 90 days. •New home builders enjoyed – at least compared to home builders elsewhere in San Joaquin County – 304 new home starts in 2003. The median sales ...
What goes down must come up
The typical transaction involving an existing home closing escrow in Manteca is flat – for now.
Move-up buyers now selling
More and more owner occupied homes that are not under duress are making their way to market. The number of short sales and foreclosures hasn't changed much for the past few months but what has is the available owner occupied homes. The noticeable increase is what sent overall listings past 200 for the first time since March. There were 205 available resale homes in Manteca's city limits as of Tuesday. For the first time in ...
FHA suspending 90-day rule for mortgages
Finally there is some relief coming for those first-time buyers battling investors for foreclosures.
Real Estate Believe it or Not
What a strange long year it's been. This past year has seen things happen in real estate that no one thought they'd ever see ranging from McMansions dropping from $750,000 at the market's peak in 2005 to some selling for $265,000 in mid-2009. And who would have thought you'd ever see homes selling in Manteca for less than $300,000 - the price fetched by old, two bedroom one bathroom houses back four years ago. If ...
When renting makes more sense
A household with two full-time workers each making minimum wage - $8 an hour – could afford to buy a $115,000 home if they have no other debt load and have the means to come up with $6,000 or so for down payment and closing costs.
It’s a mad, mad, mad market
The Manteca housing gods must be crazy. How else do you explain two deals that closed last week? A 1,352-square-foot home built in the late 1990s with three bedrooms and three bathrooms at 514 Mission Ridge Drive closed escrow for $131,750. That was $1,250 less than a three bedroom, two bathroom home with 1,164 square feet at 810 Ralph Avenue built at least 25 years prior that exchanged hands on Dec. 2 for $133,000. The ...
Housing: The end is coming
Don't look now but the clock is ticking on the most affordable housing era in post World War II Manteca history.
Smart money is snapping up homes
Out-of-state investors who have savvy are treating Manteca foreclosures as the deals of the century.
Condos $5,000 away from 80% decline
The Cherry Lane condos are on the verge of making Manteca history. A two-bedroom, one bathroom condo with 944 square feet closed escrow Oct. 14 for $45,000 or what used to be the price of a fully loaded Chevy Tahoe. It is just $5,000 above being exactly 80 percent lower than the peak price of $220,000 that a similar united closed escrow for 35 months ago. By contrast, the median resale price has dropped down ...
Rents drop by 15 percent plus
Rents for Manteca homes have dropped 15 to 20 percent across-the-board since the start of the year.
Articles by Section - HOME SCENE
Condo boards eyeing ‘mortgage termination’
DEAR BENNY: I am the president of a large condominium in the Midwest and have just heard about a program called "mortgage termination." It sounds fascinating and very useful for our condo, since we have a number of delinquencies with properties that are underwater. Are you familiar with this and if so, how does it work? --Phyllis
Fast, fabulous fixes to banish a boring bath
The best bathrooms are more than just functional areas - they're sanctuaries where you can escape, reset and recharge. And as one of the smallest and most-used rooms in the home, that's likely why they've become the most popular remodeling project (78 percent), according to the National Association of Home Builders.
Rate on 15-year loan at record-low 2.61 pct.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The average U.S. rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage fell last week to its lowest level on record, making refinancing and home-buying more attractive to those who can qualify.
Easy solutions to backyard problems
For time-stretched gardeners who prefer to enjoy their backyards rather than work in them, several new products make outdoor living easier. Each offers a thoughtful solution to a common outdoor living problem, providing time-saving help to gardeners, gadget geeks and all who love to focus on fun outdoors.-
Sure-grow guidance for 1st-time gardeners
Each year, thousands of first-timers will join the millions of seasoned gardeners who already know the satisfaction of picking a perfect tomato at its peak, serving up salads from greens just grown right outside the back door, or harvesting home-grown peppers and specialty herbs never even seen at the grocery store.
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