Fine Homes

Real Estate Advisor asked:


COMMUNITY INFORMATION

Chula Vista is situated in the southern region of San Diego County within the state of California. There are approximately 194,939 residents in this community and 62,394 households. The median age of residents is 32.89 years.

TEMPERATURE

The temperature in Chula Vista is relatively moderate. The warmest time of year occurs in August during which temperatures reach an average high of 72°F. The coldest time of year occurs in December with average temperatures falling to 57°F.

HOME AND REAL ESTATE PRICES

The housing options in Chula Vista include single-family homes and properties, condominiums, townhouses, and apartments. The price of housing is as follows:

·One bedroom townhouse/condominium start in the high $100,000s.

·Two bedroom townhouse/condominium start in the high $200,000s.

·Three bedroom townhouse/condominium start in the mid $300,000s.

·Two bedroom single-family homes start in the high $300,000s.

·Three bedroom single-family homes start in the low $400,000s.

·Four bedroom single-family homes start in the high$400,000s.

REAL ESTATE MARKET TRENDS

As with most products and services in the United States, price shifts in the real estate industry are subject to the forces of supply and demand. Whether it’s a buyers market or a seller’s market, it is useful to evaluate home sales data for the most recent month available (June 2006), compared against the same period in the previous year (June 2005).

The median price of single-family homes dropped from $610,000 in June 2005 to $595,000 in June 2006, which represents a 2.5% decline. Fewer more homes sold in June 2006 (127 homes) than in June 2005 (171 homes). The average time to sell a home increased from 47 days in June 2005 to 66 days in June 2006.

The median price of condominiums and townhomes decreased slightly from $382,250 in June 2005 to $382,000 in June 2006, which represents a .1% decline. Fewer units sold in June 2006 (46 units) than in June 2005 (80 units). The average time to sell a unit increased from 52 days in June 2005 to 85 days in June 2006.

Homebuyers and home sellers should keep in mind that the data above is simply a snapshot in time. Therefore, the data must be evaluated over a longer duration to understand enduring market trends.

Real Estate Advisor asked:


Eager to know the top cites in America where one can safely invest? Here are the best real estate markets in the entire country according to a recent report from Business 2.0 Magazine. The November 2006 edition of the magazine lists the top ten cities that are ideal to buy a home. These are – Panama City and Vero Beach in Florida, Bridgeport in Connecticut, Lakeland in Florida, McAllen in Texas, San Luis Obispo in California, Wilmington in North Carolina, Manchester in New Hampshire, Fort Collins in Colorado and Atlanta in Georgia. The report cites the appreciation rates of home prices projected over a period of five years.

Florida enjoys the status of having three of the top four cities to invest in. Panama City, which tops the list of best places to buy real estate is expected to have a real estate appreciation of 72% over the next five years. Major real estate development projects such as the building of a new airport and low property prices are expected to boost the economy and the housing market.

Vero Beach, projected to have an appreciation of 64%, comes second for its excellent weather, low property taxes and a lower cost of living. Lakeland, with a 59% projected gain in home prices is a tempting option with homes selling for a fifth less than the national median price.

Buying a home in Bridgeport, CT is a bargain now with median home prices at a very low $280,000 compared to the rest of the Fairfield County. Home prices in McAllen, TX which holds the fifth place, are expected to soar by 57%.

It is estimated that homes in the McAllen, TX area may appreciate 57 percent with an increase in the median home price from $70,000 to $109,000.

Homeowners making an investment in San Luis Obispo, California, today, are expected to get a good appreciation (40%) on their homes over the next five years.

The median home price in Wilmington, NC is expected to increase to $297,000 by 2011, up from the current price of $217,000, an increase by 37%.

Manchester, NH, which has twice been rated as the ‘best place to live’ in America by Money Magazine, sits at eighth place with an expected appreciation of 35%.

Fort Collins and Atlanta follow in the ninth and tenth places of top cities for real estate investment in the USA. Fort Collins, one of the most popular cities in America, has been ranked as the ‘No.1 small city’ this year by Money Magazine. Recent price reductions in the housing market makes ‘now’ the best time to buy a home or condo in this city with an estimated property appreciation of 28%. Atlanta is poised for a significant appreciation too with an expected rise of up to 24% in home prices over the next five years.

So, if you are a prospective homebuyer set to take a plunge into any of the top ten real estate markets, it is the right time to enlist the services of a good real estate agent who can guide you through the complicated home buying process.

Property asked:


Bajaj Allianz, ICICI Lombard in talks with American company to launch the product.

Property transactions in India will soon have an insurance cover to fall back in case something goes wrong in the deal. The country’s two large private sector insurers, ICICI Lombard General Insurance and Bajaj Allianz General, are planning to launch title insurance covers this year.

Title insurance is a cover that protects a potential owner of a property against loss from defects in title. The policy is a retrospective one, where the insured is protected against losses arising from the events that occurred prior to the date of issuing the policy. Globally, the policy is bought by investors, occupiers and financiers.

At present, none of the property transactions, be it large acquisitions or a simple sale of a land or a flat, is covered through an insurance policy by an Indian insurer.

The reason is that Indian insurance companies do not have the underwriting expertise to offer title insurance products. Indian insurers require reinsurance support to be able to offer the product.

Both Bajaj Allianz and ICICI Lombard are in talks with First American Title Insurance Company (FATIC), which will be offering reinsurance support for Indian insurers to offer the product.

FATIC is the largest title insurer globally, with a revenue of $8.4 billion in 2006.

Says Swaraj Krishnan, CEO, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, “We have had a preliminary discussion with First American Title Insurance. We have asked them to give us the product details. We will be doing a market study, verifying the titles and will file the product with the regulator in the coming months.”

The value of the title insurance cover will be equal to the price of land that has to be acquired. The premium rates will be a function of the value of property, the nature of transaction, which means the size of the purchase, the past history of the real estate property, costs relating to title search and the legalities involved in the title search.

Howden Insurance Brokers is also in talks with real estate developers, financial institutions, law firms, insurance companies and reinsurers to culminate into the next few insurance policies being sold.

Says Anoop Mathur, vice-president of Howden Insurance Brokers, “The value at risk has grown proportionally as the land cost has increased for the real estate developers. Title insurance makes a project bankable and saleable to customers.”

According to Akshaya Kumar, chairman, Park Lane Property Advisors, consultants during due diligence discover 20-30 per cent cases have title defects in them.

Property consultants believe that the availability of title insurance products will boost private equity investment in Indian real estate since most of the institutions are very particular about clear titles.

According to accounting and business consultancy firm Grant Thornton India, private equity firms have invested nearly Rs 25,000 crore in Indian real estate and infrastructure in 2007and, according to industry estimates, the investments are set to grow in the coming year.

“Institutions do not buy even if they have the slightest doubt about the titles. More private equity funds will flow in the Indian real estate if title insurance products are available in the country,” says Anuj Puri, chairman, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, an international property consultant.

Adds Anshuman Magazine, managing director, CB Richard Ellis, South Asia: “Title insurance products give a lot of comfort to international investors to invest their funds in the property markets of developing markets such as India. Since these investors do not invest directly and do joint ventures with Indian developers, the local partners will take care of title issues. But we have also seen foreign investors demanding these products before signing the agreements to develop properties.”

According to Mathur of Howden Insurance Brokers, the two Bills — Land Acquisition Amendment Bill, which has been introduced last month in the Lok Sabha, and the Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill – will make corporates acquiring land for SEZ or other reasons buy title insurance covers.

Explains Mathur, “After the amendement of the Land Acquisition Act, 1984, the government will not be able to acquire land and make it available for companies. As a result, corporates will have to acquire the land directly from land owners at a higher price. In such a scenario, title insurance would protect project developers from any financial loss arising from any defects in title to real property.”

There are two types of title insurance policies: the owners’ policy and the lenders’ policy. Owners’ title insurance is bought by a buyer of the property. It protects the buyer from all loss or defects in a title.

On the other hand, the lenders’ title insurance is bought by lenders such as banks and financial institutions. Experience in other global markets is that all institutional lenders require title insurance to protect their interests in the collateral of loans secured in real estate.

The policy amount decreases each year in proportion to the loan paid off each year. The policy has a provision for defence cost if a title to the real property is challenged in a court of law up to the actual amount of indemnity provided under the policy.

Land records in the country are not computerised and are not easily accessible.

The deeds registration system is not guaranteed by the state government and is inconclusive; typically leaving buyers with 30 years of title deeds to assess. Besides, the level of fraud in Indian real estate transactions is very significant; and the legal process is slow.

According to insurance officials, four to five foreign title insurance companies are keen to do business in India on this product. They may set up a dedicated company in India or could provide reinsurance support to Indian insurers to offer the policy for this line of business.

Real Estate Pros asked:


Real Estate business has seen tremendous growth and so has been the need of Real Estate agent. Today more and more people are getting interested to become home owner and as the demand for real estate need increases the role of Real Estate Agent becomes more important. In the past one agent use to provide services to both seller and buyer but as the real estate market changed people started to realize that specialized service is more logical and beneficial. In Real Estate industry now buyer/seller are looking for specialized agents who can provide specialized related expertise, information and services required to complete the process. When a real estate agent represents both buyer and seller it really restricts agents to provide impartial service to either party.

Let’s look at the both (Seller/Buyer) scenario separately. A real estate agents who is a listing agent of seller has a fiduciary, ethically and moral duty to represent seller only.

By getting Exclusive Right to Sell Listing, the real estate agent is promising seller that he will live no stone unturned to market the home and find the best buyer at maximum possible market value for the home.

As a Buyer’s real estate agent he need to find the right home for buyer along with should all information of the community. When a buyer is exploring to buy a real estate property in new community, he is very much interested to find out several information related to that particular community such as population, crime, climate, schools, traffic, living standards etc. Buyer’s real estate agent should be well informed with all these information so that he can provide that information to buyer. It will be easier for buyer to make the decision based on these information. Once the buyer is ready to buy real estate property in the community then other part of the real estate agent’s duty starts. As buyer’s agent it is his responsibility to find a real estate property, as per buyers requirement. It is also buyer’s real estate agents duty to negotiate the best market price with seller.

So if seller and buyer are represented by their own specialized agent then both agents can play a partial and specialized role for their client..

So it is quite clear that one real estate agent representing both seller and buyer can not justify providing specialized service to both party. Both buyer and seller are in different need of services. That’s why specialized real estate service has become more in demand where buyer/seller can get impartiality specialized service during the process.

Never before has the role of specialists in the world of real estate been more important. With buyers and sellers requiring more services, the industry has seen an explosion of agents who specialize in either the representation of sellers or buyers. These specialist agents can provide a wealth of services and maintain a complete impartiality during the sales process as there is only one client to concern them.

Historically the sales transaction and the concerns of the buyer were the purview of a single realtor. However, as the industry has progressed so have the needs of each party and so the specialist arose. Buyers have some very particular needs, and specifically the need to feel that their best interests are seen to. Listing agents are representatives of the home’s owner and in that role they have a primary responsibility to that owner. How could they properly look after the needs of an interested buyer as well?

So what is it that a buyer’s agent does? Primarily the buyer’s agent will begin with the location of suitable properties for their clients. This is usually based upon a list of requirements and desires that the client has communicated to the agent. They will then arrange viewings and recap their findings with their clients and assist in deciding upon a good candidate for an offer. This will be based on the wealth of community information that a buyer’s agent commands. As specialists, they are experts on their given area which is critical in the education of clients on the areas that they are considering. Once a property is decided upon, the buyer’s agent changes significantly, evolving into an overseer-negotiator role. They will typically coordinate the inspections and conduct the negotiations with the listing agent. This includes the execution of the buyers subjects and the closing of the actual contract.

There is an art to representing a buyer. It is a role that has become ever more crucial in an industry where customer service is the single most important thing that an agent can offer. If you are in the market for a home then the buyer’s agent is the friend that you need to make sure that you are given the service that you deserve.