So great to see our country yet again moving forward economically and many California employers hiring again. Along the road to recovery, the real estate market is always an important part of the equation. In California and our market, San Diego, real estate holds so much of our local value that any concerned mind must pay attention to it…not just us Realtors.

Below is the Trends in California Real Estate 2011 report courtesy of the California Association of Realtors. Please take some time to read it and if you have real estate questions give us a call!

-Seth O'Byrne, President of O'Byrne Team

Troop Real Estate San Diego

Trends_2011-04

Learn more about the Home Ownership Accelerator® ——————————————————————————– What is the Home Ownership Accelerator?

The concept is surprisingly simple: The Accelerator combines all your checking, home loan and home equity line accounts into one master "loan sweep account" that automatically transfers all deposited cash against the loan balance each day in order to save mortgage interest.

That's it!

This simple change better leverages your cash flow, potentially saving you thousands in interest over the next decade. And, your funds remain available 24/7, just like with your old checking account today.

The Accelerator could save you thousands in interest payments… The Home Ownership Accelerator breaks with mortgage tradition by giving you, the borrower, the power to reduce your debt more aggressively. Traditional mortgages make it easy to get into debt, but offer no tools to help you manage the debt down. The Home Ownership Accelerator does help reduce debt more quickly, simply by putting all your personal income to better use. Your income lowers your monthly balance.

The lower balance saves you interest.

The saved interest becomes extra principal payment.

This further lowers your balance, saving more interest. This frees up even more money to reduce principal.

This cycle repeats itself each month, compounding your interest savings and accelerating the reduction of your debt. Why is saving interest so important? Mortgage interest typically consumes about half of the average American's net income, for decades at a time. With the Home Ownership Accelerator, paying less interest will allow you to reach your financial goals faster. Whether you want to use those interest savings pay your home loan off sooner, or keep your equity leveraged and reinvest those savings in higher-yielding investments, saving interest is always in your best interest.

Whether or not you want to pay your mortgage off more quickly, owing less money over time will save you interest charges. How? It's not magic, it's just math: And, the Accelerator will simplify your life! Combining your main personal cash management tools into one master account relieves you of the need to track money transfers manually. Once the account is set up, transfers to and from your loan account occur automatically. So do your interest savings from your positive cash flow.

And when you need cash for investments or expenses, it is quickly available via check, electronic transfer or ATM withdrawal.

Nothing could be simpler.

Discover how the power of your own cash flow could significantly accelerate your home loan's pay down, saving you thousands in interest and getting you free-and-clear of mortgage payments years ahead of schedule, without demanding any change in your current spending habits.

– GUYS! This is huge! Take it from your Realtor and friend Seth O'Byrne; the HOA program is worth looking into for just about anyone!

CLICK HERE to check out the HOA Simulator for your particular situation!

Who can we trust? What perspective is the most valuable? I used to tell you a Realtors and in some ways I'd like to still believe that by being the foot soldiers of residential real estate; the closest to the inner workings of the market, that it is us. I might be wrong.

Then again, it's pretty tough to sit at economic forums and hear economists thumb through Power Point presentations to tell us what the cost of corn in Iowa has to do with the labor market in San Diego's south bay. Invariably there will be some prediction on a graph and by the end of the presentation I will be left with the clearest mud a doctorate can produce. 'It's on a steady rise and will definitely probably most likely continue given than A and B and C don't occur". Well then….that sure made sense now didn't it?

What I do know for the following 6 months of San Diego housing is one thing; the government jobs, the health care jobs and the jobs associated with the military are still here. Sure, many of these employees will not be getting bonuses large enough to buy Mission Beach ocean front vacation properties and many of them will not drastically overpay for KB Home's newest granite countertop joint-venture, but…and this is important….they will buy.

These citizens are at the core of our county and their income is the most stable thing in this wild ride of a market. What is missing? Product. Every buyer needs a thing to buy, it's what defines them. So when we ask ourselves where the buyers are, you might want to ask, where the products are.

Homes in San Diego are the preverbal lost left sock in the dryer. Are these homes lost in the foreclosure process, the loan modification red tape, are they stuck in some massive dryer in Chula Vista along with all of the equity sales few buyers can find too?

The point is, every time I list an affordable home at a reasonable price, I feel like Elvis. My phone explodes with phone calls, my email clogged with inquiries and offers and my assistant running around the office as we both try to make some sort of order of this 2011 version of Beatles-mania. The people are speaking, and many buyers have given up solely because there is no inventory.

As an example, I go to Nordstrom once every few months, and like many men I hate shopping. I walk into the store and dodge every salesperson (unfortunately I think we both see a parallel to agents here..gulp) and riffle through the mountains of clothing, hats and shoes in hopes that my new found money will find new found apparel. Some days I walk in and spend hundreds or even a thousand dollars on clothing. I don't buy all the time, but when I do I am serious about it.

As I retrace this clothing cycle I find that about 50% of the time, I get an hour in, smile back at the pretty sales lady and say….'nothing today but thanks.' She must be let down. Little does she know that I am too! I wanted to buy and I was qualified to buy, but denim jeans with dragons on the butt weren't in the plan. T-shirts with silver silhouettes of naked ladies holding revolvers just weren't worth those hundreds I had so neatly folded in my pocket.

And so we find my clients…real, qualified, intelligent and serious buyers. I have reached a season in my career as a Realtor that I enjoy the honor of having a business based on referrals to qualified buyers and sellers. When I come knocking on your door Mr Seller, my buyers mean business and bring cash. Whether they are investors or home buyers, they are not in my car at 7pm on a Tuesday just because they like seeing new ways my navigation can steer them through Scripps Ranch, they are in there because they have money and a plan.

What I would like to propose to so many people who are scared at a release of REOs or a increase in short sale listings on the market is to remember those potential home buyers who are thirsty and at this point, nearly addicted to good product. There are few good homes on the market, those that are last under a week, and when they sell they get market value and then some. Sure this may be the grand design of government and the banking industry; who may have learned a few things from the crash of the 80s and 90s, but either way we must work with what we have. What we have is San Diego Investors who are addicted to product, they are prepared to pounce and have no where to turn.

Think of this when you consider listing your home for sale or short sale. Consider this when you are fearful of the transaction numbers you see on the news. Remember this as we get halfway into 2011 and I encourage you to get back to me if you are seeing what I am seeing.

The cash is here, the banks are ready to lend…….

Happy 2011 everyone!

Seth O'Byrne
Troop Real Estate – O'Byrne Team
'Serving you with $150M in home sales experience!'
Realtor, California License # 01463479
858.869.3940 cell 951.848.6285 fax
web -   troopsd. com
blog -   sethobyrne.wordpress. com
group – wealthinnetworking. org

For example, if the buyers make a low cash down payment and the lender's appraised value is for less than the purchase price, the lender may not give the buyers a large enough mortgage to close the sale unless the buyers come up with more cash. This can lead to further negotiations and a failed transaction.

You'll also want to know how long the buyers have been looking for a home. Have they made other offers? Were any accepted? If so, why didn't they close? Did the buyers back out or was the seller unreasonable? Your agent should be able to get answers to your questions by talking with the buyers' agent.

Sellers should be aware that there are buyers who repeatedly make ridiculously low offers. Often these buyers have a reputation in the local real estate community. Ask your agent to check around before wasting time.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Buying and selling a personal residence is an emotional experience. Try to be as rational as possible in your decision-making process. Sellers should plan to counter any offer, even if it's for less than the list price if it's from a bona fide financially qualified buyer. Buyers should anticipate a negotiating process that could involve many counteroffers. Don't give up until you've exhausted all possibilities. But, don't pay more than current market value.

Many buyers and sellers view negotiation as adversarial. Turn this around and look at the dialogue as a process where both parties attempt to reach a common goal — the sale of the property.

Before buyers start negotiating, they should attempt to determine if the sellers are realistic. You can waste a lot of time and emotional energy trying to make an impossible deal work. Some sellers will sell only if they get a certain price. If that price is way out of line with current market value, move on to sellers who are eager to sell.

Find out the sellers' motivation level. Have they already bought another home and now have two? Are they involved in an employment-related transfer? Does the house no longer suit their needs? Perhaps, they are empty-nesters in a home that's bigger than they need. Or, is the home a surplus property due to a death or divorce?

Even though you want to make a good attempt at putting a deal together, don't show all your cards at once, For example, if you're a seller and the buyers make an initial low offer, counter it, if the buyers are legit. But, leave some room in the price, which sends a message that the buyers need to come up in price to buy the home.

Buyers who can pay all cash might initially make an offer that is contingent on obtaining approval for a mortgage. During the course of the negotiation, you could increase your cash position significantly or offer to pay all cash in exchange for a break on the price. Everyone needs to compromise when buying or selling.

There are niches of the market where demand exceeds the supply, and multiple offers are still in vogue. In this case, you may have only one chance to let the seller know your best offer. Coming in low and negotiating to a mutually acceptable price may not be an option.

THE CLOSING: Try to have your offer presented in person; make sure your agent has good communication skills and is skilled in the art of negotiation.

Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years' experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author.

From our team at Troop San Diego, Happy New Year!

As Mission Valley floats down the San Diego river and Palm Trees across the county collect LED lights and Holiday Cheer I am reminded of all those people we are thankful for in our lives and our business. Almost exactly a year ago, The O'Byrne Team left RE/MAX La Jolla and established Troop Real Estate's first San Diego Office, Troop San Diego.  Since then many new agents have come on outside the O'Byrne Team such as Javin, Shirin and Jennifer. The O'Byrne Team has restructured and had the honor of bringing on some new agents too, Christine Hruseky and director of business development, Ken Frye.

As San Diego grows and the economy grows, so does our brokerage. The light at the end of the economic tunnel was probably not a Christmas Tree, however as we approach 2011 and we reflect on our new position in business, they sure feel the same. So while you're opening boxes of tube socks, choo choo trains, ipads and neck ties think of us, under our little palm tree, opening new offices across San Diego County. We're all so excited to ring in the new year with everyone and would like to ask you to keep your eyes out should you know of anyone who might need any of the services we offer in the coming year. If you ask yourself….

Do I know anyone searching for a home who doesn't have free professional representation or does but is unhappy with their agent?

Do I know anyone looking for foreclosed homes for investment and would benefit from knowing about them before everyone else does?

Do I know anyone behind in mortgage payments who would like to save their credit through a confidential short sale of their home?

Do I know anyone who would like to get involved in flipping homes but doesn't know where to start?

Do I know of a great, successful agent looking for a tech-driven, highly productive office in San Diego?

Also! Please remember, we are hosting a Valentine's Day client appreciation party in February and renting out an entire theatre at the Landmark Theaters in Hillcrest for a free viewing of a romantic comedy! Please stay tuned and join us if you can! Again, thank you for your support, and happy holidays to you and those you love!

From the whole Troop San Diego Family of Realtors,

Happy Holidays!