The inventory here in Corona took a small step (26% - 98 to 72) backwards this week. In fact, we had two of the five zip codes in Corona without a new REO listing. In fact there were only 8 REO listings total.

92879

REO (0)
Short Sale (8)
Standard (5)

92880

REO (3)
Short Sale (9)
Standard (5)

92881

REO (1)
Short Sale (5)
Standard (5)

92882

REO (4)
Short Sale (7)
Standard (4)

92883

REO (0)
Short Sale (9)
Standard (7)

New Year's Resolution

They say that the top 3 New Year's resolutions are: weight loss, starting an exercise program and stopping smoking. Well, I am not usually one to have a New Year's resolution...because, well quite frankly, if I don't have one...then my chances of not breaking my resolution are 100%. However, this year, in honor of New Year's (which is just around the corner), but definitely not a resolution, I am planning on blogging a lot more. My goal is to get 4 posts up a week in kind of a structured format. So, I thought I would take a few minutes to get my goal out there...so at the very least it is written down (and if there are readers - eventually - they will have an idea of what posts are coming and when).

Monday - Inventory lists

As it stands today, the inventory lists will include the zip codes 92879, 92880, 92881, 92882, 92883. I have done a good amount of business in Riverside, Moreno Valley and a number of other areas in SW Riverside county. So, I am thinking about adding some of those areas, but the main focus is going to be on the city of Corona.

Tuesday - Business profile

Due to the focus being on Corona, the business profiles will be exclusively of businesses in Corona. I guess I should have said mostly, because there is a good chance that I am going to write about D'Elias grinder shop, which is in downtown Riverside. Anyway, I am not entirely sure how this is going to look or what is going to happen here, but I am pretty excited about the opportunities.

Thursday - Me

I am going to be writing about the things going on in my life. This section will include but is not limited to: the non-profits that I work with, the Triathlons I am participating in and the training for them, sports, music...basically things that I like...oh, I may get a little political here too...

Friday - Corona

I am going to be sending out the things going on in the city of Corona. Examples of this could be: what trade shows are happening in Corona, when they light the trees in town for Christmas, etc...just general information about Corona.

This is not set in stone, but it is going to be a guide for how the posts will come out. There are going to be a few exceptions but they will be pretty obvious when they come along (like a new listing, a house sold, etc).

I hope you check back often...

More on Inventory

We walk through the doors, the entry opens into a large dining room/living room combo. The walls have been painted white. The floors have been upgraded to beautiful dark wood. We can see straight through the living room into the backyard (one of the things my wife loves). To the left of the living room is a hall way with 3 bedrooms (including the master). To the right is the kitchen and family room. The carpet is berber carpet in beige tones. The kitchen has black granite, stainless steel appliances and two sinks! The home is located in a secluded area just east of Corona. She boasts over 3,100 square feet and comes with a price tag a little under $500,000.

My client walks in and likes what he sees. The way I can tell this (other than the fact that we have walked into 50+ homes together) he spends a lot of time in each room, drawing sketches and taking pictures. He is an engineer and is very detailed oriented. He is a student of the comps and will not over pay.

Sidebar. Many buyers today make offers well over what the comps say. Furthermore, when you offer over listing price the banks require that you remove your appraisal contingency AND pay the difference between purchase price and appraisal (if the appraisal is low) in cash. A tactic that works because you have removed your appraisal contingency and would forfeit your deposit if you canceled because of appraisal.

Every house he wants to offer on he wants to know; tax rate, mello roos, special assessment, HOA, what the seller owes (if it is standard or short sale), and the comps. He compares the comps with zillow (using the zestimate feature), e-appraisal, and other online value sites. Then, he sends me the house he wants to offer on. There are a couple of flaws in his strategy.

1.) Time. He takes an unbelieveable amount of time to make an offer. We look at the home on Saturday.It takes until Tuesday for him to process all of the data. Then he wants to offer on Wednesday. Unfortunately, all of the bank owned homes and corporate owned (investor owned) are gone. Literally, every bank owned home that he wants to offer on is in escrow by the time we get the offer completed.

2.) Price. He is very conservative. He is desperately trying not to over pay. He wants to make sure that he gets the right home at the right price. So, when he does offer, his offers are aligned with the comps, but they are not aligned with the current market conditions. Which is low inventory and high demand, which means that people are paying more than the comps (see the sidebar above).


Which begs the question, where is the housing market headed? Here is a snapshot of the market in Corona.

Geography

There are five zip codes in Corona. They are 92879, 92880, 92881, 92882, 92883.

92879 is around the 91 and 15 freeways. The zip code is both east and west of the 15 freeway (Main St to McKinley Ave) AND north and south (2nd St in Norco to Magnolia Ave) of the 91 freeway.

92880 is the northern most part of Corona, affectionately called Eastvale. This area generally covers north of 6th St in Norco and just north of Limonite west of the 15 freeway.

92881 is south of the Ontario Ave and west of the 15 freeway.

92882 covers from Green River Rd to Lincoln Ave south of the 91 freeway.

92883 is the southern most area of Corona. The area generally covers west of the 15 FWY from Eagle Glen all the way south to Lake Elsinore.


The stats are coming tomorrow...