Thursday, October 13, 2011
2 FEET ON MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN!
Friday, October 7, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
MORTGAGE RATES HIT RECORD LOWS
With housing in a 5 year swoon some observers are looking to this week's record low mortgage rates to boost Mammoth's real estate market. This morning Doug Magit, with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, reported a 4.125% fixed interest rate for 30 year Fannie Mae conforming mortgages on primary or second home loans. These rates reflect a 20% down payment for single family homes and 25% down for condos. Both loans were calculated with .25 origination points.
By contrast, 10 years ago these same loans were pegged at around 7% interest with 1 origination point. When the market peaked in 2007 rates were still about 2% higher than they are today.
With many economists predicting inflation to accelerate in the next few years, and with some Mammoth Lakes real estate selling at an appealing 40% discount from 2007's highs, tying up a fixed rate loan at today's rates and paying it back with cheaper inflated dollars down the road is looking increasingly attractive to investors.
To be sure qualifying standards have tightened up since the 2008 financial crisis. There are no more "liar's" stated income loans and credit scores need to be a sterling 740 or higher. Further a nearly mandatory 20-25% down payment replaces the low and zero down loans so popular just a few years ago. But, for those who meet these requirements a thorough examination of today's opportunities is warranted.
Find out what kind of loan you qualify for by following the link to Doug Magit's website then give me a call for an up to date list of Mammoth's best real estate buys.
By contrast, 10 years ago these same loans were pegged at around 7% interest with 1 origination point. When the market peaked in 2007 rates were still about 2% higher than they are today.
With many economists predicting inflation to accelerate in the next few years, and with some Mammoth Lakes real estate selling at an appealing 40% discount from 2007's highs, tying up a fixed rate loan at today's rates and paying it back with cheaper inflated dollars down the road is looking increasingly attractive to investors.
To be sure qualifying standards have tightened up since the 2008 financial crisis. There are no more "liar's" stated income loans and credit scores need to be a sterling 740 or higher. Further a nearly mandatory 20-25% down payment replaces the low and zero down loans so popular just a few years ago. But, for those who meet these requirements a thorough examination of today's opportunities is warranted.
Find out what kind of loan you qualify for by following the link to Doug Magit's website then give me a call for an up to date list of Mammoth's best real estate buys.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
MAMMOTH REAL ESTATE: REO SALES DRIVE RESULTS IN THE FIRST HALF
Nearly 50% of condos sold in the first half of 2011 were bank owned properties (REO's), or short sale listings, reflecting a continuation of the bargain shopping evident in the first quarter of 2011.
The median sold price for condos eased to $245,000 from $313,000 for the same period last year, while sales slid to 141 units from last year's 158 a possible reflection on Mammoth's record setting winter. Listing inventories remain subdued at just 226 condos including 13 Westin Monache suites being auctioned by the developer, Intrawest.
The weather was also a likely factor in lower sales figures for homes. Just 31 units sold in the first half of 2011 down from 40 homes sold in last year's first half.. The median price of a home sold in the first half of 2011 moderated to $680,000 from 2010's median of $723,250. REO's and short sales comprised just 26% of the sold market compared with 42.5% for the same period last year. Of the 68 active home listings at the end of the 1st half, 8 were short sales or REO's.
Continued weakness in the housing markets has produced pessimism to rival the euphoria that propelled housing to record heights in 2006. In such a climate it's easy to forget that markets are cyclical. Only the timing is uncertain. Warren Buffet in a recent Bloomberg interview predicted a strong recovery in housing in the next two to three years. Indeed, home builders are projected to build over 700,000 new units this year, below historic levels yet higher than the approximately 500,000 homes constructed a year ago.
"Be bold when others are fearful," has been a guiding investment philosophy for the Oracle of Omaha. Good advice too for anyone contemplating the bargain pricies of Mammoth real estate.
The median sold price for condos eased to $245,000 from $313,000 for the same period last year, while sales slid to 141 units from last year's 158 a possible reflection on Mammoth's record setting winter. Listing inventories remain subdued at just 226 condos including 13 Westin Monache suites being auctioned by the developer, Intrawest.
The weather was also a likely factor in lower sales figures for homes. Just 31 units sold in the first half of 2011 down from 40 homes sold in last year's first half.. The median price of a home sold in the first half of 2011 moderated to $680,000 from 2010's median of $723,250. REO's and short sales comprised just 26% of the sold market compared with 42.5% for the same period last year. Of the 68 active home listings at the end of the 1st half, 8 were short sales or REO's.
Continued weakness in the housing markets has produced pessimism to rival the euphoria that propelled housing to record heights in 2006. In such a climate it's easy to forget that markets are cyclical. Only the timing is uncertain. Warren Buffet in a recent Bloomberg interview predicted a strong recovery in housing in the next two to three years. Indeed, home builders are projected to build over 700,000 new units this year, below historic levels yet higher than the approximately 500,000 homes constructed a year ago.
"Be bold when others are fearful," has been a guiding investment philosophy for the Oracle of Omaha. Good advice too for anyone contemplating the bargain pricies of Mammoth real estate.
Monday, May 16, 2011
FIRST QUARTER RESULTS REVEAL BARGAIN SHOPPERS
Prices continued to moderate in the first quarter of 2011. The median price for a sold condo for the period was $222,500 off 14% from the previous quarter and down 23% from the first quarter of 2010.
78 condos changed hands compared with 87 a year ago and the 141 condos sold in the final quarter of 2010. Bank owned (REO) and short sale listings made up nearly 50% of all condo closings in the first quarter of this year, an increase of slightly less than 10% from the year ago period.
Home sales totaled 11 in the first quarter of 2011, down from 17 sold in the same quarter last year. The median price of a sold home was $765,000, just $5000 off 2010's first quarter median but up sharply from the $649,000 median price of homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Only 2 homes transacted in this year's first quarter belonged to banks or were sold short compared with 40% of homes sold in the first quarter of 2010 and 58% in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile price pressure is not coming from an oversupply as listing inventories remain fairly stable. There are 50 homes currently on the market and 203 condos, including 17 bank owned and 27 short sale listings. Rather, price pressure is coming from the distressed sector—REO's and short sales.
78 condos changed hands compared with 87 a year ago and the 141 condos sold in the final quarter of 2010. Bank owned (REO) and short sale listings made up nearly 50% of all condo closings in the first quarter of this year, an increase of slightly less than 10% from the year ago period.
Home sales totaled 11 in the first quarter of 2011, down from 17 sold in the same quarter last year. The median price of a sold home was $765,000, just $5000 off 2010's first quarter median but up sharply from the $649,000 median price of homes sold in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Only 2 homes transacted in this year's first quarter belonged to banks or were sold short compared with 40% of homes sold in the first quarter of 2010 and 58% in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile price pressure is not coming from an oversupply as listing inventories remain fairly stable. There are 50 homes currently on the market and 203 condos, including 17 bank owned and 27 short sale listings. Rather, price pressure is coming from the distressed sector—REO's and short sales.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
APRIL SNOWFALL NUDGES MAMMOTH TOTALS HIGHER
A cold April storm dropped another 18 inches of snow on Mammoth Mountain last week pushing this season's already record setting snowfall further into unseen territory. As of April 12, the Mountain was reporting 624 total inches of snow for the season and has already announced the lifts will keep running until July 4th. Plan on a ski-bike-golf triathlon sometime in June.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN BREAKS 600 INCHES!
This morning Mammoth Mountain Ski Area reported a season's snowfall total of 606 inches--50 and a half feet--two feet more than the previous record set in 2005-2006. And it's only March.
Still the sun came out yesterday, the streets are clear and ski patrol is working hard on opening up the whole mountain. The forecast is for warmer temperatures, clear skies and epic skiing.
Still the sun came out yesterday, the streets are clear and ski patrol is working hard on opening up the whole mountain. The forecast is for warmer temperatures, clear skies and epic skiing.
Friday, March 25, 2011
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN SNOWFALL RECORD SHATTERED. 600" THIS WEEKEND!
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| One Mammoth Neighborhood |
Thursday, March 24, 2011
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN APPROACHES RECORD SNOWFALL
You could be here when it happens. If you hurry. "Yeah, I was in Mammoth," you'll be able to tell your grand kids. "I was in Mammoth when the Mountain topped 50 feet of snow."
Fifty feet. 600 inches. Five stories! The record set in the 2005-2006 season, a seemingly insurmountable 578.5 inches, will be history by the time this posts. At 10:00 a.m. we were a piddling 16 inches away and it's been snowing rats and hogs ever since. No, the record's a goner. But the big five-o, the magic 600, now that's something.
Maybe we should have seen it coming. After all the Mammoth ski season got off to the best possible start, a record 209 inches in December. But this was a La Niña year, unpredictable as a three year old in a petting zoo. January was quiet. February a bit above average. Then wham, a monster March, that has locals reaching for liquor and analgesics. Snow piled beyond the seldom seen 500, snowballing toward the never seen 600 inches.
So grab your gear, pack up the car and don't forget your camera. This is gonna be great!
Fifty feet. 600 inches. Five stories! The record set in the 2005-2006 season, a seemingly insurmountable 578.5 inches, will be history by the time this posts. At 10:00 a.m. we were a piddling 16 inches away and it's been snowing rats and hogs ever since. No, the record's a goner. But the big five-o, the magic 600, now that's something.
Maybe we should have seen it coming. After all the Mammoth ski season got off to the best possible start, a record 209 inches in December. But this was a La Niña year, unpredictable as a three year old in a petting zoo. January was quiet. February a bit above average. Then wham, a monster March, that has locals reaching for liquor and analgesics. Snow piled beyond the seldom seen 500, snowballing toward the never seen 600 inches.
So grab your gear, pack up the car and don't forget your camera. This is gonna be great!
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