If you're a homebuyer in Santa Clarita looking to utilize an FHA loan, you should know that not every condo community in Santa Clarita is FHA approved. Which means that you can't utilize an FHA loan in those which have yet to gain FHA approval. Some of your favorite condo communities in Santa Clarita may be those which you can't buy in, if you need an FHA loan. FHA loans are very popular amongst homebuyers that like the flexibility they provide, with their lower down payment requirements of 3.5%, and liberal credit score standards. They are especially great for first-time homebuyers, and those with limited budgets.

Santa Clarita offers a wide variety of condo and townhome communities.

If you're in the hunt for a Santa Clarita condo, and an FHA loan is a must, then let this list be your friend! Thank you to our friends at Augusta Financial for putting this list together. It continually needs updating, as new communities tend to be added frequently. New communities such as the very popular Mariposa at Plum Canyon, which were just approved several days ago. I can't tell you how many homebuyers we have helped, that wanted to live in the Mariposa at Plum Canyon community, but were overcome with disappointment when they learned they couldn't, unless they were able to do a conventional loan, which usually requires a much larger down payment, than the standard 3.5% of the FHA loan.

Be sure to contact us with any of your questions, regarding Santa Clarita real estate, FHA loans, and any of the communities you have an interst in. We're here to help you!

Without further delay, here is the current list of approved FHA communities in Santa Clarita:

APPROVED FHA CONDOS IN SANTA CLARITA (click link or view below)

Santa Clarita Real Estate January 2010 Closed Sales Report:

The amount of Santa Clarita homes that sold and closed escrow in January 2010 is down from December numbers, but that is normal. Homes that sold in January, generally opened up escrow in the slower months of December or November of 2009. Less people tend to enter into purchase contracts for homes, during those Holiday months.

In January 2010, 197 Santa Clarita homes were sold to home buyers.

Other details:

Avg Sq ft of Santa Clarita Homes Sold: 1,920

Avg List Price of Santa Clarita Homes Sold: $390,380

Lowest Price of Santa Clarita Homes Sold: $89,250

Highest Price of Santa Clarita Homes Sold: $1,980,000

 The Santa Clarita inventory of homes has hit just over 700 homes for sale today. These are active listings that are not yet in escrow. For just over a month or so, the inventory has steadily been going up from the upper 500's to where we're at today. Is this a sign of a slow down? It could be a bit slow due to the recent holidays…but more than likely it's just the natural increase in listing inventory after the New Year.

As the year progresses, buyers should have more options to choose from, as the inventory continues to increase. The larger inventory could grow larger as well, due to an increase in interest rates. Higher interest rates could sideline some Santa Clarita home buyers, leaving a bit less competition for homes.

For all the day to day activity details in the Santa Clarita real estate market, please follow our blog here by subscribing. The subscribe button is at the top right of this blog.

For expert Santa Clarita real estate help, contact The Robert and Brian Team of Realty Executives Santa Clarita.

If you are interested in how many homes are for sale in the Santa Clarita real estate market, you may be curious to see how the 2009 inventory took shape and closed out.

Here is a concise look into the action…

# of active homes for sale by the end of:

January 2009: 1,367

February 2009: 1,284

March 2009: 1,196

April 2009: 1,119

May 2009: 1,001

June 2009: 891

July 2009: 807

August 2009: 752

September 2009: 747

October 2009: 729 (these are just tiny tiny numbers!!)

November 2009: 818

December 2009: 640

What happened with the increase in November, then back to a decrease in December…I don't know. As you can see, it was pretty much a month after month decline in housing inventory, here in Santa Clarita. The Santa Clarita real estate market has a shortage of homes for sale right now. I fully expect the inventory to increase over the next few months into March 2009. If interest rates increase, which it appears they may, the inventory could stand to grow even larger, as some buyers get priced out of the cost of buying a home.

Also, as noted in our previous blog post regarding the supposed Los Angeles County Shadow Inventory of foreclosure homes…if anything resembling a very large Shadow Inventory of homes hits, we could see a very large increase in homes for sale. Some would argue that there is so much pent up demand that any Shadow Inventory would get gobbled up, and all will be well. Those that say that could be right too…it just all depends on exactly how large that Shadow Inventory is, and how proactive and willing the banks are in doing loan modifications for homeowners who are behind in mortgage payments, and or for those who are current, but in risky loans that adjust in interest rate at a given date.

Who has the crystal ball?

How about a look into the top three most expensive homes to sell each month in the Santa Clarita Valley? Ok…Here we go! These are the three most expensive homes to close escrow in the month of November 2009. Enjoy.

Click the following link to Download the PDF with Photos of Santa Clarita's Most Expensive Homes November 2009.

To learn more about the Santa Clarita real estate market, please contact The Robert and Brian Team of Realty Executives Valencia @ 661-964-1760.

Here is my brief assessment of the Santa Clarita Real Estate Market here in December 2009, as outlined over at our main Santa Clairta home search website: TheScvAgents.com:

The year is almost over, and we couldn't be more excited about the future of Santa Clarita Real Estate. It has been a very interesting 2009. Inventory….what inventory!? There is hardly any inventory available for sale, only about 650 homes as of right now in Santa Clarita. That is probably the headline for the year, "SCV experiences huge drop in housing inventory." Of those 650 approx homes for sale, well over 30% of those homes are short sales. So really, there is less than 500 regular sales for buyers to choose from. That is not enough homes to choose from, for all of the buyers, and the demand that they represent.

Regular Santa Clarita home and bank owned sales that are priced fairly (not necessarily well under market value) are, in general, flying off the shelf within days or weeks of being listed. Homes receiving multiple offers are the norm. Regular and bank owned home sales, selling for above the original asking price, is normal as well, at least for now. Things could change though. It all depends on this "wave of foreclosures" that we've all heard about. Is it coming? Well, it hasn't yet. One thing that is for sure, is that there are a lot of homes that could be foreclosed on, that the banks simply are not foreclosing on. Those homes could be adding to the inventory, giving buyers more home choices, and possibly lowering prices further. Supply/Demand. Housing has already become very affordable however, and there are lots of homeowners in Santa Clarita, and beyond, who don't want home values to drop any more.

Not everyone will be happy, no matter how this housing market turns out. As of this month, December 2009, buyers are still scrambling to find their home of choice despite the holidays. The deals are right, the financing is affordable, but the inventory is low – hence – the frenzy.

These are Santa Clarita Real Estate statistics and things you should be aware of…for November 2009! The numbers and analysis below are reflective my opinion only, of our market as of today, November 19, 2009.

Here is what stands out to me:

1) It's tough to sell a home in Agua Dulce right now for some reason (241 avg days on market!?). Ok, that was the ice breaker…the boring stats and insight will follow.

2) Of the "Active" listings for sale in the Santa Clarita Valley, 36% (avg.) of those are short sales.

3) Of the homes for sale that are "In Escrow" in the Santa Clarita Valley, 56% (avg.) of those are short sales.

4) Of the homes for sale that are "In Escrow" in the Santa Clarita Valley, the avg. days on market for these is 97. This figure includes short sale homes that are "In Escrow."

5) Of the homes for sale that are "In Escrow" in the Santa Clarita Valley that are NOT short sales, the avg. days on market for these is just 52 (it's just 39 without including Agua Dulce numbers – thanks Agua Dulce).

6) Homes are flying off the shelf in Saugus! The days on market is the lowest.

7) The avg. list price of a home in escrow thats not a Santa Clarita short sale, is $412,153. That number would be $384,735 without Agua Dulce figured in. The avg list price of homes that are active, and have not entered into escrow yet, including short sale listings, is $584,737 (and yes that number does include Agua Dulce). Bottom line, the less expensive homes are selling…which is not a news flash.

As of today, there are a total of 658 homes for sale in Santa Clarita. And there are 1,066 homes in escrow. A bit unbalanced. Great for sellers, bad for buyers. But read on buyers…there is still some good news for you in the numbers, and beyond the numbers. As you can see below, short sales are such a large part, % wise, of our inventory. The inventory is so low, that despite the general drawbacks of short sales, buyers are still writing offers on these types of homes, and they (the short sales) have become a majority of the type of inventory that's in escrow. The bad part about all of those short sales in escrow…is that a majority of them will not close escrow as short sales. At least not until the banks/lenders/corporations figure out a better process for streamlining the short sale approval process (which could be soon). MOST of the short sales "in escrow" are NOT approved short sales. They simply received an offer, the listing agent marked it as being "in escrow" and an approval from the lien holders is being sought after by the seller and their listing agent.

The homes that are selling the quickest, often times within days of hitting the market, are bank owned foreclosure sales, and regular good old standard sales where an owner has equity. Look at the STARK contrast in stats between "Avg. Days On Market Homes In Escrow" and "Avg. Days On Market Homes In Escrow But NO Short Sales".

With so little available for sale, and so much of the inventory in escrow, where is the good news for Santa Clarita home buyers? The good news for you buyers is that prices are incredibly low and may continue to stay low for at least another year, and possibly even decrease a bit more, in varying areas of Santa Clarita. Also, interest rates are at historic lows, FHA loans are flexible and have a low entry barrier, there is an $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit that got extended until April 30, 2010, and now even existing homeowners have the possibility of taking advantage of a $6,500 tax credit. Back to price softening…how much they decrease, will depend on how many more foreclosures (not listings – but foreclosure listings) hit the market. Why foreclosure listings? Because these are almost always priced aggressively. The nature of how those are priced, will keep prices from rising in general/on the avg. And if there is anything close to another "flood" of foreclosures, prices will weaken a bit more, even if there is pent up demand ready to absorb the "wave". Again – because the nature of foreclosures is such that they tend to be in bad shape and priced aggressively to sell fast, thereby affecting neighborhood values negatively (from a homeowners perspective).

If banks get "better" at approving short sales, improve various loan modification programs, and all options are looked into before a homeowner is foreclosed on….then we will likely continue to see just a trickle of bank owned foreclosures hitting the market, and the real estate market in Santa Clarita would likely be considered at a bottom (at least by this author), and prices in some SCV communities could even begin to rise in tiny measurable amounts.

Homeowners with equity: if you are interested in selling soon, now is the time. You have very little competition (658 homes for sale) and you can get top dollar – quickly!

Buyers: if you have to buy now, you will need patience. There is immense competition for homes in Santa Clarita right now. You need, more than ever, a dedicated full time agent/team working on your side, and they must have their pulse on the market. It's common to write several offers on several homes, before finally getting an offer accepted. A good agent can help you minimize this process, and make it less painful, or even painless. But please be prepared to write your very best offer. Low ball offers aren't working too well right now. I wish there was a stat on that! If you can wait to buy several months, maybe – JUST MAYBE – even a year…thats not a bad thing, except for the fact that you may miss out on the tax credit and or you could face higher loan interest rates down the line. But don't fear the prices, they won't be rising significantly, if at all, for at least a little while. Tough decision. I know.

Enough of this foggy crystal ball…check out the numbers yourself and as always, check back with our blog often for the skinny on SCV RE! 

Feel free to comment or email us. To contact The Robert and Brian Team by phone, call us at (661) 964-1760.

The Santa Clarita Real Estate statistics for May 2009 is now available.

Take a look at this local real estate numbers breakdown for the Santa Clarita Valley, and feel free to contact us with any questions.

CLICK HERE FOR MAY 2009 SANTA CLARITA REAL ESTATE STATS PDF!

The Robert and Brian Team

Call us @ (661) 964-1760 for immediate Santa Clarita Real Estate assistance!

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