Our speakers for April 19 - Bill Gray, Judy Hoag & Jordan Eller

Posted by Deborah Perkins

Bill Gray, Judy Hoag & Jordan Eller spoke about what's happening in the Ventura County real estate market

Bill Gray, Judy Hoag, and Jordan Eller gave a presentation on the current state of the real estate and mortgage industries. Bill Gray is the owner of Ventura Realty and Homes. Judy Hoag is the owner of Associated Realtors. Jordan Eller is the owner of Capital Mortgage Services.

Bill’s presentation focused on investment rental properties. Ventura has a variety of properties in both the low income and high income sectors. Currently, the supply of single family rental homes is low while the demand is high. All of the people who lost their homes through foreclosures or short sales now need a place to live. Many of them are looking to rent single family homes. At the same time, banks are taking their time in releasing bank-owned homes back into the market. From an investor’s point of view, it is better to purchase a low income home because the return on investment is higher. Generally, rents for low income housing have only minor fluctuations even when home prices drop significantly.The rental market for apartments and condominiums is rather soft and units may sit on the market for a month or two before being rented. One of the reasons this is happening is because the City of Ventura has been building many low income housing units so there is a lot of competition. Judy provided quite a few statistics as to the state of the real estate market. There has been a bit more movement in the local market than last year. Last year, 757 units were sold while this year 820 units were sold. Although there is more movement, prices have remained about the same. The median home price in Ventura County last year was $349,000 while this year it is $350,000.Most of the units sold have been to investors with sale prices of $400,000 or below. Real estate investing is very appealing to investors right now because they can generally get a higher rate of return on a rental property than with other investments. According to a survey by the California Association of Realtors, 73% of people believe it is a good time to buy a home, 39% of people believe mortgage rates will go up in the next twelve months, and 66% of people would buy a property if they were to move.Jordan explained that the mortgage industry has seen massive changes over the last few years. For example, in 2005 he could get someone with a 680 credit score with no money down a stated income loan of $1,000,000. That file would have been about one inch thick. Now, it is illegal in California to give a stated income loan, and there is so much documentation required that his files have increased to four and one-half inches in size.It is now very difficult to qualify for a loan. No more than 45% of your income can be used to pay your debts including the mortgage you are applying for. Due to this, Jordan already knows it is a bad sign when someone pulls up to his office in a brand new Escalade. Most of the loans currently being processed are for first time buyers. The average loan is $319,000 with 3% down and an interest rate of 3.75%. The average credit score is 769. The average closing time is 42 days. The average loan-to-value is 77%.

Thank you Bill, Judy, and Jordan for sharing your expertise with us.

Deborah A. Perkins