Laguna Beach CA

Reasons To Hire Laguna Beach Real Estate Agent

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Whether or not to hire an agent is perhaps the first thing on every home buyer’s mind. But in a market like Laguna Beach, the answer is simple, it’s always worth the money. A Laguna Beach real estate agent does more than just show you homes–he or she also helps you plan your purchase from start to finish. Sure, it may cost more at the outset, but when you’re about to make your life’s biggest investment, it always helps to work with the pros. If you’re not sure you need a real estate agent Laguna Beach, read on for a few good reasons.

Market knowledge
The main advantage of a Laguna Beach real estate agent is knowledge: they know their way around the market and can easily tell you which homes are worth it. Although there’s no formula for market values, a real estate agent Laguna Beach can recognize trends that the average home buyer might miss. Besides home prices and mortgage rates, an agent can also offer neighborhood information such as demographics and local transport.

Buying advice
If you’re a first-time homebuyer, much of the process is probably new: comparative market analyses, purchase offers, closing costs. While you can certainly pick things up on your own, working with a Laguna Beach real estate agent can help you avoid common pitfalls and make sure you know where your money is going. They can help you set a budget, define your preferences, and determine whether or not a home is worth its price.

Paperwork assistance
Home buying involves a good deal of documentation, from financial statements to purchase contracts. Even for experienced buyers, this usually entails a lot of work. With a real estate agent, Laguna Beach home buying doesn’t have to take up hours of poring through documents and fine print. You’ll still have to read before signing, of course, but an agent can explain things more clearly and leave you more time for your home search.

Smart negotiation
An agent’s primary job is to help you get the home you want for the best possible price. This means negotiating for purchase terms that make financial sense for both parties. It’s not just about haggling: it’s also about making sure your money goes a long way. For example, if you pay $500,000 for a home, would that include inspections and title insurance? These are complicated questions, but with a Laguna Beach real estate agent, you can make smart decisions that will benefit you in the long run. For more information

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The 5 Main Laguna Beach House Price Explained

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California got one of the heaviest blows in the real estate crisis, with home prices dropping as low as 50% in some areas. And as affluent cities felt much of the crunch, Laguna Beach and other beach towns braced themselves earlier this year for a hard run and another foreclosure wave. How do Laguna Beach homes for sale rate as the third quarter reaches its peak? Here’s a look at how the South Coast city is faring against the rest of the state.

Home Prices Steady

Not surprisingly, Laguna Beach homes for sale are still on the higher end of the California market. As of this week, the median price was $1.27 million, compared to the statewide median of $268,000. But the figures have gone down over the year this time in 2009, Laguna Beach homes for sale were going for $1.42 million, a 10% drop overall. This may have been a result of increased foreclosures and short sales, which have driven down home values elsewhere.

Foreclosures Unchanged

The number of Laguna Beach homes for sale as foreclosures or short sales has remained the same within the last week. There are currently 109 foreclosures listed in the city, while regular Laguna Beach homes for sale were last counted at 590. Meanwhile, foreclosures have been on the rise throughout California, with over 70,000 notices of default issued from April to June. The trend is slowly moving down, however; in the same period last year, more than 130,000 such notices were issued.

More Defaults In High-End Areas

Like most affluent cities those with median prices over $800,000Laguna Beach is seeing more defaults than middle- to low-end California. More Laguna Beach homes for sale are listed as short sales, and that doesn’t include REOs and foreclosures. In the state’s 15 most expensive counties, including Orange County where Laguna Beach is located, pricey homes make up a higher percentage of the total homes where a notice of default was issued.

Mortgage Rates Down

California mortgage rates have been steadily dropping and reaching historic lows for much of 2010. This has encouraged more buyers to take the plunge and reconsider Laguna Beach homes for sale, which would have been out of their budget any other time. The biggest drop is in 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, which fell 0.22% last week from 4.192% to 4.170%, followed by a 0.12% drop in 30-year fixed-rate mortgages from 4.637% to 4.623%.

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