We've reached a point in the market where the monthly mortgage payment is about the same as rent. This article from LA Daily News points out the areas where that difference is minimal and where it reaches as much as $4000 (Manhattan).
Click here for the entire article
23 April 2010
21 April 2010
Fast Facts for April 2010
Calif. median home price: February 2010: $279,840 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region February 2010: Santa Barbara So. Coast $795,000(Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region February 2010: High Desert $122,580 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index - Fourth Quarter 2009: 64 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates - week ending 4/15/10
30-yr. fixed: 5.07 Fees/points: 0.6%
15-yr. fixed: 4.40% Fees/points: 0.7%
1-yr. adjustable: 4.13%
Fees/points: 0.5% (Source: Freddie Mac)
Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region February 2010: Santa Barbara So. Coast $795,000(Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region February 2010: High Desert $122,580 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index - Fourth Quarter 2009: 64 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates - week ending 4/15/10
30-yr. fixed: 5.07 Fees/points: 0.6%
15-yr. fixed: 4.40% Fees/points: 0.7%
1-yr. adjustable: 4.13%
Fees/points: 0.5% (Source: Freddie Mac)
20 April 2010
How Goldman Sachs Did It
Read this article about a company called Magnetar from ProPublica. It's shocking how bold some of these companies were/are. One company sells a financial product that was influenced by another company that bet on that product's failure - making money on both sides. This is the same process that Goldman Sachs is being accused of performing. Every week it's getting clearer and clearer how we ended up in this mess...
18 April 2010
Biggest Crowds Ever at Fisherman's Festival!
The turnout was excellent and the weather was even better this year as the festival broke previous records. And the fish & chips were outstanding!
Article from Press Democrat
Article from Press Democrat
15 April 2010
Bay Area home sales and prices up in March
There is a lot to interpret when reading any article about real estate and the one below is certainly no exception. But what can't be denied is that activity is certainly up on the Coast and in the Bay Area. What's different here on the Coast is that we're seeing a spike in the percentage of REO's being purchased instead of a decrease (but that should change soon with the depletion of a group of REO's). The deals that are happening do seem to have a larger percentage of cash than in the past, as is seen in other areas.
Article By ROBERT DIGITALE of THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Bay Area home sales and prices jumped in March, but analysts largely discounted the changes as the result of the annual spring selling season and an increase in purchases of higher-end homes.
March sales jumped 40 percent from February to 6,992 new and existing homes and condominiums in the nine-county Bay Area, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego. Sales were up nearly 11 percent from a year ago.
The median price climbed 7 percent from February to $380,000. That amount was 31 percent higher than a year ago when the price reached $290,000, a low point in the Bay Area's current housing cycle.
The increase in sales and median price was expected. March sales typically exceed February, though the March 2010 sales still were 22 percent short of the 22-year average for the month.
Similarly, the median price a year ago was affected by a lopsided number of home sales in inland areas that had been hard hit by foreclosures, DataQuick reported. Last month, nearly 35 percent of Bay Area sales were of homes above $500,000, compared to 24 percent a year ago.
“While March's big annual gain in the regional median tells us a lot about what's changed in the market, it shouldn't be viewed as evidence of surging home values,” said John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president.
Walsh called the results “a statistical quirk.” The data indicates that prices in many communities “have more or less flattened out or risen modestly, while they remain soft in others,” he said.
In general, the Bay Area is still impacted more by the credit crunch than many other markets, he said.
“It's tougher to get the ‘jumbo' mortgages and adjustable-rate financing that had long been staples there. Looking ahead, stability in the housing market will rely more heavily on a strengthening economy.
“Government housing stimulus is fading,” Walsh said, “and there are threats from higher mortgage rates, more distressed properties hitting the market and continued job losses.”
Foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – made up nearly 32 percent of the resale market in March. That compares with 50 percent a year a ago.
Absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased nearly 18 percent of all Bay Area homes sold. Buyers who apparently paid all cash – meaning there was no corresponding purchase loan found in the public record – accounted for nearly 25 percent of sales.
Article By ROBERT DIGITALE of THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Bay Area home sales and prices jumped in March, but analysts largely discounted the changes as the result of the annual spring selling season and an increase in purchases of higher-end homes.
March sales jumped 40 percent from February to 6,992 new and existing homes and condominiums in the nine-county Bay Area, according to MDA DataQuick of San Diego. Sales were up nearly 11 percent from a year ago.
The median price climbed 7 percent from February to $380,000. That amount was 31 percent higher than a year ago when the price reached $290,000, a low point in the Bay Area's current housing cycle.
The increase in sales and median price was expected. March sales typically exceed February, though the March 2010 sales still were 22 percent short of the 22-year average for the month.
Similarly, the median price a year ago was affected by a lopsided number of home sales in inland areas that had been hard hit by foreclosures, DataQuick reported. Last month, nearly 35 percent of Bay Area sales were of homes above $500,000, compared to 24 percent a year ago.
“While March's big annual gain in the regional median tells us a lot about what's changed in the market, it shouldn't be viewed as evidence of surging home values,” said John Walsh, MDA DataQuick president.
Walsh called the results “a statistical quirk.” The data indicates that prices in many communities “have more or less flattened out or risen modestly, while they remain soft in others,” he said.
In general, the Bay Area is still impacted more by the credit crunch than many other markets, he said.
“It's tougher to get the ‘jumbo' mortgages and adjustable-rate financing that had long been staples there. Looking ahead, stability in the housing market will rely more heavily on a strengthening economy.
“Government housing stimulus is fading,” Walsh said, “and there are threats from higher mortgage rates, more distressed properties hitting the market and continued job losses.”
Foreclosure resales – homes that had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months – made up nearly 32 percent of the resale market in March. That compares with 50 percent a year a ago.
Absentee buyers – mostly investors – purchased nearly 18 percent of all Bay Area homes sold. Buyers who apparently paid all cash – meaning there was no corresponding purchase loan found in the public record – accounted for nearly 25 percent of sales.
13 April 2010
No More State Tax on Debt Relief
From the California Association of Realtors (CAR):
Distressed homeowners no longer have to pay California state income tax on debt forgiven in a short sale, foreclosure, or loan modification. Enacted into law yesterday, Senate Bill 401 generally aligns California's tax treatment of mortgage debt relief income with federal law. For debt forgiven on a loan secured by a "qualified principal residence," borrowers will now be exempt from both federal and state income tax consequences. The existing federal exemption is for indebtedness up to $2 million, whereas the new California exemption is for indebtedness up to $800,000 and forgiven debt up to $500,000.
"Qualified principal residence" indebtedness is defined as debt incurred in acquiring, constructing, or substantially improving a principal residence. It includes both first and second trust deeds. It also includes a refinance loan to the extent the funds were used to payoff a previous loan that would have qualified.
The tax breaks apply to debts discharged from 2009 through 2012. Californians who have already filed their 2009 tax returns may claim the exemption by filing a Form 540X amendment.
Taxpayers who do not qualify for the above exemptions (e.g., second home or rental property) may nevertheless be exempt under other provisions. Most notably, taxpayers who are bankrupt are exempt from debt relief income tax. Also, taxpayers who are insolvent are exempt from debt relief income tax to the extent their current liabilities exceed current assets.
For more information about mortgage forgiveness tax consequences, go to California Franchise Tax Board's Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Extended webpage and the Internal Revenue Service's Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation webpage. The full text of Senate Bill 401 is available at www.leginfo.ca.gov.
Distressed homeowners no longer have to pay California state income tax on debt forgiven in a short sale, foreclosure, or loan modification. Enacted into law yesterday, Senate Bill 401 generally aligns California's tax treatment of mortgage debt relief income with federal law. For debt forgiven on a loan secured by a "qualified principal residence," borrowers will now be exempt from both federal and state income tax consequences. The existing federal exemption is for indebtedness up to $2 million, whereas the new California exemption is for indebtedness up to $800,000 and forgiven debt up to $500,000.
"Qualified principal residence" indebtedness is defined as debt incurred in acquiring, constructing, or substantially improving a principal residence. It includes both first and second trust deeds. It also includes a refinance loan to the extent the funds were used to payoff a previous loan that would have qualified.
The tax breaks apply to debts discharged from 2009 through 2012. Californians who have already filed their 2009 tax returns may claim the exemption by filing a Form 540X amendment.
Taxpayers who do not qualify for the above exemptions (e.g., second home or rental property) may nevertheless be exempt under other provisions. Most notably, taxpayers who are bankrupt are exempt from debt relief income tax. Also, taxpayers who are insolvent are exempt from debt relief income tax to the extent their current liabilities exceed current assets.
For more information about mortgage forgiveness tax consequences, go to California Franchise Tax Board's Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Extended webpage and the Internal Revenue Service's Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation webpage. The full text of Senate Bill 401 is available at www.leginfo.ca.gov.
01 April 2010
Market Summary for March 2010
As expected, we're still seeing some downward pressure from the REO's that have been snapped up lately and you'll see that the median price in Bodega Bay has dropped to its lowest level since July 2003. However, what we're seeing this month is a sign that more expensive properties are beginning to get some interest. All three Bodega Harbour homes put into escrow were over $750K - expect to see more of this in April - and activity seems to be steadying a bit after LOTS of fluctuation. This continues to be a good time to buy.
Click on image below for a large version.
Click on image below for a large version.
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