Good morning! It's great to be back in California again. The weather is a bit blustery today, but the sun is out and it's a good day to be working. Here are today's top real estate stories. Enjoy!
Given a choice of simplifying federal tax laws or retaining current housing incentives, Americans prefer to retain current housing incentives over changing federal tax laws. The survey of 1,001 adults found that about 68 percent of participants favor retaining deductions for mortgage interest and state and local taxes over a plan to simplify the current tax code. "The survey offers a cautionary note for those in the administration and on Capitol Hill who may be tempted to endorse the recommendations of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, which would wipe out popular tax incentives that promote home ownership and affordable housing," said Jerry Howard, executive vice president and CEO of the National Association of Home Builders. Click here to read more.
Zones prone to floods filling with new homes. In recent years, thousands of new houses have mushroomed on the land that was under water then, part of a wave of suburban development in California's vast Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley. An ever-expanding population and sky-high prices near coastal cities are driving a housing boom in the most flood-prone part of the state. The aptly named Plumas Lake development north of Sacramento is one of those new suburbs. When it's completed, it will include 11,000 homes in a filled-in marsh near the former farming town of Olivehurst. The area is framed by the Feather, Bear and Yuba rivers, which overflowed their levees during the epic 1997 flood. Click here to read more.
Taxpayers get billed for affordable housing - Part 2. The $12.6 million Desert Gardens apartments, at Lee Avenue and Bellflower Street, were built by the Foundation for Affordable Housing V, Inc. The 10-acre site was sold on Nov. 22, 2002 for $330,000. It was then immediately flipped and sold for $880,000 to the developer, according to the San Bernardino County Auditor/Controller's Office. The Desert Gardens was then granted nearly $12 million in federal tax credits. A second low-income project to be constructed by the Foundation for Affordable Housing next year recently won $16 million in state and federal tax credits. The average cost of building each apartment of the 81-unit buildings is $156,314 and $197,530, respectively. "The reason we have a lack of affordable housing in Southern California is because of government policies." Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers' Association, said. "The best thing government can do for affordable housing is get the hell out of the way." Click here to read more.
This article isn't real estate related, but it's beautiful so I included it for those of you who like butterflies.
It's going to be an orange Christmas again along the coast. Some 40,000 monarch butterflies are migrating to the Pismo State Beach eucalyptus groves, an annual trek that peaks in December to bring the Central Coast one of the most beautiful natural displays. The brilliant orange butterflies congregate in the boughs of the trees to ride out the winter, taking flight on sunny days in a dazzling display that looks like burning embers floating in the sky. The insets then mate and die. "It's incredible. They look like jewelry," Marian Taylor of Laguna Beach said as she watched a butterfly cluster. Although Pacific Grove near Monterey has the most famous monarch grove, the Pismo Beach grove hosts the largest congregation of the insects in the United States, park docent Dick Simpson said. During winter of 1990-91, an estimated 230,000 butterflies swarmed the grove. About 15,000 butterflies visited the park in the winter of 1994-95 and this year's population is expected to peak this month at about 40,000. They began arriving in October. "They're kind of like a Christmas gift because they tend to peak at the end of December," park docent Terry Jackson said. Click here to read more.
Mobile Homes Get Second Look as Affordable Option. California law allows manufactured housing in residential zones, but enables local governments to adopt architectural standards to ensure that it blends in. Pitched roofs, facades and landscaping can dramatically change the look of a mobile home, said Michael Thompson, director of the Washington County Planning Department. Click here to read more.
~Tina Jan~
Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters
1655 E. Sixth St.
Beaumont, CA 92223
Work: 951-845-5520 Ext. 105
Fax: 951-845-4916
Cell: 909-446-2666
Toll-Free: 1-877-TINAJAN
tina.jan@coldwellbanker.com
www.tinajan.com
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