Real Estate News for Sunday, January 28th, 2007

The chill at luxury's low end. As the national housing market continues to weaken, prices of homes in the $1 million range are slumping in many parts of the country. In once-golden Sunbelt cities like Miami and Santa Barbara, Calif., as well as in major Midwestern cities like St. Louis and Chicago, prices fell in the fourth quarter of 2006 from a year earlier, in some places by as much as 7.2 percent. In other areas, prices rose slightly but appreciation was sluggish, with gains of 4.3 percent or less. Still, analysts say, the category is holding up better than the overall market, which declined 10 percent during the same period. Click here to read more.

Condo Mania. Cheaper prices, urban infill fuel condo, townhouse boom. McGautha and Benatar are among a growing number of Bay Area home buyers who are looking to condos and townhouses, which are generally more affordable than single-family homes, to meet their housing needs in the nation's most expensive home-buying market — and fueling what builders and real estate analysts say is a condo and townhouse boom. In December, the median sales price for an existing condo or townhouse in the Bay Area was $496,000 — almost $150,000 less than the $645,000 median price of an existing single-family home. This year, KB Home, one of the nation's largest home builders, expects that 40 percent of its new homes in the Bay Area will be condos and townhouses — twice as big a share as last year. In 2006, KB Home opened condos and townhouses in Union City, Milpitas and San Jose. Additional projects will open this year in Fremont, Union City and San Jose. Click here to read more.

Teacher aid. Educators graduate to home ownership. Thanks to the California Housing Finance Agency, the Garrads are not renting anymore. Last year the couple spotted an advertisement for the agency s Extra Credit program which is tailored for teachers like Garrad and other school employees who cannot afford to buy their first home. They qualified for the program and last summer paid $440,000 for their dream home the one they were renting. They snapped it up when their landlord cashed out of California s smoking hot real-estate market. But the Garrads are among the lucky few working-class families who had access to financial assistance that helped them get into their all-important first home. Some programs are also available, including some for police officers and firefighters as well as other people who meet income qualifications. But even with this kind of assistance, getting into that first home can be a daunting challenge, primarily because of the high cost of housing. While sales have fallen off record levels, prices have not followed them down. For example, just last month even though sales in Los Angeles County tumbled an annual 12.9 percent, the median price of a home climbed 6.5 percent percent to a record $522,000. The picture is just as bleak in the Inland Empire, long one of the region's most affordable markets. Sales in San Bernardino County fell an annual 31.1 percent, but the median price rose 3 percent to $372,000. These remain the kinds of markets where the nurses, police officers, firefighters, teachers, janitors and other workers who look out for the community cannot afford to live in it. In the Inland Empire during last year's third quarter, the median home price was $393,000 and the minimum income needed to buy it was $134,629 with a 10 percent down payment. But an elementary school teacher's salary averaged $51,473; a police officer's, $50,026; a nurse's, $40,570; a retail salesperson's, $26,878; and a janitor's, $25,924. In the Los Angeles metro area, which includes the San Gabriel Valley, Long Beach and the South Bay as well as the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, the median price in the third quarter was $523,000 and the minimum qualifying income was $179,163. But a teacher's salary in the area averaged $53,687; a police officer's, $52,178, a nurse's, $42,316; a retail sales clerk's, $28,036; and a janitor's, $27,040. The first thing prospective buyers should do is contact the city they live or work in. Most offer homebuying assistance. Some have more ambitious plans than others. Last year, the Neighborhood Housing Services of the Inland Empire helped 110 families buy their first houses. The agency administers a variety of down payment assistance programs and offers a 16-hour homebuying class. Another good source is the California Housing Finance Agency. This is a state agency that acts like a bank and its mission is helping folks buy their first home. It offers a variety of loan programs and down-payment assistance. Purchase price limits are generally higher than Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's and are adjusted every six months. For example, the two big mortgage companies have a conforming loan limit in California of $417,000, unchanged from last year. That's the largest mortgage they can buy. But CalHFA has loan limits for both new and resale in each county. In Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties the lending limits are much higher than Fannie's and Freddie's. Click here to read more.

Home sales may go buyers' way. Sellers are lowering prices; mortgage rates are still low. The frenzy phase when homes were swooped off the market in a few days has passed, but that might be a good thing for buyers. Sellers are becoming more realistic and lowering their prices after about a year of flattening in the market. And buyers can still take advantage of today's mortgage interest rates that remain at historic lows. Motivated sellers often lower their asking price in order to sell. But some refuse, expecting prices to shoot back up in March, when the market tends to start to pick up. Despite low interest rates, year-over-year sales declined in most of the state's regions last month, said Leslie Appleton-Young, CAR vice president and chief economist. Increases were strongest in urban areas that experienced fewer new homes being built or strong economic growth in recent years, she added. 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

Real Estate News for Thursday, January 25th, 2007

Convicted con artist shows how system flaws could allow him to steal your home. A one-time millionaire with a house on a golf course, Barber was sentenced in October to 12 years in prison for masterminding the largest mortgage fraud ever prosecuted in Missouri, and most other states too, the FBI says. He pleaded guilty to a five-year scam that involved nearly 300 properties in Kansas City, Mo., and victimized more than 80 people. Click here to read more.

Real estate: Who's buying now? The nation is changing. So is the average home buyer. The biggest group of home buyers by far is still married couples, accounting for 61 percent of all homes bought, according to the National Association of Realtors. But single women now purchase 22 percent of all homes. Single men accounted for only 9 percent of purchases. Part of the reason why women have become so big a buying bloc is that more women are single than ever before. The New York Times recently concluded, after an analysis of Census Bureau data, that 51 percent of all American adult women now live without a spouse. And women are much more financially independent than ever. They account for about 57 percent of all college graduates, almost the reverse of the ratio of 40 years ago. During the 10 years through 2005, homeownership among African Americans grew from 44 percent to 48 percent, according to Vredevoogd. Among Hispanics it grew from 43 percent to 49 percent and among Asians, from 51 percent to 60 percent. All these groups made significant progress toward achieving the level of homeownership of 72 percent that the nation as a whole enjoys. Click here to read more.

Foreclosures surge 42 percent in 2006. One out of every 92 households filed for foreclosure in 2006, suggesting that many homeowners are overextended in mortgage debt, group says. The number of homes in the United States foreclosed by lenders rose 42 percent in 2006 from a year earlier in a sign that many homeowners have became overextended in mortgage debt, a real estate information service reported Thursday. More than 1.2 million foreclosure filings were reported nationwide during 2006, which is a rate of one foreclosure filing for every 92 households, according to RealtyTrac, Inc. Colorado, Georgia and Nevada saw the highest foreclosure rates, the study found. Click here to read more.

Housing glut gives buyers upper hand. Amid a continuing glut of homes for sale in most of the country, buyers should have plenty of choices and lots of bargaining power in the spring selling season - typically the busiest time of the year. Many builders and real-estate brokers, for their part, hope the housing market will start recovering this year as buyers respond to price cuts and other sweeteners offered by increasingly nervous sellers. In some markets, agents say, buyer traffic has picked up in the last month or two. But any recovery is likely to be gradual. Donald Tomnitz, chief executive officer of D.R. Horton Inc., a home builder, told investors this week that the market, which began slumping in 2005, may bottom out by mid-2007, but that "we don't see any rapid improvement thereafter." Given all that, sellers should expect buyers to take their time and be tougher negotiators. David Lee, who recently moved to Wenham, Mass., to take up a post as an associate professor of physics at Gordon College, has rented a home for his family and says they plan to be "quite picky and choosy" as they look for a home to buy. Dr. Lee doesn't feel any pressure to decide quickly because he figures prices won't rise in the near term and could fall further. Click here to read more.

C.A.R. Reports Sales Decrease 15.3 Percent in December, Median Price of a Home in California at $567,690, up 3.7 Percent from Year Ago. Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 450,550 in December at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations statewide. Statewide home resale activity decreased 15.3 percent from the 531,910 sales pace recorded in December 2005. “Year-over-year sales declined in most regions last month, albeit at a lesser pace then what we experienced earlier this year,” said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “The price picture across the state continues to be mixed. Increases were strongest in urban areas that experienced relatively less new home building or strong economic growth in recent years. Prices were weakest where there has been robust home building activity or in those areas of the state that were popular with second-home buyers.” 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

Real Estate News for Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007

Coldwell Banker System Growth, Brand Expands in 33 States. Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation has announced that 92 Coldwell Banker® affiliated companies expanded their operations by opening 118 new offices through expansion or merger/acquisitions in 2006. Additionally, the Coldwell Banker system also added 31 new affiliate companies during the past year. Internationally, more than 100 Coldwell Banker offices were opened in 2006, including in Japan for the first time. In the United States, Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation expanded its footprint in 33 states, with California and Florida seeing the most additions with 20 and 13 office openings, respectively. The Coldwell Banker system expanded significantly in the southern states from Virginia to Texas with 54 new offices opened in 2006. "The real estate market underwent change in 2006, but what did not change was the success of the Coldwell Banker brand," said Jim Gillespie, president and chief executive officer for Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation. "We celebrated the brand's 100thanniversary last year and continually adapt to the changing needs of the consumer and affiliated companies. We are committed to adding affiliated companies that are leaders in their markets and helping our existing franchisees grow and increase profitability. That is happening with regularity." Click here to read more.

Reading, Writing, and Resisting Debt. Fight Debt with Debt: Whenever anyone asks me how to solve the credit card problem, I tell them to fight fire with fire -- and debt with debt. The way I solve my increasing needs for cash is to go deeper into debt -- good debt, not bad debt. For example, I use debt -- which is essentially tax-free money -- to invest in real estate, which in turn increases my cash flow. Not only do I not pay taxes on my debt, I could also pay no taxes (or very little in taxes) on the income from the debt. Hence I earn more but pay less in taxes. Obviously, in order to do this you need to know how to use debt wisely and responsibly, and must be able to find great investments that increase cash flow. Click here to read more of Kiyosaki's article.

~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

Informative Online Real Estate Videos

Here are some great video resources for real estate buyers and sellers.

Ready to Buy Videos:


Ready to Sell Videos:


Lifestyle Videos:


~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

Real Estate News for Saturday, January 13th, 2007

Adverse Possession: Real Estate Matters - Ask the Real Estate Lawyer. When a landowners sees that someone is trespassing on their property, the lawyer (or landowner) should send the trespasser a letter thanking him for taking care of the property and advising that the license to use the property is henceforth revoked (or demand payment of rent if the trespasser wishes to continue staying where he is). If done properly, such a letter is quite helpful in destroying that required element of "adversity," thereby saving the landowner's property. Click here to read more.



What's Become Of The Condo Conversion? Two years ago one of the easiest ways to make big money in America was to convert apartments into condominiums. The housing slowdown has taken a toll, pruning profits and thinning out herds of condo buyers so much that many converted properties are reverting to apartments. But conversions still take place, suited to certain markets and pared expectations for investment return. The conversion process is simple. For as little as $75 in some counties, a developer can initiate a legal process to convert multi-unit apartment buildings into individual condos to be purchased by separate owners or investors. Current renters normally are given relocation money and the option to vacate their unit at lease end or the opportunity to buy their old apartment slightly below the sales price of the newly refurbished condos. Click here to read more.

'Flipping' of homes down in 2006. The "flipping" of homes in California by speculators who buy houses and condominiums only to resell them for a quick profit declined last year to the lowest level since 2003 as price growth slowed. The decline in flipping comes as the pace of all home sales and price increases slows throughout California. In November, the latest month for which figures are available, Southern California home sales dropped to the lowest level for a November in nine years, according to DataQuick Information Systems. San Francisco Bay Area home prices fell for the second time in three months in November. Overall, flippers last year sold homes for a median $45,000 more than they paid, down from $52,000 in 2005. 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

A New Year, Another New Picture!

I have to thank my very skilled photographer, Jared Schmidtz, for these beautiful pictures. He works so well with his subjects! I was having a blinking problem, but we worked that out very quickly. He'd say, "blink!" Then I would blink, and he'd shoot the picture as soon as my eyes opened!

~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

A New Year, A New Picture!

Well, I think it's about time I had some better work photographs taken! As they come in, I will post them up. Here I am standing in a gorgeous kitchen with granite counters.

~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

Real Estate News for Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007

Happy New Year to All! Let's start our 2007 with a bang!

Summary: According to many news sources and economist reports, it looks like the residential market for 2007 will have a single digit decline in prices. Meanwhile, the commercial market will be healthy throughout 2007. New homes builders continue to offer incentives and lowered prices in the first half of 2007 as they try to sell off their inventory as quickly as possible. Interest rates remain low and stable.

Reports: Real estate market cooling. Real estate reports issued Tuesday offered a backward and forward look at the market for housing and business. Statewide, housing permits fell by 9 percent in November over October and by almost 34 percent compared with November the previous year. The first 11 months of 2006 showed a 22 percent drop from the year before. New-home construction will continue to dwindle until builders sell off their inventory, probably in early 2007. Robert Rivinius, association president and chief executive officer, stated in a news release that the market slowdown is unlikely to help ease the state's affordability problem. He said that California has a limited supply of privately owned land that can be developed and high developer fees. "While there remains great pent-up demand for lower-cost homes," he said in the release, "government constraints now make it all but impossible to build homes for first-time buyers, so most builders have no choice but to build homes to meet the demand in the higher price ranges." Source.

2007 Predicted to be Poor Real Estate Year. This year is predicted to be a bad one for those either looking to buy or sell a home in California. Construction, sales and prices will keep plunging, according to Chris Thornberg of Beacon Economics. "I am extremely negative about 2007," Thornberg said. "I see foreclosures going up in 2007. I think prices are definitely not going to bottom out. I think prices will continue to go down slowly." Thornberg said those in the most trouble are newer home owners whose mortgages will re-set this year. The higher interest rates will mean larger monthly payments for many borrowers. He expects the real estate market to bottom out this year and start to recover in 2008. Source.

Google, Apple, Yahoo boost valley market in real estate. Commercial real estate in Silicon Valley turned a corner in 2006 that it had been approaching for three years, thanks largely to property purchased by high-tech behemoths Google, Apple Computer and Yahoo. In the past year, Google gobbled up yet another portion of land and buildings in Mountain View's Shoreline Technology Park for $319 million; Apple announced plans to buy 50 acres in Cupertino for more than $160 million; and Yahoo worked under the radar to buy 46 acres in Santa Clara for about $50 million. Source: The Mercury News.

Further home sales slowdown expected. Fewer houses will move, and at lower prices, due to oversupply, real estate experts say. A second year of a cooling market could bring more painful adjustments for some of Inland Southern California's home sellers in 2007. A continued slowdown in home construction, more foreclosures and price declines are in the offing, several economists said. A serious downturn could damage the rest of the economy, costing jobs and curtailing retail sales. Robert Kleinhenz, deputy chief economist for the California Association of Realtors, said sales of existing homes in Riverside and San Bernardino counties in 2006 plummeted about 25 percent and may fall another 7 percent this year. Steve Cochrane, senior managing director at Moody's Economy.com, predicts that in the first half of 2007, Inland median home prices will fall 5 percent to 8 percent. Inland economist John Husing said he projects a 5 percent year-to-year drop, with homes in areas farthest from job centers taking the biggest hit. Source: The Press Enterprise.

How to Make Your Home Worth More in 2007. With an uncooperative housing market, this year's home improvements call for focus, patience, and a bit of elbow grease. First, rule out needless projects by comparing your home to the others in your neighborhood. Ask your real estate agent for a list of homes for sale nearby so you can see what is being offered, and take advantage of open houses. You will probably want to focus on the areas that are most important to prospective buyers—the exterior, the kitchen, and the bathrooms—and skip over frivolous renovations and additions of offices, sun rooms, and master suites. Of course, remodeling on a budget means more work for you. But do-it-yourself projects can have a major impact on a home's value, and they can be as simple as cleaning up. Then, starting with the front yard, eliminate all waste and clutter. Weed the garden and mow the lawn. Wash the siding and walls. Scrub the kitchen and bathroom. Shampoo the carpets. For the handier among us, tiling can be an amusing way to perk up the kitchen or bathroom. Discontinued tile can cost as little as $1.50 per square foot, and stores such as Home Depot and Lowes even offer tiling classes. Refinishing kitchen cabinets is also much easier than you might think. Sand, apply a lighter stain or finish (this will make the kitchen seem bigger), and replace old knobs and handles with new stylish ones. When all else fails, a few coats of semi-gloss paint in a light color can go a long way, making your walls appear brighter and your rooms seem larger. Last year, homeowners in the Pacific region (Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, and California) saw the highest percentages of remodeling costs returned in resale. Minor mid-range ($19,000) kitchen remodels in that region recouped 106.4% of their project cost in resale, while mid-range ($15,000) bathroom remodels had 103.2% returns. A good agent can spot buyer turnoffs, advise you what to improve, and figure out your home's true worth based on the local market. If you have made all the necessary improvements and you still don't like what you hear, simply wait for the storm to pass, and in the meantime, enjoy the fruits of your labor. Source: Business Week.

Lennar to shed stake in housing venture. The builder sells control of Newhall Ranch amid a slump. The deal hints at an improving market. Lennar Corp. said Tuesday that it would sell a majority stake in a joint venture that owns one of the largest residential developments in Los Angeles County, the latest example of a home builder selling land to cope with a bruising housing slowdown. But the fact that buyers are snapping up such land is a sign of improving confidence in Southern California's home-building market, analysts said. Miami-based Lennar, the nation's third-largest home builder ranked by unit sales, had no trouble finding a new partner in its venture, which involves the proposed 20,000-home, 15,000-acre Newhall Ranch community in Santa Clarita Valley. Source: The Los Angeles Times.

Office rents to rise on healthy economy. A healthy economy will fuel growth in the U.S. office market in 2007, although the outlook for commercial real estate markets exposed to the weak housing market isn't as bright, according to a new report.This year, businesses will add staff and lease more space, helped by an economy that will strike a balance between recession and inflationary expansion, according to the 2007 Global Real Estate Forecast from real estate company Grubb & Ellis Co. About 300,000 of the year's expected new jobs will be located in office buildings, the report said. Rental rates for the most prestigious buildings should rise by 5 percent or more in 20 central business districts including those in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles -- expected to be the two top U.S. office markets through 2011, the report predicted. Source: The Washington Post.



~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