Real Estate News for Wednesday, March 21st, 2007

Lindsay Lohan sells her condo. For those of you who love tracking celebrity It girls, Lindsay Lohan has just sold her condo for close to the asking price of $2,495,000. She apparently paid about $1.9 million for it originally. The West Hollywood unit is 2,100-square-feet, with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and on the corner of the 27th floor of the 146-unit building off Sunset Strip, which has ocean, city and Hollywood Hills views. The 32-story building also has a rooftop pool, a gym, a doorman and a banquet room. Click here to read more.

According to the L.A. Times, the L.A. housing market is holds its ground. Defying a sales slump and sub-prime uncertainty, area prices are on the rise. In the six counties of Southern California, the median price of a home — the point at which half the homes sell for more and half for less — was $489,500 in January and February combined, up 5.5% from the same period a year ago, according to DataQuick. San Diego County reported the steepest decline: 5.9%, to $475,000. Prices hit a record for L.A. County in February, rising to $528,000, up 7.8% from a year ago. Orange County's median price, however, dipped 0.4%, to $620,000. Sales continued to fall the first two months of this year, but at a less torrid pace than in mid-2006. Sales in the Southland's six counties fell 18% from a year ago. The Inland Empire posted the steepest decline, at 33.1%. The percentage of U.S. mortgages entering foreclosure during the fourth quarter last year rose to 0.54%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Assn., the highest since the group began issuing reports in 1972. Of California's 5.6 million mortgages, 0.15% entered foreclosure and 3.25% were delinquent. Among California's 806,022 sub-prime home loans, nearly 11% were delinquent, compared with 13% nationally. To put this into perspective, a small percentage of homeowners who are late with their payments end up in foreclosure. The majority refinance or sell. Click here to read more.

Seller financing could jump-start a home sale. Need to close that deal? Consider offering terms yourself -- for a limited period, and only with a sizable down payment. Some homes take longer to sell than others, adding anxiety for sellers who absolutely have to get a transaction closed within a specific period of time. According to writer Tom Kelly of the L.A. Times, if you have a home that's been sitting on the market and you truly need to sell and move on, you could include in your advertising materials that you would be willing to offer seller financing for a specific period of time provided you receive a sizable down payment. The down payment would supply you with the cash to get into your new home, and the monthly payments made by the buyer could offset the payments for your new home. You also get to better gauge your moving time, and the buyer avoids loan costs. Click here to read more.

Man Holding Real Estate Ad Sign Gunned Down In Lancaster. Authorities were looking Monday morning for whoever gunned down a man holding a sign directing people to a housing development near Lancaster. It happened about noon at the corner of avenue "K" and 45th Street, West NBC4 reported. Stunned witnesses said the suspect drove up to the man about noon Sunday and opened fire. One motorist said he was driving away from the gunfire when he looked in his rear-view mirror and saw the victim fall. Efforts to revive the victim were unsuccessful. Investigators are trying to identify a motive and a suspect in the case. 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