Nationally, U.S. home values continued to slide for the eighth consecutive quarter, declining 11.6 percent from a year ago, and falling 17.5 percent since the market peak in 2006.
On a local level, some areas have seen a steeper decline, while others have not seen quite as much depreciation. Here are some local 4th quarter results per Zillow:
Pasadena -13.7%
Altadena -16.8%
Sierra Madre -9.3%
Arcadia -3.7%
South Pasadena -8.5%
San Marino -6.6%
San Gabriel -9.1%
Glendale -20.7%
Arcadia and San Marino home values are holding up stronger than surrounding areas, largly due to the strong public schools in those two cities.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Letter from NAR regarding Stimulus Pkg
Dear Fellow REALTOR®,
Here's our take on the Stimulis Bill and Treasury announcements made this week. We look at the Stimulis package AND the Treasury's package holistically, in compliment with each other - mostly because that's how the Obama team is looking at it. Your representatives, the NAR Board of Directors, asked us in November to do 4 things (with an unspoken but clearly understood mandate to PRESERVE what we already have). Here they are: 1) get loan limits raised for high cost areas, 2) make the $7,500 tax credit NOT a loan, 3) try to find ways to push interest rates down (which are higher than they should be due to systemic risk right now) by 200 basis points, and 4) help provide solutions to the foreclosure/short sale problem.
So here's what we have achieved: 1) the loan limits will be raised to $727,000 in high cost areas, 2) the tax credit will be raised to $8,000 with NO payback [a true credit], 3) interest rates have come down 125-150 basis points, and 4) the bill has over $50 billion in it for foreclosure mitigation, with Geitners Treasury plan signaling that the second half of TARP and TALF will be used to mitigate foreclosures through a government guarantee, drive down interest rates by buying another $200-300 billion of mortgage paper from the GSES's thereby freeing them up to do the same with new mortgages, and Fannie has just agreed to lift the cap of 4 investment properties eligible for loans and raise it to 10.
In addition, we preserved what we have - which some tend to forget is always on the table when these negotiations start up again - mortgage interest deductability, real estate tax deductability, and the $250,000/$500,000 cap gains exclusion (an overall package worth more than $100 billion and for some a very attractive funding source for their pet projects).
We did make a run at the $15,000 credit -- and we would have loved to have gotten that or the Homebuilders $22,000 credit idea as well as their 5 year loss carryback deal, but they were considered too rich for this program. What it did do though is totally take the debate off of whether a tax credit should be reinstated at all (it expired last year) and whether it was a true credit or a repayable loan, and kept the conversation on how much it should be. It also kept the debate off of 'what we are willing to give up to get a $15,000 tax credit' and kept the debate again, on how much it should be. It's pretty hard to complain when they give you what you ask for and you lose something you never had.
While we study the Treasury specifics on their major role in providing the rest of the housing solution -- there is much more to come and we are working diligently with the Administration to help 'unclog the pipeline' and get capital flowing into housing again.
Sincerely,
Charles McMillan, CIPS, GRI
2009 NAR President
Here's our take on the Stimulis Bill and Treasury announcements made this week. We look at the Stimulis package AND the Treasury's package holistically, in compliment with each other - mostly because that's how the Obama team is looking at it. Your representatives, the NAR Board of Directors, asked us in November to do 4 things (with an unspoken but clearly understood mandate to PRESERVE what we already have). Here they are: 1) get loan limits raised for high cost areas, 2) make the $7,500 tax credit NOT a loan, 3) try to find ways to push interest rates down (which are higher than they should be due to systemic risk right now) by 200 basis points, and 4) help provide solutions to the foreclosure/short sale problem.
So here's what we have achieved: 1) the loan limits will be raised to $727,000 in high cost areas, 2) the tax credit will be raised to $8,000 with NO payback [a true credit], 3) interest rates have come down 125-150 basis points, and 4) the bill has over $50 billion in it for foreclosure mitigation, with Geitners Treasury plan signaling that the second half of TARP and TALF will be used to mitigate foreclosures through a government guarantee, drive down interest rates by buying another $200-300 billion of mortgage paper from the GSES's thereby freeing them up to do the same with new mortgages, and Fannie has just agreed to lift the cap of 4 investment properties eligible for loans and raise it to 10.
In addition, we preserved what we have - which some tend to forget is always on the table when these negotiations start up again - mortgage interest deductability, real estate tax deductability, and the $250,000/$500,000 cap gains exclusion (an overall package worth more than $100 billion and for some a very attractive funding source for their pet projects).
We did make a run at the $15,000 credit -- and we would have loved to have gotten that or the Homebuilders $22,000 credit idea as well as their 5 year loss carryback deal, but they were considered too rich for this program. What it did do though is totally take the debate off of whether a tax credit should be reinstated at all (it expired last year) and whether it was a true credit or a repayable loan, and kept the conversation on how much it should be. It also kept the debate off of 'what we are willing to give up to get a $15,000 tax credit' and kept the debate again, on how much it should be. It's pretty hard to complain when they give you what you ask for and you lose something you never had.
While we study the Treasury specifics on their major role in providing the rest of the housing solution -- there is much more to come and we are working diligently with the Administration to help 'unclog the pipeline' and get capital flowing into housing again.
Sincerely,
Charles McMillan, CIPS, GRI
2009 NAR President
Thursday, February 12, 2009
The new rules of mortgage lending
From Cnn.com
If you're shopping for a mortgage these days, it's a whole new world out there.
"There have been a huge number of changes over the past few years in mortgage borrowing," said Gibran Nicholas, founder of the CMPS Institute, which trains and certifies mortgage advisors.
Of course, many of the subprime loans that helped fuel the housing boom - those that didn't require borrowers to show any proof of income, or that let homeowners make minimum payments - are are simply no longer available.
But even buyers looking for a traditional mortgage are now faced with different factors to consider.
Here is what you need to know: (click here)
If you're shopping for a mortgage these days, it's a whole new world out there.
"There have been a huge number of changes over the past few years in mortgage borrowing," said Gibran Nicholas, founder of the CMPS Institute, which trains and certifies mortgage advisors.
Of course, many of the subprime loans that helped fuel the housing boom - those that didn't require borrowers to show any proof of income, or that let homeowners make minimum payments - are are simply no longer available.
But even buyers looking for a traditional mortgage are now faced with different factors to consider.
Here is what you need to know: (click here)
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Pasadena Heritage presents: 2009 Spring Home Tour
The California Style: Johnson, Kaufmann & CoateAdvance Discounted Tickets On Sale - Feb. 27
A Drive-yourself House Tour:Sunday, March 29, 20099:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Pasadena Heritage presents The California Style: Johnson, Kaufmann & Coate, a tour exploring the beautiful residential designs created by these significant Pasadena-based architects. Working with inspirations that ranged from Spanish and early Californian to Anglo-Colonial architecture, Reginald Johnson, Gordon Kaufmann and Roland Coate created the quintessential California style of the 1920s and 1930s. As a firm and individually, these architects created opulent yet informal homes perfectly suited to the Mediterranean climate, with interior spaces linked to expansive terraces, reflective pools, and lavish gardens.
Featured residences on the tour will include the John Barber House, designed in 1925-26 by Roland Coate on the banks of the Arroyo. The home is one of the finest examples of the Monterey Colonial Revival style in Pasadena, and features much of the original landscaping designed in the 1920s by the prominent landscape architect Katherine Bashford. Also open for visits will be “El Naranjal”, a Mediterranean-style house designed in 1922 by Reginald Johnson and named for a magnificent orange tree on the property. The home has been painstakingly renovated to reflect Johnson’s original designs while keeping intact a pavilion created by the prominent mid-century architect Thornton Ladd in the 1940s.
Guests will drive themselves to the featured houses where docent-guided tours will be ongoing between 9:00 am – 4:00 pm., rain or shine. We suggest 5 hours to complete the tour.
Pasadena Heritage presents The California Style: Johnson, Kaufmann & Coate, a tour exploring the beautiful residential designs created by these significant Pasadena-based architects. Working with inspirations that ranged from Spanish and early Californian to Anglo-Colonial architecture, Reginald Johnson, Gordon Kaufmann and Roland Coate created the quintessential California style of the 1920s and 1930s. As a firm and individually, these architects created opulent yet informal homes perfectly suited to the Mediterranean climate, with interior spaces linked to expansive terraces, reflective pools, and lavish gardens.
Featured residences on the tour will include the John Barber House, designed in 1925-26 by Roland Coate on the banks of the Arroyo. The home is one of the finest examples of the Monterey Colonial Revival style in Pasadena, and features much of the original landscaping designed in the 1920s by the prominent landscape architect Katherine Bashford. Also open for visits will be “El Naranjal”, a Mediterranean-style house designed in 1922 by Reginald Johnson and named for a magnificent orange tree on the property. The home has been painstakingly renovated to reflect Johnson’s original designs while keeping intact a pavilion created by the prominent mid-century architect Thornton Ladd in the 1940s.
Guests will drive themselves to the featured houses where docent-guided tours will be ongoing between 9:00 am – 4:00 pm., rain or shine. We suggest 5 hours to complete the tour.
For more information visit http://www.pasadenaheritage.org/
Home values in L.A., Orange counties higher than reported, Zillow.com says
This recent article published in the LA Times (click here to read) points out what we have been noticing here for some time...that the real decline in values is not nearly as severe as the average median value declines reported in the news. And here in the prime location of the west San Gabriel Valley, the declines have been even less severe. Yes, we have noticed a drop in value, but it has not been very deep. From the peak, we have noticed a roughly 10% decline in value for prime properties (more severe discounts are seen on less-than-stellar properties and/or locations). It reminds me of the old adage "location, location, location"...during the heady days of the crazy market, I found myself on many occasions discouraging buyers who were desperate to get in to "anything" from buying properties that were not up to par in location or floorplan. I would remind them that this market, too, shall pass---a decline is in order, and when that happens, the properties in a poor location or with a wacky floor plan will take a larger hit than a good house, with good bones, in a good location, location, location!
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