Real Estate Provisions in “Fiscal Cliff” Bill

On Jan. 1 both the Senate and House passed H.R. 8 legislation to avert the “fiscal cliff.” The bill was signed into law by President Barack Obama on Jan. 2.

Below is a summary of real estate related provisions in the bill:

Real Estate Tax Extenders

  • Mortgage Cancellation Relief is extended for one year to Jan. 1, 2014
  • Deduction for Mortgage Insurance Premiums for filers making below $110,000 is extended through 2013 and made retroactive to cover 2012
  • 15-year straight-line cost recovery for qualified leasehold improvements on commercial properties is extended through 2013 and made retroactive to cover 2012
  • 10 percent tax credit (up to $500) for homeowners for energy improvements to existing homes is extended through 2013 and made retroactive to cover 2012

Permanent Repeal of Pease Limitations for 99% of Taxpayers

Under the agreement so called “Pease Limitations” that reduce the value of itemized deductions are permanently repealed for most taxpayers but will be reinstituted for high income filers.  These limitations will only apply to individuals earning more than $250,000 and joint filers earning above $300,000.  These thresholds have been increased and are indexed for inflation and will rise over time.  Under the formula, the amount of adjusted gross income above the threshold is multiplied by three percent.  That amount is then used to reduce the total value of the filer’s itemized deductions.  The total amount of reduction cannot exceed 80 percent of the filer’s itemized deductions.

These limits were first enacted in 1990 (named for the Ohio Congressman Don Pease who came up with the idea) and continued throughout the Clinton years.  They were gradually phased out as a result of the 2001 tax cuts and were completely eliminated in 2010-2012.  Had we gone over the fiscal cliff, Pease limitations would have been reinstituted on all filers starting at $174,450 of adjusted gross income. 

Capital Gains

Capital Gains rate stays at 15 percent for those in the top rate of $400,000 (individual) and $450,000 (joint) return.  After that, any gains above those amounts will be taxed at 20 percent.  The $250,000/$500,000 exclusion for sale of principal residence remains in place.

Estate Tax

The first $5 million dollars in individual estates and $10 million for family estates are now exempted from the estate tax.  After that the rate will be 40 percent, up from 35 percent.  The exemption amounts are indexed for inflation.

Good information to know. I will need to study up myself!

Marin County Has 5.8 Percent Unemployment - Larkspur-Corte Madera, CA Patch

The unemployment rate in California dropped below 10 percent in November, while most Bay Area counties saw similar or slightly lowered unemployment figures from October, according to a state employment report released Friday.

The state unemployment rate dropped to 9.8 percent in November from 10.1 percent last month.

In the Bay Area, the highest unemployment numbers came from Solano County at 9.3 percent, the same as the previous month.

The lowest unemployment is in Marin County, which maintained a 5.8 percent rate.

In San Francisco, unemployment dropped slightly to 6.7 percent from 6.8 percent in October, according to the report.

November's jobless numbers were down sharply from a year ago when the state's rate was 11.3 percent.

The national unemployment rate dropped to 7.7 percent in November
compared to 7.9 percent the previous month, according to the report.

The state's unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,500 households throughout California.

Copyright © 2012 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

Way to go Marin County. Frankly it's the people that live here. We are all very very lucky to live in such a beautiful place and be able to afford it! We all work very hard to live here...........

Marin Home Sales Jump, Median Price Continues to Rise - Mill Valley, CA Patch

To get a better picture of the housing market in Mill Valley, this article should have also posted how many years on the market and what percentage of the asking price that the houses sold for. Without those 2 important statistics, the article does have not provide much useful information.
Right now, many people would be surprised at how many years these houses have been on the market, and the few that have been sold, the sellers have had to reduce their final sale price by 50%, and that is in Mill Valley.
So, the proximity to S.F. is not so much a factor now like it used to be.
And about the 101 commute, I was working down at gate six in Sausalito today until 5:00 pm. I saw the traffic backed up the Waldo Grade going down as far as I could see, and it was thick all the way as far as I could see going north too.
That is an indicator that many people are working now, and many more are traveling north because they thought that they can't buy a house in southern Marin.
So, that may have been true 10 years ago, but the way the market in Mill Valley is now, it looks like things might be changing a bit.
Now is a very good time to buy in Mill Valley, many houses have recently sold for 50% off the original asking price, making houses more affordable, that is a very good thing. Also, If developers pay attention to demographic trends, they will be less likely to invest in building more housing, especially high density housing like Blithedale Terrace.

Mill Valley is not the only community where sales have jumped! Thinking about listing your home? I would do it ASAP to get a jump on the market in the new year.

Finding Diversity in America | Trulia Trends

Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday during the Civil War, in an attempt to restore peace and unity to the United States. In today’s diverse America, Thanksgiving remains widely celebrated and crosses religious, racial, and ethnic lines (though some Native Americans consider Thanksgiving a Day of Mourning), with Americans from different regions of the US and different countries around the globe bringing their own traditions to the Thanksgiving table.

This Thanksgiving, we wanted to see which neighborhoods best reflect American diversity. To do so, we identified the country’s most diverse neighborhoods and metros using Census data on race and ethnicity. We measured diversity as the share of a metro area’s or ZIP code’s population in its largest racial or ethnic group: the smaller the share of the largest group, the more diverse the neighborhood is. For instance, an area that is 70% White (the largest group), 20% Black, and 10% Asian is less diverse than one that is 60% Hispanic (the largest group), 30% White, and 10% Black. In this example, the second neighborhood is more diverse because the largest group accounts for 60% of the population versus 70% in the first neighborhood (see note about Census racial and ethnic definitions at end of post).

America’s Most Diverse Metros
Among the 100 largest metros, San Jose is the most diverse. San Jose is 35% White (the largest group), 31% Asian, 28% Hispanic, 3% two-or-more races, and 2% Black. In no other metro does the largest group have a share smaller than 35%. New York ranks second, with a population that is 39% White, 28% Hispanic, 19% Black, and 12% Asian. Four of the ten most diverse large metros in the U.S. are in California: San Jose, Oakland, Orange County, and San Francisco. Only one – New York – is in the Northeast, and not one is in the Midwest.

America’s Most Diverse Metros

#

U.S. Metro % population in largest group

1

San Jose, CA

35%

2

New York, NY-NJ

39%

3

Oakland, CA

40%

4

Houston, TX

40%

5

Honolulu, HI

43%

6

Fort Lauderdale, FL

44%

7

Orange County, CA

44%

8

Memphis, TN-MS-AR

46%

9

San Francisco, CA

46%

10

Albuquerque, NM

47%

A lower percentage of population in the largest group means greater diversity. Among 100 largest metros.

The map below shows the diversity index for counties across America. Diversity is highest in California and Hawaii, as well as much of the South. The least-diverse parts of the country (i.e. those with the highest share in the largest group), in contrast, are in New England and parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia.  Among the 100 largest metros, Pittsburgh is the least diverse: it is 87% White, 8% Black, 2% Asian, and 1% Hispanic. El Paso also stands out as America’s least-diverse large metro that is not majority-White: El Paso is 82% Hispanic, 13% White, and 3% Black. Hispanics are the majority in Fresno, San Antonio, and Miami as well. In none of the 100 largest metros are Blacks or Asians a majority. The metro with the highest percentage of Blacks is Memphis, at 45%, and the metro with the highest percentage of Asians is Honolulu, at 43%.

Trulia Where to find Diversity in America Map

 

America’s Most Diverse Neighborhoods
The diversity people experience day-to-day, though, depends on how diverse their neighborhood is. If members of a racial or ethnic group tend to live near each other in specific neighborhoods, even diverse metros could have mostly segregated neighborhoods. So let’s turn to diversity within neighborhoods, which we define as ZIP codes.

The most diverse neighborhood in America is the ZIP code 75038. Located just east of the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, this ZIP code includes the neighborhoods of Broadmoor Hills and Song in Irving, TX. That ZIP code is 26% Asian, 25% Black, 23% Hispanic, and 23% White. The next-most diverse neighborhoods are Queens Village (11428) in the borough of Queens, New York, and San Francisco’s Treasure Island (94130).

America’s Most Diverse Neighborhoods

# ZIP code Neighborhood U.S. Metro % population in largest group

1

75038 Irving
(Broadmoor Hills / Song)
Dallas, TX

25.7%

2

11428 Queens Village New York, NY-NJ

26.4%

3

94130 Treasure Island San Francisco, CA

27.2%

4

77407 Lakemont Houston, TX

27.9%

5

96786 Wahiawa Honolulu, HI

28.5%

6

96731 Kahuku Honolulu, HI

28.7%

7

98178 Rainier View Seattle, WA

28.8%

8

02125 Dorchester Boston, MA

29.1%

9

96707 Kapolei Honolulu, HI

29.2%

10

95834 South Natomas Sacramento, CA

29.2%

A lower percentage of population in the largest group means greater diversity. Among 100 largest metros.

What do these neighborhoods have in common? Although many, like Queens Village and Dorchester, are within the city limits, they are not the densest, most central, or best-known neighborhoods. None of the top-10 most diverse neighborhoods in the country is a familiar name to out-of-towners. Also, some of the most diverse neighborhoods in America are located in metro areas that aren’t especially diverse overall, like Seattle (67% White) and Boston (69% White).

Expensive neighborhoods aren’t very diverse.  As Blacks and Hispanics have lower incomes, on average, than Whites, the neighborhoods with the most expensive housing tend to be largely White: New York’s West Village (10014) is 83% White, as is Beverly Hills (90210). But so-called “hipster” neighborhoods are somewhat more mixed: Brooklyn’s Williamsburg (11211) is 65% White and 26% Hispanic; Chicago’s Wicker Park (60622) is 58% White, 29% Hispanic, and 7% Black; San Francisco’s Mission District (94110) is 42% White, 38% Hispanic, and 12% Asian; and Los Angeles’s Silver Lake (90026) is 57% Hispanic, 21% White, and 17% Asian.

Finally, while many non-diverse neighborhoods are almost exclusively White, non-White doesn’t necessary mean diverse. Chicago’s Englewood (60621) and two of Washington DC’s Anacostia neighborhoods (20019 and 20020) are at least 95% Black; Boyle Heights (90023) in Los Angeles and Miami’s Hialeah (33012) are at least 95% Hispanic; and Monterey Park (91755) in Los Angeles and Flushing (11355) in Queens are both at least 70% Asian.

Here are the most diverse neighborhoods in the New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington metro areas. [See Appendix Below]

Housing Markets in Diverse Neighborhoods
Do Americans want to live in diverse neighborhoods – or are they avoiding them?

We looked at changes in both occupied households (based on U.S. Postal Service data, just as in our recent post showing suburbs growing faster than urban areas) and home prices (based on homes for sale on Trulia) in the past year, comparing diverse neighborhoods, defined as those where no racial or ethnic group accounts for more than 50% of the population, and other neighborhoods. The more diverse neighborhoods have both higher population growth and stronger price growth in the past year – and they’re a bit more expensive to begin with:

% change in households,
Oct 2011 –
Oct 2012

% change in median price per sqft,
Oct 2011 –
Oct 2012

Median price per sqft

Diverse neighborhoods

0.61%

1.9%

$157

Other neighborhoods

0.49%

1.2%

$142

Among 100 largest metros. Within these metros, 17% of the population lives in diverse neighborhoods, and the rest in other neighborhoods.

Americans, therefore, are moving toward diverse neighborhoods. However, growth in those neighborhoods could affect their diversity: if prices in diverse neighborhoods rise, lower-income residents may get priced out over time. Because the two largest minority racial/ethnic groups – Blacks and Hispanics – have lower incomes, on average, than Whites, rising prices could reduce diversity in those markets. When the next Census rolls around in 2020, the list of most-diverse neighborhoods in the US could look very different.

Technical note: the 2010 Census asked two questions about race and ethnicity: one about Hispanic or Latino origin, and one about race. The official Census race categories are White; Black or African American; American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; and Some Other Race. People can select more than one race. People of Hispanic or Latino origin can identify as any race.

We follow the convention of many demographic researchers and create racial/ethnic categories that do not overlap. “Hispanic and Latino” and “two or more races” are both considered separate categories. Using this approach, the U.S. population is 63.7% White, 16.3% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Black or African American, 4.7% Asian, 0.7% American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.2% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 0.2% some other race, and 1.9% two or more races, for a total of 100%.

In this post, for simplicity, we refer to each racial or ethnic category by the first name or phrase used by the Census: White, Hispanic, Black, Asian, and so on.

See this report for more on how the Census asks about and reports on race and ethnicity.

 

Appendix: the most diverse neighborhoods in five major metros

Trulia's Diversity for New York Metro Area Map

New York metro area
# ZIP code Neighborhood % of population in largest group
1

11428

Queens Village (Queens)

26.4%

2

11420

South Ozone Park (Queens)

30.7%

3

07631

Englewood (New Jersey)

31.2%

4

10523

Elmsford (Westchester)

31.2%

5

06606

Bridgeport’s North End (Connecticut)

31.7%

A lower percentage of population in the largest group means greater diversity.

 

 Los Angeles metro area
# ZIP code Neighborhood % of population in largest group
1

90014

Downtown LA, near 7th & Main

30.8%

2

90755

Signal Hill, Long Beach

31.3%

3

90013

Downtown LA, along 4th & 5th

31.7%

4

92833

Fullerton, Orange County

34.2%

5

90620

Buena Park, Orange County

35.2%

A lower percentage of population in the largest group means greater diversity.

 

Chicago metro area
# ZIP code Neighborhood % of population in largest group
1

60163

Berkeley (west suburbs)

32.3%

2

60433

Joliet (southwest suburbs)

34.6%

3

60133

Hanover Park (west suburbs)

38.2%

4

60659

West Rogers Park

38.4%

5

60633

Burnham / Hegewisch

38.9%

A lower percentage of population in the largest group means greater diversity.

 

San Francisco Bay Area
# ZIP code Neighborhood % of population in largest group
1

94130

Treasure Island (San Francisco)

27.2%

2

94531

Antioch (East Bay)

29.3%

3

94577

San Leandro (East Bay)

29.3%

4

94619

Redwood Heights (Oakland)

29.9%

5

94612

Lakeside (Oakland)

29.9%

A lower percentage of population in the largest group means greater diversity.

Washington DC metro area
# ZIP code Neighborhood % of population in largest group
1

22191

Woodbridge (Virginia)

31.2%

2

20906

Aspen Hill (Maryland)

32.0%

3

22306

Alexandria (Virginia)

32.6%

4

20010

Columbia Heights (DC)

32.6%

5

22312

Alexandria (Virginia)

33.2%

A lower percentage of population in the largest group means greater diversity.

 

This article was written a few weeks ago but I just discovered it and wanted to share it. The top ten most diverse neighborhoods in America. Some might surprise you.

The Top 5 Corporate Twitter Disasters of 2012 | LinkedIn

2012 has been the year big businesses finally took the big leap toward embracing social media. But it’s also produced some of the most disastrous tweets in corporate Twitter history.

Social media can be an important and inexpensive PR tool for companies, but when used improperly, it can bring about very negative consequences.

Here are 5 of the year’s biggest corporate Twitter blunders, and some thoughts on how the right technology and some basic training could’ve helped:

1. Insensitive employee tweets a presidential low-blow

On Oct. 3, in the course of the first US presidential debate, President Barack Obama mentioned his grandmother, who died just days before he took office. Moments later, this tweet went out to KitchenAid’s 24,000-plus followers. As outrage flooded in, KitchenAid went into apology mode, explaining that an employee mistakenly sent the offensive remark from the corporate handle, rather than his or her personal account.

Analysis: Sadly, this kind of account mix-up happens all the time. Heavy Twitter users often post to multiple accounts, switching back and forth on the fly. Mistakes are inevitable. That’s why leading social media management systems like HootSuite now prompt users with a special window before they publish to designated, high-profile accounts. Setting up these so-called secure profiles is often all it takes to avert a Twitter meltdown. 


2. Major supermarket chain tries to cash in on Hurricane Sandy

There were an appalling number of  insensitive tweets surrounding deadly Hurricane Sandy. Gap, for instance, encouraged followers to weather the storm by staying inside and shopping on the store’s website. But the most spectacularly inappropriate tweet comes from Canadian supermarket chain President’s Choice. The above message linked to a Halloween recipe for marshmallow bloodshot eyeballs, made by slicing marshmallows in half and placing a grape in the middle.

Analysis: This comes down more to a lack of common sense than a lack of Twitter savvy. Joking about death and tragedyor using it as part of a sales pitchisn’t acceptable in normal conversation. It’s certainly not acceptable on Twitter.

3. Fashion retailer riffs on Batman shooting

Hours after the deadly theater shooting in Aurora, Colo., during a Batman movie, UK-based CelebBoutique sent the above tweet. It was left up for an hour before being hastily deleted in a hail of angry comments. According to CelebBoutique, their PR people were totally unaware of the shooting when they sent the tweet. The Twitterverse, however, was not sympathetic.  

Analysis: A better approach? When delegating tweets to outside agencies, contractors or even junior employees, assign them limited permissions. The right social media management tool will let you designate which team members can draft and which can actually publish tweets. Drafts can be fed into an approval queue to be vetted by senior management before publishing, avoiding this kind of PR disaster. 


4. A CFO tweets too much, too soon

Francesca’s, a clothing retailer with stores in 44 states, started the year on the wrong foot when its CFO sent out this tweet after a confidential meeting on March 7. The problem is that Francesca’s is a publicly traded company. The CFO disclosed company info to his followers before it went public, thus sharing inside information - a violation of long-held SEC regulations. He was promptly fired.

Analysis: Regulated industries—finance, healthcare, insurance and many others—face strict rules governing what they can and cannot communicate to the public. Social media is not exempt. Every firm should have a social media compliance policy and a social media management system that can archive all messages in the event of an audit.  

5. A fashion model posts racist photo, then follows up with ignorant tweet


While in Korea on business to celebrate a new store opening there, a male model for Abercrombie & Fitch clothing label Hollister tweeted a picture of himself smiling, squinting his eyes and giving the peace sign. To top it off, when followers called him out on the offensive gesture, he responded with, “Hahahaha they ruhhvvvv ittt!'.” Korean media picked up the story and furious locals initiated a campaign to boycott the store.  

Analysis: We must all accept the reality that social media is a public forum. Nearly everything posted on Twitter and Facebook becomes part of your digital footprint—potentially viewable not just by friends but by employers and the public at large. In this case, it’s crucial that companies have a social media policy and share it with employees. First and foremost, emphasize that tweets are public by default and messages sent over Twitter—even on private accounts—may ultimately reflect on the company.  Many social media management systems for businesses include online tutorials that hammer this point home.  

The tragedy is that all of these embarrassing and damaging tweets could have been avoided with a little social media 101 and the right social media management system. Some simple preventative measures would have spared a lot of apologizing, not to mention angry customers and possible lost revenue.

Comforted by the fact their employees have been equipped with the proper tools and training, companies can turn the focus toward the estimated $1.3 trillion in business value waiting be unlocked by social technologies.

Pretty sad I'd say.

Seeds of a Housing Shortage | Realtor Magazine

The market is looking much improved today, with home sales and prices heading up. But within this improvement are the seeds of a long-term challenge: falling inventories.

The inventory of existing homes is at its lowest level in seven years, while newly constructed home inventory has hit a 50-year low mark. Falling inventory is causing home prices to shoot up higher and faster than most analysts anticipated. The national median price of transacted homes was up 9.5 percent in August. Other price measures, like Case-Shiller and the Federal Housing Finance Agency price index, which look at price changes in sales of the same properties over time, have been rising as well, at double-digit annualized rates in recent months. Of course, not all markets are this robust. Phoenix is looking to notch a 25 percent gain for the year, while Chicago is just emerging from negative territory.

As winter approaches, inventory will slide further. Few homes are newly listed after Thanksgiving. Historically, inventory tends to be 15 percent lower in winter than summer. Last year’s seasonal decline was even more dramatic, at 25 percent. We hope we won’t see an inventory decline of that magnitude this winter. Home values rising much faster than income growth will markedly cut into housing affordability.

But that may well be what’s in store. Distressed home listings will continue to fall because fewer borrowers are now seriously delinquent. Home construction is up, but only reaching half of the historic average of housing starts. Even the many pent-up sellers—those normal, nondistressed home owners who’ve been holding back for better market conditions—will not help the net inventory situation, because most of them will be selling to buy a trade-up property.

Slight seasonal relief should come in March, just as the spring buying season gets underway. But a deeper and longer-term issue to watch out for is the increasing possibility of a housing shortage across many parts of the country.

External Links: 

I have been posting about the housing shortage but this is a great article written by Lawrence Yun who is the chief economist of the National Association of Realtors. It is a great summary of the situation we are experiencing around the country.

Marin lawyer faces disbarment in foreclosure 'rescue' scam case - San Jose Mercury News

A Greenbrae attorney involved in what court officials called a bogus predatory lending lawsuit scheme and foreclosure rescue scam faces disbarment after a decision by a State Bar Court hearing judge this week.

Sharon L. Lapin, 57, attorney of record in 130 predatory lending lawsuits from August 2009 to November 2010, was charged with 26 counts of professional misconduct and found guilty of most. None of the victims listed in the decision were from Marin County.

Lapin claimed innocence and said she would appeal.

"I never engaged in a scheme to defraud clients," Lapin said Friday as she scrambled to tie up loose ends before losing her license to practice law at midnight.

She was excoriated in a judgment Wednesday after being found "culpable of multiple counts of professional misconduct, including moral turpitude, aiding the unauthorized practice of law, sharing fees with a nonlawyer, participating in a nonlegal lawyer referral service, failure to perform legal services with competence, failure to maintain only legal or just actions and failure to avoid representing adverse interests," the State Bar said in a report by spokeswoman Laura Ernde.

Lapin worked as a contract attorney for an organization that operated under names including US Loan Auditors LLC, US Loan Auditors Inc., My US Legal Services and US Legal Services. She received $177,000 from August 2009 through November 2010 without having to provide legal services,

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officials said.

"She has no remorse and does not accept responsibility for her actions," Judge Lucy Armendariz said in the decision. "She continued to make excuses and rationalized her fraud. When asked if there was any value that clients received, respondent testified that they were able to stay in their homes that much longer. She insisted, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that she was entitled to the monies as reimbursement for costs. Yet she could not explain how costs could exceed $34,000 per month. She kept no time records of her alleged hourly services to justify her $350 hourly fee."

The court found that homeowners would pay 1 percent of their mortgage value to a foreclosure "rescue" organization for a "forensic loan audit" that was then used to persuade them they had a good case against lenders -- even though the audits merely provided routine boilerplate information. Many legal filings were then handled by organization staffers who were not lawyers.

"As a result, (homeowners) lost thousands of dollars and, in some cases, their homes," the State Bar said.

Robin Brune, a state attorney, argued Lapin used "the secret agent defense -- she is claiming that she knew nothing about the fraud. But a lawyer is not a secret agent. She is bound by ethical duties of absolute transparency and fiduciary duty; her duty of competence and communication. The attorney can't be oblivious to the mission."

Judge Armendariz ordered Lapin's license pulled as of Saturday pending disbarment, which becomes effective when approved by the state Supreme Court.

Lapin said she was a dupe in the program. "I never intended to harm any of my clients," she said. "I became a victim as did the clients. ... It was the mortgage companies ... not me."

Lapin's Los Angeles lawyer, Richard Lubetzky, said evidence supporting her contentions was ignored by the court.

"I just read the opinion. ... My impression is this is a case that was decided before it was started," he said, calling Lapin an unwitting victim who had nothing to do with a scam that fleeced troubled homeowners. When she learned that that sales representatives advised her clients to stop paying their mortgages, she told them to pay up, he said.

"She was not a participant in this scheme to defraud," he asserted.

Ernde said that since February 2009, the State Bar's Office of Chief Trial Counsel has received thousands of complaints against attorneys regarding loan modification fraud. More than 100 attorneys have been disciplined, including 22 who have been disbarred.

Contact Nels Johnson via email at ij.civiccenter@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/nelsjohnsonnews

Some people can be just so awful!

Q3 home prices show strongest growth since 2006 | Inman News

<a href=Housing market trends image via Shutterstock.

Home prices and home sales both showed strong annual growth during the third quarter, according to the latest report by the National Association of Realtors.

The national median existing single-family home price jumped 7.6 percent from a year ago, to $186,100 -- the strongest year-over-year increase for any quarter since first-quarter 2006, when prices were up 9.4 percent from the previous year.

Sales of existing homes rose 10.3 percent during the third quarter, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million, up from 4.25 million a year ago.

Median prices posted annual gains in 120 of 149 metros tracked, up from 110 metros showing gains in the second quarter of 2012 and 39 metros with price appreciation during the third quarter of 2011.

Inventory of existing homes for sale was down 20 percent from a year ago, to 2.32 million. The combination of rising prices and tight inventory on a quarterly basis indicate that the housing recovery is settling in, said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, in a statement.

"We expect fairly normal appreciation patterns in 2013, but there is a risk of price acceleration if builders are unable to meet the needs of our growing population and household formation," Yun said.

Article continues below

While NAR attributed some of the price gain to a reduction in the percentage of distressed home sales -- only 23 percent of existing homes sold in second-quarter 2012, down 30 percent from a year previous -- the trade group stated that "higher prices significantly reflect a market recovery."

Housing affordability numbers also fared well for the housing market. With a third-quarter national median family income of $61,700, NAR calculated that with a 5 percent down payment, a household would need only $40,900 to afford a home at the third-quarter national median price, assuming a 4 percent mortgage interest rate and 25 percent of gross income devoted to mortgage principal and interest. That home affordability income threshold drops as the down payment percentage rises.

The proportion of first-time buyers didn't change in the third quarter from last year, but held steady at 32 percent, nearly twice the 17 percent share of investors who purchased homes in the quarter.

The share of all-cash buyers was down on a yearly basis in the third quarter to 27 percent from 29 percent in third quarter 2011.

"The modest decline in first-time buyers and investors shows the impact of limited inventory in the lower price ranges from a shrinking share of distressed homes, which are popular with both groups," Yun said.

Existing-home sales, third quarter 2012

Seasonally adjusted annual rate 4.68 million
% change from third quarter 2011 10.3%
% change from second quarter 2012 3.2%
 
National median price $186,100
% change from third quarter 2012 7.6%
 
Share of all-cash buyers 27%
Share of investor buyers 17%
Share of first-time buyers 32%
Share of distressed sales 23%

Source: National Association of Realtors

Nearly all U.S. regions saw existing-home sales and prices swell in the third quarter from a year ago -- except the Northeast, which saw home prices dip slightly -- with the Midwest leading the way with a 17.8 percent year-over-year increase in existing-home sales. The median price in the Midwest also rose in the third quarter from a year ago, up 4.2 percent to $151,100.

The annual pace of sales grew in the South 11.7 percent in the third quarter with median existing-home prices rising 5.7 percent to $165,400.

In the Northeast, sales jumped 9.8 percent on an annual basis, with median prices slipping 0.3 percent to $246,900.

Fighting tight inventory, the West saw the lowest percentage jump of existing-home sales in the third quarter with a 2.1 percent bump from a year ago. The short inventory also translated into a median home price leap of 20.2 percent to $247,400 from a year ago.

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We see it here in Marin County!

Home prices climb 0.9% in August - Oct. 30, 2012

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The housing market picked up more momentum in August, as the average home price for 20 major cities jumped 0.9%, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index

The increase marked the fifth consecutive month of gains for the index with all but one city, Seattle, recording month-over-month price increases.

"The sustained good news in home prices over the past five months makes us optimistic for continued recovery in the housing market," said David Blitzer, spokesman for S&P.

The Case-Shiller report is one of many gauges of housing market health that has turned upbeat in recent months. New and existing home sales have been stronger, inventory of homes for sale has fallen and developers have stepped up building activity.

Slow improvement in the national economy has also boosted the housing market, as have record low mortgage rates. The rates for a 30-year loan have stayed below 3.7% since May. Combined with home prices that are still about a third less than they were when they hit their peak, these record-low rates have made homebuying very affordable.

Related: Obama's housing scorecard

Of the cities S&P's index covers, Phoenix has roared back the fastest, with a whopping 18.8% year-over-year gain in August. That marks the fourth month in a row of double-digit price hikes. Detroit prices rose 7.6% over the past 12 months and Miami's grew 6.7%.

Mike Larson, a financial analyst with Weiss Research, remains cautious about the outsized gains in Phoenix and some Florida markets. Much of the return represents "a resurgence in investor demand," he said. Investors now represent about 27% of the home purchases in the market, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.

Related: Best Places: Where homes are affordable

Most of these buyers are looking to take advantage of beaten down prices so they can rent out the properties at a healthy profit, he said.

"The fly in the ointment is that these buyers lack emotional attachment," said Larson. So unlike regular homeowners, they will likely not stick with the homes should the market head South again.

Among the three cities to have year-over-year losses, Atlanta recorded the biggest decrease in home values, with prices down 6.1%. New York was down 2.3% and Chicago fell 1.6%.

Rising prices are expected to continue, leading some economists to predict the housing market has finally turned a corner.

"Looking forward, price increases will continue," said Jed Kolko, chief economist for Trulia. His company has more recent data, for September and October, that shows asking prices on homes have risen.

"Prices on Election Day will be almost the same as when Obama took office, probably just 1.7% below where they were in January 2009," he said.

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First Published: October 30, 2012: 9:31 AM ET

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area we have seen rising prices due to high demand and low supply.