Report: Bay Area real estate prices highest in nearly 4 years

Bay Area home sales are continuing to rise, with the median sale price the highest it has been in nearly four years, according to a real estate report released today.

In the nine-county Bay Area, 8,461 homes were sold last month -- a 22.9 percent increase from the same time last year, according to a report by the real estate information service DataQuick.

The average figure for July, based on data recorded since 1988, is 9,371 home sales.

The median price for a new home or condo was $421,000, which is a 1 percent increase from $417,000 in June and a 12.6 percent jump from July 2011.

July's median price was the highest recorded since it was $447,000 in August 2008.

The increase appears to be connected to a higher share of sales in the mid-to-upper price ranges, according to DataQuick.

Median sale prices in San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Solano, Marin, Napa, San Mateo and Sonoma counties all increased in the past year with Napa County seeing the biggest price increase at a 32.6 percent jump.

Median prices in that county were at $281,000 in July 2011 and reached $372,500 this July, according to DataQuick.

The highest home prices in the region this summer are in San Francisco with $714,000 listed as the median cost, while the lowest can be found in Solano County at $188,000.

(Copyright 2012 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, re-transmission or reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. Is prohibited.)

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We are most certainly experiencing this in Marin County!

Sustainability + Architecture: You, Net Zero Energy Homes + Global Climate Chaos - Mill Valley, CA Patch

There has been a buzz recently within the design and building industry about Net Zero Energy Homes, and for good reason.

The California Energy Commission is recommending that all new homes be “Net Zero Energy Homes” by the year 2020 and all commercial buildings by 2030. As energy costs start to creep up, your energy bill will compromise a larger piece of your overall budget. Additionally, few know that the building industry is responsible for almost half of the greenhouse gases emitted as well as accounting for almost half of the energy used in the United States. These figures are more than those contributed by any other sector, including transportation. Ed Mazria, the founder of Architecture 2030, an organization whose mission it is to help stave off global warming by reducing the amount of fossil fuel energy used by buildings, opened my eyes to this sobering reality.

Those of us in the building industry have a responsibility to design and build homes that are more energy efficient to help curb global climate change. Mazria feels that we can do this by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels by 10 percent every five years and become carbon neutral by 2030.  This goal will not be easily accomplished given the fact that worldwide emissions increased by 6 percent last year, the largest increase ever. If we don’t pay attention to the growing crisis, life on the planet will be in for some unsettling changes at a far greater rate than we currently experience. Just last week, Richard Muller a scientist at U.C Berkeley and former skeptic on global warming science changed his stance and now believes that climate change is human-caused after heading up a in depth study.

So what exactly is a Net Zero Energy Home? 

There are several definitions, but the California Energy Commission defines it as a home that creates as much energy through on-site renewables (e.g., solar) as it uses. The home generates enough renewable energy on site to equal or exceed its annual energy use. If it draws from the grid at one point, it makes up for that by generating an equal or greater amount for use at other times, bringing the balance at the end of the year to zero or a positive balance.

As the cost of solar panels continues to drop relative to the cost of energy, this scenario will become more affordable. When one throws in the true  “costs” of global warming, it becomes more palatable. It's high time that our economic perspective include the “cost” of environmental degradation rather than ignore it. We continue to ignore these costs and do so at our own peril. Unfortunately, the Romney and Obama campaigns have been woefully silent on the topic.

What’s the best path to achieving this net zero goal? To do it effectively, you’ll need to reduce energy demand as much as you can. The quickest path to creating a truly efficient home is to first focus your efforts on controlling heat loss and gain through your house by thoroughly insulating and sealing your building envelope. Until now, we’ve been designing and building leaky homes and compensated for poor building techniques by installing expensive, energy hogging mechanical systems. Net Zero Energy Home proponents advocate first minimizing the home’s demand for energy via insulation and sealing and then installing an appropriately sized, efficient and less costly mechanical system. Simple.

Not too long ago, while being interviewed for a new home project, the clients asked me, “What if we don’t want to build a sustainable house?”  Their question points to a common, though understandable, misperception in the market: the idea that building sustainably has to “add on” to standard building. While I would agree that there is a continuum along which you can build a sustainable home, the truth of the matter is that building a new home, or remodeling an old one to current code levels is akin to getting a “C” letter grade – you pass, but that’s it. 

The first metric of green design and building is durability. They say that if you double the life of a structure, you halve its environmental impact. Insulating and sealing your home is the least expensive way to achieve energy efficiency. We should be designing and building efficient, long lasting structures based on the principles of the latest building science. Homes that are easier to maintain have healthy indoor air for our children and last longer.

That should be the new passing grade.

Thanks for stopping by.

This is a rather interesting article and in my mind one worth reading.

Refi plan would target 8 million underwater borrowers | Inman News

Refi plan would target 8 million underwater borrowers

Treasury secretary likes design of Oregon senator's proposal

By Inman News, Monday, July 30, 2012.

Inman News®

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=73292170">'Underwater' homes</a> image via Shutterstock." width="225" />'Underwater' homes image via Shutterstock.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says he likes the design of a plan proposed by an Oregon senator to establish a temporary government-backed trust that would allow about 8 million underwater borrowers to refinance at a lower interest rate at no cost to taxpayers.

The plan, proposed by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., would be available to borrowers current on their payments who meet basic underwriting criteria -- regardless of whether their mortgages are currently guaranteed by the federal government.

The plan is designed to either lower monthly payments for underwater borrowers who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth or allow them to regain equity at a faster pace.

"Four years ago, the U.S. government acted quickly and boldly to rescue major financial institutions," Merkley said in a statement. "However, we have not done nearly enough for American families who are struggling with the downturn in the housing market." 

   

See related stories:

Underwater homes keeping a lid on inventory

Rising home prices bring 700,000 homeowners above water

   

Merkley said "millions of Americans are trapped in high-interest mortgages ... and it's a huge anchor on our economy. A bold solution to help these families refinance is the fastest way to get our economy back on track."

The plan calls for establishing a Rebuilding American Homeownership Trust through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Federal Home Loan Banks, or the Federal Reserve.

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The trust would buy mortgages that meet the plan's standards from private lenders with revenue from government bonds sold to investors. The program is expected to turn a profit for the U.S. Treasury over its lifetime due to a roughly 2 percent interest spread between the borrowing costs on the bonds and the interest charged to homeowners, according to the proposal.

Borrowers would have three years to refinance into one of three options:

  • a 15-year mortgage with a 4 percent interest rate, which would allow borrowers to rebuild equity at a faster rate;
  • a 30-year mortgage with a 5 percent interest rate, which would lower a borrower's monthly payments; or
  • a two-part mortgage with a first mortgage worth 95 percent of the home's value and a "soft" second mortgage for the balance. The second mortgage would not accrue interest or require payments for five years, thereby lowering a borrower's monthly payments.

While rising home prices helped more than 700,000 homeowners regain equity in their homes during first quarter, 11.4 million borrowers still owed more on their mortgage than their homes were worth, according to data aggregator CoreLogic. Because negative equity prevents homeowners from selling their homes, the available inventory of for-sale homes has seen double-digit declines this spring.

While restricted supply has shored up home prices, it has also constrained home sales, according to the National Association of Realtors.

In a statement, NAR said it "applauds and supports" Merkley's proposal, calling it, "exactly the innovative approach that our nation must take to ensure a sustained housing recovery."

Merkley called for a pilot program to test the proposal immediately, which he said would not require legislative action from Congress.

He suggested state and federal foreclosure prevention funds could be used to fund the program -- the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), he noted, has used only $3.4 billion of the $29.9 billion allocated to it in the three years the program has been operational.

While current law prohibits using funds from HAMP and FHA's Short Refinance Program to establish new programs, Merkley claims in his proposal that "there are many common elements" between those two programs and the proposed program, which could be considered a modification of the current programs.

At a Senate Banking Committee hearing Thursday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner agreed to look into launching pilot programs to implement Merkley's proposal, HousingWire reported.

"We like the way you designed it," Geithner told Merkley, who serves on the Senate Banking Committee. "It would help reduce the remaining pressures that housing has on the economy. It doesn't leave the taxpayer to pay for it."

"I think the policy is very good," Geithner added. "We would like to work with you on it. The question is do we have legal authority and resources on it to launch pilots?"

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It would be great to have a plan in place to help out all the homeowners that are underwater!

5 questions every buyer should ask their agent | Inman News

5 questions every buyer should ask their agent

Mood of the Market

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Monday, July 30, 2012.

Inman News®

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=88827601">Counting pennies</a> image via Shutterstock." width="225" />Counting pennies image via Shutterstock.

In this day and age, one can easily get educated about homebuying online, on your couch and in your pajamas -- and while watching "House Hunters International," no less! Yet there are still nuances and insights on the process that are best communicated one to one, from a human professional who has been through this process dozens or hundreds of times. Accordingly, first-time buyers are frequently given the sound advice to vigorously interview agents before hiring them, and lists of interview questions are all over the Web.

That said, in the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers recently released by the National Association of Realtors, 81 percent of first-time buyers said the benefit of having an agent was that the agent helped get them educated about the buying process, and more than half of all buyers said their agent pointed out features or faults of a property that they would not otherwise have noticed.

So, I think it's time for a list of questions to ask your agent after you hire him or her, during the homebuying process, to max out the advantages you have from having this person on your side -- here are some starters:

1. Do you know a good mortgage broker, inspector, stager, painter, CPA, etc.? The NAR survey showed that 46 percent of buyers thought they got a better list of service providers from their agent than they could have come up with otherwise, and 20 percent found their agent's mortgage provider referral to be a benefit. Local agents simply know people you don't, and they have worked with them enough to know who gets the job done, well, and who doesn't.

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To boot, vendors that work repeatedly with your agent may offer you faster turnaround times, discounted pricing or other VIP treatment you wouldn't get on your own, like doing an especially great job because they want to continue getting business from your agent.

2. What should I expect? Managing your expectations is essential to having a smooth homebuying experience, especially when it comes to the recurring themes of timing (e.g., how long something will take, when you need to do something, and when you can expect various milestones to happen) and cost.

This particular question and its cousins, "What happens next?" and "What's the margin of error on this cost estimate?" are questions you can and should ask over and over again, from the day you first "interview" your prospective agent, to the moment you sit down at the closing table.

3. What are the different ways to look at this? This, too, is a question you might want and need to ask often. During inspections, you might need to turn over the inspection report and any issues that arise in your mind to get a sense for how to react -- do you ask for more money, ask for repairs, get more bids? A good agent will help you explore the possibilities. This can also be helpful in the realm of negotiations.

For example, your agent can help you understand what you should be asking for in your offer, as he probably has a better understanding of all the possibilities and the various contract terms than you do. In the same vein, if you and the seller are at a price deadlock, asking your agent how else you can look at this might get you more creative suggestions about counteroffers and deal structures to propose.

While, ultimately, every decision is yours to make, if you have a good agent, you aren't all alone in trying to process the facts in front of you and factor them in. Related questions to add to the list: "What are the pros and cons?" and "What can I ask for?"

4. How do you buy a house? This one is pretty self-explanatory, but it bears stating that most of what you'll read in books and online about homebuying is neither customized to your local area nor is it tailored to your personal financial and lifestyle needs. The education your agent can give you is tailored in these two, really important ways.

5. What have I forgotten to ask? This wild card question really asks your agent to harness his knowledge of the market and his experience with buyers to position you to see what he sees. You're giving him carte blanche to be the expert (which agents appreciate!) with the result that you might be alerted to issues with the home, the financing or the transaction that you might not have otherwise. It's really just another way of asking the question, "What do you see that I don't?"

Tara-Nicholle Nelson is author of "The Savvy Woman's Homebuying Handbook" and "Trillion Dollar Women: Use Your Power to Make Buying and Remodeling Decisions." Tara is also the Consumer Ambassador and Educator for real estate listings search site Trulia.com. Ask her a real estate question online or visit her website, www.rethinkrealestate.com.

                                                   
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This is a great list. Thank you Inman news!

Home values rise for the first time in five years - Jul. 24, 2012

Home prices nationwide have hit a bottom, and home values are finally on the rise.

Home prices nationwide have hit a bottom, and home values are finally on the rise.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Home prices hit a bottom and are finally bouncing back, according to an industry report released Tuesday.

Nationwide, home values rose 0.2% year-over-year to a median $149,300 during the second quarter, the first annual increase since 2007, real estate listing site Zillow reported. Prices were up 2.1% from the first quarter.

Even though June marked the fourth consecutive month of home value increases, overall home prices are still down almost 24% since April 2007, when Zillow began to track home values.

"[I]t seems clear that the country has hit a bottom in home values," said Zillow's chief economist Stan Humphries. "The housing recovery is holding together despite lower-than-expected job growth, indicating that it has some organic strength of its own."

Last winter, Zillow projected that the housing market turnaround would not arrive until the end of the year.

Other home price indexes have also recorded gains lately, including the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index. In it latest release, it reported that home prices in 20 major markets rose 1.3% in April, the first monthly increase in seven months.

Zillow uses a different methodology in calculating home values than other home price indexes like Case-Shiller and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Sales of foreclosed, bank-owned properties, for example, are not factored into Zillow's data. Zillow does include short sales, however, which are more difficult to distinguish from conventional sales.

"Our index is geared to consumers, conventional sellers deciding whether they want to put their homes on the market," said Humphries.

The indexes that include foreclosures in their market data show larger price declines. The peak-to-trough drop for the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, for example, is about 34% compared with Zillow's 24%.

Fewer than one third of the 167 metro areas Zillow surveyed recorded annual increases in home values, but the size of the price gains in these areas more than offset the losses posted by the remaining two-thirds of the markets.

In Phoenix, the biggest gainer, home values soared 12.1% year-over-year to a median of $136,200. Meanwhile, the biggest loss sustained by any of the 30 largest metro areas was in Chicago where median home values fell 5.8% to $158,600.

Foreclosures remain one of the biggest risks to the housing market recovery, Humphries said. In the wake of the national foreclosure settlement which clarified how banks can legally pursue foreclosures, Humphries expects the pace of foreclosures to pick up.

"That will translate to more homes on the market," he said. "But we think demand will rise to absorb that."

Zillow expects the housing market to continue to slowly recover, with median home values projected to climb 1.1% -- relatively flat -- over the next 12 months.

Beaten down markets like Phoenix, Las Vegas and many Florida cities, will likely record greater-than-average gains over the next 12 months, said Humphries.

The results in those places, however, will be bumpy. Home price increases will cause some homeowners who have been patiently waiting for values to rebound to put their homes on the market. And those additional listings could cool prices for a while, resulting in a staircase effect with "price spikes followed by plateaus," said Humphries.  To top of page


Yes!

Report: Countrywide tried to influence policymakers | Inman News

Report: Countrywide tried to influence policymakers

Lawmakers positioned to affect GSE reform received discounted loans

By Inman News, Tuesday, July 17, 2012.

Inman News®

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=85424500">Gifts</a> image via Shutterstock." width="225" />Gifts image via Shutterstock.

Mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. gave sweetheart deals on mortgage loans to members of Congress and other influential Washington policymakers with the goal of reaping political and financial benefits, according to a Congressional committee report.

The report, released earlier this month, is the result of a three-year investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Republican Rep. Darrell Issa.

The investigation began after the news media began reporting that several lawmakers and other government officials got loans through a VIP program referred to as "Friends of Angelo." Angelo Mozilo was CEO of Countrywide.

The investigation included more than 120,000 pages of documents provided to the House committee under subpoena by Bank of America, which acquired Countrywide in 2008.

   

See related stories:

SEC charges Fannie, Freddie execs with fraud

The bad business of 'Friends of Angelo'

   

"The committee's investigation found Countrywide lobbyists and CEO Angelo Mozilo used discounted loans as a tool to ingratiate itself with policymakers in an effort to benefit the company's business interests," Issa said in a statement.

"A former lobbyist for Countrywide testified that members of Congress, staff, and other government officials were directed to the company's VIP program as part of an effort to create a favorable impression of the company on Capitol Hill. This preferential treatment -- that varied depending on the influence of the borrower -- was not routinely offered to the public."

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According to the report, benefits for VIP borrowers included waived points -- upfront fees that lower the interest rate on a loan -- and waived "junk fees." The standard reduction was 0.5 points, and junk fees were typically reduced by $350 to $400, the report said. Combined, the discounts could constitute several thousand dollars in savings for a VIP borrower.

In a May 25 letter to the committee, Mozilo asserted that "these same kinds of terms were generally available to the public" and "exceptions or discounts from either published rates or terms were generally available to borrowers throughout the company based on consideration of various factors," including credit quality, negotiation, competition and relationships with the company.

The VIP unit, he said, primarily offered borrowers "focused customer support" and "expeditious and cost-effective processing and service of loans."

The unit's customers came from "all walks of life," Mozilo said. As for high-profile customers, "quality and stability of employment" can speak to the borrower's ability to repay a loan, he said.

"I believed that loans to customers of a certain public stature, such as actors, athletes, prominent businesspeople, community and political leaders, and other public figures, can bear on this important aspect of credit quality," Mozilo said.

"To a lesser extent and always provided that we determined that the loan was likely to be repaid and profitable, I personally was proud to have people of prominence select Countrywide to be their lender of choice. Those people could and often did become sources for referral business and enhanced the company brand, showing that high-profile customers who had a choice of lenders chose Countrywide for their loans."

But records show that VIP borrowers with low credit scores, low or undocumented income, and other negative loan characteristics received discounted loans, according to the report.

In addition, Countrywide VIP account executive Robert Feinberg testified that VIP borrowers benefited from "exceptions to Countrywide company policies regarding minimum credit scores, income and employment documentation, and access to interest rate 'float downs,'" the report said.

Hundreds of VIP loans made

Between January 1996 and June 2008, Countrywide's VIP unit made hundreds of loans to current and former members of Congress, congressional staff, high-ranking government officials, and executives and employees of government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) and mortgage giant Fannie Mae, the report said.

"Documents and testimony obtained by the committee show the VIP loan program was a tool used by Countrywide to build goodwill with lawmakers and other individuals positioned to benefit the company," the report said.

"In the years that led up to the 2007 housing market decline, Countrywide VIPs were positioned to affect dozens of pieces of legislation that would have reformed Fannie (Mae) and Freddie (Mac) and protected taxpayers."

In 1999, Countrywide -- then the nation's largest residential mortgage lender -- signed an exclusive agreement with Fannie Mae to sell the latter billions of dollars in mortgages at a discounted rate, thereby linking the growth of the two companies, according to the report.

"VIPs who worked at Fannie Mae enjoyed expedited loan processing and pricing discounts. Countrywide also waived company guidelines for Fannie Mae's senior executives to a greater extent than it did for 'regular' VIPs," the report said.

This includes former Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd, one of six former top executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with securities fraud in December for allegedly misleading investors about the extent of the mortgage giants' exposure to higher-risk subprime loans.

Countrywide took a loss on a $3 million refinance loan to Mudd, who received a 1 point discount on the loan, according to the report.

"A Countrywide manager acknowledged the loss on Mudd's loan was expected to eventually generate a benefit for the company. Account executives were instructed to keep any derogatory information related to Mudd's loan in-house, in order to avoid jeopardizing 'any benefit we generate,'" the report said.

Countrywide opposed GSE reform

Both Fannie Mae and Countrywide lobbied against legislation that would have reformed GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and would have restricted Fannie Mae's ability to buy and hold subprime mortgages originated by Countrywide, the report said.

"This report sheds new light on Countrywide's relationship with Fannie Mae and how Countrywide used its VIP Program to cement its ties to its taxpayer-backed business partner. Other than Countrywide, no other entity's employees received more VIP loans than Fannie Mae," Issa said in a news release accompanying the report.

"Even as Countrywide's CEO Mozilo mocked Fannie Mae and top executives for its crony capitalism business model, he would nonetheless personally intercede to ensure executives had access to discounted Countrywide loans. These relationships helped Mozilo increase his own company's profits while dumping the risk of bad loans on taxpayers."

According to the report, Countrywide lobbyist Jimmie Williams was a major source of referrals to the VIP unit starting around 2000, when he found himself having to deal with "an increasing number of complaints at receptions and other events" regarding Countrywide.

"I could walk in an office on any given day and spend the first 30 minutes talking about someone whose loan was mishandled, whose papers didn't come, or who didn't get the rate; and it was happening with more frequency that ... I realized it was an impediment. And some of the stories I heard were just major ball drops, and I felt that it got in the way of me doing what my real job was," Williams said.

"I think by that time I felt that, as a representative of the company, I wanted to make sure anyone I referred, which I thought was also my personal reputation, wasn't mishandled," he added.

According to documents obtained by the committee, several members of Congress and congressional staff received VIP loans, including some positioned to affect GSE and mortgage-related legislation.

Those members of Congress who received VIP loans included former Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who was chairman of the Senate Banking Committee; Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate Budget Committee; Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee; Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Calif.; Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y.; former Rep. Tom Campbell, R-Calif.; and Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas.

Sessions specifically requested not to receive a discounted loan and did not get one, according the report's findings.

Influence, but no 'quid pro quo'

The report noted that Countrywide made no secret of its VIP unit, which identified itself as such to borrowers in paperwork and over the phone. Nonetheless, many of the lawmakers involved have publicly denied either receiving preferential treatment or knowing they were receiving preferential treatment. The report uncovered no "quid pro quo" in which a policymaker offered anything in exchange for discounted loans, and the U.S. Department of Justice has not prosecuted any Countrywide official for actions related to the VIP program.

"Documents and testimony show that Angelo Mozilo and Countrywide's lobbyists may have skirted the federal bribery statute by keeping conversations about discounts and other forms of preferential treatment internal. Rather than making quid pro quo arrangements with lawmakers and staff, Countrywide used the VIP loan program to cast a wide net of influence," the report said.

Had 2005 GSE reform legislation been passed, "the huge growth in the subprime and Alt-A loan portfolios of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could not have occurred, and the scale of the financial meltdown would have been substantially less," the report said.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie and Freddie, has estimated that taxpayers will have contributed between $220 billion and $311 billion to the GSEs by 2014 and are unlikely to be fully repaid.

"Considering the cost to taxpayers of the failure to reform the GSEs, Congress should consider legislation prohibiting companies from offering discounts and other forms of preferential treatment to Members of Congress and congressional staff. In addition to mortgage lenders like Countrywide, such legislation should cover banks, auto dealerships, jewelry stores, and any other company that offers financing to customers," the report said.

"To foreclose the possibility that a lender might apply a discount to a loan without their knowledge, members of Congress and congressional staff should consider notifying all parties to complex financial transactions that they must not receive discounts due to congressional ethics rules, as Congressman Sessions did."

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Surprise, surprise!

Rent increases abound!

RENT INCREASES OUTPACE MODEST HOME PRICE RISES, REPORTS TRULIA

Foreclosure Backlog Puts Recent Price Leaps In Phoenix, Miami, Cape Coral-Fort Myers, West Palm Beach, Orlando And Detroit At Risk

SAN FRANCISCO, July 3, 2012 – Trulia today released the latest findings from the Trulia Price Monitor and the Trulia Rent Monitor, the earliest leading indicators available of trends in home prices and rents. Based on the for-sale homes and rentals listed on Trulia, these monitors take into account changes in the mix of listed homes and reflect trends in prices and rents for similar homes in similar neighborhoods through June 30, 2012.

Asking Prices Rise in June, Fourth Solid Increase in Past Five Months
Asking prices on for-sale homes–which lead sales prices by approximately two or more months – increased 0.3 percent in June month over month (M-o-M), seasonally adjusted. With the exception of nearly flat prices in May, prices rose in four of the past five months. Asking prices in June rose nationally 0.8 percent quarter over quarter (Q-o-Q), seasonally adjusted.  Year-over-year (Y-o-Y) asking prices rose by 0.3 percent; excluding foreclosures, asking prices rose Y-o-Y by 1.7 percent. Nationally, 44 out of the 100 largest metros had Y-o-Y price increases, and 84 out of the 100 largest metros had Q-o-Q price increases, seasonally adjusted.

 

 

Despite Big Price Gains, Phoenix, Miami, and Detroit Face New Foreclosure Wave
Asking prices rose Y-o-Y by 15 percent or more in Phoenix and Miami. However, seven of the 10 metros with the largest increase in asking prices also have a high share of homes in foreclosure, including Phoenix, the Florida metros, and Detroit and its suburbs. These coming foreclosures threaten to reduce or reverse recent price gains in those markets. In contrast, Denver, San Jose, Pittsburgh, Little Rock, Austin and Colorado Springs all had price gains of more than 4 percent with a moderate or low share of homes in foreclosure.

 

Note: Among 100 largest metros. Foreclosure data provided by RealtyTrac. National average is 10.2 homes in the foreclosure process per 1,000 housing units.

Rents Rise 5.4 Percent Nationally, Outpacing Price Increases
Despite widespread national asking price rises, rent increases outpaced price increases in 22 of the 25 largest rental markets. Nationally, rents were 5.4 percent higher in June than they were a year ago, and rents increased Y-o-Y in 24 of the 25 largest rental markets – all except Las Vegas. Furthermore, rent increases accelerated between March and June in most rental markets, with rents in San Francisco rising 14.7 percent Y-o-Y in June from 10.9 percent in March.

PRE-APPROVED QUOTES

  • “We saw asking prices start to rise in February and predicted that other home price indexes would report sales price increases this summer for those homes – and they have,” said Jed Kolko, Trulia’s Chief Economist. “Since February, asking prices showed solid gains in four out of five months, including in June, so I expect to see the sales-price indexes show further increases in the months to come.”
  • “The huge price gains we’ve seen in Miami and Phoenix are not built to last. These increases will shrink or reverse as the backlogged foreclosures in these metros hit the market,” said Jed Kolko, Trulia’s Chief Economist. “In contrast, Denver, San Jose and Austin, which were spared the worst of the housing crisis, have strong price growth and strong job growth without a foreclosure overhang. Their recent price gains are less dramatic than Miami and Phoenix but are less at risk. Slow and steady wins the housing recovery.”

MULTIMEDIA

  • To download the full list of price and rent changes for the largest metro areas, see here.
  • To download a graph of price changes from November 2010 to June 2012, see here.

METHODOLOGY
To view the full methodology and 2012 release schedule, see here.  The next release of the Trulia Price Monitor and the Trulia Rent Monitor will be Tuesday, August 7, at 10AM ET.

 

ABOUT TRULIA, INC.
Trulia gives home buyers, sellers, owners and renters the inside scoop on properties, places and real estate professionals. Trulia has unique info on the areas people want to live that can’t be found anywhere else: users can learn about agents, neighborhoods, schools, crime and even ask the local community questionsReal estate professionals use Trulia to connect with millions of transaction-ready buyers and sellers each month via our hyper local advertising services, social recommendations and top-rated mobile apps. Trulia is headquartered in downtown San Francisco and is backed by Accel Partners and Sequoia Capital. Trulia is a registered trademark of Trulia, Inc.

For further information: Daisy Kong Trulia, Sr. PR Manager 415-400-7391 dkong@trulia.com

Huge demand and low supply for rentals here in Marin County!

PacificSun.com : Realtors ask cities to adopt inspection 'principles'

by Jason Walsh

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The Marin Association of Realtors is asking Marin towns to adopt stricter rules for on-site home inspections when a house is being sold.

The Realtors are calling for the 10 county municipalities that conduct on-site resale inspections to adopt six guiding principles that focus on consistency, no double jeopardy, transparency, timeliness, revenue neutrality and sensitivity to the current economic conditions.

The inspections are conducted by the towns to ensure safety and that the properties meet current building codes; inspection reports are paid for by the sellers and provided to buyers during escrow.

According to MAR, the six "principles" were prompted by reports from real estate agents about various problems associated with resale inspections in different cities and towns in the county.

David Smadbeck, president of MAR, says inconsistencies about the conduct of inspections from one town to the next has caused "issues" for agents and clients. "But rather than rehashing old problems, we want to start fresh with a clean slate for all local governments," says Smadbeck. "After the six principles are adopted, it will be much easier to monitor compliance and address issues."

The principles ask that updated building standards not be applied retroactively upon homeowners who previously performed code-qualifying work without a permit; re-inspections to confirm repairs should not raise new issues not identified in the initial report; cities should communicate resale inspection requirements in advance; the inspection process should be timely; inspection fees should not be excessive; homes that are sold as short sales should have inspection fees waived or reduced.

According to the association's housing turnover index and other data, the average number of annual home sales over the last five years that required onsite inspections were: Belvedere, 28; Fairfax, 74; Larkspur, 66; Mill Valley, 302; Novato, 499; Ross, 28; San Anselmo, 144; San Rafael, 555; Sausalito, 94; Tiburon, 123.

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Our Local city inspections in Marin can be a real problem for sellers and I certainly hope something comes of this!!!

Economists expect 2013 home price rebound | Inman News

Economists expect 2013 home price rebound

Homeownership rate expected to drop in next five years

By Inman News, Monday, June 25, 2012.

Inman News®

<a href=House arrow image via Shutterstock.

After experiencing a slight dip this year, home prices will see modest increases starting in 2013 and through 2016, according to a quarterly survey of more than 100 economists, real estate experts and investment strategists.

The survey, conducted by research and consulting firm Pulsenomics LLC on behalf of real estate search and valuation portal Zillow between May 31-June 14, 2012, asked 114 participants to project the path of the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index over the next five years.

When last published May 29, the index showed that national home prices in the first quarter hit a record low, declining 1.9 percent from first-quarter 2011. Prices were down 35.1 percent from their second-quarter 2006 peak, to levels last seen in mid-2002.

The panel of experts surveyed by Pulsenomics said they expect the index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, will show a 0.4 percent annual decline at the end of 2012 and then increase by 1.3 percent in 2013. Their projections are more or less similar to what they were in the last quarterly survey in March.

The economists surveyed largely agreed on the trajectory of national home prices for first-time in the history of the survey, which dates to May 2010, Zillow said. The most optimistic quartile of panelists predicted an average 1 percent increase in home prices this year, while the most pessimistic expected a 2 percent decline. Most agreed that after the first quarter's decrease, home prices will rise for the rest of 2012, Zillow said.

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Nonetheless, 56 percent of respondents believe the national homeowership rate in five years will be lower than the rate in the first quarter: 65.4 percent. One in five projected the rate would be at or below 63 percent. The lowest rate on record is 62.9 percent, hit in 1965. 

"It’s good to start to see some convergence of expectations among economists, as it lends further support to the claim that a bottom is real," said Stan Humphries, Zillow's chief economist, in a statement.

"However, the fact that more than half of respondents believe that the homeownership rate will fall lower should be a sobering reminder that significant challenges remain ahead for the housing market, from negative equity to millions of foreclosed homeowners who now have impaired credit, making a return to homeownership harder than it would be otherwise."

When compared to economists' projections two years ago, the expected pace of the housing recovery is now considerably weaker.

"In June 2010, the average cumulative appreciation in U.S. home prices expected by our panel was 10.3 percent for the years 2012 through 2014," said Terry Loebs, founder of Pulsenomics, in a statement. 

"Now, two years later, the average prediction among our experts for the same period is just 3.5 percent. This translates into $1.25 trillion less housing wealth than expected nationally over the coming three years."

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I love the great real estate news!!!!!