|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| $abo $ells $outh Lake Tahoe |
|
 |
5.15 Acres in Tahoe! Very rare historic property located within a mile of Heavenly Ski Resort. http://www.visualtour.com/showvt.asp?t=2138213&prt=10003 |
 |
Own Your Own Business Tahoe Java Cafe a 9 year, long running local coffee shop & cafe http://www.visualtour.com/showvt.asp?t=2161559&prt=10003 |
Articles and Advice |
|
 |
|
| Home prices rebound in much of Bay Area By Carolyn Said, SF Chronicle Staff Writer The San Francisco area had the strongest quarterly performance among metropolitan regions in a closely watched home price index released Tuesday, although other areas and national numbers showed some weakening. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed the San Francisco area - which it defines as the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Alameda and Contra Costa - up 16.2 percent in the first quarter, compared with the same quarter in 2009. Other California areas also showed recovery, with San Diego up 10.8 percent and Los Angeles up 6 percent. "San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles went way up and came way down, so to some extent this is a rebound from the bottom," said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee for Standard & Poor's, which publishes the index. "My sense is that in (regions) such as San Francisco where there wasn't as much empty land, there wasn't as much overbuilding because you couldn't do it," he said. "Some areas of the country, like Las Vegas, had gargantuan overbuilding. In some spots there are more half-built foundations than anything." The California areas' showing was more the exception than the norm. Of 20 metropolitan regions tracked nationwide, 13 had price declines. The most severe were in Las Vegas, down 12 percent, and Detroit, down 4.6 percent. Eight cities posted new index lows. Case-Shiller's broad national index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, showed a 2 percent gain in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, although it fell 3.2 percent compared with the prior quarter. "Flat is the new normal, to borrow a phrase people have used recently," Blitzer said. "If we could come out of this (housing collapse) and have housing be quite flat for the next four or five years, that would be a reasonable outcome. In the long span, homes prices probably do 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent better than inflation. In this environment, that would be a 2 percent annual increase, which is where we are now." Case-Shiller tracks sales of the same single-family houses over time. It compares changes with a base value of 100, which represents values as of January 2000. The San Francisco index is now 136.74, meaning that prices here are 36.74 percent above their level at the turn of the millennium. The region's index peaked at 218.37 in May 2006 and hit a low of 117.74 in March 2009. Pat Lashinsky, CEO of Emeryville's ZipRealty national brokerage, said Case-Shiller's San Francisco area number "is representative of a strong, active market. Last year at this time, if a home was listed for, say, $500,000, you'd get one or two offers and it might sell for $470,000. This year if it's accurately priced at $500,000, it might get four or five offers and sell at $520,000." Moreover, because the index is based on activity through March, it reflects buyers who were in a hurry to take advantage of a federal home-buying tax credit, which expired in late April. |
|
| Mortgage rates rise to 6-month high above 5% By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY Mortgage rates have risen to their highest levels in six months, threatening to delay a housing turnaround by discouraging potential home buyers. The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate home loan climbed to 5.29% for the week ended Thursday, Freddie Mac reported. That's the highest since December and up from 4.91% a week earlier. In early and late April, the rate was at a record low: 4.78%. "There's a real risk interest rates could climb up beyond 6% or 6.5%, which can immediately shut down the housing recovery and undermine the national economy," says Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group. "That's the big battle to watch in the next couple of months." Higher mortgage rates are already having an impact. Applications to buy a home or refinance a mortgage tumbled 16% in the week ended May 29 compared with a week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported this week. Refinancing activity fell 24%. The MBA's purchase index rose 4.3%. Refinancings' share of mortgage activity dropped to 62.4% of total applications from 69.3% the previous week. While the Federal Reserve is trying to hold down mortgage rates by buying mortgage-backed securities and Treasury securities, other factors are driving up rates. Mortgage rates have been pushed up by recent increases in yields on long-term Treasury securities, a benchmark for mortgage rates. If interest rates rise more, that could make a purchase too expensive for some buyers. Weakened demand would delay the reduction of a high inventory of unsold homes, which is considered essential for the market's recovery. Some economists say the fundamental building blocks of a housing recovery are already in place and that rising interest rates will not derail the process. "(Higher interest rates) could slow down refinancing, but the housing recovery is going to be one that takes time, and we'll see setbacks on the way," says Michael Darda, chief economist at MKM Partners. "I don't think the housing market recovery is going to be derailed." Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, say rising interest rates often have a short-term effect of driving more buyers into the market. Those buyers rush to buy so they can lock in rates before they go still higher. But that impact is short lived. "Further rises will impact buyers. That's a risk," Yun says. "Mortgage rates have been the lifeblood of the market." |
|
| Median home prices up in first quarter By Associated Press - May 11, 2010 WASHINGTON — Home prices rose in nearly 60 percent of U.S. cities in the first quarter of this year, as the housing market started to stabilize thanks to billions of dollars in federal spending. The National Association of Realtors says the median sales price for previously occupied homes rose in 91 out of 152 metropolitan areas tracked in the January-March quarter versus a year ago. There were double-digit price increases in 29 cities. That's a sharp improvement from the fourth quarter of last year, when prices rose in about 40 percent of cities. The national median price was $166,100, or 0.7 percent below the first quarter of last year. Sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties made up 36 percent of all sales in the first quarter. The largest percentage price increase was in Saginaw, Mich., where the median price doubled to nearly $61,000. Prices in Akron, Ohio were up 95 percent to about $95,000. Prices in Cleveland were up 54 percent to $106,400. The largest price decline was in Orlando, Fla., where they dropped 15 percent to nearly $132,000. Prices in Ocala, Fla., fell 14.5 percent to a median of nearly $93,000. Prices in Cumberland, Md., fell 14.4 percent to $98,300. |
|
| Appraisal rules tough on additions By Dian Hymer Recently a homeowner in the hills above Oakland, Calif., applied for a refinance. An appraiser visited the property and measured both levels of the house. The appraiser called the homeowner a few days later to find out if the lower level had been added with a permit. The public record indicated the house had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and 1,513-square feet. The actual house in its current configuration has four bedrooms, three baths and a recreation room, giving it considerably more square feet than the public record indicates. The owner didn't know if the lower level had been added legally, claiming the house was in its present configuration when he bought it about 30 years ago. Due to changes in appraisal guidelines for residential properties that took effect in 2009, appraisers usually don't give livable square footage credit for work that was done without building permits. Without the extra square footage, the appraised value will be less than it would have been if the work were done legally. This doesn't mean that the lender won't grant a loan. But, if your house appraises low and you were expecting a loan amount based on a higher figure, you'll be disappointed and perhaps unable to complete the refinance -- or, if you're a buyer, you may be unable to purchase. Let's say you wanted a loan for 70 percent of an $800,000 value, or $560,000. The appraisal comes in at $600,000. On a refinance, the lender probably won't lend more than 70 percent of $600,000, or $420,000, which is $140,000 less than what you requested. HOUSE HUNTING TIP: What can you do in a situation like this to increase the appraised value of your home? The first thing to do is go to the local planning department and request copies of all permits on the house going back to the original building permit. If you can find a permit for the additional work that was done, give a copy to the appraiser. The appraiser will have measured the unpermitted square footage. With confirmation that this space is legal, the appraiser will be able to include the additional square feet and increase the appraised value. Take a copy of the permit that confirms more rooms than is reflected in the public record to the county assessor's office and have them update their records. You may be reassessed based on the fact that your house has a legal addition, so your property taxes could increase. However, your house will appraise and sell for more if you can substantiate that the additional space was added with permits. If you discover that the work was done without permits, you can attempt to have the work legalized after the fact. This can be a complicated and expensive project, depending on when the work was done and how many square feet were added. If the addition is 10-20 percent of the size of the house, the permitting process will be less onerous than if the illegal space equaled 50 percent of the entire house. You will need to meet certain code requirements. For example, if a stairway leads to the unpermitted space, it must be 36 inches wide. Replacing an entire staircase can be prohibitively expensive. Walls may have to be opened to inspect the plumbing and electrical. If something doesn't meet current code requirements, it will probably have to be brought into compliance. You might have to add or change windows. Plus, if the building inspector discovers other items in the house that do not comply with current code requirements, you might have to correct these in order to receive final approval of the project. THE CLOSING: Sometimes contractors take out permits for work, but don't take the time to have the final inspection done. In this case, call the contractor and have him finish his job. Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years' experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author. |
|
| Hot Links |
| Foreclosure Help http://www.foreclosurehelp.nv.gov/ Hope Now (foreclosure assistance) http://hopenow.us/ Free Credit Report http://www.freecreditreport.com/ My Visual Tours http://www.VisualTour.com/inventory.asp?u=29155 Home Staging on a Budget http://www.realtor.org/rmohome_and_design/articles/2009/0904_home_stagingtips#living%20rooms |
|
| Your Newsletter is Powered by: |
 |
|
 |
