News



New home sales rise in March

Sales of new single-family houses rose 1.5 percent in March

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Lenders believe housing recovery is real

In its quarterly survey of U.S. bank risk professionals, FICO found lenders more bullish on the housing recovery than at any point in three years

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Housing Bubble II: But This Time It’s Different

Last year, institutional investors made up 19% of all sales in Las Vegas, 21% in Charlotte, 23% in Phoenix, and 30% in Miami. It had an impact.

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Housing demand among immigrants to grow

A new report sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA) found that homeownership and rental demand of foreign-born households will continue to increase

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Fourth Quarter Metro Area Home Prices

A growing number of metropolitan areas had higher median home prices in the fourth quarter, with the national price showing the strongest year-over-year increase in seven years

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New rules require lenders to verify borrowers’ ability to repay

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued new rules that define a “qualified mortgage (QM),” which will protect borrowers from deceptive lending practices.

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American Taxpayers Relief Act signed into law

Last week, Congress reached an agreement in the “fiscal cliff” negotiations, and President Obama signed the American Taxpayers Relief Act into law last Wednesday.

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Survey finds real estate industry more optimistic

Real estate professionals continued to be more optimistic about the direction of home values than homeowners in the fourth quarter

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California home prices rise 25 percent

California’s median price continued to register double-digit gains from year-ago levels and strong sales of higher-priced homes led to a year-over-year increase in sales in California.

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Home prices nationwide rise

CoreLogic’s October CoreLogic HPI report shows home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased on a year-over-year basis by 6.3 percent.

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Home prices rise 1.1 percent in Q3

U.S. house prices rose 1.1 percent in the third quarter compared with the second quarter, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s

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Single-Family Rental Demand Is Outstripping Supply

Demand for single-family rental housing is outstripping the available supply of homes, and some housing markets that have been hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis have seen rental demand jump by more than 25%

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Asking prices, rents rise in October

Nationally, rent gains continued to outpace home price increases in October, rising 5.1 percent year-over-year. Rent growth in Oakland, Denver, and San Francisco accompanied strong for-sale price growth, while in Chicago and Philadelphia rents rose despite falling prices.

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Consumer confidence increases in September

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index improved in September and now stands at 70.3 (1985=100), up from 61.3 in August.

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Nearly one out of five homeowners underwater

Close to 18% of U.S. homeowners who are current on their mortgage payments are classified as underwater

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Completed foreclosures decline in July

CoreLogic’s National Foreclosure Report for July shows there were 58,000 completed foreclosures in the U.S. in July 2012, down from 69,000 in July 2011 and 62,000 in June 2012.

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Home prices rise in June

Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased on a year-over-year basis by 2.5 percent in June 2012 compared to June 2011

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Buying beats renting after only three years

Owning a home becomes more financially advantageous than renting the same home.

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California Homeowner Bill of Rights

California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the Homeowner Bill of Rights to help struggling Californians keep their homes.

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Home prices rise for third consecutive month

Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 2 percent on a year-over-year basis in May 2012 compared with May 2011

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California pending home sales rise

Pending home sales also posted double-digit gains compared with the previous year for the fourth consecutive month.

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Higher foreclosure rates

According to a report from Foreclosure-Response.org, the serious delinquency rate, which includes loans 90 or more days past due plus foreclosures, increased for the first time after a downward trend between December 2009 and June 2011.

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Home buying much cheaper than renting

It's the eternal question in real estate: Should I buy or rent?The answer has never been clearer: Buy.

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Rental markets heating up

Median rents rose 3 percent from January 2011 to January 2012, but home values continued to fall, declining 4.6 percent during that period, according to the January Zillow® Real Estate Market Reports.

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Los Angeles Real Estate Statistics

Calif. median home price: January 2012: $268,280 (Source: C.A.R.)Calif. highest median home price by region/county January 2012: Marin, $694,440 (Source: C.A.R.)

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California short sales rise to highest level

C.A.R. recently reported that the share of short sales in California rose to its highest level in three years

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Home prices at lowest point in more than 10 years

Home prices fell to their lowest point in more than a decade in January

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Proposed bill to speed up short sale

Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Scott Brown (R-Massachusetts), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) proposed a bill addressing the issue of short sales timelines on Feb. 17.

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California housing affordability rises in Q4

On a statewide basis, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HOI) found that a family earning the median income could have afforded 66.2 percent of the new and existing homes

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February Fast Facts About Real Estate

Calif. median home price: December 2011: $285,920 (Source: C.A.R.)Calif. highest median home price by region/county December 2011: Marin: $693,880

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Lawmakers push Fannie, Freddie to write-down mortgage principal

Rep. Barney Frank and two other House Financial Services Committee Democrats on Monday pressed Edward DeMarco, the regulator of seized housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

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Home prices decreased 4.7 percent in 2011

December Home Price Index (HPI®) report shows that, including distressed sales, home prices in the U.S. decreased 4.7 percent in 2011

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Real Estate in Los Angeles and Orange County

California house prices had the seventh-biggest price drop among U.S. states in November, falling 5.9% from year-ago levels.

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California home sales rise in December

California home sales rose for the third consecutive month in December, marking the highest level since January 2011

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Proposed DRE changes in governor’s budget

On Jan. 5, 2012, Gov. Brown delivered to the legislature a proposed budget that included sweeping changes in regulatory agencies, including the DRE, and dramatic cuts to various state programs

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Los Angeles County Foreclosure Trends

Foreclosure Starts dropped significantly throughout our coverage area with the exception of a modest increase in Oregon. Foreclosure Sales were mixed, and down far less than we expected.

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The “lawfulness” of short sale fees

The California DRE has written about short sale transactions in alerts and past editions of the Real Estate Bulletin.

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Economists don't agree on real estate recovery

In some areas, home prices could fall another 10%

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A good rental history can help borrowers

First-time home buyers planning to purchase a house later this year may have a better chance of qualifying for a mortgage if they have had a history of paying their rent on time.

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State targets property-tax payers

Beginning with the 2012 tax bill (the one due in April 2013), the state Franchise Tax Board will require property owners to break down their property taxes into deductible and non-deductible portions.

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Turning foreclosures into rentals

Federal officials hope to launch a pilot program in early 2012 to convert government-owned foreclosures into rental properties.

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California home sales, median price rise in November

California home sales posted an increase both on a monthly and annual basis in November, marking the fifth consecutive month of year-to-year sales increases, according to figures released by C.A.R.

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Home remodeling activity reaches record high

The BuildFax residential remodeling index reached a record high in October, extending its 23-month climb another month, as homeowners opt to stay put and remodel rather than buy a new home.

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Fast Facts

Calif. median home price: November 2011: $280,960Calif. highest median home price by region/county November 2011: Marin: $736,410 Calif. lowest median home price by region/county November 2011: Madera: $103,330 Property Management Los Angeles

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Experts Advocate Stabilizing Neighborhoods with Short Sales

“Foreclosures are going to go up before they go down,” according to Craig Nickerson, president of the National Community Stabilization Trust.

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