Jodi Summers = Santa Monica Real Estate

REASONS FOR MOVING TO CALIFORNIA

January 17, 2013 on 10:56 pm | In Fascinating Information, Fun, Uncategorized | No Comments

http://www.car.org/aboutus/onecoolthing/californialove/?=image

http://www.socalmultiunitrealestateblog.com/?p=2086

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/?p=4519

THE RECESSION HURT GEN X MORE

January 11, 2013 on 3:00 pm | In Fascinating Information, Uncategorized, WOW | No Comments

by Jodi Summers

The recession has impacted each generation in a different way. Millennials are experiencing high unemployment rates. Boomers are delaying their retirement due to the economy. Gen X has taken the largest hit to their net worth.

A recently released Census report found that people between 35 and 44 saw a 59% decline in median household net worth between 2005 to 2010 < the largest decline in net worth of all age groups. Those 55 to 64, saw a 25% drop, though they had a larger decline in actual dollar amount, as they had saved more.

Generation X – a.k.a. the MTV generation – was born roughly from 1965-1982. They grew up with the introduction of the home computer, the beginning growth of video game era, cable television and the Internet. Their cultural perspectives and political apathy have been shaped by series of events that include the 1973 oil crisis, the 1979 energy crisis, the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan, the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the 1986 Space space Shuttle Challenger disaster, the 1987 Black Monday, the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, the elections of George H.W. Bush, William (Bill) Clinton and the savings and loan crisis that preceded the early 1990s recession. Other attributions include the AIDS epidemic, the crack cocaine epidemic, the War on Drugs, the Iran hostage crisis, Iran-Contra Affair, Operation Desert Storm, the Dot-com bubble, grunge and alternative rock, and the global influence of the hip hop culture and music genre.

Gen X is a relatively small group of 46 million people. A quite generation, they have largely stayed out of the headlines. They have also tried to do everything right financially. Most have worked at a stable job for years, built a comfortable savings, and possibly bought their first home at the market’s peak. Then when everything came crashing down, they were stuck with an underwater mortgage, young kids in the house, possibly a job loss, and unlike boomers, they never had a chance to diversify their portfolios, potentially losing a lot of what they had in stocks.

The chart below shows that although all age groups lost net household worth during the recession, Gen X felt the brunt of it:

http://www.businessinsider.com/actually-its-generation-x-that-is-suffering-most-in-this-recession-2012-6#ixzz1z6FAF18P

http://www.businessinsider.com/actually-its-generation-x-that-is-suffering-most-in-this-recession-2012-6

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/?p=4497

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2359/2311055636_8bcc757415.jpg

http://www.builderonline.com/builder-pulse/genxers-hardest-hit-by-the-great-recession.aspx?cid=BP:062612:JUMP

http://www.socalofficerealestateblog.com/?p=2170

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_X

http://culturewarclasswar.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/genxperspectives_nirvana.jpg

SANTA MONICA + VENICE REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOT ~ JANUARY 2013 ~ IT’S ALL ABOUT HOUSING

January 1, 2013 on 5:13 pm | In Fascinating Information, Market Snapshot, Market Trends, Of Local Importance, Sellers, Statistics, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

by Jodi Summers

2013 is going to be a good year. It’s going to be a good year for housing, among other things. Now all of us @ the beach realize that our market has long been back on track, thanks to low housing inventory and low interest rates. Kudos go out to the Federal Reserve’s aggressive bond-buying program, which has pushed mortgage interest rates down to unprecedented lows.

As our economy corrects itself, it’s all about housing. By many accounts, the housing-market “bottom” was one of the biggest business stories of 2012, and a key to our economic turnaround. After years of falling home values, the data clearly showed that the bleeding stopped somewhere in the first part of 2012 and has been slowly rising during the latter part of the year. The most recent Case-Shiller home-price index report shows a fifth consecutive month of year-over-year increases in home prices nationwide.

For single family homes in Santa Monica and Venice the bottom was May 2012, according to Clarus Market Metrics. Prices were at a median low of $1,180,000 < rising to $1,575,000 by the end of the year.

The statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home in November was $349,300. The California Association of Realtors® calculates that the median price was up 24.8% from November 2011 – the largest year-to-year percentage increase since June 2004.

“Coastal markets, which tend to have high-end properties, accounted for a larger share of total sales and led to strong price gains overall,” shares C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “The significant increase in price was due in part to the change in the mix of sales.”

In Santa Monica and Venice, sold homes are up 18% from December 2011.

Thank you Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for fostering historically low interest rates. Mortgage bonds issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae still fund more than 90% of new home loans. Bank portfolios and other private lending make up the rest.

Analysis done by Iacono Research on the significance of the Federal stimulus efforts showed that today’s incredible low interest rates allow a home buyer to purchase a house that is 50% more expensive than they would have been able to afford under the average mortgage rates over the past 20 years.

Nationally, low mortgage rates and job gains are pushed sales of existing homes to the highest level in three years. New housing construction up 21.6% in November from a year earlier.

CoreLogic reports that U.S. home prices nationwide increased on a year-over-year basis by 6.3% in October, the biggest increase since June 2006. Investors who bought subprime mortgage bonds, saw posted returns of more than 40% since December 2011.

With no inventory on the market, and prices on the rise, now is a peak time to sell your property. Builders all but halted construction in 2007 and 2008. In 2010, mortgage delinquencies peaked; from there forward foreclosures were in decline. By 2011, rental demand rallied, and savvy investors bought in neighborhoods where homes could be easily rented out. Strong investor demand and fewer bank foreclosures have contributed to inventory drops, while many homeowners are unwilling or unable to sell.

Looking forward, there are more than 500 new units for rent and for sale scheduled to come online in Santa Monica in the coming years, and there are many more requests before City Hall. Builders and city officials are benefitting in a big way.

The Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reports that across the country, private housing starts in November were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 861,000, compared to the November 2011 rate of 708,000. Home-building completions were up 16% from a year earlier.

Finally the housing market is seeing the start of what economists call a positive feedback loop. Rising home prices allow lenders to be more generous with home financing, which allows even more prospective home buyers to access the market, further driving up home prices. Higher home values give consumers and builders more confidence to go out and spend money or make investments, which also stimulates the real estate market and the national economy.

We’re here to help you with your commercial and investment property needs. Please contact Jodi Summers and the SoCal Investment Real Estate Group @ Sotheby’s International Realty – jodi@jodisummers.com or 310.392.1211, and let us move forward together.

http://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/California-home-prices-rise-25-percent-4129561.php

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2012/12/19/2013-the-year-home-inventory-hits-a-bottom/

http://graphics.wsj.com/tracking-real-estate-inventory-and-prices/nov-12/#SugCategories=rPrices

http://business.time.com/2012/12/27/housing-numbers-recovery-fed/

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/12/14/home-prices-could-jump-9-7-in-2013-j-p-morgan-says/

http://avoiceinamerica.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/fannie-mae.gif

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/?p=4763

http://www.toptennewhomecommunities.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/New-home-construction.jpg

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-home-sales-20121220,0,1324573.story?track=rss

http://www.uli.org/press-release/u-s-commercial-real-estate-recovery-to-advance-in-2013-with-nationwide-gains-in-leasing-rents-pricing-according-to-pwc-us-and-urban-land-institutes-emerging-trends-in-real-estate-forecast/

http://abcitsme.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/happy-new-year-2013-setsiri-silapasuwanchai.jpg?w=900

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2012/12/housing-starts-at-861-thousand-saar-in.html

https://www.terradatum.com/cmm/claw

http://dnsfoliot.com/_images/_company/_manufacture/foliot-manufacture-6.jpg

FOR LEASE NAVIDAD

December 18, 2012 on 2:50 pm | In Fascinating Information, fUNNY...mONEY, Uncategorized, WOW | No Comments

SENATORS DARE TO TAMPER WITH PROP. 13

December 9, 2012 on 2:34 pm | In Fascinating Information, Federal Government, Historic Properties, Legal, Of Local Importance, Uncategorized, WOW | 3 Comments

by Jodi Summers

Proposition 13 limits annual tax increases on both commercial and residential properties at 2% each year after a sale takes place. The landmark 1978 California tax change was passed, in part, so that older Californians are not priced out of their homes through high taxes. Proposition 13 has been called the “third rail” (meaning “untouchable subject”) of California politics, and it is not popular politically for lawmakers to attempt to change it.

Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) wants voters to alter Proposition 13 to make it easier to pass local taxes for schools. Leno is introducing a constitutional amendment that would allow local parcel taxes for schools to pass with 55% of the vote, instead of the two-thirds currently required.

Proposition 13 (officially named the People’s Initiative to Limit Property Taxation) was an amendment of the Constitution of California enacted during 1978, by means of the initiative process. It was approved by California voters on June 6, 1978. It was declared constitutional by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Nordlinger v. Hahn, 505 U.S. 1 (1992). Proposition 13 is embodied in Article 13A of the Constitution of the State of California.

The proposition states:

Section 1. (a) The maximum amount of any ad valorem tax on real property shall not exceed one percent (1%) of the full cash value of such property. The one percent (1%) tax to be collected by the counties and apportioned according to law to the districts within the counties.

The proposition decreased property taxes by assessing property values at their 1975 value and restricted annual increases of assessed value of real property to an inflation factor, not to exceed 2% per year. It also prohibited reassessment of a new base year value except for (a) change in ownership or (b) completion of new construction.

In addition to decreasing property taxes, the initiative also contained language requiring a two-thirds majority in both legislative houses for future increases of any state tax rates or amounts of revenue collected, including income tax rates. It also requires a two-thirds vote majority in local elections for local governments wishing to increase special taxes. Proposition 13 received an enormous amount of publicity, not only in California, but throughout the United States.

The two-thirds majority is what Congressmen Leno wants to change, dropping the majority 11% to 55% of the vote.

“This change in law would give voters the power to make decisions about public education at the local level, allowing schools much-needed flexibility to improve instruction, fund libraries, music, the arts or other programs, or hire more teachers to reduce student-to-teacher ratios,” Leno justifies.

With new supermajorities in both legislative houses, Democrats now also have the power to place measures such as Leno’s on the ballot without GOP backing. In 2000, voters passed a measure changing the vote threshold for local school bonds from two-thirds to 55%.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_13_%281978%29

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/?p=4726

http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/12/assemblyman-wants-prop-13-change-for-commercial-property.html#storylink=cpy

http://crazyscott4mayor.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/california_prop_13_0612.3132406_std.jpg

http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/prop-13-2.jpg

http://www.pacificariptide.com/.a/6a00d8341c795b53ef01157221e0c9970b-800wi

http://www.fogcityjournal.com/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/2012/11/california-broke1.jpg

SANTA MONICA + VENICE REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOT ~ DECEMBER 2012 ~ HAPPY! MERRY! HAPPY! HAPPY! HAPPY!

November 30, 2012 on 7:42 pm | In Buyers, Fascinating Information, Market Snapshot, Market Trends, Of Local Importance, Sellers, Statistics, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

by Jodi Summers

The United States housing market is officially in recovery. Prices for single-family homes rose in 81% of U.S. cities as the property market extends a recovery from the worst crash since the 1930s. The National Association of Realtors states that in the third quarter, the year-over-year median sales price increased in 120 of 149 metropolitan areas.

Nationally, Q3 home prices show the strongest growth since 2006. Locally, in Santa Monica and Venice, according to Clarus Market Metrics, homes are selling in an average of 45 days > compared with 85 days in October 2011. The median sold price is up an eye-popping 31%. Asking prices are up 18%

Of course, our life at the beach is far beyond average > The national median existing single-family home price jumped 7.6% from a year ago, to $186,100. For the country as a whole, this is the strongest year-over-year increase for any quarter since 1Q 2006, when prices were up 9.4% from the previous year. Sales of existing homes rose 10.3% during the third quarter, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million, up from 4.25 million a year ago.

Year-over-year In Venice + Santa Monica the median sold price for single family homes is up 26% to $1,650,000, while condos are up is up 23% to $765,000. The number of sold home sales at the beach are up 65%, while condo volume is up 38%.

Nationally, Inventory of existing homes for sale was down 20% from a year ago, to 2.32 million. In Santa Monica and Venice, inventory is down 68% to a 2-month supply.

Nationally, there is optimism, something we haven’t seen a lot of since the Clinton administration. A survey by Fannie Mae, the nation’s biggest mortgage- finance company, reveals that Americans expect home prices to increase an average of 1.7% in the next 12 months. The share of respondents who expect home prices to decrease dropped to 10%, down 13 percentage points from a year earlier < AND the lowest level since the monthly survey began in June 2010!!

“The housing recovery still faces a number of potential headwinds,” observes Paul Diggle, property economist for Capital Economics Ltd. “But our central case is that tight supply conditions will mean that house prices will continue to rise steadily next year.”

Investors, who make up the bulk of cash purchasers, accounted for 17% of all transactions, down from 20% a year earlier.

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.

National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun foresees U.S. home prices rising by 15% over the next three years, a boost for to please the entire country.

Mortgage rates will remain at historic lows through 2014, keeping home buying affordable, shares Mark Vitner, an economist with Wells Fargo. He forecast that the rate on a traditional, 30-year mortgage, now at roughly 3.4%, will “bottom out” at 3.3% in next year’s first quarter amid concerns about federal budget-balancing efforts. “We will probably be at an all-time-low in interest rates late this year or early next year.”