The median price of an existing home in California in January increased 20.7 percent and sales increased 5.3 percent compared to the same period a year ago, C.A.R. reported today. "The inventory of homes for sale is nearing a critical juncture," said C.A.R. President Ann Pettijohn. "In a more balanced market, there is a seven- to 10-month supply of homes for sale. In January, it was just two months. As a result, constraints on supply continue to impact both the availability and affordability of housing options for California families."
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 615,660 in January at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations statewide. Statewide home resale activity increased 5.3 percent from the 584,600 sales pace recorded in January 2003. The statewide sales figure represents what the total number of homes sold during 2004 would be if sales maintained the January pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.
The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during January 2004 was $405,720, a 20.7 percent increase over the revised $336,210 median for January 2003, C.A.R. reported. The January 2004 median price increased 0.5 percent compared to a revised $403,570 median price in December.
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The median price of an existing home in California in January increased 20.7 percent and sales increased 5.3 percent compared to the same period a year ago, C.A.R. reported today. "The inventory of homes for sale is nearing a critical juncture," said C.A.R. President Ann Pettijohn. "In a more balanced market, there is a seven- to 10-month supply of homes for sale. In January, it was just two months. As a result, constraints on supply continue to impact both the availability and affordability of housing options for California families."
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 615,660 in January at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations statewide. Statewide home resale activity increased 5.3 percent from the 584,600 sales pace recorded in January 2003. The statewide sales figure represents what the total number of homes sold during 2004 would be if sales maintained the January pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.
The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during January 2004 was $405,720, a 20.7 percent increase over the revised $336,210 median for January 2003, C.A.R. reported. The January 2004 median price increased 0.5 percent compared to a revised $403,570 median price in December
The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California hit a new record during the fourth quarter of 2003, rising 17.9 percent to $391,680, C.A.R. reported last Thursday. For the year as a whole, the median price of an existing, single-family detached home was a new annual record at $372,720, a 17.9 percent increase compared to 2002. Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California amounted to 633,650 for the fourth quarter of 2003 at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, a 12.1 percent increase from 565,050 in the fourth quarter of 2002. Sales for all of 2003 increased 5.1 percent to 601,770 compared to 2002, when sales were 572,550.
"Sales in the fourth quarter were unseasonably strong last year," said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. "It's a testament to the role lower interest rates played in the real estate market, and the expectation that they will rise in 2004. The median price of a home also surged in the fourth quarter, reaching record highs in every region in the state."
C.A.R.'s Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes for the fourth quarter of 2003 was 1.98 months, compared to a revised 2.5 months for the same period a year ago. The index indicates the number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate. Thirty-year fixed mortgage interest rates averaged 5.92 percent during the fourth quarter of 2003, down from 6.07 percent in the fourth quarter of 2002, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. Adjustable mortgage interest rates averaged 3.75 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003, down from 4.18 percent in the fourth quarter of 2002. The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home was 27 days in the fourth quarter of 2003, compared to a revised 27 days for the same period a year prior.
Farmland in Santa Barbara County is a deep and wide subject. Because of the State mandates the County has been looking at ways to expand the housing inventory and one of the possibilities being looked at most often is Farmland. If you'd like some more information on this subject please give a look at Farmland in Santa Barbara County
The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development will sell up to 4,000 homes acquired through foreclosure on Feb. 27 and 28. While HUD has used the Internet for sale of HUD homes for several years, this auction will be different in that HUD will publicize the auction in major newspapers throughout the country and use special procedures in listing the homes for sale. Properties available through the auction will be pulled from the market for approximately three weeks prior to the auction dates. This inspection period will commence on Feb. 15 when the properties will be listed on the HUD Web site. During this time, prospective buyers will have an opportunity to "shop" the available listings. Buyers will have time to inspect homes, look at neighborhoods and comparison shop before submitting their auction bid on Feb. 27-28.
To participate in the special auction, interested homebuyers should go to the HUD Web site where an announcement will lead the buyer to click on the state of interest. This will lead to complete information on properties available in that state. The auction will begin on Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. (Eastern time) and will end on Feb. 28 at 11:59 p.m. Bid results will be announced on Feb. 29 on the Web sites where the properties were listed.
All properties will be sold on an "as is" basis, without warranty or guarantee. These properties were previously sold with FHA insurance and received by HUD as a result of foreclosure by a lender and payment of the related FHA insurance claim to the foreclosing lender.
One of the biggest problems in this area is affordable housing. Couple that with the mandate from the state to look at ways to increase density and you've got a lot of controversy. One of the options is to rezone some property from agricultural to residential. For an in depth look at some of the options please give a look at Where We Live.
C.A.R.'s board of directors in January voted to oppose any initiative on the November 2004 ballot that seeks to split the property tax roll by increasing the tax rate beyond 1 percent for commercial property. One of the proposed measures, the "Improving Classroom Education Act," would tax residential rental properties valued above $699,000, at a rate greater than 1 percent. C.A.R. has historically opposed "split roll" property tax proposals on the basis that any measure that treats the assessment of commercial property differently than residential property jeopardizes the protections afforded to all property owners under Proposition 13. C.A.R. also is concerned that a "split roll" could create a disincentive for cities and counties to build housing since it will generate less revenue than commercial property, exacerbating California's housing shortage.
Neither the "Improving Classroom Education Act" nor the "Investing in Quality Classrooms Act" has qualified yet for the November ballot; however, proponents are aggressively collecting signatures. C.A.R. is urging members not to sign these petitions. Their titles can be misleading because they don't reveal that property taxes will be increased.
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C.A.R. encourages all members to become involved in the political process by exercising their right to vote March 2. The deadline to register to vote in the March 2 California primary election is Feb. 17. While full online voter registration is not yet available, you can initiate the process online and a registration card with your information will be printed and mailed to you. Once you receive your form in the mail, which takes approximately seven to 10 days, you must sign, date, and return it by mail to the county elections official indicated on the return-address side of the voter registration card. For more information, call (800) 345-8683 or visit the link below.
The Market Composite Index of mortgage loan applications, a measure of mortgage loan applications for purchases and refinancings, fell 6.8 percent to 797.8 on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Feb. 6 from 855.7 one week earlier, according to a report released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased by 4.5 percent for the week ending Feb. 6 compared with the previous week and was down 26.5 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 56.9 percent of total applications for the week ending Feb. 6 compared to 57.0 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 26.3 percent for the week ending Feb. 6 from 27.2 percent the previous week, according to the report.
The increasing popularity of condominiums is expected to continue in the coming year, driving construction starts of for-sale multifamily units to highs not seen for more than 10 years, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Condos represented slightly more than a quarter of all multifamily development started in 2003, said David Seiders, NAHB's chief economist. These levels approached that of the 1987 and 1993 booms in condo construction, and that rate is likely to continue to rise in 2004.
Houston, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. were identified as the cities expected to have the largest number of rental apartments started in the coming year, with Jacksonville, Fla., Los Angeles and Miami as the most favorable cities for rental development in the year ahead.
The percentage of households in California able to afford a median-priced home stood at 23 percent in December, a 5 percentage-point decrease compared to the same period a year ago when the Index was at 28 percent, according to a recent C.A.R. report. The December Housing Affordability Index (HAI) declined two points from October, when it stood at 25 points. C.A.R.'s monthly housing affordability index measures the percentage of households that can afford to purchase a median-priced home in California. C.A.R. also reports housing affordability indexes for regions and select counties within the state. The index is the most fundamental measure of housing well-being in the state.
The minimum household income needed to purchase a median-priced home at $404,520 in California in December was $94,730, based on a typical 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at 5.82 percent and assuming a 20 percent downpayment. The minimum household income needed to purchase a median-priced home was up from $81,290 in December 2002, when the median price of a home was $338,840 and the prevailing interest rate was 6.10 percent. The minimum household income needed to purchase a median-priced home at $173,200 in the U.S. in December 2003 was $40,560.
At 57 percent, the High Desert region was the most affordable C.A.R. region in the state, followed by the Sacramento region at 36 percent. The Northern Wine Country and San Diego regions were the least affordable in the state at 15 percent.
A plan to convert one of the Santa Barbara Channel oil platforms into a fish farm is stirring up controversy among environmentalists. The project has funding from Chevron, Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute of San Diego. The permit request is to operate a fish farm and hatchery experiment for three years at Venoco’s Platform Grace, which is 11 miles off Ventura in Federal Waters.
The approximately one-mile-square Grace Mariculture Project would include four submerged pens around the platform for yellowtails, striped bass and blue fin tuna. Also there would facilities for a hatchery and rearing operations on 10,000 square feet of the platform itself for halibut and abalone. It would be the first facility of its kind on the US West Coast for finfish.
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The C.A.R. Housing Affordability Fund (C.A.R.H.A.F.) announced this week that it has raised nearly $920,000 to date. Since the fund's inception in January 2003, 39 local REALTOR® associations throughout the state have contributed $248,000, with the balance coming from more than 675 individual donors and C.A.R.'s initial $500,000 donation to the fund.
"Our state's long-standing housing crisis poses a challenge to all Californians, and REALTORS® can respond directly to that challenge through the C.A.R. Housing Affordability Fund," said C.A.R. President Ann Pettijohn. "The major fund-raising thrust in 2004 will be directed toward corporate support of C.A.R.H.A.F."
The fund's resources are being distributed through local REALTOR® associations that have submitted requests for programs that directly address housing-affordability and housing-supply issues within their communities. Since delivering its first grant to the Monterey County Housing Alliance Housing Opportunity Center last year, the fund has disbursed $98,450 to six additional projects, ranging from a homebuyer assistance center in Oakland to an employer-assisted housing program in San Diego.
In a move that will displace several renters and small businesses, the Santa Barbara Planning Commission on Thursday approved a downtown development aimed at transforming Chapala Street across from Paseo Nuevo
Approved in the plan are 8 condominiums that would sell for less than $324,000 and are designed for people who cannot afford to buy a home at the market rate in Santa Barbara.
The 21 other condominiums would sell for market rate and range from $600,000 to $1.2 million. Right now, there are six small studios at the site, 721 to 739 Chapala St that are about 450 square feet and rent on a month-to-month basis for about $650 a month
Sales of new single-family homes topped one million units in 2003, establishing a new record high for the third consecutive year, according to a recent U.S. Dept. of Commerce report. "The sales pace has been excellent throughout the last six months, primarily fueled by low mortgage rates and strong house-price performance, and the market fundamentals are in place for this pace to continue into early 2004," said Bobby Rayburn, president of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
Total new single-family home sales for 2003 reached 1.085 million, up 11.5 percent from the previous annual record of 973,000 in 2002, according to the report. New home sales hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.060 million units in December, down 5.5 percent from November's revised pace of 1.117 million units.
Three regions recorded record-high sales for 2003, according to the report: the Midwest had 189,000 sales, the South posted 512,000 sales and the West registered 306,000 sales. Sales in the Northeast topped 79,000, a 21.5 percent increase compared to 2002. For the month, the sales pace across all regions was mixed. The inventory of new homes for sale was 374,000 at the end of 2003, a 4.3-months supply at the December sales pace.
The site is as yet to be determined, but there seems to be significant interest among city officials for a central transportation hub combining the Metropolitan Transit District, Greyhound busses, train and commuter rail. This marks the first time that decision-makers seriously agreed to start planning for commuter rail.
The proposal gained momentum during a wide-ranging City Council work session on Tuesday. The MTD wants development money from the city to remodel its’ old, now inefficient Transit Center near the corner of Chapala and Carrillo streets, across the street from Ralphs.
The possibility of commuter rail is several years away, but the city appears poised to partner with MTD for high-speed rail. What form that partnership might take is unclear.
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The Market Composite Index of mortgage loan applications, a measure of mortgage loan applications for purchases and refinancings, decreased by 1.5 percent to 855.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Jan. 30 from 868.9 one week earlier, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) report released today. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased by 12.4 percent for the week ending Jan. 30 compared to the previous week and declined 25.9 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 57.0 percent of total applications for the week ending Jan. 30 from 58.5 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 27.2 percent for the week ending Jan. 30 compared to 26.3 percent the previous week.
The City Council of Santa Barbara made some changes to the design of the proposed $19.1 million Granada Garage Tuesday and added at $420,000 to its cost. The resulting structure will be a stately building intended to look nothing like a parking garage.
The council agreed to raise the ceiling by a foot on two underground levels, a move that will cost about $300,000. City staff had recommended the change largely to make it more attractive for people to park on the bottom two floors.
In a surprising policy shift the Goleta City Council has moved to end its ban on commercial construction, ending a policy that has upset developers with projects stalled since the birth of the city two years ago.
The panel put in place new temporary rules to control future land use decisions. Standards on building height, home size, traffic, affordable housing and environmental protection that would last a year as officials work toward completing a similar but significantly more elaborate general plan.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index stands at 96.8 (1985=100) in January, up five points from 91.7 in December. The Expectations Index rose to 108.1 from 103.3 in December and the Present Situation Index increased to 80.0 in January from 74.3 the previous month. "Consumer confidence is now at its highest level since July 2002, when the Index registered 97.4," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. "Growing optimism about the overall health of the economy continues to bolster consumers' short-term outlook. But consumers' assessment of current conditions, which strongly hinges on improvements in the labor market, remains both weak and volatile."
Consumers' assessment of present-day conditions was more favorable in January than in December, with those describing current business conditions as good increasing to 22.0 percent in January from 18.6 percent in December. Those claiming conditions had deteriorated declined to 22.8 percent in January from 24.5 percent. Consumers saying jobs are hard to get fell to 31.4 percent from 32.4 percent in December, while those claiming jobs are plentiful declined to 12.4 percent in January from 12.6 percent the previous month