The percentage of sellers using the Internet as a significant part of the homeselling process has increased dramatically, according to C.A.R.'s 2004 Survey of California Home Sellers. In 2004, 47 percent of homesellers relied on the Internet to obtain a variety of information, including comparable prices and information about the housing market, neighborhoods and REALTORS®. This is nearly four times the percentage of Californians who used the Internet during the homeselling process in 2003.
Even as usage of the Internet increased, many sellers felt the information they received from their REALTORS® was more useful. The survey revealed that telephone and face-to-face communication gained importance, as client satisfaction among sellers largely depended on effective communication with their agent.
The U.S. leading index, a key barometer of economic conditions, increased 0.2 percent to 115.2 (1996=100) in November after falling for five consecutive months, The Conference Board recently reported. During the six-month span through November, the leading index decreased 1.1 percent, with five out of 10 components advancing. The top three contributors to November's increase were stock prices, real money supply and the average weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance.
The coincident index, an index of current economic activity, remained strong in November, increasing 0.1 percent to 118.5. All four components of the coincident index advanced. The lagging index decreased 0.1 percent to 98.3 in November, with four of the index's seven components advancing. Negative contributors to the lagging index were outstanding commercial and industrial loans, the average duration of unemployment and the change in labor cost per unit of output.
The Conference Board stated in a written release that the growth rate of the leading index has slowed below its long-term trend, but not to a rate historically associated with a recession.
According to a report released today by the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of the U.S. grew by 2.9 million people between July 1, 2003, and July 1, 2004. Nearly 294 million people reside in the nation, and the 10 most populous states, led by California with 35.9 million residents, account for 54 percent of the country's population.
Five of the 10 fastest-growing states between 2003 and 2004 are in the West. With a growth rate of 4.1 percent, Nevada ranked first among states for the 18th consecutive year. Other western states in the top 10 include Arizona (second), Idaho (fourth), Utah (seventh), and New Mexico (10th). Overall, the West recorded the fastest rate of growth at 1.5 percent
The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during November 2004 was $473,260, a 23.1 percent increase over the revised $384,470 median for November 2003, C.A.R. reported today. The November 2004 median price increased 2.9 percent compared with a revised $459,800 median price in October. "Sales hit an all-time high in November as consumers snapped up single-family homes at a record pace," said C.A.R. President Jim Hamilton. "The median price of a home in California continued its upward march, increasing by double-digits for the 36th month in a row to $473,260."
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 652,340 in November 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 4 percent from the 627,190 sales pace recorded in November 2003. The statewide sales figure represents what the total number of homes sold during 2004 would be if sales maintained the November pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.
"While the inventory of homes for sale has increased to more than a three-months' supply, consumer demand and the low mortgage interest rate environment are still driving the market," said Leslie Appleton-Young, C.A.R.'s vice president and chief economist. "Time on the market has trended up to 40 days, an indication that buyers are taking more time prior to making the purchase decision compared with the frenzied pace we witnessed most of this year."
Thanks to all of you who dropped by our Web Log this year. It’s been an eventful year and we’re glad we had a chance to share our viewpoints on some of it. We’re off to Laury’s kids’ home in Anaheim for the day so we hope that all of you have a great time with the people you love most.
Gary and Laury
The state Supreme Court announced Wednesday it will hear a case brought by developers of The Residences at Sandpiper against the city of Goleta, setting the stage for a Sacramento showdown in the $32 million lawsuit.
The decision to hear the case following an appellate court ruling in Goleta's favor came without explanation. The high court will likely settle the protracted legal battle focused on the meaning of a California statute describing rights and rules for newly incorporated cities. As many as 20 third parties, perhaps more, are said to have filed briefs urging the review.
A trial is expected sometime next year.
Typically, the seven justices entertain fewer than 5 percent of the cases brought to their attention -- meaning that the request for consideration from developer Chuck Lande and the Oly Chadmar Partnership came with no guarantees.
"We are very, very happy," said their attorney, Richard Monk. "We feel very gratified, and we think that, given the fact that the court is very busy, that it would not be granting review in the case unless it saw some problems."
Goleta City Attorney Julie Biggs downplayed that interpretation, noting that the suit deals with legislation not yet addressed in case law.
"The Supreme Court generally, in a case like that, is inclined to put its stamp on it," she said. "It's a very straightforward case and a very straightforward statute."
The builders want the Supreme Court to reverse the unanimous ruling of three justices at the 2nd Appellate District Court in Ventura. The appellate justices decided in early October that Goleta was within its rights to block the project that features 87 market-rate homes and 22 designed to be more affordable.
In the grand scheme of Santa Barbara, businessman Steve Cushman believes his idea to install small, red ceramic tiles at dozens of city landmarks is no big deal.
But in the eyes of the city's downtown design gurus, the 12-inch round medallions sport one deal-breaking feature -- advertising.
"C'mon, I am just trying to do a small project," said Mr. Cushman, executive director of the Santa Barbara Region Chamber of Commerce. "This is not like I am erecting billboards. These are little 12-inch tiles set into the sidewalk. They are very small, very discreet. I can't believe it. Only in Santa Barbara would we make such a big deal about this."
But it is a big deal to the guardians of downtown design. The Historic Landmarks Commission doesn't want to open the gate to something it calls unprecedented: corporate advertising on public sidewalks.
The commission also believes it's not right to mislead the public into thinking that a business may have had something to do with the creation or the preservation of a historic building.
After rejection by the landmarks commission, the fate of Mr. Cushman's Red Tile Walk Project is now in the hands of the City Council, whose seven members will tackle the proposal on Feb. 1.
While members like the concept of marking historic landmarks, such as the Casa de la Guerra, Santa Barbara County Courthouse and the Lobero Theatre, plopping the names of advertisers on the ceramic tiles doesn't fit with Santa Barbara's downtown culture and tradition, they contend.
"It sets a dangerous precedent and opens the door for sponsors' names on any number of different things," said Steve Hausz, an architect and member of the landmarks commission. "Once you have approved something like this it is hard to say no to anything else. The whole point is to direct people to landmarks in town and not be a venue for advertising."
The lettering for the sponsors' names is about three eighths of an inch high.
Mr. Cushman dreamed up the red-tile walk idea while on a trip to Boston several years ago. There, tourists are directed to historic landmarks by following a red line on the sidewalk. Since Santa Barbara is no stranger to historic architecture, Mr. Cushman felt that something similar could be done here.
If voters approve a county split, the South Coast will be saddled with all the county's $43 million in existing capital debt, leaving the proposed Mission County relatively debt free.
The Mission County Formation Review Commission made that decision Monday, reasoning that the value of buildings and property in the south is higher, and that the square footage of buildings located in Mission County will be far less than those located in the south.
The action came after about a half-dozen previous meetings where the five-member panel wrestled with how to make sure the proposed new county receives a "fair, just and equitable" division of assets and debt.
Third District Supervisor Gail Marshall, whose district straddles both the north and south, groaned when she heard the decision.
"That's just unconscionable," she said.
"It isn't fair, just or equitable. For those individuals who feel the county should be split north/south, then they should be responsible for the capital debt in that portion of the county. That's only fair."
The county is already paying for the split study, she said, "and now we're paying more than our fair share of debt? It doesn't go down well with me."
Dave Hardy has owned and operated the Beachside Bar Cafe for 20 years.
It has been a long run, giving him a front-row seat to the winter storm surges that gnaw at the surrounding property -- Goleta Beach Park, which Santa Barbara County owns.
"The community doesn't understand how close it is to being washed away," he said Friday.
But it's not just pounding surf that has Mr. Hardy troubled.
A dispute about how to address chronic erosion at the park has split stakeholders into two distinct camps -- those who favor artificial barriers to the destructive force of wave energy and those who prefer a different approach.
The latter camp in particular likes a concept known as "managed retreat," in which structures, underground utilities, grass and perhaps parking spots are moved or removed so the shoreline can recede as nature dictates.
Though not new, the dispute pits a tradition of recreation against the ebb and flow of coastal processes. And it holds particular significance with each passing winter day.
Goleta Beach is one of 23 parks managed by the county, and officials say it is the most heavily visited of them all. The park is already partially armored against erosion with revetments along its eastern flank, rocks near the restaurant and rocks along its western end.
In October 2003, crews widened the beach by importing sand in an experimental, $2Êmillion attempt to reduce erosion. The "beach nourishment" program involved moving nearly 80,000 cubic yards of sand dredged from the Santa Barbara waterfront.
The Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee raised the target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 2.25 percent on Tuesday. This is the fifth increase in six months, starting with a 25 basis point increase at the end of June, which was the first time the Fed had raised the rate in four years. The federal funds target rate is the interest rate charged by banks when they borrow funds "overnight" from each other.
"Output appears to be growing at a moderate pace despite the earlier rise in energy prices, and labor market conditions continue to improve gradually," the Fed said in a prepared statement. "Inflation and longer-term inflation expectations remain well contained."
While the federal funds rate has no direct impact on other rates, such as those for mortgages, it can alter them indirectly. Most economists are predicting mortgage rates will rise slowly throughout 2005.
The percentage of households in California able to afford a median-priced home stood at 19 percent in October, a 6 percentage-point decrease compared with the same period a year ago when the Index was at 25 percent, according to a recent C.A.R. report. The October Housing Affordability Index (HAI) was unchanged from September, when it also stood at 19 percent.
C.A.R.'s monthly housing affordability index measures the percentage of households that can afford to purchase a median-priced home in California. The index is the most fundamental measure of housing well-being in the state. At 42 percent, the High Desert region was the most affordable C.A.R. region in the state, followed by the Central Valley region at 26 percent. The Santa Barbara region was the least affordable in the state at 9 percent, followed by the Monterey region at 11 percent.
Several Coastal Chumash members on Thursday demanded that a local developer allow them to visit the proposed site of 20 homes in the Santa Barbara foothills, saying the area may contain the buried remains of up to 200 of their ancestors.
At the county Planning Commission hearing on the Preserve at San Marcos project, the Chumash called for a full evaluation of the site and accused developer Jeff Bermant of ignoring their concerns and intimidating individual members.
The opposition is the latest volley in a barrage of criticism leveled at the four-year-old project, which must clear the planning panel before going to the Board of Supervisors for final approval. At the end of Thursday's special hearing, the fourth, commissioners voted to delay their decision until January, although it was the role of native grasses and not bones that led to that.
At least two of the proposed homes fall within an area cited as a possible village and cemetery site in a 2001 archaeological report commissioned by Mr. Bermant. Although Mr. Bermant's later environmental study acknowledges part of the site, it overlooks the much larger area described in the report.
The Chumash members want to study the entire area before Mr. Bermant builds any new homes.
Environmentalists and local Chumash members are trying to block a plan to build 20 homes in the Santa Barbara foothills because the site may contain the ancient burial remains of up to 400 Indians.
As the plan for the Preserve at San Marcos heads to the Planning Commission at 9 a.m. today, the groups are complaining that the project disregards a 2001 report citing evidence of a thousand-year-old Indian village on the site where several homes are now proposed.
"This is a major village site," said Roberta Cordero, a leader in the local Chumash community. "They need to do further studies."
In a letter Wednesday, Linda Morgan, an archaeological resource specialist for the Barbareno Chumash Council, asked developer Jeff Bermant for permission to survey the site -- a request he has denied.
Organizers of the push to buy Ellwood Mesa and preserve its open space came within $350,000 of their $20.4 million goal on Tuesday, as Santa Barbara County kicked in another hefty donation hours before today's fund-raising deadline.
As they celebrated unanimous Board of Supervisors approval of the $400,000 county contribution, representatives from the nonprofit Trust for Public Land said the remaining deficit would not jeopardize purchase of the bluff top.
An extension of the deadline for accepting donations and closing the deal appeared likely, following talks between the trust and developer Bob Comstock, who controls rights to the windswept 137-acre property that features a monarch butterfly habitat along nearly a mile of natural coastline.
As the county prepares to contest a recent $5.5Êmillion judgment in a Santa Maria land-use dispute, it faces another multimillion-dollar lawsuit over its handling of three oceanfront properties in Isla Vista.
A Santa Barbara Superior Court judge has ruled that the Board of Supervisors violated the rights of an Isla Vista property owner when it denied his requests to build three homes on the 6800 block of Del Playa Drive in 1998.
The court found that the denials -- and 1999 acquisition of the properties by the Isla Vista Recreation and Park District for $450,000 -- constituted a "taking" by the county. The case enters the damages phase next year.
County attorneys expect to appeal the October decision, arguing that owner John Chase accepted the agreement and was fairly compensated. They assert the county did not "take" the land.
New-home production in California declined in October compared with September 2004 and October 2003, the California Building Industry Association recently reported. Builders began construction on 11,159 single-family homes in October, down 10.6 percent from September and 13.8 percent below year-ago levels. Even with the decline, new-home production in the state remains near the high levels of the past few years.
Among the state's five major regions, housing starts were higher in October than in September in Southern California (up 10 percent), the San Joaquin Valley (up 7.6 percent) and the Sacramento-Sacramento Valley (up 2.4 percent). Declines were registered in the San Francisco Bay Area and Central Coast regions, down 3.5 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively.
Despite the October slowdown, overall housing starts for the first 10 months of
2004 totaled 173,732, up 4.4 from the same period a year ago. California builders are still on pace to construct about 204,000 homes in 2004, the most since 1989.
Groups representing North County ranchers are undaunted in pursuing an all-voluntary oak protection program, though a Superior Court judge has ruled that the county's 2003 oak tree rules received proper review and may continue to be enforced.
Judge Zel Canter of Santa Maria said the plaintiffs -- the Santa Barbara County Cattlemen's Association, the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business, or COLAB, and the Center for Environmental Equality -- had no case because the county had amply considered their viewpoints before deciding to restrict oak tree clear-cutting.
"Their failure to carry the day represents to all appearances a deliberate choice by the members of the Board of Supervisors, and not the result of any deficiency in the environmental documents informing that decision," Judge Canter wrote in a Nov. 16 ruling.
Since the changes went into effect, county planners said, only a few dozen oaks have been cut down on North County farms and ranches, and their removal didn't trigger the requirements for management plans or permits. At the time the ordinance was drafted, a boom in wine suggested many rolling hillsides would soon sport vines instead of oaks, but when it was finally approved, a glut in grapes slowed most land conversion.
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Dashing the hopes of a young couple expecting a baby in January, the Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday told a Samarkand family the planned expansion of their home could ruin the character of the neighborhood.
The council sided with the critics of Kris and Samantha Zacharias' plan to add a bedroom and bathroom to the front of their house on Stanley Drive, so Mrs. Zacharias' mother could move in and help with child care.
"This neighborhood is famous for preservation," said Councilman Brian Barnwell. "We run into neighborhoods in transition. This neighborhood is not in transition. I am a defender of neighborhoods and I believe in preserving the neighborhoods."
The Zachariases' proposed addition, which stretched about 4 feet into the required 20-foot setback from the street, had infuriated many residents of the Samarkand neighborhood, known for its wide setbacks and open feel of the street. They appealed an earlier city approval, in a 6-0 vote.
Residents of the Samarkand area are expected to pack Santa Barbara City Hall at 6 p.m. today to debate whether a young couple should be allowed to expand their 1930s home.
Kris and Samantha Zacharias want to add 370 square feet to their one-story house in the 400 block of Stanley Drive.
The Zachariases are expecting their first child in January and wanted another room so that Mrs. Zacharias' mother could move into the house and provide child care for the newborn.
"We're not building a mansion," said Mr. Zacharias, 32. "We're not trying to build a larger home to sell it. We're just trying to make our house more livable."
Neighbors have appealed the city's approval of the addition because it stretches partially into the required 20-foot setback.
They contend that all the homes on the block comply with the setback rules and all but two on the entire street do, too.
Since the late 1960s, the increased work participation of married women and mothers has changed the workplace in California and contributed significantly to the growth of the state's economy, according to a recent study by the Public Policy Institute of California. Less than half of working-age California women held jobs in the late 1960s, while more than 70 percent of working-age women are now active members of the labor market. Although women in California still earn only 80 cents per dollar earned by men, their earnings have been the main source of growth in family income in the last few decades.
The growing participation of women in the work force has had social implications, however. With more women working full-time, state and local officials are challenged to replace the services traditionally provided by wives and mothers, including quality child and nursing home care.
Another big donation, this one for $100,000, has been made to advance the effort to preserve the Ellwood Mesa in its natural state.
The gift from the Woods-Claeyssens Foundation was made in the name of the late Pierre Claeyssens, a local architect and philanthropist know for his generous gifts to veterans, the Music Academy of the West, the poor and victims of circumstance. But over his lifetime, the native of Belgium quietly contributed to efforts to protect the Douglas Family Preserve, El Capitan Ranch and Ellwood.
The gift was made to the Trust for Public Land, which, with the group Friends of the Ellwood Coast, has been working for two years to raise $20.4 million to buy the pristine 137-acre coastal bluff in Goleta.
In addition to its almost mile of coastline, one of the key features of the pristine Ellwood Mesa is its habitat for monarch butterflies.
In announcing the latest contribution, the trust said it has raised $19.54 million -- still $860,000 short of the goal. The trust reports it has until Dec. 15 to raise the balance.
Sales of new single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.226 million units in October, a 0.2 percent increase above the revised September rate of 1.224 millions units, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce reported last week. The rate was 7.4 percent above the sales pace of October 2003. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of October 2004 was 412,000, a supply of 4.1 months at the current sales rate.
Both the West and Northeast regions posted increases in new single-family home sales in October 2004. Sales improved by 12.7 percent in the West, while sales in the Northeast rose 19.7 percent. Sales of new single-family homes declined in the Midwest and South regions, falling 3.6 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively.
Sending a clear message that delays will cost money and threaten health care services, Cottage Health System officials on Thursday pushed the city to let them move swiftly on building a $407 million new regional hospital.
Construction on the estimated nine-year project could begin in the spring, but first Cottage must get past city environmental review and some neighborhood concerns about construction, traffic and environmental effects.
With costs soaring and anticipated increases in steel prices, Cottage is looking to get approval soon.
"You'd save our community precious resources by moving this project along in a timely manner," said Chief Executive Officer Ron Werft, during an environmental hearing before the Planning Commission.
"We believe this project is different than any other project that has come before you."
The $407 million plan to build the biggest and best hospital between Los Angeles and San Jose goes before top city planners today in a meeting that will frame the future of Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and its surrounding neighborhood.
The 4 p.m. meeting at Santa Barbara City Hall likely will pit neighborhood and environmental advocates against health care workers and the powerful Cottage administrative team.
Already, Cottage officials are saying that some of the suggestions in a three-volume environmental report -- limits on construction hours and green building requirements -- are out of line and impossible to carry out. Cottage is also unhappy about street improvements it would have to make because of increases in traffic.
Cottage wants the city Planning Commission to override some of the suggestions, which the commission has the authority to do.
The commission will not make any decisions today on the largest and most expensive single project in Santa Barbara's history. The matter must come back to the panel at a later date for certification of the environmental report.
The 11th annual Safest City Award recently named Newton, Mass. as America's Safest City. Six cities in the state of California -- more than any other state -- were listed in the top 25 of the safest city rankings. California's "safest" cities are Mission Viejo (#4), Lake Forest (#6), Thousand Oaks (#7), Irvine (#11), Simi Valley (#17) and Sunnyvale (#18).
The Safest City Award is based on a city's rate for six basic crime categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft. All cities with populations of 75,000 or more that reported crime data to the FBI for the six crime categories were included in the rankings. In this year's survey, 354 cities were considered for the award.
The 2003 crime statistics also determined Camden, N.J. is the nation's most dangerous city. Camden is joined at the bottom of the crime rankings by Detroit, Mich., Atlanta, Ga., St. Louis, Mo. and Gary, Ind. Crime statistics for Chicago, Ill., Brockton, Mass., Newport News, Va. and Warren, Mich. were not available to be included in the rankings.