Location, location, location is taking on a new meaning in the 21st century as home buyers switch from focusing on schools and neighborhoods to proximity to stores and public transportation. Urban planners cite concerns over future oil prices as the main reason for the shift. They say baby boomers with empty nests and th

Apparently so according to the California Taxpayers Association(Cal Tax) reporting on recent election victories for bonds, hotel, parcel, sales and utility taxes. 44 of 64 local tax measures passed on the June 8 ballot with three more remaining too close to call. Based on these results, expect more cities up and down th

Top City of Redding officials want city employees to be on the lookout for signs of gang activity following several recent highly publicized gang incidents in the Redding area. An internal communication memo sent out last week asks city employees to keep their eyes open for gang-related activity since many employees are

Henry Cisneros pinned the housing crisis on greedy Wall Street firms, not government policies he championed as HUD Secretary during the Clinton Administration. Exotic instruments were created to collateralize mortgages then packaged and sold around the world by profiteers wishing to take advantage of the housing boom. H

According to one Redding appraiser who tracks average home prices, prices are slowly ticking upward. The low point since the bubble burst in 2006  was March with 91 home sales with an average sales price of $203,830 or $121.08 per square foot. May saw 99 home sales averaging $214,352 or $124.6 per square foot. It woul

Many homeowners are not aware of a loophole that allows banks to pursue certain borrowers for any cash loss they suffer as a result of a short sale or foreclosure. The existing law, which was passed in the 1930’s, protects homeowners from deficiency liability if the loan was used to purchase the home. The problem

The wave of foreclosures in Shasta County has had a stinging side effect-abandoned pools and ponds have become mosquito breeding havens! If you know of a neglected water feature in your neighborhood, the Shasta Mosquito and Vector Control District would like to hear from you. Every property owner in Shasta County

The IRS has finally set ground rules for those that use a tax deferred 1031 exchange to purchase a vacation rental home that later becomes a primary or second residence. In the past, the IRS would penalize those that did this because it violated the tax deferment rules 1031 exchanges were designed to address. Many Ame

Looking over April home sales numbers and comparing them to a year ago one thing stands out- pending home sales priced under $200,000 are nearly double the volume as last year. In April 2009, 33 homes priced under $150,000 sold. This year that number was 62. Twenty seven homes priced from $150,000 to $200,000 sold in Ap

Most are unaware of the capital gains and estate tax tax law changes for 2010. If you stand to inherit real estate from a family member, you may want to do everything possible to keep them alive until 2011! Why? Two changes are in effect for this year only which could have significant tax consequences for those that inh

Fraud is rampant according to state and federal taxing authorities triggering a high number of audits of those who filed returns claiming one or more of the various homebuyer tax credits. The Feds have offered a $7,500-$8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers and California has a $10,000 tax credit for new home purchas

All but one of the candidates running for Shasta County office attended a debate sponsored by the Shasta Association of Realtors. The only candidate not in attendance was Russell Hunt.  Sheriff Tom Bosenko attended and addressed the group briefly, in light of running unopposed in the upcoming June election.

A reporter for The Wall Street Journal recently outlined the latest mortgage fraud strategies. James Haggerty points out that the rate has declined but hotspots remain. He quotes data published by First American Core Logic, a company which tracks real estate related information. “Liar loans” as they

A Honda coupe with two upset ladies pulled up alongside my wife and I as we began a walk around Mary Lake yesterday afternoon. They had just jotted down the license number of a suspected turtle hunter’s Jeep and informed us two guys were trapping turtles for resale on EBay. We love the turtles.  We shared the

Jumbo loans, as we call them in real estate jargon, are showing a steady uptick in the number of delinquencies for the 33rd consecutive month according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal. Depending on what part of California you reside, jumbo loans could be loan amounts exceeding $417,000 or $729,7

The IRS warns homeowners underwater to study the law regarding debt forgiveness before deciding which course of action to take to get out from underneath an over-encumbered property. The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 details who will be exempt from paying income taxes on debts forgiven by lenders. Some pr

State Attorney General Jerry Brown has published the names of individuals and companies that have been sued by the AG for alledgedly running loan modification scams. Some of these companies have pocketed as much as $3,500 per victim promising loan modification services, but done nothing. Those duped in the schemes can ap

A recent report from my trade group, the California Association of Realtors (CAR), states 47% of homes sold last year were snapped up by first-time buyers. CAR lead economist Leslie Appleton-Young predicts a dip in this number for 2010 due to the expiration of the federal tax credit. The federal tax credit, in conjuncti

Efforts by the Federal Reserve to push mortgage rates to near-record lows have been sucessful but many homeowners can’t refinance their loans. The Wall Street Journal reported that 37% of all borrowers with 30-year fixed rate loans have interest rates of 6% or higher and could benefit by refinancing at cu

Lenders, loan servicing companies and homeowners have been fighting over how to deal with mortgages that are underwater. According to a recent article in the New York Times “more than 5 million households are behind in their mortgages and risk foreclosure”. The Obama administration has targeted bill

Since 2001, Redding residents have been provided blue carts to replace the bins previously used to separate glass, paper and plastic. The “single stream” method allows residents to throw everything in one bin for sorting at the city’s transfer station. However, despite the many years this program has be

Distress sales continue to represent a significant number of homes selling in today’s market. The second week of March was marked with 465 homes pending. Of these, 133 are bank-owned homes and 157 are short sales or 41% of all homes under contract. These same two segments of the market only account for 31% of the

Jonathon Bell, mortgage banker with US Lending in Redding, briefed Realtors on a loan program that allows home buyers to secure a loan to buy and upgrade a home simultaneously using an Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM). The investor for the loan allows the borrower to add funds into the loan to complete energy efficient re

I walked into the office this morning to a note from our receptionist from a woman who wanted more information about the home for rent in Stanford Hills. The woman was told the owner had to leave in a hurry for South Africa and wanted to rent the luxury home at a bargain rate. The woman was instructed to wire funds and u

A recent survey of California home sellers found that the biggest reason cited for putting their home up for sale was difficulty meeting the monthly mortgage obligations.  Two thirds of sellers surveyed sold their home due to financial challenges caused by job loss or increases in their mortgage payment. Complica

The California Association of Realtors announced a new HUD website where consumers can turn in loan modification scam artists. Numerous scams have become prevalent as more and more Americans find themselves facing foreclosure. Laws have been enacted making the collection of advance fees for promised loan modification ser

According to a recent AP article, the City of Orange in Southern California is pursuing legal action against a city resident for replacing his lawn with drought-tolerant plants. City code requires 40% of the yard be covered with live plants. Quan Ha replaced his grass with wood chips in 2008. He and his wife conte

Example after example can be found nationwide of discounted prices for high-end real estate. Nicholas Cage recently reduced the asking price for his 11,817 square foot English Tudor in ritzy Bel Air from $35 million to $17.5 million. A 21,897 square foot mansion in Greenwich, Conn. with 14 bedrooms, 13.5 bathrooms on 40

State Attorney General Jerry Brown is warning California homeowners in mortgage distress about a new scam designed to skirt recently implemented loan modification regulations. If you haven’t heard, it is now illegal for real estate agents, attorneys or anyone else  to charge upfront fees for loan modification s

The Federal Reserve propped up the housing industry last year by buying up $1.25 trillion in mortgage backed securities but has told banks that will end this spring.  Investors typically buy these securities but stopped after the housing bubble burst. The Fed’s actions averted certain disaster by keeping money i

RealtyTrac reported its January numbers for foreclosure properties which include notices of default, auctions and bank repossessions. There was a 10% decrease from the previous month however the 315,716 foreclosure filings for U.S.  properties was 15% higher than one year earlier. Nevada has the honor of the high

Lower home prices combined with low interest rates bumped up the First-Time Buyer Housing Affordability Index (FTB-HAI) for California to 64%. During the bubble, this index bottomed out just over 20%.  This number reflects the number of households that can afford an entry-level home assuming a 10% down payment and

That’s right! An experimental program has been launched to entice homeowners not to walk away from their mortgages that are underwater by offering a cash reward if they keep their payments current. According to a Wall Street Journal blog, Loan Value Group LLC is launching a pilot program to determ

A local appraiser points out that homes 5 years of age or newer have the highest average value on a cost per square foot basis. The average price of a newer home is $286,172 or $155.9 per square foot. The average of homes 6 years or older drops precipitously to $116.7/square foot. All homes sold in the area served by the

A local reporter blogged recently about how disgusting the health department report was for one of his favorite Redding restaurants. I blogged about a solution that would cost little or nothing for the county to implement. I believe Shasta County reside

 March 2010 Consumer Reports featured an article detailing a recent study on bloodstream infections contracted during hospital stays. A simple checklist system, called the Pronovost checklist, has been found to dramatically reduce infection rates when implemented and followed by caregivers. One key elem

California’s Unsold Inventory Index declined to 3. 8 months in December compared to 5.6 months in December 2008. This index is an important barometer of the overall condition of the real estate market because it indicates how long it would take to deplete the supply of homes for sale at the current sales pace.

President Obama signed into law a program to assist FHA borrowers experiencing financial hardship before they fall behind in payments. The Helping Families Save Their Home ACT of 2009 grants FHA broader authority to hopefully prevent FHA borrowers from slipping into foreclosure. Prior to this law taking effect, borrowers

The number of bank-owned properties (REO’s) listed for sale in Redding/Shasta County is on the rise. Currently there are 174 active REO listings on the Shasta Multiple Listing Service.   This number is up significantly from last year when just over a hundred were available on any given day.  Nearly a quarter o

The number of bank-owned properties (REO’s) listed for sale in Redding/Shasta County is on the rise. Currently there are 174 active REO listings on the Shasta Multiple Listing Service.   This number is up significantly from last year when just over a hundred were available on any given day.  Nearly a quarter o

Low interest rates enjoyed in 2009 by home buyers and homeowners refinancing may be history come March. The Federal Reserve propped up the ailing housing market by quietly buying up mortgage-backed securities and lowering key interest rates which influence costs for consumer borrowing. Lenders loaned money only becau

Proposition 8 requires county assessors review property values used to calculate property tax bills when the current value drops below the base year valuation. Some California assessors have waited for property owners to request a new appraisal while others, including our elected assessor Leslie Morgan,  have taken

Shasta County, along with the cities of Redding, Anderson and Shasta Lake have landed a grant of $1 million to assist home buyers wishing to purchase a foreclosed home in designated neighborhoods. Most of Shasta Lake is eligible for the program as well as Anderson Heights and Ravenwood subdivisions in Anderson. The prog

Maybe bailouts do have a silver lining! The Federal Reserve announced last week it made a record $46.1 billion as a result of gains on securities it purchased to shore up the financial system. The Fed is not in the business of making money but this was a side effect of bailouts to aid the banking industry. The profits

Things are changing out in the Pacific which, if it comes to fruition, could dramatically change the dry weather pattern the Redding area has seen thus far this winter. According to weather forecasters at Cal Fire, the high-latitude block that has kept storms away has collapsed. Also, a powerful branch of the jet stream

Despite news that prices have bottomed elsewhere in California, Redding home values dived nearly $4 in the average cost per square foot in the last quarter of 2009 from $133.35/foot to $129.7/foot. The average cost per square foot year-to-year dropped from $148.16/square foot in the final quarter of 2008  representing

Cal REDD, the new statewide Multiple Listing Service (MLS), will begin the task of transitioning these areas away from their current MLS software provider to the new statewide MLS system. The acronym stands for California Real Estate Dynamic Data. This software was developed by a private firm at the direction of the Cal

A recent article in the LA TIMES reports tens of thousands of homeowners in Southern California are being required to purchase expensive flood insurance because FEMA has updated maps placing their homes in high-risk flood zones. Apparently, more than 150 cities and unincorporated areas in LA, Orange, Riverside,

Experts have been trying to peg the number of foreclosed homes banks are sitting on while  pondering when to list them for sale.  Core Logic, a subsidiary of First American Title Insurance Company, estimated that number at 1.7 million as of September 2009, according to an article cited in a news release by the Califor

Thankfully, 2009 is in the history books! It was a trying year for many in the housing industry. Real estate offices closed, escrow companies pared their staffs to the bones, lenders struggled with ever-tightening underwriting rules and appraisers are valuing properties conservatively after being blamed for overvaluing