La Jolla Real Estate | PremiereSD

California to Receive $18 Billion in Relief for the Mortgage Crisis

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:15:16 +0000

California will be receiving $18 billion is a multi-state mortgage deal with the nation’s largest lenders, according to Attorney General Kamala Harris’. The money represents more that 70 percent of a $25 billion agreement involving most of the states and the major banks, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial, which all previously made up GMAC. The $18 billion will be distributed in the following ways according to the Attorney General: More than $12 billion is guaranteed to reduce the principal on loans or offer short sales to approximately 250,000 California homeowners who are underwater on their loans and behind or almost behind on their payments. $849 million is estimated to be dedicated to refinancing the loans of 28,000 homeowners who are current on their payments but underwater on their loans. $279 million will be dedicated to offering restitution to approximately 140,000 California homeowners who were foreclosed upon between 2008 and December 31, 2011. $1.1 billion is estimated to be distributed to homeowners for unemployed payment forbearance and transition assistance as well as to communities to repair the blight and devastation left my waves of foreclosures, targeted at 16,000 recent foreclosures. Last year 5,730 foreclosures came on the market in San Diego County. $3.5 billion will be dedicated to relieving 32,000 homeowners of unpaid balances remaining when their homes are foreclosed. Finally, $430 million for costs, fees and penalty payments. “California families will finally see substantial relief after experiencing so much pain from the mortgage crisis,” Harris said. It is unclear the amount San Diego County homeowners will be receiving. “Unlike the larger multi-state agreement, which is enforceable in the federal court in Washington, D.C., this payment provision empowers the Attorney General to summon the banks to California state court,” the Attorney General’s office said.

La Jolla’s Holiday Celebration

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:14:57 +0000

The Holidays is a great time to visit La Jolla. The small beach community has so many elegantly decorated homes and many different activities to partake in. You are sure to have a good time. One of the main attractions is The La Jolla Play House, Starting November 18 and ending on December 31, 2011 The La Jolla Play House offers a live performance of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s, “Jesus Christ Superstar” http://www.lajollaplayhouse.com/the-season/plays/jesus-christ-superstar Run Time: 1 hour, 52 minutes Performance Times: Tues-Wed: 7:30 pm Thurs-Fri: 8:00 pm Sat: 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm Sun: 2:00 pm & 7:00 pm.

Historic Building in La Jolla Brings Tax Savings for Owners

admin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:50:32 +0000

In April of this year, the Park Prospect Condominiums/Russell Forester Building was named a historical resource by the Historical Resources Board. The building is situated at 800 Prospect Street, La Jolla Community, Council District 1. Located in downtown La Jolla and surrounded by commercial and single family and multi-family residential properties. The Board believes the building “embodies the distinctive characteristics through the retention of character defining features of Modern/International style and retains a good level of architectural integrity from its ca. 1963 period of significance.” The Park Prospect Condos display lean horizontal lines with concrete masonry and stucco exterior walls and floor-to-ceiling gray anodized aluminum windows and exterior doors. Reports show that the building was the first condominium in La Jolla and served as an example of a new type of housing that became popular in the 1960’s in California. It established the concept of owner-occupied multi-family housing. The building includes 30 units with five stories and a basement with a parking garage, storage, and laundry facilities. There have been very few modifications to the building since it was built, but it was reinforced with concrete footings and basement walls. Units overlook the La Jolla Cove with gorgeous ocean views. The architect, Russell Forester (1920-2002), was at the height of his architectural career when he began the design of the Park Place Condominiums. He is considered to have introduced the International Style to consumers with his innovative designs of the original Jack in the Box drive-thru on El Cajon Blvd. By naming the Park Prospect Condominiums/Russell Forester Building a historical resource, it now qualifies for the Mills Act of 1972. This act offers monetary incentives via reduction in property tax to foster the preservation, maintenance and restoration of designated historic properties. It allows property subject to a historical property contract to be valued based on rental income that could be expected from that property rather than using comparable sales to establish assessed value. Generally, the contract lasts for ten years and results in a much lower assessment. The contract is transferable between owners because it remains with the property. If you are looking for your next home in La Jolla, call us today to schedule a showing! 858.455.6700

La Jolla Real Estate Update

admin — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:19:32 +0000

La Jolla has always been a popular vacation destination and one of the most desirable cities to own real estate. With mortgage rates remaining low, many are taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity to purchase their La Jolla dream home. In San Diego County, as of November 29th, 2011, a 30 year fixed mortgage rate is 4.268 percent. Since January of 2010, 182 homes have sold in La Jolla. Currently there are 353 homes for sale in La Jolla. Of these home listed, 209 are single family homes with an average listing price of $3,435,260, 40 are town-homes with an average listing price of $773,241, and 104 are condos with an average listing price of $2,443,043. So far this month 31 homes have sold in La Jolla, slightly less than the 35 sales that took place during November of 2010. The average sales price of these homes was $1,267,161, a 0.93 percent decrease from last year. Most of these transactions were from single family homes, totaling 15 sales and an average sales price of $2,067,333. Only 4 sales were town-homes, the average sales price at $558,750. Condos made up 12 of the sales with an average sales price of $503,083. While there many luxury condos available in La Jolla, most of the activity was in the lower price range condos. La Jolla has something of offer everyone. There are many small neighborhoods that make up the La Jolla community. The Village is where the original settlers made their home in 1880, and the area still maintains its historical essence. There is a wide selection of homes in this area from condos to large mansions. La Jolla Shores is most recognized for its spectacular beaches, a popular place for a variety of recreational activities. Avenida De La Playa has world class shopping and dining. Homes in the neighborhood are mostly custom built and some date back to the early 1900’s. Hermosa can be found on the scenic cliffs with gorgeous ocean views. Homes in this area begin at $1.7 million and rarely come on the market. Other neighborhoods include, Bird Rock, Beach-Barber, Muirlands, La Jolla Alta, La Jolla Mesa, Soledad, and Country Club, each with their own unique culture and atmosphere. Are you ready to purchase your La Jolla dream home? Call us today at 858.455.6700.

HARP Terms Revamped to Help 1 Million Homeowners

admin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:05:29 +0000

Today the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees mortgage finance sources Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, announced it was easing the terms of the Home Affordable Refinance Program. The two year old program helps borrowers who have been making mortgage payments on time, but have not been able to refinance because their home value has dropped. The announcement could help relieve up to one million homeowners of the estimated eleven million whose homes are worth less than their mortgage. The Federal Housing Finance Agency said it will get rid of the cap that prohibits any homeowners whose mortgage exceeds 125 percent of the property’s value from participating in HARP. Edward DeMarco, FHFA’s acting director said, “Our goal in pursuing these changes is to create refinancing opportunities for these borrowers, while reducing the risk for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and bringing a measure of stability to housing markets.” Thousands of San Diego homeowners struggling are to make their mortgage payments each month, the hope is that many of them will participate in the HARP program. The crippled housing market has played a key factor in the stagnant economy and has been an important topic of conversation in Washington. Earlier federal programs to help housing foreclosures have failed to yield the benefits initially promised. To encourage banks to participate in the program, FHFA is reassessing it to protect lenders from having to buy back HARP loans if underwriting problems are later found. Banks will only have to verify that borrowers have made at least six of their last mortgage payments and the new terms eliminate appraisals in most cases. The new terms also encourage borrowers to shorten the term of the loan and repay faster; In turn the banks will waive certain fees. The program is expected to be extended until December of 2013.

What Areas of San Diego County are Hot for Real Estate?

admin — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:09:12 +0000

Unlike many other areas of the country, San Diego County’s real estate market has remained relatively stable over the past year. Some areas of the county have seen a higher increase than others, while some have experienced a decrease in home values. As a whole, the sales in San Diego County fell 8.4 percent and the median price decreased in 63 of the 93 zip codes. Regional drops were anywhere from 1.8 to 7.7 percent since the same period in 2010. North County coastal neighborhoods are among the few in the county where housing prices have risen, stabilized, or only declined slightly. The area is a majority of families, made up of high paid tech workers and move up home buyers. Areas such as Carmel Valley saw a 5.9 percent increase in their median price to $950,000. In addition, the number of new homes sales in Carmel Valley increased by 13.2 percent. Southwest Carlsbad and Del Mar saw an increase in their median sale price as well. East County has also been a hot area for real estate transactions. The area became flooded with first time home-buyers and investors taking advantage of the low interest rates and distressed properties. The home values only saw a small decrease of -0.2 to -4.5 percent depending on the style of home and area. However, Jamul experienced an increase of 15.2% rising form $375,000 to $432,000 from last year. Areas such as Spring Valley and Santee, had in increase in the number of resales, but a 8.6 to 10.6 decrease in the median home price. Refer to the map to see how your neighborhood home values are doing. If you are looking to buy or sell real estate at this time, call us at Premiere Homes 858.455.6700.

San Diego County Home Prices by Region

Thinking of Refinancing?

admin — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:38:24 +0000

Today’s mortgage loan and refinancing market is thriving. With interest rates remaining at their record low, millions of homeowners have taken advantage of the low rates and refinanced their mortgage. Before you decided whether or not you want to refinance your mortgage there are a few things you need to know. Remember that refinancing to reduce debt can be a good move, but refinancing for more consumer purchases such as a car or vacation could set you back significantly. Also, it is important to read the fine print on you current mortgage to learn whether you’ll be assessed penalties or fees for refinancing. Find out whether you have a fixed or variable interest rate and what the terms are. Once you are aware of these possible issues and decide that you still want to move forward, you need to evaluate if refinancing is the correct decision for you. Refinancing has the potential to help you reduce costs associated with borrowing money to own a home; it is not necessarily a strategy that makes sense in every situation. The rule of thumb for deciding to refinance is do it if you can reduce your interest rate by at least two percentage points. In addition, you should make sure you are comfortable with the amount of time it will take for your overall savings to compensate for the cost of the refinancing. Consider how long it will take you to break even from the closing costs per your monthly savings from the refinancing and whether you are planning on staying in your home for that long. Other important variables to consider are the term of the mortgage or the amount of time it will take you to pay the loan’s principal and interest. The variability of the interest rate can also have a significant effect. Points or origination fees are fees that you pay to a lender or broker when you close the deal. While “no-cost” or “zero points” mortgages do not carry the up-front cost, it could be more expensive if the lender charges a high interest rate instead. The decision to refinance should only be made if the long-term savings outweigh the initial expenses.

Sickest Housing Markets in America

admin — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 20:05:42 +0000

Good news for San Deigns, we did not make this list. Unlike many real estate markets in the nation, San Diego is doing much better and ranks third in the nation for real estate prospects. The top ten sickest housing markets in America are: 1. Tucson, Arizona. Tucson’s homeowner vacancy rate is 6.8%; almost double what is was last year. Demand for housing is so low that the median home prices have dropped 18% in the past year and 33% since 2008. In addition, the city has the highest rate of foreclosures in the country. 2. Indianapolis, Indiana. The average home price has dropped 15.3% between the second quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of this year. Indianapolis’s home vacancy rate is 5.2% and is the fifth highest in the country. Both Tucson and Indianapolis have an unemployment rate of 7.8%. 3. Memphis, Tennessee. While Memphis’s rental vacancy rate has decreased significantly from last year’s 21.2% to 13.5% it is still among the highest in the country. The unemployment rate remains at 10.1%, considerably higher than the national average of 9.2%. 4. Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta’s unemployment rate of 9.7% is well above the national average. The city, which had a significant influx of new residents, particularly from the northeast, has had a difficult time recovering. 5. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The homeowner vacancy rate in Baton Rouge is 3.9%, rental vacancy is 13%, and unemployment is 9.3%. Baton Rouge was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. However, money brought through for Hurricane recovery work helped the city to perform better than many other cities in the U.S. 6. Dayton, Ohio. Dayton has a particularly bad unemployment rate of 9.3%. The median housing price, which stood at $109,000 in 2008, has fallen by 29%, or $27,000, between 2008 and the first quarter of this year. Its home vacancy rate of 4.7% is the seventh-highest in the country. 7. Detroit, Michigan. One of the hardest hit cities in the nation with a 30% unemployment rate in 2009 and now at 11.6%. The rental vacancy is currently at 17.2% and homeowner vacancy at 2.4%. One of the reasons Detroit is not at the top of the list is many of the homes were demolished. 8. Kansas City, Missouri. Median home prices in Kansas City are down by more than 13% from 2008. Most of the decline came in the last year. Unemployment is 8.4%, homeowner vacancy is 3.7%, and rental vacancy is 11%. 9. St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis homeowner vacancy rate is 3.3%, rental vacancy is 11.4%, and unemployment is 8.6%. 10. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. From last year, home sales in Oklahoma State have dropped by 7.7%. The median home price in the city dropped by more than 8% in the first quarter of 2011. For more information about the real estate market in your neighborhood contact us at Premiere Homes 858.455.6700 today! America’s Sickest Housing Markets-full article

Protection for Homeowners Pursuing Short Sales

admin — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 19:40:22 +0000

Last Friday, Governor Jerry Brown approved a new California law authored by Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett. The law will further protect homeowners pursuing short sales by barring first and secondary lien holders from going after sellers for money owed after the short sales close. A short sale is a real estate transaction in which the homeowners owe more on the loan than the property is worth in the current market. To sell the home, all lien holders must approve the sale. The new law, Senate Bill 458, builds on the protections offered by Senate Bill 931, a previous law that requires the first lien holder in a short sale to accept an agreed-upon payment as the full payment for the outstanding loan balance. However, it did not address junior lien holders. The new law now prohibits secondary lien holders from pursuing deficiencies after a short sale closes. In June, short sales made up 17.7 percent of Southern California home re-sales. This percentage is expected to increase with the approval of SB 458, because it is a safe alternative to foreclosure and bankruptcy. If a homeowner is able to short sell their home, he or she can no longer be held responsible for any additional payments on the property after the lender agrees to or accepts the short sale payment. The new law will bring closure and certainty to the short sale process, making it easier on homeowners. For more information contact Premiere Homes: Phone:858-455-6700 Nick@premieresd.com KelseyBall@premieresd.com Sign On San Diego

Current Housing Market Conditions – June

admin — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:34:02 +0000

Monthly, the Obama administrations produces a scorecard which shows the current housing market status. The scorecard offers details about if the market is improving or not and what may be affected in the progresses to recovery. According to Sign on San Diego, the June report of May’s figures shows a “’mixed picture of recovery’”, with the housing market remaining in a delicate state. A few causes that may contribute to the slow recovery of the housing market are the more than 2.6 million delinquent loans that still remain. In addition, scarcity of jobs, lowered income and/or unemployment benefits negatively impacts homeowner’s ability to pay back their mortgage loans. On the contrary, the percent of subprime mortgage fell 3.9 percent from one year ago. More serious delinquencies, payments that are late 90 or more days, also declined 22 percent from 1.9 million last year. Furthermore, the number of homeowners filing for foreclosure is also down 2.39 percent from its highest in 2010. The Home Affordable Modification Program, HAMP, is an assistance program that has helped homeowners permanently modify their loans in order to have more affordable payments. In fact, millions of delinquent loans are eligible for modification through HAMP. Even though the future of the housing market is uncertain, the slight increase of home prices, a decrease of the frequency of foreclosure and delinquent loans means we may anticipate the market’s positive turnaround. Phone: 858-455-6700 Fax: 858-455-0100 Web: www.premieresd.com Blog: premieresd.com/blog RSS: http://bit.ly/e5btpd Like Premiere Homes on Facebook. For more Information Visit 10 Things to Know for the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard Image Courtesy of: http://www.miamirealestateattorneyblog.com/housing-market-graph.jpg