Community Redevelopment Agencies in harms way? I hope not, Downtown LA needs this!

How anxious is the Community Redevelopment Agency feeling right now? Following a hastily-called meeting, this morning the Community Redevelopment Agency Board of Commissioners moved to freeze nearly $1 billion to pay for more than 200 planned CRA projects, developments ranging from the parking garage at Eli Broad's new downtown museum to the controversial 1601 Vine office tower in Hollywood.

With the entire agency facing elimination under Gov. Jerry Brown's budget cuts, the CRA quickly put together a draft agreement with the city that socks away $930 million for future projects.

read more at Curbed LA

This morning CNBC announced that "Home Builder Confidence rises for first time in months". The HMI (Housing Market Index) rose to 16 for October 2010. However, they failed to mention in the broadcast that any reading under 50 is indicative of a negative market.

Considering the high volume of existing homes inventory and the rising crisis of foreclosure mishaps (waiting to be sorted out), it is unlikely that we will see much improvement in the residential real estate market by year-end 2010.

Selling Your Home, Sometime?

From Linda Schechner:

Selling Your Home, Sometime?

Welcome to 2010, a New Decade

Many journalists, Wall Street Moguls and Main Streeters are referring to the past 10 years as "The Lost Decade" NAR reported last week that 2009's median price for a home was $172,600 - supposedly up 25% from a decade ago when the median price of a home was $137,600 in 1999. But as CNN Money pointed out recently, if you consider the cumulative effect of inflation the median price of a home in 2009 is actually 3% lower than in 1999. This is good news and good times for anyone who may still be employed! Friends of mine will close on their first home in two days. A top-floor (penthouse) loft in a recently-build complex in the City of Angels. Like many homes, it has been vacant for months due to foreclosure but for the price they paid - this is going to have an excellent increase in equity and will provide an excellent down payment on their next future home. But for those who still cannot enter the housing market, please do not fret. If you recall Citigroup suspended its foreclosures for 30 days last month. At the time (Dec 18, 2009) this was going to relieve 2,000 borrowers scheduled to foreclose and 2,000 borrowers who were to receive notice of foreclosure..... approximately 20% of Citigroup's mortgage servicing and lending portfolio. Take a moment to consider all the other mortgage companies and borrowers who are in default and approaching foreclosure..................... get the picture? There's going to be a glut of inventory in the housing market for years to come. We are certainly near the bottom of the market so if you intend to BUY LOW, now is the time to make contact with a REALTOR you trust and begin creating a plan of action for your house hunt. Email me for more information.

A Couple Thoughts for First Time Homebuyers

I'm so excited to be involved in your home-purchase experience! The following are a few things to give you some direction....

1. Find out how much credit you can qualify for
Even if you're only in the just-thinking-about-it stage, you should speak with a lender about getting pre-qualified. This is a quick step in which a lender determines how much you can borrow based on the financial information you provide. It will give you a clear picture of how much home you can afford!! This step is the most beneficial to you and your Realtor because you'll stop looking at (and falling in love with) homes out of your price range, I'm here to prevent broken hearts, lol. You will find a home you love, in your price range.... we just have to know that $ amount first =)

2. Do you have a green light?
After speaking with the lender, do you feel prepared to begin the homebuying process? A lot of times after this conversation, there is a new realization that you're not ready yet. That's ok! My job is to align myself with where you are in the process. If you are at Step 1, I'm right there with you and we can work together as you work towards that goal. If you have a clear understanding and you're ready, let's meet and discuss your expectations!

3. New or Resale Homes?
Having worked for a homebuilder, I understand the attraction to a new home. And as a real estate broker, I see the benefits of buying a resale home. It is all about your preferance, I can represent and advise you with either type of purchase. The tip of the iceberg is:

With a New Home:
- Opportunity to choose upgrades: flooring, cabinets, hardware, etc
- More energy efficient materials: insulation, windows, heating/cooling systems
- Home Warranty from Homebuilder
- Special financing and/or bonuses from Homebuilder
- HOA maintains front exterior of home

With a Resale Home:
- Opportunity to make upgrades & get a higher Return on Investment (ROI) aka Sweat Equity
- State incentives and rebates for home energy retrofits
- Home warranties available from HomeGuard and other companies
- Can use family-trusted mortgage brokers
- Can make paint color changes and landscape changes without HOA approval

For more tips and things to consider in your upcoming home endeavor, CALL ME FOR AN APPOINTMENT: 510.303.9709

Bay Area - among the top 25 largest economies in the world!

On Tuesday, the SF Chronicle reported that the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy estimated that the 2008 GDP (gross domestic product) of the Bay Area would rank 22nd among world economies!! So if the Bay Area were a nation, its $487 billion economy would top Sweden (who has a $480 billion economy)............... California, in its entirety, would rank as the 8th largest world economy.

They estimate that between now and 2017 about 100,000 jobs will be created for transportation and wholesale trade, 400,000 jobs in professional, technical and information services sectors, and about 100,000 in the tourism and entertainment fields. They also point out that in addition to job creation, there will also be a surge of opportunities for job replacement as baby boomers move into retirement, estimating that for every 100 new jobs created in the next 10 years, 150 replacement jobs will be available to replace existing workers.

Hopefully, this sheds some light on our road of recovery here in California. Onward and upward!

Real Estate Market Revived?

After the July increase in pending homes sales, the big question on CNBC this morning has been "Is the real estate slump over?"

The answer: Residential, yes. Commercial, no.

What we are witnessing is a pick up among residential real estate. Yes, residential real estate is beginning to reveal a silver lining. But please remember to balance this with the many Notices of Default that may result in short sales and foreclosures across California.

In terms of commercial real estate, we are only starting to get a peak of what is to come. When residential real estate began to waiver, commercial real estate still remained untouched for another 18 months. Now that we've seen the worst of the residential market over the past 18 months, what do you think is about to happen with commercial??

In the past week, the SF Chronicle has been discussing the rise of commercial defaults. Almost 1 million square feet of empty office space is sitting on the market downtown.

If you're considering investing in real estate, now may be a good time to invest in homebuilder ETFs and consider REITs in about 8 months..... for more detailed investment insight check out http://www.alphajunkie.blogspot.com/