bubbleinfo.com

Faster and Higher

Jim the Realtor — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:57:19 +0000

Realtors including myself say that we have “low inventory”, but it’s not because fewer sellers are listing – it’s because the heavy demand is gobbling them up faster, and at higher prices:

NSDCC Listings and Sales between Jan 1 and May 15

Year	Total Listings	Sales	Avg $$/sf	Avg DOM
2009	2,163	596	$399/sf	71
2010	2,167	837	$380/sf	73
2011	2,266	891	$374/sf	82
2012	1,910	991	$374/sf	84
2013	2,057	1,118	$405/sf	49

The sales amounted to only a quarter of the total listings in 2009, and this year they are half!

We know that the higher-end market is sluggish at best (there are 713 active listings over $1M). Here’s a look at the UNDER-$1,000,000 markets:

NSDCC UNDER-$1,000,000 – Actives and Pendings/Contingents

City or Area	#Actives	#Pend/Cont
Carlsbad	115	186
Carmel Vly	28	51
Del Mar/SB	6	11
Encinitas	19	59
La Jolla	10	9
RSF	1	3
Totals	179	319

On the street, it feels like the frenzy is slowing. But until the ACT/PEND ratios get closer to a more normal 2:1 (or at least 1:1), the UNDER-$1,000,000 market will continue to be very competitive.

The lowball season usually starts in June, but there are only 23 active listings under $1,000,000 that have been listed for more than 60 days (out of 184)!

Contest Winner James

Jim the Realtor — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:37:57 +0000

James D., winner of the last contest, sent this photo in from the game last night where he got to enjoy a 4-2 Padres victory while sitting among the usual throng of Cardinal fans – though not as many as he expected!

Click on image for full panorama view:

Million-Dollar Tract House

Jim the Realtor — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:53:45 +0000

We are approaching the previous-peak pricing in most areas, and you know it’s hopping when standard tract houses in Carlsbad with few upgrades are listing for $1,000,000.

This house sold new for $1,004,500 in 2005, and for $1,180,000 in 2007 and that sale was 95% financed:

More Foreclosure Delays

Jim the Realtor — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:40:03 +0000

Another fishy can-kicking device being employed here – hat tip to SD Squatter for sending this in from the latimes.com:

Sales of homes in foreclosure by Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. ground nearly to a halt after regulators revised their orders on treatment of troubled borrowers during the 60 days before they lose their homes.

The banks said they paused the sales on May 6 to make sure that their late-stage foreclosure procedures were in accordance with the guidelines. The banks wouldn’t say exactly which issues had been under scrutiny.

Bank of America Corp., by contrast, continued foreclosure sales at a normal pace, apparently confident its procedures met the revised restrictions.

“We manage our mortgage servicing operations in compliance with all laws, regulations and standards for sound business practices,” BofA said Friday in a statement.

The halted foreclosures are the latest complication stemming from a settlement between 13 large mortgage servicers and their federal overseers. Banks and regulators also have struggled to distribute billions of dollars in aid to borrowers equitably as required under the settlement.

Chase resumed a normal volume of foreclosure sales last week, saying its practices complied with the latest bulletin from the Treasury Department agency that regulates national banks, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC.

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-banks-foreclosure-halt-20130517,0,4350791.story

More on Prop 13

Jim the Realtor — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:06:21 +0000

From Richard Rider, a local pot-stirrer – HT to DOB:

When it comes to gathering sufficient property taxes, Prop 13 is no problem at all – except for profligate spenders.

Look at the history of my San Diego County – a history which pretty much reflects the history of property taxes in the urban/suburban counties that hold over 85% of California’s population.

According to the SD County Tax Assessor, in 1977 – the year BEFORE Prop 13 took effect (when everything was working great, according to Prop 13 critics) – our countywide property tax revenue was about $639 million.

In the 2011-2012 fiscal year, our county assessor reported real estate property tax revenues of $4.550 BILLION.

For every property tax dollar collected in 1977, the county in 2011-12 collected $7.12.

And BTW, according to the County Assessor, since Prop 13 passed, 97% of the pre-Prop 13 county owner-occupied homes has changed hands (and been reassessed) at least once.

During that time frame, our county population has grown about 85%, and inflation has gone up about 253%. Hence property tax revenues today are substantially higher than the bloated PRE-Prop 13 year, even after adjusting for inflation and population growth.

PB Build-Around

Jim the Realtor — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:38 +0000

Another landlord who figures it might be a good time to hit the jackpot while in between tenants: