LA Westside BlogPOINT

The City of Beverly Hills had commissioned a study on the impact of the Westside Subway Extension project to determine if tunneling underneath the campus of the Beverly Hills High School was safe.  It determined that it wasn't and now the MTA will have to take time to review the report on the original report - will this project ever get wings?  Full details of the story:  http://centurycity.patch.com/articles/metro-responds-to-beverly-hills-westside-subway-extension-evaluation.

Having attended my fourth office meeting for the month, I'm noting some consistency in reports from my associates that suggest the market pulse is exceptionally strong for so early in the year - certainly greater than this time last year.  Here's what I'm hearing . . . . 

This report will provide a quick overview as to how the Westside micro-markets are currently performing and then compares that data to the same period a year ago.  The key market indicators are:

Pending Sales Activity - sometimes referred to as the 'Number of Properties Under Contract'.  This is a forward-looking indicator of current sales activity where there has been an accepted offer and escrow has opened.

Median Sales Price - that point at which half of the properties have sold for a greater amount and half have sold for a lesser amount.  This indicator pinpoints where in the price spectrum homes have sold rather than reflecting home value.  There is a common mis-perception that a drop in the MSP directly indicates a drop in home value.  It is far more likely that the drop indicates either smaller, older and/or homes in lower-priced areas have sold during the period.

Months Supply of Inventory (MSI) - a leading indicator of market supply, which directly impacts pricing.  Generally, a five to six month supply indicates market equilibrium while anything less signals a 'seller's market' and anything above a 'buyer's market'.  

   Information not guaranteed.  © 2009 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors)

To view a portfolio of four additional reports trended over the past 12 months:  Properties For Sale, Days On Market, New Properties For Sale and Supply & Demand, visit the Market Sales Data section.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss this data at greater length, just drop me a note or call.

A recent article in the LA Times (Loan Options Abound) pointed out some interesting facts about available loan options that haven't been widely publicized.  When it comes time to buy your dream home on the Westside, you should really do some serious investigating and you may well be surprised at what you'll find.

Mortgages can in fact be had with a downpayment of less than 20%.  There are loan products with lower downpayments out there.  There are some with as low as 10% or consider going FHA with just 3.5%.  The FHA over recent years has become a mainstream lending option and no longer carries a stigma as it did 10 years ago. 

Looking beyond the downpayment, you may be surprised to find options that feature lower credit scores and equally important, a lower debt-to-income ratio.  They're out there but have received little attention in the media.

The lack of accurate information on these programs has discouraged far too many prospective buyers from even considering an application much less shopping around.  Alex Stenback of the Residential Mortgage Group in Minnesota was quoted as saying "People just aren't aware of what's possible right now and as a result, they're missing (out) on real estate prices and long-term interest rate opportunities they shouldn't."

Even Doug Lebda, the founder and CEO of Lending Tree was quoted with the belief that 'the fear of being rejected' because they don't conform to standards that may not even exist is keeping qualified applicants on the sideline for no reason.

Many tend to believe that lenders are rejecting applicants with FICO scores lower than 750.  Many FHA lenders in fact are underwriting with scores from 620 to 640 and some (such as Quicken Loans) will consider scores as low as 580. 

The point here is that you should really do some shopping around and you may find that there's a solution out there that fits your situation.  To think outright that you may not qualify could be a mistake that could cost you opportunity at a time when market conditions are at their best for buying.

What do you think?  Have you tried only to not find what's right for you or have you been waiting until you think it's safer to try?  I'd like to know and just maybe, I might even be able to help!

The IRS today issued the 2012 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2012, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:

• 55.5 cents per mile for business miles driven
• 23 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

The rate for business miles driven is unchanged from the mid-year adjustment that became effective on July 1, 2011.

This report will provide a quick overview as to how the Westside micro-markets are currently performing and then compares that data to the same period a year ago.  The key market indicators are:

Pending Sales Activity - sometimes referred to as the 'Number of Properties Under Contract'.  This is a forward-looking indicator of current sales activity where there has been an accepted offer and escrow has opened.

Median Sales Price - that point at which half of the properties have sold for a greater amount and half have sold for a lesser amount.  This indicator pinpoints where in the price spectrum homes have sold rather than reflecting home value.  There is a common mis-perception that a drop in the MSP directly indicates a drop in home value.  It is far more likely that the drop indicates either smaller, older and/or homes in lower-priced areas have sold during the period.

Months Supply of Inventory (MSI) - a leading indicator of market supply, which directly impacts pricing.  Generally, a five to six month supply indicates market equilibrium while anything less signals a 'seller's market' and anything above a 'buyer's market'.  

   Information not guaranteed.  © 2009 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors)

To view a portfolio of four additional reports trended over the past 12 months:  Properties For Sale, Days On Market, New Properties For Sale and Supply & Demand, visit the Market Sales Data section.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss this data at greater length, just drop me a note or call.

The Holiday Season is full of must-dos . . . gift shopping, travel for family get-togethers and some even take unused vacation time.  All of these are understandable distractions from your home shopping project.  There are however two distinct advantages to buying a home during the Holidays which you may want to consider.    

This report will provide a quick overview as to how the Westside micro-markets are currently performing and then compares that data to the same period a year ago.  The key market indicators are:

Pending Sales Activity - sometimes referred to as the 'Number of Properties Under Contract'.  This is a forward-looking indicator of current sales activity where there has been an accepted offer and escrow has opened.

Median Sales Price - that point at which half of the properties have sold for a greater amount and half have sold for a lesser amount.  This indicator pinpoints where in the price spectrum homes have sold rather than reflecting home value.  There is a common mis-perception that a drop in the MSP directly indicates a drop in home value.  It is far more likely that the drop indicates either smaller, older and/or homes in lower-priced areas have sold during the period.

Months Supply of Inventory (MSI) - a leading indicator of market supply, which directly impacts pricing.  Generally, a five to six month supply indicates market equilibrium while anything less signals a 'seller's market' and anything above a 'buyer's market'.  

   Information not guaranteed.  © 2009 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors)

To view a portfolio of four additional reports trended over the past 12 months:  Properties For Sale, Days On Market, New Properties For Sale and Supply & Demand, visit the Market Sales Data section.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss this data at greater length, just drop me a note or call.

This report will provide a quick overview as to how the Westside micro-markets are currently performing and then compares that data to the same period a year ago.  The key market indicators are:

Pending Sales Activity - sometimes referred to as the 'Number of Properties Under Contract'.  This is a forward-looking indicator of current sales activity where there has been an accepted offer and escrow has opened.

Median Sales Price - that point at which half of the properties have sold for a greater amount and half have sold for a lesser amount.  This indicator pinpoints where in the price spectrum homes have sold rather than reflecting home value.  There is a common mis-perception that a drop in the MSP directly indicates a drop in home value.  It is far more likely that the drop indicates either smaller, older and/or homes in lower-priced areas have sold during the period.

Months Supply of Inventory (MSI) - a leading indicator of market supply, which directly impacts pricing.  Generally, a five to six month supply indicates market equilibrium while anything less signals a 'seller's market' and anything above a 'buyer's market'.  

   Information not guaranteed.  © 2009 Terradatum and its suppliers and licensors (http://www.terradatum.com/metrics/licensors)

To view a portfolio of four additional reports trended over the past 12 months:  Properties For Sale, Days On Market, New Properties For Sale and Supply & Demand, visit the Market Sales Data section.  If you have any questions or would like to discuss this data at greater length, just drop me a note or call.

More than you'd think.  All we ever hear of these days are story after story in the media focusing on negative equity and the misery of underwater homeowners.  In balance, it should be noted that there are substantial reserves of positive equity nationwide according to CoreLogic as reported in an article in today's LA Times. 

The Federal Reserve at the end of June reported that homeowners held $6.2 trillion in equity in their homes which is a little less than half of what it was 6 years ago.  Still, approximately 1 out of every 3 homes in America is mortgage-free.  If that's not enough to surprise you, how about the fact that 73.1% of all homes with mortgages have positive equity!  CoreLogic reports that 48.5% have at least 25% equity and 24.6% have more than 50% equity. 

In this study, California is reaffirmed as having considerable stability, affluent and low-construction characteristics in or near the coastal cities with above-average numbers of owners holding 50% equity or more.  You can be sure that the LA Westside ranks at the top of that list!  Conversely, those homes in a negative equity situation are largely concentrated in the interior counties and the Central Valley.  To view home sales data specific to the Westside areas of Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica and Westwood, visit the Market Sales Data section.