You may have seen rumors about a 3.8 percent tax on real estate sales since health care reform was enacted into law more than two years ago. But there’s a lot misinformation out there. Watch a short video featuring NAR experts to get the facts on how this legislation affects only certain home sales.
Posts Tagged ‘Santa Barbara’
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE 3.8% Medicare Tax
Tuesday, October 16th, 2012Tags: Market Trends, Medicare Tax, Real Estate, Santa Barbara
Posted in 3.8% Medicare Tax, Market Trends, Property Taxes, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Calif. Real Estate Fast Facts
Thursday, September 27th, 2012Calif. Median Home Price: August 2012: $343,820 (Source: C.A.R.)
– Calif. highest median home price by region/county August 2012: Marin, $806,450 (Source: C.A.R.)
– Calif. lowest median home price by region/county August 2012: Tehama, $89,170 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. Pending Home Sales Index: August 2012: 118.9, up 2.7 percent from July’s 115.8
Calif. Traditional Housing Affordability Index: Second quarter 2012: 51 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Mortgage rates: Week ending 9/20/2012:
– 30-yr. fixed: 3.49% fees/points: 0.6%
– 15-yr. fixed: 2.77 fees/points: 0.6% 1-yr.
– Adjustable: 2.61% Fees/points: 0.4% (Source: Freddie Mac)
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Thanks for reading this blog and I welcome your comments.
-Sylvia E. Miller
Cell: 805-448-8882
Remember my virtual compatriots, until we blog again, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (from Monty Python)!
Tags: Market Statistics, Market Trends, Real Estate, Santa Barbara, Stats
Posted in Buyers, Client Resources & Advice, Fast Facts, Financing, Market Trends, Sellers | No Comments »
New HARP 2 Streamlined Application Rules
Wednesday, September 26th, 2012
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have adopted changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), and you may be eligible to take advantage of these changes.
There is a new refinance program that went into effect in early Jan 2012 that allows underwater homeowners the ability to refinance into a lower interest rate, regardless of their Loan-to-Value (LTV).
Referred to as HARP 2.0, DU Refi Plus and the Obama Refinance Plan, the Home Affordable Refinance Program is a federal program under Making Home Affordable that is intended to help 4-7 million responsible homeowners lower their mortgage rates.
Below is a list of questions to help determine if you are potentially eligible for a HARP refinance:
Streamlined application process: Borrowers will apply through a streamlined process designed to make it simpler and less expensive for borrowers and lenders to refinance. Borrowers will not be required to submit a new appraisal or tax return. To determine a borrower’s eligibility, a lender need only confirm that the borrower is employed. (Those who are not employed may still be eligible if they meet the other requirements and present limited credit risk. However, a lender will need to perform a full underwriting of these borrowers to determine whether they are a good fit for the program.)
For more info go to Whitehouse.gov
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Thanks for reading this blog and I welcome your comments.
-Sylvia E. Miller
Cell: 805-448-8882
Remember my virtual compatriots, until we blog again, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (from Monty Python)!
Tags: Foreclosures, HARP, Homes for Sale, Market Trends, Real Estate, Santa Barbara, Short Sales
Posted in Client Resources & Advice, FHA, Financing, Foreclosures, Short Sales | No Comments »
Brokers’ Confidence in Market Increases
Wednesday, September 26th, 2012WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2012.
By Inman News.
Real estate brokerage executives are increasingly confident about housing markets and the economy. That’s according to a “Thought Leader” survey of more than 850 brokerage executives at leading franchises and independent brokerage firms that handled more than one-third of U.S. residential real estate transactions last year.
The survey, conducted in September by real estate marketing technology firm Imprev Inc., found 81.5 percent of brokerage executives were more confident about the housing market than they were in January.
Most (70.8 percent) said they were “highly confident” (6.2 percent) or “confident” (64.6 percent) that the housing market would continue to improve in the next 12 months, compared to 30.8 percent who said they were “less than confident.”
Survey question: How confident are you that the housing market will continue to improve in the next 12 months? |
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Source: Imprev Inc.
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Thanks for reading this blog and I welcome your comments.
-Sylvia E. Miller
Cell: 805-448-8882
Remember my virtual compatriots, until we blog again, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (from Monty Python)!
Tags: Homes for Sale, Market Statistics, Market Trends, Real Estate, Santa Barbara
Posted in Client Resources & Advice, Market Trends | No Comments »
FHA eases burdensome condo financing rules
Monday, September 24th, 2012By Kenneth R. Harney
September 23, 2012

FHA Update
The revised guidelines, which were issued Sept. 13 and took effect immediately, should make it easier for large numbers of homeowner associations to seek certification by the FHA. The certification process is intended to provide the FHA, a government-run mortgage insurance agency, with key information about a development’s legal, physical and financial status. Without approval of an entire development ― regardless of whether it’s a small complex in the suburbs or a massive high-rise in the center city ― no individual unit can be financed or refinanced with an FHA mortgage.
One of the most significant changes the FHA made involves personal legal liability for condo association boards and officers. The previous rules required officers to attest that they had “no knowledge of circumstances or conditions that might have an adverse effect on the project or cause a mortgage secured by a unit” to become delinquent, of “dissatisfaction among unit owners about the operation of the project or owners association” or of “disputes concerning unit owners.” The penalty for officers who “knowingly” and “willfully” submitted information to the FHA that was found to be false: fines of up to $1 million and 30 years in prison.
Although the previous rules focused on entire buildings, individual unit owners seeking to sell often have taken the brunt. The Community Associations Institute, the condo industry’s largest trade group, welcomed the relaxation of the FHA rules, predicting that “this will spark home sales and help tens of thousands of condominium communities begin to recover from the housing slump.”
Not surprisingly, many board officers declined to take on what they interpreted as lifetime legal responsibility for such details as whether the condominium fully complied with state and local environmental and real estate requirements. Although the FHA insisted that the associations were overreacting, the new certifications contain much less scary language. The penalties for intentional frauds against the government remain the same, however.
Among other key rule changes:
Source: L.A. Times
Thanks for reading this blog and I welcome your comments.
-Sylvia E. Miller
Cell: 805-448-8882
Remember my virtual compatriots, until we blog again, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (from Monty Python)!
Tags: Condos, FHA, Financing, Loans, Market Trends, Mortgages, Real Estate, Santa Barbara
Posted in Client Resources & Advice, Condos, FHA, Financing, Owner Financing | 1 Comment »
All the Tenant Screening Tools Landlords Need.
Friday, September 21st, 2012For Your Credit Screening Needs…
TransUnion SmartMove℠ – a web-based solution provides independent landlords with access to the same screening tools used by the largest property management groups. It’s fast and convenient…Check it out at TransUnion SmartMove℠
Thanks for reading this blog and I welcome your comments.
-Sylvia E. Miller
Cell: 805-448-8882
Remember my virtual compatriots, until we blog again, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (from Monty Python)!
Tags: homes for rent, Homes for Sale, Rentals, Santa Barbara
Posted in Client Resources & Advice, Rental Management, Santa Barbara | No Comments »
Welcome Autumn 2012!
Friday, September 21st, 2012Did You Know:

Santa Barbara Autumn
Thanks for reading this blog and I welcome your comments.
-Sylvia E. Miller
Cell: 805-448-8882
Remember my virtual compatriots, until we blog again, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (from Monty Python)!
Tags: Lifestyle, Santa Barbara, Seasons, Thought of the Day
Posted in Active Life Styles, Thought of the Day | No Comments »
Shortage of California homes up for sale
Thursday, September 20th, 2012After years of having too many homes and not enough buyers, real estate agents in California now have the opposite problem – too many buyers and not enough homes for sale.
Making sense of the story:
statewide inventory of unsold homes index for existing, single-family detached homes
fell to 3.2 months in August from 3.5 months in July and 5.2 months in August 2011.
market at the current sales rate. A six- to seven-month supply is considered normal.
When the number goes higher, inventory is plentiful and it’s considered a buyer’s
market. When the number goes lower, the advantage goes to the seller.
detached home rose to $343,820 in August, up 3 percent from July and up 15.5
percent from August 2011, according to C.A.R.
month supply of homes compared with 9.3 months in July 2011. The current number is
in line with the long-term average, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF
REALTORS®. However, NAR also acknowledges there are “acute shortages” in places
such as California, Arizona, Nevada, and parts of Florida.
more than their homes are worth – and unable to sell without taking a loss. As prices
rise, more homes will increase in value, but it’s going to take time. Meanwhile, there are
still a lot of homes that are not likely to come onto the market.
prices are high enough, they will start unloading houses they have been sitting on,
according to the chief economist for Trulia.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Thanks for reading this blog and I welcome your comments.
-Sylvia E. Miller
Cell: 805-448-8882
Remember my virtual compatriots, until we blog again, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (from Monty Python)!
Tags: Market Statistics, Market Trends, Real Estate, Santa Barbara
Posted in Client Resources & Advice, Market Trends, Santa Barbara | No Comments »
Shrinking inventory bolstering many housing markets
Thursday, September 20th, 2012
Realtor.com: 8 of top 10 markets with biggest declines are in California
Top 10 metros for annual list price increases
Metro | Percent Change |
Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc, Calif. | 38.96% |
Phoenix-Mesa, Ariz. | 25.00% |
San Francisco | 16.97% |
San Jose, Calif. | 16.10% |
Boise City, Idaho | 13.71% |
Oakland, Calif. | 13.56% |
Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif. | 12.63% |
West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Fla. | 12.51% |
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash. | 12.51% |
Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Fla. | 12.20% |