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Not So Fast

CoreLogic said that while the data point to continuing price appreciation, the overall national rate of home price increases is projected to decelerate in 2013 from 2012 levels. The CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indexes project a 2.5 percent home price increase in 2013, as the market dynamic shifts again in bubble/crash metro areas. While homes in these markets are still significantly undervalued, the strong investor demand for foreclosed properties, record levels of housing affordability and other demand factors that have driven recent double-digit price gains are unlikely to persist throughout the year.

Price appreciation is also expected to contribute to an increased supply of available homes as owners who have been locked into their current homes due to negative equity or were just unwilling to sell at existing prices begin to list their homes for sale. This will tend to curtail the portion of price increases that have been fed by unmet demand.

Dr. Stiff tamped down concerns of another housing bubble. “Even if double-digit price appreciation were to continue in the former bubble metro areas, there is no reason to believe that new home price bubbles are forming. That’s because single-family homes in these markets are still very affordable, even after last year’s large price gains. Consider Phoenix, where home prices rose 27 percent since the market hit bottom in 2011, making it the strongest residential real estate market in the U.S. Yet, home prices there are still 45 percent below their 2006 peak,” Stiff continued.

http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/05162013_corelogic_case_shiller.asp

Posted by Jim the Realtor on May 17, 2013 in Frenzy, Market Conditions | 0 comments

Leucadia One-Story

This is one of the few places where you can find newer, larger one-story homes on good-sized lots. No wonder it blew of the market in the first few days, and over list price!

Posted by Jim the Realtor on May 16, 2013 in Bubbleinfo TV, Leucadia | 4 comments

$250 Million Fraud

This is a big one……watch out!

REDDING, Calif. — A man accused of cheating North Coast residents out of hundreds of millions of dollars in what prosecutors characterized as one of the largest real estate Ponzi schemes in California history has been convicted by a Shasta County jury.

James Stanley Koenig, of Redding, shook his head and rubbed his forehead as the verdicts against him were read on Monday, the Record Searchlight of Redding reported (http://bit.ly/16zpZTZ).

Prosecutors said Koenig and two accomplices bilked 2,000 investors out of $250 million. Many of the victims were retirees who lost much of their life savings.

Koenig, 60, accused of being the architect of the Ponzi scheme, was convicted on 35 of 36 felony counts, including securities fraud and two counts of first-degree burglary. He faces about 50 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 11.

Gary Armitage, 62, was sentenced to 10 years in prison earlier this year after pleading no contest to conspiracy to commit a crime, fraud and sale by false statement. Jeffrey Guidi pleaded guilty to lesser charges and avoided prison time.

Prosecutors said the three men sold real estate investments, promising low-risk returns. But many of the projects faltered or were never finished. Still, the men continued to raise money from investors, using it to pay off earlier investors, according to prosecutors.

Koenig did not disclose that the company had defaulted on loans for some of the properties in its portfolio and also did not disclose his 1986 federal fraud conviction, prosecutors said.

The men were arrested after a 17-month investigation.

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/05/15/5422073/man-convicted-in-north-coast-ponzi.html#storylink=cpy

Posted by Jim the Realtor on May 16, 2013 in Fraud, Scams | 1 comment

Short-Sale Pickle

Here is a glimpse behind the curtain of short-sales, and a very typical example of what is happening in the field.

Comment on what you think occured here:

http://piggington.com/short_sale_advice_needed

Posted by Jim the Realtor on May 16, 2013 in Short Sales, Short Selling | 7 comments

The Vandals

The Vandals formed in 1980 in Huntington Beach. The band quickly built a reputation in the LA and Orange County punk rock community which also included bands such as Bad Religion, Descendents, Black Flag, T.S.O.L., the Germs, X, Suicidal Tendencies, The Dickies, and Fullerton’s Social Distortion.

This clip includes footage of a typical mosh pit of the era (1:35). Hat tip Shira!

Posted by Jim the Realtor on May 15, 2013 in Wednesday Rock Blogging | 2 comments

CV Home Tour

A tour of the most-recent listing of a CV canyon-front home, in DH. I saw the house on Raven Hill that sold for $1.9 million, and I liked this backyard better:

Posted by Jim the Realtor on May 15, 2013 in Bubbleinfo TV, Carmel Valley | 7 comments

Prop 13 Threshold to 55%?

Hat tip to DOB for sending this in:

The pro-tax politicians in the Legislature continue to threaten Prop. 13, homeowners and small businesses.

Today at least 7 bills that would directly undercut various provisions of Prop. 13 will be heard in committee. If approved, these bills could cost every property owner thousands of dollars.

There are seven bills pertaining to Proposition 13 that are up in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee. Six of these bills directly undercut various provisions of Proposition 13.

The bills are: SCA 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 and 11.

THE FOLLOWING BILLS PLACE A BULLSEYE ON PROPOSITION 13 AND TAXPAYERS:

Senate Constitutional Amendment 3 (SCA 3), Mark Leno (D—San Francisco): Lowers the threshold for school district per-parcel property taxes from two-thirds to 55%. This is a direct assault on Proposition 13 because it makes it easier to increase property taxes above Proposition 13?s one percent cap.

Senate Constitutional Amendment 4 (SCA 4), Carol Liu (D—La Canada) and Senate Constitutional Amendment 8 (SCA 8), Ellen Corbett (D—San Leandro): Lowers the threshold for the imposition, extension or increase of local transportation special taxes from the Proposition 13-mandated two-thirds vote to 55%. Most transportation special tax increases consist of very regressive sales tax hikes. These add to the burden of California taxpayers who already pay the highest state sales tax in the nation.

Senate Constitutional Amendment 7 (SCA 7), Lois Wolk (D—Davis): Lowers the threshold from two-thirds to 55% in order to approve a bond to fund public library facilities. Lowering the threshold for school facilities to 55% has already resulted in billions of dollars of additional property tax payments that otherwise would not have been approved by voters.

Senate Constitutional Amendment 9 (SCA 9), Ellen Corbett (D—San Leandro): Lowers the threshold from two-thirds to 55% to increase special taxes to fund community and economic development projects.

Senate Constitutional Amendment 11 (SCA 11), Loni Hancock (D—Berkeley): Lowers the threshold to 55% to allow for voters representing ANY local government entity to approve a special tax for ANY purpose. This is far and away the broadest application, and thus the most egregious, of these constitutional amendments.

Assembly Constitutional Amendment 8 (ACA 8), Bob Blumenfield (D—Woodland Hills): Lowers the threshold to 55% for city and county voters to approve a local bond measure in order to fund emergency service facilities projects.

One supportive bill, Senate Constitutional Resolution 25 (sponsored by State Senator Mark Wyland, R—Escondido) is also up in the committee today and honors Proposition 13 on its upcoming 35th anniversary.

Stay tuned: Two additional bills, Assembly Constitutional Amendments 3 and 8 also diminish Proposition 13′s protections. These will head to hearing soon.

http://www.flashreport.org/blog/2013/05/15/alert-attacks-on-prop-13-take-center-stage-in-legislature-today/

Posted by Jim the Realtor on May 15, 2013 in Prop 13 | 11 comments