Jim the Realtor Talk Show

We’re going to give talk radio another try on Monday night at 7:30pm!

You’ll meet wifey and some of the team, get a glimpse of HQ, and talk a little real estate – and I think it will be available via your Skype account too.  If you have a specific topic that you’d like to hear discussed, leave it in the comment section here, and I’ll do my best.

For those who can’t make it, there will be a copy available later.

We’re also rolling out the bubbleinfo.com fan page on facebook.  If you are interested, search for “bubbleinfo.com” on the facebook search field – once we have 25 people sign up as fans they’ll give us a direct link, hopefully sometime this year!

CA Tax Credit Short-Lived?

C.A.R. whipping up some frenzy….

The $100 million allocated for California’s first-time homebuyer tax credits may be depleted in about 10 to 20 days or sooner, according to C.A.R.’s Economics team.

California’s Franchise Tax Board (FTB) plans to begin accepting applications on May 1, 2010 for tax credits up to $10,000 for first-time homebuyers and for homes that have never been previously occupied.  However, the total tax credit allocation for all taxpayers is $100 million for first-time homebuyers and $100 million for new homes, both on a first-come, first-served basis.

C.A.R.’s forecast of 10 to 20 days to deplete the $100 million allocation for first-time home buyers is based on estimated May sales figures and other parameters.  It does not take into account the possibility that buyers scheduled to close escrow in April may delay closing until May to take advantage of the tax credit.  If a shift in closings from April to May occurs, the first-time homebuyer tax credits may be depleted even more quickly than indicated above.

Applications for the California tax credit must be faxed to the FTB after escrow closes.  The FTB will update its website when the 2010 application form and other information become available:

REALTORS® are reminded not to give their clients any tax or legal advice, such as the availability of funds under the California tax credit program.  Agents should encourage their clients to seek specific advice from an accountant, attorney, or other professional as they deem appropriate.

C.A.R. Housing Tax Credit Worksheet

‘Vibrant’ Encinitas

Hat tip to Rick the Tuna for sending along this nctimes.com article – an excerpt:

“There’s a lot of entrepreneurs here, a lot of independent thinkers,” said John DeWald, whose company is building perhaps the most visible manifestation of Encinitas’ business future —- the $50 million Pacific Station project under construction on Coast Highway 101, which will encompass five stores and a restaurant on the ground floor, 9,000 square feet of offices on the second and third floors and 47 condo units, also on the second and third floors. All but one of the retail spaces have been leased and 750 potential buyers are on the interested list for the condo units, which are projected to range in price from the “high $300,000s” to $1 million, DeWald said.

“People who live here, shop here,” said Bart Smith, an architect whose office and studio are housed in what used to be a TV showroom, a block off Coast Highway 101.  Smith said Web designers, computer engineers, green-related businesses and other architects are refurbishing old commercial space in the city core, often to create live-work arrangements. For example, a car repair shop off Coast Highway 101 converted second-floor storage space into apartments.

“All kinds of brainiac people are moving in here,” Smith said. The new businesses often subdivide older buildings that used to house one company into units that house several smaller ventures.

Hard-to-measure intangibles also appear to be part of what is drawing businesses to Encinitas.

“People here get involved in the community,” said Justin Faulconer, owner of Falcon’s Bodyboard Shop, which just opened on the northern section of Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas.

Encinitas’ apparent ascension as an entrepreneurial hub defies easy explanation and raises questions about trends in shopping, development policies, the post-recession economy and how Southern California and the nation have changed.

Among those questions: How effective are redevelopment districts and other incentives for businesses?

Many buildings in the older section of the city along Highway 101 have been renovated or restored and yet the city hasn’t declared the older sector of the city a redevelopment district, said Peder Norby, Highway 101 Corridor coordinator for the city of Encinitas. Designating an area as a redevelopment district brings incentives and tax advantages to businesses that locate in such zones.

The coastal city’s success in keeping its older district vibrant is more a factor of its “unique” downtown flavor and mix of small boutique malls along El Camino Real than forgoing a redevelopment district, said Knight, the chief executive of the San Diego North Economic Development Council. Elsewhere, redevelopment agencies have been proven to work, he said.

Recon Surge

Eric at the North County Times mentioned the increase in Bank of America notices of trustee sale being sent out.  Click here for link to full article. 

The notices went to 230 homeowners in North San Diego County, a 69 percent increase from February.

Wow, will there will be more SFR short sales or REOs in North SD County Coastal?

There were 22 new notices sent out in February, and 23 in March to SFR borrowers from Carlsbad to La Jolla – not quite a meltdown yet.  There are also some familiar faces on the lists as well, and we won’t count those as new meat.

Here are the lists:

February 2010 Recon NOTS NSDCC

March 2010 Recon NOTS NSDCC

We could all use some more inventory – keep ’em coming!

Added later, the chart from Effective Demand, click on it twice for clarity:

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