Like New in Olde Carlsbad
Thanks Ryan for the tour of this practically-new 3,146sf house in N. Carlsbad:
Charlie Quintana, RIP
Charlie Quintana, the heralded drummer for the Plugz, Social Distortion, and Izzy Stradlin & the Ju Ju Hounds (plus he toured and/or recorded with Joan Osborne, John Doe, Cracker, and Bob Dylan), unfortunately passed away last week. He had a heart attack at age 56.
Of his collaborators, Bob Dylan might be the most curious. Here’s Charlie playing drums with Bob – who is as fired up as I’ve ever seen him:
Mortgage Rates Hold After Fed Speech
Mortgage rates were jittery but ended up back where they started today.
Mortgage rates rose to new 4-year highs this morning as lenders took a defensive stance ahead of the afternoon’s Fed Announcement. The caution proved to be warranted, at least at first, as bond markets reacted negatively to the first phase of Fed-related information.
Notably, the Fed Announcement itself wasn’t the issue. If anything, it was moderately friendly for rates. Instead, it was the Fed’s rate hike outlook (released concurrently with the policy announcement) that did the damage. But again, we’re talking about underlying bond markets here. Lenders’ rate sheets already reflected that damage preemptively.
When new Fed Chair Jerome Powell began his press conference half an hour later, bond markets (which underlie rates) began to improve.
Just over an hour after the initial drama, bonds moved into moderately positive territory on the day and most lenders offered positively-revised rate sheets (i.e. stronger bond markets allowed mortgage lenders to drop their rates). After those reprices, the average lender returned in line with yesterday’s rates (which are still pretty close to 4-year highs, but a welcome sight after this morning’s offerings).
Link to ArticleMore Inventory?
Hat tip to daytrip who sent in this article on housing inventory growth, which appears to be growing nationwide, at least in the higher-end markets:
Homebuyers in the U.S. have plenty to grouse about these days. Prices have climbed steeply in many metro areas, mortgage rates are rising and inventory is thin. But for people looking to purchase their first home, it’s ugly out there.
“Starter homes have become scarcer, pricier, smaller, older and more likely in need of some TLC” than they were six years ago, the real estate website Trulia reported Wednesday after analyzing housing stock across the country. Trulia began tracking prices and inventory in 2012.
It’s grim all over. American homes are at their least affordable in the report’s history. But the median listing price of available starter homes has risen 9.6 percent in the past year, easily beating out the trade-up and premium categories, while starter-home supply has fallen to a new low this quarter, Trulia reported.
How are we doing locally?
Here are the number of new listings between Carlsbad and La Jolla that hit the MLS between January 1st and March 15th – there will be a few stragglers to add to this year’s count:
NSDCC Detached-Home Listings Between Jan 1 – March 15
| Price Range | |||
| Under $1M | |||
| $1M to $1.5M | |||
| $1.5M to $2M | |||
| Over $2M | |||
| Totals | |||
| Closed Sales |
If there were some breakout numbers here, I’d be concerned that a flood of inventory could cool off the market quickly. The only thing close is the $2M+ inventory being 10% higher than last year – but it’s less than 2016, and prices have gone up since then, so not a big deal.
The lower-end listings have really dried up – houses for sale that are listed under $1,000,000 have shrunk 39% since 2016.
Leaving California
If enough people see this…..maybe more will leave? I can help you with that!
From cnbc.com:
Californians may still love the beautiful weather and beaches, but more and more they are fed up with the high housing costs and taxes and deciding to flee to lower-cost states such as Nevada, Arizona and Texas.
“There’s nowhere in the United States that you can find better weather than here,” said Dave Senser, who lives on a fixed income near San Luis Obispo, California, and now plans to move to Las Vegas. “Rents here are crazy, if you can find a place, and they’re going to tax us to death. That’s what it feels like. At least in Nevada they don’t have a state income tax. And every little bit helps.”
Senser, 65, who previously lived in the east San Francisco Bay region, said housing costs and gas prices are “significantly lower in Las Vegas. The government in the state of California isn’t helping people like myself. That’s why people are running out of this state now.”
Based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data, “lower income Californians are the ones who are leaving, not higher income,” said Christopher Thornberg, founding partner of research and consulting firm Beacon Economics in Los Angeles.
He said housing is the chief reason people are leaving California, pointing out there are frequently bidding wars for what limited inventory of homes is available.
A USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll of Californians last fall found that the high cost of living, including housing, was the most important issue facing the state. It also found more than half of Californians wanted to repeal the state’s new gas tax, which raised fees by 40 percent.
“The rate at which California has been losing people to other states has accelerated in the past couple of years, in part because of rising housing costs,” said Jed Kolko, chief economist with employment website Indeed.com.
Link to ArticleSan Diego History
This is a brief history of the growth of San Diego from a sleepy mission village to a major agricultural and shipping center. Credit for this transformation goes to two men, Alonzo Horton and Frank Kimball, and an unheralded railroad, the California Southern. The construction of this railroad poured millions of dollars into San Diego and led to a vast population expansion as men came to work on the line. National City, just south of San Diego, experienced immediate growth as terminal of the line and home of the railroad yard, shipping wharf and machine shops. The California Southern proved a pivotal pawn in the breakup of the Southern Pacific monopoly in California by the Atchison Topeka Santa Fe railroad.
The subsequent rate war between the two giants led to a tremendous real estate and population boom in Southern California in the 1880s. The California Southern, with its link to a transnational railroad, proved crucial to the transformation of San Diego from a farming community to a small city of emerging industry and mercantile expansion. Unfortunately the hopes of the citizens of San Diego to create a port to rival San Francisco were not realized. Los Angeles grew even more quickly, and San Diego never reached the prominence for which it dreamed.
Link to ArticleReal Estate Tip Line
Our San Diego MLS quietly removed our complaint button recently. I’m sure they had heavy volume, but they aren’t the realtor police – nobody is. Hat tip to SM for sending this in:
VANCOUVER – The province is hoping to make it easier for you to report suspected misconduct in the local real estate market by launching a new tool.
A new anonymous tipline has been launched by the Real Estate Council of BC, as part of, what it describes, a way to protect potential homeowners.
“This is a way for people who have information about potential misconduct of real estate agents, that perhaps they’re uncomfortable identifying themselves, they have this as a tool to report information to the council anonymously,” explains Executive Officer Erin Seeley.
The tipline is one of the recommendations made by an Independent Advisory Group two years ago. “The council set up this group as a way to report on the improvements the Real Estate Council can make in overseeing licensees and in protecting the public.”
This new tool allows people to report things like a conflict of interest, failure to disclose information, or even the mishandling of money.
There is a complaints process already in place and Seeley adds the new tool is part of the process currently available to the public.
“It’s anonymous, it’s more accessible with the 1-800 number, and it’s a secure forum,” she says. “And it allows people, regardless of whether they’re a real estate licensee or a consumer, they can use this to report misconduct and not have a fear of reprisal.”
Seeley says just like the current process, all complaints are investigated and reviewed to determine whether a full investigation is required. “If there [are] grounds for misconduct and evidence, we’ll take action as appropriate through the channels of investigating. We have administrative fairness and natural justice as key parts of our process.”
Processes to resolve complaints are available, and if a case warrants it, Seeley says hearings can be held by a tribunal.
“We have financial penalties, significant penalties up to $250,000 for licensees per infraction under the Real Estate Services Act.”
According to Seeley, the council receives a number of complaints and has investigated claims of significant misconduct in the past.
Link to ArticleThe only recourse around here is to file a complaint with the Association of Realtors, and have the Ethics panel hear your case.
I did file a complaint recently, which meant I had to compile and submit six copies of the evidence. The agent was found guilty, and received the maximum penalty for a first-time offender – a letter in their file for 12 months.
Inventory Watch
The Fed begins their two-day meeting tomorrow, and is expected to raise the Fed Funds rate. Bonds are already jittery today, but there is hope that new Fed chief Jerome Powell could be more forth-coming in his comments on Wednesday afternoon. It could mean that mortgage rates could come down a tad, because every bit of a 1/4-point hike is already priced into the market.
The expectations of Fed hikes, and their actual hikes (seen above – thanks Nick!), is spotty – so believe it when you see it! According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, Wall Street expectations for a rate hike at the March meeting were greater than 90 percent as of Monday morning.
Raffle House
From the UT:
There are a host of dream-house raffles across the West this year, and a big winner in many of them appears to be a Seattle-based consultant. The raffles have the same concept — for a $150 ticket, get a chance to win a multimillion-dollar dream home. Although there are lesser prizes, the house is only given away if ticket sales hit a certain threshold.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego has used consultant Neal Martin Zeavy to run its dream-house raffle at least since 2008. In the decade that he has run the event, the fundraiser has never sold enough tickets to result in a house giveaway.
Zeavy was paid $525,000 by the San Diego charity last year, according to the nonprofit’s tax returns. For context, Charles Day — the San Diego charity’s president and CEO — received $224,985, the tax records show. Zeavy has helped run dream-house raffles for at least five other nonprofits.
Carlsbad Murals
Congrats to Bryan for being appointed to the Carlsbad Arts Commission!
Jim Klinge
Klinge Realty Group
Broker-Associate, Compass
Are you looking for an experienced agent to help you buy or sell a home?
Contact Jim the Realtor!
- 682 S. Coast Hwy 101, Suite #110
Encinitas, CA 92024 - (858) 997-3801 call or text
- klingerealty@gmail.com
CA DRE #01527365, CA DRE #00873197
