San Fernando Valley Real Estate News- Heather Farquhar

Home sales highest since 2006 - Medium price up!

Southern California home sales rose in June to the highest level in 30 months as the number of deals above $500,000 continued to climb. Sales gains in June and a rise in the median sale price, indicates that  buyers are responding to price cuts on mid- to high-end homes and are finding it easier to get financing for pricier homes.

SOLD In 5 Days OVER asking!!!! 4937 Stern Ave in Sherman Oaks

Sherman Oaks, San Fernando Valley  -  Announcing 4937 Stern Ave, Sold in multiple offers for $45,000 OVER asking AND the buyer paid closing costs usually paid by the seller. Ask us how we did this!

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New Listing In Winnetka

5-15027 Dickens Street in Sherman Oaks is Sold!

Sherman Oaks, San Fernando Valley  -  The townhouse at 5-15027 Dickens Street has been sold.

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New Listing In Van Nuys

Sherman Oaks Adjacent Traditional Home on a Beautiful Tree Lined Street - First Time on the Market in 51 Years! Lovingly Maintained Traditional Home with 2 Bedrooms, Cozy Den (can be converted to Bedroom) with Fireplace, 1.5 Baths, Large Eat-in Kitchen, Formal Dine and Living Room with Fireplace. Beautiful Hardwood Floors in Living Room, Dining Room, Bedrooms, Den and Hallway. Broker's Open Friday, May 8, 11 am to 2 pm. Open House to the Public - Sunday, May 10, 2 - 5. Don't Miss this Opportunity!

Click Here For More SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LISTINGS!!!!!

Click Here For More Infor On VAN NUYS CALIFORNIA

$8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit Details

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes

• An $8,000 tax credit - up from $7,500 - for first-time home buyers for the purchase of a principal residence on or after January 1 and before December 1.
• The credit applies only to homes purchased during 2009.
• The credit does not have to be repaid if you do not resell within three years. 
• The credit will be used as a tax deduction to reduce the buyer's income tax liability. A refund check will be issued to the buyer for any unused credit.
• Purchaser and purchaser's spouse may not have owned a principal residence within the three years prior to purchase.
• The full amount of the credit is available to individuals with a gross adjusted income of no more than $75,000 or $150,000 if a joint return is filed. The credit phases out above those caps ($95,000 and $170,000).
• Eligible properties include any single-family residence - including condominiums, co-ops or townhouses - that will be used as a principal residence.
• While most of the provisions are similar to the measure approved in 2008, there are some differences, such as: purchasers who utilize revenue bond financing now can use the credit.
• A provision of the bill also provides $2 billion in additional funding for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The NSP was created by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 to offer grants through the Community Development Block Grant program to states and localities to address the problems that can be created when whole neighborhoods are decimated by foreclosures. The funds can be used to purchase, manage, repair and resell foreclosed and abandoned properties.

For more information  on the Recovery Act, contact your Realtor or go on-line to www.housingmarketfacts.com.

11135 Blix Ave. in West Toluca Lake is Sold!

West Toluca Lake, San Fernando Valley  -  The 2 story at 11135 Blix Ave. has been sold.

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11-5324 Kester Ave in Sherman Oaks is Sold!

Sherman Oaks, San Fernando Valley  -  The single story at 11-5324 Kester Ave has been sold.

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Price Reduced on 11135 Blix Ave. in West Toluca Lake

West Toluca Lake, San Fernando Valley  -  Announcing a price reduction on 11135 Blix Ave., a 2,936 sq. ft., 4 bath, 5 bdrm 2 story. Now MLS® $929,000 - Authentic Spanish.

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Big uproar over broken sidewalks

Who is going to fix your broken sidewalk?   "The State of California Improvement Act of 1911" give cities the authority to require property owners to repair the sidewalks abutting their property (California Streets and Highways Code.) and the authority to make the repairs and assess the property owner for the cost should the property owner fail to make such repairs. There is an unless: Los Angeles Municipal Code (Section 62.104, Ordinance No. 146.040 effective July 3, 1974) exempts homeowners from the responsibility for sidewalk repairs caused by city owned trees and places responsibility for these repairs with the City's Department of Public Works.

Okay, now that said at the rate the city is going if you call in a request for the city to repair your sidewalk today you probaly won't see a repair crew outside your house for about 50 years. Yes, they are really that far behind. City crews repair about 60 miles of sidewalk a year. The 50/50 program will move your request closer to the top of the list and your repair will (should) be done in concrete instead of asphalt but you have to cover 50% of the cost and that program moves pretty slow as well. Because of underfunding only about 40 miles of sidewalk repair is completed a year under the 50/50 program.

So this is just another big plan by the city that is going nowhere.

For more information on who is responsible for fixing broken sidewalks and who to call to have your sidewalk fixed if it was damaged by a city owned tree go the Special Projects FAQ website.

Are prices starting to level off?

Maybe I'm being overly optimistic but could the fact that the median sales price in the San Fernando Valley in March was $525,000 which is down 13.9% from 1 year ago[:'(] but UP 5% from January 2008, mean that we are on the up-swing or at least leveling off. Or is it just that the winter months are traditionally slow and this is just the market reacting to spring?

I don't have the answer to that but here is what I do know:

In April 2008 there were a total of 10,596 properties listed in the San Fernando Valley MLS. That was an increase of over 50% from February 2008. Based on today's trends this total represents about a 16-month inventory (5-6 months represents a balanced market).

More inventory = more choices = more negotiating leverage.....Now is a great time to buy!

For a more in depth look at the Real Estate Stats for The San Fernando Valley go to Southland Regional Association Of Realtors Stats

Southland Regional Association Of Realtors

Price Reduced on 11135 Blix Ave. in West Toluca Lake

West Toluca Lake, San Fernando Valley  -  Announcing a price reduction on 11135 Blix Ave., a 2,936 sq. ft., 4 bath, 5 bdrm 2 story. Now MLS® $989,000 - Authentic Spanish.

Property information

Southern California real estate prices fall again; sales pick up

Southern California home sales rose slightly in November ignoring the normal for the holiday season, probably due to bargain shopping and a slight upward trend in new-home sales. Okay that was the good news.

November sales were the slowest in 20 years and the median sale price posted a record 10.3 percent year-over-year decline.

According to Dataquick:

·         A total of 13,173 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in November. That was up 2 percent from 12,913 sales in October, and down 42.7 percent from 23,005 in November last year.

·         Last month's sales were the lowest for any November in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988. The previous low was in November 1992, when 15,446 homes sold. November has averaged 22,749 sales over the last 20 years.

·         Sales usually decline between October and November, with that drop averaging 7.4 percent over the past two decades. Last month marked only the third November since 1988 in which sales rose above October, and it was almost entirely the result of an 11.5 percent increase in sales of newly built houses. The number of single-family houses that resold in November was about even with October, while condo re-sales fell 6 percent. The sales are based on the number of escrows that closed each month.

“Point-of-sale” sidewalk repair program

By California law, (STREETS AND HIGHWAYS CODE SECTION 5610-5618 )residential property owners are responsible for maintenance and repair of their sidewalks. The planting of  fast-growing shade trees in Los Angeles has led to an unexpected cost: miles of dangerous sidewalks broken by the roots of these trees. Meanwhile federal funding for sidewalk repair has been used up completely, leaving LA with 6,500 miles of sidewalks in desperate need of repair.

SEIU Local 721 helped City Council member Wendy Greuel develop the tremendously successful 50/50 plan in which the City splits costs of sidewalk repairs with property owners. To meet the need the City has hired additional crews to repair 92 miles of sidewalks per year. Hundreds of new workers have moved into city jobs through programs developed by SEIU.

A new “point-of-sale” program will allow homeowners to fix their sidewalks now, but pay for the work at the time they sell their house. A team including representatives from SEIU 721, real estate professionals, neighborhood council activists and city management are developing the pilot with the goal of a July 1, 2008 rollout. The team anticipates being able to hire 600 unskilled local workers in the 2008-09 fiscal year. Through the vocational program championed by SEIU they can transition into full-time civil service workers eligible for union membership.

City residents interested in participating in either the 50/50 or “Point-of-sale” sidewalk repair programs should call 311, the City of Los Angeles toll free number to access information and non-emergency services.

NO MORE CONDO CONVERSIONS?

On April 11th, L.A. City Council passed a measure that could eliminate the lowest cost entry level housing in the City, condo conversions. The new city ordinance is so imposing it may as well restrict condo conversions by apartment building owners completely.

• increase relocation fees that owners of apartment buildings must pay to tenants from $8,000 for seniors or disabled tenants (qualified) to $17,080.00, for other tenants relocation will increase from $3,200 to $9,040 these rates apply for tenants whose income is 80% (AMI) or below or resident in the unit five years or longer. For tenants resident for less than 5 years, a relocation fee must be paid of $14,850 to qualified tenants and $ 6,810 to others.
  
• require building owners to notify tenants of their intent to convert to 180 days
• increase housing production fees by 198% from $500.00 to $1,492.00
• Enforces the denial of project applications if a rental vacancy rate of 5% is not present in the community

Hon. Wendy Greuel 213 485 3391 or 818 755 7676 councilmember.greuel@lacity.org

Hon. Tom LaBonge 213 485 3337 or 818 755 7630 tom.labonge@lacity.org

Hon. Jack Weiss 213 473 7005 or 818 756 8083 councilmember.weiss@lacity.org

Hon. Dennis Zine 213 473 7003 or 818 756 8848 councilmember.zine@lacity.org

Hon. Tony Cardenas 213 473 7006 or 818 778 4999 councilmember.cardenas@lacity.org

Hon. Greig Smith 213 485 3343 or 818 756 8501 councilmember.smith@lacity.org

Others:

Hon. Ed P. Reyes 213 485 3451 councilmember.reyes@lacity.org

Hon. Bernard C. Parks 213 473 7008 councilmember.parks@lacity.org

Hon. Jan Perry 213 473 7009 jan.perry@lacity.org

Hon. Herb Wesson 213 473 7010 councilmember.wesson@lacity.org

Hon. Eric Garcetti 213 473 7013 councilmember.garcetti@lacity.org

Hon. Jose Huizar 213 485 3335 councilmember.huizar@lacity.org

Hon Janice Hahn 213 473 7015 janice.hahn@lacity.org