California home prices up

California’s median home price marked a full year of annual price gains, propelled by strong sales of higher-priced homes in February, while a lack of inventory constrained total home sales for the month, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported this week.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=VzIy0IonyClFa5HT30WIdA

Home buyers face dilemma with shortage

The sharp drop in homes for sale poses a tough choice for buyers: Jump in now and compete with hordes of others or wait until inventory improves.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=--0j5Qfzm0E0wFBXTeTQwA

More can afford a home, but lenders remain tight-fisted

Nearly half of all California households can now afford the median-priced home in the state – but that’s no help if they can’t get mortgages.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=HCarMwL9IInrAmid6edaKA

All Cash Buyers Commonplace

According to results based on C.A.R.’s 2012 Annual Housing Market Survey, “All Cash” buyers has been on the rise since the mid of 2000’s, increasing from 11 percent in 2005 to 30 percent in 2012. Almost one-third of all home buyers paid with all cash in 2012, which is more than 3 times what it was in 2001 when “All Cash” buyers were merely 8.8 percent. The share of all cash buyers in 2012 was also nearly double the long-run average of 15.1 percent since 1998.

Full Story: http://www.car.org/marketdata/realestate411/re411Feb012013/

Boomerang buyers making a comeback

Buyers who went through short sales or foreclosures are becoming homeowners again, thanks in part to loans from the Federal Housing Administration.

Full Story:  http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=1UpZCPNw0585jJhIkDf64Q

California foreclosure starts plummet 60 percent in January

The real estate website ForeclosureRadar.com reported a 60.5 percent decline in California default notices in January from December.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=azR7foU3t4NSnkKgeb6whw

Foreclosure filings fall to lowest level since 2007

Notices of default, scheduled auctions, bank repossessions and other filings fell to 150,864 last
month, a 7 percent decline from the previous month and a 28 percent drop from January 2012,
according to RealtyTrac.

Read the full story: http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/14/real_estate/foreclosures/index.html?iid=HP_River

A sign the housing recovery just might stick

Mortgage applications were higher again in January. If individual buyers dominate home sales
as opposed to investors (who obviously don't add to the numbers of mortgage applications as reported increased), we might see a more sustainable housing recovery.

Read the full story: http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/02/08/mortgage-applications-2/?iid=HP_LN

Consistent boost to California's median home price

California home sales and prices both posted gains in December, with the median price posting strong double-digit gains for six straight months, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=cvL6ZLl1eul4At7Pd--olw

New home sales rise year over year in December

Sales of new single-family houses rose 8.8 percent in December compared with the previous year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 369,000, according to estimates released jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Compared with the previous month, new home sales declined 7.3 percent.

Housing a sweet spot for economy as rebound extends to 2013

U.S. home sales and prices are poised to rise in 2013, solidifying a recovery that began last year after a half-decade slump, according to analysts and economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=TcT5c4qdcRpufs9-n1_5pw

Home prices poised for growth in 2013

Home-listing prices were up 5.1 percent nationally in December on a year-over-year basis, according to Trulia.

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=ukrzf6Fwhrt7tq8ceYvlbw

CA Tax Exemption to Match Federal Extension

In an effort to conform state law to a federal law passed last week that extended mortgage debt forgiveness, C.A.R. is sponsoring Senate Bill 30, so that California homeowners on the brink of foreclosure can get much-needed debt relief.

SB 30 (Calderon, D-Montebello) will for one more year exempt the taxation of mortgage debt that is forgiven when homeowners and their mortgage lenders negotiate a short sale or loan modification (including any principal reduction).

Full Story: http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=3z_DQPrRLZvKfqMwrbopKA

Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Extended

Late Tuesday night, Congress reached a settlement in the “fiscal cliff” negotiations. As a result, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act has been extended for another year. The measure will continue to exempt from taxation mortgage debt that is forgiven when homeowners and their mortgage lenders negotiate a short sale, loan modification (including any principal reduction), or foreclosure.

Fiscal Cliff Negotiations Could Hurt Underwater Homeowners

The fiscal cliff draws closer by the day, and federal lawmakers are now trying desperately to reach an agreement that is at least somewhat palatable to both parties. Now, those negotiations might include a number of costly tax breaks designed to help consumers who owe more on their home loans than their properties are worth.

Full Story: http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2012/12/26/fiscal-cliff-negotiations-could-hurt-underwater-homeowners/