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| NEW LISTINGS
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$7,945,000
9917 Sunset Blvd.,
Beverly Hills
Lavish gated estate with over half an acre of lush landscaping and beautiful water features including waterfalls, streams and a fabulous waterslide. |
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$3,295,000
1048 Loma Vista Dr.,
Beverly Hills
Beautiful Trousdale home with an amazing 4 bed 4 bath layout, including a stunning backyard that is designed around the art of lounging and entertaining. |
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$749,000
23914 Lakeside Rd.,
Valencia
Beautiful updated home. Located in the exclusive gated community of Valencia Bridgeport!
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$749,000
720 Huntley Dr. #206, West Hollywood
Architectural condo with fantastic south/west views in an amazing location.
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| | JUST SOLD | |
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10287 Century Woods, Century City $8,890,000
2967 Beverly Glen Circle,
Bel Air
$2,650,000
10701 Wilshire Blvd. #1701,
Century City
$689,000
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| IN ESCROW
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806 N. Foothill Rd.,
Beverly Hills
$6,495,000
2383 Mandeville Cyn. Rd., Brentwood $4,495,000
220 Carmelina Ave.,
Brentwood
$3,395,000
3823 Mandeville Cyn. Rd.,
Brentwood
$1,575,000
116 S. Vista St.,
Beverly Center
$1,295,000
5972 Vista De La Luz,
Woodland Hills
$969,990
2265 Parnell Ave.,
Westwood
$899,000
8265 Fountain Ave. #202,
West Hollywood
$679,000
7391 E. Kite Dr.,
Anaheim Hills $699,000
10433 Wilshire Blvd. #406,
Westwood
$539,000
1526 E. Garvey Ave., West Covina $299,995 |
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GREETINGS FROM SALLY
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December 16, 2010
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Renewed Confidence Heading into a New Year!
I hope all of you are safe and warm as we see lots of unseasonably cold and snowy weather across the nation to inspire the holiday spirit.
Not only is the nation in a festive mood but consumer sentiment, which typically drives the real estate market, is increasingly upbeat. According to a poll conducted by the Conference Board Consumer Research Center, Americans are increasingly optimistic about future job prospects and anticipate fewer job declines alongside more promotions and increases in their personal income.
Overall confidence is at the highest level it has been in five months, and the economy appears to be slowly but steadily expanding even into the critical holiday shopping season. Mortgage delinquency rates have also dropped almost 10 percent within the past three months.
Meanwhile multifamily housing is leading the way for the commercial property sector to rebound. We can expect to see multifamily units continue to outperform the rest of the commercial sector in 2011. As apartment rents rise, more consumers will decide to buy a home and that will fuel the residential market.
One major issue in the news is that the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform - a bipartisan group tasked with coming up with ways to rebuild the economy - proposes limiting the homeowner mortgage interest tax deduction to primary residences and capping it at $500,000 worth of mortgages instead of the current $1 million level. The National Association of Realtors is vehemently opposed to this change, and considers the tax deduction a valuable incentive to home ownership. But the same commission recommends dropping the top tax rate from 35 percent to no more than 29 percent. For anyone in the highest income bracket that would generate significant savings that could be many times more valuable than their mortgage deduction.
It is too soon, of course, to tell what will happen with those proposals. But it does appear that the New Year should be a healthy and prosperous one for residential real estate and that gives all of us reason to be thankful and full of good cheer.
Happy Holidays!
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REAL ESTATE OUTLOOK: BERNANKE DISCUSSES JOB GROWTH | |
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Realty Times
Is the slow pace of the economy limiting job growth? That's the sentiment from Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke. Last Tuesday Bernanke had a chance to discuss issues other than the recent Bond purchase, and during this time he brought up concerns over job growth. Bernanke noted, "At the pace of growth that we're seeing now, we're not growing fast enough to materially reduce the unemployment rate." He says "the economy needs to grow at an annualized rate of 2 to 2.5 percent just to accommodate new workers coming into the labor force."
And while the recession officially ended over a year ago, unemployment has remained nearly constant at 9.6 percent from June of 2009.
According to The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, however, consumers are increasingly upbeat about future job prospects, with those polled expecting more jobs, income increases, and fewer job declines.
Read Full Article
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FEWER HOMEOWNERS BEHIND ON MORTGAGE PAYMENTS
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CNNMoney.com
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Mortgage delinquency rates dropped in the last three months -- but only because more borrowers had their homes repossessed. You can't be late on your mortgage payment if you've already lost your home.
The number of mortgage borrowers behind in their loans dropped during the three months ended Sept. 30 to a seasonably adjusted 9.13%, according to a report released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
However, that only includes loans that were at least one payment past due, not loans that are in the foreclosure process. The number of foreclosures started -- which happens typically after a borrower is 90-plus days late -- rose to 1.34% of all loans from 1.11% a quarter earlier.
Read Full Article
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| | MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION, DO YOU NEED IT? | |
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Housing Watch
In case you missed it, The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, released its recommendation last week, including the proposed elimination or limitation to the mortgage interest deduction ("MID") for homeowners.
In brief, the commission proposes to limit the mortgage interest deduction to only primary residences (today, they apply to second homes as well), and cap the deduction to $500,000 worth of mortgages (today, it's $1 million).
As you can imagine, the real estate industry is in quite an uproar over any changes to the mortgage interest deduction.
Ron Phipps, the President of NAR, has issued a pretty strong statement in opposition, calling the mortgage interest deduction "vital to homeownership and the economy" and vowing to "remain vigilant in opposing any plan that modifies or excludes the deductibility of mortgage interest". The National Association of Home Builders is also, as you can imagine, opposed to messing with the MID.
Read Full Article |
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