You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Real Estate’ category.
The restoration of the FHA loan limits is vital to both home ownership and our economy. On October 1 the mortgage loan limits declined in 669 counties in 42 states. This immediately reduced mortgage liquidity and home buyers’ ability to obtain a mortgage. The House and Senate are now deciding whether or not to restore the loan limits. The restoration of the loan limits to their prior levels has been included in an Appropriations bill being deliberated by Congress this week.
Your Senator is a member of the group of Congressional leaders who will decide whether Congress will restore the loan limits. This is why they need to hear from you today.
Why is this so important? Without the restoration of the loan limits the availability of safe, affordable, reliable mortgage financing will continue to diminish. If this happens, many potential home buyers run the risk of being priced out of the American Dream of home ownership. Even worse, this could hold back the housing recovery.
In the Silicon Valley region, the conforming loan limits of $729,750 were reduced by $104,250. This means buyers who need mortgages for more than $625,500 are now forced into the jumbo market, which means they would be paying higher interest rates, or unable to buy a home.
The California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) estimates more than 30,000 California families now face higher down payments, higher mortgage rates, and stricter loan qualification requirements with conforming loan limits on mortgages backed by FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac now reduced. In Santa Clara County, C.A.R. estimates nearly 8 percent of potential home sales would be rendered ineligible under the lower GSE loan limit, and 12.2 percent would be deemed ineligible under the lower FHA limit.
“The loan limits provision is fully paid for, and won’t cost taxpayers a dime. If families cannot obtain financing to buy, home prices will continue to fall. This will further erode the wealth of families in our community and across the country, and will prolong the nation’s economic recovery,” said Lentz. “As individuals and families everywhere are trying to gain a foothold in these trying times, we need to give them the resources to do so.”
Buying property in Silicon Valley makes perfect sense, according to Referral Realty broker Moise Nahouraii. Nahouraii recently showed SILVAR members why.
Nahouraii said in addition to the advantages of historic low mortgage interest rates, low home prices and high rents, property appreciates in Silicon Valley three times more than anywhere else in the state. The top three industries leading the country out of the recession are high tech, energy and medical industries, which all exist in Silicon Valley.
“Land here is gold!” exclaimed Nahouraii.
Additionally, in a survey of Silicon Valley CEOs, 84 percent considered housing as a top problem in the region; 67 percent said the cost of housing was one the most pressing challenges. Majority of respondents want government to approve more affordable housing.
This is the best time to invest in real estate in Silicon Valley because rents are rising because of high demand due to foreclosures, short sales, unemployment, damaged credit, loss of stocks, increased debt, stringent loan qualifications by lenders, lack of down payment for a home, etc. Nahouraii showed bargain properties on the MLS and illustrated how purchasing a single-family home (self-managed) and multi-unit property (self-managed) could generate a positive cash flow for an investor.
“Investment should carry itself because you could lose your job tomorrow. You have the most stability in Silicon Valley than anywhere else,” said Nahouraii.
Late Thursday evening, the Senate voted 60-38 to pass an amendment introduced by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA). The amendment would restore the FHA and GSE Loan Limits to the levels prior to September 30.
The amendment is included in the Treasury, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill that also passed the Senate. While this is a victory for REALTORS®, this amendment has a long way to go to be approved in the House or during a conference between the House and Senate.
District Chair Doug Evans is pictured here with Debbie Burkholder, assistant director of the Lucile Packard Foundation Children’s Fund.
SILVAR’s Los Gatos/Saratoga District presented $2,000 to the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health at the district’s tour meeting on Wednesday. District Chair Doug Evans presented the donation to Debbie Burkholder, assistant director of the Lucile Packard Foundation Children’s Fund.
The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health works in alignment with Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and the child health programs of Stanford University. The donation from the district is earmarked to support research in Ewing sarcoma, a malignant bone tumor that affects children.
Ewing sarcoma as a devastating cancer that can occur any time during childhood and young adulthood, but usually develops during puberty, when bones are growing rapidly. This type of cancer usually strikes between the ages of 10 and 20, and occurs more frequently among male teen-agers.
The donation is part of the proceeds from the Los Gatos/Saratoga District Charity Golf Tournament, held in July at the Cinnabar Hills Golf Club in San Jose. The event raised $7,000 for charity. The remainder of the proceeds will be presented by the district to the following local non-profit groups at its upcoming tour meetings: Los Gatos Education Foundation, $2,000; Los Gatos Community Foundation, $1,500; Los Gatos Public Library, $1,000; and Operation Reindeer, $500.
Team 408 included REALTORS® from the Cupertino/Sunnyvale and Los Gatos/Saratoga districts. They are pictured here with their Affiliates, who cheered them on.
A co-ed softball game pitting Team 650 (REALTOR® members of SILVAR’s Menlo Park/Atherton, Palo Alto and Los Altos/Mountain View districts) against Team 408 (REALTOR® members of SILVAR’s Cupertino/Sunnyvale and Los Gatos/Saratoga districts) turned out to be competitive, but fun, and successfully raised over $3,200 for the Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation.
More than 100 players and spectators gathered at the softball field in the New Portola Valley Town Center on Thursday afternoon for the event, which also featured music and a bar-b-que dinner. The event was hosted this year by the Menlo Park/Atherton District.
The event began with the national anthem sang by Lisa Nunes of First American Title and her daughter Taylor Nunes. SILVAR President Gene Lentz threw the first pitch. Then, the two REALTOR® teams played ball as Affiliates of the respective teams, wearing color coordinated t-shirts (blue for Team 408 and red for Team 650), and the crowd, cheered them on. With a final score of 5 to 1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Team 408 won the game and the trophy!
SILVAR would like to convey a very special thank you to the following generous sponsors:
BBQ Sponsor: Opes Advisors
Home Base Sponsor: Coldwell Banker
Base Sponsors: Alain Pinel Realtors (Los Altos); Alain Pinel Realtors (Menlo Park); and Princeton Capital
Supporters: A & R Termite Control, Inc.; Cupertino/Sunnyvale District; and Moise Nahouraii-Referral Realty (Cupertino)
Team 650 included REALTORS® from the Menlo Park/Atherton, Palo Alto and Los Altos/Mountain View districts.
“I’m very happy that the Menlo-Atherton District could host an event that could bring the entire SILVAR association together,” said Day On the Diamond Committee Chair Lehua Greenman. “I thank all those who participated, and also the continued support of our generous sponsors and affiliates. We look forward to another great Day On the Diamond between Teams 650 and 408 in 2012!”
The real winner of the event was the Silicon Valley REALTORS® Charitable Foundation. “I want to thank everyone for supporting our Charitable Foundation by participating in this event, by sponsoring, playing, coaching, umpiring, hosting, cheering and being part of a great crowd,” added Greenman.
California REALTORS® have a new way to differentiate themselves and show consumers they maintain a high level of knowledge of the home buying and selling process and are bound by a strict code of ethics by using the REALTOR® Badge, a new, free California Association of REALTORS® member benefit introduced by C.A.R.’s subsidiary, Real Estate Business Services® Inc. (REBS®).
The REALTOR® Badge is a personalized widget that verifies a REALTOR®’s license status and displays your REALTOR® information, including office, specialization, and designation information. REALTORS® can display the REALTOR® Badge on their website, blog, and property listing pages.
The REALTOR® Badge is an easy way to add value to your reputation and online presence. Placing the badge on your website gives your current and prospective clients the assurance that you are more than a real estate agent; you are a REALTOR® who subscribes to a strict code of ethics.
“Consumers who are making one of the most important financial decisions in their lives want to know they are working with someone who is knowledgeable about the real estate industry and who follows a strict code of ethics,” said REBS Chairman Robert Bailey. “The REALTOR® Badge instantly identifies a REALTOR® as belonging to an elite group of real estate professionals that consumers can trust. I’ve even included the REALTOR® Badge on my website because I want my clients and prospective clients to be assured they are working with a REALTOR® and to understand what that means,” said Bailey.
The REALTOR® Badge also includes a REALTOR®’s area of expertise, market specialties, and any additional languages the REALTOR® may speak or read. With a link directly to the California Department of Real Estate (DRE), a consumer can verify a REALTOR®’s license status.
Get your REALTOR® Badge at www.realtorbadge.com
Karen Izzo, Nancy Cole, and Diana Crawford shared with members their experiences selling property in the Los Gatos Mountains at a September Los Gatos/Saratoga District tour meeting.
It takes certain types of buyers and agents to take an interest in mountain property. Nancy Cole (Coldwell Banker), Karen Izzo (Sereno Group) and Diana Crawford (Intero Real Estate) are agents who specialize in Los Gatos Mountains property. They wouldn’t have it any other way, they told SILVAR members at a September Los Gatos/Saratoga District tour meeting this month.
The agents discussed the benefits of living in the Los Gatos Mountains, as well as the intricacies of purchasing property there. As mountain residents themselves, Cole, Izzo and Crawford were quick to list the many benefits of mountain living – fresh clean air, open spaces, larger properties, with proximity to the city and excellent schools.
A longtime Los Gatos Mountains resident, Cole said she continues to be intrigued by the incredible beauty of her surroundings, but she and the other agents noted it takes a certain type of person to gravitate to the surroundings and lifestyle. Cole described the typical mountain property buyer as being more independent, more self-reliant, more entrepreneurial, highly educated and high functioning.
Mountain property buyers want a different lifestyle from that offered in the city. They want to escape the high density of the city and like the solitude, mellower lifestyle in the mountains, said Izzo.
Crawford described mountain residents as more environmentally sensitive than most. They appreciate the supportive, positive subculture that mountain living offers, she said.
There is a demand for mountain property, and these days the market is offering better values and good buys, said Cole. Buyers come from the valley, the San Francisco Bay area; some are transfers from the East Coast, which has many similar properties.
Mountain living does not come without its unique issues. The agents noted real estate transactions involving mountain property are more complicated than typical residential transactions for homes in the city or suburbs. Buyers have to contend with more complicated title reports, plat maps and easements. Then there is the issue of water – private wells, springs, septic tanks, and of course, road maintenance agreements and/or private roads, and homeowner associations (HOAs) in some communities.
It’s worth it, said Crawford, a Los Gatos Mountains resident for more than 25 years. She said she has the best of both worlds and likened it to “going on a retreat every day.”
There’s good news and bad news. First the good news …
On Monday, September 26, the U.S. Senate passed the Continuing Appropriations Act (H.R. 2608), which also includes a provision extending the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) until November 18, 2011. Next week, the House is expected to approve this extension and has ensured that there will be no lapse in NFIP authority in the interim.
The National Association of REALTORS® is urging Congress to finish its work on the 5-year reauthorization bill (H.R. 1309) before this latest extension ends, in order to provide certainty and avoid further disruption to real estate markets.
And the bad news …
After an unsuccessful attempt to include an extension of the existing loan limit in the continuing resolution to keep the federal government running, Congress failed to extend the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) and GSE (Government-sponsored Enterprise) mortgage loan limits.
On Oct. 1, the conforming loan limits will decline in 669 counties in 42 states, including San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The new limits will be equal to 115 percent of the local area median home price (down from 125 percent). The high cost cap will fall from $729,750 to $625,500.
The National Association of REALTORS® will continue to work with Congress to attempt to restore the higher limits as quickly as possible.
Left to right: Jack Walker, Jim Davis, Tara Martin-Milius, Fred Fowler and Bo Chang.
Five of nine candidates vying for seats in the Sunnyvale City Council shared their positions on taxes, housing, energy retrofitting and rent control at yesterday’s Cupertino/Sunnyvale District’s tour meeting. Council seats 4, 5, 6, and 7 will be decided in the November 8 election.
Overall issues that concerned the candidates were the city’s budget, and the planning and development of the downtown area, which they see as a key source of revenue for the city. All of these candidates stated they are against rent control and imposing energy retrofitting at point of sale.
Bo Chang, who is vying for Seat 5, is a REALTOR® and SILVAR member. Having served on the planning commission for the past four years, Chang said bringing downtown to completion is the cornerstone to raising the city’s sales tax revenue. He said raising taxes and imposing fees would be a last resort because this will discourage entrepreneurship. He identified three areas which can economically benefit the city. They include working on fixing the downtown so it can quickly generate sales tax; and the El Camino corridor and Moffett Park, both of which are doing well. Chang would like to see sustainable housing in the center of employment, along transportation corridors and retail services, in order to accommodate residents without transportation. He is for smart growth because smart development is necessary to accommodate residents so they live close to work, which will mitigate the transportation issues. The city also needs to facilitate communication and work with other cities regarding the issue. A longtime resident and having served on the planning commission for the past four years, Chang said he has invested much in the city and would like to continue serving at the council level.
Jim Davis, a recently retired Sunnyvale law enforcement officer, is seeking Seat 6. He is concerned about the city’s finances, especially since it used $13 million of its reserves to balance the budget last year. He said the city did a good job in the past by bringing in businesses, but due to the economic downturn, things changed. The city has not done enough since to bring businesses back. He doesn’t think the city has done much to encourage commercial property owners to improve their property to make the city attractive for businesses. The city needs to invigorate its resources and bring jobs into the community. He said places like Perry Park need redevelopment dollars. He said it depresses him how long the downtown development has been stalled. He believes the city has done a good job keeping the balance but it needs to be aware of where to put new housing. He said it will be a challenge to keep up with the housing balance. He said his 36 years in law enforcement have given him experience dealing in conflict resolution and listening intently. He has followed the city council meetings closely, so if elected, he can hit the ground running.
Jack Walker is also vying for Seat 6. A former Sunnyvale mayor, current board officer of the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce and active resident, Walker said the city’s budget and planning issues need to be addressed and he believes he can help. He said the sales tax structure has been primarily retail based. While Moffett Park has been well developed, a drawback is businesses there are service oriented. He is concerned planning decisions are discouraging manufacturing. Walker is against housing in El Camino and said it needs to stay commercial and retail. He believes Sunnyvale is rapidly reaching a turning point where there is no available land for housing. He is concerned about infilling the industrial areas with housing, but some open spaces on the edges of the industrial areas make sense. The city needs to be cautious and make sure density does not compromise existing neighborhoods. He said housing, jobs, revenue, density are all related and intertwined and he feels his past experience as mayor has given him perspective on these issues.
Seeking Seat 7 is Fred Fowler, also a past Sunnyvale mayor, a volunteer with the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, and commissioner on the Sunnyvale Housing and Human Services Commission. Since retiring from office, Fowler said he has seen changes in the way the city works and does not feel it is working efficiently. He likes the way Sunnyvale used to be and wants to bring back the best of past practices. Fowler said the city’s revenues are limited and the best thing is to get the downtown working. He said the city’s current tax structure doesn’t make sense because it doesn’t grow with inflation the way the city’s expenses do. He doesn’t believe the city can survive with a sales tax on goods only and would like to explore taxes on the services sector, but lowering rates overall. Fowler believes Sunnyvale needs more housing of all types, especially rental housing. He sees opportunities for more housing in the old ITR zoning areas and would consider rezoning areas with old office buildings and convert them to housing. He said he has the experience, skills and talents available for the city and is ready to get to work.
Tara Martin-Milius is also seeking Seat 7. She has a business in communications and management consulting, chaired the San Miguel Neighbors Association for many years and is a member of the Sunnyvale Arts Commission. Martin-Milius said she wants to represent residents and be their voice in the council. She said the city’s budget has to be fixed. She would love to see the downtown up and going again to enhance the city’s revenue stream. Her priority is to get businesses into Sunnyvale. She said right now property taxes are the biggest line item for city revenue and should not be. She would like to see businesses help feed the city’s income stream. Martin-Milius wants to keep the balance between residential and commercial. She said residents have complained about transition areas to high density. She would like to see mixed use development on transportation corridors like El Camino, but would make sure transition areas work well. The city can’t support itself as a bedroom community; it needs industrial development, she said. With her experience with residents and teaching career, Martin-Milius said she would be able to facilitate council meetings and bring balance to what goes on in the city council.
Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® says ... 