The Great Recession at 30

Since the 'Great Recession' began more than 30 months ago, 55% of all adults in the labor force report that they suffered a period of unemployment, a reduction in pay or hours, or they became involuntary part-time workers, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center's Social and Demographic Trends Project.

The survey of 2,967 adults was conducted from mid May to the end of May 2010, on cellular and landline telephones. The study found Americans reported a new frugality and a revised balance sheet. With many reporting it will take several years, at a minimum, for their family finances and house values to recover. Key findings include:

• About half the public, 48% say they are in worse financial shape now than before the recession began; 21% said they are in better shape.
• Of those who say their family finances have lost ground during the recession, 63% say it will take at least 3 years to recover
• About half of all homeowners, 48% said their home values declined during the recession. Of those, 47% believe it will take 3-5 years to return to pre-recession levels, while 39% think it will take 6 years or longer.
• 62% of the respondents say they expect their financial situation to improve this year.

Partnerships in Real Estate

Newly formed Partnerships in the Industry:

• Yahoo! Partners with CoreLogic and Zillow

Yahoo! Real Estate recently announced two partnerships. The first, with CoreLogic, will allow the Internet company to post CoreLogic's distressed housing data. Specifically, Yahoo! users will have access to CoreLogic's RealQuest platform, which contains data for 145 million residential properties in the U.S. Under the deal, Yahoo! users will access a subset of the data and be offered a subscription option for more complete data. The second partnership, an exclusive partnership with Zillow, will offer advertisers a single channel to reach both sites' audiences, with listings placed on one site populating the other site.

• Trulia Partners with CNNMoney

Trulia has teamed up with CNNMoney to become the exclusive provider of real estate listings to CNNMoney and real estate data for MONEY's "Best Places to Live" list.

• Inman Partners with C.A.R.

Inman News announced it will provide a daily news feed for C.A.R.'s latest Smartphone application, AgentNTouch, a consumer-focused app that allows subscribers to personalize the app and share housing trends, real estate advice, and listing information with their clients. 

Pre-Craftsman Beauties

I love homes, it's probably one of the biggest reasons I have entered this profession. The architecture of a home can make me giddy (seriously, I turn into a 5 yr old in a toy store). My favorite styles are Spanish, Craftsman, Art Deco, and especially Victorians. So when I read about the city of Pasadena's Historic Preservation survey, I was quite intrigued.

After nearly a year of work, a fascinating survey and report on Pasadena homes built between 1883 and 1904 has been completed. The Planning Department secured a federal grant last fall through the California Office of Historic Preservation to study late 19th and early 20th century architecture. Since then, the team has evaluated more than 870 homes. (I'm very jealous)

The final report details architectural styles popular in that era, including the Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, American Foursquare, Shingle and Eastlake styles, as well as simpler Folk Victorian houses and gable-and-hipped roofed cottages. The report also cites important architects, such as Greene and Greene.

Based on the team's findings, they have nominated two Pasadena neighborhoods and ten indiviual homes for the National Register of Historic Places. They also discovered 44 homes that may be eligible for nomination, and 38 that could be named city landmarks.

When the project is completed, all homes will be added to the California Historical Resources Inventory Database. How exciting!

Pasadena: Big City or Small Town

During the summer and fall of 2009, more than 3,000 people helped identify what they cherish about Pasadena, and what they would like to see improved. These operations were known as phase one of the General Plan Land Use and Mobility Elements update. Then all comments were organized into an Outreach Summary Report approved in May 2010 by the Pasadena City Council.

Now it's time for phase two. This will entail considering the options, making tough decisions and creating a city that reflects the community's diverse wishes.

One of the biggest questions is-

Should Pasadena continue to grow into a more metropolitan city or slow down to maintain the small town feel? Is there a healthy balance between the two?

Pasadena residents can state their opinion during one of two community workshops at the Pasadena Senior Center, located at 85 East Holly Street.

•Saturday, September 25, at 9am

•Thursday, September 30, at 6:30pm

Each workshop will include a short presentation on some of the challenges facing Pasadena, such as housing affordability, the local economy, housing laws and climate change. Then breakout groups will discuss the existing guiding principles of the General Plan, pinpoint areas of the city that are fine just the way they are, and determine if, how and where any new growth should occur. Input from these workshops will be used to draft alternatives that address concerns in the Outreach Summary Report.

In spring 2011, there will be another round of workshops to choose which alternatives will be included in the updated General Plan. Stay involved by visiting www.cityofpasadena.net/generalplan where you can find more details on workshops and pour through documents. Make your mark on Pasadena's future!



California Mortgage Rates updated 9/2/10

California Mortgage Rates & Payment Calculator

provided by Informa Research Services, Inc. | updated Thursday, September 2, 2010 (what's this?)

Mortgage Type	Today	Last Week	Change	Graph
15 Year Fixed	4.107%	4.133%	-0.026%	graph
30 Year Fixed	4.565%	4.576%	-0.011%	graph
1 Year ARM	3.131%	3.243%	-0.112%	graph
3/1 Year ARM	3.267%	3.306%	-0.039%	graph
5/1 Year ARM	3.349%	3.392%	-0.043%	graph

YourPieceOfCalifornia.com

The last page of the August 2010 'California Real Estate' magazine read,

"Your Guide-yourpieceofcalifornia.com"

Even before reading on, I visited the web site, so I can read the article while browsing the site. So here's a jumble of what I took from both outlets.
The web site is sponsored and created by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS. It is designed to assist prospective and current homeowners with the home-buying and home-selling process. The four main tabs read; Buying a Home, Neighborhood Information, Selling a Home, Working with a Realtor. Also including two links at the top right of the page; Find a Local Realtor and Property Listings. These link to REALTOR.com, where buyers and sellers can search for a local realtor to work with, or search for listings nationwide. Another great aspect is within a few clicks you can access current real estate news, such as median home price data. Overall I think it's another helpful website that both consumers and practitioners should visit.

I've already visited, will you?

Retailers Need to Think Old

My neighborhood, Old Town Pasadena has seen some new construction in the last few years. Including work/live spaces and luxury condominiums. But the majority of buildings are commerical. Most of these commerical buildings have been around since the turn of the last century. I came across an article in the July/August edition of REALTOR magazine, 'Retailers Need to Think Old'.

It isn't buildings that need to be re-engineered to serve the world's burgeoning senior population, it's the retail uses inside them. Adding wider doorways for wheelchairs and more handicapped parking spaces are a great start, but retailers also need to consider displays and labeling goods so they're accessible to people with disabilites. Changes like larger more colorful labeling for fading eyesight and lower racks that caqn be reached from a wheelchair or motorized cart.

Plus, aren't old buildings just more charming..?

Housing Myths Busted!

Two e-mail chains are spreading misinformation about pending legislation. One claims that the energy bill that's working its way through Congress would require home sellers to obtain an energy audit or make energy retrofits before they can sell their home. In reality, the bill includes a provision that requires new construction to be energy-labeled but prohibits states from requiring new ratings when the house is resold.

The second e-mail states that the health care bill contains a 4% transfer tax for some high-income households that have "net investment income." The tax, which goes into effect in 2013, applies only to households with adjusted gross income of more than $250,000 or $200,000 for individuals. Also, since the the capital gains exclusion rule is still in effect, the tax would be charged only on home sale proceeds that exceed the exclusion amount of $500,000 or $250,000 for individuals.

Remember folks, knowledge is power!

More Time for Tax Credit Deals??

Slow-moving short sales have made it impossible for many buyers to meet the June 30 closing deadline to qualify for the government tax credit. So it was a relief when a bill was introduced in the Senate in June to extend the closing deadline to September 30 for contracts that were already in place. The National Association of Realtors estimates as many as 180,000 households could benefit if the bill passes. Meanwhile, members of the military, intelligence agencies, and the Foreign Service who spent at least 90 days overseas last year have until the end of April 2011 to get a contract in writing in order to qualify for the tax credit.

Loan Modifications Under Fire

In the Real Estate Industry, whether you're an agent, broker, or loan officer, you've heard of "Loan Mods". 'Home Affordable Modification Program' otherwise known as HAMP, is the government program for helping hard-hit homeowners avoid foreclosure is encouraging strategic defaults. Loan Modifications made through HAMP are based on the home owner's first lien debt, not OVERALL debt. So even when lenders modify first mortgage debt to 31% of income, many borrowers continue to carry unmanageable debt-to-income ratios. The result too often is borrowers defaulting in order to qualify for a short sale or federal assistance. Asset Management giant BlackRock Inc. is shopping a proposal in Congress to replace HAMP with a temporary type of bankruptcy that requires subordinate debt to be eliminated first.

A Jumbo Recovery

In Late Spring, the first jumbo loan securitization closed since 2008. Marking what could be the beginning of a recovery for jumbo loans. The $238 million deal is collateralized by 255 loans that exceed the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's conforming high-cost loan limit of $729,750. Since 2008, jumbo originations have been limited to portfolio loans made by large national lenders. Now that investors are showing a willingness to purchase secuities of nongovernment-backed loans, a wider variety of lenders could return to the market.

What do you think?