Category Archives: Real Estate

California – Property Tax Hike for Most

Posted on July 24, 2014 | Leave a comment

Assessed property values in San Diego County rose 6 percent last year, but most homeowners will only see a fraction of that reflected in their property tax bills.

The County Assessor reported last week that assessed values of homes, boats, planes and business property collectively rose $24.6 billion as of Jan. 1, 2014, the day values are compiled for property tax bills.

For 575,000 homes, or 68 percent of those in the county, assessed values will rise less than 0.5 percent because of Proposition 13, which California voters passed in 1978. The measure mandates that property values for tax purposes cannot grow more than the California Consumer price Index or 2 percent, whichever is lower. Last year, the California Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, was less than 2 percent, so owners that were not given a break on property taxes during the housing crisis will see that smaller increase reflected in their tax bill, which is 1 percent of assessed value plus any local charges.

The limit on the tax bill increase, however, doesn’t apply when properties are sold or there is new construction. There is also an exception for owners who got a downward assessment during the housing crisis. For those people, there is no limit on how much a property tax bill rises until it reaches its assessed value before the decrease.

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Where is the Housing Inventory? Why are Less People Selling?

Posted on July 12, 2014 | Leave a comment

WASHINGTON (AP) — Would-be home sellers across the country are grappling with a once-in-a-lifetime problem: They have mortgage rates so absurdly low it would hurt them financially to sell.

Doing so would mean giving up an irresistible rate in exchange for a new mortgage carrying a rate up to a percentage point higher. Their monthly payments would be larger even for a house of the same price. That’s discouraging some people from selling, thereby limiting the supply of available homes and contributing to slower home sales.

It’s a significant shift from the way the U.S. housing market has worked for the past 30 years. For most of that time, whenever a homeowner decided to trade up to a better home, mortgage rates usually were lower than the last time they had bought. That helped make a new purchase seem more attractive.

But that is changing. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell below 4 percent in late 2011 and reached a record low level of 3.3 percent in November 2012. It didn’t top 4 percent again until mid-2013. Homeowners took advantage of the lower rates and a refinancing boom ensued.

More than one-third of homes with a mortgage now have rates below 4 percent, real estate data provider CoreLogic estimates. Yet mortgage rates now average 4.2 percent. That is still low by historical standards but up about three-quarters of a point from a year and a half ago. And should mortgage rates rise later this year and next, as many economists expect, even more homeowners will be affected.

As a result, many homeowners with low rates are staying put. Others are moving and buying new homes, but keeping their old ones and renting them. Both choices mean that fewer homes are listed for sale, which drives up prices. Higher prices and limited selection have put the brakes on a housing recovery that began in 2012.

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Natural Disaster Housing Risk Report – Is Your Home in ND Area

Posted on July 2, 2014 | Leave a comment

“The higher median home prices in many counties with a high risk for natural disaster indicates that other location-based factors such as weather and access to jobs override concerns about home damage as a result of earthquakes, tornados and hurricanes,” Blomquist added.