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The pace of home-price appreciation in San Diego County remained steady in February, as the market got closer to its annual peak homebuying season.

The S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index showed Tuesday that prices for resale single family homes rose 4.7 percent from February 2014 to February 2015. The region’s pace of annual appreciation has hovered between 4.5 and 5 percent over the past six months.

“We’re steadying out the market,” said Mark Goldman, a loan officer and real-estate lecturer at San Diego State University. “We’re up against affordability. We’re seeing some positive impact of the jobs picture and so forth, and I think we’re just in a more stable market. One thing that would help us a lot is if we had some new housing units.”

In February 2014, the index showed home prices up 20 percent, largely due to investors fixing and flipping properties. Goldman said the pace is not sustainable because people eventually get priced out. He said, however, that the pace could pick up once the county enters its peak spring and summer homebuying season because of increased demand but low inventory.

read more at: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/apr/28/case-shiller-february-real-estate-home-prices/

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Regulators at the California Public Utilities Commission issued a recommendation Tuesday that largely endorses proposals by the state’s investor-owned utilities that would increase household electricity bills for small and moderate consumers and shift costs away from a smaller number of heavy users.

A vote on the recommendation by administrative judges at the commission could take place as soon as May 21, giving time for consumer advocates to comment. Initial bill changes could take effect as soon as July, and new pricing would be phased in over several years.

Minimum monthly bill payments would likely increase to $10, and the proposal would allow regulators to consider more fixed fees and gradually introduce optional time-based rates that fluctuate with hourly demands on the electric grid.

read more at: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/apr/21/commission-backs-utilities-on-bills/

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If you’re a renter pining to become a homeowner or a foreclosure or short-sale victim, you may think that a home loan is out of reach.

However, home loan products and homebuyer assistance programs are available from lenders, local governments and nonprofit groups eager to help renters move into homeownership.

“There are two roadblocks that most would-be buyers think they face,” says Malcolm Hollensteiner, director of retail lending for TD Bank in McLean. “The first obstacle is down payment accumulation. The second is purely psychological: the fear that they cannot qualify for a loan. . . . There are fantastic opportunities that people are not aware of to reduce your need for cash and to obtain a loan approval.”

Lenders have special programs for new buyers with little cash and for those with low-to-moderate income or credit challenges.

“Prospective first-time buyers often think the loan process is too hard and that the closing costs are too substantial,” says Ray Brousseau, executive vice president of Carrington Mortgage Services in Santa Ana, Calif. “They don’t realize that there are programs for them that allow for a limited down payment and eliminate other out-of-pocket expenses, including closing costs.”

read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/business/2015/04/10/lenders-offer-new-options-for-first-time-and-credit-challenged-homebuyers/

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purpose only