Friday Funnies featuring Timothy Geithner's bathroom

There are some shocking findings in this "Daily Show" investigation of the housing crisis. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner's judgment is shown to be suspect with his bathroom remodel as proof. Ever-gracious Yale economist Robert Shiller is interviewed in the piece. He attempts to be fair in his assessment of Geithner's performance, but can't hold back when he sees the ghastly shower tiles.

Hat tip to Calculated Risk for earlier reposting the video for those of us who go to bed long before Jon Stewart is on.

-- Peter Y. Hong

Following up on L.A. foreclosure properties

Back in March L.A. Land looked at some Los Angeles foreclosures for sale. Thought we might follow up to see what they went for:

5605 Shenandoah Ave., Los Angeles 90056
Size: This 3,565-square-foot home in the Ladera Heights area has four bedrooms and 3½ bathrooms. The 1959 two-story house sits on a roughly 9,600-square-foot lot.
Agent description: The home has granite kitchen countertops, ceramic and wood floors, a wet bar and an aluminum steel roof.
Listed for: $789,000

Sold June 9 for $705,000.

Another foreclosure listed then was:

4138 Bledsoe Ave., Los Angeles 90066
Size: The 1,297-square-foot home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The 1953 single-story home is on a lot of about 4,240 square feet.
Agent description: The traditional home on a tree-lined street in the Mar Vista area features hardwood floors, a private patio and a large, gated front yard with a pond.
Listed for: $489,900

Still for sale. The price was reduced to $440,000 July 20.

Also:

3952 Walgrove Ave., Los Angeles 90066
Size: The single-story home in the Palms/Mar Vista neighborhood is about 900 square feet. The home, built in 1941, is on a roughly 5,980-square-foot lot and has two bedrooms and one bathroom.
Agent description: The redone house has bamboo floors and travertine countertops.
Listed for: $679,900

Sold July 23 for $639,000.

So did the buyers get some deals buying foreclosures, or are those prices still too high?

--Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo:  The 90056 ZIP Code for 5605 Shenandoah Ave., top, has seen 26 sales since the first of the year at a median price of $650,000, according to MDA DataQuick. That's a price drop of 22.6% from the median for the first half of 2008. Credit: Nelson Shelton & Associates

Photo:  The 90066 ZIP Code for 4138 Bledsoe Ave., middle, and 3952 Walgrove Ave., bottom, has seen 114 sales since the first of the year at a median price of $675,000, according to MDA DataQuick. That's a price drop of 14.4% from the median for the first half of 2008. Credit: Maria Hsin

One in 10 California, L.A. homeowners in default

New data from First American CoreLogic shows mortgage delinquencies climbing in June, with both California and Los Angeles posting default rates of about 10%. Yes, a staggering one out of 10 mortgage holders in Los Angeles County and California missed enough mortgage payments to receive a notice of default.

Default notices are the first stage in the foreclosure process. In June, Los Angeles County defaults rose to 9.9% of mortgage holders, from 9.5% in May. That's nearly double the 5.2% Los Angeles default level in June 2008.

Statewide, 9.5% of California mortgage holders were in default, up from 9.2% in May and 5.8% in June 2008.

Actual repossessions -- the final stage in foreclosure -- are not keeping pace with defaults. The Los Angeles repossession rate in June was 0.9%, down from 1.2% a year ago. California's repo rate was 1%, down from 1.6% a year ago.

Lenders are clearly dragging their feet on foreclosures. Some contend they are trying to put foreclosed homes on the market at an orderly pace, to keep prices from collapsing. Lenders say they were simply complying with government-imposed moratoriums and were waiting to see what other foreclosure prevention measures would be coming from Washington.

 Lenders may also be trying to complete more loan modifications to avoid more invasive government efforts such as passage of a law allowing bankruptcy judges to order reductions in loan principal. So-called "cramdown" legislation has been supported by the Obama administration but was taken off the table earlier this year. Prominent Democrats, including Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, have said that they would push for cramdowns if loan modifications don't go up.

-- Peter Y. Hong

Hot Property: Producer lists redone classic at $2,195,000

 

David Lipman, a producer for Dreamworks' "Shrek" movies, has listed his Hollywood Hills residence at $2,195,000.
 
He bought the classic mid-century in 2000 for $678,000 and completely overhauled the home, removing walls, updating systems and adding more windows.

The two-bedroom, two-bathroom home, with fireplaces in the living room and master bedroom, has 1,875 square feet of living space and a swimming pool.

In Lipman's 90046 ZIP Code, 27 single-family homes have sold since the beginning of the year at a median price of $880,000, according to MDA DataQuick. That's a price drop of 24.5% from the first half of 2008.

--Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: The redone 1961 house has mountain, canyon and city lights views. The listing agent is Max Nelson of Deasy/Penner & Partners, Beverly Hills. Credit: Jim Simmons

Hot housing market? No, but Dean Baker bought a house

We take a closer look in today's Times at the widely reported uptick in the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index and other recent housing reports.

    Some key points:

-- The Case-Shiller 20-city home price index was up 0.5% in May over April, the first increase since 2006. But when seasonally adjusted, the index still dropped from April to May.

-- Monday's new-home sales spike of 11% in June over May occurred amid one of the softest new-home markets in recorded history. May sales had been so poor that even with the bump, June sales were still the worst for the month since 1982.

-- The rising median price in California is the result of falling prices in the higher-priced segment of the market, which boosted sales of more expensive homes. That raised the overall value of homes sold, and the median, but happened because prices are falling.

-- Dean Baker, the prominent Washington, D.C., housing economist who saw the bubble coming and sold his condo in 2004, recently bought a house. Baker said he thinks the market still has more room to fall, but he wanted to enjoy his backyard this summer and was willing to pay a premium if it comes to that. He said he's OK with a 5% to 10% further decline in his home value, but "if it goes down 20% I'll be upset."

-- Peter Y. Hong

$249,000 Panorama City property among most popular online searches nationwide

A Panorama City house was the seventh-most searched home in the country on Realtor.com last week among those looking for homes within 20% of the national median price of $220,000.

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom house at 8746 Wakefield Ave., Panorama City, is priced at $249,000 and has hardwood floors and a swimming pool.

So what can you get elsewhere in the country at about the same price?

Making the No. 2-most-searched-for spot on the list was a four-bedroom, 2 1/2-bathroom, two-story of 2,571 square feet, priced at $250,000, in Orlando, Fla. The 2006 home is apparently considered a "tudor" in that neck of the woods.

The No. 3 home, in Boulder, Colo., caught my interest. Listed at $213,900, it has four bedrooms and four bathrooms in 2,304 square feet and sits on 3.5 acres. Oh, you probably can't get up there half the year and the listing does says "needs TLC." But, still, those views ...

--Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: Built in 1938, the Panorama City home that was No. 7 on the Realtor.com list last week has 1,391 square feet of living space and air conditioning. Credit: Gabe Ostrow

Hot Property: 'Sabrina' sells her Sherman Oaks home

Actress Melissa Joan Hart ("Sabrina, the Teenage Witch") has sold her Sherman Oaks home for close to $2.5 million.

The one-story Spanish-style house has five bedrooms and five bathrooms in 4,911 square feet. There are fireplaces in the living room and master bedroom, hardwood floors, recessed lighting and crown molding.

Hart, 33, had listed her residence for sale in October at $3.25 million, but had since reduced it to $2.85 million. She purchased the custom home in 2005 for an undisclosed amount.

-- Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: The master suite opens to a deck with a view of the yard and swimming pool. Matt Epstein of Re/Max on the Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, had the listing. Credit: Violette Shahvosian

Case-Shiller: U.S. home-price declines slowing

The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, which compares sales of single-family homes with their previous sale price, was down 17% in May from a year ago. 

Since January, the index has stopped declining at a record-breaking pace each month, so S&P officials say four months of slowing declines could signal some stabilization. They warn, however, that "we likely have a way to go before we see sustained price appreciation."

In the Los Angeles area, prices are down 20% from a year ago and 42% from the 2006 peak. By price tiers, low-end L.A. is off 56% from the peak, the mid-tier is down 42% and the highest-priced tier is off 31%. Both the mid-tier and high-tier were up slightly from April, the first time that's happened since 2006 and 2007, respectively. 

The worst declines from the peak so far are in Phoenix (55%) and Las Vegas (53%).

-- Peter Y. Hong

San Diego condo market fizzles

More than twice as many condos have been built in San Diego than in Los Angeles since 2001 -- and L.A. has three times the population.

Now "America's Finest City" has a whole lot of fine-looking condos languishing on the market or being rented out. Read more in today's Los Angeles Times.

-- Peter Y. Hong

Sales of new homes are up over May, but ...

New-home sales were up 11% over May, and initial news reports were playing this up as "the largest month-to-month gain in eight years."

But let's keep this in context. The June new-home sales total was down 21% from a year ago. Last year had been the worst year for new-home sales since 1982. At the current pace, this year's new-home sales are on track to be the worst since the Census Bureau began tracking the totals in 1963.

The May-to-June gain was pushed by low prices as builders moved to clear their backlogs, plus various tax credits. That brought sales up to match the level of June 1982. The Times report is here. The full Census Bureau release is here.

-- Peter Y. Hong