Signs of life in Southern California's housing market

Southern California’s housing market took another small step toward recovery in September as the median sale price for homes in some areas rose above last year’s levels – the first such increase since the market crashed.

The median price paid for all homes in six Southern California counties in September -- $275,000 -- was unchanged from August and 11% below the same month last year, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick.

But in Orange County, the median home sale price last month of $429,000 rose modestly from $425,000 the same month a year earlier -- the first year-over-year gain since 2007, DataQuick said. If condominium sales are excluded, last month’s median home sale price in San Diego and Ventura counties also beat their September 2008 levels.

Christopher Thornberg, a Los Angeles economist who was an early predictor of the housing bubble, said several factors converged last month to give home sales a boost. "Tax breaks, low interest rates and pent-up demand added up to create a surge in sales that’s surely gone some way in stabilizing prices,” he said.

But Thornberg cautioned that prices could fall again.

“The question continues to be, how is this going to stand up when the next wave of foreclosures hits the market?” he said.

Even if the housing market takes another hit in the coming months, Thornberg said, the bulk of the market correction is past.

“If prices do fall again, it’ll be another 10% to 15% max,” he said.

The Southern California median price remains at 2002 levels, even without considering inflation, and is 46% below its peak level of $505,000 set in several months of 2007.

Those relatively low prices pushed the number of homes sold in September up 5% over the same month last year, and 0.2% above August. Home sales in the past year picked up first in the lowest-priced inland areas, where massive foreclosures pulled prices down.

Last month’s sales, with a rising median price over last year in some areas, show the mix of homes sold is normalizing. Sales of homes priced at or above $500,000 were 21% of the total, up from 13% in January, DataQuick said.

-- Peter Y. Hong

96% of U.S. metro areas lost construction jobs this year, research finds

Construction employment dropped this year in more than 96% of the country’s metropolitan areas, according to research released today by the Associated General Contractors of America.

Of the 337 metropolitan areas, construction-related jobs plunged in 324 regions between August 2008 and August 2009, according to an analysis of federal employment data.

The Reno-Sparks area of Nevada was the hardest hit, with a 35% dive, followed by the 33% sag in the Duluth region spread over Minnesota and Wisconsin. Construction employment in Tucson plummeted 31%, and it slumped 30% in Wenatchee, Wash.

Several California areas suffered deep declines. Construction jobs in Redding dipped 28%, while employment in the construction, mining and logging sectors in El Centro dropped 27%. The Riverside, San Bernardino and Ontario region, as well as the Sacramento, Arden-Arcade and Roseville area saw construction jobs slide 23%. Construction, mining and logging work fell 23% in the Santa Cruz and Watsonville zone.

Statewide, California’s construction employment numbers dropped 19%, from 798,400 workers to 650,200. Construction jobs in the Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale division fell 12%, from 145,400 workers to 127,300. The best performer in the state was the Hanford-Corcoran metropolitan area in Central California, which was ranked 95% nationwide with an 8% drop in construction, mining and logging jobs....

Popular home searches in L.A. County

 

What homes are people looking at online? Here are the top five most-searched Los Angeles County listings last week on Realtor.com among homes priced within 20% of the median list price of $410,000.

No. 1: 19127 Amber Valley Drive, Walnut, CA 91789 -- four bedrooms, three bathrooms, 1,785 square feet -- listed at $419,000.

No. 2: 16626 Wilton Place, Torrance 90504 -- three bedrooms, two bathrooms, 1,215 square feet -- $369,900

No. 3: 16018 Amber Valley Drive, Whittier 90604 -- three bedrooms, two bathrooms, 1,249 square feet -- $350,000

No. 4: 1460 Whitefield Road, Pasadena 91104 -- four bedrooms, two bathrooms, 1,260 square feet -- $350,000

No. 5: 1795 Kenneth Way, Pasadena, 91103 -- three bedrooms, two bathrooms, 1,560 square feet -- $399,000

Some pretty small houses in the middle of this list. Looks like starter-home/first-time buyers are scoping things out online.

-- Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: The 1956 home on Wilton Place in Torrance, ranked No. 2 on the list, is being sold as a fixer. Credit: Allison Van Wig

 

The homes that got the clicks last week in L.A. County

 

Here are the homes getting the hits in online searches of L.A. County listings. Realtor.com ranked these as the top five most-searched-for listings countywide within 20% of the median list price of $420,000 for last week. When we ran this feature last month the median list price for the county was $409,000.

1. 1221 Oakridge Drive, Glendale 91205
Size: Four bedrooms, three bathrooms in 1,344 square feet
Listed for: $395,000

2. 6018 Amber Valley Drive, Whittier 90604
Size: Three bedrooms, two bathrooms in 1,249 square feet
Listed for: $350,000

3. 2060 Eleanore Drive, Glendale 91206
Size: Five bedrooms, three bathrooms in 1,534 square feet
Listed for: $447,000

4. 2711 Rustic Lane, Glendale 91208
Size: Three bedrooms, two bathrooms in 1,621 square feet  
Listed for: $449,000

5. 10001 Westwanda Drive, Beverly Hills 90210
Size: One bedroom, one bathroom in 450 square feet
Listed for: $399,000

Two of the same properties, #3 and #5, were on the list that ran June 9 too.

--Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: The 1924 Mediterranean-style home at 1221 Oakridge Drive, Glendale, topped the list of L.A. County median-list price searches last week at Realtor.com. Credit: Daniel P. Garcia

Frequently searched-for homes in L.A. County

 

So what kind of houses are people looking for online these days? For last week, Realtor.com ranks these as the top five most-searched-for listings in L.A. County within 20% of the median list price of $409,000.

1. 489 Atchison St., Pasadena, CA 91104
Listed at $346,500, the Spanish-style home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,414 square feet.

2. 2060 Eleanore Drive, Glendale, CA 91206
Listed at $447,000, the 1924 two-story has five bedrooms and three bathrooms in 1,534 square feet.

3. 1460 Whitefield Road, Pasadena, CA 91104
Listed at $350,000, the single-story house has four bedrooms and two bathrooms in  1,260 square feet.
 

4. 1326 N. Sparks St., Burbank, CA 91506
Listed for $331,000, the traditional has three bedrooms and two bathrooms in 1,307 square feet.
 

5. 10001 Westwanda Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Listed at $399,000, the bank-owned foreclosure has one bedroom and one bathroom in 450 square feet.
 

Whoa. That last one gives new meaning to 90210.

And while we're looking at area listings, here's the existing homes listing snapshot from HousingTracker.net:

	2009-06-08	Month/Month	Year/Year
Median Listing Price	$389,000	1.0%	-11.0%
Number of Listings	33,925	-4.9%	-31.9%

-- Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: The Glendale home that ranked No. 2 among median-priced searches last week has a wet bar, air conditioning and a detached garage. Credit: Raffil S. and Ibeena B.

County and city money for first-time buyers

In an effort to stimulate home buying, cities and counties throughout Southern California are rolling out programs that give incentives to first-time buyers.

Among them, Los Angeles County's Housing Economic Recovery Ownership program is set to launch March 17. It offers interest-free second trust deed loans of $50,000 to $75,000 to first-time borrowers who do not already own a home or for those who have not owned a principal residence for three years preceding the purchase.

Single-family foreclosed or abandoned homes are eligible in designated census tracts with a maximum price of $493,000 and foreclosed or abandoned attached homes up to $394,250. No repayment of the second trust deed is required until the home is sold, transferred, refinanced or no longer owner-occupied.
 
The program requires qualified applicants to complete an eight-hour homeownership course from an approved U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development counseling agency. The county has set aside $10 million for the effort. More information is available at the website.

In Riverside County, the city of Corona’s Redevelopment Agency has reinstated its Home Owner Assistance Program for first-time buyers. The agency will contribute the 20% down payment to purchase a foreclosed home up to $350,000. 

The city has received 28 applications since January and spent more than $750,000 of the $1.5 million allocated to the program.

After the first $1.5 million is spent, Corona Redevelopment Agency spokesperson Jesus Morales said the city may earmark another $1.5 million. Visit the website for more information.

--Scott Marshutz

Thoughts? Comments?

Property tax revenues to drop in many Southland cities

In the "less is less" category, see "Cities brace for revenue losses as property values continue to drop" at latimes.com:

Assessors in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties are forecasting the first drops in property tax collections in more than a decade, presaging reduced revenues for many cash-strapped local governments.

Until now, property tax revenues had been a relatively stable source of money for cities amid a recession that has dramatically reduced sales tax intake, particularly from car dealers.

Even with the decline in home values, the property tax base in five Southland counties grew last year thanks to continuing sales and the completion of construction begun during the 2003-2006 building boom. But assessors in those counties said they have reduced the value of more than half a million properties and expect to make deeper cuts to their rolls by the summer.

Not surprisingly, San Bernardino will be harder hit -- with an anticipated 5.7% drop -- than L.A. County, which projects a 1% drop. Orange County expects to retain the same property tax base or see growth up to 2%. Ventura County expects the base to remain flat. Has anyone out there gotten their property tax lowered and, if so, by how much?

-- Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: John Curulli had his Altadena home, purchased in 2006, reassessed from $470,000 to $425,000 and saved nearly 10% on his property tax bill. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Tracking L.A. County listing prices

Housing Tracker reports that as of Feb. 23 the median listing price in Los Angeles County was $369,000 -- the same level as last month and down 21.9% from a year ago. That's a far cry from the April 2006 asking price of $579,666.

Although that's the highest median asking price they have listed for now, there's no way to tell if that was the bubble peak. A note titled "to do" on the site indicates that they'll be extending the data back to August 2005 at some point.

The inventory of for-sale homes continued to drop, falling 22.5% year over year to 37,418 -- down 1.1% from the previous month.

Here's the weekly tracking:

Last 5 Weeks for Los Angeles

Week of	SFH+Condo Inventory	25th Percentile	Median	75th Percentile
2009-02-23	37,418	$250,000	$369,000	$629,000
2009-02-16	37,103	$250,000	$369,500	$625,000
2009-02-09	37,266	$250,000	$369,000	$622,110
2009-02-02	37,112	$254,900	$369,000	$614,900
2009-01-31	37,816	$254,900	$369,000	$615,000

Nice to have you back after a several months break, HousingTracker.

-- Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Property tax review is free, so why pay for it?

"Offer to reassess home raises red flag" Thursday at latimes.com explains one piece of mail Californians may have recently received:

If you're a homeowner, you may have received an official-looking letter recently informing you that your property needs to be reassessed for tax purposes. The cost of the reassessment is $179, but you'll have to pay an additional $30 if you don't mail in your application within the next few weeks.

"It's a scam," Los Angeles County Assessor Rick Auerbach told me. "They're trying to make you think the letter comes from my office so you'll pay them to do something you could do yourself for free."

The letter is actually from a company called Property Tax Reassessment, which gives a Los Angeles post office box as its address. Auerbach said the company's letters have prompted a raft of complaints from homeowners to his office and to other assessors statewide.

"This outfit is particularly disturbing because they seem to be sending their notices to everyone," said Larry Stone, Santa Clara County's assessor in Northern California. "The letters are terribly deceiving."

Read more about it at the Los Angeles County Tax Assessor's website, where it is noted: "There is no reason to pay for a review that will be done for free."

-- Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: A letter from Property Tax Reassessment includes a deadline. Credit: Lauren Beale / Los Angeles Times

Signs of the times in Pasadena: For lease

"Distress in the West" at philly.com has a vignette on our neck of the woods under the subhead "California: Where poor and wealthy meet":

The central business district of wealthy Pasadena, which the late Johnny Carson teased for years on the Tonight Show was "God's waiting room," is decorated with for-lease signs.

If you believe in retribution, the biggest signs hang on the high-rises on North Lake Avenue above Colorado Boulevard, near the Gold Line light-rail station that housed the corporate headquarters of the disgraced IndyMac Federal Bank and regional headquarters of Countrywide Financial Corp. and Wachovia Corp., which have been swallowed, along with billions of bad home loans, into larger institutions.

If you are fearful about how bad things will get, the business district along South Lake below Colorado offers a clue. A few doors from the recently renovated and reopened Macy's, a homeless man slept in a vacant storefront about noontime on a Saturday, his snoring drawing shoppers' attention.

It's not that this upscale part of Los Angeles County -- Pasadena, Altadena, San Marino, Arcadia -- doesn't know poverty. Each Thanksgiving Day, hundreds of volunteers gather in Pasadena's Union Park to provide turkey dinners for the area's needy.

It's simply that the poor and the wealthy rarely meet on such upscale ground.

For so many years, Los Angeles' chief topic of conversation was real estate, and one place where deals were always being made, either in person or by cell, was The Nosh on Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills. It still serves the best bagels outside of Brooklyn, but the real estate talk, even on a lazy, dismal Saturday morning, wasn't evident.

"What happened to all the people who did their real estate deals here?" a customer asked the cashier.

"They can only afford Dunkin' Donuts these days," he replied, not smiling.

Not a bad read of the situation from an out-of-towner, I thought.

--Lauren Beale

Thoughts? Comments?

Photo: Passengers ride the Gold Line.

Credit: Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times