Real Estate Advice & Notes

2013 Distinguished School – Graham Middle School, Mountain View

webmaster — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:38:09 +0000

Isaac Newton Graham Middle School has been named a distinguished school for 2013. Graham’s Academic Performance Index rose 33 points from 815 in 2011 to 848 in 2012. Graham’s API increased by 53 points for Latinos, 63 points for socioeconomically disadvantaged, and by 50 points for English learners.

http://www.mvwsd.org/news-a-hot-topics/496-graham-middle-school-selected-as-2013-california-distinguished-school

Graham Middle School website http://graham.mvwsd.org/

Cities With Highest Foreclosures – April 2013

webmaster — Thu, 23 May 2013 05:17:13 +0000

The cities with the highest foreclosures in April 2013 (% change from April 2012)

1. Akron Ohio: 1 in every 211 (+147%)
2. Ocala Florida: 1 in every 225 (+164%)
3. Miami-Fort Lauderdale Florida: 1 in every 269 (+1%)
4. Orlando-Kissimmee Florida: 1 in every 287 (+19%)
5. Las Vegas-Paradise Nevada: 1 in every 302 (-19%)
6. Columbus Ohio: 1 in every 326 (+33%)
7. Jacksonville Florida: 1 in every 345 (+39%)
8. Myrtle Beach South Carolina: 1 in every 365 (+8%)
9. Tampa-St. Petersburg Florida: 1 in every 384 (-18%)
10. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet Illinois: 1 in every 389 (-18%)
11. Toledo Ohio: 1 in every 401 homes (+18%)
12. Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor Ohio: 1 in every 402 homes (-6%)
13. Cincinnati-Middletown Ohio: 1 in every 411 homes (+33%)
14. Columbia South Carolina: 1 in every 415 homes (+189%)

Nationwide foreclosures were down 23% from a year ago, the lowest in six years.

http://www.businessinsider.com/us-cities-with-most-foreclosures-2013-5#

Wells Fargo Halts Foreclosure Sales

webmaster — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:47:42 +0000

Rules from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency last month specified certain standards which must be met before a foreclosed home can be sold. Wells Fargo reduced sales from 298 to 17 for the week beginning May 6 while the standards were reviewed. Chase and Citi also temporarily halted foreclosed sales. Bank of America continued its foreclosed sales confident its procedures met the guidelines. Wells and Citi were still on hold as of Friday May 17.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-17/wells-fargo-postpones-some-foreclosure-sales-after-occ-guidance.html

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-banks-foreclosure-halt-20130517,0,4350791.story

San Francisco Bay Region – Fastest Growth in California

webmaster — Thu, 02 May 2013 18:26:13 +0000

The California Department of Finance released an announcement (and data) stating that the San Francisco Bay Area is the fastest growing region in California with a population growth rate of 1.6%. The 2013 report lists 482 cities with 444 having gains in population.

Not surprising is that cities with more open area such as Morgan Hill (2.59%) and Gilroy (2.92%)were a couple of the fastest growing cities in Santa Clara County. Los Altos Hills with a growth of 3.11% is a little more surprising. Of the other Santa Clara County cities Sunnyvale had the greatest growth with 2.31%

Santa Clara County had a population growth rate of 1.6% and San Mateo County had a population growth rate of 1.1%.

http://www.dof.ca.gov/research/demographic/reports/estimates/e-1/documents/E-1_2013_Press_Release.pdf

http://www.dof.ca.gov/research/demographic/reports/estimates/e-1/

Wildflower Covered Hills in Palo Alto

webmaster — Thu, 02 May 2013 02:43:59 +0000

Craig Dremann and others have a dream of returning native California plants to many local areas. The “Poppy Project” removed non-native weeds from an area above the Pearson-Arastradero Preserve parking lot and replanted it with seeds from local poppies.

If you’ve seen the areas in Southern California around Gorman or the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve when the flowers are blooming you must be hoping for success restoring local areas

Visit http://www.ecoseeds.com/arastradero.html to learn more.

Palo Alto Main Library closes for expansion

webmaster — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:57:03 +0000

The Palo Alto Main Library will be closing for construction on Tuesday, April 30. There will be a party there from 3-5 pm on the patio. The work is expected to take about 18 months.

The renovations of the Downtown Library was completed without a hitch but the Mitchell Park Library renovation has received repeated coverage of its problems. The Mitchell Park Library is currently expected to open at the end of this year.

Mountain View City Council approves Castro & Church development

webmaster — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:01:27 +0000

On April 23, 2013 the Mountain View city council approved a mixed used development at the corner of Castro and Church streets. A four-story 28,000 square foot building will be built at 605 Castro which is planned to have offices on the upper levels and either retail or offices at the ground level. Eight three story condominiums will be built behind the office building.

A underground garage will provide 87 parking spaces, which is 16 percent less than normally required.

140 Daley Ct, San Bruno

admin — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:48:23 +0000

This great home at 140 Daley Ct, San Bruno has just been offered for sale. This home features a wonderful, spacious, family room above the garage which is sure to be a favorite room. Built as a split level home, the family room is just a half flight of stairs above the main floor.

140 Daley Ct has 1,780 sq ft of living space on a 9,583 sq ft lot and is located at the end of a Cul-De-Sac. Open space which is part of Earland Glenview Park is behind the property. Skycreast Shopping Center is but a walk away.

Mortgage Fees Are Increasing

Juliana Lee Team — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 02:49:50 +0000

The Federal Housing Administration announced that it will raise premiums by 10 basis points, or 0.1%, on most of the new mortgages it insures. A 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with 5% or more down will now require an annual insurance premium of 1.3% of the outstanding balance. A mortgage with less than 5% down will require a premium of 1.35%.

The FHA also said it will raise premiums for jumbo loans, loans of $625,000 or more, by 5 basis points, or 0.05%, and increase the minimum down payment requirement on these loans to 5% from 3.5%.

The FHA will require mortgages with a loan to value greater than 90% to have insurance for the life of the loan or 30 years. FHA loans with a loan to value less than 90% will require mortgage insurance for 11 years. In 2001 the FHA allowed borrowers to cancel mortgage insurance once their debt fell below 78% of the original balance.

Last spring, the FHA increased both premiums and upfront costs on mortgages.

Record Number of Homes Bought With Cash in 2012

Juliana Lee Team — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 23:16:21 +0000

DQNews posted a summary and numbers on Feb 6, 2013 discussing that the number of homes purchased without financing is at a record high.

“Cash purchases accounted for a record 32.4 percent of California’s overall home sales last year, up from 30.4 percent in 2011 and more than double the annual average of 15.6 percent since 1991, when DataQuick’s cash statistics begin.”

Of particular interest is that investors and vacation home buyers bought 55% of all homes bought without financing. About 28% of of non-financed purchases were done by buyers purchasing two or more properties. Part of the increase in non-financed purchases is probably due to the tighter restrictions on qualifying for loans but the perceived investment return and safety of competing investments is also a factor.

In Santa Clara County the number of non-financed home purchases increased from 4,625 in 2011 to 5,415 in 2012. In San Mateo County non-financed home purchases increased from 1,694 to 1,948 (24.2% of all San Mateo Purchases were all cash).

http://www.dqnews.com/Articles/2013/News/California/CACASH130206.aspx