Santa Clarita Valley Real Estate

Contrary to some widely circulated e-mail messages, the new federal health care law does NOT include a 3.8 percent transfer tax on home sales, according to Snopes.com, FactCheck.org and the National Association of Realtors. The new law created a 3.8 percent Medicare tax, which applies to net investment income earned by taxpayers who have an adjusted gross income of more than $200,000 for individuals or $250,000 for married couples. That tax becomes effective Jan. 1, 2013. Net investment income includes capital gains from the sale of a home, so a home sale could push a taxpayer's income into the bracket in which the new tax would apply. However, the existing capital gains tax exclusion of $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for married couples on the sale of a principal residence is still in effect, and that will protect nearly all homeowners from the new tax. "The truth is that only a tiny percentage of home sellers will pay the tax," FactCheck.org reports. More

How to buy a home at a $100,000 discount With nearly 150,000 foreclosed homes on their books, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are trying to pare down their growing inventory of repossessed properties, in turn providing home buyers with tremendous purchasing opportunities. MAKING SENSE FOR CONSUMERS An analysis by SmartMoney magazine found that home buyers could save $100,000 on the price of a home by purchasing a foreclosed home owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac as opposed to a similar fair-market property just a few blocks away. Fannie Mae’s homebuying program, which requires down payments as low as 3 percent on 30-year mortgages also can help buyers save money. However, buyers should note, smaller down payments generally translate into higher monthly mortgage payments. Another bonus to purchasing a Fannie Mae-owned home, the company doesn’t require private mortgage insurance, which most lenders require for buyers who put down less than 20 percent. Unlike many foreclosed pro

Santa Clarita Ca. Wi-Fi is now available for free at the McDonald's throughout the Santa Clarita Valley. At all free standing stores you can walk in fire up your laptop and instantly surf the web. You do not need to purchase anything to use the wi-fi or the restrooms for that matter. Click here for a list of Mickey D's hot spots in the Santa Clarita Valley .

Case-Shiller index improves for second consecutive quarter Home prices improved in the third quarter of 2009, posting their second quarter-over-quarter gain in three years, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, released yesterday. See the complete data here.

America Recycles Day— November 15 th America Recycles Day is an annual campaign to encourage Americans to recycle and to buy recycled products. As their slogan says, “it all comes back to you.” Even a small shift in your attitudes and actions, multiplied many times over by others accepting this challenge, can change the world. Maybe you’ll throw those soft drink cans in the recycle bin. Or buy recycled content products. Or participate in an America Recycles event. Even organize one yourself! The more you do, the better. But even a little helps a lot. Getting Back to Basics Recycling is really just common sense, and until the “modern era,” it was a common household activity. Before the 1920s, 70% of U.S. cities ran programs to recycle certain materials. Because of concern for the environment, recycling is again on the upswing. The nation’s composting and recycling rate rose from 7.7% of the waste stream in 1960 to 17% in 1990. It’s currently up to around 33%.

Valuable information to for buyers and sellers. Statistics from the National Association of Homebuilders show that the square footage of homes has shrunk in recent years. This is a trend that is likely to continue given the current economy. This may be an opportune time for owners of smaller homes to sell, according to a recent article published in Realty Times , which provided these tips for giving a small home big appeal to buyers: Accentuate storage space . A buyer must sense that a smaller home has enough storage space to accommodate their everyday needs. Clear out the attic and/or basement if the home has them. In addition, built-in furniture or custom closets also provide convenient, hidden storage. Create an office niche . Home offices are very popular, but a smaller home might not have an extra room to use for this purpose. Using a decorative screen around a small desk or tucking one away beneath a staircase shows buyers how they can

According to recent reports and forecasts by housing analysts, the three-year descent in home prices appears to be at an end. Eight cities, including San Francisco, showed price increases in May, up from four in April, and one in March, according to Standard and Poor’s/Case-Shiller Index. For the first time since early 2007, the index of 20 major cities was virtually flat, rather than down. · Earlier reports show that sales of existing homes nationwide rose last month for the third consecutive month, while sales of new homes increased in June by the largest percentage in eight years, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) and the U.S. Commerce Dept., respectively. · Although some skeptics believe the market is pausing before home prices decline further, the median price in California’s housing market appears to be stabilizing. June marked the fourth consecutive month of rising home prices and the second largest gain on record for the

MID-YEAR MARKET SUMMARY The California housing market showed more signs of emerging from the worst of the market downturn in June as the median price rose for the fourth straight month and sales registered significant year-to-year and year-to-date gains. At $274,740 in June, the median price rose to its highest level so far this year and stood 4.2 percent higher than the May revised median price of $263,600. The median remained well below levels of a year earlier, however, with a 26.4 percent decrease from the June 2008 median of $373,100. Year-to-year changes have been less severe in recent months and the June decrease was the smallest since February 2008. June sales dipped 6.0 percent from revised May sales of 546,750 homes to a June sales figure of 514,110 homes, but showed a 20.1 percent increase over prior year sales of 427,910 homes. This was the smallest percentage gain in a year, and smaller gains are expected through the rest of the year. Still, sales in the first

Consumer confidence rose to 40.8 in May compared with the previous month and now stands at 54.9 (1985=100), according to a report released yesterday by The Conference Board. The Board’s Present Situation Index increased to 28.9 in May from 25.5 the previous month, while its Expectations Index rose to 72.3 this month compared with 51.0 in April “Continued gains in the Present Situation Index indicate that current conditions have moderately improved, and growth in the second quarter is likely to be less negative than in the first,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “Looking ahead, consumers are considerably less pessimistic than they were earlier this year, and expectations are that business conditions, the labor market and incomes will improve in the coming months. While confidence is still weak by historical standards, as far as consumers are concerned, the worst is now behind us." Consumers' short-term outlook improved significantly

Homes sales in the West jumped 13.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.25 million in December and are 31.6 percent higher than a year ago. NAR Housing wizard Yun said the market is actually “ underperforming ” and hurting the broader economy. “We’ ve added 25 million people to our population over the past decade and housing affordability conditions are the best we’ ve seen since 1973, but household formation is much lower than expected,” he said. “Consequently, there is a pent-up demand which could be unleashed with the right stimulus, including a non-repayable home buyer tax credit. The Obama administration and Congress need to move fast to stimulate a spring sales upturn which will help to stabilize home prices and set the foundation for a sustainable economic recovery.” Want an opportunity in today's real estate market. Click here to see this weeks best foreclosure deals. The link below will open your web browser to see the properties. Client Brief Report + Photos The links wi

Wichert, Realtors, a national real estate brokerage with over 40,000 for-sale listings nationwide, announced a partnership enabling it to automatically feed all of its listings to http://www.zillow.com/ on a regular basis. Weichert, Realtors has a 500-plus company-owned and franchised sale offices in key U.S markets, including several offices throughout California, joined the Zillow Listings Feed program to “maximize marketing exposure” to allow for more qualified buyers and to enhance exposure of their sellers listings, given “Zillow’s 5.5 million visitors each month,” according to Michael Montsko, president of Weichert Lead Network. Each listing Weichert feeds to Zillow includes a description of the property with multiple photos and contact information for the listing agent, including links back to the Weichert Web site where Zillow where users can find more information and connect with a Weichert sales associate to guide them through the home buying and selling process. You can sea

California is again paving the way toward sustainable development. The state is adopting a new Green Building Code that puts percentages on improvements in water use efficiency, energy consumption, and water conservation. After 2010, all new construction must meet the code’s requirements. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Business Properties Association, Sacramento, as well as local branches of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, NAIOP SoCal and NAIOP California State Council, support the green code. California is the first state to establish its own green code, the situation will not stay unique. “The International Code Council has been working with the National Association of Home Builders to develop a national standard for Green Homes, and the American National Standards Institute also is working on a standard as well,” the article states. Read the article at http://www.globest.com/news/1207_1207/sacramento/172819-1.html