Affordability in "The O.C."

If the search is on for a home under $600,000, consider a condo, or a smaller single family residence, in Cypress, La Habra, parts of Fullerton and Garden Grove, Anaheim, Westminster and Buena Park, or even Foothill Ranch. Most are within a short drive time from Long Beach, 20-40 minutes, and well worth considering.

Another Queen Mary in Long Beach

It was a sunny day in Long Beach yesterday for the Queen Mary 2 and its historic visit to the original Queen Mary anchored off downtown Long Beach. Long Beach's long shoreline allowed onlookers, including me, a great view from the bluffs between downtown and Belmont Shore. Click here for more photos and photo credit.

Lofts Hit Their Stride

Dubbed the McLoft in this article, the loft is being built from scratch in the suburbs. For the displaced New Yorker or Chicagoan who doesn't want to step out onto a busy street, a new type of condo is coming of age in Scottsdale, AZ and other unlikely places. Buyers are paying as much as 50% more per square foot for a loft over a single-family home. For builders this is a great return on a projects where they don't have to meet such strict codes as in other multifamily dwellings, and some buyers want raw, unfinished space. If you're looking for lofts, try Long Beach where you can have real converted space in a not too urban city area.

So Cal Median Home Price Lower in January

DataQuick's 2/15 release puts the Southern California January median home price for 6 counties at $469,000, down 2.1 percent from November and December. January is usually a slower month for sales, but was still up from $415,000 in January of 2005, an increase of 13% overall. January 2006 had the lowest number of homes sold since January 2001. Whether or not this means an overall slowing in the market is not known just yet.

Interest Rates Back Down

The 30-year rate average went to 5.81 percent on Friday, according to Bankrate.com's averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 40 states.

Zillow.com is a Zing

The new Zillow.com site seems interesting, but in the end doesn't seem any more unusual than any other site based on local property tax records data, which is sometimes inaccurate in itself. This site happens to combine with aerial photo technology so that you can see the exact location, and it gives you an estimate of value. But that doesn't necessarily sync with the current market value, so the viewer should be careful about making final conclusions without further investigation. An average or a median price for a zip code area does not give spccific value for a specific property, any more than the selling price for the last market sale is the same as today's market value.

Commercial/Multifamily Originations Set New Record in 2005 - 48% Higher than in 2004

Multifamily loans made up 36 percent of the total loans made in 2005. They increased by 44 percent over 2004. While single family home and condo sales slowed, commercial and multifamily loans in the 4th quarter of 2005 were the highest ever recorded in the MBA's quarterly survey.

Quick Info on Prices and Rates

Calif. median home price - Dec. 05: $548,430 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. affordability index - Nov. 05: 14 percent (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region Dec. 05:
Santa Barbara So. Coast $1,300,000 (Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region Dec. 05:
High Desert $320,490 (Source: C.A.R.)

Mortgage rates - week ending 1/26:
30-yr. fixed: 6.12%; Fees/points: 0.5%
15-yr. fixed: 5.70%; Fees/points: 0.5%
1-yr. adjustable: 5.20%; Fees/points: 0.6%
(Source: Freddie Mac)