Are You Considering Creating an ADU on Your Property? New Law Allows it to be Separate Property

New ADU law now allows Californians to create and sell as a separate property, whereas previously  they were only rental properties.

Accessory Dwelling Units have been allowed for several years now, and were created under state law.  

"ADUs come in all shapes and sizes — for example, a converted garage, a small home in the backyard, or, as often seen in San Francisco, an unused portion of the main house, said Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), who drafted the legislation.

"Under AB 1033, which was signed into law this week, property owners in participating cities will be able to construct an ADU on their land and sell it separately, following the same rules that apply to condominiums. It gives homeowners more options for building on their property, and “the hope is, it would create more homeownership,” said Ting."

The idea is that this may allow more affordable homeownership including existing owners who could move into a rear property while renting out, or selling, their existing home. 

This has been successful in several other states, and in California, each city will be opting in to the plan in order for it to be an owner option locally.  Interested parties need to go to their local government to discover current plans for this owner option, and follow the local guidelines to create an condominium-style ADU.  For a recent article on this ADU law, go to the link.

 

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Rental Relief for Eligible Residential Landlords in Los Angeles County

 

Downtown Long Beach

Are you an owner of residential 1-4 units in Los Angeles County?  A program is now launched to assist landlords impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and tenants who fell behind in their rents. 

Landlords may begin applying in mid-December and multilingual support will be available. This program is offered through Los Angeles County Rent Relief and administered by the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs. The program will offer grants of up to $30,000 per unit to eligible landlords for expenses dating from April 1, 2022 to now.

More information is available at www.lacountyrentrelief.com.

If you would like market information on your rental units for potential selling value, please contact me via text, email or phone call!

 

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Long Beach Year-to-Date for Single Family Homes as of September 2023 (and LA County Information)

Year to Date Stats September 2024

 

 Long Beach Market, September year to date:  

• Existing home sales total 796 (down almost 30%)
• Monthly average of active listings total 94 (down over 26%)
• Active listings with reduced prices total 31.4%  
  

Sales to list price is 100% with the median price of $900,000.  There's still competition out there and at the same time sellers need to be realistic on pricing and offers for their local market.

As of 11/7/2023: there are 153 active listings of single family homes in Long Beach, with a median of 32 days on the market (yes, at this time of year timing is usually slower).

September Los Angeles County Inventory Report showing city prices and market information:

 

Contact me for your real estate needs!

 

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

New Real Estate California Laws for 2024

Here are some of the laws pertaining to real estate (although this is not all inclusive) that parties to a sale or purchase of a  home may want to know about.

 

• Property "flippers" must disclose recent repairs and renovations. This applies to residential 1-4 units, if property was closed within 18 months from prior sale, and renovations were performed by the contractor with whom the seller entered into a contract. For more complete information on this law, feel free to contact me, or review Assembly Bill 968.
• The Natural Hazard Disclosure statement now "expands the disclosures required by the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement (NHD) to include High as well as Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ) by explicitly highlighting three new subcategories of FHSZs. If the property is located in any of these zones, the defensible space and (for properties built before 2010) fire hardening disclosures would then be required."  Assembly Bill 1280.
•  ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) may now be sold separately as a condominium from the primary residence. Assembly Bill 1033

 There is now a permanent prohibition on requiring owner occupancy of a parcel containing an ADU.  Senate Bill 976

The California FAIR Plan Association (fair access to insurance requirements) plan will be extended to commercial properties by July 1, 2024, and the new law requires the Association to reduce the number of existing policies by allowing admitted insurers to offer homeowner policies to current FAIR Plan policy holders. Senate Bill 505

Allows a jurisdiction with local rent control to require an owner of a rent-controlled unit to allow a tenant with a permanent physical disability to relocate to an available comparable or smaller unit located on an accessible floor of the property and retain their same rental rate. Assembly Bill 1620.

Landlords may collect no more than one month’s rent for either furnished or unfurnished units in addition to first month’s rent. There is an exception for small landlords, defined as a landlord who is a natural person or LLC and owns no more than two residential rental properties with no more than a total of four units offered for rent.  Assembly Bill 12

Vacation Rentals: Beginning July 1, 2024, AB 537 prohibits a place of short-term lodging, as defined, from advertising, displaying, or offering a room rate that does not include all fees or charges required to stay at the short-term lodging, except government-imposed taxes and fees. Assembly Bill 537

Listing Agreements. This law prohibits: 1) exclusive listing agreements lasting longer than 24 months from the date the agreement was made; 2) renewing an exclusive listing agreement for longer than 12 months from the date the renewal was made; and 3) recording or filing an exclusive listing agreement of any duration.  Applies to residential one to four properties, condos and manufactured homes. It also deems any licensed real estate professional who violates these prohibitions as having violated that person's licensing laws.  Assembly Bill 1345

 There are numerous additional laws concerning tenants/ owners, housing laws, short term rentals, and more.  For the complete summary, please contact me via text, email or phone call.  I will be happy to help!

   

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Purchasing Power Calculator for Use by California Buyers or Sellers for Houses and Condos.

 

Interest rates are climbing again, today they are up to 8%, the highest rate in decades. While buyers should realize there are other things to keep in mind about buying besides the interest rate, such as the chance to build equity, sellers also need to keep in mind how interest rates are affecting asking prices in some areas, and what to expect in an offer from the buyer.

To see the impact on both sides of the transaction, the Purchasing Power Calculator gives an immediate picture of monthly payment, number of properties available, reduction or increase in asking price, and information gathered from California counties' markets. 

Buyers should keep in mind that interest rate is also impacted by credit scores, type of loan, and other factors. The purpose of this calculator is to give an immediate picture of choices, both housing inventory-wise and financially.

Just click on the link to see the calculator.

For more assistance, please contact me via text, email or phone call.  For a  property search, go to my website.

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Annual Cost vs Value for Los Angeles Area Home Remodel - 2023 Report

 

Remodeled kitchen white counters

The annual summary on cost vs. value for home projects is out for 2023. This is an interesting guideline for what homeowners might expect for return on projects, it is not, however, equally applicable to all properties or to all cities in the Los Angeles area.  Homeowners and prospective buyers will vary according to perceived value and personal preferences, architectural style, neighborhoods, or construction era of home. Notice that some installations, i.e., vinyl windows, do not deliver the return they once did as they become more common and an expected feature in the market.  Also, availability of supplies in the market may affect some features if they are considered more "prized" to obtain.  Also interesting is that midrange cost remodels offered a better return than much more expensive upscale remodels of kitchens and baths.

The following information is provided by Zonda Media through "remodeling by JLC" magazine.

Garage Door Replacement - one of best returns on lowest cost: $4781 with 99.9% return

Steel Entry Door Replacement - $3859, 68%

Vinyl Siding Replacement - $16,321, 105%

HVAC Conversion, Electrification - $18,311, 103%

Minor Kitchen Remodel - $28,509, 88%

Midrange Major Kitchen Remodel - $82,391, 43%

Upscale Major Kitchen Remodel - $164,841, 30%

Bathroom Addition Midrange - $60,708, 30%

Bath Remodel Midrange - $26,342, 67%

Vinyl Window Replacement - $22,455, 67%

Go to remodeling by JLC for the complete report.

When a home is appraised for value by a licensed appraiser, comparisons to other nearby properties are made based on similar condition, upgrades and features.

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Halloween Events for Long Beach

 Halloween Kitty and Orange Moon

Local Halloween events around town:

Halloween Family Night Aquarium of the Pacific - October 20th

Long Beach Festival of Flight, Long Beach Airport - October 21

Howl-O-Ween Festival, El Dorado Nature Center - October 21

Halloween Carnival- Signal Hill Park - October 28th

Fairfield Family YMCA Trunk or Treat - October 27th

Historical Cemetery Tour - October 28

Halloween Scarium of the Pacific - October 28 and 29

Phantom of the Opera - October 22

Haute Dog Halloween Parade - October 29th

Trick or Treat on 2nd St - October 31st 

Lakewood Parks Halloween Carnivals - October 31st

Trick or Treat on Main Street Seal Beach - October 31st

 These are just some of the fun events around Long Beach, Signal Hill and Seal Beach. Take your family, partner or friends!

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

California Housing Market Prediction for 2024 - New Increase Projection

CAR Convention 2023 Front Entry

The annual conference was held last week in Anaheim, along with the traditional annual market prediction for the next year by the California Association of Realtors Economist Jordan Levine.

The entire report is available for anyone who would like a copy--here are 3 main takeaways from the presentation:

•     Existing, single-family home sales are forecast to total 327,100 units in 2024, an increase of 22.9 percent from 2023’s projected pace of 266,200.
•     California’s median home price is forecast to climb 6.2 percent to $860,300 in 2024, following a projected 1.5 percent decrease to $810,000 in 2023 from 2022’s $822,300.
•     Housing affordability(percent of households who can afford the median price home) is expected to remain flat at 17 percent next year from a projected 17 percent in 2023.

 Insurance as many already know is a big issue for homebuying.  In a housing survey for 2023, rural area buyers had the most challenge--32% of those buyers reported difficulty obtaining insurance. The lowest percentage of buyers having problems were for city downtown areas (12%), city outside of downtown (14%), and suburb buyers (15%). 

The share of international buyers in California on the increase again after reaching its lowest point in 2020, but still not at the highest point share of buyers (almost 8%) in 2013. 

Owners over the age of 65 are the highest share of homeowners in the state: 50%; the age group 25-34 years represent 13% of all homeowners.

All cash buyers are approximately 27% of the market in 2023, up from 10% in 2005.

Sellers are holding on to properties longer than ever: they have low interest rates on mortgage, lower property taxes, may have a capital gains hit if they sell, wondering where they can go, so they remodel and stay many times. 

About 45% of the population in Los Angeles County owns a home, compared to 73% of San Mateo County, and 5% of Kings County and Imperial County. 

Inventory months of supply (time to use up all homes on market if no new ones came on the market) remains one of the larger challenges, it hasn't increased since August of 2022, still at 2.3 to 2.4 months overall.

• Existing, single-family home sales are forecast to total 327,100 units in 2024, an
  

 

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Things to Know About Open Houses in California

Did you know that California agents must observe certain protocols or rules about holding open a property?

For instance, usually the person you meet on the open house property is a licensed agent, but on occasion there may be an unlicensed assistant there who may greet the public, hand you a flyer or brochure or schedule a appointment with the real estate agent. But only a licensed agent may show the property, discuss terms and condition of a sale or the features of the property, location of schools or amenities, or engage in other conduct which could induce the open house attendee into signing a contract. Unlicensed assistants may not engage in any solicitation or negotiation with visitors to the open house.

The open house visitor should see the licensee's license number on advertising flyers and brochures with the agent's name, and on open house signs which bear the agent's name and brokerage name.  But license numbers are not required on generic style signs which only say "for rent" "open house", "for lease" which do not bear an agent name or brokerage name.

Licensees cannot discriminate on the basis of a protected class, including have children. Unless it's a Senior Housing community which is for those aged 55 years and older where anyone younger would not be allowed to own.

And, the Department of Real Estate strongly advises against a licensee leaving an open house unattended, so if you see a note when you arrive stating an invitation to come inside, but the agent leaves a note they'll be back shortly, you may want to return when the agent is there.  An unattended home might be an invitation to a problem.

If you are thinking of selling and want an experienced Realtor's advice before you put your home on the market, please call, text or email me! I'll be glad to answer your questions.

 

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996

Statewide California Home Sales Facts for July, 2023

 

July California Sales and Price Report

Market Information - median  day to sell  down by 2 days; sales to list ratio is the same; price per square foot down by $2; 30-year fixed rate up over 1%....

Information from the California Association of Realtors about sales statewide:

• The median number of days it took to sell a California single-family home was 16 days in July and 18 days in July 2022.

• C.A.R.’s statewide sales-price-to-list-price ratio* was 100 percent in July 2023 and 100.0 percent in July 2022. 
• The statewide average price per square foot** for an existing single-family home was $409, down from $411 in July a year ago. 
  
• The 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rate averaged 6.84 percent in July, up from 5.41 percent in July 2022, according to C.A.R.’s calculations based on Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage survey data.

 

*Sales-to-list-price ratio is an indicator that reflects the negotiation power of home buyers and home sellers under current market conditions. The ratio is calculated by dividing the final sales price of a property by its original list price and is expressed as a percentage. A sales-to-list ratio with 100 percent or above suggests that the property sold for more than the list price, and a ratio below 100 percent indicates that the price sold below the asking price.

**Price per square foot is a measure commonly used by real estate agents and brokers to determine how much a square foot of space a buyer will pay for a property. It is calculated as the sale price of the home divided by the number of finished square feet. C.A.R. currently tracks price-per-square foot statistics for 50 counties. 

Thought for consideration: while interest rates are challenging for buyers, many are able to negotiate a buydown from the seller. For more information about how a buydown can help you, please contact me via text, phone or email.

Julia Huntsman, REALTOR, Broker | http://www.abodes.realestate | 562-896-2609 | California Lic. #01188996