See this Chart on How Congressional Tax Reform May Affect California (and other states) Taxpayers

By the time the reader sees this, the tax "reform" bill may be a done deal, but here is how changes may very well affect California taxpayers. Visitors can see how homeowners will be impacted by the Tax Reform Bill. Check out this National Association of REALTORS resource, see Capital Gains exemptions and the impact on housing prices from the 2017 tax reform framework.

To see other tax scenarios for taxpayers in other states, click on this link and find a state in the drop down list.

Would You Like to Keep Your Calif Property Taxes Lower?

Taxes Due

Take Your Tax Base Anywhere in California

First off, July 1 is the beginning of the first installment property taxes are due by 5pm on December 11th, after which you will pay a 10% penalty, so don't be late! Your next last day to pay is the following April 10th for the second installment.

Ballot Drive - Freedom to Move
Next, did you know there is a signature drive on to expand Proposition 13 tax legislation?  Currently, there are 11 counties in California which allow senior and disabled homeowners to transfer their current property tax bases (Alameda, El Dorado, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Tuolumne, and Ventura), which is a good thing; however, the new home has to be of equal or lesser value, which in some areas may prevent some owners from moving.
To create more opportunities for potential sellers, California Association of Realtors is circulating petitions (I have already obtained signatures) to expand this rule which would "also allow them to apply their old property tax assessment to a new home that’s more expensive than the old one. The new assessment would be a blend of the old and new assessments, combining the old assessment up to the sale price of the old home with an additional assessment for the amount paid over that price on the new home."  The entire purpose of this drive to put this on the ballot for 2018 is to provide new opportunity for those older homeowners who are staying put in order to keep this tax expense down.   New scenario per article in OC Register:

• More expensive: Say a couple owned a home for 30 years and its current assessed value is $75,000, meaning they pay $750 in annual property taxes. They sell the home for $600,000 and buy a new one for $700,000. Their new tax assessment would be $75,000 plus $100,000 (the difference between the old home’s sales price and the new home’s sales price). Their new property tax would be $1,750. (vs. initial standard property tax on a new purchase of a $700,000 home of $8750 per year).
• Less expensive: Say the same couple sold their old home for $600,000, then paid $500,000 for a condo. Since the condo’s price is 83 percent of the old home’s sales price, the new assessment would be 83 percent of the old, or $62,500. Their new property tax would be $625.

Under this proposal, there would be no limit to the number of times a homeowner could transfer their assessment to any of California's 58 counties.

For more information, please contact me!

Average Selling Prices in Long Beach, Cerritos, Lakewood, and Local Counties, October 2017

Prices are varying according to area, and here's what they look like locally.
For a single family detached home, the average prices for the cities and counties below range from $364,271 to $1,052,322.

Overall the Los Angeles County average price for single family home is $903,618, a decrease from the previous month of $925,566, and even lower from July 2017.

All these prices are for the month of October, 2017, based on data from CRMLS.

Long Beach saw an average price decrease, and Orange County is still up slightly from July 2017, while Los Angeles County as a whole is still decreased from the high of $955,973 in July.  San Bernardino County's averages in September and October are now over $360,000, the highest point in the last 5 years.

October 2017

Long Beach
$646,002 | +5.3%

Lakewood
$558,111 | +1.8%

Cerritos
$795,732 | +17.9%

Los Angeles County
$903,618 | +3.9%

San Bernardino County
$364,271 | +6.9%

Orange County
$1,052,322 | +9.6%

These statistics show a mix of pricing, with Long Beach/Lakewood and Cerritos having less than 43 days on the market on average, approximately 2 months inventory, and closing prices continuing within 1%-2% of original price.

Keeping an eye on things

For an online and automated home valuation, try my site at http://www.juliahuntsman.com/home-evaluation.  It probably works more accurately for single family homes than condos in some areas, depending on what properties lie within about a one-mile radius.  Try it!  And I am always happy to do a more customized report to send out via e-mail.  If you're thinking about making a move, do it! It pays to keep an eye on things.