Are You Voting on California Ballot? You Should.

If you are not registered to vote, please do so now so you can vote in the upcoming election.  

Did you know:

California is highest in state income tax - over 13%. (some states have no state income tax)

California is highest in sales tax - 7.25%, plus local city taxes on top of that.

California property tax - 19th out of all states.

Propositions affecting our property, aren't we paying enough taxes already?:

Proposition 5 - Allows local government to request bonds for affordable housing and public structure with only a 55% approval, down from 66.66% current requirement. Will raise our property taxes - vote NO.  

Proposition 33 - Expands local government authority to enact rent control on residential property. This is the 3rd attempt by Michael Weinstein and his multi-million dollar special interest group, AIDS Healthcare.  It will revoke the Costa-Hawkins Act which exempts single family homes, townhomes,  condos, the rent can be raised to market level. If Prop. 33 passes, these properties will come under rent control (Current Exemption from rent control: Single-family homes and condominiums, as well as construction after 1995, are exempt from rent control.)  Vacancy decontrol will not be allowed if law passed by municipality, this proposition can tell landlord what to charge for a vacant unit, owner may never be able to catch up to the current market rate by being forced to cap rents at lower amounts, thus causing owner to defer maintenance which now costs more than 10-15 years ago when the tenant moved in. Renters may think they will start getting lower rent if this passes, but first, cities have to pass local laws, and each city may be different. In spite of ads that say 33 will fight corporation takeover of rental properties, in actual fact the majority of rental properties in California are owned by small independent owners, i.e., families who inherited or bought years ago. This proposition is already causing private owners to sell their rental houses which are being bought up by new owner occupants, so that much more rental housing is being taken off the market, further decreasing the rental supply.  Vote NO.   Go to https://votenoprop33.com/

Proposition 34 - Health care providers, see previous paragraph, who get discounted federal money for their healthcare programs are turning around and reselling that program for a profit, and then are spending it on their tenant initiatives (see Proposition 5), not on their health care programs.  Vote YES to require discounted federal money profits to be spent on healthcare, not on special interest groups and their political propositions.

You should have received the booklet explaining all ballot propositions, please read it!

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

New California State Law Requires Buyer Broker Agreement as of January 1, 2025.

 

Craftsman home in Long Beach

As predicted, Governor Newsom has signed into law AB 7229, the new requirement for buyers and their brokers to sign an agreement with each other before making an offer on  a property.  This law applies to both residential and commercial real estate.  There are some differences from the National Association of REALTORS settlement requirements already in practice, including the fact that the NAR settlement concerns residential property only, whereas the new state law (in effect starting January 1, 2025) covers all properties both residential and commercial, and all licensed agents whether or not they are REALTOR members of the National Association of REALTORS.

"Unlike the N.A.R. settlement, which focuses solely on homes listed on an MLS, AB 2992 requires a written buyer representation agreement for any property, residential or commercial, whether it is listed on an MLS or not. This means that all licensed real estate agents, regardless of the type of property they are showing, must have a signed agreement in place before representing a buyer. This is a significant improvement in transparency for consumers, ensuring that they are fully aware of the services their agent will provide and the compensation structure before engaging in any transaction."  from the Santa Barbara Independent, Oct. 3, 2024 .

Contracts may be renewed, and are limited to 3 months for each contract period. While some people may not understand the significance of having such a contract, as a buyer it is important to understand what is to be expected of the agent and the standard of care to be received by the buyer. Buying a property is a large financial and legal commitment, and both agent and buyer need to be actively engaged with each other. According to the NAR settlement, such contracts must be signed before showing a property which will affect REALTORS, and per state law, commercial agents must have a buyer agreement signed before submitting an offer.

It's worth noting that if the state law requirement for a buyer broker agreement is not met, the Department of Real Estate may remove an agent's license.

If you would like more information on working with a Realtor, please contact me for further explanation and consultation before entering into a contract.

See prior post for buyer broker contracts

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

CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS Market Forecast for 2025

Summary of Yearly Housing Sale Data

The annual report by the REALTOR trade group was publicly reviewed last Wednesday at the Long Beach meeting at the Convention Center by CAR economist Jordan Levine.

What do people want to know first? How much more will houses cost next year.

Here are 3 main points from the CAR economist report for 2025:

• Existing, single-family home sales are forecast to total 304,400 units in 2025, an increase of 10.5 percent from 2024’s projected pace of 275,400.
  
  
• California’s median home price is forecast to climb 4.6 percent to $909,400 in 2025, following a projected 6.8 percent increase to $869,500 in 2024 from 2023’s $814,000.
  
  
• Housing affordability* is expected to remain stable at 16 percent next year after slipping to a projected 16 percent in 2024 from 17 percent in 2023.

There's much more to this 2025 annual report, which can be shared on request.

If you would like to discuss your home value, please feel free to contact me for conversation.  Or, try out this automated home valuation program which will also send you email updates

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