How Proposed Tax Changes Could Affect You, the Homeowner

On September 27, proposed tax reform information was released by Republican leaders known as the Big 6* which outlines the elimination of certain tax deductions while doubling the standard tax deduction and elimination personal and dependency exemptions.  The National Association of Realtors 'believes the result would all but nullify the incentive to purchase a home for most, amounting to a de facto tax increase on homeowners, putting home values across the country at risk and ensuring that only the top 5 percent of Americans have the opportunity to benefit from the mortgage interest deduction."
In other words, should such tax reform become reality, it's not good for homeowners.

• It recommends a "backdoor elimination" of the mortgage interest deduction for all except the top 5% who would still be able to itemize their deductions.
• The total effect would be a tax increase on most Americans due to a combined loss of state and local tax deductions
• Lost incentive to purchase a home could result in overall loss of home values.
• It could strongly affect new homebuyers and older Americans who rely on the equity in their homes for retirement. 

The tax code has historically favored homeownership but these proposals that would limit tax deductability of the mortgage interest deduction and property taxes would reverse that support. An analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers states that "values could fall in the short run by more than 10 percent if a Blueprint-like tax reform plan were enacted. The drop could be even larger in high-cost areas.   It may take years for home values to rebound from such a significant decrease."  See a summary here.

The National Association of Realtors believes that repealing such deductions would in effect cause double taxation on the same income.  For further information go to the NAR site.

The discussion about tax reform has been present for much of 2017. To preserve your homeowner deductions, contact your Congressional representative.


*House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady

Average Selling Prices in Long Beach, Cerritos, Lakewood, and Orange County, August 2017

Prices are still going up, and here's what they look like locally.
For a single family detached home, the average prices in this group range from $579,687 to $1,019,768.

Overall the Los Angeles County average price for single family home is $905,787, a decrease from the previous month of $955,973.

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

Both Long Beach and Lakewood saw average price decreases from July, and Orange County is up slightly from July 2017, while Los Angeles County as a whole decreased from August's $955,973 in July.  San Bernardino County average has increased slightly since July, still under $360,000.

August 2017

Long Beach
$686,728 | +8.4%

Lakewood
$579,687 | +9.1%

Cerritos
$773,835 | +9.1%

Los Angeles County
$905,787 | +5.4%

San Bernardino County
$357,482 | +7.0%

Orange County
$1,019,768 | +4.9%

This statistic show a mix of pricing, with Long Beach/Lakewood and Cerritos having less than 30 days on the market on average, approximately 2 months inventory, and closing 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.

The "Bureau of Real Estate" is slated to return to the "Department of Real Estate" when Gov. Brown signs

Several years ago when Gov. Jerry Brown took office, efforts to streamline state operations the Department of Real Estate was renamed the Bureau of Real Estate and moved to function as part of the Department of Consumer of Affairs, as of 2012.

Instead of being known under the acronym of DRE, it became CalBRE--more letters and, I thought, more awkward sounding.  But what really determines things in the government is how much money is involved.  The Bureau--former Department--is funded by solely by the fees paid by real estate licensees, and is not part of the State's budget system. However, part of the money going to the Bureau was being allocated to the Department of Consumer Affairs.  The Bureau, still found on the internet as http://www.dre.ca.gov, oversees a variety of functions which are found on its website.

A bill has now passed the Legislature and will hopefully be signed very soon by Gov. Brown, which will finalize the return of this agency to being a Department, and thereby saving the current Bureau of Real Estate about $3.5 million which can be utilized to make the agency function at its property level.

This site is where current news, education and enforcement about California real estate laws can be found, and should you want to check someone's real estate license, this is where to do it.

We are looking forward to the upcoming change.

See Inside a Listing Styled by a Former White House Decorator

While not all property owners can afford a high-end decorator, there is no doubt that preparing properties for sale with some professional resources for advice is a benefit to the home seller.  It's not unusual for investors to redo a home for sale, and spend hundreds of, if not several thousand, dollars to make it appealing to a new buyer. Buyers have come to expect this, having been trained by television shows making it look easy to do this, even though the show(s) typically don't show the behind-the-scenes months of actual work performed to achieve the finished product.  But sellers can still go a long way, keeping expenses very reasonable, to add the selling appeal to their property.  Adding appeal to a property does not require an expensive remodel in order to sell, but it does mean looking at the property from the buyer's point of view.  If you take just some of the ideas from the following sources, you will be able to make your home stand out!

For the story of a Newport Beach property staged and decorated by the decorator who worked for President and Mrs. Obama, as well as many celebrities, please don't miss the photos at the following link.  See Inside a Listing Styled by a Former White House Decorator

To read 50 tips on boosting your property's appeal, see 50 Cheap, Easy Ways to Boost Your Listing’s Appeal

For tips on preparing your outdoor space (and some of these tips may work for indoor space too) see this article The 5 Biggest Yard and Patio Staging Mistakes

The first clue to your home's interior is your entryway, so meet the buyer's expectations from the beginning by a good door refinishing or paint job, and the buyer will have a more favorable impression from the beginning.   Top Entryway Decor Ideas for 2017