A California Real Estate Update for Some 2018 Housing Laws

Senate Bill 2 became a 2018 law. Building Homes & Jobs Act.
This enacts a recording tax of a flat $75 per every document which is already required to be recorded, on every real estate instrument not part of a sales transaction, and the funds of which are allocated out largely to address the need for affordable housing, and according to one source is expected to generate $200-$300 million annually.  The good news for homebuyers is that this law does not affect owner occupied home purchases or home refinances.  There are some exemptions, and the fee is capped at $225 per transaction.  The documents that will be charged include:

"deed, grant deed, trustee’s deed, deed of trust, reconveyance, quit claim deed, fictitious deed of trust, assignment of deed of trust, request for notice of default, abstract of judgment, subordination agreement, declaration of homestead, abandonment of homestead, notice of default, release or discharge, easement, notice of trustee sale, notice of completion, UCC financing statement, mechanic’s lien, maps, and covenants, conditions, and restrictions."

The exemptions to the fee are: 1. If document is already subject to the Documentary Transfer Tax; 2. If it is real property in an owner-occupied purchase; 3. If the document is not related to real property.
The title company involved in each transaction must now attach a cover sheet to each document involved that shows a declaration of exemption for that particular document, or will get charged the fee.

Senate Bill 35 amends the Planning and Zoning law to create a streamlined approval process so that cities can meet their mandated housing goals and a stronger requirement that cities report their annual housing production to the California Department of Housing and Community Development. California has been behind for many years on building the housing needed as its population increased by birth rate alone.  But how much affordable housing will increase is unknown, as the bill addresses only local governments that have fallen behind on their state goals for homebuilding. The bill had support by many entities.

Senate Bill 229 - Accessory Dwelling Units.  Already mentioned in a previous post, these units are allowed statewide and are also under "granny flats" labeling.  This law allows units in residential areas which were not previously zoned for more than single family residential growth, in order to increase affordable housing.  Long Beach, for example, was concerned about parking issues in some areas already impacted, and in October 2017, established additional clarifications concerning construction of these units, as have other cities.  However, none are supposed to supercede the law signed by Governor Brown in 2017.  The advantage of this law for many house owners is that an existing "guest quarters" can be upgraded to a legal ADU, or a garage (with all proper permits) may be legally converted to living quarters as an ADU, or an existing room of a home may be converted (with all proper permits and inspections) to a separate legal quarters. 

If you would like additional help on resources, or discuss how they might apply to your planned home purchase, please contact me.  I'm a licensed Realtor since 1994 (also a Broker).

Practicing Fire Prevention Safety for Your Home

1. Secure your roof.
2. Add Metal Mesh to Vents.
3. Use tempered Glass for Windows.
4. Clear vegetation.
5. Avoid flammable patio furniture

Effects of Tax Reform on Homeowners

Here is an excerpt from today's message from the National Association of Realtors on the effects of the tax bill expected to pass into law:

"Although the final tax reform bill is far from perfect, it is significantly better for homeowners than previous versions. That’s thanks to the efforts you made. REALTORS® generated over 300,000 emails and telephone calls to members of Congress over two Calls for Action and held countless in-person meetings with legislators, all of which helped shape the final product.

Last-minute changes to the bill include the following improvements:

• Capital gains exclusion. In a huge win for current and prospective homeowners, current law is left in place on the capital gains exclusion of $250,000 for an individual and $500,000 for married couples on the sale of a home. Both the House and the Senate had sought to make it much harder to qualify for the exclusion.

• Mortgage interest deduction. The maximum mortgage amount for households deducting their mortgage interest has been decreased to $750,000 from the current $1 million limit. The House bill sought a reduction to $500,000.

• State and local tax deductions. Both property taxes and state and local income taxes remain deductible, although with a combined limit of $10,000. Both the House and Senate bills sought to eliminate the state and local income tax deduction altogether.

• Pass-through entities. The bill significantly reduces the effective rate of tax on business income earned by independent contractors and income received from pass-through entities. This change will lower the taxes of many real estate professionals."

"REALTORS® generated over 300,000 emails and telephone calls to members of Congress over two Calls for Action and held countless in-person meetings with legislators, all of which helped shape the final product."

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

It's that time of the year, where housing often slows down for the holidays, but here it's spending less time on the market.

For a single family detached home, the average prices for the cities and counties below range from $357,823  to $1,052,160, the low being San Bernardino County.

Overall the Los Angeles County average price for single family home is $923,612, a small increase from the previous month of $910,161, and still under the high of July 2017.

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

Long Beach saw an average price decrease (but up from October), and Orange County is still  down just slightly from the high of May, 2017, while Los Angeles County as a whole is still decreased from the high of $955,973 in July.  San Bernardino County's averages have dipped under earlier highs of $360,000, the highest point in the last 5 years.

Prices are varying according to area, and here's what they look like locally.

November 2017

Long Beach
$667,858 | -0.7%

Lakewood
$570,839 | +2.8%

Cerritos
$776,412 | +9.9%

Los Angeles County
$923,612 | +5.3%

San Bernardino County
$357,823 | +5.3%

Orange County
$1,052,160  | +12.8%

These statistics show a mix of pricing, with Long Beach/Lakewood  with average days on market at 18 days, and Cerritos having less than 24 days on the market on average, less than 2 months inventory, and closing prices continuing within 0.7%-1.5% of original price.  In other words, houses are selling within 2% of original list price, with less time on the market, with a low housing inventory from which to choose.   

Condos

Briefly, Long Beach condo average price is $383,921, down from over $400,000 the month before. The condo average for Los Angeles County is $608,000. Other local city condo prices:  Monterey Park, $425,800; Pasadena, $713,622; Whittier, $353,692.

 It’s a tight market right now!

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.