There were 73 homes sold in 2011 with a median home price of $980,000.

This constitutes a 7% increase in sales from the prior year when 68 homes sold. The median home price increased over 7% from $914,000 the previous year.

Sunset Park Condominiums Sales Report

It was another great year for condo sales in 2011 with 30 condos sold which is a 76% increase from the previous year of only 17 condos sold. However, the median price for condos dropped approximately 6.5% in 2011 to $510,000 from $545,000 the previous year.

Lionstone Group, one of the largest owners of creative offices on the Westside, bought the buildings from a limited partnership made up of investors who are in the entertainment industry, brokers said. The deal comes at a time when well-located buildings are selling at a premium but others are languishing.

Technology- and entertainment-industry businesses, which increasingly work together in such enterprises as video games and animated movies, have gravitated to the seaside in the last two decades. Workers in both sectors have shown a desire to avoid the kind of boxy glass and granite office towers favored by most of corporate America.

Instead, owners of such companies frequently set up shop in smaller buildings that once had industrial uses. Although unglamorous on the outside, the buildings tend to have renovated interiors rich in design, often with such features as walnut stairs and European-style kitchens.

One of the properties acquired by Lionstone is at 2415 Michigan Ave. in Bergamot Station, a former railroad yard and manufacturing center. Tenants there include game maker Hooky Interactive Inc. and entertainment support firm Pier 59 Studios West, real estate data provider CoStar Group said.

Other properties acquired by Lionstone are in downtown Santa Monica at 631 Wilshire Blvd., 625 Arizona Ave. and 401 Santa Monica Blvd. Those buildings and the Bergamot Station property were built before the 1950s and have been fully renovated, according to real estate brokerage Industry Partners, which represented the sellers.

The fifth building sold, at 1351 4th St., was built in 1995. Tenants there include radiology provider Image Advantage and farming company Bolthouse Farms.

“Everybody wants to be in Santa Monica,” said commercial property broker Vince Muselli of Muselli Commercial Realtors, who was not involved in the transaction. Its restaurants, shops and ocean breezes are attractive to businesses, he said. “It’s a great place to schmooze and make deals and just feel good about the world.”

Although the coast appeals to many kinds of businesses, tech companies have made such a beeline to the area that Santa Monica and Venice have earned the nickname “Silicon Beach.” Start-ups such as TrueCar Inc. and Riot Games are growing there alongside Internet stalwarts Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc.

“The demand for creative office space from tech, new media and postproduction companies is driving leasing activity on the Westside,” making it one of the tightest office markets in the region, said broker Scott Rigsby of Industry Partners.

Rents in some buildings surpass $5.50 a square foot per month, twice the cost of space in a prominent downtown Los Angeles high-rise.

“Investors will pay a premium for property in Santa Monica and make less of a return on their investment because the foundation of this area is so good that there is a small likelihood investment will head south instead of north for the long term,” broker Muselli said.

The five buildings purchased by Lionstone have a combined total of 165,000 square feet and are about 90% leased.

Other properties owned by Lionstone include Lantana Entertainment Media Campus and Penn Station Studios in Santa Monica and Alameda Media Center in Burbank.

By Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times
December 13, 2011

Five Santa Monica office buildings sell for $90 million

What is forgiven debt?

A forgiven debt is an amount you owe your lender but have been waived usually as a result of a request backed by a very valid reason. In the case of a short sale, a forgiven debt is the difference between the selling price and the mortgage which the lender or bank has waived because of your valid hardship situation.

What is exclusion of forgiven debt or income?

Ordinarily, debt that has been waived by a lender is considered taxable since it constitutes as an income. If however, a forgiven debt like a waved debt in short sale qualifies for debt relief under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, it is ‘excluded’ or not reported on the list of income when filing for the annual income tax after a short sale.

Does the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 cover all types of forgiven debt?

Not all types of forgiven debt relating to a mortgage qualify for debt relief and not all of the amount of the forgiven debt can be excluded as well. Under the act, only debt used to ‘acquire, construct and improve the principal residence’. The debt is properly termed as qualified principal residence indebtness. This also includes debts used to refinance debt used for the said purposes but should be secured by the principal/primary residence of the homeowner. A homeowner can exclude forgiven debt up to $ 2 million.

Does the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 cover rental homes?

The act covers for principal homes only; thus, forgiven debt relating to a short sale of rental or vacation homes do not qualify for exclusion. As a homeowner may live in different homes throughout the year, only the home where he or she spends time most is considered a principal home. In preparing income tax after a short sale, the homeowner must submit proof that the said property was his/her principal residence. The principal residence must also be occupied by the homeowner until the short sale was completed. So if a homeowner had moved out of the home when a foreclosure was seen to happen. But then before the foreclosure was enforced he managed to get approved for a short sale, the forgiven debt would not qualify as an exclusion from income tax after a short sale.

How do homeowners know the exact amount of forgiven debt?

The amount of the forgiven debt will come from the lender or bank and will be written on a Form 1099-C Cancellation of Debt. This form includes the creditor’s name and identification number, debtor’s name, amount of debt cancelled interest if included in the debt cancelled; fair market value of said property, and the date the debt was cancelled. If a homeowner does not receive the form by February 2, it should be followed up with the lender in order to appropriately file exclusion from income tax after a short sale. Homeowners should also verify the amount on the form and if any discrepancy is seen, he or she should contact the lender. The amount of short sale deficiency should be at least $600 or more; otherwise, it does not qualify as indebtedness income.

How does a homeowner report the exclusion from income?

After receiving the Form 1099-C Cancellation of Debt from the lender, the homeowner should report the same amount on Form 982-Reduction of Tax attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness (and Section 1082 Basis Adjustment). The homeowner should check the appropriate box on Part 1 –General Information where circumstances leading to the exclusion are itemized. In the case of a short sale, qualified principal residence indebtedness should be ticked. Additionally, the same amount that appears on the 1099-C Form should be reported on box 2 of Form 982.

Are there any other circumstances a homeowner can claim exclusion if the forgiven debt does not qualify under qualified principal residence indebtedness?

Under Form 982-Reduction of Tax Attributes Due to Discharge of Indebtedness (and Section 1082 Basis Adjustment), exclusion from the forgiven or cancelled debt may include those resulting from a bankruptcy, non-recourse loans, insolvency and farm debts.

As a result of the efforts of several of us a few years ago the Fannie and Freddie limit was permanently increased to $625,500, for high cost areas such as Los Angeles and Orange County. We were able to get a temporary increase for high cost areas to $729,750 for FHA, Fannie and Freddie mortgages, but that temporary increase expired September 30, 2011.

I will continue to fight for a permanent increase for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA to $729,750 for high cost areas.

The compromise negotiated today is critical to the San Fernando Valley and the greater Los Angeles area. Some purchasers prefer FHA to Fannie and Freddie and some the opposite, but virtually every transaction that would have closed as a Fannie or Freddie loan can now close as an FHA loan. Moreover, it is FHA that allows for a lower down payment, and restoring the $729,750 limit for FHA probably does more to provide a vehicle for all types of home buyers than anything else we could have passed.

- BRAD SHERMAN, Member of Congress

“Bill Would Encourage Foreigners To Buy U.S. Homes.”

There have been already 103 West Los Angeles condominiums sold so far as of Sept 22nd of this year. The interesting part is that there were eleven 1 bedroom condos sold and more than half of them were for less than $300,000. Thirty six 2 bedroom condos sold in the range of $252,000-$499,000.

As of today, we have 79 West Los Angeles condos currently on the market. Entry level condos with 1 bedroom are in the range of $285,000 – $385,000. In addition, there are also thirty seven 2 bedroom West LA condos with pricing starting at $394,000-$850,000. There is a lot of inventory to choose from in the $500,000 or less real estate price bracket. 3 bedroom West LA condos start at $460,000 and can go all the way to $1M.

There are still a large amount of buyers talking advantage of the extremely low interest rates in the range of 4% and this is evident with 30 condos that are currently under contract.

For more information on the West Los Angeles condominiums, townhomes and single-family homes, please contact Santa Monica realtor Gary Limjap at 310.8293939.

However, 30 of the homes sold were all under $1M. and most of them were in the price bracket of $700,000 – $800,000. These homes were primarily fixers and were sold for land value.

There are currently 19 single family homes for sale in Sunset Park, Santa Monica with more than half of them priced between $700,000 – $900,000. A majority of these homes will wind-up being in categories of small square footage, needing updating/rennovations or being sold for land value.

There are some great values to be had right now that are well-sized family homes in prominent Sunset Park locations in the range of $1.4M -$1.8M.

If you need additional information or would like to inquire on what is currently available in the Sunset Park and the neighboring areas, please do not hesitate to contact Santa Monica realtor Gary Limjap.

There are currently about 72 Brentwood condominiums available with a median price of $595,000. In addition, there are also 34 condominiums currently in Escrow which only reaffirms the premise that people are buying because of the extremely low interest rates.

Out of the 34 condominiums under contract, 24 of those are priced at $599,000 or less and demographically speaking are 1st time home buyers.

One bedroom condominiums now are available in the low 300′s and entry level two bedroom condominiums could be purchased starting in the high 300′s.

We have not seen Brentwood, CA condominium prices as affordable as these in many years.

Santa Monica City Council Stalls Development of Bergamot Transit Village