Strong Housing Report In Sunset Park – Santa Monica

Sunset Park in Santa Monica is still experiencing a very strong real estate market. Out of more than 2700 single family homes in the neighborhood, there have been 57 homes that have been purchased this year alone – the highlight a newly constructed home on 16th Street that fetched over $2M.

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.

 

Home Equity Is Up.

Fed’s Survey Shows Net Equity Grew in Late ’09

According to the Fed’s most recent “flow of funds” survey, homeowners’ net equity grew by nearly $1 trillion from the recession’s nadir in the first quarter of 2009 through the third quarter. From June 30 to Sept. 30, net equity rose by $418 billion.

The latest survey offered some hints of modest improvements for housing. The overall negative-equity rate among American homeowners remained flat in the fourth quarter, at 21.4 percent. But like the Fed’s numbers, that ratio represented a slight decrease from the first two quarters of last year, when 22 percent and 23 percent of owners owed more on their mortgages than the estimated market value of their real estate.

This is good news, not just for home-owners, but for home-buyers.

 

New Rule Affects Homeowners in Foreclosure Avoidance

Greater Financial Transparency Under New Loan Modification Program

According to the latest information from the Obama Adminstration, Those seeking to ease their mortgage terms must now document their finances before a trial modification will be granted.   The deadline for those institutions servicing loans under the program, the deadline for adopting the policy is June 1.

As noted in a recent article in the Los Angeles Times:

Taking borrowers at their word for how much they earn was a major cause of the mortgage meltdown. That practice may also be why an Obama administration program has struggled to convert temporary loan modifications into permanent ones.

The government said Thursday that it would overhaul the program by requiring homeowners to document their incomes before trial modifications are granted. Borrowers previously could have their interest rates lowered and the terms of their loans extended on a trial basis without providing pay stubs or other financial documents.

The loan service providers will now demand three primary documents for any loan modifications to proceed.  They will ask for:

  1. A formal application including a description of the hardship created by the mortgage.
  2. Proof of income, which would mean at least two pay stubs or the most recent profit and loss statement for self-employed borrowers.
  3. A form authorizing the Internal Revenue Service to release tax data to the servicer.

Under the newly modified plan, if a borrower makes three payments at the modified rate, the modification will automatically be made permanent.

This can only be one more positive turn in the real estate market – especially here on the Westside of Los Angeles.