The Housing Market Index report came out yesterday and showed a 2 point increase over April's report. This follows on the heels of a 5 point jump in April's report. Yesterday this news was viewed as a very positive sign for the future direction of the housing market. Fast forward to today, the Housing Starts report came out and showed that starts fell dramatically going to lows not seen since 1959. Housing Starts fell 12.8% in April, 8.5% in March. The pain was felt most in the Northeast, Midwest and South as the West showed the best news with a 42.5% increase in starts. To put these numbers into context you need to realize that this(Housing Starts) statistic is a lagging indicator, meaning that it takes a while for any rebound to actually show up in these numbers. Having said that, inv... 05/19/2009

In a move that the NAR has been lobbying for, FHA today announced that it would begin allowing its lenders to let first time home buyers use the $8000 tax credit as a down payment on a home. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan made the announcement during his address at the 2009 REALTORS(r) Mid-Year Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo being held in Washington, D.C.. “We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a downpayment. So FHA will permit trusted FHA-approved lenders and HUD-approved nonprofits, as well as state and local governmental entities to “monetize” the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. We think the policy is a real win for everyone, ensuring that borrowers can tap into the numerous... 05/12/2009

As you can see, not all areas are created equal when it comes to homes for sale and actual homes sold. While some of our local areas are mirroring the national statistics there are a few areas that are had healthy sales and price increases as compared to March 2008. Zip Code # Homes Sold Median Home Price % Chg From March 2008 Median Condo Price % Chg From March 2008 SFH Price Per Sq. Ft. 90068 16 $950,000 -13.40% $552,000 30.80% $458 91040 10 $265,000 -40.10% 210,000 -29.90% $264 91042 14 $355,000 -34.00% 208,000 n/a $273 91201 11 $533,000 -21.90% 323,000 n/a $349 91202 10 $733,000 18.10% 352,000 -20.00% $345 91207 3 $1,166,000 83.60% $372,000 6.70% $418 91208 7 $633,000 -12.80% n/a n/a $390 91501 5 $480,000 -33.80% $395,000 -24.40% $279 91502 1 $400,000 n/a $392,000 5.90% $267 91504 7... 04/25/2009

It has been a busy time, but the new Diary is here! I go out to take a look at 4 houses in order to see if they make the cut to be Gladiator properties, and offer some basic tips on what to look for along the way:  If you are interested in our "Turn-Key Zero Down & Cash Flow Program" feel free to call me anytime at: (317) 871-1000 We WILL answer our phones! :) Have a Profitable Day Everyone! Harrison Painter   Search. Invest. Prosper. 04/08/2009

Burbank, CA       March 2009   Market Index A market index of above 1.20 is a seller's market, between 0.80 to 1.20 is a balanced market, and below 0.80 is a buyer's market.    The market index re-bounded from 0.24 points.  to 0.30, the highest it has been since December.  New Listings - 85 new listings, compared to 54 last month and 69 in 2008. Pending Listings - 20 listings opened escrow, compared to 24 last month and 47 last year. Pending Ratio -0.24, a big drop from last month's 0.78, and compared to last year's 0.68. Listing Inventory - 263 homes on the market at the end of the month, compared to 290 last month, versus 324 in 2008. Sold Listings - 58 listings sold during the month, compared to 29 last month and 44 in 2008. Days On Market 65, versus 69 in 2008.   Average Sales Price... 04/08/2009

  Burbank Real Estate Report -March 2009 SFR Avg Sale Price-2 bed SFR Avg Sale Price-3 bed SFR Avg Sale Price-4 or more bed Condos Avg Sale Price Condos Units Sold Total Avg List Price Total Avg Sale Price Total Units Sold Avg DOM $407,700 $512,100 $734,200 $374,500 15 $509,101 $478,647 38 59 Recap: Days on market are down to 59, from 63 in February. Average sale price is up almost 3% from February. Total homes sold rose to 38 as compared to 28 in February. Overall the trend is looking better as prices are stabilizing, more homes are selling and the time on market is decreasing. Information is believed to be accurate, but not guaranteed       04/01/2009

Thinking about greening your home? With so many resources, where do you start? One of my favorite websites is GoGreenTube.com.  It's a fantastic resource filled with green videos on that talk about sustainable ideas, tips, how to advice, resources, products and much more! It gets warm here in Burbank and the San Fernando Valley, especially during the summer. So I'm always looking for ideas on how to make my home more energy efficient. My latest find is this video which covers ideas on home energy retrofits:    Have fun greening your home!  04/01/2009

The Burbank real estate landscape has changed and there are many terms out there today that buyers and sellers did not have to worry about a few years back. If you have been thinking about purchasing a short sale property or a foreclosure property, here are some terms you should know: ASSIGNMENT OF DEED OF TRUST: A document that transfers the lender’s (beneficiary’s) interest in a deed of trust. BANKRUPTCY: A legal process that allows a debtor to discharge certain debts without paying the total amount due. BENEFICIARY: The lender or person to who the obligation is owed. BIDDING INSTRUCTIONS: An authorization form signed by the beneficiary authorizing the trustee to make the initial opening bid at a trustee’s sale and subsequent bids. DECLARATION OF DEFAULT: A document signed by the bene... 03/30/2009

Burbank, CA       February 2009   Market Index A market index of above 1.20 is a seller's market, between 0.80 to 1.20 is a balanced market, and below 0.80 is a buyer's market.    The market index continues to decline from 0.28 to 0.24 points.  In six months we are almost back to February 2008's level.      New Listings - 54 new listings, compared to 64 last month and 87 in 2008.   Pending Listings - 42 listings opened escrow, compared to 48 last month and 48 last year.   Pending Ratio -0.78, even with last month's 0.75, and compared to last year's 0.55. Listing Inventory - 290 homes on the market at the end of the month, compared to 300 last month, versus 346 in 2008.   Sold Listings - 29 listings sold during the month, compared to 35 last month and 29 in 2008.   Days On Market 63, ver... 03/18/2009

The Obama administration has given us some new details on its $275 billion plan to help stem the tide of foreclosures nationwide. It’s offering many incentives to investors, lenders etc. to entice them into modifying distressed mortgages to keep Americans in their homes. The steep fall in home prices is the main reason we’ve had a global financial meltdown, so the administration’s housing plan is vital to ending the deepening economic recession. The plan is called the “Making Home Affordable Program”, which the administration thinks can help up to 9 million homeowners. There are two primary goals of this plan: · First, it offers $200 billion to provide refinancing for homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth-also referred to as being “underwater” on their mortgages. To qualify... 03/10/2009

I love it when a client calls to let me know that I single handedly sold a house for them. While I was photographing his own home that he was listing, Lior Kane told me that I had sold this house for him. I laughed when he said this. However, he said he wasn't kidding. The virtual tour that I had taken of the house had caught the eye of a couple in Los Angeles. Pasadena wasn't even an area that they had considered looking. Then they saw my virtual tour and immediately called. They were at the house for a viewing the next day and made an offer. I have to admit I'm pretty happy. I know virtual tours are a really great tool, but that is such a great example of how they can work for you. Now the real question...where's my commission Lior? 03/08/2009

I get alot of questions from home buyers asking me if we are at the real estate bottom here in Burbank and the San Fernando Valley and the honest answer is, I don't know.  But I will tell you that looking at the unemployment numbers that came out today, I would guess the answer is probably, no.  But keep in mind that we won't know where the bottom actually was until things start to improve. Unemployment hit at 25 year high for February coming in at 8.1% and to make matters worse the numbers from December were revised.....for a total loss of 681,000.  The December revision makes that the worse figure in 59 years.   If you look at the numbers more closely you'll find that the average wage has been trending up slightly indicating that more lower paying jobs were cut.  But the cuts have bee... 03/06/2009

      Image by Getty Images via Daylife    First, what is the pending home sales index?   The NAR (National Association of Realtors) developed the pending home sales index as an indicator of housing activity. It tends to be a leading indicator of existing home sales, not new home sales. A pending sale is one in which a contract was signed, but not yet closed and it usually takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale. Until housing data improves, the economy as a whole won't show significant signs of life.  The numbers that came out today offered little hope. While the pending home sales index jumped up in December, 6.3 percent to 87.7 the pending home sales index fell a very steep 7.7 percent in January.  This data indicates that we'll probably have weak home sales data for Febru... 03/03/2009

Burbank, CA       January 2009   Market Index A market index of above 1.20 is a seller's market, between 0.80 to 1.20 is a balanced market, and below 0.80 is a buyer's market.    The market index dropped five points to 0.28 from 0.33.       New Listings - 64 new listings,  versus 53 last month and 94 in 2008.   Pending  Listings - 48 listings opened escrow, compared to 40 last month and only 27 last year.   Pending  Ratio - 0.75, surprisingly equal to last month, compared to last year's 0.29. Listing Inventory -300 properties on the market, compared to 321 last month, versus 346 in 2007.      Sold Listings - 35 properties sold, compared to 67 listings last month and 42 in 2007.   Average Sales Price - $484,620, which is 10% lower than last year.  It is interesting that with the large am... 02/25/2009

  Monthly Activity Report Burbank-January 2009     SFR Avg Sale Price-2 bed SFR Avg Sale Price-3 bed SFR Avg Sale Price-4 or more bed Condos Avg Sale Price Condos Units Sold Total Avg List Price Total Avg Sale Price Total Units Sold Avg DOM $529,800 $605,200 $768,300 $387,000 8 $451,783 $508,508 28 83   Information is Believed To Be Accurate But Not Guaranteed Southern California Multiple Listing Service   Month to month average home sale price in Burbank from December 2008 to January 2009 is down $38,507, or 7%. Average days on market, are up 3 days. Most notably number of sold properties is down almost 58 % from December 2008. Reasons for this trend include the significant price reductions we saw towards the end of last year, banks wanting to clear out inventory before the end of the ... 02/16/2009

GET CASH BACK WHEN BUYING A HOME!   CASH BACK TO HOMEBUYERS in San Fernando Valley - Commission Credit towards your closing costs - Commission Rebate - REALTOR REBATES TO HOME BUYERS & INVESTROS AT CLOSING - BURBANK Discount Broker (HABLO ESPANOL)  Lupe Soto, Realtor  up to 1% CASH BACK TO BUYERS AT CLOSE OF ESCROW (*) GET CASH BACK WHEN BUYING HOMES Homebuyers or savvy investors will qualify for cash back rewards!. We WILL CREDIT YOU UP TO 1% of sales price at close of escrow on all purchases(*) when we represent a homebuyer with an agreement, minimum purchase price is $300,000, based on 3% commission with 1% rebate rebate to buyer at close of escrow, if commission is less than 3% the credit will be 33% of the actual commission received by broker.   Referral buyers will not qualify for... 02/13/2009

2010  Feng Shui Auspicious Directions - Burbank & San Fernando Valley & Feng Shui with Lupe Soto, Feng SHui Realtor in Burbank, to contact Lupe, e-mail to:  Lupe@HomesWithLupe.com   (Se Habla Espanol) THE YEAR OF THE TIGER IN 2010   THE YEAR OF THE OX IN 2009 fills with good fortune. To enhance, display a Jade Ox in the Northeast of your house in the living room. Besides that, you need to enhance the good areas and suppress the bad areas to ensure a good year comes to you and all the bad or misfortune luck is under control. Take note on the following enhancers and cures that you should display in your home according to the areas stated     Southwest - 6 White The year 2009 sees the auspicious star #6 White align in the Southwest, therefore those who are seeking recognition, fame and mak... 02/11/2009

I started out in this industry photographing apartments and rentals. I feel like that aspect of photography is something I know and really enjoy....I know there really isn't much difference. My real goal when I photograph a rental or a house for sale is to show the room size and the extras that make it special. Pamela Rich from Condos LA gave me a call to photograph her house. I have been to her home before and just love it. It's a very young, fun house. Modern and just the right amount of space. They decided to rent out this home and move to the coast...I'm very envious! Take a look...                 02/07/2009

Friday I photographed a house for my client Lior Kane with American Realty Centre. It's a beautiful little house in the Glendale hills. 2 Bedroom, 2 bathroom with beautiful built-ins and great details around. It really was a cozy home. Take a look at the virtual tour here... 02/01/2009

Market Index A market index of above 1.20 is a seller's market, between 0.80 to 1.20 is a balanced market, and below 0.80 is a buyer's market.    Jumped UP from 0.26 to 0.33, SIX points.  Is this the start of a trend?      New Listings - We had 53 new listings, compared to 88 last month and 62 in 2008. Pending  Listings - 40 listings opened escrow, compared to 44 last month and only 35 last year. Pending  Ratio - 0.75, a big improvement from 0.50 last month, and compared to last year's 0.56. Listing Inventory - 321 homes on the market at the end of the month, compared to 397 last month, versus 334 in 2007. Sold Listings - 67 listings sold during the month, compared to 61 last month and 37 in 2007.   Average Sales Price - $546,479, which is 1.46% lower than last year - but UP from July a... 01/30/2009