Lost in the recent slew of negative homeownership announcements was a piece of good news for real estate professionals and landlords alike. Rental vacancy rates are at their lowest since 2003 and still falling, which will drive up rents even faster than the 2-3 percent average annual increase predicted earlier this year. Moreover, with demand outpacing supply, the rent-to-buy equation is turning increasingly favorable in markets across the nation. The Census Bureau reported that vacancies for rental housing were only 9.2 percent, 1.4 points lower than a year ago and .5 percent below the first quarter. We haven’t seen a 9.2 percent vacancy rate since 2003. The median asking rent for vacant units was %684. Meanwhile, multifamily is the only busy part of the building business. The National... 08/11/2011

Foreclosures across the West fell in July from the prior month, according to ForeclosureRadar. The firm collects and analyzes foreclosure information from Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. In Arizona, notices of trustee sales fell 16.8% last month when compared to June, marking the fourth-consecutive monthly decline. Back-to-bank foreclosure sales also fell, dropping 6.4% from June. In California, notices of default filings dropped by 11.7% from June and 30.6% from a year ago, while notice of trustee sale filings were down 5.4% from June and 25.3% lower than July 2010. Nevada's notice of default filings fell 8.1% from June to July while notice of trustee sale filings fell 21% from June figures. Oregon's notice of default filings dropped below 1,000 filings for the firs... 08/11/2011

California foreclosure activity slowed again in July, except for a slight increase in Sold to 3rd Party auction sales on the courthouse steps. Notice of Default filings fell by 11.7 percent from June, and 30.6 percent from a year ago. Notice of Trustee Sale filings were down 5.4 percent from June, and have dropped 25.3 percent from July 2010. Cancellations decreased for the third consecutive month, with a 5.3 percent drop compared to June, and were down 32.0 percent year-over-year. Foreclosures going Back to Bank (REO) declined 4.0 percent from June, down for the second month in a row. Foreclosures Sold to 3rd Parties nudged up 1.2 percent from June, and are at the same level as this time last year. Time to Foreclose decreased slightly from June, down less than one percent to 313 days; ... 08/11/2011

Last Week in the News The Institute for Supply Management reported that the monthly composite index of manufacturing activity fell to 50.9 in July after a reading of 55.3 in June. A reading above 50 signals expansion. It was the 24th straight month of expansion. Retail sales fell 0.3% for the week ending July 30, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs index. On a year-over-year basis, retailers saw sales increase 4%. Total construction spending rose 0.2% to $772.3 billion in June, following an upwardly revised 0.3% gain in May. Economists had anticipated an increase of 0.1% in June. Factory orders fell 0.8% in June to a seasonally adjusted $440.7 billion, following an upwardly revised 0.6% increase in May. Excluding the volatile transportation sector, orders rose 0.1% in June. The Mortgage... 08/10/2011

Home values across the United States fell 6.2% in the second quarter from a year earlier with a slight 0.4% gain from the first quarter, according to Zillow. The average home values hit $171,600 during the three months ended June 30, but remain nearly 30% below the peak of June 2006, according to the online real estate services firm. Values dropped in 142 of the 154 metropolitan statistical areas covered by Zillow. About two-thirds of the MSAs experienced home value appreciation. At the same time, the rate of foreclosure resales fell from the peak in March when 21.4% of all sales were classified as foreclosures. In June, 19.7% of sales involved foreclosures. The report concluded the double-dip decline in home prices that began in 2010 continued in the first quarter of this year, with pr... 08/09/2011

Article from the Malibu Patch: Rejecting the arguments of nearby residents, a majority of the Planning Commission on Tuesday night determined the Malibu Inn is meeting the demands of its conditional use permit from the city, and should be allowed to stay open until 2 a.m. all week. The restaurant/bar, which reopened in April, has only been allowed to operate until 2 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as well as Sunday when the following Monday is a federal holiday. It has been forced to close at 12 a.m. on other days. A group of residents living directly west of theMalibu Pier, which is located on the other side of Pacific Coast Highway from the Malibu Inn, said there is much noise coming from the facility. They said they would appeal the commission's decision to the City Council. Al... 08/03/2011

A Realtor® or real estate salesperson is much more than the average salesperson.  Their primary job is to help you buy or sell a home and represent your best interests.  If you're unfamiliar with the real estate "game", the resources and expertise they provide is beyond most people's initial understanding.  Unless you are experienced in the biz, you will never know all of the pitfalls that can and do come up.  Most of them will cost you more time, money and grief than the agent's commission is worth.  You may not even be aware of your "mistake" until after the transaction has closed.  What they do is almost considered an art form.  Even with all of the resources out there, primarily the internet, 4 out of 5 people still use an agent for a sale or purchase.  The internet has enabled con... 08/01/2011

Pending home sales, a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts, rose 2.4% in June after an 8.2% increase in May. On a year-over-year basis, pending sales are up 19.8%. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing price index — on a non-seasonally adjusted basis — rose 1% in May after a 0.6% increase in April. The consumer confidence index rose to 59.5 in July from a downwardly revised 57.6 in June. The index was benchmarked at 100 in 1985, a year chosen because it was neither a peak nor a trough in consumer confidence. New home sales fell 1% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 312,000 units from a downwardly revised rate of 315,000 units in May. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted composite index of mortgage applications for the wee... 08/01/2011

      Bank-Owned / REOs Coming Soon to Market & Currently For Sale       Address Beds/Baths Sq. Ft. Lot Size Price Status 26322 Fairside Rd., Malibu, CA 90265 2B/2B 1,648 8,255 $584,990 Active 21500 Califa St., #89, Woodland Hills, CA 91367 2B/2B +Den 1,190 N/A $264,900 Pending 190 N. Wendy Dr., Thousand Oaks, CA 91320 3B/2B 1,441 7,866 TBD Coming Soon   31422 Birdella Rd.,  Malibu, CA 90265 3B/3B 2,649 18,709 TBD Coming Soon 29022 Tackaberry Ct.,  Agoura Hills, CA 91301 3B/3B 3,045 8,785 TBD Coming Soon 4935 Serrania Ave., Woodland Hills, CA 91364 3B/2B 1,584 6,615 TBD Coming Soon                         • 4 Malibu Real Estate Partners can help you find the real deals, evaluate the best opportunities, eliminate unnecessary risk, and save valuable time. We are excited to be able to bri... 07/28/2011

Price Reduction - Bank-Owned/REO - CSO 3.5%   26322 Fairside Rd., Malibu, CA 90265 MLS #11-539001 2B/2B $584,990 Bank-owned. Open floor-plan. Hardwood floors throughout. Living room with fireplace. Kitchen with stainless steel appliances Slidng doors lead to mountain view deck. Attached 2-car garage. Inside laundry room. Flat pad in backyard, with fruit trees. All appliances included.   View additional information/photos.  View our other Bank-Owned/REOs coming to market soon in Malibu & the surrounding areas. 07/27/2011

The great thing about living in Pasadena is that we are so close to both the snow in the mountains and the beautiful beaches.  Today was a day off for me and an opportunity to spend a full day with my family at one of the most beautiful beaches around - Zuma Beach. All had a lot of fun.  We saw dolphins, a seal, pelicans - all just a few feet away from us.  Absolutely spectacular! Here're some photos... Enjoy!   Interested in more information about Greater Pasadena Area cities, check out our City Guides below: Alhambra City Guide Altadena City Guide Arcadia City Guide Eagle Rock City Guide Monterey Hills City Guide Pasadena City Guide San Gabriel City Guide San Marino City Guide Sierra Madre City Guide South Pasadena City Guide And, if you are interested in fun activities to do, take a ... 07/26/2011

Stabilizing nondistressed home prices, a declining shadow inventory and stronger foreclosure auctions should lead to lower distressed sales and less downward pressure on prices, according to CoreLogic. The report notes that while mortgage performance is improving, it is not improving nearly as much as other consumer debt performance. Despite, a bit of positive news in the report, CoreLogic notes that negative equity will remain a strong influence on the market for an extended period of time. In May 2011, the “excluding distressed sales” home price index only dropped 0.4% from a year ago, compared to a decline of 7.4% for the all transactions HPI. Despite the whipsaw impact of the federal homebuyer tax credit, state credits and increases in Federal Housing Administration premiums, nondis... 07/26/2011

- Commerical office space available in Malibu's Miramar Building. - Located next to City Hall. - Walking distance to Cross Creek Plaza. - Approximately 800 sq. ft. of space. - Two separated rooms, approximately 400 sq. ft. each. - Can lease both spaces or just one. - Plenty of parking available. - Space is located at the end of the building. - Available now. - Flexible terms options. View additional photos/info. 07/25/2011

The combined construction of new single-family homes and apartments in June rose 14.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 629,000 units. Single-family starts increased 9.4%. Multifamily starts rose 30.4%. Applications for new building permits, seen as an indicator of future activity, rose 2.5% to an annual rate of 624,000 units. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo monthly housing market index rose two points in July to 15. An index reading below 50 indicates negative sentiment about the housing market. Retail sales rose 0.4% for the week ending July 16, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs index. On a year-over-year basis, retailers saw sales increase 4.5%. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted composite index of mortgage applications for th... 07/25/2011

Although the drop in default rates shows promise, the amount of shadow inventory still creates a dark loom over the future of housing prices, according to latest results from Standard & Poor's U.S. Residential Performance Index. The shadow inventory of unresolved distressed properties is currently at an estimated $405 billion, representation four years of housing inventory and one-third of the outstanding U.S. non-agency residential mortgage debt. The report states that full recovery will only occur once the supply of distressed properties shrinks to less than a quarter of the current volume. Additionally, the monthly liquidation and cure rates are at about 2.5%. This stems to an overall resolution rate of 5%, where these rates have lingered in the past nine months.    07/25/2011

Duke’s Malibu, CA a Pacific Landmark Beachside Destination Restaurant! Duke’s is an unpretentious Restaurant that serves well-prepared good food and it is a good value. Looking at the Surfing Memorabilia gives you the urge of wanting to surf even if you never surfed in your life. If you happened to drop in on Friday between 5-7pm you will discover at the Barefoot Bar Hawaiian Dancers, in the usual outfit, coconut bikini tops with a great smile and pleasant demeanor. IF you are more interested in the crashing waves with 320 degree Sweeping Ocean view the Barefoot Bar is your place. Open Monday thru Thursday from 2:00pm-9:30pm. Friday 3:00pm-10:00pm and Saturday from 11:30-10:30pm and Sunday from 11:30am-9:30pm you can be sipping exotic cocktails and eat sandwiches, burgers, fish tacos, w... 07/22/2011

The drop in the homeownership rate from an all-time high of 69.2 percent in 2004 to 66.4 percent in the first quarter of 2011 reflects a decline from unsustainable levels to something closer to historical averages, according to a study released by the Mortgage Bankers Association's Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA). While the homeownership rate may have bottomed out, it could fall another one or two percentage points because of tightened credit and other factors, the study says. Key findings from the study include: A combination of changes in mortgage credit standards and attitudes towards investment in homeownership likely contributed to much of the rise and fall in homeownership over the decade.  As credit conditions loosened in the first part of the decade, many people of... 07/21/2011

The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) applauds Gov. Jerry Brown on signing SB 458 (Corbett) into law.   SB 458 extends the protections of SB 931 (2010), to ensure that any lender that agrees to a short sale must accept the agreed upon short sale payment as payment in full of the outstanding balance of all loans. Under previous law (SB 931 of 2010), a first mortgage holder could accept an agreed-upon short sale payment as full payment for the outstanding balance of the loan, but unfortunately, the rule did not apply to junior lien holders. SB 458 extends the protections of SB 931 to junior liens. “The signing of this bill is a victory for California homeowners who have been forced to short sell their home only to find that the lender will pursue them after the short sale clos... 07/20/2011

Mortgage default notice filings in California fell 19.2% in the second quarter over last year, establishing a four-year low when it comes to new foreclosures in the Golden State. Real estate data firm DataQuick made that report Tuesday, saying it's impossible to come up with a single reason to explain why foreclosure filings in the state fell from 70,051 last year to 56,633 in the most recent second quarter. DataQuick said it's likely the drop comes from a confluence of factors, including policy changes, political decisions and changes within the mortgage servicing industry. A lot of theories are being floated as to why the numbers are down. Bank policy changes. Legal challenges. Politics. Holding back temporarily so as not to flood the market. The fact of the matter is that no one rea... 07/19/2011

  Housing starts rose 14.6% in June, according to Commerce Department data, continuing gains of the prior month and coming in well above most analysts' estimates. On a seasonally adjusted basis, starts increased to the highest level since January at 629,000, up from a revised 549,000 for May and nearly 17% higher than 539,000 a year earlier. Analysts polled by Econoday were expecting housing startsto come in at 575,000 with a range of estimates between 550,000 and 600,000. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch projected starts to come in at 580,000 for June. In a joint release, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development said single-family starts climbed 9.4% in June to a seasonally adjusted rate of 453,000 units, up from a revised 414,000 for May. June's increase com... 07/19/2011