Jim Wasserman writes in the Sacramento Bee: Sacramento’s once-mighty home building industry has come to a virtual standstill.
Just 485 Sacramento-area buyers signed sales contracts for new homes in April, May and June, according to a report being released today. It was the industry’s worst sales performance in modern times, and possibly for a half-century.
While Sacramento’s [...]
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Senate Bill 1275 (Leno), modifying the foreclosure process, passed the Senate on a vote of 21-12 just one day prior to a legislative deadline that would have left it grounded. Under SB 1275, prior to filing a notice of default, a trustee or beneficiary would have to provide a borrower with an application for loan [...]
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By Les Christie, staff writer June 15, 2010: 2:08 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — As the nation struggles to shrug off the worst housing crash since the Great Depression, it may be hard to believe a housing shortage could be on its way.
The nation is simply not building enough homes to keep up with potential [...]
Robert Lewis writes in today’s Sacramento Bee:
The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency misused millions of dollars in stimulus funds that were supposed to help fix vacant and foreclosed homes, according to a federal watchdog.
The agency misspent more than $1.1 million on ineligible properties and costs - money SHRA might need to repay - and has [...]
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The following was taken from FactCheck.Org on April 22, 2010 and written by Bruce Jackson:
We’ve been flooded with queries about this one ever since the health care bill became law. At the last minute, Democratic lawmakers decided on a new 3.8 percent tax on the net investment income of high-income persons. But the claim that [...]
Continue reading about A 3.8 Percent “Sales Tax” on Your Home?
Darrell Smith states in the Sacramento Bee today:
Two-thirds of California home sellers last year put their houses on the block because they couldn’t make their mortgage payments, the California Association of Realtors said Thursday.
According to a CAR survey, 30 percent of respondents said they fell behind on house payments; nearly one in five said job [...]
Continue reading about Motive for home sellers was unaffordable loan
Dale Kasler writes in the Sacramento Bee today:
Housing starts jumped sharply last month in California and Sacramento from a year earlier, an industry association said Wednesday.
But the California Building Industry Association, which released the statistics, said the increased activity in January might not mean much.
“Given the fact that we’re comparing this month to one [...]
Continue reading about Housing starts rise from dismal ‘09 levels
Published Friday, Jan. 22, 2010 by Jim Wasserman in the Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento had a median gain last year.
New December statistics paint 2009 as the year when Sacramento County home prices finally ended a dramatic four-year free fall.
Median sales prices for new and existing homes combined rose 0.6 percent in 2009, property researcher MDA DataQuick reported [...]
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My favorite writer in the Sacramento Bee, Jim Wasserman, says: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed new $10,000 homebuyer tax credit is thrilling the real estate universe, but don’t think it’s a done deal.
Opponents, who include economists and advocacy groups, are weighing in. Their point: it’s a poor use of money in a state that’s whacking community college [...]
Continue reading about Home Front: Some economists not buying proposed homebuyer tax credit
Dina ElBoghdady said in the Washington Post that The Senate voted Wednesday to renew the government’s $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers through the first six months of next year as part of a broader bill designed to extend unemployment benefits.
For the first time, the tax credit program would also enable many homeowners who [...]
Continue reading about Senate votes to renew tax credit for first-time home buyers