The Burbank Leader reports today that several big condo projects have reduced their prices significantly. These include the Burbank Lofts and the Excelsior project at Glendale's Americana. Well, good. It's high time the prices on these came down. I think they're running at about $400k+ now -- which, in the case of the Excelsior units, is down from $800k! Remember, though, that many banks will not fund loans unless a condo project is at least 50% sold and the builder/developer has turned over to the actual home owner association funds to the actual home owners association.
Next is an article from today's LA Times about home prices and activity in the Southland. Just as I bin sayin' "But Los Angeles County's median home price actually held steady in April for the fourth month in a row..."[emphasis mine]. Is that not a sign that the bottom is here, and has been here for awhile? But here's another significant quote: "The worst may be yet to come for wealthier areas because "we still face two big threats to price stability: layoffs, which can cause foreclosures across the home price spectrum, and possibly a new round of foreclosures triggered by defaults on 'option ARM' and 'stated income' loans used in mid- to high-end markets," DataQuick President John Walsh said."
I am one of the (at least 15 individuals, according to escrow) that lost out on my deposit when the lender pulled out and canceled all pending loans for people trying to get into the Burbank Collection because the project was unable to occupy 50% of its units. I had been in escrow since August, right when the housing market began to collapse. After months of very little communication between the lender, escrow and the Burbank Collection sales agent (who I later learned fled the country), in January 2009, the loan was canceled and the deposit was not returned. Champion Developers (Burbank Collection) refuses to release the deposit, which I believe is completely unfair, because I was well-qualified, and the situation was beyond my control. If there are any other of the buyers who were also left in this situation, please post here as well.
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