Best editorial about CA housing crisis EVAH. Thanks, Mike Gatto.

From today's L.A. Times comes this editorial about the current housing crisis, 10 points to keep in mind about housing affordability in California.  The writer is Mike Gatto, who was a CA assemblyman for several terms.  Click here for the article.  My favorite sentence: While having a roof over your head is a human right, being hip is not.

I would add this one thing: Developers build where they build in order to make a profit.  That's why they build/flip expensive stuff -- because there is more money to be made.  Could California come up with a way for developers to make a profit in less expensive areas without cutting corners? I don't think it's a matter of zoning as much as it is a matter of profit. Thoughts?
Photo courtesy of L.A. Times.

Why you can't find and purchase that cute new house

Today's L.A. Times featured an article titled "Fewer starter homes being built" in the print edition and "Why millenials are staying away from home ownership..." in the on-line edition.  Last sentence and should link.  The gist: "Builders are catering more and more to affluent baby boomers and building larger and more expensive dwellings..." instead of more modestly-sized entry-level homes.  We are certainly seeing this trend in homes in Studio City and the east SFV.  The article has all kinds of interesting statistics and is definitely worth a read.

Will home affordability return here in L.A.? Perhaps not for brand-new homes in hot areas anytime soon.  But if you're a first-time buyer, or even NOT a first-time buyer, there are lots of not-new homes and homes in not-so-popular areas that are certainly worth considering.

Good news for buyers re low down payments and lower mortgage insurance! And a teeny bit of bad news.

As you may know, low down payment loans are back.  Yes, 3%-down conventional loans (not just FHA loans) are available to buyers.  Before anybody gets all "slippery slope" on me, think about this: in L.A. and the SFV, with average home prices hovering around $500,000 to $600,000 for modest homes, who has $100k to put down on one? Or even $50k? Not young buyers, who are usually saddled with debt from student loans, have been paying high rent, and are usually salaried a little lower than older buyers.  Not move-up buyers, who have been paying a good part of their salaries for their existing homes and haven't been able to save.  (Only one buyer has to be a first-time buyer.)  Here's an article from Forbes about the new program.  Also, it's almost impossible to get a condo complex FHA-approved -- there will be far fewer condo approval issues with the new lower conventional loans.

And if that weren't enough, mortgage insurance has been lowered, too!  As many of you know, this is the premium that you pay if your down payment and loan-to-value is lower than 20%.  Here's an article from the Chicago Tribune about it.  I've always thought this was a rip-off -- this insurance sure didn't help anybody that was in trouble with their mortgage during the 2008-2009 recession.  But anyway, it's lower now, and will help buyers.

Here's the teeny bit of bad news for those of you buyers that live here.  It will still be hard to get a low-down loan accepted by your seller if you're in a multiple offer situation.  That's because sellers perceive -- rightfully so -- that high-down loans have a better chance of closing.  There are other ways to make your offer stand out, though, and we'll discuss that in future posts.