The Burbank Collection is doing a big promotion

The Burbank Collection is the mega condo loft project in downtown Burbank, right across from the AMC theaters and above Barney's Beanery.  The sellers are running a promotion which involves a $15,000 rebate and they are cooperating with brokers again -- meaning that they will pay us commissions if we bring a buyer.  (The sellers didn't cooperate for a long time.  Then they did.  Then they didn't.  Not unusual for a new building that's cutting prices in order to sell 100% of the units.) If you're interested in living in downtown Burbank, please contact me.
Update: the Collection is offering a $15,000 credit, not a rebate.  And it's only good for sales on Saturday, August 21.

Huge reduction on overpriced Glendale condos

The Excelsior at Americana has just reduced prices on all of its condos.  High time.  Prices used to run $842,000 to $1,124,000 for units from 1,338 sf to 1,529 sf.  Oh, yes, that's right -- they did have a view of the common area.  Was there really a market clamoring for condos at that price point in Glendale?  Are there really lots of buyers who wish to live over a shopping mall (actually, that might be fun) and pay a premium on Glendale real estate to do so?  Anyway, the prices are now $585,000 to $695,000 -- still high, but not out of line with prices on condos in the area. 

FHA changes to loans for condos

There's news on FHA loans for condos, and restrictions are even tighter than they were before. Yes, they will still guarantee purchase money loans, but with the following stipulations:
- The units have to be 51% owner occupied (that isn't new);
- No more than 15% of units can be more than 30 days' delinquent on dues;
- There needs to be "walls-in" insurance. This insures replacement of items like kitchen cabinets, bathroom fixtures, etc. Most condo insurance policies cover the walls to the studs, and that's it;
- there is a restriction on how many units may be FHA financed. This is sort of like "I don't want to join a club that would have people like me as members."
This is not all-inclusive, and I understand there's some case-by-case flexibility.

Wednesday morning reading from LAT and Burbank Leader

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."