Toluca Woods is Hot!

Update April 8, 2008: well, maybe not so much. This home is back on the market. The listing says that's due to first time buyer jitters. The Toluca Lake neighborhood of Toluca Woods continues to defy sales expectations. The area bordered on the north by Magnolia, south by Camarillo, with west/east boundaries of Cahuenga and Denny has seen the homes that have come on the market there lately go pending very quickly. Pictured to the left is 10637 Otsego, a 4+2 for $789,000. It went pending in 13 days. You can visit my February post for the house on Willowcrest that went pending in 7 days. This isn't surprising as the neighborhood has good housing stock at decent prices. But, wow, such fast sales really are rare these days.

How'd We Get Here? And I Don't Mean Burbank

Happy Spring, everybody! For those of you that are a little confused, as I am, about our national financial and mortgage crises and how we got here, here’s a tip: I find that the New York Times is a good source of understandable information. Okay, so is the L.A. Times. But back to what I was saying. Today’s NYTimes has a great editorial entitled Iraq, $5,000 Per Second? by Nicholas Kristof about the connection between the spending on the Iraq war and our current economic troubles. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz says, “[Tax] money spent on Iraq did not stimulate the economy as much as the same dollars spent at home would have done. To cover up these weaknesses in the American economy, the Fed let forth a flood of liquidity; that, together with lax regulations, led to a housing bubble and a consumption boom.”

Finally, a real price reduction

You may recall that I blogged about the pictured home at 601 Priscilla recently. It had a price reduction of -- hang on -- $100! Wowwee! This home has now had a more meaningful price reduction, down to $674,000 from $705,900. Much better. It's a 3+2 with a pool, redone kitchen that needs appliances, and is in one of the nicer areas of Burbank/Toluca Lake.

Quoted re FHA Guidelines

Our friend Patrick Duffy at Housing Chronicles.com has quoted this blog on FHA guidelines. Thanks, Patrick! My original post is below; it's dated March 11. I'm still finding that many lenders haven't received a lot of direction on this from their management.

Could it be any more crass? Oh no, wait...this is Glendale

Thanks, L.A. Curbed, for this story. Americana at Brand, the new destination shopping center in Glendale, will take delivery of a "Spirit of American Youth" statue to the garden area of a shopping center. Pictured above, the statue is a re-creation of the 1949 sculpture at the Omaha Beach Memorial in France that commemorates soldiers who died on Normandy Beach. Of course, before it's good enough to grace a Glendale shopping center, it has to be dipped in gold. Remember the soldiers who died for your right to shop. To the left is the statue, about to leave NYC for Glendale, and the smaller picture below is the original, in France.

I Want My Rate Cuts!!!

The Fed is cutting rates right and left. So why haven't mortgage interest rates gone down?! Click here for a great article from CNNmoney.com. It seems so unfair -- the housing retail level (mortgages on resale homes) should benefit from all the Washington shenanigans too, yes?

Sexiest Headline of the Week: Topless Water Heater Rebate!

Okay, it's not topless, it's tankless, but it got your attention, right? Per an insert in my gas co. bill (you wondered who read those, huh?) you residents of Burbank and Los Angeles can now get a $200 rebate from The Gas Company when you purchase one of these. They're great -- they give you hot water on demand, so you don't have a big, 40-gallon tank of boiling water sitting around. You'll use less energy and water. Visit www.socalgas.com/twh/for more info. The offer is good through December 31, 2008 of this year.

And, Yes, It Applies to the San Fernando Valley

There's a great post today on Housingchronicles.com about Alan Greenspan. Wordy, but worth it. Check it out at HousingChronicles.com.

Connection Between Bear Stearns Bailout and Spitzer

Here's an excellent article from Greg Pallast regarding the Spitzer/Bear Stearns connection. Robert Scheer said pretty much the same thing yesterday on NPR. I thought the timing of the Spitzer bring-down was a little strange myself (although it's clear he's a slime ball). Why am I putting this in this blog? Because many financial institutions are now at risk because of the sub-prime loan mess.

Sober Living in Burbank

Note: the post that follows originally appeared here on March 5. It continues to get many comments. Because of that, I've moved it to the top of this page so it doesn't disappear (as it will on Blogger when it gets to the bottom.) Please feel free to continue commenting here, and to also check out the other posts on sober living in Burbank. I am happy to be able to foster a community dialogue. [Today's] Burbank Leader reports that local residents are angry about a sober-living house on Clark Street. Sober-living residences usually house a half-dozen people who are recovering from alcohol and drug addiction. At a recent community meeting, neighbors complained that this home was endangering their children and lowering their property values. The article states that the police have been called to this particular home several times and made three arrests there in 2007. These state-funded residences currently cannot be regulated by municipalities, although there are on-going attempts to change that.

As an aside, I'll cop to being addicted to shows like A&E's Intervention. Yes, it's just another reality show. But it has performed a service, at least for me, in that it has educated me immensely about addiction -- and I had a death in my own family last year as a result of chronic alcoholism. I've learned that sober-living situations can be vital to those struggling to get well.

So here's the conundrum: don't we as a community and a society have a responsibility to help those trying to help themselves? Isn't giving recovering addicts an opportunity to live in a normal community a good thing? I think so. But would I feel safe living close to this particular facility? No. Any answers from anybody out there?

Quick Sale, Multiple Offers in Burbank

I thought fast sales and multiple offers were a thing of the past. Nope. My client wanted to write an offer on this property at 3131 Frederic in Burbank only two days after it listed (he knows what he wants; I've been working with him on various houses over the years). Imagine my surprise to find out that we were in multiple offers -- aren't those a thing of the past? How come my buyer gets stuck in that situation? There's a happy ending though: the sellers accepted the offer and we're now in escrow, nine days after the property listed (coulda been three days, but sorting out and countering the multiple offers took time). No, this wasn't a foreclosure or short sale. It was just a very well-priced home in a great neighborhood in very good condition. And my buyer's offer was under the list price, too. More details when this closes.

More NODs for Burbank but Not Studio City

I just looked at the Notices of Default for the week of 3/5-3/12. NODs are filed when a home owner is at least three months late on mortgage payments and is a first step to foreclosure. Palmdale and Lancaster are still the county's epicenter for NODs, but Burbank's numbers increased to 18 this week. Other community NOD stats: North Hollywood-29; Sherman Oaks-10; and Studio City has only one, which is a decrease from prior weeks.

LAT, Downtown and the Valley

There are some interesting stories in the L.A. Times today. The first, on the front page, is about the glut of brand-new downtown lofts. The story is extensively posted upon at both LACurbed.com and LAland.

The second story covers Adam Carolla's view of the San Fernando Valley, complete with "best ofs." Here's a quote from Adam about the usual progression from the Westside to the Valley: "People move here...They get themselves an apartment on the Westside. It's $2,500 a month and they have a roommate...They like to walk to their local coffee shop and say they'd never move. Eventually, they get a little bit older and they say, 'I guess I need to think about buying a house, I'm 37'...Five years go by...because they can't humble themselves to move to the Valley. This is the point where they move...and that's how people end up in the Valley."

Glendale, The Mattress Capital of the World

What gives in Glendale? Central Ave. has more mattress stores than I've ever seen clustered together in my life. One block has five mattress stores. Leeds. Serta. The Mattress Store. And two Orthos. Isn't that really a lot? How many mattresses does one community need? Are the employees of each store at perpetual war with the employees of other stores? Has there been any violence? Any explanations out there?

Burbank Sober Living in My Office

Further to all the sober-living posts on this blog: Today during my weekly office meeting, I learned that there was a community meeting recently to complain about the particular house on Clark Street in Burbank. At least one of my co-workers attended, and said there were 50 people there, including 3 city council members. There were differing opinions on whether a sober-living home lowers surrounding property values and endangers the neighbors. I say "no" to both of those. I spoke about my own neighbor situations (we've had bad ones [see posts below])(3/11/08-oops, update: although I've spoken about my family situation, I just realized that neglected to talk about neighbors in my previous posts. That's updated in the comment here. Sorry) and also my family situation, and I also suggested that my co-workers look at the numerous posts on this issue here.

New FHA Loans: What You Need to Know

• New FHA restrictions just came out. Here’s the upside.
• The loan limits for SFR in L.A. are $729,750 (same as “jumbo conforming”).
• Loan limits for 2 units are $934,200.
• The interest rate is 6% as of this writing; however, there is mortgage insurance (see below).
• Minimum down payment is 3% (not including closing costs).
• Fixed rate and Adjustable rate programs are available.
• NO MINIMUM FICO REQUIREMENT (this is huge).
• Must be full documentation loan. No stated income loans.
• No buyer reserve requirement (this is also huge).
• No income limits.
• The seller can contribute up to 6%, including closing costs, although the seller does not have to pay the closing costs.
• There can be non-occupant co-signers on the loan.
• You do not have to be a first-time buyer.
• Gifts are permitted for the entire 3% borrower investment and don’t need to be “seasoned.”
• Gifts are also permitted for all closing costs & pre-paid items.
• Down payment assistance programs are permitted, such as city first-time buyer housing programs.

Now, here’s the downside:

• There is mortgage insurance. It equals either 0.5% point per month, or 1.5% points up front. The up-front payment is deductible from your taxes during the year that you buy.
• There are stricter appraisal requirements:
• Any operable or useful element in the subject property must have at least 2 or more years of useful life or it must be replaced.
• The appraiser must be FHA-approved.
• The appraiser can require a separate inspection upon any “visible” defect or if he/she has knowledge of any existing problem.
• The property must be structurally sound.
• It must have a useable garage.
• The property cannot have code violations.
• Each living unit much contain domestic hot water, sanitary facilities and a safe method of sewage disposal. Connection to public systems is required if available.
• Heating systems must be adequate for healthful and comfortable living conditions.
• Condo projects must be pre-approved; they can be spot-approved but this is much more difficult.
• Condo projects must have sufficient reserve funds.

Home Ownership Deception Scheme

There was a great post from Maggie Knowles on LALand this weekend about the housing crisis. Maggie has given me permission to print it here:

The mortgage crisis has never been about home ownership. There are 6 major players in this scheme, the home ownership deception scheme.
1. Brokers, 2. Lenders, 3. Investment Bankers, 4. Rating Agencies - and the ones they lure 5. Investors and 6. Borrowers (you could think of 1-4 as fishermen and 5 and 6 as fish). 1 thru 4 have no skin in the game and they are working for Wall St. and have made off with billions of dollars.

After the high tech boom, the housing market was the next investment vehicle that Wall St. was going to push.

Before 2007, real estate was the best investment in America. How does Wall St. take advantage of that? They package mortgages together and sell them at a higher return. "They can't lose, they're the best investment in the world!" There was a high demand, but there was one problem - there wasn't enough product (borrowers - there were only so many people who had 20% down, high credit ratings, etc.)

Where do you get more product (borrowers)? Start creating products that a wider market can qualify for. So first came the A. sub-prime loans, then came the B. high-rate "strangulation" ARMS (interest rate only goes up, not connected to LIBOR or Prime Rate) where payments will double no matter what happens in the market and principle is never paid down, then came C. a negative amortization product (where principle grows and is never paid off), then came D. Option ARMs, then came E. no doc loans. (I may have missed some data regarding these loan products, but you get the idea.)

The point is, the loan products are defective by definition. When you recognize that these are defective products and this is orchestrated to generate billions of dollars out there for the four players in the middle (1 thru 4 above), then what's the solution?

More on Sober Living in Burbank

If you've followed the posts and comments regarding the sober-living house in Burbank, you'll know that I asked one of the posters for more info on the sober-living process. Here's the link that was sent back to me: http://www.soberhousing.net/san_fernando.html. As poster "Anonymous" says, "Go to this website to find all you need to know about sober-living networks of one addict helping another." Thanks, Anon.

FLIP, uh, I mean FORECLOSE This House

I just showed this house at 2219 N. Brighton in Burbank. It's a "3" bedroom (although 1 bed is converted from 1/2 the garage), 1.75 bath, 1280 sf, foreclosure listed at $519,900. It has been largely, but not completely, remodeled, although the floor plan is not good. It also looks as though the flipper/owners/walkaway-ers may have run out of money before they finished this. You can just tell that the owners thought they'd buy an inexpensive house, flip it, and make a killing. But they forgot one very important element of successful flipping: location, location, location. This poor house is located at the confluence of San Fernando, the 5 Fwy, the train tracks, and the airport, plus there's a liquour store one house away. It's hard to imagine a worse location. Seriously, this is a text-book case of what NOT to do to make money in real estate. I predict this house will sell in the high $300's.

Whiplash! Lots of "Pendings" in the Last Day

In the last day, 10 properties have been reported pending in Burbank, from condos to mid-priced homes. This is a lot for even a warm market. The two to the left are both on Maple -- the condo is in the project at 355 N. Maple and the house is in the 700 block. And, nine properties have reported pending in all price ranges in Studio City. Yes, these aren't "solds" -- but this many "pendings" indicate a surprisingly large amount of activity. Could the Spring selling season be better than we think?

Follow Up on Sober Living Post

See the post below about the sober living facility on Clark. The owner of the home responded with a comment, and I sent that along to the writer of the Burbank Leader story, Jeremy Oberstein. Here's part of his response:

Thanks for passing along that comment from the blog. I did speak to the owner of the house and we are running another story about conditions in the home.

Thanks, Jeremy.

Update: click here for the 3/7/2008 updated Burbank Leader story.

Asking Prices are Going Thru the Floor! Reduction of $100!

This is 601 N. Priscilla in Burbank. It just had a major price reduction -- of $100 dollars! Whee! Start packing! Okay, perhaps this isn't fair. This is a particularly excellent Burbank/Toluca Lake neighborhood and this house has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a pool, 1600+ square feet, and a redone kitchen (without appliances, however). It's a short sale, and the bank approved the listing price. I assume they approved the reduction as well. It was listed for $706,000 and is now listed at $705,900. Either way, it's a pretty good price for the neighborhood.

Raising Conforming Limits, Part 2

What's taking the new, lower interest rates so long to arrive? In part, the details have still not been worked out from last month's passage of the economic stimulus bill. Apparently, the first step will be determining median home prices. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has been given 30 days to publish median-home-price data from the date of the bill signing, so we should see those numbers in the next week. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac still need to determine their criteria for guaranteeing the loans, too. In other words, these agencies will need to decide about minimum downpayments, borrower's credit histories, and fees. Sigh. Hang in there, borrowers.

Magnolia Blvd. 1, Burbank Blvd. 0

There's a new weapon in Magnolia Blvd.'s ongoing war for global domination with Burbank Blvd. -- flower baskets. These geranium baskets grace just about every light pole on Magnolia between Buena Vista and Hollywood Way. I've learned that they are paid for by the Magnolia Park merchants, although they will be maintained by the City. How will Burbank Blvd. counter this?

Foreclosure Fightback! With the Aid of Plastic Sharks

Here's an article just out on AP about Cleveland folks organizing and fighting Countrywide over foreclosures. I love this grassroots stuff. I need to know what company is manufacturing the plastic sharks and where can I get some.

Ignore the Headlines

There was a very good article in Time Magazine last week entitled "Ignore the Headlines." So good, in fact, that it was emailed to me by about five people, including lender Dana, my wonderful manager Mike Napolitano, and the owner of Dilbeck, Mark Dilbeck. In it, famed money guy Stan Lynch is extensively quoted about timing regarding buying housing. Click to read it here. Among other things, it says:

"Consider a typical home that sells for $218,900. You put down 20% and get a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at today's rate of 5.5%. Monthly principal and interest come to $994.31. Let's say that 12 months from now the same house goes for 10% less, or $197,010. But by then the recession is history and the Fed is jacking up rates to stem inflation. If mortgage costs rise a point, to 6.5%, your monthly payment would be $994.94 and you'd have saved nothing. Meanwhile, home prices might steady and sellers might become less willing to negotiate. And you have spent a year living someplace you'd rather not be."

In short, your monthly housing payment is going to be about the same, because the lower housing prices go, the higher interest rates will likely go.

1 plus Guest for Burbank Caravan

Peter Viles came along with me yesterday for the Burbank brokers' caravan. Pete is the blogger/editor of the L.A. Times real estate blog, LaLand. It was lotsa fun and I enjoyed showing him some of the Burbank housing stock. Read about our tour here.

Foreclosure on Market...Pending in 10 Days

This is 403 N. Sparks. It's a foreclosure and has 3 beds, 2 baths, 1690 square feet, and is in a great Magnolia Park neighborhood. From the pictures, it's far from being a fixer, although it sure needs some landscaping. It was listed for $542,900 and went pending with multiple offers in only ten days. I think that's fast, even for a great price in a good neighborhood. I think this may be one of the first signs of increased buying activity for the spring season.

Great LAT Articles and My Local Take

There are two great articles in the L.A. Times today about housing and the economy. The first is on the front page. I apologize, but the link wasn't available. It's by Tom Petruno and it's called Cost of Getting By Keeps Getting Higher. I think the spectre of increased inflation scares me more than anything else. The second article, in David Lazarus's Consumer Confidential, is titled Housing Upheaval: a tale of two homes.

Now, not to fly in the face of conventional wisdom, and I know this is anecdotal, but: at our weekly office meeting yesterday, many agents were reporting multiple offer situations and increased traffic at open houses. So, are we seeing a bit of Spring recovery? Is this an anomaly or an uptick?

Bigger, Better, Taller...Power Poles

Paula Allen, good friend and agent extraordinare, reported in from West Burbank today. Burbank's DWP knocked on her door and announced it was replacing the power pole in her backyard. Paula pointed out that the existing pole looked just fine, but BWP said the new poles are needed to meet the increased demand for power. And they're six inches higher than the old ones. Question: isn't the world going to buried power lines rather than poles? What gives? Since Burbank has its own power supply that performed very well last summer when every other community's was going out, I guess I shouldn't question this.

Right Price + Toys + Diplomas = Multiple Offers

Here's 2304 N. Sparks, in Burbank. Ew. It has been on the market forever, but just had a price reduction down to $575,000 (original price $699,000). That's an okay price for a 3+2 with 1450 square feet, although this is very close to noisy Glenoaks. HGTV's "Designed to Sell" redid the kitchen last year, which is no big deal -- they just painted the cabinets and put in a new floor. If they did the countertops, I recommend never watching that show again as they used the cheapest laminate available. It's also a short sale, and the occupants left in such a hurry that they left their kids' toys and their framed college diplomas there. I guess that shows the value of higher education. But anyway...they have two offers. I guess that's what "price discovery" is all about. Update 2/29/08: Listing agent Tricia Ebert has left me a voicemail berating me for my lack of professionalism in writing this post. She and I obviously have different opinions regarding the condition of the house and also what blogging is about. At any rate, she told me that the owners are in the process of moving out, and have not left their children's toys or their diplomas behind.

Good News for a Bad Mall

The Burbank Town Center is the worst mall in the Valley. However, there's good news at the Macy's there (which is, naturally, the worst Macy's in the San Fernando Valley) -- it now features a MAC cosmetics counter! We no longer have to drive to either Glendale or Sherman Oaks for our lip gloss, although we still want to.

That was Fast

This is 4913 Willowcrest. It's a 3+2 with a guest house in the Toluca Woods neighborhood around Camarillo and Cahuenga. It was just reported pending -- after less than five days of showing at a list price of $698k. Yes, it was on the market previously, but at a higher price, of course. And another caveat: houses with guest houses are very marketable. However, that was fast! I'm glad to see real activity in this great pocket neighborhood.

More Animal Architecture, Cows This Time

Here's yet more animal architecture in the neighborhood! Here's a cow downspout. And not just any cow downspout, but a singing, guitar playing cow downspout. Look closely and you'll see that udders make a perfect rest for a guitar. If all this isn't enough, there are five of these downspouts running along this building at Cahuenga and Chandler.

Studio City housing prices

Again, from today's LAT: housing prices in Studio City are showing comparative resiliency, especially in the nicer areas of Colfax Meadows and the Hollywood Hills. No surprise -- it's a fabulous area. The median price for 2007 is $982,500.

Just as I Bin Sayin' about Blight...

I've written here before about how awful foreclosures can be -- not just for those home owners getting foreclosed on, but for communities having to deal with the blight that many foreclosures bring, as well. And I've been contradicted both here and in other blogs. But today's LAT has a great article on this very thing -- suburban blight. Click here to read.

Where are all the great new interest rates?

Okay, the economic stimulus package has passed. Where are all the great new interest rates for home loans? Lender Dana tells me we probably won't see reduced rates for 30+ days. Rats.

Just as I was saying on foreclosed renters...

Check out my Jan. 31 post with questions about foreclosed rental properties. Lo and behold, today's L.A. Times has a front page article on that very thing -- and it ain't pretty. If you are about to rent a single family home, here's a tip: ask your landlord how long they've owned the property and how many other properties they own. If the answer is "less than two years" and "none," reconsider renting there -- they may have gotten in the game too late with too little experience to be able to keep/maintain the property.

From French 75 to Savannah

Whew! No, French 75 here in Burbank hasn't gone out of business, it has just changed its name to Savannah. Presumably, there have been some menu and decor changes, too.

Even Some Republicans Want More Regulation

If you're a regular reader of this post, you probably know that I'm in favor of more regulation of the financial and securities markets. And apparently I'm not alone. Ben Stein writes a very readable weekly column in the Sunday New York Times business section. NYT labels him "a lawyer, writer, actor and economist." He's also a big-time Republican, and as such, one would think he'd be big-time anti-regulation. But no! Check out this quote from Sunday's piece:

"Is anyone ever going to wake up to the fact that there is a lot of larceny in the human heart and that there are a lot of sheep waiting to be shorn and that regulation is not a bad thing? Or will we just lurch from massive meltdown to massive theft and on and on? Is anyone ever going to get it? Anyone? Anyone?"

Thanks, Ben.

Info for Foreclosed Pet Owners

Pets of foreclosed-upon owners can suffer, too. Here's a helpful article from the East Bay SPCA for pet owners who are facing foreclosure -- tips, suggestions, etc. I'm sure our local SPCAs will offer similar resources. Thanks, LA.Curbed.com, for running this. (photo courtesy of Icanhascheezburger.com -- okay, so I'm not hip)

Burbank Celeb Sightings at the Y

For those of you that think Burbank, outside of the studios, doesn't have its own cool celeb quotient, here's a sighting for you: the totally hot William Fitchner has been spotted working out at the local Y.

Sick of Free Marketers

I've said this before, but I'm sick of free marketers in the blogosphere decrying the newly-passed stimulus package. It will help some people keep their homes. It will help communities fight blight. Houses aren't like some disposable-income consumer item. Is there any awareness, at all, out there that people need a roof over their heads? That a house isn't just an investment but a place to live? Boy, I never thought I'd live to see opinions like these that are pro-homelessness and blight.

10519 Woodbridge has finally closed

This gorgeous 3+2 at 10519 Woodbridge has finally closed escrow at $1,040,000 after almost a year on the market. It was originally listed at $1,099,000 and has been done to the nines. Don't know why it took so long? That street is one of my favorities in the Toluca Lake area, although old-timers don't consider it to be in TL because it's on the wrong side of Ledge.

Last Week's NODs

I just took a look at the notices of default filed last week for L.A. County. Again, Palmdale and Lancaster are seriously hurtin'. How's the San Fernando Valley doing? About the same. No more, no less defaults in Granada Hills, North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks or Burbank. Only three this week in Studio City. Same amount in Pasadena. Glendale is up a little. What to make of it all?

From our Friend, Hackster, at Real Sedated

Real Sedated has a great post titled "All Work and No Pay" about hiring a Realtor to sell your home. Click here for the link.

Good news/bad news on local listings

First, the bad news: The Woodland listing which sold so quickly (see below) is already back on the market. Some maybe good news: However, the house below on Tufts (with the black shutters) just closed for $630k -- and it sold in 10 days. The Niagara house (below, white door) sold quickly, too -- and was listed on 12/28, no less! the holidays are always a bad time to list -- for $484,900. It had sold in 2006 for much more and was just remodeled, so it is obviously a "flip" gone bad. Once again, I wonder: is the market picking up or is this just the exception that proves the rule?

Need for More Regulation in the Financial Markets

Here's a link to an excellent article about the credit crisis from this week's New Yorker Magazine. While many economists were cheering on the run-up in housing prices, here's one expert that was dubious. Here's a quote regarding the need for, yes, more regulation: “apt intervention and institutional structures are necessary for market economies to be successful.” The article continues, "Rather than waging old debates about tax cuts versus spending increases, policymakers ought to be discussing how to reform the financial system so that it serves the rest of the economy, instead of feeding off it and destabilizing it. Among the problems at hand: how to restructure Wall Street remuneration packages that encourage excessive risk-taking; restrict irresponsible lending without shutting out creditworthy borrowers; help victims of predatory practices without bailing out irresponsible lenders; and hold ratings agencies accountable for their assessments... As Minsky believed, “Economies evolve, and so, too, must economic policy.”

Pets are Losing Their Homes, Too

There's a sad story in the business section of the LAT today. Apparently, many pets are being abandoned when their owners' homes go into foreclosure. The owners usually have to rent a place to live after they leave their homes, and as all we former renters know, very few landlords will take animals. Especially big dogs. But, all sorts of pets are being left behind or taken to shelters. Once again, here's proof that there can be real costs and awful consequences to foreclosure for all family members.

(Picture courtesy of skeezixthecat.com)

What About Rental Properties?

Calculated Risk carried a story today about a woman of modest means who had bought a 2nd property as an investment -- I assume she used it as a rental. (The woman was originally interviewed on PBS). Now, she's having a hard time paying two mortgages and would like the government to bail her out. Remember back two or three years ago when everybody was encouraged to buy rental property? And many, many people did who had never been landlords before? Remember we were all told "Don't worry if the rents don't cover the mortgage. Your long-term gain in value from the equity will more than make up for any shortfall you're experiencing now." I was dubious at the time and now I'm worried. Here's my question: what's going to happen to the tenants in those properties if and when the owner defaults on a mortgage? How will the properties be maintained? What happens to tenants when their building is foreclosed?

3000 Foreclosures in the SFV

The Daily News published a story today on the increased amount of foreclosures in the Valley -- almost 3,000 in 2007. Not really surprising, except for the part that I actually read the Daily News instead of LAT.

These Three Sold Quickly

See update 2/4/08, above -- Woodland is back on the market. Here are three Burbank properties that defied expectations by selling in 18 days or less. The yellow house, at 4310 W. Woodland, listed for $499,994 and sold in seven days. The center house, at 1420 E. Tujunga, has a great view but kind of a 70's "Boogie Nights" facade. It was listed for $910,000. The third is a townhouse on Olive that was listed in my office for $439,000. Peter, the listing agent, says it was a mess. Is the local market speeding up again or are these just the exceptions that prove the rule?

I'm Quoted again in the Burbank Leader

I'm quoted again in today's Burbank Leader regarding housing prices in Burbank. Click here to read the article.

Good news on interest rates and loan limits

This just in, and it's good news. What it means: conforming loan limits are currently at $417,000. Home buyers who can get those loans can also get really low interest rates -- 5.15%! A rise in the loan limits really helps us here in CA, where most houses cost more than $417,000, by lowering monthly payments considerably.
Note: not a signed law yet!
Bush, Lawmakers Say Accord Reached on Stimulus Plan (Update2)
2008-01-24 14:15 (New York)
By Roger Runningen and Laura Litvan
Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration and House
lawmakers announced agreement on an economic stimulus package
that would distribute rebate checks to 117 million families and
give businesses incentives to invest in equipment...The accord includes a provision allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the largest U.S. mortgage finance companies, to temporarily buy mortgages of up to $625,000, exceeding a $417,000
federal limit...

Foreclosures

Today's L.A. Times has a great article plus charts on the latest area foreclosure stats. Personally, I'm really tired of all those free market posters out there in the blogosphere that are cheering this development. Yes, some folks scammed a mortgage. But the majority of people being foreclosed are individuals and families that wanted to put down roots in a community, wanted a better living situation, wished to get their kids in betters schools, etc., and just believed the pie-in-the-sky stuff the lending and real estate industries were handing out. Okay, enough rant. I will have a new page on my website shortly that will describe options for those that can't make their mortgages.

This Week's Notice of Default List

I just looked at the list of notice of defaults filed in L.A. County this week. Simply put, a NOD is filed when a homeowner is three-plus months' behind in mortgage payments. It's the first step in a foreclosure. Lots and lots of NODs were filed for properties in Lancaster and Palmdale. So many, in fact, that I expect those communities to be ghost towns soon. Just about every community had at least one or two (I think Burbank had about 7, and Studio City had about 4), but L&P had dozens. Yikes.

A House for $195,000?!

Not that Glassel Park is for me, but check out this price! Only $195,000! This is about $300,000 under the county average. Of course, the house is only 650+ sf, the lot is only 2100+ sf, it sounds like a tear-down, you'd have to be armed to the teeth to live here, but still... FYI, it's on Arthur Street
Marketing Remarks: Probate, no court confirmation required but subject to Attorney approval. Yes!! an entire house under $200,000. Bring your imagination to polish this gem into a great first home or investment opportunity. Open kitchen w/sunny nook opens to cozy living room, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath (tax records show 1br/1ba) & large laundry room, private rear patio, long driveway to single garage w/bonus room on top (missing access stairs). All inspections to be completed prior to submitting, no contingencies, call Listing Agent for Pre-Submission package prior to writing. No conditions/contingencies. Buyer responsible for termite report/completion, retrofit compliance and city reports. Sold AS IS.

Another cool blog...

I just learned about Real Sedated -- thanks, Dana! I'm envious when I say that it's much funnier than this site.

News about appraisals

And there's another great article from today's L.A. Times real estate section about the appraisal side of the real estate equation. It's by Dian Hymer and is in the House Hunting column. Excerpt: "Because property values are under pressure in some areas, lenders may ask to see information about comparable listings that sold within the last three months (prior to the current market, appraisals up to six months' old could be used)." And "for some lenders...want information about comparable properties that are currently for sale. Current list prices that are lower than recent sale prices could be a red flag..." And "...borrowers may be required to increase their cash down payment by 5%...," "It has become more common recently for lenders to require two appraisals..." Finally, some good advice: "Check with your loan agent to find out how long it will take to process and fund your mortgage." In other words, staff cutbacks have increased processing times.

We know, we know -- it's a declining market

There's a great article in the L.A. Times Real Estate section today about the current real estate market. Yes, prices and sales are declining. What makes this article different from others is the experts quoted: Thornberg from UCLA's Anderson school and the Dataquik's Jon Karevoll. These two are widely considered to be experts' experts. Here are a couple of excerpts:
". To hear Christopher Thornberg of Los Angeles consulting firm Beacon Economics tell it, home sellers can expect the bad times to get worse, and to stick around for a while."There will be close to a 30% decline" from the peak, Thornberg said. "Prices will continue to go down in 2008. I think between 2009 and 2011, we will have what you call a 'bleeding phenomenon' where prices stay flat, which means they lose value in real terms." Losing value in real terms occurs when appreciation fails to keep pace with inflation.Thornberg's advice for would-be sellers and those struggling to pay readjusted mortgages: Get out now."If you sit on the sidelines, it is going to get worse," he said. "And if you want to sell your house now, price it down big time."Paying the piperBefore launching Beacon, Thornberg wrote reports for the UCLA Anderson Forecast, which warned as early as 2001 that easy credit was propelling home prices to unsustainable levels. Now, he said, homeowners are paying the price."
And "DataQuick analyst John Karevoll says the uncertain state of the national economy makes forecasting a tricky proposition."Jobs, growth in the economy, interest rates -- all of these things are highly volatile," Karevoll said. "It's almost impossible to make a reliable prediction because of the volatility of these numbers."If the United States manages to avoid a recession, Karevoll said, prices will probably stabilize this summer or autumn -- well short of the 30% decline suggested by Thornberg."First, we have to digest this bad apple we ate with these sub-prime mortgages," he said."
So where does this leave sellers? I think sellers should consider selling only if they have to. If you are happy where you are, if it works for you and your family, consider staying put.

R.E. Prices down 11.7% YOY

Thanks to Peter Viles and his LALAND blog for this statistic. Apparently, Dataquick has measured sales data and homes in the area are now selling for 11.7% less than they did at this time last year. From a boots-on-the-ground perspective, that sounds about right. Didn't UCLA's Anderson Biz School predict a 12% drop in prices for 2007 at the beginning of last year?

Fire at Michael's

Last night, there was a fire at Michael's Restaurant on Olive. Two adjacent homes were also burned. The fires were set by two 17-year-olds, according to the police, and did serious damage to all the properties, although Michael's is open for lunch. More news when there is some.

20 Tips for Relocators to the SFV and Burbank

Clients Angela Bergman and Christopher Tucker sent me a hilarious Xmas letter with 20 of their recent Burbank-L.A.-SFV discoveries. Check it out on my site at www.JudyGraff.com, then hit the "select page" button. Thanks, A&C!

L.A. Times' Blog Picks Up the Story

The Good News! post below, about the house on Groton, etc., has been picked up as a story in Peter Viles' excellent L.A. Times real estate blog, L.A. Land. Check it out here.

Good news! There's still life in the local r.e. market...

This house on Groton was listed earlier this week for $679,000. It has 3 beds, 2 baths, a pool and is about 1400 square feet. It's in great shape, although it has not been remodeled lately. It sold for full price in three days. So, I guess the real estate sky is NOT falling, at least for well-priced homes in nice neighborhoods that are in good shape. And the property that I have listed on Elmwood has four written offers on it after being on the market for a month.

More Burbank Animal Statuary -- The Cat Edition

Here are more Burbank animal statues! (See previous post on Smokie the Bear). Here's a larger-than-life wooden cougar in a front yard on Groton street. You'll note that s/he has a nice view. And, for those of you that worship the goddess Bastet, you now have a car-mounted graven idol in downtown Burbank! Who says Burbank doesn't have everything?

Mortgage Rate Freeze - Don't Get Excited Yet

Okay, the major financial institutions may be freezing the interest rate on some adjustable rate mortgages. If you have one of these, don't get excited yet -- the freezes will be only for certain "eligible" borrowers who have demonstrated that they can't pay the reset interest rate. If you're already in trouble, you don't qualify. The estimate is that only 12% of all ARM borrowers will be eligible. This is good news, however, for the few families who will now not be homeless within the next six months.

Discount Brokerages? Oh, Puleeze...

I sent the following letter to the L.A. Times editor:
Re Sunday's L.A. Times Real Estate section article about discount brokerages, I think it would have been only fair for the Times to have disclosed that its parent company, Tribune Corp, owns Help-U-Sell. Also, an excellent reason to use a full-service broker instead of a discounter appears right in the Times Homes advertising section: unlike the full service brokerages, discounters won't purchase print advertising for their listings because it costs them too much. Nor do the discount brokerages do much on-line advertising as the full service brokers do. For home sellers, now more than ever, media exposure is the path to sales and that means much more advertising than just a sign in the yard and a box of flyers. The question should be not why a seller would want to pay for full services, but why a seller would throw away money on a discounter instead of paying a percentage point or two more and getting the services they truly need.

Dragnet

Yes, this has to do with real estate: did anybody but me watch CW's 60-hour retro marathon over the weekend? On a Dragnet rerun from 1968, Sargeant Friday is grilled by Officer Gannon about getting married and settling down. This takes place in Gannon's Eagle Rock traditional, which looks to be about, oh, 2000+ square feet. Sargeant Friday retorts something along the lines of, "I'll think about it when I meet a nice girl and then I'll buy a house like this for $8,500." If this was a more-or-less market price for 1968, the value of homes has risen 100 times since then! I guess that's why they call it a bubble...

Prices Back to 2005

From todays L.A.Times Business Section:
Southland home prices drop to 2005 levels
"Welcome to 2005.If you're a typical Southern California homeowner, the value of your house is back to what it was that year thanks to the weak real estate market, according to a report released Wednesday. The median price last month was $444,000, the lowest since April 2005, according to DataQuick Information Systems. That's a 3.9% drop from September and an 8% decline from October 2006.The number of homes sold, meanwhile, slipped to a 20-year low. prices do find their low point, they will follow the historical pattern and "drag along the bottom for a while before they go up," Karevoll said. "

So, 2005 brought record highs for real estate prices. As I've been saying, if you've owned your home for awhile and haven't pulled much equity out of it, you'll still see a profit.

Quoted Again in State of the City Article

Not to contradict the Mayor, but Burbank housing prices have dipped, just like every other community:

Mayor: City is in solid state
Ramos gives a glowing account of Burbank’s condition and potential in her annual address.
By Jeremy ObersteinAIRPORT DISTRICT — Mayor Marsha Ramos painted a generally glowing portrait of Burbank on Thursday during the State of the City address. More than 400 business, education and civic leaders attended the annual address at the Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, which the Burbank Chamber of Commerce puts on. “We renew our commitment to build a community that has positive experiences, and opportunities for the physical, social and economic well-being of everyone,” Ramos said as she began her talk about Burbank’s business community, its infrastructure, safety and the environment. “The Burbank economic outlook is quite robust, according to most thermometers.” Burbank’s unemployment rate, holding steady at 3.9%, is lower than California’s rate of 5.3%, she said.
“These numbers indicate that Burbank is a very good place for business,” she said. Ramos also pointed out that Burbank’s housing prices are an example of the city’s economic health.“Five years ago the median price was $256,000; today it’s $650,000,” she said. “We all know that home prices across the country have dipped, but, compared to other communities, Burbank holds stable and remains an excellent investment.” The average price for a house or condominium in Burbank may be lower than the figure presented, local real estate agent Judy Graff said.According to figures from the Southern California Multiple Listing Service, the average price for a house or condo is $633,000, she said.“What I have seen in the last couple of weeks is sellers getting much more realistic with housing prices,” she said. “There is still a credit crunch going on, but the lower the price the more buyers you’re going to attract. It’s good news.”

Safety was also an issue to which Ramos devoted a segment of her address.“Your city leaders recognize that another aspect of a healthy community is a community that is safe,” she said. “This year . . . we have restored three firefighter positions and two police officer positions.” Ramos relayed the importance of the new Interagency Communications Interoperability System, which allows police, fire and other safety agencies to remain in contact with one another during emergencies. “Today, by a turn of a switch on a radio, participating first responders and member agencies can now easily communicate on a common radio frequency,” she said. “This makes emergency mutual aid across city boundaries seamless, and all of us should feel safer.”

Ramos also focused on the city’s infrastructure.“A strong infrastructure is the heart of community well-being,” she said. “Our city’s infrastructure will be taking a major step forward in the next few months.” Ramos announced that the environmentally friendly new community services building will open in July, and that other projects, such as Ovrom Park and the DeBell Golf Course Clubhouse, are scheduled to be completed next fall.Turning her attention to the environment, Ramos spoke about the city’s landscaped walking paths, bike lanes and water conservation efforts.“The city will soon begin construction on a new landscaped walking path in the Lake Alameda area,” she said. “The path will incorporate lighting, native plants and doggie stations. I’m certain this walking path will enhance the look of the neighborhood and create a bit of much-needed community open space.” Ramos also mentioned that the paths on South San Fernando Boulevard are now completed and that energy-efficient street and crosswalk lights have replaced many of the less environmentally friendly lights. On each table in the convention center, energy-efficient lightbulbs and plastic water bottles greeted guests. “If every attendee replaced one of their most frequently used light bulbs with one of these compact fluorescent light bulbs, you would save 24,000 kilowatts per year or power four Burbank homes for a year,” she said. Ramos stressed the city’s water conservation efforts, asking each guest to use the water bottles to cut down on waste associated with one-time-use plastic bottles of water. “For the price of one bottle of Evian or Perrier, you can purchase 1,000 gallons of tap water,” she said. “[The bottles] represent an investment in the future, and they help move us to a zero-waste community.”

The speech drew rave reviews. “The mayor hit a home run,” said Gary Olson, president and chief executive of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce.He was also pleased with the turnout for the event.“This is the most we have ever had,” he said. “This is an event that continues to grow in attendance.”
 JEREMY OBERSTEIN covers City Hall and public safety. He may be reached at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at jeremy.oberstein@ latimes.com.

Burbank City's Response

In response to my query about the monster-sized house (see post below), here's the response I received from Burbank city senior planner Patrick Prescott: "I did not receive the photos you attached, but I have spoken with Tom Zartl and reviewed the plans for 1053 East Elmwood. The home in question is built at a four foot side yard setback. This setback meets the minimum requirement for side yards, which is 10% of the width of the lot. The average width of the lot is 45 feet; therefore, the required side yard setback is four feet. The lot size is 12,940 square feet and the floor area (including the 34 square foot portion of the garage over 600 square feet) is 5,162 square feet. The floor area ratio for this property is 40%, which is the maximum lot coverage allowed. The maximum height in the R1 zone is 30 feet. The highest point of the home at 1053 East Elmwood is 29’-10”, which complies with code." I still say this violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the anti-mansionization codes.

Just in Time for Halloween: a Monster (-Sized) House!

It's a Walmart!...It's an apartment building!...no, it's the side and front views of a single family home being built smack in the middle of a residential street in Burbank. How did something this big make it past Burbank City's Planning Department or the permitting people? And what's become of our vaunted anti-mansionization laws? How'd the builder manage to encroach on the neighbor's property? Are Burbank lots subdividable after all? If you know the answers to any of these questions, please blog back.

Housing Price Article (I'm Quoted) From Burbank Leader

This appeared in the Burbank Leader on 10/20/07. A disclaimer about the stats: I read these off the mls, and encouraged the reporter to check them with Dataquick, the data service for the real estate industry. I don't think he did. Even though this is for Burbank, it pretty much reflects what we're seeing all over L.A.
Housing prices take a fall
Average price of a single-family home in Burbank in September was $658,000, compared with $692,000 in August.
By Jeremy ObersteinBURBANK — The average price for a single-family home in Burbank dropped almost 5% from August to September, and the number of residences listed on the open market in the same period increased almost 50%, according to the National Assn. of Realtors.“There’s a decline, no doubt about it,” said Judy Graff, a broker in Burbank.The average asking price for a single-family home in August was about $692,000 and about $658,000 in September, she said.In August, 229 properties were listed on the open market, while 336 homes and condos were listed by Sept. 30, she said.Graff tied the decrease in housing prices and increase in homes for sale to the credit crunch by which many Americans have felt squeezed.
“There’s a credit crisis in this country,” she said. “Up to 40% of people who were able to get loans back in July can’t get loans anymore.”The robust housing market of the 1990s and early 2000s, in which potential home buyers could easily secure a loan, seem to be a distant memory, said Ken Fears, an economist with the National Assn. of Realtors.“The housing boom [lasted] from 1998 to spring 2005,” he said. “The housing market has been slowing down since then and, since July 2007, home sale prices have sharply decreased.”That has directly affected Burbank residents, Graff said.“It used to be that if you could fog a mirror, you could get a loan,” she said. “Now, lenders want to see a 10% down payment and excellent credit scores. If the median price of a single-family home is $700,000, you would need to have $70,000 sitting in the bank. How many young couples have that kind of money?”The decrease in sales can be tied to the fallout in the mortgage-backed securities market, which specifically affects Burbank, Fears said.“What hurts Burbank is the lack of financing in the jumbo market, defined as any loan over $417,000,” he said. “Mortgage-backed securities stopped buying jumbo market loans, driving prices up and causing more homes to be listed on the open market.”As a result of loan defaults, many homes are staying on the market longer than anticipated, Graff said.“We have 11 months’ worth of inventory on the market,” she said. “Homes are staying on the market for a much longer period of time. What it comes down to is, there are less transactions now.”However, Fears does not expect the damaged jumbo market to be down for too long, nor does he believe the credit crunch will drive a national recession.“In terms of the jumbo market, it could be back within months. I’m not too worried,” he said. “The underlying economy is doing very well. Now, the [lending problem] is caused by increased interest rates. It’s a good economic backdrop for this painful housing market.”The problem remains prevalent in Burbank but may not be an impediment to ownership for all, Burbank Assistant City Manager Mike Flad said.“Cost of housing is one of our largest obstacles,” he said. “But the cooling-off is a plus for some who can enter the market with lower prices.”
 JEREMY OBERSTEIN covers City Hall and public safety. He may be reached at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at jeremy.oberstein@latimes.com.

Refi Info & Taxes

From Peter Viles' LA Land, the L.A. Times real estate blog:
A question about refinancing
This is one of those posts where we seek your wisdom and guidance, so pay attention, please.
We were reading the transcript of the President's news conference today, and noticed this quote: "...we need to change the tax laws. You're disadvantaged if you refinance your home. It creates a tax liability. And if we want people staying in their homes, then it seems like to me we got to change the tax code. That's why I talked to Senator Stabenow the other day and thanked her for her sponsorship of an important piece of tax legislation that will enable people to more likely stay in their homes."
Our first, knee-jerk response was this: The president is more clueless than ever -- There's no tax disadvantage in refinancing! What's he talking about? And doesn't he know that the Stabenow tax relief bill is not about keeping your house? It's about selling it at a loss and not owing income tax on the amount of your loan that is forgiven? This is about avoiding taxes on short sales; it's about selling your house, not keeping it.
But then we looked at the Stabenow proposal, and found that the President might be right. In some cases, it would help homeowners avoid owing taxes when they refinance -- in a scenario we haven't heard much about: "... if a family owns a home with a $100,000 mortgage and can’t afford to make their payments, the bank can step in and refinance the house at a lower value to better reflect the decreased market value. Under current law, if the bank values the home at $80,000, the family would have to pay taxes on the $20,000 difference between the new and the original mortgages."
I echo what Peter had to say. It is not well known (because it hasn't happened in years) that refi-ing for a lower rate (as if the banks will jump on this as a solution) creates a "debt forgiveness" for the homeowner.

More Bubble News & Local Stuff, too

For those of you who are interested in news and stats about declining r.e. prices (and who isn't?), here's another blog: Bubbletracking.com. This is great for the blog roll, too. Anecdotal flipside: I've heard about two multiple offer situations in the last three days. Apparently, both properties were really terrific and really well priced for the current market.

NBC

Okay, so it's true, but not so bad. We've got 'em for 3 more years. And the property is to be sold to media companies. For a second, I was worried that there might be a huge expansion of Forest Lawn or another Grove-type mall coming to those 34 acres.

OMG! IS NBC LEAVING BURBANK? SAY IT AIN'T SO!

From La.Curbed.com, 10/10/07:
Rumor Mill: NBC Going to NOHO???
Wednesday, October 10, 2007, by jwilliams
We're just saying. An insider emails: "The NBC studios in Burbank will be relocating to NOHO and their studios' site will be placed on the market." Rumor confirmation and development ideas for the soon to be vacant Burbank studios welcome.
UPDATE, 4:19 PM PST: A second trusted insider emails us confirming the rumor: "It's true." Good news for Los Angeles and all the tax revenue to be generated. Maybe the City can finally afford to build some more subways and stuff.
UPDATE, 5:26 PM PST: More info on where in NOHO/Universal City the NBC project will go here.

Pirates of the Burbankean

Aaargh! And you thought Burbank was dull. Here are shots of a full-scale pirate ship that a local property owner (Captain Hook? Captain Jack Sparrow?) on Angeleno has built in his backyard. The pictures barely capture the amazing detail. This was built probably to plunder other ships from the Burbank Maritime Provinces. Thanks, Lily, Mark and Sue!

Smokey the Burbank Bear

Among Burbank's other distinctive architecture: here's a picture of a bear statute in front of a house on Tufts. The house is very nice and very lodge-y; kudos go to the owners for anti-suburbia style. Plus, I'll bet the bear keeps the local deer from eating the plants!

Aroma in Studio City gets even more kudos

Aroma, that fab Studio City coffee house and cafe where husband Steve hangs out every day, has received even more kudos. Check out the review in herfablife.com.

Fannie Mae to increase limits?

This article from September 21's L.A. Times Business section is great. This could be HUGE for the local lending markets, as most Southern California loans are "jumbo" loans. Right now, the conforming loan limit is $417,000.
Regulators cautious on housing fix
They acknowledge potential benefits of letting Fannie and Freddie buy bigger loans but also urge restraint.
From Reuters
September 21, 2007
WASHINGTON -- -- The top two U.S. economic policymakers told a House panel on Thursday that allowing the biggest home finance companies to buy larger loans could ease mortgage market strains but the move should be coupled with tighter regulation of the firms.Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. dropped some of their resistance to expanding the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and said the companies could help restore funding for the largest home loans, which has dried up.Paulson told the House Financial Services Committee that he could support letting the two government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs, temporarily invest in so-called jumbo loans, or those above their current $417,000 limit, as part of a broader regulatory overhaul."There is little question that allowing the GSEs to securitize jumbo mortgages would give a short-term lift, which would be helpful to a segment of the housing market," he said.Rising defaults on sub-prime mortgages that had been extended to risky U.S. borrowers have set off a global chain reaction of tightening credit, and jumbo mortgages, even to prime borrowers, have been among the casualties....The chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have the support of numerous congressional allies, also appeared before the committee and repeated their calls for more freedom to invest in jumbo loans. Rates on new jumbo mortgages have risen sharply in recent weeks as lenders have found few investors willing to take them off their hands...Fannie and Freddie's regulator, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, on Wednesday loosened some limits on the companies' investment holdings in the hope they could do more to provide liquidity in the sub-prime market...Frank and the companies' other supporters on Capitol Hill have suggested that lifting the cap on GSE investment holdings and raising the loan limit size could ease market strains.

Filming in Toluca Lake?

Does anybody know what was being filmed in Toluca Lake around Forman last week? Lotsa big production trucks.

How Bad Is the Real Estate Market, Really?

Well, it's not good now here in Burbank, Toluca Lake, Studio City, et al. Buyers are waiting it out on the sidelines. It was a bad August and it's a bad September -- showings are way down (like, to zero on some properties), sales are non-existent and jumbo loans are hard to come by. I have been educated and entertained by the comments on the L.A. Times real estate blog, L.A. Land, and highly recommend it for a pulse-taking of what buyers (or at least buyer-bloggers) are thinking. But all real estate is local, and just as we think we've got it figured out, it changes. "Inventory" (homes coming on the market) has begun to shorten. The Fed just reduced rates. And there's talk on Capitol Hill about letting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy up jumbo loans. So stay tuned, folks -- October should bring yet more shadings and changes.

Cool, new gossipy real estate blog

I've just discovered Realestalker. It's been out there in the blogosphere, for, like, two years. I know I'm late to the party, but this is Burbank, after all. It's wonderfully gossipy about your favorite celebs and their real estate.

Today's L.A. Times Headline

Okay, about today's LAT article: the graphic doesn't match the text. The article talks about August's slow sales and dropping prices, but the graphic actually shows several areas that have had dramatic price increases. If I had to sum it up, I'd say that the outlying areas of the county are dropping, but the wealthier areas at the core are not. Yet. Or another way to look at it: there are lies, damn lies, and statistics.

Two more reasons to feel smug...

Here are two more reasons we Burbankians have to feel we've got it all over city folks (okay, I'm reaching): 1. We didn't lose power during the recent Labor Day weekend heat wave. Check out Steve Lopez's LAT column or Here inVanNuys to see how bad it got. 2. My new fave neighborhood place, Krust, bakes it's own croissants. Every day. Along with all sorts of other stuff that's delicious, too. And you can park your car close to the door. It's on Verdugo. Take that, westsiders.

More on Evergreen and Magnolia; Meeting on the 25th

Friend-and-Evergreen-resident Ellen writes about the Evergreen burger stand: "FYI they shot on Tuesday at the burger stand and were so very informative and respectful of our neighborhood as they crammed up the street with all kinds of trucks and cars and trailers! I came home at 7:30 and it felt like they had SWEPT the street!! I guess word around town is that Evergreen is not a neighborhood to mess with!!! We've won small concessions, I guess. BUT, if the amount of traffic for ONE day of shooting is anything like the construction crews to dig out _3_ levels of underground parking for months on end....YIKES!!! And you KNOW they'll be twice as many vehicles...I imagine our little street littered and battered every day of the week once that [building] starts...We've got a city council meeting on the 25th to see if the council will restrict the construction worker's parking along our little street...pray we succeed!!"

Make Burgers, Not Buildings

Those of you who have been following the progress of the building plans for the Evergreen and Magnolia lot may have been delighted to see a burger stand going up instead. We certainly were -- Keller Burgers (could that be the Keller, as in Thomas Keller fame?) is being constructed on that very controversial spot.

Alas, however, it was too good to be true. It's a set for an HBO show (don't know which one). Thanks, friend Ellen, for dashing our dreams. However, Ellen tells us that she's heard that the building the Burbank City Council approved may be too expensive to build anyway. Has anybody else heard anything?

Price drop already?!

Regarding The Collection, la.curbed.com reports that prices have dropped already and are now slightly under $700,000.

Breed restrictions!?

I forgot to mention in the previous post about the Burbank Collection, the new loft complex going in across from the AMCs: they allow pets. Up to 70 lbs. But they have breed restrictions in their CCRS and don't allow either pit bulls or rottweilers. I haven't encountered this restriction before, but it certainly makes sense.

Got Loft?

Want a loft but don't want to move downtown or to North Hollywood? The Burbank Collection is open for sales and will be available for occupancy next June. This is the complex going up right across from the AMC in downtown Burbank and will feature a fitness center, swimming pool, dog run, etc. Each 1-, 2-bedroom or penthouse unit will have 2 side-by-side parking spaces and guest spaces. I haven't seen the model units yet, but I'm told they all have high ceilings, stainless-steel appliances, granite countertops and washer dryers. At this point, they range in price from $700,000 to $1,000,000, but I expect that will change as the market continues to contract. I was recently in downtown Burbank on Saturday night and was impressed by the foot traffic. It truly has become a "destination" and I think it would be a fun place to live.

Shootings in our Little Burbank!

There was a triple murder-suicide on my block this past Thursday. It was a neighbor-against-neighbor dispute, in a large apartment building, and at least one victim had nothing to do with the dispute. Family members were witnesses. Putting aside the issue of gun control, what does this say about urban density? In particular, the growing density in my neighborhood? (Okay, I'm a NIMBY.) Sure, this could be looked at as an isolated incident. But each week the police log in the Burbank Leader lists at least one crime "incident" on San Jose, a block away. As we all know, San Jose has become extremely overbuilt in the last two years and the number of people living in the neighborhood has soared. But the City planning staff member that I spoke to in April insisted at the time that there's no statistical correlation between density and crime. Oh, really? Tell this to the other neighbors who were in the bullets' paths. This shooting is just more fuel for my developing anti-growth sentiments. Incidentally, most of my co-Realtors are pro-growth.

New Burbank pics

Check out the site Flickr.com and type in Burbank. Lots of cool shots of our town: the Franks sign, the Kwicky Mart sign, etc.