California saw the third-lowest yearly housing permit total and the worst yearly total on record for single-family units in 2011, according to the California Building Industry Association (CBIA).
CBIA said a total of 47,015 permits were issued statewide last year for new homes, apartments, condominiums, and townhomes, up 5 percent from 2010 when 44,762 permits had been issued. The 2011 total still was down 28 percent from 2008, which had held the distinction of the third-lowest total on record with 64,962 permits issued. Records began being kept in 1954 with the lowest yearly total set in 2009 with 36,421 permits issued.
According to statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB), homebuilders pulled permits for a record-low 21,420 single-family homes in 2011, down 16 percent from 2010. Multifamily permits totaled 25,595, up 33 percent from the previous year.
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Building permits for single-family homes rose 1.8 percent in December to a rate of 444,000 units compared with November, according to a joint release by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Single-family housing starts rose 4.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 657,000.
An estimated 611,900 housing units were authorized by building permits in 2011. This is 1.2 percent above the 2010 figure of 604,600. Approximately 606,900 housing units were started in 2011. This is 3.4 percent above the 2010 figure of 586,900.
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Late last year, C.A.R. launched Sucasa.net, a Spanish-language property search website that offers Spanish-speaking home buyers MLS listings based on the California Living Network’s database. Powered by NAR’s REALTOR.com® (www.realtor.com/california), home buyers can search for California homes using common sorting characteristics such as city, price range, and number of bedrooms and bathrooms. Results appear in a list or on a map, and driving directions are available in Spanish. The website also is a useful tool for REALTORS®, allowing agents to forward their clients a link to a specific property in Spanish. To view the site, please visit www.sucasa.net.
Bank of America has made a change to its short sale process in regards to backup offers. According to BofA, based on agent feedback and to reduce overall cycle times, the bank is reducing the window agents have for submitting a backup offer on a short sale. Instead of 14 days, backup offers must now be submitted within eight calendar days after the initial offer becomes invalid.
When a backup offer becomes necessary, agents should contact their short sale specialist immediately, and let the specialist know if they have a backup offer to submit.
Within eight calendar days, resubmit the listing data, submit the short sale offer, and upload the offer documents and supporting documents. Any backup offer will require analysis and investor approval, regardless how similar it may be to the previous offer.
If no backup offer is available, the short sale will be closed in Equator by the short sale specialist. The agent should return to marketing the property and may initiate a new short sale in Equator when a new offer on the property is received.
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Dear Agents: Ted and I would like to take a moment to wish you all a Happy and Safe New Year. We appreciate you all and thank you for the hard work and accomplishments in 2011. Because of your hard work, Realty World Platinum came within a couple transactions of making its 2011 goal. That is a remarkable accomplishment in this challenging market. This proves that a solid plan, motivation and lots of hard work will pay off. We are convinced, motivated and challenged to increase the company production by 40% in 2012. We all will accomplish this goal partially through new plans being announced in February. Key tasks will be to increase your referral business, convert internet leads and leverage the power of Social Media and Video. 2012 will be the year where agents decide to stay in Real Estate or move on. The real estate environment has changed significantly- as you know. No longer can one simply place an ad in a newspaper or online for that matter and make money. The future real estate agent will be savvy and educated in operating a business, setting goals and making them happen. Business is not done by chance and businesses don’t succeed on chance or luck alone. We urge you to take advantage of all the opportunities that will come your way in 2012. Leverage these opportunities to move on to better opportunities. Real success is accomplished through baby steps. You have to make baby steps to accomplish great things. Utilize us for support. Use all the tools and resources that you have at your disposal. We are committed to you. If you commit to your business you will have huge successes in 2012. We will be highly successful in 2012. Again, we are thankful for all of you and look forward to leading you and our company into the future. Have a safe holiday and we wish everyone nothing but the best for 2012. Last but not least, we thank all of our support persons and Vendors: Jeanie Molloy- Transaction Coordinator, Steffanie Sharp- RWPL Escrow, Gerald Filice- Attorney, Kevin Kirk- Comstock Mortgage, Candy Taylor- HomeGuard, Sue Finch- GEO Assurance, Jill Vranich, Tami Huber, Linda Lawson, Rico Rivera, Art Pratt, Kimberly Larkin- Old Republic Home Protection, Realty World NCA Staff, Suzanne Conrad- CPA, Cindy Holland- InterWest Insurance, Pete Dawson- Fidelity National Title. We strongly urge you and your clients to consider these preferred partners. They are tried and true. We know they deliver and without them we would not be able to supply the support that you have come to expect from Realty World Platinum. We have attached a file with a copy of everyone’s business cards for your convenience.
HAPPY NEW YEAR,
Brodie and Ted
