The Association is continuing its efforts to pressure members of Congress to extend FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac mortgage loan limits before they expire at the end of the fiscal year, September 30. The letter the Association sent to Interim Mayor Ed Lee urging him to communicate with Senator Dianne Feinstein on the subject is viewable by clicking on the link below.

The limits for high-cost areas are equal to 125 percent of the local area median home price, up to $729,750. If the limits are not extended, the new limit will be 115 percent of the median home price, up to $625,500. The lowest limit for FHA will remain at $271,050 and the lowest limit for the GSEs will remain at $417,000.

For more information on the efforts of the National Association of REALTORS® to protect the housing market from disruption should current loan limits expire at the end of the fiscal year, contact Megan Booth at 202-383-1222 or mbooth@realtors.org.

772 Bryant St, San Francisco
Open on 9/6 Tuesday Tour, 2:30-4pm
Listed at $3,000,000

Absolutely stunning one of a kind 6000 square foot creative commercial space designed by world renowned architect Michael Graves in 2004. This unique 3 level property features incredible detail, high end custom finishes, and lends itself to a multitude of uses such as office space or a production studio and even has live/work potential. Other highlights include 2 car garage parking, a large roof deck with city views, 2 galley kitchens, abundant storage, speakers throughout, and an elevator. This property is a must see!

More pics & info at: http://bryantandmorris.com/

Click here for additional information

Contact: Mike Hood | mike.hood@cbnorcal.com

Under current law, the DRE cannot hold an office manager responsible for failing to supervise licensees within the office. Current law only allows the DRE to hold the principal broker responsible, even in situations where that broker has delegated supervisorial responsibilities to an office manager.

Senate Bill 510 (Correa, D-Santa Ana), sponsored by C.A.R., increases the responsibility and accountability of licensees managing real estate offices. Under this measure, a broker of record would be permitted to appoint an eligible real estate broker or salesperson to supervise branch office operations, provided that a contract detailing the duties and responsibilities to be performed by the office manager is in writing and DRE is notified. Principal brokers would remain accountable for their own supervisorial responsibilities; the DRE would also be able to discipline office managers for failure to supervise.

SB 510 passed off the Assembly floor by a vote of 57-11. It now goes to Gov. Brown for his signature.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) recently developed and released SAVE to evaluate existing solar systems placed on real property.

SAVE has been designed to be used by appraisers, REALTORS®, and others in order to provide a means for evaluating existing solar systems and to determine their expected capacity (i.e. this system, can, on average, generate this much electricity).

SAVE will provide appraisers with a tool that can place an actual dollar value on solar systems, and will help to provide prospective purchasers with information on the average energy savings that can be achieved by the system. The information contained in the tool is derived from information obtained by the CEC through coordinated efforts with utilities, installers of solar systems, property owners, and their respective agents. Properties not included within SAVE can manually input property information and solar system specifications in order to obtain an estimated capacity valuation.

C.A.R. participated as a stakeholder in the development of this tool and provided the CEC with recommendations that assured the tool would effectively meet industry needs.

Ten REALTORS®, including two in California, were recently recognized by NAR as finalists for REALTOR® Magazine’s 2011 Good Neighbor Awards.

This year marks the twelfth year the Good Neighbor Awards program has recognized REALTORS® who volunteer to serve the needs of their community. The REALTORS® acknowledged by this program over the years have donated their time, money and efforts to help improve the quality of life for others in their communities.

The California finalists include Marta Karpiel of Alain Pinel REALTORS® in Carmel, and Wayne J. Shaffer, a broker with Shaffer and Associates in Santa Cruz.

Karpiel’s personal donations have removed more than 350 landmines in Cambodia through the nonprofit Freedom Fields. She also developed a successful fundraising tool in the form of a map that lets donors choose the parcels of land that they are funding to clear, which has raised more than $250,000. She handles all the marketing and promotion for the organization and secured a $50,000 grant from the U.S. State Department. Karpiel, who has visited Cambodia twice, raised money to build a school on cleared land and provide backpacks, books and supplies for 200 children.

For more than three decades, Shaffer has been serving the poor and homeless of Santa Cruz, Calif. He is cofounder and president of St. Francis Soup Kitchen, where he has volunteered since 1982. In 2000, after meeting a soup kitchen client who was pregnant and living in her car, he founded Siena House Maternity Home, which provides emergency shelter, pre- and post-natal care, parenting skills training, and counseling for 300 women experiencing a crisis pregnancy.

In November, five winners will be selected from among the 10 finalists, and will receive travel expenses to the 2011 REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Anaheim, Calif. Winners also will receive national media exposure for their community cause and a $10,000 grant for their charity. In addition, five honorable mentions will receive a $2,500 grant. The winners will be announced in the November/December issue of REALTOR® Magazine.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had improved slightly in July, fell to 44.5 (1985=100) in August, down from 59.2 in July. The Present Situation Index decreased to 33.3 from 35.7, and the Expectations Index decreased to 51.9 from 74.9 last month.

Consumers’ appraisal of present-day conditions weakened further in August, with the percentage of consumers claiming business conditions are “bad” increasing to 40.6 percent from 38.7 percent, and those claiming business conditions are “good” inching up to 13.7 percent from 13.5 percent. Consumers’ assessment of employment conditions was more pessimistic than last month. Those claiming jobs are “hard to get” increased to 49.1 percent from 44.8 percent, while those stating jobs are “plentiful” declined to 4.7 percent from 5.1 percent.

Short sales rose 19 percent between the first and second quarters, with 102,407 transactions completed during the April-to-June period, according to RealtyTrac.

Pre-foreclosure short sales took an average of 245 days to sell after receiving the initial foreclosure notice during the second quarter, RealtyTrac says. That’s down from an average of 256 days in the first quarter and follows three straight quarters in which the sales cycle has increased.

California housing production declined 45 percent in July compared with a year earlier, and posted the lowest monthly permit total since January of 2009, according to the California Building Industry Association.

Statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board (CIRB) show that permits were pulled for 2,248 total housing units in July, down 45 percent from the same month a year ago and down 53 percent from June, representing the lowest monthly permit total since January of 2009 when 2,104 permits had been issued. Permits for single-family homes totaled 1,436, down 30 percent from June 2010 and down 39 percent from the previous month, while multifamily permits totaled 812, down 61 percent from a year ago and down 67 percent from June.

Mike Winn, CBIA’s president and CEO, noted that in addition to dismal economic conditions, CIRB attributed some of the decline to secondary effects of the costly green building code changes and fire sprinkler mandates that went into effect on Jan. 1.

“Permits that had been applied for back in December to avoid the costly new regulations had not actually been issued yet and needed to be issued by July 1,” said Winn. “This caused more permits to be issued through the end of June which could account for some of the decline in July, according to CIRB’s analysis.”

Data through June 2011, released yesterday by S&P Indices for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, show that the U.S. National Home Price Index increased 3.6 percent in the second quarter of 2011, after having fallen 4.1 percent in the first quarter of 2011. With the second quarter’s data, the National Index recovered from its first quarter low, but still posted an annual decline of 5.9 percent versus the second quarter of 2010. Nationally, home prices are back to their early 2003 levels.

As of June 2011, 19 of the 20 MSAs covered by the Indices and both monthly composites were up versus May – Portland was flat. However, all MSAs were down compared with June 2010. Twelve of the 20 MSAs and both Composites have now increased for three consecutive months, a sign of the seasonal strength in the housing market.

The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, recorded a 5.9 percent decline in the second quarter of 2011 compared with the second quarter of 2010. In June, the 10- and 20-City Composites posted annual rates of decline of 3.8% and 4.5%, respectively. Thirteen of the 20 MSAs and both monthly Composites saw their annual growth rates improve, although remaining in negative territory in June.