The Westside and Valley are just about to prove how far they'll go for a carpool lane on the northbound 405. LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky's blog announced today that the Rampture ramp closures will commence June 22, and they will continue to inflict pain on the Wilshire Boulevard access to the 405 over the next year. The series of closures of on- and off- ramps at Wilshire Boulevard and the 405--an area that's already one of the biggest messes in the region--was postponed back in October of 2011 to allow for utility work on Sepulveda to end and so the initial impact could hit when school is out for summer. Curbed spoke to Supervisor Yaroslavsky today, who was frank in delivering the bad news about what he is calling the Ramp Jam: "There is no way to put lipstick on this pig," adding, "People will not be able to get around this easily." To mitigate the inevitable traffic jams, Yaroslavsky is asking motorists to avoid the area altogether. But if you absolutely have to travel in the area, he recommends several strategies to help with the congestion and anxiety: 1) Single occupant vehicles should avoid the area when at all possible. Instead use Twenty-Sixth or Bundy. 2) People employed in the jobs-rich neighborhood should carpool as much as possible ("It doesn't take much to make a huge impact," says Yaroslavsky). 3) Workers should also adjust their schedules or telecommute during the week to avoid peak hours at the ramps. Failing any of those possibilities, drivers should allot for double the travel time to navigate the Rampture.

Fixing the "toxic potion">>

The ramp project is part of the larger effort of the 405 Sepulveda Pass Improvement Project (pdf), which is adding a northbound carpool lane from the Westside into the Valley (and is also the reason for a little non-event called Carmageddon); this piece will replace all eight ramps at the intersection over the next year. Some of the ramps will be closed for 14 days, and others will take 90 days to complete. The end result should solve a design flaw that results in the current "toxic potion" as Yaroslavsky describes it--traffic exiting the freeway has to merge into traffic, with the on-ramp located behind the off-ramp. Anyone who has made the move doesn't forget it.

For those of you curious about when an alternative transportation mode might provide a different way around the constant traffic jam that is the 405, Measure R has funding for a project to build a form of alternative transportation over the Sepulveda Pass. Congressman Brad Sherman, who represents the Valley, recently added his support to a Metro request for a federal grant to fund the study of potential projects.
· Get ready to ramp up on Wilshire [Zev's Blog]
· The Rampture Delayed Until 2012 [Curbed LA]
· Meet the Rampture: 3 Month Closures For Wilshire Blvd. 405 Ramps [Curbed LA]

Several housing experts are predicting that this year will be the last chance for homebuyers to cash in on the weak housing market.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Buying a home may never get any cheaper than this. Several housing experts are predicting that this year will be the last chance for bargain hunters to cash in on the best deals of the weak housing market.

With home prices down 34% nationally since 2006 and mortgage rates at historic lows, homes have never been more affordable -- but it won't stay this way for much longer.

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Stuart Hoffman, chief economist for PNC Financial Services (PNC, Fortune 500), said he expects home prices to flatten out by the third quarter and start climbing by next year.

A number of factors will help bolster the housing market, he said, including a decline in the number of foreclosures and continued job growth. In addition, homebuyers will have better access to mortgages as they get their finances in order and improve their credit scores.

Some economists, like Trulia's Jed Kolko, expect home prices to pick up even more quickly. Trulia's data shows that the national average for asking prices already increased 1.4% in the first quarter of 2012, compared with the last three months of 2011.

Mortgage payments at lowest level in decades

"This is a strong indicator that we will start seeing home price indexes, like the S&P/Case-Shiller, start to report home price increases this summer," he said.

Prospective homebuyers who've been sitting on the fence shouldn't worry if they aren't quite ready to make the leap. Analysts are predicting that the initial price gains will be modest, at least, in most markets.

Hoffman, for example, is forecasting a 2% increase in 2013 compared with 2012. Meanwhile David Stiff, chief economist for Fiserv, predicts that prices will turn in the last quarter of 2012 and will rise 4.2% for the 12 months through September 2013.

Foreclosures start to fade. One major factor that will drive the trend is the cooling of the foreclosure crisis. Stan Humphries, chief economist for Zillow, said that the percentage of mortgage loans 90 days or more late, a good predictor of future foreclosures, is "falling fast."

That percentage dropped 15% year-over-year to 3.1% through the end of 2011, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. And the decline is accelerating: More than 70% of the decline came in the last three months of the year.

Before things slow down, however, buyers should brace themselves for a temporary spike in the number of foreclosures as banks start expediting the processing of hundreds of thousands foreclosures that were stuck in the system following the robo-signing scandal. That backlog should move more quickly now that new guidelines for processing foreclosures have been outlined in the $26 billion foreclosure settlement.

Many of the bank-owned properties currently coming out of the foreclosure pipeline are being snapped up by investors who are fixing them up and renting them out -- often to those who were displaced by the foreclosure of their own home. That has helped to lift prices on foreclosed properties, according to Alex Villacorte, the director of analytics for Clear Capital, which specializes in housing market valuations.

Home buying much cheaper than renting

"That could have a significant impact on the market overall in terms of providing a rising floor to home values," he said.

In some markets hit hard by foreclosures, the turnaround in prices is already underway. Phoenix recorded an 8.4% jump in home prices during the three months ended April 30, compared with the three months ended January 31, according to Clear Capital.

"It's crazy," said Tanya Marchiol, founder of Team Investments, a Phoenix real estate investing firm. "Stuff I was selling six months ago for $60,000 to $80,000 is now $90,000 to $110,000."

Miami saw a 4.6% increase quarter-over-quarter through April, and Tampa, Fla., was up 4.4%, according to Clear Capital.

Goodbye 3.8% mortgage. In addition to home prices, mortgages could also move higher.

Mortgage rates have been at or near historic lows for much of the past six months. The average interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage has not topped 4.5% since July 2011 and this week, it hit 3.84%, a new low.

But rates aren't expected to remain at these record-low levels much longer. As the economy continues to recover, rates will move higher, said Doug Lebda, CEO of LendingTree, the online lending site. Although, he said, they will "stay very reasonable."

The Mortgage Bankers Association is forecasting that the 30-year fixed will hit 4.5% by the end of the year.

Greater demand for loans will help fuel the increase, according to Lebda.

6 Ways to get a great mortgage deal

Even though mortgage rates have been cheap, borrowing for home purchases has been sluggish. The Mortgage Bankers Association estimates that homebuyers will take out mortgage loans totaling about $415 billion this year, an increase of less than 3% compared with 2011. Next year, however, it forecasts that amount will almost double to $706 billion.

As housing markets stabilize and prices stop falling, homebuyers will be even more confident about buying, said Humphries.

"People can now see the light at the end of the tunnel," he said. "And that can be enough to get them off the fence." 

Find homes for sale

First Published: May 3, 2012: 5:25 AM ET

After 16 months of year-over-year declines, median home prices in California posted a gain, according to the California Association of Realtors.).

The median price of a single-family home for March 2012 was $291,080, a 1.6 percent increase compared to a revised $286,550 for March 2011, and a 9.2 percent increase compared to February’s median price of $266,660. The month-over-month increase was the largest since March 2004.

When breaking up prices by specific regions, the San Francisco Bay area was an exception, seeing a year-over-year decrease of 1.6 percent, but a 9.1 percent month-over-month increase.

“In areas, such as Los Angeles and Riverside counties, where the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) wants to implement the REO bulk sale pilot program, inventory is running at levels well below the long-run average,” said C.A.R.

Low Inventory is the theme of 2012 - competition for available properties is way up, resulting in multiple offers and homes selling above asking price.

(CNS) Updated Thursday March 1, 2012– 12:30pm

More overnight closures are planned beginning Friday night on the San Diego (405) Freeway through the Sepulveda Pass as work continues on a $1.2 billion improvement project.

The southbound freeway will be closed from the Ventura (101) Freeway to Getty Center Drive Friday and Saturday nights as crews continue to work on rebuilding the Mulholland bridge across the 405.

Some freeway ramps in the area could begin closing as early as 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and some lanes could be blocked beginning at 10 p.m. All southbound lanes will be closed at midnight, but the closures should be lifted by 5 a.m.

The closures will impact the northbound lanes between Getty Center Drive and Ventura Boulevard on Monday and Tuesday nights. More southbound closures are planned on the nights of March 12 and 13.

According to Metro, which is overseeing the project, Sepulveda Boulevard will remain open during the freeway closures and will be available as an alternate route.

The project will add carpool lanes to the freeway and make other improvements, including the reconstruction of major bridges over the 405 in the Sepulveda Pass. The overall project is scheduled to be completed next year.

http://bhcourier.com/article/Local/Local/405_Closing_at_Sepulveda_Pass_Friday_Night/86054

Copyright © 2012 City News Service

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The Treasury Department late Friday unveiled a new plan to expand the  Home Affordable Modification Program by increasing the incentive fees it pays investors -- including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- for agreeing to reduce the principal amount of a mortgage. 

Treasury notified the Federal Housing Finance Agency that it will pay principal reduction incentives to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac “if they allow servicers to forgive principal in conjunction with a HAMP modification,” according to Treasury assistant secretary Timothy Massad.

Treasury is putting pressure on FHFA and its acting director Edward DeMarco who has repeatedly rejected calls for the GSEs to employ principal reductions as a way to help struggling homeowners.

The agency's internal analysis has shown that principal reductions would increase the GSEs' losses and costs to the taxpayers.

But DeMarco has agreed to evaluate the new HAMP principal reduction program in light of the new incentives. Treasury is offering to use billions of dollars of unused HAMP funds to cover 16% to 63% of the cost of a principal reduction on GSE and other loans.

“FHFA's assessment of the investor incentives now being offered will follow its previous analysis, including consideration of the eligible universe, operational costs to implement the changes, and potential borrower incentive effects,” DeMarco said.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., called the new incentives a “positive step” that should help underwater borrowers, prevent foreclosures and help the housing market. “I expect FHFA to promptly reconsider their analysis and help more Americans avoid foreclosure,” the Senate Banking Committee member said.

In expanding the government's modification program, Treasury also extended the life of the HAMP program by one year through 2013.

As part of the TARP program approved by Congress in 2008, Treasury allocated $50 billion to the HAMP program and it has used less than $10 billion of those funds.

It will be interesting to see if/how this is implemented.

Resident Frustration Rules at Roxbury Park Town Hall Meeting

Updated Friday January 27, 2012– 2:15pm

Despite the promise of a Roxbury Park Community Center Town Hall meeting, the City Council meeting held last night lacked dialogue between Councilmembers and the community regarding the issue of the proposed project. The vast majority of residents who spoke opposed the council’s grandiose plans to pave over green space.

More than 45 residents shared their opinions regarding amenities needed at Roxbury Park Community Center and yet it wasn’t entirely clear the council was listening.

Mayor Barry Brucker and Councilman John Mirisch discussed the concept of a town meeting after resident Rick Wolfen expressed his support of the project.

“The existing facilities are outdated, obsolete and in need of replacement,” Wolfen said. “We deserve to have first class facilities. Roxbury should be a first class park we can all be proud of.”

After Wolfen was finished speaking, Mirisch wanted to ask him a question and was shot down by Brucker.

“I am going to ask you to write down your questions, otherwise we will be here until all hours of the day,” Brucker said.

Mirisch said having a dialogue is part of actively listening to the residents and attempting to understand their points of view. Brucker denied him the opportunity. Mirisch, while commenting during the public hearing section as a resident, said he wanted to ask Wolfen, and many other speakers, if they would support the project if it carried the same footprint, height, scope and character as the existing building. By the time Mirisch was allowed to ask questions, Wolfen and many others had left.

Assistant Director of Community Services Nancy Hunt-Coffey gave an update to the City Council regarding the project via PowerPoint. While this PowerPoint was not made available on the City’s website prior to the meeting, there was a staff report attached to the agenda that gave some, but not all, of the information.

Facts include:

• The proposed project, which was rejected by the council in December due to bids that came back over budget, actually lessens green space at Roxbury Park by 1.8 percent.

• Initially the $14.7 million needed for the project was going to be paid for completely from the recreation and parks fund. Now for the projects funding, about $6.7 million will come from the recreation and parks fund, $1.5 million from the infrastructure fund and about $6.5 million from the capital assets fund.

• The height of the current community center is about 18 feet tall at its highest point. The proposed project was 42 feet tall at its highest point.

• Residents have not been able to get a price for phase 2 of the project, including the irrigation and drainage of the park, because it has not been fully vetted and researched and City staff does not know what it would cost.

As of the date and time of this article, the City has failed to provide The Courier with a copy of the PowerPoint. The PowerPoint presentation lasted for approximately 35 minutes and Mirisch said he felt he was going to be “offered a timeshare at any moment.”

Hunt-Coffey said there have been 83 public meetings on the subject of the Roxbury Park Community Center over the years. Southwest Homeowners Association President Ken Goldman said it wasn’t the number of meetings the City has held that frustrates the residents, it was the fact that they feel like the council isn’t listening.

“The problem isn’t that the community hasn’t been able to speak, the problem is the community hasn’t been heard,” he said. “We deserve straight and accurate information and (the council and City staff) availed us wildly in that regard.”

Municipal League Chairman Thomas White said he agreed with Goldman.

“The City has employed the technique of exhausting residents with meaningless meetings analogous to those conducted by the MTA concerning the proposed subway route under the Beverly Hills High School,” White said. “This technique and the apparent obviousness of consultants, staff and councilmember’s has engendered great mistrust and frustration.”

Goldman said he felt the City should bring the existing building up to code, refurbish the interiors and update where needed throughout the park.

“We don’t want any tweaking of (proposed) plans and we don’t want a big expansion of the community center,” Goldman said. “We need one overall budget with one overall plan. Build it in as many phases as you want but present the community one project.”

Board of Education President Brian David Goldberg told the council many of the updates they are considering will be incorporated into the districts Measure E plans. This includes a multi purpose room site at Horace Mann School with two ancillary rooms and four to six additional basketball courts at the high school. Goldberg said the district was hoping to incorporate the new facilities into the Joint Powers Agreement the BHUSD has with the City.

Resident Nancy Barth said she felt the debate over Roxbury Park could have been avoided.

“It’s my opinion the controversy over plans for Roxbury Park could have been avoided from the beginning if the residents felt they were being taken seriously,” Barth said. “The council spent over $1 million in plans and never responded to the community’s expressed desire for a simple project.”

Councilwoman Lili Bosse said from what she heard, the council has to address the project as a whole not in the proposed dual phases and work to combine the community’s vision for the park.

“I want everyone to know I have heard you loud and clear before and I heard you loud and clear tonight,” Bosse said. “This is clearly a very emotional issue for this community. I do think we are unanimous more than we’re divided. I think we all agree Roxbury needs upgrading and I think the issue is to what degree?”

Even though Brucker refused to listen to the residents wishes and appoint Bosse or Mirisch to the recreation and parks liaison committee, he did say all of the notes from the community meeting will be given to the liaisons, Vice Mayor Willie Brien and Councilman Julian Gold, “to digest all of what was said” and bring it back to the City Council and a public meeting to be announced.

I feel like some of the things in the plans (like a climbing wall??!?) were put in there just so they could be taken out to appease the community.

Washington, DC, January 20, 2012

Existing-home sales continued on an uptrend in December, rising for three consecutive months and remaining above a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The latest monthly data shows total existing-home sales¹ rose 5.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.61 million in December from a downwardly revised 4.39 million in November, and are 3.6 percent higher than the 4.45 million-unit level in December 2010. The estimates are based on completed transactions from multiple listing services that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said these are early signs of what may be a sustained recovery. “The pattern of home sales in recent months demonstrates a market in recovery,” he said. “Record low mortgage interest rates, job growth and bargain home prices are giving more consumers the confidence they need to enter the market.”

For all of 2011, existing-home sales rose 1.7 percent to 4.26 million from 4.19 million in 2010.

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to another record low of 3.96 percent in December from 3.99 percent in November; the rate was 4.71 percent in December 2010; recordkeeping began in 1971.

NAR President Moe Veissi, broker-owner of Veissi & Associates Inc., in Miami, said more buyers are expected to take advantage of market conditions this year. “The American dream of homeownership is alive and well. We have a large pent-up demand, and household formation is likely to return to normal as the job market steadily improves,” he said. “More buyers coming into the market mean additional benefits for the overall economy. When people buy homes, they stimulate a lot of related goods and services.”

Total housing inventory at the end of December dropped 9.2 percent to 2.38 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 6.2-month supply² at the current sales pace, down from a 7.2-month supply in November.

Available inventory has trended down since setting a record of 4.04 million in July 2007, and is at the lowest level since March 2005 when there were 2.30 million homes on the market.

“The inventory supply suggests many markets will see prices stabilize or grow moderately in the near future,” Yun said.

Foreclosures³ sold for an average discount of 22 percent in December, up from 20 percent a year ago, while short sales closed 13 percent below market value compared with a 16 percent discount in December 2010.

The national median existing-home price⁴ for all housing types was $164,500 in December, which is 2.5 percent below December 2010. Distressed homes – foreclosures and short sales – accounted for 32 percent of sales in December (19 percent were foreclosures and 13 percent were short sales), up from 29 percent in November; they were 36 percent in December 2010.

All-cash sales accounted for 31 percent of purchases in December, up from 28 percent in November and 29 percent in December 2010. Investors account for the bulk of cash transactions.

Investors purchased 21 percent of homes in December, up from 19 percent in November and 20 percent in December 2010. First-time buyers fell to 31 percent of transactions in December from 35 percent in November; they were 33 percent in December 2010.

Contract failures were reported by 33 percent of NAR members in December, unchanged from November; they were 9 percent in December 2010. Although closed sales are holding up better than this finding would suggest, contract cancellations are caused largely by declined mortgage applications and failures in loan underwriting from appraised values coming in below the negotiated price.

Single-family home sales increased 4.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.11 million in December from 3.93 million in November, and are 4.3 percent higher than the 3.94 million-unit pace a year ago. The median existing single-family home price was $165,100 in December, which is 2.5 percent below December 2010.

Existing condominium and co-op sales rose 8.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 500,000 in December from 460,000 in November but are 2.0 percent below the 510,000-unit level in December 2010. The median existing condo price was $160,000 in December, down 3.0 percent from a year ago.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast jumped 10.7 percent to an annual pace of 620,000 in December and are 3.3 percent above a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $231,300, which is 2.7 percent below December 2010.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest rose 8.3 percent in December to a level of 1.04 million and are 9.5 percent above December 2010. The median price in the Midwest was $129,100, down 7.9 percent from a year ago.

In the South, existing-home sales increased 2.9 percent to an annual level of 1.76 million in December and are 3.5 percent above a year ago. The median price in the South was $146,900, down 1.1 percent from December 2010.

Existing-home sales in the West rose 2.6 percent to an annual pace of 1.19 million in December but are 0.8 percent below December 2010. The median price in the West was $205,200, up 0.3 percent from a year ago.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

# # #

NOTE: For local information, please contact the local association of Realtors® for data from local multiple listing services. Local MLS data is the most accurate source of sales and price information in specific areas, although there may be differences in reporting methodology.

¹Existing-home sales, which include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, are based on transaction closings from multiple listing services. Changes in sales trends outside of MLSs are not captured in the monthly series. A rebenchmarking of home sales is done periodically using other sources to assess the overall home sales trend, including sales not reported by MLSs.

Existing-home sales differ from the U.S. Census Bureau’s series on new single-family home sales, which are based on contracts or the acceptance of a deposit. Because of these differences, it is not uncommon for each series to move in different directions in the same month. In addition, existing-home sales, which account for more than 90 percent of total home sales, are based on a much larger sample – about 40 percent of multiple listing service data each month – and typically are not subject to large prior-month revisions.

The annual rate for a particular month represents what the total number of actual sales for a year would be if the relative pace for that month were maintained for 12 consecutive months. Seasonally adjusted annual rates are used in reporting monthly data to factor out seasonal variations in resale activity. For example, home sales volume is normally higher in the summer than in the winter, primarily because of differences in the weather and family buying patterns. However, seasonal factors cannot compensate for abnormal weather patterns.

Single-family data collection began monthly in 1968, while condo data collection began quarterly in 1981; the series were combined in 1999 when monthly collection of condo data began. Prior to this period, single-family homes accounted for more than nine out of 10 purchases. Historic comparisons for total home sales prior to 1999 are based on monthly single-family sales, combined with the corresponding quarterly sales rate for condos.

NAR published benchmark revisions to sales and inventory data for 2007 through 2011 on December 21, 2011. The data and background are posted at www.realtor.org/research/research/ehs_benchmarking.

²Total inventory and month’s supply data are available back through 1999, while single-family inventory and month’s supply are available back to 1982 (prior to 1999, condos were measured quarterly while single-family sales accounted for more than 90 percent of transactions).

³Distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales), all-cash transactions, investors, first-time buyers and contract failures are from a monthly survey for the Realtors® Confidence Index, posted at Realtor.org.

⁴The only valid comparisons for median prices are with the same period a year earlier due to the seasonality in buying patterns. Month-to-month comparisons do not compensate for seasonal changes, especially for the timing of family buying patterns. Changes in the composition of sales can distort median price data. Year-ago median and mean prices sometimes are revised in an automated process if more data is received than was originally reported.

The Pending Home Sales Index for December will be released January 25 and existing-home sales for January is scheduled for February 22. Fourth quarter and 2011 annual metro area home price and state resale data will be released February 9; all release times are 10:00 a.m. EST.

Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. This and other news releases are posted in the News Media section. Statistical data in this release, other tables and surveys also may be found by clicking on Research.

REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark which may be used only by real estate professionals who are members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribe to its strict Code of Ethics. Not all real estate agents are REALTORS®. All REALTORS® are members of NAR.

 

I truly believe we are in the beginning of the housing market recovery which is good news for me and great news for new buyers entering the housing market.

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012, 10:54 am

Improved employment figures and record home affordability levels could spawn a minor housing recovery this year, analyst Mark Fleming said Wednesday in the CoreLogic (CLGX: 14.385 +4.39%) MarketPulse report.

Fleming says economic concerns peaked in the summer of 2011 when politicians were stuck wrangling over the nation's debt ceiling and the economy seemed poised for stagnation.

Fast-forward a few months, and Fleming says conditions are better, making way for a possible recovery in 2012. Fleming's more optimistic outlook is mirrored in the Freddie Mac U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook survey for the month of January.

The Freddie report says economic growth will strengthen by 2.1% in the first quarter of 2012, while mortgage rates will remain low at least through the beginning of the year. In addition, the Freddie Mac survey predicts home sales will grow another 2% to 5% from 2011.

Fleming with CoreLogic says several other developments could spur along housing demand. One of those being the number of households paying off debts — a factor that creates more liquidity and access to credit. Furthermore, households started adding home equity lines of credit in the third quarter of 2011, bringing in more access to cash flow and suggesting borrowers and lenders are more confident.

He believes 2012 is the right time for a housing price rebound with affordability levels putting a floor on the market, barring further price declines.

With this in mind, Fleming said analysts will be watching the market closely in search of positive signs during the spring and summer selling seasons.

His report noted that "most housing statistics basically moved sideways in the latter part of 2011. Builder sentiment is improving ever so slowly, but remains at very low levels. Housing starts are also increasing, driven mostly by multifamily starts."

Fleming points out that single-family housing starts and permits increased at an annual pace of 15% at the end of 2011. Meanwhile existing home sales trended upward, rising 12% when comparing November 2011 to January.

Write to Kerri Panchuk.

The mood in the market is definitely picking up...