Archive for CA News
Job losses in California ‘far worse’ than originally thought
This can only hurt the housing crisis and lead to more foreclosures and REO’s (Bank owned homes)
In California, 338,400 more people lost their jobs in December than was previously reported, according to revised numbers released by the California Employment Development Department. The benchmark revision is extraordinarily large — one of the largest in the state’s history, say economists with Beacon Economics of San Francisco.
Record number of real estate licenses were revoked in 2009
Record number of real estate licenses were revoked for cause in 2009 by the California State Department of Real Estate, the state department that issues licenses to real estate professionals.
All told, over 775 licensees had their license revoked or simply surrendered their licenses while facing accusations.Over the past two fiscal years, the DRE averaged 446 license revocations and 59 license surrenders. In 2009, license revocations jumped over 50 percent, to 672, while license surrenders jumped nearly 80 percent to 105.
California home permits declined 44 percent in 2009
California homebuilders pulled 36,209 permits statewide in 2009, a 44 percent decline compared with 2008, and 83 percent lower compared with 2004, the peak of the current cycle, according to the California Building Industry Association (CBIA).
Last year also marked the second consecutive year of record-low housing production in California, according to CBIA.
NONREFUNDABLE DEPOSIT DEEMED INVALID
An agreement for a “nonrefundable” escrow deposit is invalid and unenforceable, according to the recent California case of Kuish v. Smith (2010 WL 373225). This case serves as a good reminder for REALTORS® that inserting a “nonrefundable deposit” provision into a real property purchase contract may be legally ineffective.
Foreclosures increase in California
There were 84,568 California homes entering the foreclosure process in the fourth quarter of last year, a 12.4 percent increase over the same period a year earlier, according to figures compiled by real estate information company MDA DataQuick of La jolla.
However, the fourth quarter’s numbers were lower than the third quarter, MDA DataQuick notes, contending that “the worst may be over in hard-hit entry-level markets, while slowly spreading to more expensive neighborhoods.”
California’s 2009 new car sales decline steeper than nation’s
• Just over one million new vehicles were sold
• ‘The lowest sales volume in California since 1975
Registrations of new cars and light trucks last year in California declined 28.3 percent compared with 2008 — even steeper than the 21.2 percent decline in the U.S. market, the California New Car Dealers Association says Thursday.
California’s decline in sales slowed to 13.7 percent during the second half of the year, from a 39.6 percent slide during the first half of 2009 versus a year earlier.
“New car dealers in both Northern and Southern California experienced massive decreases in sales last year,” says Tom Hoffman, CNCDA chairman . “New vehicle sales in 2009 (1,038,271) were less than half the sales just four years ago (2,158,617) and represent the lowest sales volume in California since 1975.”
Texas No. 1 destination spot for fifth year • California sees net out-migration
Texas No. 1 destination spot for fifth year • California sees net out-migration
For the fifth year in a row, Texas outshines every other state and takes the lead as the No. 1 destination state in 2009 based on Allied’s report, which tracks U.S. migration patterns.
California saw more people move out (5,664) than move in (5,205) for a net out-migration of 459 moves, according to Allied’s figures for its vans.
Central Valley homeowner sues Pulte Homes over ‘predatory’ practices
read more here:
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=13431
California new-home starts fall again – September sees 36 percent year-over-year drop
New-home construction dipped again in September, the builders’ lobby says Monday.
When compared to September of last year, production in 2009 was off by 36 percent. Permits for single-family homes totaled 2,150, down 2 percent from August and down 12 percent from September 2008, while multifamily permits totaled 770, up 0.5 percent from August but down 63 percent from September of last year.
CIRB also announced that it is revising its forecast downward from 39,500 total units to just 37,700 total units in 2009, which would be by far the lowest total on record.
California’s unemployment rate was 12.2 percent in September
California’s unemployment rate was 12.2 percent in September, and nonfarm payroll jobs declined by 39,300 during the month, according to data released Friday by the California Employment Development Department from two separate surveys.
The U.S. unemployment rate increased in September, rising to 9.8 percent.
