Prices Drop for Luxury Homes...

High-end home sellers lower their sights: Housing slump is bringing down prices in the luxury property market. Billionaire tax cheat Leona Helmsley loved a good bargain. So, were she still around, the late hotelier might appreciate recent happenings at her Greenwich, Conn., estate known as Dunnellen Hall. The 14-bedroom, 13 1/2 -bathroom mansion, which came on the market priced at $125 million two years ago, has been reduced...

Housing Help From Obama...

Housing Help for Umemployed, Underwater Borrowers NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Under pressure to do more for troubled homeowners, President Obama announced Friday a $1.5 billion program to help borrowers in the five states hit hardest by the housing crisis. The initiative calls for pumping money into state housing agencies in California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Michigan to fund programs to prevent foreclosure for...

IRS Clarifies Tax Credit Claim...

The Internal Revenue Service has clarified which documentation taxpayers need to submit to claim the first-time and move-up homebuyer tax credit. While the IRS is still requiring the filing of Form 5405, it is not demanding that all parties’ signatures be on the HUD-1 settlement document in areas where requiring both the buyer and the seller to sign the document isn’t common. The IRS clarification says: “In areas...

California home permits declined...

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. According to...

FHA Relaxes Anti-Flipping Rule...

Beginning Feb. 1, the Federal Housing Administration will provide mortgage insurance for some purchases in which the seller bought the property and held it for fewer than 90 days. The agency is changing what is known as the “anti-flipping rule” to speed up sales of renovated homes in communities with too many bank-owned and foreclosed homes, says FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens. Waiving the 90-day rule will encourage...

Entry-level housing affordability...

The percentage of households that could afford to purchase an entry-level home in California remained at 64 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared with 61 percent for the same period a year ago, according to a report released Friday by C.A.R.  C.A.R.’s First-time Buyer Housing Affordability Index (FTB-HAI) measures the percentage of households that can afford to purchase an entry-level home in California. The...

Percentage of reduced listing prices declines...

The percentage of homeowners who reduced their listing prices declined approximately 4 percent in January compared December, according to a monthly survey conducted by ZipRealty, which examines home listings in 27 major markets. Slightly more than 40 percent of home listings experienced at least one price reduction in January, compared with 44 percent in December, according to the report.  On average, homeowners within all...

Mt Shasta Charts...

If you like to look at charts to understand the real estate market and housing conditions in Mt Shasta, check out this website:  CITY...

Relief for Property Owners...

Siskiyou County Assessor Mike Mallory is getting the word out to taxpayers that relief is available for property owners who suffered damage during recent snowstorms in southern Siskiyou County. California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 170 provides property tax relief to taxpayers whose property was damaged or destroyed by no fault of their own, according to a press release from Mallory. If the extent of the damage is...

Home Values Falling/Rising?...

Fewer homeowners see home values falling A recent report shows that one in five U.S. homeowners owed more on their mortgage than their home was worth in the fourth quarter; however, California’s housing market is bucking the national trend and is telling a different story. MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY FOR CONSUMERS Although the report by Zillow.com claims that the percentage of American single-family homes with...