If you ever needed a visualization of the rising cost of homeownership, this chart should do the trick. Tracking median house sales price fluctuations by region since 1990, you can see a significant shift to the West and South and away from the Northeast, even as prices have appreciated across the country. Of course, the last spikes we saw in western sales led to the subprime bubble, so it’s good for investors to be cautious.
After a weekend of open houses at our new listing, we’re ready for an opportunity to reset. What are you looking forward to about the Spring Equinox?
It’s been a rainy winter, and I’m ready for some sunshine! Monday was a nice teaser, but it looks like we’ll have to wait for a real heat wave since the forecast calls for another wet weekend. In the meantime, I’ll get my sunglasses ready.
As you’d expect, I’m already feeling the urge to reorganize the garage, clean out the closets, and upgrade outdoor lighting. But first, I need a break — a spring break. Maybe we’ll get in the car and take a drive up the coast. Or we could just sleep!
Join us for an open house all weekend long at this end unit townhome a short drive from Downtown Mountain View, with a backyard perfect for parties with friends, family, and neighbors!
After peaking around 7.8% in October 2023, weekly average rates on 30-year fixed mortgages were just under 6.9% in the first week of March 2024. Any other time, we’d be singing from the rooftops, but we’re nowhere near the historic lows we saw just a few years ago. Still, any relief is good news.
In November 2020, California voters narrowly passed Proposition 19, changing the way property taxes are assessed to provide more portability for seniors, people with disabilities, and those who lose their homes in wildfires and other disasters. But the new law also came with consequences for family transfers…
Under Prop 19, there are new limits on property tax exemptions in transfers to family members. The transfer must be to a child or grandchild, that family member must make the home their primary residence within one year of the transfer, and the exemption is limited to the first $1 million of assessed value over the original base assessment. And no, gifting your property to your child would not qualify for an exemption!
Another Prop 19 quirk is that the same property owner can take their base property tax assessment with them to 3 different properties anywhere in California, provided the original and replacement homes are of moderately equal value. I don’t think this will lead to a flurry of seniors on the move, but it seems a bit antithetical to the original intent of Prop 13, which was to allow Californians to age gracefully in place.
