Family finds $45,000 in new home

A good turn by a family who got more than they bargained for in their new home.

Thanks to the AP for publishing good news too! -David

AP Mobile News story - Manhattan Beach mayor delivers State of the City address

Mayor Richard Montgomery gave an informative "State of the City" presentation at Tuesday morning's Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce gathering at the Belamar Hotel.  Our city is fortunate to have this caliber of leadership! - David

David Quoted in AP Mobile News story - Realtors object to proposed business tax

Your blogger weighs in on a proposed tax upon real estate agents in Manhattan Beach in this article picked up today by the AP:

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_8545/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=NDCx4K55

A couple of broader points were missed in the article, namely:

• Doing anything to further discourage the players in an industry whose work creates jobs for many others (contractors, repairmen, inspectors, appraisers, home improvement stores, appliance and entertainment vendors, schoolteachers, etc.) is narrowminded at best
• Property taxes are the largest single component of the city's revenues. The City's property tax revenues go up every time a home is sold, resulting in a new assessed value under Prop. 13.  The best agents aren't just order-takers, they prompt real estate transactions.  .  I'll save you the computatoins but the increased property tax annuity received by the City after a home sale is much greater than the tax in the short-sighted city staff proposal
• City staff would love to double-tax the real estate industry, but probably don't expect to get away with it.  So there's a proposed credit to brokers for commissoins taxed at the agent level. So why would City staff care who pays the tax?  Because assessing the tax at the agent level is a clever way of sidestapping the cap which comes into play at the broker level but never would at the agent level
• City staff mailed out letters announcing the new tax without first obtaining the permission, let alone the direction, of the City Council. This opaque approach to running city management was a trademark of our now deposed City Manager's administration.  It will be nice to see a few more chages in City staff once a capable new City Manager institutes policies of transparency to all and deferral to the Council which has long been absent. - David

Homebuilding forecast: Modest growth in 2010

Not a strong recovery, but a recovery nonetheless.  That's the homebuilding industry's prediction for 2010 - David

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_8597/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=KHFUyQ6p

NYC's 'skinniest' house sells for $2.1M

Here's a cool old home that just sold in NYC! - David

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_15973/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=oCF8NyE6

AP Mobile News story - Fannie, Freddie proving too big to shrink

The gov't has decided Fannie & Freddie are here to stay for the foreseeable future. Probably makes sense if done efficiently, a Big If.  But these entities can be effective at keeping the mortgage markets liquid, and their securitization practices are bound to draw intense scrutiny, protecting institutional investors who didn't bother to understand what they were buying last time. Hopefully, a net positive. -David

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_11751/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=eXr591sF