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fixer uppersbuyer’s cornerpage 5

moving day tips home spacepage 7

Whale Watch Weekend and Inter-tidal Life Festival Whale watch from historic military bun-kers, partake in the burial of the centennial time capsule, explore tide pools and let the children participate in Jr. Ranger programs. Jan. 11 – 12 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. @ Cabrillo National Monument

San Diego Restaurant Week Choose from more than 180 restau-rants throughout San Diego and indulge in discounted three-course prix-fixe meals for lunch and dinner ranging from $10-$40. Jan. 19 – 24 View participating restaurants at www.sandiegorestaurantweek.com.

Friday Night Liberty Free open artist studios, galleries and events throughout NTC at Liberty Station’s Arts & Cultural District. Feb. 7 at 5 p.m. @ Liberty Station

Dive-In Theatre at The Pearl Hotel Free weekly cinema social combin-ing eclectic film choices, along with delicious food and drink from EAT at The Pearl. Films are projected onto a screen overlooking the hotel’s vin-tage swimming pool. Wednesdays from 8 – 11 p.m.

Ocean Beach Farmers’ Market Local farmers share fresh produce

and tasty samples on the streets of Newport Avenue. The vibrant blocks are filled with live music, handcrafted jewelry, a children’s bounce house and more Wednesdays at 4 p.m.

Fishermen’s Farmers’ Market Waterfront market where local fisher-men bring their fresh catches of the day. Wednesdays from 3 – 7 p.m.@ 4900 North Harbor Drive

Stay Young at Art - Art for Grownups Channel your inner child and choose from painting, drawing, clay, mod podge, paper maché and more. All proceeds go to younga-tartsandiego.org, providing art schol-arships for children. Thursdays from 7 – 10 p.m.@ 1821 Cable Street 92107

Point Loma – A new report has just been released which reveals seven costly mistakes that most homeowners make when selling their home, and a 9-Step System that can help you sell your home fast and for the most amount of money.

This industry report shows clearly how the traditional ways of selling homes have become increasingly less and less effective in today’s market. The fact of the matter is that fully three-quarters of home sellers don’t get what they want for their homes and become disillusioned and, worse, finan-cially disadvantaged when they put their homes on the market.

As this report uncovers, most home sell-ers make seven deadly mistakes that cost them literally thousands of dollars. The good news is that each and every one of these mistakes is entirely preventable. In answer to this issue, industry insiders have prepared a free special report entitled “The 9-Step System to Get Your Home Sold Fast and for Top Dollar.”

To hear a brief message about how to order your FREE copy of the report, call 1-800-691-9384 ID 1000. You can call any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Get your free special report NOW to find out how you can get the most money for your home. n

inside this issuefebruary 2014

7 Things You Must Know Before

Putting Your Home Up for Sale

EVENTSOcean Beach & Point Loma

design tips home improvementpage 3

Nearly 100 families in the Point Loma and Ocean Beach communities had a little brighter holiday this year thanks in part to your generosity. Glen & Shannon of Alliance Group and MyPointLoma.com partnered with the Ocean Beach Community Foundation and Ocean Beach Town Council to sponsor an Ocean Beach and Point Loma Food & Toy Drive for the holidays.

Trader Joe’s donated 500 paper bags that were delivered to homes in the 92106 and 92107 ZIP codes, and residents

were asked to consider filling the bag with non-perishable food items or new, unwrapped toys. We reached our goal of collecting food and toys for nearly 100 local families. Volunteers came together to wrap and distribute donations at Point Loma Methodist Church days before

Christmas. “It was a true community

effort and we’re very grateful for all that helped make it possible,” Glen said. “From the start, we were amazed at how much was being donated and by how many community members stepped up to participate. It’s fantastic that it all went directly back into the

community.”Thank you again to those that

participated in the Food & Toy Drive for your generous donations. Your kindness helped spread holiday cheer to many families throughout the community. n

Glen & Shannon hosted a coloring contest in December to raise money for the Ocean Beach Community Foundation (OBCF) to support youth athletics in Point Loma & Ocean Beach. Parents were asked to have their child color a picture of Santa riding a reindeer. For every entry received, Glen & Shannon donated $5 to OBCF. The winner, Travis R.,

received a gift certificate to Toys R Us – congratulations Travis! (See Travis and his picture below.)

Thanks to everyone who participated. Lighthouse Ice Cream in Ocean Beach has donated a gift certificate for a free scoop of ice cream to all coloring contest participants. This month’s coloring contest can be found on page 8, enter your kids for a chance to win! n

Ocean Beach & Point Loma Food & Toy Drive Spreads Cheer to Local Families

Coloring Contest Raises Money for Youth Sports in Point Loma & Ocean Beach

For further details and a complete list of events, visit

www. MyPointLoma.com/Events

DP#

127

09

Enter to win a $100 gift certificate... See page 4 for details!

2

by Glen Henderson

What a great close to the year we had hear in San Diego! We made it through the holidays with absolutely gorgeous weather while most of the country was freezing and buried in snow. It offered a great reminder to why we’re so fortunate to be living in America’s finest city!

In this section, we’re going to recap the month of December and will start with the Point Loma community.

In Point Loma, we had a total of 15 sales for the month of December. The highest sale for the month was the home located at 997 Scott, which sold for $1,445,000. Following the 90 day trends, the median sales price for single family homes dropped slightly to $790,000, which represents about a 3% decline. The number of homes on the market was down even further, which was expected since since most homeowners avoid listing their home in December. The active homes were down 59% from September of 2013. The average days on market was 86 days and homes are selling about 3% below list price. .

For condos in the Point Loma community, we have saw a slight increase in the median price of $539,000, which continued the slow upward trend we discussed last month. The number of condos on the market is fell to another 7%, to numbers that are 19% below Septembers. The average days on market increased slightly to 75 and the selling price is on average 2% under the asking price.

In the Ocean Beach community, we saw a very slight increase

in the median price for single properties. It crept up to is currently at $777,500. The largest sale for the month was the home located at 1053 Sunset Cliffs Blvd, which sold for $2.5 mil. The number of homes on the market dropped in this community as well and we finished up the year with inventor down about 59%. We saw market time increase to an average of about 86 days on the market and sales price vs. listing price feel slightly to 3% below.

In the condo market, we only had five sales for the month and we saw an increase in the media price to $363,500. Inventory only dropped another 2% in the condo market, which represents a 70% decrease since September. Consistent with the detached home market and Point Loma, homes are selling on average 3% below the asking price. The average days on market is also slightly up, finishing the year at 93.

Now that we have entered the new year, we expect to see changes in all of these numbers. First, median prices are expected to continue on the upward trend we had been experiencing. Even though we saw a slight drop in Point Loma when looking at 90 day trends, the median price was up for the year and we expect that to continue. As we enter the spring selling season, we will see more homes coming onto the market and more buyers entering back into the market place. This should bring down our average days on market and increase the number of homes we see on the market.

I also would like to note that all of the statistics provided in our market recap are based on 90 day trends, so we capture an overall feel of the market vs. any small spikes or dips we experience

monthly. If you would like

to receive a complete copy of this report with charts and all statistics, visit www.PeninsulaUpdate.com, or send me an email at team@mypointloma.com and I can provide you with all of the details.

We have provided a list of homes that recently sold in the Point Loma and Ocean Beach communities below. If you would like the complete report and a list of all properties that are currently on the market, you can also visit www.PeninsulaUpdate.com or send us an email with any requests.

And if you would like to specifically discuss your current housing situation, pricing on your home, or have any other questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Shannon & I at 619-500-3222. n

About the author: Glen Henderson is in the top 1% of Realtors® in San Diego and a frequent real estate contributor on various local radio and TV programs.

December Point Loma & Ocean Beach Real Estate Recap

Point Loma

Point Loma

Point Loma

Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach

PROPERt iES L iStED in DEcEmBER

PROPERt iES Put intO EScROw in DEcEmBER

PROPERt iES SOLD in DEcEmBER

Listing Status Prop Type Address Bed Baths SF List Price List DateActive Attached 3118 Canon St # 7 2 3 1,060 $519,000 12/1/13Active Detached 2834 Qualtrough St 2 3 1,204 $2,750,000 12/2/13Active Attached 1150 Anchorage ln # 212 1 1 1,240 $349,900 12/4/13Active Detached 1151 WIllOW St 2 2 1,463 $729,000 12/5/13Active Attached 1762 locust St # 3 2 3 1,209 $310,000 12/6/13Active Detached 1236 Concord St 3 2 1,726 $995,000 12/17/13Active Detached 3552 fenelon St 4 3 2,120 $1,499,000 12/17/13Active Detached 3633 nimitz Blvd 3 2 1,398 $579,500 12/18/13Active Detached 415 San fernando St 5 6 5,994 $2,495,000 12/18/13

Listing Status Prop Type Address Bed Baths SF List Price List DatePending Detached 857 Armada Ter 3 5 5847 $1,800,000 3/30/12Contingent Detached 1005 Concord St 3 2 1495 $735,000 2/18/13Contingent Detached 3427 Garrison St 4 2 2047 $775,000 9/7/13Pending Detached 3806 nipoma Pl 3 3 2084 $1,019,000 9/27/13Pending Detached 3727 Charles St 4 3 3645 $1,500,000 10/7/13Pending Attached 2926 Kellogg St # B-14 2 2 1166 $675,000 10/18/13Pending Detached 787 Catalina Blvd 6 4 2695 $839,000 10/29/13Pending Detached 3536 Quimby St 3 2 1661 $669,500 10/31/13Pending Detached 3535 Sterne St 3 2 1542 $715,000 10/31/13Pending Detached 3602 Hyacinth Dr 5 3 2837 $925,000 11/10/13Pending Detached 1310 Willow St 3 2 1351 $899,000 11/12/13Pending Attached 1021 Scott St # 118 0 1 288 $187,000 11/12/13Contingent Detached 2718 laning Rd 3 3 1931 $734,999 11/13/13Pending Detached 3375 Ullman St 3 2 1788 $899,500 11/23/13Pending Detached 3220 Homer St 2 2 1276 $699,000 12/6/13Pending Detached 2950 Poinsettia Dr 4 2 1652 $859,000 12/9/13Contingent Detached 3112 Goldsmith St 3 2 1431 $640,200 12/27/13

Listing Status Property Type Address Bed Baths SF List Price List Date Sold Price Sold Date DOM Sold vs. Listing Price

Sold Detached 1055 AKROn St 4 2 2358 $1,195,000 9/17/13 $1,195,000 12/2/13 26 100%

Sold Detached 3748 Kingsley St 3 3 2064 $682,000 10/2/13 $662,000 12/4/13 36 97%

Sold Detached 2844 Chatsworth Blvd 3 3 1857 $799,000 9/23/13 $760,000 12/5/13 55 95%

Sold Detached 3723 James St 3 2 1123 $615,000 11/20/13 $620,000 12/9/13 4 101%

Sold Detached 997 Scott St 3 3 2300 $1,595,000 9/11/13 $1,445,000 12/12/13 55 91%

Sold Detached 945 Moana Dr 3 3 1633 $819,000 11/9/13 $819,000 12/16/13 2 100%

Sold Detached 375-377 San Elijo St 4 5 2708 $975,000 7/10/13 $900,000 12/16/13 123 92%

Sold Detached 3558 Oliphant St 2 1 864 $519,000 8/7/13 $490,000 12/17/13 68 94%

Sold Detached 2104 Mcdonough ln 3 4 2838 $1,150,000 12/17/13 $1,120,000 12/17/13 0 97%

Sold Detached 2116 Mcdonough ln 3 3 2630 $1,133,000 12/10/13 $1,133,000 12/19/13 0 100%

Sold Attached 370 Rosecrans St # 202 2 2 1280 $625,000 8/5/13 $610,000 12/19/13 81 98%

Sold Detached 3310 Whittier St 3 3 3620 $1,399,000 10/19/13 $1,298,000 12/23/13 43 93%

Sold Detached 3608 Oleander Dr 2 1 848 $549,000 11/4/13 $560,000 12/24/13 10 102%

Sold Detached 3738 Charles St 3 3 2000 $1,250,000 10/8/13 $1,175,000 12/30/13 22 94%

Sold Attached 1021 Scott St # 232 0 1 288 $189,500 7/18/13 $180,000 12/30/13 144 95%

Listing Status Property Type Address Bed Baths SF List Price List Date Sold Price Sold Date DOM Sold vs. Listing Price

Sold Townhome 3945 Caminito Dehesa 3 3 1831 $525,000 9/9/13 $500,000 12/2/13 7 95%Sold Detached 3930 Wildwood Rd 3 2 1158 $785,000 10/17/13 $760,000 12/6/13 19 97%Sold Detached 4255 Montalvo St 3 1 960 $480,000 8/8/13 $450,000 12/9/13 93 94%Sold Detached 3748 Wawona Dr 3 2 2085 $745,000 8/15/13 $720,000 12/10/13 83 97%Sold Detached 1053 Sunset Cliffs Blvd 5 5 3708 $2,995,000 10/24/13 $2,500,000 12/10/13 40 83%Sold Detached 3937 Tennyson St 3 1 1165 $645,000 11/22/13 $593,000 12/12/13 3 92%Sold Detached 4519 niagara Ave 3 1 942 $749,500 11/2/13 $750,500 12/13/13 10 100%Sold Detached 3756 Milan St 5 3 3757 $1,250,000 10/29/13 $1,250,000 12/13/13 15 100%Sold Attached 4402 Mentone St # 106 2 2 949 $319,000 11/1/13 $305,000 12/13/13 19 96%Sold Attached 4623 Santa Monica Ave 1 1 550 $399,000 9/9/13 $395,000 12/16/13 28 99%Sold Detached 875 Sunset Cliffs Blvd 4 3 3720 $2,450,000 11/4/13 $2,300,000 12/18/13 11 94%Sold Detached 4623 Greene St 2 1 685 $575,000 10/14/13 $540,000 12/19/13 52 94%Sold Detached 4344 Del Mar Ave 3 5 3326 $1,349,900 11/15/13 $1,325,000 12/19/13 3 98%Sold Detached 4557 Santa Cruz Ave 4 3 2269 $1,485,000 11/1/13 $1,470,000 12/19/13 4 99%Sold Attached 4588 W Point loma Blvd # B 2 2 1081 $349,000 4/26/13 $335,000 12/19/13 197 96%Sold Detached 2319 Seaside St 4 2 1562 $510,000 11/7/13 $495,000 12/24/13 6 97%Sold Detached 4343 Del Monte Ave 4 3 2320 $799,000 10/26/13 $760,000 12/27/13 37 95%Sold Attached 4878 Pescadero Ave # 201 1 1 700 $415,000 11/5/13 $415,000 12/30/13 19 100%Sold Detached 4606 CASTElAR St 2 1 946 $539,000 11/14/13 $539,000 12/31/13 6 100%Sold Detached 4452 Alhambra St 2 2 1259 $899,000 11/22/13 $980,000 12/31/13 9 109%Sold Attached 4368 Temecula St # 105 2 2 689 $235,000 12/9/13 $235,000 12/31/13 7 100%

Listing Status Prop Type Address Bed Baths SF List Price List DateActive Attached 2260 WORDEn St # 11 2 2 966 $389,000 12/2/13Active Detached 5042 Brighton Ave 1 1 364 $346,500 12/5/13Active Detached 4031 Bernice Dr 3 2 1128 $660,900 12/5/13Active Townhome 2290 Caminito Pajarito # 95 2 3 1332 $495,000 12/5/13Active Detached 4260 narragansett Ave 3 2 1900 $829,000 12/7/13Active Detached 4131 Tennyson St 3 2 1303 $689,000 12/9/13Active Detached 4261 Whittier St 3 1 1275 $640,000 12/10/13Active Detached 4593 Coronado Ave 2 1 792 $815,000 12/17/13Active Detached 2068 Sunset Cliffs Blvd 1 1 634 $399,000 12/26/13Active Detached 4679 Pescadero Ave 2 2 1050 $766,000 12/30/13Active Detached 4677 Pescadero Ave 2 1 870 $662,000 12/31/13

Listing Status Prop Type Address Bed Baths SF List Price List DatePending Townhome 5045 niagara Ave # 2 3 3 1382 $785,000 5/7/13Pending Attached 5015 Cape May Ave # 202 2 2 910 $360,000 6/14/13Pending Detached 4327 Voltaire St 2 1 706 $499,000 7/8/13Contingent Detached 4742 Pescadero Ave 2 2 907 $525,000 8/31/13Pending Detached 2012 Guizot St 3 2 1202 $899,000 9/4/13Pending Detached 3757 narragansett Ave 3 2 2110 $875,000 10/1/13Pending Detached 3766 Tennyson St 4 1 1400 $549,000 10/18/13Pending Detached 1108 Moana Dr 2 2 1665 $899,000 10/27/13Pending Detached 4243 Coronado Ave 4 4 2465 $1,295,000 11/5/13Pending Detached 3927 Wildwood Rd 2 2 1202 $699,000 11/20/13Pending Attached 4452 Mentone St # 305 2 2 882 $325,000 11/22/13Pending Detached 4643 W Point loma Blvd 3 2 1108 $585,000 11/27/13Contingent Detached 1428 CATAlInA BlVD Blvd 3 2 1552 $650,000 11/27/13Pending Detached 4385 Cape May Ave 4 2 2573 $829,000 12/24/13

market update

All information, reports and statistics are based on data supplied by Sandicor MlS. neither the associations nor the MlS guarantee, or are in any way responsible for their accuracy. Information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.

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All rights reserved.

PublishersGlen Henderson &

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Alliance Group

619-500-3222

www.MyPointLoma.comteam@mypointloma.com

home improVement

3

by Ilyce Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin

What happens to real estate prices if new households don’t form?

It’s an interesting question. One that many economists prefer not to think about.

Jed Kolko, chief economist for Trulia, an online real estate listing site, says the prospects are “alarming.”

Of course, it isn’t just the prospects for pricing that are alarming. There’s an undercurrent of concern about what a lack of household formation means for the larger economy as well.

Let’s start at the top. In a normal year, roughly 1.1 million new households form. There are many reasons households form. Some are recent college graduates who move out on their own. Sometimes families split up,

forming two households out of one. There are immigrants who move to this country who, after a period of time perhaps living with relatives, move out to their own home, sometimes purchasing real estate in as little as three to five years after moving to the US.

Since the recession, trends have changed. According to the latest Census figures, roughly 380,000 new households were formed in the last 12 months. And worse, the number of young adults living with their parents ticked up as well.

The latter trend is about young people not getting jobs, Kolko explained. “And even if they get jobs, they don’t move out right away,” he added. “You need to save up, to build up a cash cushion and the financial confidence to move out. You need to be able to pass a credit check and have the first and last month rent.”

At this point in the recovery, Kolko believes we should be seeing household formation back not only at normal levels but higher.

“All those young people who moved in with their parents over the past few years and didn’t move out during the recession, there should be pent-up demand for household formation. Everyone was thinking once they move out, they will form lots of new households,” Kolko added.

It’s the worst sort of news for the new construction industry, which is still operating at about 50 percent of where it was during the height of the housing boom. Roughly 450,000 new homes are expected to be sold this year, compared with more than 800,000 in a more normal year.

Even if new household formation picks up, it will be a while before hiring picks up for

new home construction because most of these individuals will rent before they buy. And if there are plenty of foreclosures, short sales, and vacant properties available to buy, it’s possible that the construction industry won’t get a boost for several more years.

It all comes back to young people and their employment prospects, which aren’t great, Kolko said.

“The share of young people working (now) is almost as low as during recession. Wages aren’t rising. Student debt is up. Young people face tough circumstances today,” he noted.

Unfortunately for the housing industry, those tough circumstances are turning into alarming trends that bear close watch. n

© 2014 Distributed by Tribune Media Services.

4 Easy-Living, Universal Design Tips for Any Home

Housing Recovery’s Stumbling Block:

Weak Household Formation

by John Riha

O ne of the basic principles of universal design, also called ageless design, is that it makes homes more

practical and safer for everyone—not just the elderly or people with limited mobility.

These days, universal design features are an everyday fact of life for many households, with architects and other professional designers adding universal design ideas as a matter of course.

You don’t have to be a pro designer to incorporate this smart thinking into your own home. If you’re remodeling or simply adding a few upgrades, be sure to keep universal design features in mind. There are lots of resources that’ll give you some great starting points.

As we remodel our 1972 ranch-style house (we’re on the multi-year, budget-as-you-go plan), my wife and I have incorporated several low-cost, easy-to-do UD features. A few of our favorites:

1. switch out doorknobs for lever-style handles. Doorknobs require lots of dexterity and torque to open; with levers you simply press and go.

Makes sense for folks with arthritis, of course, but think about an emergency situation when everyone, including small kids, needs to exit fast: A lever handle is a safe, foolproof way to open a door.

A big plus: Levers are good-looking and can contribute to the value of your home. A standard interior passage door lever in a satin nickel finish costs about $20; you’ll pay $25 to $30 for a lockable lever set for your bath or bedroom. Replacing door hardware is an easy DIY job.

2. replace toggle light switches with rocker-style switches. Rocker switches feature a big on/off plate that you can operate with a finger, a knuckle, or even

your elbow when you’re laden with bags of groceries.

Rocker switches are sleek and good-looking, too. Ever notice how conventional toggle switches get dirt and grime embedded in them after a couple of years? No more! You’ll pay $2 for a single-pole rocker switch, up to $10 for multiple switch sets.

3. anti-scald devices for your bathroom prevent water from reaching unsafe temps. An anti-scald shower head ($15) reduces water flow to a trickle if the water gets too hot. An anti-scald faucet device ($40)

replaces your faucet aerator and also reduces hot water flow.

Anti-scald valves—also known as pressure-balancing valves—prevent changes in water pressure from creating sudden bursts of hot or cold water. An anti-scald valve ($100) installs on plumbing pipes inside your walls. If you don’t have DIY skills, you’ll pay a plumber $100 to $200 for installation.

4. motion sensor light controls add light when you need it. They come in a variety of styles and simple technologies. I

like the plug-in sensors ($10 to $15). You simply stick them into existing receptacles, then plug your table or floor lamps into them. When the sensor detects motion, it turns on the light.

They’re great for 2 a.m. snacking, or if your young kids are at that age when they migrate into your bed in the middle of the night. The lights turn off after about 10 minutes if no more motion is detected. n

Visit HouseLogic.com for more articles like this. Reprinted from HouseLogic.com with permis-sion of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

on the homeFront

Lever-style door handles are easier to use than knobs, and they can even contribute to the value of your home.

seller’s corner

4

by Jamie Smith Hopkins

I f you want to get the best price for your home, should you:

A. Ask for more than you think it’s worth?B. Ask for exactly what you think it’s

worth?C. Ask for less and count on a bidding war

to push you over the top?

A study in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization this year argues that the answer—despite what you’ve probably heard—is A: overprice. Underpricing doesn’t work for the average seller, the authors say.

They suggest that pricing high pays off in an extremely modest way, a boost of about $100 to $200 on average over similar homes. Underpricing in the hope of setting off a bidding war, the study says, nets average sellers a bit less than they otherwise would have received.

Whether overpricing is a smart strategy—as opposed to right-on-the-nose pricing—might depend on how quickly you want to sell.

Sales figures from the Baltimore region, which were not part of the study, show a strong connection between how long a home sits on the market and how much the seller has to drop the asking price.

The speediest deals in the Baltimore region’s housing market in the past decade—through bubble, bust, and aftermath—sold for what the owner originally asked for, on average. After 10 days on the market, the average sales price compared with the asking price started dropping—and kept dropping as time went on, according to data from Rockville, MD-based RealEstate Business Intelligence.

This year, for instance, homeowners who sold after 30 days but within 60 days knocked an average of 7 percent off their original asking price, the company said. The average sellers whose homes sat for six months to a year accepted 13 percent less than they’d originally asked for.

Chris Benedetti watched his next-door neighbors in Baltimore’s Upper Fells Point wait a couple of months to sell this year and drop their asking price several times. He didn’t want his rowhouse to sit around, particularly since he’d bought a new place. So he took his agent’s advice to ask for $275,000,

close to the neighbors’ sale price.Result: He got two offers within a week

and a half, gave the would-be buyers a chance to modify their bids, and ended up with a contract for $500 more than his asking price. He’s scheduled to close on the deal shortly.

“The whole story, I think, is the fact that we priced it at a point where it was attractive,” he said. “If we were living there and weren’t in a hurry to sell, then if it took six months, it wouldn’t matter. But when you’re paying the double mortgages, the quicker, the better.”

The market statistics showing that price drops increase the longer a home sits on the market make sense to Pat Hiban, who heads a real estate team at Keller Williams in Columbia, MD. He became so frustrated with unrealistically high asking prices during the housing-bust years—when he saw sellers ultimately getting less than they could have received because values fell as they languished

on the market—that he set up a blog to talk about the downturn.

“The more you try to stretch it in the beginning, the longer you’re going to be on the market, and the more you’re going to end up dropping it,” he said.

What’s harder to measure is whether sellers are always better off if they set a price that attracts an immediate offer or offers. Could they have done better if they went higher and waited?

The downside to data showing how asking prices fall the longer a home sits on the market is that you can’t know for certain the cause. Did it take months to get a deal because the original asking price was too high, or did the seller drop a reasonable price because he got tired of waiting? Or was something else at work?

“You can’t run experiments in the housing market,” Minson said. “Basically, what you

want to do is have the same house be underpriced or overpriced and see what happens.”

She and a colleague did what struck them as the next best thing: analyzing thousands of single-family home sales in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey between 2005 and 2009, catching some of the housing bubble and bust. They looked at the characteristics of each home to try to determine whether it was underpriced or overpriced.

According to their study, an asking price of 10 percent to 20 percent more than other properties in the neighborhood equaled a sales-price bump of $117 to $163 for the average home. Overpricing by more than 20 percent produced added gains, though modest ones, they said. That’s for homes that took an average amount of time to sell.

Underpricing takes an equally modest amount of money away from average sellers, Minson said.

She knows this goes against what many homeowners have heard from real estate agents and others in the industry. But “psychologically, it’s not a very counterintuitive story,” she said. Buyers are subconsciously taking a cue from the asking price. “We just assume that expensive things are nicer,” she said.

Jonathan Hill doesn’t know whether Minson’s findings would hold true in all markets, given that the bubble and bust hit some states, such as Maryland, differently from the three states she analyzed.

Hill, president of RealEstate Business Intelligence, the data arm of the region’s multiple-listing service, also doubts that sellers can “trick the market.”

“You’re just going to sit on the market until you come down to where the market is,” he said.

Patrick Newport, an economist with market-information firm IHS, sides with the study authors—especially given the state of housing markets in much of the country today.

“In most places, I think market conditions are strong enough that … it just seems a sensible strategy to shoot high and then lower the price if the home just doesn’t sell,” he said. n

© 2014 Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Before Setting Asking PriceThink Twice

Chris Benedetti at his former home in Baltimore, Maryland. He priced it to sell quickly and it did.

titLE inSuRAncE

May Cover Buyer Defrauded in

Condo Purchase

BuYer’s corner

Homebuyers’ Attention Caught by

Fixer-Uppersby Ilyce Glink and Samuel J. Tamkin

Q: I bought a condominium in Washington, DC, in 2008 and received a summons by the “real” owner stating that the sale of the condominium was void because of forged documentation. What does this mean and what can I do? I’ve been paying mortgage for the last five years on a property that I now find out doesn’t belong to me.

a: We certainly hope that you obtained an owner’s title insurance policy. If not, you’re not going to like this answer.

Let’s start at the top. Even if you’ve been the victim of fraud, your lender may not have much to fear because just about every lender in every residential loan transaction obtains a new lender’s title insurance policy. That lender’s policy protects the lender in exactly y o u r situation.

If you have an owner’s title i n s u r a n c e policy, you too should have some financial protection from this fraud. If you obtained the policy, you must follow the instructions in the policy to file a claim with the title company. The title company, in turn, can try to settle with the rightful owner or will have to settle with you.

You will need to make sure you follow the procedure set forth in the title policy for filing your claim, including how you notify the title insurance company.

If you don’t have a title insurance policy, the lender’s title insurance company will end up settling with the lender. The title company could settle with the rightful owner and you could in turn benefit from their actions. However, if they don’t settle with the owner but instead pay off the lender, you will be out

of luck.You will need to

vacate the condominium and any moving expenses and money you put down towards the condominium will be lost. As with any other fraud or theft, if you find the thief and discover that he or she has assets, you can try to go after them.

Unfortunately, the fraud you are going through is one in which you might have a hard time finding the perpetrator.

Even if you do have title insurance, you may still lose money. The title insurance company’s liability is usually limited to the amount of the policy. If you purchased the condominium for $200,000, the title company usually has a maximum obligation to pay out your loss up to $200,000. Since your loss is total and

y o u h a v e moving expenses into the condominium and would have expenses to move out along with other costs, you might still be out of pocket some or all of these costs.

Go through your closing documents and see if you obtained a title insurance policy, then file your claim with the title company. Since you have described a fraud, you probably should report the fraud to your local police department. Whether they decide to do anything about it, the crime should still get reported. Good luck. n

© 2014 Distributed by Tribune Media Services

by Alison Burdo

When first-time home buyers Meghan Starr and Andrew Boerckel told their Philadelphia real estate agent that they were interested only in fixer-uppers, Amanda Turske of Prudential Fox & Roach was skeptical.

Typically, clients buying their first houses these days want move-in-ready properties, said Turske, who gets about half her business from first-timers. “Meghan was my first home buyer that wanted something that was a complete fixer-upper,” she said.

But Starr, a 28-year-old school psychologist, and her boyfriend, 32, recognized the potential in the approximately 1,080-square-foot “grandmom home,” which had wood-paneled walls and orange shag carpeting in the master bedroom. “Don’t look at the present-day picture,” Starr said. “Visualize what it can be.”

Visualization didn’t come quite as easily for 29-year-old Alexander Zola.

When he and his wife, Stephanie, 30, began house-hunting in January, they wanted a turnkey property, Zola said. But finding a house that required no renovations and met their criteria—1,400 square feet, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and some outdoor space—pushed prices $170,000 higher than the couple originally intended to spend.

“I’m not going to find a wonderful 100-year-old house that is completely modern but still has a touch of character within my price range,” Zola said. “So the only other option is to do it yourself.”

The East Passyunk Square area of Philadelphia where they searched is historically known as an Italian-American enclave, an influence sometimes reflected indoors.

At one house, the decor included colonnades, shag carpeting and thick wallpaper, Zola said. “It was like you were transported to Olive Garden,” he said. “We couldn’t imagine ourselves in it.”

But after visiting more than 30 properties, the couple reconsidered the four-bedroom, three-story house. “It had the bones we were looking for,” Zola said. “And it had character; it was just hidden.”

They closed on the house in May and, after spending about $45,000 to renovate, moved in July, he said. They converted the third floor into a master suite, replaced drop ceilings, removed wallpaper, installed hardwood floors, and opened up the first floor by knocking down a few walls, Zola said.

Since Starr and Boerckel moved into their new house in August, they have torn down walls to expose the brick, ripped up rugs to expose the hardwood floors, and begun turning the middle of the three bedrooms into a walk-in closet.

They expect to spend about $15,000 on renovations by doing the work themselves, which presents other challenges. “We are living in a construction zone,” Starr said.

Lauren Acker Kratz, an associate agent with Prudential Fox & Roach’s McCann Team in Philadelphia, warns interested buyers to consider the timing of the remodeling before taking on fixer-uppers. “Are you going to be able

to live through rehabs?” she asked. “How much time can you allow?”

Acker Kratz also urges buyers to get estimates on desired upgrades, so the renovations don’t push typically cheaper fixer-upper homes beyond their budget constraints. n

© 2014 Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

When Alex and Stephanie Zola remodeled their South Philly home, they decided to strip part of the wall to its natural brick foundation.

The master bedroom of the remodeled home of Alex and Stephanie Zola has brand new hardwood fl ooring; they doubled the bathroom in size

and added two closets.

Alexander and Stephanie Zola replaced carpets with hardwood fl oors in their East Passyunk Square home.

5

home space

HomeFire

SPRinKLER SYStEmS

by Angie Hicks

If you really want to keep your home and the people and property in it as safe as possible from fire, consider a residential sprinkler system.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), a division of FEMA, fire sprinklers inside a home reduce the chance of fire death by 80 percent and cut the likelihood of property damage by 71 percent.

Industry experts and fire control and prevention pros say sprinklers are a good idea for all homes, whether new or existing, and should be used in combination with smoke detectors.

Across the United States, hundreds of municipalities, as well as California and Maryland, require that new residential construction include fire sprinklers. However, newly proposed mandates generally face strong opposition from home building organizations, in large part because they add to the cost and complexity of building. To find out if your locality mandates sprinklers, contact your state fire marshal’s office.

While interviewing consumers, highly rated sprinkler installers and experts on fire control and prevention, including the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), our research staff learned that many homeowners have misconceptions about home sprinkler systems:

Perception: Every sprinkler in the house will go off at once. The reality, experts say, is that only the heads that detect fire will activate. Usually, one head will extinguish a blaze before it spreads.

Perception: Sprinkler systems are unattractive. The reality, experts say, is that the heads stay flush against the wall or ceiling until deployed, so they don’t greatly affect home aesthetics. A single sprinkler head can cover from 144 to 200 square feet.

According to the NFPA, the cost of a fire sprinkler system, installed, has dropped from an average $1.61 per square foot in 2008 to $1.35 in 2013. The association says the decline is due to government mandates, which increase the number of contractors doing the work. In some parts of California, according to the NFPA, the cost is less than $1 a square foot.

The actual price can vary widely by region. One Chicago-area homeowner, whose town of Libertyville, Illinois, requires a fire sprinklers in new construction, paid about $12,000 to have a sprinkler system included in a home built in 2007.

The NFPA doesn’t maintain statistics about installing sprinklers in existing homes. However, additional work to cut walls and update existing plumbing means the cost is likely higher than for new construction. One state fire marshal told our team that he retrofitted his 2,400-square-foot home with sprinklers for $3,500.

According to the USFA, homeowners who have sprinklers should expect a discount of 5 to 15 percent on their home insurance.

Experts recommend that fire sprinkler systems should be regularly maintained. This includes checking to make sure that sprinklers aren’t blocked, annually opening the drain valve to be sure water flows freely, and arranging an annual inspection by a licensed plumber to be sure the system’s backflow prevention device is working correctly. n

About the writer: Angie Hicks is the founder of Angie’s List, a resource for local consumer reviews on everything from home repair to health care.

© 2014 Distributed by Tribune Media Services

6

by Kathryn Weber

I t’s widely known that color affects our moods. Reds are energizing, while blues are calming. But there’s

a lot more to the ways color can influence us. When used in a home office, for example, color can help you create an environment conducive to workplace efficiency. Carefully selecting colors to match your work style or interests could make your workday more pleasant and productive.

cOLOR mOODS

Each color could be said to have its own mood. Yellow is a cheerful, bright hue, but if you don’t like yellow, it could have a depressing effect. The same is true of blue. While blue shades are thought to be relaxing, blue is also widely considered one of the best color choices to enhance productivity. If you’re a low-key person, however, being surrounded by blue in your home office could slow you down. A brighter option, such as orange, might better spark your energy and creativity.

The feelings that colors can invoke range from tranquility to stability, energy and joy. If creating a grounded, tranquil environment in your home office would help you be more productive and less scattered, opt for woodsy shades of brown and taupe.

Gray is a good option for creating an atmosphere of calm sophistication. This neutral shade works well in the business world for its toned down simplicity and association with intelligence, wisdom, and authority.

cREAtiVE OPtiOnS

If creativity is central to your job, purple reigns supreme among colors reputed to inspire inventiveness and imagination. Varied tones of purple, ranging from violet to lavender, make wonderful options for writers

and artists.If you need to concentrate, white

or green are good choices to inspire mental clarity and the ability to cut through cluttered thinking. Green is a color of harmony, renewal, and growth. If new projects are a big part of your workday, green is often associated with regeneration. Pairing greens and blues offers an especially nice way to be both productive and forward thinking.

tHinK ViBRAnt

To kick-start your energy on the job, opt for vibrant colors in your office like red, fuchsia, or pink. Red has long been associated with energy and power, but if you’re an overachiever, it could just make you feel tense. Instead, opt for a subdued shade of red that won’t overwhelm.

Wine and magenta are good choices to make your work space feel friendly and energetic. And one of the most popular colors today is a deep pink. Perhaps because of its association with breast cancer awareness, this shade is not just for little girls and toys. Used on an accent wall, or for the whole office, pink imbues a friendly, optimistic, and happy feeling, which could be helpful for maintaining a better outlook on the job. n

© 2014 Distributed by Tribune Media Services

If you favor a tranquil environment in your home offi ce, opt for woodsy shades of brown and taupe.

Color Your Home Office

PRODUCTIVE

Gray … works well in the business world for its toned down simplicity and association with intelligence, wisdom, and authority.

home space

7

by Kathryn Weber

Moving isn’t the end of the world but it can certainly feel like it. It’s stressful, frustrating, and downright exhausting. In fact, moving is among the top 20 life stressors that include getting married or being fired. But armed with some simple tips, you can make it through unscathed.

tiPS tO SmOOtH tHE wAY:

1. pack one room at a time. You may want to pack all your pictures at once, but it’s better to pick a single room and pack everything in it. Going room by room, you’ll feel more productive and less scattered.

2. get the right materials. The boxes, tape, and markers you choose matter. Stock up on fresh new wide markers to label boxes, double the supply of tape you think you’ll need, and live by the mantra that you can never have too many boxes.

3. thin tape works best. When it comes to sealing boxes securely, thin brown tape is the best. If you can’t find it at your local home center, go to a moving company; many sell supplies and have the right tape for the job. Thick tape will come off of boxes and won’t seal tightly.

4. pack early and often. Prepacking makes moving day go faster. Another option? Have one or more large rental storage boxes delivered to your house. Once you’ve packed them, the company will deliver them to your new home.

5. cheap isn’t always cheaper. Sometimes a self-move becomes more expensive in the long run, based on the amount of time and energy you expend. Don’t overlook full service movers and be sure to get quotes from three or more before you make your choice (and

let each company know you’re taking competitive bids).

6. use specialty boxes. They make all the difference for packing mirrors, china, glasses, and wardrobes. Specialty boxes can be purchased online from moving companies or from box suppliers such as uline.com.

7. avoid using those old newspapers in the garage for cushioning. Box companies and online moving companies often have better buys on newsprint than movers or home centers. Or buy roll ends from your local newspaper; some can be had for just a few dollars and have 10 or more pounds of paper left on them.

8. create a “first day” box. Each person and room should have a first day box that includes toiletries and other items needed on the first day you move to a new home. Be sure to include plastic cups, paper towels, coffee, coffeemaker, and toilet paper. Label each box “first day.”

9. should you move your packed refrigerator and freezer? Sure. If your new home is only a short distance away, ask your mover to consider this. Many will if you remove all glass bottles first and strap the doors.

10. get a good tape gun. Tape guns make packing go much faster. Many of the tape guns I tested from my local home center and office supply store were unwieldy and wouldn’t apply tape correctly. The tape gun from U-Haul worked best and was a good value at about $10. It was also easy to find because of the orange color—something you’ll value when you go hunting for it! n

© 2014 Distributed by Tribune Media Services

Moving is stressful, but packing early, using the right materials, helps things go smoother.

Moving Day: 10 Ways to Take the Stress Out of Packing

point loma – If you’ve tried to sell your home yourself, you know that the minute you put the “For Sale by Owner” sign up, the phone will start to ring off the hook. Unfortunately, most calls aren’t from prospective buyers, but rather from every real estate agent in town who will start to hound you for your listing.

Like other “For Sale by Owners,” you’ll be subjected to a hundred sales pitches from agents who will tell you how great they are and how you can’t possibly sell your home by yourself. After all, without the proper infor-

mation, selling a home isn’t easy. Perhaps you’ve had your home on the market for several months with no offers from qualified buyers. This can be a very frustrating time, and many homeowners have given up their dreams of selling their homes themselves. But don’t give up until you’ve read a new report entitled “Sell Your Own Home” which has been prepared especially for homesellers like you. You’ll find that selling your home by yourself is entirely possible once you understand the process.

Inside this report, you’ll find 10

inside tips to selling your home by yourself which will help you sell for the best price in the shortest amount of time. You’ll find out what real estate agents don’t want you to know.

To hear a brief recorded message about how to order your FREE copy of this report, call toll-free 1-800-691-9384 id# 1017 or visit www.sellYoursdhomeYourself.com. You can call anytime, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Get your free special report NOW to learn how you really can sell your home yourself. n

How To Sell Your House Without AnAgent and Save the Commission

8

KIDS! Enter to Win Our…parents: Have your child color this picture, tear it out, and send it to us by February 10, 2014 to be entered in a drawing for a $25 toys r us gift card. For every entry $5 will be donated to the Ocean Beach Community Foundation to go towards supporting youth athletics in Point Loma & Ocean Beach and YOU will receive a FREE child’s scoop of ice cream with sprinkles from Lighthouse Ice-cream and Yogurt! Winner will have his or her picture in the next issue. Be sure to include contact infor-mation in the artist information section.

KIDS!

Mail this original to: glen & shannon’s coloring contest 1889 bacon st. suite 8, san diego, ca 92107

Win a $25 Toys R Us Gift Card!ARTIST’S INFORMATION

Name: _________________________________

Age: __________________________________

Address: _______________________________

_______________________________________

Phone: ________________________________

Parent Name: __________________________

Parent Email: ___________________________

trendsetters

The UlTimaTe RoasT Beef DinneR

Roast Prime Rib of Beefwith Garlic-Herb Crust

inGREDiEntS• 1 bone-in prime rib of beef, 4 to 5 pounds•8 garlic cloves, minced•4 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary

•2 teaspoons dried thyme•4 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper•2 tablespoons kosher salt

by Ellen Warren

There’s been a lot of reader angst over shoes lately. But Angel’s got your back. Or your feet. Or … whatever.

nEEDS SuPPORtiVE, wAntS cOOL

dear answer angel ellen: After much trial and error, I am frustrated with the two extremes of athletic shoes—clunky, orthopedic-looking or cool looking but not supportive. What athletic lace-up shoe brands can you recommend that are low profile yet supportive? I am very grateful for your answer. — Flatfooted and hating it

dear Flatfooted: Technology is your friend. People with the same brain power that makes it possible for the world to communicate in 140 characters have been working on athletic shoe designs. Today there are

so many options for shoes that look good and give you the support you want it will make your head spin. To keep you coming back and buying more, shoe manufacturers are constantly coming out with new models and features. Frankly, it’s so confusing that you might just want to do what I do: Go to the best running store you can find and tell a veteran sales associate what you want in a shoe. When I did that recently I walked out in a pink/orange Saucony “Kinvara 3” which gets high marks (and compliments) for cute and does the job (although they might not be supportive enough for you). The guy who sold me the shoes even diagnosed my running injury and successfully suggested how to rehab it. If you want to do some serious shoe research, a good place to start is runningshoesguru.com. Want more? Check the Runner’s World quarterly shoe guide (runnersworld.com) and its “shoe finder,” which asks a

bunch of questions, then makes recommendations. Unfortunately “cool looking” isn’t one of the options.

A friend just ran a marathon (a personal best!) and raved about his Nike Flyknit Lunar1+—a little pricey (around $160), but they were an “Editor’s Choice” in the Runner’s World shoe guide, and I love the way they look. You can search for “stability” under the women’s running shoe tab on nike.com and find 16 recommendations including one (Nike LunarGlide+ 5 iD, $145) that you can customize with colors in eight different parts of the shoe. Other manufacturers’ websites also allow you to search for the features you want. Long story short, once you get into it, there’s way too much info and too many options out there. Good luck. n

© 2014 Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

Shopping forAthletic Shoes

Can Work Up a Sweat

Directions Serves 6 – 8

Remove the roast from the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature while you preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the rack in the center of the oven—or, if the roast won’t fit into your oven with the rack in the center, place the rack in the lower position.

While the oven is heating, put the roast rib side down on a rack inside a large, heavy roasting pan. In a small bowl, stir together the garlic, rosemary, thyme, pepper, and salt. Spread the garlic-herb mixture evenly

all over the surface of the meat, pressing down firmly with your hands to help the mixture adhere.

Place the roasting pan on the oven rack. Cook the roast for 25 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature setting to 250 degrees F. and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer, inserted into the center of the roast without touching bone, reads 120 degrees F. for rare or 125 degrees F. for medium rare, 1-1/2 to 2 hours longer.

Remove the roast from the oven and transfer it to a platter. Cover the roast with aluminum foil and leave it to rest in a warm spot for 30

minutes.Uncover the roast and transfer it

to a carving board. Pour the juices that have accumulated on the platter into a sauceboat for serving.

With a sharp carving knife, and steadying the roast with a carving fork, cut the meat across the grain into thick or thin slices, as you and your guests prefer; if guests like, include rib bones as part of their portions, cutting carefully between the bones. Pass the juices at table for guests to help themselves. n

© 2014 Distributed by MCT Information Services

Roast beef is one of the most impressive main courses you could pick for a special meal.

wolFgang puck’s kitchen

1 0

2013 represented a great year for the Point Loma and Ocean Beach housing markets and we expect another strong year ahead as we enter into 2014!

2014 Year in REVIEW

This biggest sale of the year in Point Loma was a home

located high on the hill in La Playa at 3311 Kellogg Way.

The home sold in July for $3,250,000.

The biggest sale in OB for the year was the home located just above Sunset Cliffs at 1007 Cordova Street. This Spanish estate sold for $3,050,000 in June, after spending nearly 8 months on the market.

In both communities, we saw the average days on market decline and the sales price vs. listing price improve. These along with the gains we experienced in sales prices confirm the improvement in the housing market that we are experiencing.

We are always asked why we look at the median price vs. the average price and want to give a simple answer to help explain. The main reason is that the median home sales numbers usually provide a better gauge of home prices than average sale price. That’s because “median” represents the price-point where half the homes in an area are selling above and

half below, whereas the “average” home price can easily be skewed by a few very high or low sale prices (such as a bank-owned property or a multi-million dollar sale). That’s my quick and easy reply to this question, but the National Association of REALTORS® provides more information and an example which you can find on our website: www.MyPointLoma.com

Why do we look at the Median Home Sales Price Instead of the Average Sales Price?

We’ll start with the Point Loma community... We had a total of 270 sales, which was up 11% from 2012. More importantly though, the median price for detached homes was up almost 11% and almost 13% for attached homes!

In the Ocean Beach community, we had a total of 248 sales, which represented an increase of nearly 20% (41 sales) over 2012! We saw strong gains in prices as well, with an increase of 12.3% for detached homes and just over 22% for attached!

Fun FAct

point loma & ocean Beach real estate update

11

2013 proved to be a very exciting year for the real estate market. We saw record setting low interest rates, prices rebound up to nearly 20% in San Diego and over 10% on the Peninsula. During the course of the year, we saw the market make an almost overnight shift from a buyer to a seller’s market, and then almost overnight again it began its shift back to a buyer’s market.

It’s looking like 2014 should be another good year for housing and we have taken the time to put together our predictions for the new year, along with a detailed report explaining where we have been and what we predict is ahead.

In this article, you can find the outline of the predictions and I highly encourage you to visit www.MyPointLoma.com/2014 to view the detailed report on the changes to expect for the upcoming year.

1. Mortgage rates will increase In 2013, investors and bidding wars were

a buyer’s worst enemy, next year, home prices and rates might be. Without a doubt, we are going to continue to see interest rates increase through 2014. The question is how much of an increase we can expect. The amount estimated varies, but all general consensus is that they will be above 5%. The National Associate of Realtors projects 5.3% by the 4th quarter of 2014. Freddie Mac projects 5.0% and the Mortgage Bankers Association projects 5.3%. The reason we can say with such certainty that rates are going to be increasing is due to the Fed’s new position on their bond repurchasing and the beginning of their tapering process. (I put together a very detailed report which outlines the changes and how it will impact the market. Please take a few minutes to review it at www.MyPointLoma.com/2014)

One thing we must keep in mind while discussing the upcoming increases in rates is that while these are much higher rates than have been used to seeing over the past couple years, the increased rates are still very low rates historically speaking.

That being said, the increasing rates are going to have an impact on the housing market though as buyers that were able to qualify at a rate in the high 3% range last year will no longer be able to afford a home as rates continue to increase.

The increase in rates will have a significant impact on buyer’s purchasing power. For example, the payment on a mortgage of $250,000 at 4.3% would be $1,237.18 (principal and interest). If rates went up to 5.3%, the new payment would be $151.08 a month higher at $1,388.26.

2. Inventory is going to increaseThe National Association of Realtors,

characterized 2013 as the “year of low inventory.” That wasn’t all bad, with low inventory driving most of the explosive price gains we saw through spring and summer. Homes were receiving multiple offers and cash investors dominated the market.

Rates have begun to go up, investors have been pulling out of the market and lending guidelines are beginning to tighten. These trends coupled with the new housing that will be completed this year will lead more inventory and choices for buyers.

Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko said that means home buying will look far less frenzied than it was in 2013. “All in all, more inventory, less competition from investors, and more mortgage credit should all make the buying process less frenzied than in 2013,” says Kolko of Trulia.

“As the market continues to improve, more previously underwater homeowners will look toward selling, making housing inventory less scarce in 2014” said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young.

3. Home appreciation is going to slowWhile we still anticipate seeing positive

appreciation through 2014, we do not expect to see the large gains that were experienced in 2013. Baring anything unexpected, we expect to see more traditional gains of 5-6% in 2014. CoreLogic Case-Shiller expects San Diego home prices to rise 5.1% from the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2015.

According to the “2014 California Housing Market Forecast”, prepared by the California Association of Realtors, the California median home price is forecast to increase 6 percent to $432,800 in 2014, following a projected 28 percent increase in 2013 to $408,600. The C.A.R. forecast sees sales gaining 3.2 percent next year to reach 444,000 units, up from the projected 2013 sales figure of 430,300 homes sold. Sales in 2013 will be down 2.1 percent from the 439,400 existing, single-family homes sold in 2012.

Redfin and Zillow are predicting that home prices will rise between 3% and 5% in 2014.

“These gains, while beneficial in many ways, were also unsustainable and well above historic norms for healthy, balanced markets,” says Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist. “This year, home value gains will slow down significantly because of higher mortgage rates, more expensive home prices, and more supply created by fewer underwater homeowners and more new construction.”

These increases will continue to help homeowners with underwater mortgages regain positive equity. During the first quarter of 2012, 31.4% of homeowners were underwater. Since then, about 5 million homeowners have regained positive equity thanks to rising home prices. Although that still leaves as many as 10.8 million – or 21% – of homeowners underwater as we enter the New Year, the number is expected to continue as prices continue to increase.

4. Home affordability & ownership will decline

Despite the appreciation of homes slowing, home affordability will decline as mortgage rates continue to rise through 2014. The real culprit is income levels, which aren’t keeping pace with the increases in housing costs.

The National Association of Realtor’s Home Affordability Index, which compares home prices with income, dropped to a five-year low in 2013 as price increases outpaced income growth, and that only going to continue to get worse. If rising interest rates and home prices outpace income growth in 2014, more cities will become unaffordable for average buyers.

As affordability declines, it will directly impact ownership as the changes drive buyers out of the market. In 2014, Zillow predicts, homeownership rates will fall below 65 percent for the first time since 1995. “The housing bubble was fueled by easy lending standards and irrational expectations of home value appreciation, but it put a historically high number of American households – seven out of ten – in a home, if only temporarily,” says Humphries. “That homeownership level proved unsustainable and during the housing recession and recovery the homeownership rate has floated back down to a more normal level, and we expect it to break 65% for the first time since the mid-1990s.”

By contrast, Kolko thinks the declining rate of homeownership reflects a drop-off in first-time buyers. Prospective homebuyers will continue to face significant barriers next year, including reduced affordability and difficulty saving for a down payment, he said.

That’s especially likely if unemployment for 25-to-34-year-olds remains high. This group represents the next generation of homeowners. If they are unable to afford homes in the years to come, the housing sector won’t return to normal.

5. New mortgage products will come to the market

The beginning of 2014 marked quite a few changes in mortgage lending. As of January 10th, lenders are required to implement a new set of guidelines that adhere to the regulations set forth by the Qualified Mortgage requirements. These new requirements are a result of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that was signed into law in 2010. Included in the changes is the reduction of a borrower’s debt to income from 45% to 43%, and

further restrictions that significantly affect self employed borrowers. In addition to these changes, which affect loans that are sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) removed the temporary loan limits established as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 on Dec. 31, 2013. This means limits for Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans in high-cost areas that were temporarily raised to $697,500, will be reduced to the FHA permanent limit of $546,250 in San Diego County.

There will still be a demand and need for loans that don’t fit into these parameters and this is where we will see the increase in new mortgage products coming into the market place. These lenders will have more leeway and will not be required to meet these guidelines since they will hold the loans in their own portfolio instead of being sold to one of the government agencies.

About the author, Glen Henderson is in the top 1% of Realtors(R) in San Diego and a frequent real estate contributor on various local radio and TV programs.

You can also view our segment on the American Dream discussing this year’s predictions by visiting www.MyPointLoma.com/TV.

Visit www.myPointLoma.com/2014 For A Detailed Report on what to Expect in 2014

2014 Real Estate FORECASTpoint loma & ocean Beach real estate update

enjoy million dollar views from the top of Point loma heights. Brand new remodel. made to entertain with massive multi level view decks, outdoor living spaces include glass fi re pit,

hot tub with sun deck, waterfall/water feature. Call 800-691-9357 #3016 for more info.

Contact us today to learn how you can have your property featured here and in multiple

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floors, Granite Countertops, Plantation shutters, Custom Built-in Dry Bar with Wine/Beer fridge. Call 800-691-9357 #3006 for additional details.

Don’t miss your opportunity for this 863 square foot, 12th story loft. The property

features granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, tile fl oors and breath taking views of Downtown san Diego. Call

800-691-9357 #3011 for more info.

single story home in the Point loma heights community. Remodeled with updated kitchen, hardwood fl ooring, new windows and more! Call 800-691-9357 #3016 for additional

details.

single story home on a large, 12,000 square foot lot with swimming pool.

The home features dual pane windows, remodeled master bath, newer roof,

updated kitchen and more! Call 800-691-9357 #3002 for more info.

1 bedroom, 1 bath condo in PB, just 2 blocks to the beach! 894 square foot light and spacious fl oor plan. Call 800-691-9357 #3015 for

more info.

POINT LOMA

SELLERS

PACIFIC BEACH

LIBERTY STATION/POINT LOMA

DOWNTOWN

POINT LOMA

POINT LOMA

PACIFIC BEACH

Licensed by the California Bureau of Real Estate # 01870483. All information , reports and statistics are based on data supplied by Sandicor MLS. Neither the associations nor the MLS guarantee, or are in any way responsible for their accuracy. Information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. If your property is listed with another broker, please disregard this notice. It is never our intention to solicit the client of another broker. *Some restrictions apply, contact agent for full details of program.

through our extensive online marketing, we have a list of over 100 buyers that are looking for a home in the Point Loma and/or Ocean Beach community. One of these buyers may be looking to purchase a home just like yours why not take a minute to see if one of these buyers is looking for a home like yours!

You can view even more at www.myPointLoma.com/Buyer-list

if you’re interested in having one of our buyers see your home, and/or would like to learn how we can help you sell your home for less commission, call or email us today for further details.

ocean Beach or Point loma investor looking for distressed properties to rehab or tear down and rebuild. openocean Beach or Point loma family looking for condo. son moving out for college. Up to $450,000Point loma Bay views. 3+ Bedrooms. family with two young children. Up to $1,500,000ocean Beach / Point loma heights family with two young children looking for 3+ bedrooms Up to $850,000ocean Beach or Point loma Contemporary style home. ocean or Bay views. 3+ bedrooms. 2,000+ sqft Up to $1,500,000Point loma / Wooded area family of four looking for single family home, 3+ bedrooms. Up to $2,000,000ocean Beach / sunset Cliffs looking for vacation / 2nd home on or near sunset Cliffs Up to $2,00,000Point loma looking for a single family & must have bay and downtown views. no loma Portal Up to $2,000,000ocean Beach or Point loma multi unit propertis. 2+ units. 2 bedrooms+ in each unit Up to $1,000,000Point loma Downsizing from a larger home. need 2+ bedrooms. Up to $800,000Point loma / liberty station 3 families / Couples looking for a home in liberty station. Up to $900,000

View All Homes For Sale in Point Loma & Ocean Beach at www.myPointLoma.com

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