Category: BeachChatter

The original BeachChatter discusses the housing market in the coastal communities south of the city of Los Angeles. Some articles are peculiar to a single city. Some discuss the region as a whole. The focus is on privately owned housing.

Long Beach Affordable Housing Policy Pending Final Approval

On Jan. 19th, the Long Beach City Council voted unanimously for preliminary approval of two ordinances designed to increase affordable housing. The policy is still subject to objections prior to final approval, but if it continues as written, 11% of rental developments and 10% of housing developments will need to be set aside for affordable… Continue reading Long Beach Affordable Housing Policy Pending Final Approval

Rental Statistics Shifting Across the US

We’re all aware that the pandemic has disproportionately affected lower-income residents, including renters. But there are many statistics to look at when examining trends in the rental market, and some of them may not be so obvious. Who, when, where, and how much are all questions to consider. The when is the most obvious —… Continue reading Rental Statistics Shifting Across the US

Pandemic Relief FAQ

There’ve been plenty of articles written about the ever-changing details of the eviction and foreclosure moratoriums. Less has been said about other forms of pandemic relief, such as federal rent relief stimulus. While the stimulus was passed already in December, there are still some things you may not know about it. The federal pandemic relief… Continue reading Pandemic Relief FAQ

The Evolution of California’s 2020 Market

California’s housing market saw multiple shifts during 2020 as different sectors reacted differently and regulations changed with the times. When 2020 began, we already had high home prices and a construction deficit. The lockdowns of the pandemic propelled an economic recession that was already in the making, causing it to arrive faster than expected. Normally… Continue reading The Evolution of California’s 2020 Market

First-time Homebuyers Struggling in Current Market

There are many factors leading to the current housing market being a rough time for first-time homebuyers. This group is already at a disadvantage from the outset, not having the ability to sell their existing home to help pay for a new one, and frequently already saddled with rent payments. In addition, first-time homebuyers tend… Continue reading First-time Homebuyers Struggling in Current Market

Prop 19’s New Laws for Property Tax Exemption

Proposition 19 has now passed in California, and with it brought changes to how property tax is reassessed for some purchases, effective April 1, 2021. The new law replaces Prop 60 and Prop 90, and affects replacement property by homeowners who are over 55, severely disabled, or whose home has been substantially damaged by wildfires… Continue reading Prop 19’s New Laws for Property Tax Exemption

Pandemic Prompts Shifts in Home Use

The increasing popularity of home offices has been mentioned ad nauseum, but how else have homeowners changed their behavior in the house as a result of the pandemic? The America At Home Study, a nationwide survey with about 4000 respondents, may have some answers. One of the biggest answers should be obvious: Disinfecting more. In… Continue reading Pandemic Prompts Shifts in Home Use

What Your Local Grocery Store Says About Your Area

Whether a high priority on the checklist or just a nice-to-have, most everyone wants to live near the places where they shop. While some people remain loyal to their store of choice regardless of distance, others are perfectly happy to live nearby any place that serves their shopping needs. But which stores are local can… Continue reading What Your Local Grocery Store Says About Your Area

Pandemic Relief To Include Legal Assistance for Renters

A moratorium is currently protecting many renters from evictions, but it’s going to end eventually, and many renters will still owe a backlog of payments. What’s more, the legal process for acquiring protection can be difficult to grasp for some renters. The bottom line is that renters are going to need help understanding their rights… Continue reading Pandemic Relief To Include Legal Assistance for Renters

AB 725 Aims to Help Middle Income Californians

Many attempts have been made, and are still being made, to help lower income people to acquire affordable housing. We haven’t been worried about higher-income housing; those who can even consider affording it don’t particularly need the help. But there’s a group we’ve mostly been forgetting about: the dwindling middle class. The income gap has… Continue reading AB 725 Aims to Help Middle Income Californians

Despite Rebound, Job Future Not As Bright As It May Seem

With the pandemic creating an employment nightmare, the unemployment rate has been a closely watched statistic. Employment is still below pre-pandemic levels, but has rebounded fairly well. That may be giving us false hope, though, since there are other jobs-related statistics to consider. In a previous article (https://www.carlandarda.com/?p=1370) we looked at the difference between employment… Continue reading Despite Rebound, Job Future Not As Bright As It May Seem

Mortgage Applications Skyrocketed in 2020

When the pandemic began towards the end of the first quarter in 2020, people were understandably reluctant to start purchasing houses. As a result, mortgage applications saw a sharp decrease. However, they rebounded quickly, surpassing 2019’s numbers even while trending downwards again in December. In the week ending December 23rd, 2020, mortgage applications dropped 5%… Continue reading Mortgage Applications Skyrocketed in 2020

FHA Foreclosure Moratorium Gets An Extension

Foreclosure and eviction moratoriums for FHA-backed loans were previously set to expire December 31st, 2020. The FHA has now given them a two-month extension to February 28th, 2021. Borrowers will also be able to request initial forbearance through this date, potentially allowing them to remain in forbearance through February 2022. The moratorium applies only to… Continue reading FHA Foreclosure Moratorium Gets An Extension

Neverland Ranch Has a New Owner

The Neverland Ranch, near Santa Barbara, California, is a 2700 acre property previously owned by Michael Jackson. The main residence is 12,500 square feet, and there is also a 3,700 square foot pool house as well as a movie theatre and dance studio. Neverland Ranch additionally features a train station, fire house, and barn. After… Continue reading Neverland Ranch Has a New Owner

2021 Real Estate Forecast Looking Hopeful

2020 hasn’t been quite as bad for the real estate market as expected; Quarters 3 and 4 have actually experienced incredible recovery and even some growth from Q1 since the enormous downturn in Q2. Home sales are up about 800 from Q1, after falling by over 1100 in Q2. Despite the slowdown in construction, total… Continue reading 2021 Real Estate Forecast Looking Hopeful

What Exactly is a Home Inspector?

Chances are you’re familiar with the concept of inspecting a home before sale. Seller’s agents are required to list observable defects, but sometimes problems aren’t as easily noticed, which is why seller’s agents will frequently recommend that a qualified home inspector take a look. A good home inspector will always look for defects that affect… Continue reading What Exactly is a Home Inspector?

Prices Rise Despite Pandemic

South Bay Sales, November 2020 Quite a year! Soon we’ll have to do a wrap-up on 2020. But, for today it’s going to be November 2020 versus last year, (November 2019) and versus last month (September 2020). Let’s start with the big numbers. Over all, total sales in the Los Angeles South Bay for November… Continue reading Prices Rise Despite Pandemic

NASA Has Partnered With Brazil to Help Combat COVID

Earlier this year, in April, NASA announced development of Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally (VITAL), a ventilator designed specifically with COVID-19 in mind. Existing ventilators have more general use cases, but are more expensive and more difficult to build. Currently, 28 manufacturers are licensed to build VITAL, with models variably either pneumatic or using compressed… Continue reading NASA Has Partnered With Brazil to Help Combat COVID

Apartment Conversions Will Become More Common

It’s no secret that California has a shortage of affordable housing, and the diminishing construction rates definitely aren’t helping. Fortunately, there’s a rising statistic that isn’t captured in construction rates — conversions. Various types of commercial structures have been being converted into apartments over the past three decades. In the 90s, the most common type… Continue reading Apartment Conversions Will Become More Common

Some Homeless Find Employment Guarding Vacant Houses

With the large homeless population and significant number of vacant properties, it’s no surprise that homeless people often squat there. One company has turned that fact into a business. Weekend Warriors, run by Diane Montano, is a security company in Los Angeles and surrounding areas that operates by hiring homeless people to guard vacant homes,… Continue reading Some Homeless Find Employment Guarding Vacant Houses

Federal Foreclosure Moratorium Gets a Short Extension

Here in California, the foreclosure moratorium is set to end in February. The federal government has now caught up with California, with the FHFA extending the federal moratorium through January 31, 2021. It was previously set to expire at the end of December. The FHFA will be keeping tabs on what’s happening and continue to… Continue reading Federal Foreclosure Moratorium Gets a Short Extension

New Foreclosure Law Aims to Give Renters Fair Chance at Homeownership

SB 1079, also known as “Homes for Homeowners, Not Corporations” has now been signed into law, and becomes effective January 1, 2021. The law seeks to balance out the advantages that corporations and Wall Street have in bulk purchasing foreclosed homes. We saw the devastating effects of this type of corporate greed during the Great… Continue reading New Foreclosure Law Aims to Give Renters Fair Chance at Homeownership

Cannabis Business Thriving Amid Pandemic

Many businesses have been struggling during the pandemic, but the cannabis industry is not one of them. Cannabis businesses were deemed essential and therefore have been working throughout the stay-at-home orders. And their business has been booming. One need only look at California’s state tax revenues to see it, as those from cannabis businesses have… Continue reading Cannabis Business Thriving Amid Pandemic

The Alternative to Mortgage Forbearance

Currently, approximately 4 million homeowners in the US are in forbearance, which means that the lender has agreed to delay foreclosure on a property. Many others are delinquent in their payments and will be suffering the consequences when the foreclosure moratorium ends in February 2021. It may be too late for some of these people,… Continue reading The Alternative to Mortgage Forbearance

Renters and Homeowners Alike Unsure of Their Economic Security

As of September, California had lost about 1.5 million jobs in the prior 12 months, resulting in many people falling behind in house payments. This includes both renters and homeowners with a mortgage, who are both reporting various degrees of certainty about their ability to pay. Of those renters who are still paying rent despite… Continue reading Renters and Homeowners Alike Unsure of Their Economic Security

Most Younger Generations Still Can’t Afford to Buy

Many would-be homeowners in the Millennial and Gen Z generations are going to need to wait. Despite the fact that some who wished to buy are instead renting, apartment vacancies are on the rise as 27.7 million have moved back in with parents or other relatives, if they ever left home at all. The good… Continue reading Most Younger Generations Still Can’t Afford to Buy

Understanding Labor Force Participation

Labor force participation (LFP) and unemployment may seem like direct inverses of one another, but that isn’t the case. LFP measures the percent of employed people plus the percent of unemployed people actively seeking employment. Those who are unable to work or have chosen to leave the workforce are not included in LFP, and in… Continue reading Understanding Labor Force Participation

LA County Tightens COVID-19 Restrictions

The number of COVID-19 cases spiked dramatically in November, spurring LA County to increase safeguarding measures, effective tomorrow, November 20th. The number of customers at any time can be no more than 50% maximum outdoor capacity at outdoor restaurants, breweries, wineries, cardrooms, outdoor mini-golf, go-karts, and batting cages. This number is 25% at businesses permitted… Continue reading LA County Tightens COVID-19 Restrictions

CFPB Plans to Replace Debt-To-Income Requirement

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is planning to make some changes aimed at widening the accessibility of mortgage loans by allowing lenders more freedom in determining a borrower’s ability to repay. Currently, one of the requirements for a qualified mortgage (QM), the loan type preferred by both lenders and consumers, is a debt-to-income ratio… Continue reading CFPB Plans to Replace Debt-To-Income Requirement

Businesses Are Preparing for Smaller Thanksgivings

Throughout the US, COVID-19 is threatening to put a damper on people’s Thanksgiving celebrations. Families don’t want to break tradition, but many will have to settle for smaller gatherings of only close family members. With fewer people, the normal Thanksgiving fare will surely create plenty of leftovers, even with the tradition of stuffing yourself to… Continue reading Businesses Are Preparing for Smaller Thanksgivings

Real Estate Sales, Oct. 2020

We’re looking at sales in the South Bay area of Los Angeles a little differently than usual this month. Typically we analyze the area as a single entity. This month we’ll divide the South Bay into four parts, allowing you to see a greater level of precision about those four areas. Within each area the… Continue reading Real Estate Sales, Oct. 2020

Investors Expect Remote Work Trend to Continue

In a previous post (found here: https://www.beachchatter.com/2020/10/29/post-covid-real-estate-predictions/) we made some predictions about which trends during the pandemic may be permanent and which may be temporary. In that article, we predicted that the drop in urban desirability as a result of being able to work from home would be temporary, and though people would be moving… Continue reading Investors Expect Remote Work Trend to Continue

SoCalGas Stations Will Begin Using California-Sourced Renewable Fuel

For the past year, Southern California Gas Co. has been using renewable natural gas (RNG) sourced from out of state. Now, they’ve partnered with a California company, Calgren, to source their RNG from in-state. Calgren is the largest dairy biogas company in the US. Incentive programs in California will likely bring other companies to do… Continue reading SoCalGas Stations Will Begin Using California-Sourced Renewable Fuel

The Impact of Climate Change on Real Estate

Climate change has been a hot topic for debate for decades, but what no one seems to be discussing is how it has affected real estate. Climate change can drastically affect the frequency and severity of natural disasters. Natural disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes are known to temporarily displace evacuees, but in many cases… Continue reading The Impact of Climate Change on Real Estate

Harvard Professor Explains How Masks Work

Joseph G. Allen is an Assistant Professor of Public Health at Harvard and Director of their Healthy Buildings program. The New York Times has worked with him as well as several other professors to explain the process behind masks, to demonstrate that they do indeed work. In essence, particles get bounced around inside the fibers… Continue reading Harvard Professor Explains How Masks Work

Second Project Homekey Purchase Approved

Los Angeles County and the City of Long Beach have been working with Project Homekey, a California state project designed to create more affordable housing by converting hotels into homeless housing. The project was started during the pandemic. The purchase of a Holiday Inn location in Long Beach had already been approved on October 13th,… Continue reading Second Project Homekey Purchase Approved