News, Information & Hot Issues

Member Benefits

C.A.R. Offers Additional S.W.A.T. Classes for REALTORS®

Last year, C.A.R. offered a series of seminars to help you understand how to work short sales and foreclosures. Due to popular demand, C.A.R. is offering additional Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) classes for members beginning in September. The new S.W.A.T. “LITE” classes will be a scaled-down version of the popular S.W.A.T. classes launched in 2007 in an effort to offer REALTORS® strategic tools for navigating a down market. All of the new classes include continental breakfast; local market and economic updates from C.A.R. economists; a panel discussion with leading experts on foreclosures and short sales; lunch; and a four-hour distressed properties CE course. The S.W.A.T. “LITE” classes are scheduled for the following dates and locations: Monday, Sept. 29, Sacramento AOR; Wednesday, Oct. 1, North Bay AOR; and Tuesday, Oct. 21, East Valley AOR.

The fee for one class for C.A.R. members is $59; $159 for non-members. Due to limited space, pre-registration is required. For more information or to register, go to www.car.org/education/swat/ .

What You Need to Know:

> Pre-registration required; lunch included.

> Panel discussion with experts on foreclosure and short sales.

> A four-hour CE course on distressed properties included.

Fast Fact

The HOPE NOW program has reworked more than 2 million home mortgages, including a record 192,000 mortgages in July 2008 alone, thereby helping these homeowners avoid foreclosure. FHA’s share of the mortgage market has grown from 1.8 million to 14 percent at present, according to HUD Secretary Steven Preston, reported in a presentation before the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Outreach

REALTORS® Raise Funds for Heroes Program

Three Southern California REALTOR® associations recently participated in a fund-raiser to generate money for Habitat for Humanity's "Homes for Heroes and Foundation for Families" program.

Orange County Association of REALTORS®, Newport Beach Association of REALTORS®, and the Laguna Board of REALTORS®, alongside individual REALTORS®, brokerage offices, members of the Women's Council of

REALTORS®, and association staff members and vendors, collectively helped raise more than $250,000 for Habitat's program. The funds will be used to build and partially furnish one of several planned homes in the Orange County area for veterans.

Newscan

Business Briefs & Bottom-line Boosters

Overstock.com Carts Add Real Estate

>> Online shoppers now can add a condo and accessorize it with a click of the mouse.  The latest arrival in the online real estate auction space is Overstock.com (http://realestate.overstock.com). The site allows consumers to search real estate auction listings and online auctions and link to local real estate auctioneers and brokers who have direct access to auction properties.

Print Media’s New Role?

>> The Los Angeles Times Media Group has joined GoIndustry-DoveBid and CataList Homes to provide greater marketing reach for properties sold at auction. The venture, called Zetabid, showcases auction inventory through a national network of print, broadcast, and online affiliates. The properties also are listed in the MLS during the auction process, and listing agents will receive compensation if there is an auction sale. An online Webcast of the auction allows remote bidding on properties.

Zetabid’s marketing arms include print advertising in the Los Angeles Times; broadcast advertisements through media affiliates such as KTLA; and online at www.latimes.com, local sites, real estate sites, and www.zetabid.com .

[California REALTOR® EXPO]

Veterans Gain Higher Loan Limits; Retain No-Down Loans

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is raising the caps for no-down-payment home loans to the same level as the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 limits through December 31, 2008—currently as much as $729,000 in high-cost areas.

The limits, effective immediately, are part of the new “temporary” limits Congress and the Bush administration approved for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan guarantee programs. The temporary limits expire Jan. 1, 2009, and are equal to 125 percent of the local area median home price up to $729,750.

On Jan. 1, 2009, loan limits for Fannie, Freddie, FHA, and VA will be scaled back to 115 percent of median home price, with a cap of $625,500. The VA is currently one of the few available sources of zero-down loans.

Association News

California Real Estate Magazine Recognized

California Real Estate magazine recently won five awards as part of the 30th annual competition sponsored by the American Society of Business Publications Editors. The magazine was honored as a Western Region publication, with a circulation of 80,000 or more in the following categories:

>> Technology Column (Regular Column, Contributed; Sept. 2007-Oct. 2007); Front Cover – Photo (Oct. 2007); Opening Page/Spread – Computer Generated (May 2007; Online Leads … Or Empty Promises); Special Section (August 2007; Special Pull-out Section for Brokers & Managers); and Feature Article (“Short Sale Basics,” August 2007).

Green News

State News

Two large solar power plants are planned for construction in central California. The plants will cover 12.5 square miles and generate 800 megawatts of power, the equivalent of a large coal-burning plant. Once operational, the plants will sell their power to Pacific Gas & Electric.

National News

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), more than 1,000 builders, remodelers, and other members of the home building industry have earned the Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation, an educational recognition introduced in 2008 by NAHB. You can locate a CGP at www.nahb.org/builderremodelerdirectory.

In related news, NAHB surveyed its builder members and found that 89 percent of respondents reported installing energy-efficient appliances and lighting in their projects; 64 percent are using recycled and recyclable products; and 50 percent are using substantially more insulation than required by building codes (this number increases to 70 percent for West Coast respondents).