State of Our Cities: 4 cities, 4 sets of issues discussed at annual event
 
Mostly, things on the Peninsula seem well; each city is reporting fiscal stability, and road and infrastructure projects are moving forward, according to the Peninsula’s four mayors.

Palos Verdes Peninsula Coordinating Council was host to the mayors of Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates, as well as a number of elected city officials and staff, during its annual “State of Our Cities” address on Sept. 22 at the Peninsula Center Library.

While most mayors highlighted the positives in their respective cities, RPV Mayor Tom Long did question his city’s ability to reach its potential.
 
Rancho Palos Verdes [find homes for sale in Rancho Palos Verdes]

Currently embroiled in pension reform, union talk and a heated City Council election, the celebration of any good news seems short-lived in RPV. The city is in line for a $9.4-million state grant for the San Ramon stormwater repair project, and it has a good chance of receiving a matching federal grant. The total would be enough to repair the erosion problem that forces mud and water down the San Ramon Canyon to Palos Verdes Drive South at 25th Street, along the RPV and San Pedro border, each time a heavy rain sets in.

The city also just received a $100,000 grant from the Southern California Association of Governments to work with a planning consultant to develop a Western Avenue Corridor Strategy, a corridor and streetscape revitalization strategy for a two-mile stretch of Western Avenue.

RPV has a balanced budget, a $9-million reserve and a $7.5-million capital improvement reserve, according to Long. The city is receiving significant revenue from Terranea Resort’s transient occupancy tax and its storm-drain user fee.

Despite all of this, Long said “RPV has fallen short of its potential.”

Its facilities and infrastructure are dilapidated and in disrepair, because the city chooses not to spend the money to maintain them.

Many of the city’s parks are underutilized and remain “fields of weeds.” Any effort to develop parks for skateboarders and dog owners are met with “uncompromising resistance.”

Developments, such as the Annenberg Foundation’s 51,000-square-foot project in Lower Hesse Park, also are met with resistance.

“The Annenberg Project, supported by most of the residents, was cast aside without a fair hearing of its merits,” Long said. Statements made by the “few” vocal opponents to the project were incorrect and misinformed.

The stadium lights project at Peninsula High School was another example of a vocal minority overcoming “weak-willed” politicians to cast aside something beneficial for the community.

These projects failed because residents are fearful of change, Long said, and the community will have to look to the younger generation for the change needed to realized the city’s full potential.

“Positive change is and will always be contentious,” he said.

Rolling Hills Estates [find homes for sale in Rolling Hills Estates]

Although RHE has had its share of controversy over development, the City Council moved forward on two projects that have gone through years of review and revision — most notably, the Rolling Hills Covenant Church and the Chandler Ranch/Rolling Hills Country Club expansions.

The city, Mayor Steve Zuckerman said, is especially proud about the Chandler/RHCC project because of its green aspects. It will take the gravel trucks off the roads and close down a toxic facility.

The city is updating ordinances for the horse district and for the parking of over-sized vehicles.

RHE has received a number of sizeable grants to fund its underground utilities projects, expand its Hawthorne Boulevard resurfacing, update and modernize Ernie Howlett Park’s facilities and to replace its deteriorating iconic three-rail fencing with a durable vinyl fencing product.

It, too, focusing on the budget, reformed its employees’ pension benefits offering the lowest level of benefits to new employees. Council decided to hire a private concessionaire — residents Gil and Doreen Houle — to run the Peter Weber Equestrian Center in hopes of making it profitable.

“We selected a concessionaire with strong community roots,” Zuckerman said.

As for council salaries, Zuckerman said they remain the same — zero.

Jokingly he added, “Which is what some residents may think that’s what we’re worth.”

Rolling Hills [find homes for sale in Rolling Hills]

With an annual budget of $1.5 million and no sales revenue, Mayor Allen Lay said the economic downturn has had no effect on the gated community of Rolling Hills.

The city’s roadways, gates and recreation facilities are maintained by the Rolling Hills Community Association, the city’s long-standing homeowners association, relieving the city of the costs. The association, Lay said, celebrated its 75th anniversary this year. More than 1,000 people were in attendance for the event.

Because of its low crime rate, local law enforcement has focused its attention on traffic concerns in the city.

“So don’t speed or roll through stop signs,” Lay warned.

Prone to fires, city officials have turned their attention toward fire prevention.

“We’ve focused on moving brush to reduce the fire risk,” Lay said, adding that they have strengthened its block captain program to help with prevention efforts.

Overall life behind the gates is peaceful and quiet.

“The fences are still three-rail, all painted white; so that means all is well,” Lay said.

Palos Verdes Estates [find homes for sale in Palos Verdes Estates]

Perhaps the biggest change for the city of Palos Verdes Estates this year was the firing of its city manager, Joseph Hoefgen. The decision in June came as a shock to some. No reason was given for his departure other than the City Council did not renew his contract.

Put in his place was Judy Smith, assistant city manager under Hoefgen.

Smith has been with the city for 16 years; prior to that she worked for RHE “before we stole her away,” Mayor John Rea said.

The new city manager, he said, is reorganizing staff, shifting duties that were formerly hers. The city will not hire a new assistant city manager in an effort for continued savings.

The city is on solid financial ground despite economic hard times. It has a $7.2-million surplus. Delaying some of the city’s projects, Rea said, allowed officials to take advantage of much-lower construction costs.

Completed projects include a $20-million storm drain update and Bluff Cove stabilization; the landslide underneath Palos Verdes Drive South was pulling away.

“So we got to that at the right time,” Rea said.

Staff is now keeping an eye on the Douglas Cut, near Bluff Cove. It’s not a landslide but it is eroding.

“There’s no easy engineering solution to this one,” Rea said.

Currently the City Council is rewriting its Municipal Code, which hasn’t been done in 25 years, and looking to upgrade its waste and recycling collection.

PVE has also focused on emergency preparedness, establishing six districts within the city, each with an emergency preparedness locker. The initial cost of the lockers and supplies was $85,000, provided mostly by private donations.

Story By: Mary Scott Peninsula News
Thursday, October 13, 2011 4:24 PM PDT

Three Palos Verdes Peninsula High School students have been recognized for their writing skills as part of a national program that spotlights the best student writers across the country.

Seniors Steven Breitenstein, Vedika Kumar and Anne Moody were named 2011 Achievement Award Winners in Writing.

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) program acknowledged 520 students across the U.S.

According to the program’s website, winners are judged by a team of English teachers on a sample of their best writing, which is drafted and revised over time, in addition to an impromptu essay on a subject set by the Achievement Awards Advisory Committee and responded to by all candidates for the award in that year.

“We believe that these students have demonstrated not only superior ability but also notable versatility in writing,” according to an NCTE statement.

Want an easy way to view the UNLISTED (in other words get a head start before other buyers) Palos Verdes Bank Owned homes?

It’s not that hard … just view this video

HomeIsPalosVerdes.com California Foreclosure Report 10/11/2011

After a significant jump in foreclosure starts in August, driven primarily by Bank of America, foreclosure starts returned to levels in line with prior months, far below the numbers reached at the peak. California has seen a drop in activity of 56 percent since its peak, from 58,623 Notice of Default filings in March of 2009 to 25,778 today. Arizona shows a similar swing in Notice of Trustee Sale filings, from 14,722 in March of 2009 to 5,982 filings last month – a decrease of 59.4 percent. Washington shows the greatest decrease of all, with 71.5 percent less Notice of Trustee Sale filings today than at their peak in June of 2009.

Foreclosure sales were mixed this month, with declines in Arizona, California and Nevada, while Oregon and Washington both showed increases. Despite the declines, the percentage purchased by third parties, typically investors, was at or near peak levels. In California, third parties made up a record 27.4 percent of all sales last month. In Arizona, that number was even higher at 38.3 percent, also a record. Nevada was just shy of their record, set in August at 29.1 percent. Sales to third parties was up Washington was up 15.6 percent, a record for this year. Oregon was the only state to to show a decrease, down from 15.5 percent in July to 6.0 percent today.

For more information on specific foreclosure properties, please visit Palos Verdes Foreclosures and South Bay Foreclosures Email or call for more detailed charts OR for charts specific to your city. Added note, the last chart is the most interesting for investors. Let me know if you have questions!

IF you would like more charts for your own city, just let me know… For each city, the following charts are available…. number of filings, outcomes, inventories, bid results, timeframes, by square foot, by year built, by loan balance, bedrooms, by estimated market value, by loan origination date, and foreclosure discounting…

What’s My House Worth	Interactive Home Search Utility – Search ALL Homes For Sale	Home Audit Report
Search Foreclosures For Sale & Bank Owned Homes	How’s the Market Doing In YOUR area	What would the market pay for my home today?

For more information on homes for sale in Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes real estate, palos verdes homes for sale, palos verdes foreclosures, palos verdes real estate market information as well as quality information on homes for sale in Rancho Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes Estates homes for sale, Manhattan Beach real estate, Hermosa Beach real estate, Redondo Beach real estate, Torrance real estate, Palos Verdes real estate trends, and real estate trends throughout the Beach Cities, Palos Verdes Estates and the South Bay, visit www.homeispalosverdes.com

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To obtain free access to homes for sale that are preforeclosure, are short sales, or bank owned throughout the South Bay and Palos Verdes foreclosures market, click on the highlighted link. Added bonus: Do you want a free real estate app for your smartphone that will let you see pictures and details of homes for sale and their competitive sales right around when you’re standing? (app uses your smartphone’s GPS) … and don’t forget to look at the other free tools at the bottom of this page

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5 Signs Real Estate Recovery Is Near

David Stevens, president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, is bullish on homeownership. 

Stevens — a former Long & Foster Cos. executive who stepped down as head the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in March — thinks there’s sunshine on the horizon and it may be here sooner than anyone realizes.   He talks about local markets and let me share with you, before you read what he says, what’s happening in the South Bay with regards to the market’s ability to absorb inventory relative to the last 20 years or so.   You can see in the chart below how there has been about a 37% increase in the market’s ability to absorb inventory through sale activity in the last 18 months.  If you would like access to more of my proprietary charts, go to Palos Verdes Real Estate Transactions

1. Markets are stabilizing According to Stevens, the real delinquency rate is down from 10 percent in the second of quarter of 2010 to 8.5 percent in the second quarter of 2011. New foreclosure starts are also down. In addition, three of the hardest-hit states for foreclosures — Florida, Nevada and Arizona — are also stabilizing. Furthermore, for standard fixed-rate loans, the delinquency rate was 6 percent in 2010. That number has dropped to 5 percent in 2011. As Stevens put it, “This is very close to being in ‘normal’ territory.” 

2. Many markets are experiencing real home-price growth The problems with negative equity and declining prices are actually concentrated in a few key states. For example, 24 percent of the foreclosure activity is concentrated in Florida, and 50 percent of the foreclosure activity is in five key states. Stevens says that people who quote declines in the average price of homes nationally are using “dangerous data,” since each market is different. According to Stevens, price declines are not a national problem. “The fundamentals are better than ever.” In fact, if you remove the foreclosure properties from the equation, nondistressed properties have actually experienced an increase in prices. The challenge is consumer sentiment. People are scared to purchase now because they don’t know whether they will have a job. Nevertheless, for those who are willing to purchase in this market, the opportunity has never been greater. 

3. The best time ever to buy Many people view the cost of homeownership based exclusively on the price they pay for the property. A more accurate way to judge the cost is how much you paid plus the cost of the interest that you pay over the term of the loan. To illustrate this point, assume that a buyer is going to purchase a home with a $200,000 loan. The interest rate is 4 percent. Many buyers are worried about prices falling further. If the prices were to decrease another 5 percent, that means that the property would decline in value by approximately $10,000. If interest rates increase from 4 percent to 6 percent, the cost of waiting is extremely high. Over the life of a 30-year loan, the borrower will pay $87,937 more in additional interest. The cost of owning that home costs a whopping $77,937 more than the apparent $10,000 they might have saved by buying at the bottom of the market. 

4. The coming home shortage Stevens says that there are two primary factors that will contribute to a home shortage in the not-too-distant future. The first of these factors is the size of Generation Y (those born between 1977 and 1994), which is estimated to be approximately 80 million, or 25 percent of the U.S. population. They are now entering their prime time for starting their careers, their families, and for buying a home. The second variable is supply. There has been virtually no new construction, despite the predicted explosion in population growth. To illustrate the severity of this problem, the 2010 census put the U.S. population at approximately 309 million. By 2050, the prediction is that the U.S. population will be 439 million. That’s an increase of 130 million people in just 40 years. Regardless of whether they own or rent, they will still need housing. 

5. Getting from here to there Stevens believes the major challenges we are facing in the short term are job creation and dealing with the tight credit situation. The government-sponsored enterprises of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as FHA, have tightened lending guidelines to such a degree that is extremely difficult for even well-qualified buyers to obtain a loan. Furthermore, the tremendous amount of new regulation creates additional problems. For example, the Dodd-Frank bill alone adds more than 100 new regulations. Each of these regulations creates additional risk resulting in higher costs for the both the borrower and the lender. Lenders have to alter loan documents, create new systems, and retrain their people to handle these new requirements. Furthermore, the effect of “piling on” more and more regulations increases the cost to consumers, as lenders must defend themselves against additional litigation risks. 

According to Stevens, real estate is now at bargain levels that we will never see again in our lifetimes. If there were ever a time to buy a home, that time is now.

What are your thoughts, post your comment and let me know.  

What’s My House Worth	Interactive Home Search Utility – Search ALL Homes For Sale	Home Audit Report
Search Foreclosures For Sale & Bank Owned Homes	HHow’s the Market Doing In YOUR area	What would the market pay for my home today?

For more information on homes for sale in Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes real estate, palos verdes homes for sale, palos verdes foreclosures, palos verdes real estate market information as well as quality information on homes for sale in Rancho Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes Estates homes for sale, Manhattan Beach real estate, Hermosa Beach real estate, Redondo Beach real estate, Torrance real estate, Palos Verdes real estate trends, and real estate trends throughout the Beach Cities, Palos Verdes Estates and the South Bay, visit www.homeispalosverdes.com 

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DRE LIC # 785373