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20 Hottest Housing Markets In the U.S

20 Hottest Housing Markets In the U.S

The top three hottest housing markets in the U.S for January are located here in the Bay Area with San Francisco topping the list followed closely by San jose and Vallejo. Other Bay Area markets that made the top of the list this month were Santa Rosa ranked 7th, and Santa Cruz ranked 18 which has moved up 9 spots since last month. A total 13 out of the 20 hottest housing markets in the U.S for January are located in California.

Placement on the list was based on number of listing views in each market and the number of days homes spend on the market. Recent movements and changes on the list can be attributed to,  “A strong stock market run, new tax laws, and a government shutdown have given buyers and sellers plenty to digest as they come to terms with the new economic landscape and their personal situation,” said Javier Vivas, director of economic research at Realtor.com. According to data released with the list of hottest housing markets, approximately 365,000 new listings are expected to hit the market in February, showing a 3 percent increase over last year. Click here to go to full article.

MBEP’s 3rd Annual State of the Region

Pacific Appraisers is excited to have Ryan Whitelaw, MAI attending the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership 3rd Annual conference on November 8th, 2017. Some of the topics of discussion will be:

  1. Transforming Our Downtowns:  Creating Walkable, Livable Communities,
  2. Monterey Bay Region: Leading the Way in Employer Sponsored Housing,
  3. Maximizing the Region’s Transportation Infrastructure

Click here to see more on this upcoming event.

Surge in US Home Sales to foreigners

There is a new trend emerging. Foreign investors have increased the percentage of residential real estate purchases by 49% from the previous year. See full article here.

As appraisers we have seen the trend of high investor purchases over the last 8 years but did not have great data as to what extent foreign investors played in this role. It is clear that over the last year they have played a much bigger role than in previous years.

Partial Interest Discounts in Real Estate

A partial interest discount is allowable by the IRS when there is less than a 100% interest in the ownership of the Real Estate. This applies to the business entities that own real estate as well. The discount relates to the lack of control over the operation of the real estate and the lack of marketability due to the challenges with selling an interest that is not easily financeable.

Typically, discounts apply to the gifting of a fractional interest or death of an individual that owns a fractional interest in real estate. Discounts for lack of control and marketability have been upheld by the courts and therefore should be considered when valuing a fractional ownership interest. The IRS requires the appraisal to be done by a qualified appraiser.

Pacific Appraisers has experts in both the residential and commercial real estate valuation. For more information or questions please contact Shain Holden at 831-607-3800.

Median Home Values for California

Zillow came out with their median home values over the last year as well as their prediction for what home values will be over the next year. See below:

The median home value in California is $490,100. California home values have gone up 6.9% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will rise 1.5% within the next year. The median list price per square foot in California is $281. The median price of homes currently listed in California is $473,900. The median rent price in California is $2,500. Click here to read the full zillow article.