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Arroyo Grande, CA – March 14, 2015—Home sales in California’s Central Coast and Ventura Regions declined along seasonal patterns in February, typically the region’s slowest month for sales, but brisk pending sales promise a rebound in the coming months.  Prices throughout the regions stabilized at about 12 percent above price levels February 2015, according to the latest market analysis from CENTURY 21 Hometown Realty.

 In the Central Coastal Region, monthly sales fell 12 percent and were 5.3 percent below sales in February 2015.  Pending sales—homes under contract—rose 31.2 percent during the month, 5.1 percent more than a year ago.  Median sold prices rose 1.2 percent from January and reached $440,000, 12.1 percent higher than a year ago.

February sales in the four-county Ventura region declined 4.2 percent from January but are still 12.5 percent higher than they were a year ago. Ventura prices fell less than 1 percent in February but are l1.8 percent higher than they were in February 2015.

New listings of homes for sale increased in February at rates higher than a year ago. In the Central Coastal Region, new listings increased 8.6 percent over January and 13.8 percent over a year ago.  In the Ventura Region, new listings rose 8.67 percent, 13.8 percent more than a year ago.

“The coming sales season is shaping up to be a good sellers’ market.  New listings are building local inventories at faster rates than last year throughout the region, a good sign that buyers will have a wider choice of homes throughout the Central Coast.  These new homes on our local markets is will help to stabilize prices and increase sales in the coming months,” said Amy Gallegher, corporate broker of record for CENTURY 21 Hometown Realty.

San Luis Obispo County

February closed sales in Sam Luis Obispo County fell 10.4 percent and were 2.3 percent below last year’s level, but new contracts rose 31.2 percent during the month, a 5.1 percent increase over last year.  New listings rose 17.9 percent during the month as sellers listed their homes for the spring season.

Median sold prices for single family homes in San Luis Obispo County reached a five-year high of $485,000, up 5.4 percent from January and 9 percent higher than a year ago.  The average price for sold homes in the county is $404,950.

In San Luis Obispo city, the median sales price rose even higher than the county median, to $$555,106, up 3.4 percent from January and 2.6 percent from a year ago.  Sales increased 42.9% over January, on a small base 28 sales and new listings rose 32.6 percent during the month.

Local market data and listings for San Luis Obispo County communities are available at  Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Avila Beach, Cambria, Cayucos, Creston, Grover Beach, Los Osos, Morro Bay, Oceano, Paso de Robles, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo, Santa Margarita, San Miguel, San Simeon, Santa Ynez, Shandon, and Templeton.

 Year-over-Year Changes in Closed Sales, February 2016

 San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties

Sales in the Central Coastal counties declined in February, traditionally the slowest month of the year.

 Santa Barbara County

Sales fell 15.1 percent in Santa Barbara County in February and were 10.8 percent below levels of a year ago.  However, pending sales for the month indicate the market is reviving from the slowest month of the year for home sales.  Pending sales rose 35.3 percent over January and were 9.3 percent higher than February 2015.

Prices in the county achieved double-digit gains on a year over year basis for the second month in a row.  The county’s median sales price of $352,000 was 2.3 percent higher than January and 13.9 percent higher than a year ago.

Inventories in Santa Barbara County are growing faster than they were a year ago, setting the stage for a busier sales season the last year.  New listings rose 25.3 percent over January and 13.9 percent over levels of a year ago.  Active listings reached 110 for the month, slightly below the five-year average of 134 homes for sale in February.

Local market data and listings for Santa Barbara County communities are available at  Ballard, Guadalupe, Lompoc, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, and Solvang.

Ventura County Median Sales Prices, 2014 to 2016

 

 

Despite a decline in sales in February, this year Ventura County prices have remained strong in the winter months.

Ventura County

February closed sales in Ventura County fell 2.8 percent for all housing types and were down 2.4 percent on the year.  Pending sales rose 19.4 percent over January as activity increased. Prices declined slightly by 2.3 percent during the month to a median price of $505,000 for all housing types.

New listings joined local inventories in the county at the rate of 17.7 percent in February, slightly lower than last year.  However, more than 1700 homes are listed in the county, higher than the five-year average of 165l.

In Ventura proper, February sales fell only 2 percent and pending sales rose 8,9 percent over January.  At $537,500, the city’s median price is virtually the same as last year.  The current inventory of active listings, at 179 homes, is slightly higher than the city’s five-year average.’

Thousand Oaks saw stronger sales and prices than elsewhere in the county.  Sales declined only 1.7 percent from January and are still 23.9 percent above last ear. Prices rose for the third straight month, reaching a median of $651,000.

Local market data and listings in Ventura County communities are available at:  Agoura Hills, Camarillo, Lake Sherwood, Moorpark, Newbury Park, Nipomo, Oak View, Ojai, Port Hueneme, Santa Maria, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village.

CENTURY 21 Hometown Realty accessed data from the Central Coast Regional Multiple Listing Service and the Ventura County Regional Data Share to prepare its February market analysis.

About CENTURY 21 Hometown Realty

CENTURY 21 Hometown Realty is the leading real estate firm on the central coast. Since 1947, it has supported the needs of home buyers and home sellers throughout California’s Central Coast region with 19 branch locations in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. Our offices cover the California Coast from Paso Robles in the north to Camarillo to the south.

We offer specialty services including Luxury Real Estate, Agricultural and Ranch Real Estate, Vineyards, Ocean Front Real Estate, Commercial Real Estate, and Residential Real Estate.  Our agents have keen focus on these areas and multilingual and generational expertise. Visit our website at C21Home.com  to see our California listings and our office locations.

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Today, home prices are moving up. Real Estate markets always move – but since 2006 – the movement has been mostly down until the spring of 2012. That is a 6 year slump that has challenged both home buyers and home sellers. Since the spring, home prices have moved up. This is a natural effect that seems to always happen in an election year.  Here is something to keep in mind. If you are selling a home and buying a home, the market is always neutral. Any home buyer advantage is a home seller loss. Any home seller advantage is a buyer loss. It is balanced. For most, buying a home is not like any other investment. You are buying shelter for your family. You are buying lifestyle.

Don’t rouse the IRS or pay more taxes than necessary — know the score on each home tax deduction and credit.

Sin #1: Deducting the wrong year for property taxes

You take a tax deduction for property taxes in the year you (or the holder of your escrow account) actually paid them. Some taxing authorities work a year behind — that is, you’re not billed for 2011 property taxes until 2012. But that’s irrelevant to the feds.

Enter on your federal forms whatever amount you actually paid in 2011, no matter what the date is on your tax bill. Dave Hampton, CPA, tax manager at the Cincinnati accounting firm of Burke & Schindler, has seen home owners confuse payments for different years and claim the incorrect amount.

Sin #2: Confusing escrow amount for actual taxes paid

If your lender escrows funds to pay your property taxes, don’t just deduct the amount escrowed, says Bob Meighan, CPA and vice president at TurboTax in San Diego. The regular amount you pay into your escrow account each month to cover property taxes is probably a little more or a little less than your property tax bill. Your lender will adjust the amount every year or so to realign the two.

For example, your tax bill might be $1,200, but your lender may have collected $1,100 or $1,300 in escrow over the year. Deduct only $1,200. Your lender will send you an official statement listing the actual taxes paid. Use that. Don’t just add up 12 months of escrow property tax payments.

Sin #3: Deducting points paid to refinance

Deduct points you paid your lender to secure your mortgage in full for the year you bought your home. However, when you refinance, says Meighan, you must deduct points over the life of your new loan. If you paid $2,000 in points to refinance into a 15-year mortgage, your tax deduction is $133 per year.

Sin #4: Failing to deduct private mortgage insurance

Lenders require home buyers with a down payment of less than 20% to purchase private mortgage insurance (PMI). Avoid the common mistake of forgetting to deduct your PMI payments. However, note the deduction begins to phase out once your adjusted gross income reaches $100,000 and disappears entirely when your AGI surpasses $109,000. Also, unless Congress acts to extend the PMI deduction again, 2011 is the last tax year for which you can take this deduction.

Sin #5: Misjudging the home office tax deduction

This deduction may not be as good as it seems. It’s complicated, often doesn’t amount to much of a deduction, has to be recaptured if you turn a profit when you sell your home, and can pique the IRS’s interest in your return. Hampton’s advice: Claim it only if it’s worth those drawbacks. If so, here’s what to know about what you can write off.

Sin #6: Missing the first-time home buyer tax credit

While the original home buyer tax credit deadline passed in April 2010 (and isn’t available in 2012), military families and some government workers on assignment outside the U.S. were given an extension until April 30, 2011, to get a home under contract and take advantage of up to $8,000 in tax credits for first-time buyers and $6,500 in credits for repeat buyers.

It applies to any individual (and, if married, the individual’s spouse) who serves on qualified official extended duty service outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after Dec. 31, 2008, and ending before May 1, 2010.

Sin #7: Failing to track home-related expenses

If the IRS comes a-knockin’, don’t be scrambling to compile your records. Many people forget to track home office and home maintenance and repair expenses, says Meighan. File away documents as you go. For example, save each manufacturer’s certification statement for energy tax credits, insurance company statements for PMI, and lender or government statements to confirm property taxes paid.

Sin #8: Forgetting to keep track of capital gains

If you sold your main home last year, don’t forget to pay capital gains taxes on any profit. However, you can exclude $250,000 (or $500,000 if you’re a married couple) of any profits from taxes. So if you bought a home for $100,000 and sold it for $400,000, your capital gains are $300,000. If you’re single, you owe taxes on $50,000 of gains. However, there are minimum time limits for holding property to take advantage of the exclusions, and other details. Consult IRS Publication 523.

Sin #9: Filing incorrectly for energy tax credits

If you made any eligible improvement, fill out Form 5695. Part I, which covers the 30%/$1,500 credit for such items as insulation and windows, is fairly straightforward. But Part II, which covers the 30%/no-limit items such as geothermal heat pumps, can be incredibly complex and involves crosschecking with half a dozen other IRS forms. Read the instructions carefully.

Sin #10: Claiming too much for the mortgage interest tax deduction

You can deduct mortgage interest only up to $1 million of mortgage debt, says Meighan. If you have $1.2 million in mortgage debt, for example, deduct only the mortgage interest attributable to the first $1 million.

This article provides general information about tax laws and consequences, but shouldn’t be relied upon by readers as tax or legal advice applicable to particular transactions or circumstances. Consult a tax professional for such advice; tax laws may vary by jurisdiction.

By: G. M. Filisko

Published: January 5, 2012