Exchanges can have a lot to “like”

Like-kind exchanges, or in IRS talk “IRC Section 1031” is an investors dream come true. 

Whenever you have an investment that has gone up in value from the time you bought it to the time you sell it you pay a capital gain tax on the profit. Unless you choose to defer that gain by using the “1031 like-kind exchange rule” IRC Section 1031 allows you to defer the gain on an investment by using the money gained to buy another similar property. This is not a tax free exchange – but it does put off paying that tax until a later date.

Both personal and real property can qualify for an exchange. However, the rules for personal exchanges are far more strict.  To accomplish a Section 1031 exchange, there must be an exchange of properties.  The simplest type of Section 1031 exchange is a simultaneous swap of one property for another. This is usually done with the help of an intermediary who knows all the rules required by the IRS. Most importantly the timelines; From the time you sell the one property you have 45 days to identify an exchange property and 180 days to complete the purchase. Meanwhile, you cannot take any of the gain or it becomes a taxable event. It is possible to take some cash and invest the rest – just know that you will pay tax on whatever you take out of the exchange and don’t take that cash before the exchange is complete or the whole deal can be blown!

It may sound somewhat complicated but believe me, this has been one of the best investor vehicles for deferring the dreaded capital gains tax. I am not a tax consultant – thank goodness, but if this sounds interesting to you, I can put you in touch with a very experienced intermediary and/or tax consultant that together we can walk you through the whole process from beginning to end.

As the Weather Cools - the Market Slows Down

A good time to start hitting the real estate ads and searches on line is just as November nears. With the holidays on the minds of most people, those who have to still sell their house leave it on the market and carry on. The dedicated ones looking for a house to buy may just be able to find an opportunity in the cooler months ahead.

It's obvious from the graph that fewer sales occur in the winter months. There are fewer homes on the market and less to choose from, but it is precisely the time to keep looking and make a move if you are a  bargain hunter.

You may find yourself looking at houses over the Thanksgiving week-end, but you could still have that new house by Christmas!

The New Lending Process

A new set of lending rules have been put into place by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as of October 2015. The feds are trying to make it as clear as possible for the general public to read and understand what they are getting, and getting into, when taking out a loan to buy a house or other real estate.

There are now two main things for consumers to read and understand; 1) what the loan conditions are and 2) what it's going to cost you to borrow the money. These are called the Loan Estimate and the Closing Disclosure. These two documents replace the four documents consumers used to have to read and decipher - often having repetitive information that made you wonder if you had read it correctly or if you might be misunderstanding the whole thing. The "loan estimate" gives the consumer a better tool for comparison shopping - and that is an important thing to do before signing on the dotted line. This has to be given to the borrow within three days of receiving their application.

Other tools available are online here. Like the "Know Before You Owe" toolkit as well as the loan estimator and closing disclosure tools.

I always advise buyers to be prequalified for their loan before they step one foot in a potential house to buy. There is nothing worse than thinking you can afford "X" and finding out you really can only afford "X-$50,000."

The new mortgage rules should make things easier - though maybe not at first for lenders getting used to the new rules. Just as consumers are well informed on real estate, so too they should be well informed on lending.

The LIst Price vs. The Sale Price

This is a graph of the sales to list price ratio for houses over the last three years and to date for 2015. I thought it was interesting that the last time the majority of "over list price" sales was in 2013 and this year, 2015, is starting out with the almost identical trend.

What a Difference a Location Makes

I receive email notifications on all new listings in and around my areas of expertise. I thought this notification was the perfect example of what your money can buy depending on the area you choose.

This Scotts Valley (northern Santa Cruz County) house is smaller, fewer bedrooms, and more than $300,000 more than the home advertised in Royal Oaks (northern Monterey County.)  Moreover, the Royal Oaks property is over 2 acres and in a gated community. The Scotts Valley house is a standard lot in a subdivision.

The "Walk Score" on the Scotts Valley house is much better than the Royal Oaks house. Goes to show the new trend of being walking distance to amenities is a growing attribute in property choices.

The Santa Cruz County Housing Market Update

Not too much has changed in the last few months regarding our housing market. We have been experiencing a low inventory of single family homes for sale for over three years now. A small change is that fewer homes are selling from year to year. Over 2,000 in 2012 and fewer than 1,900 in 2014.

The median price has climbed, but that is relative to which price range homes are selling in. If you take a look at the graph below you can see that homes in the $200k- $600k price range dominated in 2012, while by 2014 the $600k- $800k homes are the major players. The over $1Mil homes sales has almost doubled in the last 2 years. Either there are no more homes to sell in the lower price ranges, OR those lower priced homes have experienced a push in their prices due to the lack of inventory.  I strongly believe it is the later of these two scenarios.

Santa Cruz County SFR sales

We have been experiencing multiple offer situations for a long time now. It’s almost common place, especially if a home is priced right and prepared well for the market. The buyer pool has been strengthened by the lowering of interest rates and the building economic confidence. Being so close to Silicon Valley does affect our market. The prices and demand “over the hill” has increased to cause an overflow into the Santa Cruz area; this is for buyers looking for their primary residences as well as a second or vacation home.

The “seller’s market” has remained healthy. The most popular homes are those that are prepared well for sale. The single level homes are well loved especially by the aging group of baby boomers. Properties with a second unit are also attracting a lot of attention due to the versatility it offers; extra rental income or living space for family or friends.

All in all, I expect 2015 to be a busy year. It’s a good time to buy a home (lower interest rates and stronger salaries) – but it is also a good time to sell a home (see above.)  That being said we will see what I have to report come mid-summer.