23. January 2009 by Burbank Real Estate.

Mortgage Applications go down as rates go up! 

Interest rates rose from record lows and the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that weekly mortgage applications declined 9.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis to 1,195.3 last week from 1,324.8 the previous week.

Most of the loans are still in refinances, but the refinance share of applications decreased to 83.3 percent of the total from 85.3 percent the previous week.

Interest rates:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.24 percent from 4.89 percent
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.99 percent from 4.63 percent
• 1-year ARMs remained unchanged at 5.89 percent

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (01/22/2009)

Housing starts in December continued to disappoint as starts fell another 15.5 percent, following a 15.1 percent plunge in November. The December pace of 0.550 million units annualized was down 45.0 percent year-on-year and was sharply below the consensus forecast for 0.615 million units. The fall in starts was led by the multifamily component which dropped 20.4 percent while the single-family component fell 13.5 percent.

After holding fairly stable for a year, pending home sales declined with the mounting number of job losses and a sinking economy. The Pending Home Sales Index fell 4.0 percent to 82.3 from a downwardly revised reading of 85.7 in October, and is 5.3 percent below November 2007 when it was 86.9. The current index is the lowest since the series began in 2001.

Will Congress lobby for higher loan limits?

Congressional leaders, both Republican and Democrats, have been lobbying President Obama to increase the limits of conforming loans – mortgages eligible to be purchased by Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – in high cost areas from $625,500 to $729,750 as part of an economic stimulus package. 

Last year, as part of the federal government’s economic stimulus package, the conforming loan limit was temporarily increased to $729,750 in high-cost areas.  Beginning Jan. 1, 2009, the conforming loan limit was lowered to its original level of $625,500 for high-cost areas.  This increase would be a huge boon in areas like Los Angeles where home prices are still much higher than many parts of the country.

Local news:

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority has entered into a $44,500 contract with Cooper Communications to inform the public about the Bob Hope Airport’s efforts to obtain a nighttime curfew for all flights.

The Airport Authority’s actions are part of the requirement by the Part 161 Study to inform the public about the curfew and get comments. 

Don’t get too excited yet, it’s still very unclear whether the FAA will support a mandatory curfew.  Read more…

Burbank City Council passes water ordinance, starting in March for more than 6,000 businesses.  This requires most businesses to install a low-flow faucet attachment to public restrooms.  Read more…

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18. September 2008 by Burbank Real Estate.

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28. October 2007 by Burbank Real Estate.

We don’t have a very heavy agenda this week, but there were items of interest both for last week’s and the upcoming agenda.

Items of Note:

Last week the Burbank City Council approved the parking amendment for multifamily dwellings.

This week the Council will look at the Rancho Amendment again, following up from the September 11th meeting. This time the text has been changed to make grocery stores a prohibited use in the Rancho commercial zones as opposed to just requiring a conditional use permit for the stores to operate.

The Burbank City Council will be meeting Tuesday at 6pm in the Burbank City Hall Council Chambers.

Remember that you can watch the City Council meetings live on Charter Communications Channel 6 or online at City of Burbank’s website.

If you are interested in reading the actual Burbank City Council agendas, please visit the City of Burbank website, City Council Activities!

Have a great week!

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23. October 2007 by Burbank Real Estate.

Burbank City Council meets weekly at 6pm in the Council Chambers at Burbank City Hall. There are a couple of interesting items on the agenda tonight that are noteworthy.

Items of Note:

Parking Requirement Changes

The council will consider changing the amount of parking spaces required for multifamily residential projects. This item is especially interesting when you look at the amount of people that park around multifamily projects. The current Municipal Code requires 1 guest parking space for every 5 family residential units……yes, you read that correctly!

The current proposal requires 1 guest space per every 4 residential units and no less than 2 guest spaces overall. The council may consider this change for all or only certain projects.

My view may be a bit myopic, but even this change, although helpful, seems inadequate. Given the amount of cars usually parked around multifamily units it would seem that either you are trying to discourage people from inviting guests or that you really believe only 1 in 4 or 5 units will have a guest over at any given moment. The reality seems to be, especially on the weekends, that multifamily unit dwellers do invite friends to come visit and that the current requirements are woefully inadequate.

Please share your thoughts on this issue.

Housing Subcommittee

The council is reviewing whether to set up a subcommittee on housing. It’s role would be to provide general oversight of the housing element update to the General Plan. This could be a great vehicle for residents to provide their input and ideas.

Don’t forget that you can watch the City Council meetings live on Charter Communications Channel 6 or online at City of Burbank’s website.

Have a great week!

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22. October 2007 by Burbank Real Estate.

As you may or may not know, City of Burbank’s Planning Department has organized a community meeting to discuss the General Plan Housing Element. The plan analyzes current and future housing needs along with programs for addressing these needs.

Everyone is invited to come out and give their input and share any concerns!

Where: Buena Vista Library Community Room-300 North Buena Vista Street

When: November 1, 2007 6:00 pm.

Hope to see you there!

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