FRIDAY - takin' the scenic route
- San Jose City Council approves policy against no-cause evictions
- Renters view down payment as largest barrier to homeownership
- Teacher, teacher, can you live here?
- Top Cities for Millennials
- Home sales and prices jump across the Bay Area, California
- Homeowner value estimate continues to outpace appraisals
- Trending Now: 6 Popular Ideas for Decks and Terraces
Enjoy!
San Jose City Council approves policy against no-cause evictions - City elected leaders Tuesday approved sweeping new measures to strengthen renter protections in one of the nation’s most expensive markets — including a requirement that landlords cite a reason for refusing to renew a lease — a move advocates called “historic.” As part of Tuesday’s action, city housing officials also will study tying rent increases in the city’s 43,000 rent-controlled units to inflation — instead of the current 5 percent increase allowed annually — an idea backed by Rocha and Peralez. Rocha also succeeded in asking staff to look at putting duplexes under rent control, which would add another 11,000 units.
Renters view down payment as largest barrier to homeownership - A new survey from Zillow shows that while mortgage payments are more affordable on average than monthly rent payments, renters are struggling to buy a home due to perceived down-payment barriers. In fact, nearly 70 percent of renters cited down payments as a greater barrier to homeownership than debt, job security and qualifying for a mortgage, according to Zillow’s Housing Aspirations Report. Renters also gave other barriers such as qualifying for a mortgage, a barrier more than 50 percent of renters say is holding them back, and another 50 percent say debt is holding them back. Almost 40 percent of renters answered that job security is keeping them from buying a home.
Teacher, teacher, can you live here? - In America’s biggest housing markets teachers, police officers, firefighters and restaurant workers struggle to afford homes in the communities they serve.With home prices on the rise across the county and inventory at historic lows, homeownership is even more out of reach for many middle-income Americans. Nationally, the typical American worker makes $37,040 annually (national median income) while the typical American house costs $254,900 (national median list price). That means that the median worker would have to spend 42% of their income on mortgage payments if they bought a median-priced home, up six percentage points from two years ago.
Top Cities for Millennials - Realtor.com announced its Top Cities for Millennials. Led by Salt Lake City, the list includes some of the usual millennial hot spots – Seattle and Los Angeles – along with a few surprises such as Buffalo, N.Y. and Albany, N.Y. In rank order, realtor.com®'s Top Cities for Millennials include: Salt Lake City, Miami, Orlando, Fla., Seattle, Houston, Los Angeles, Buffalo, Albany, San Francisco, and San Jose, Calif.
Home sales and prices jump across the Bay Area, California - Sales of single-family homes rose 6.9 percent year-over-year in California; in the nine-county Bay Area, the increase was 6.4 percent. Statewide, the median price rose 6.8 percent to $517,020, while the Bay Area median rose a whopping 10.1 percent to $837,720.
Homeowner value estimate continues to outpace appraisals - Home values continued to rise in March, but not at the pace homeowners estimated across much of the country. On average appraisals were 1.77 percent lower than what homeowners expected, according to the Quicken Loans Home Price Perception Index (HPPI). This marks the fourth consecutive month the gap between homeowner estimates and appraiser opinions of value widened.
Trending Now: 6 Popular Ideas for Decks and Terraces - Colorful shades, built-in furniture and planters that double as walls. Some of my faves:
