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Robert Foust |North Orange County | Fullerton Real Estate | Brea Real Estate

Carbon Monoxide Alarms Now Mandatory in California!

Carbon Monoxide Alarms Now Mandatory in California!

If you don't have a carbon monoxide alarm installed in your home or rental property, you are breaking the law now according to California Law. Don't worry too much, it's a pretty easy fix to keep you and/or your tenants safe.

Carbon Monoxide is a deadly gas that is odorless and colorless and kills about 500 people each year. Senate Billl 183 is the bill that brought these changes outlined in the Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2010 in order to protect California homeowners and occupants. Here's what you can expect:

All properties that burn fossil fuel (gas, coal, etc) OR have an attached garage will be required to install a State Fire Marshall approved CO Alarm by July 1, 2011. Battery powered units can be used as can plug-in and hardwired units just so long as they have a battery backup. In addition, if the unit doubles as a smoke detector, the alarm sound must be audibly different than the alarm for smoke detection. Much like smoke detectors, property owners will be responsible for maintaining the devices. Tenants must give notice to landlords when Carbon Monoxide Alarms are not operable. From that point, landlords have about 30 days to remedy the situation.

That is pretty much it. Please let us know if you have questions as to whether is required to have a CO alarm in your home or if need a referral to have a unit installed.
Fullerton Real Estate and Homes for Sale.

Fullerton real estate - Move up buyers missing in action - July update

Since my last comments on this "lack of action", Fullerton real estate sales have not shown any improvement in this area. We are seeing investors, and first time home buyers, and condo buyers, but are still not seeing the "move up process". Even though prices should suggest that it is a good time to "upgrade", the market is still flat. We suggest that it is fear of the unknown. Until that fear subsides, we don't expect to see improvements.

Home Sales in Orange County - Update with a Surprise

Orange County home sales are showing some very interesting results. For the year to date, homes in Orange County have sold at a stable rate: no surprise there, but the mix of motivations for these sales may shock the average observer. Basically the sales so far this year have been 60% standard sales, and 40% distressed sales. By "distressed", we have to include short sales, auction sales, and REO (Bank Owned) sales. This situation has been very consistent for all of the months so far this year - and no reason to believe that it will change soon. With low interest rates, low prices, and motivated sellers (distressed) now may be the right time to buy.

Distressed Fullerton Homes for Sale - plenty to choose from

The Fullerton homes for sale category has more than its share of of distressed homes for sale. By distressed, we mean either a short sale, in the foreclosure process, or bank owned (REO). All of these types have some sort of distress that the sellers have endured. Owners have usually missed payments for several months. Recap of statistics:

Single Family homes = 27% of the homes on the market are short sale. while 5% are bank owned

Condos = 40% of the condos on the market are short sales, while 11% are bank owned.

The total properties for sale at this time is pretty much normal, not high or not low (actually =419).

Housing Market Report 2010 - Long Beach, CA

Housing Market Report 2010 - Long Beach, CA

The Long Beach home sales numbers are in for 2010 and they give us a pretty good idea where we're headed in 2011. Overall the market rebounded well in the beginning of the year but came upon a slowdown by years end. We expect to see the slow trend continue, and with it, a resurgence of the competitive pricing buyers have come to love. Luxury homes have not been excluded from this trend. This Long Beach Boat Dock Home on the Naples Canals of Alamitos Bay is currently listed for $4,850,000 and a great example of a home that would have sold for much more just a few short years ago. If you want to see what $5 million gets you in LB, just click here to take the tour. Across the board, Long Beach home buyers eyes are lighting up seeing the kinds of deals that are out there for them today.

Inventory vs. Days on the Market

The number of homes on the market (inventory) in Long Beach was actually pretty low to start the year, but as it progressed, the number actually rose by nearly 50%!. Why the increase? Average Days on the Market was down which means houses were selling. When things are selling, especially in the midst of a market low point, people who need to sell take notice and list them up. By years end, things have absolutely reversed. Their is now less homes being listed and a growing increase in the number of days on the market as you'll see in the graph below.





Number of Sales

The Long Beach real estate sales data always trails 3 months behind so the numbers you see for the June will actually be sales that happened in April and likewise with other months. The number of homes sold in 2010 was actually up over the 2009 numbers. Sales were pretty solid with about 1,400 homes sold each month of the Spring and early Summer. By fall and early winter, the number of monthly sales dipped below 1,000 homes in the entire city. As we move on to 2011, we are seeing the sales stay low and drop even more over the holidays.
Number of sold homes in Long Beach

Average Price Per Sqft
The Average Price Per Sqft of a Long Beach home has actually remained pretty constant. We saw a quick increase in the statistic at the end of the year but we have come back to around $250 per sqft. You need to remember though that Long Beach is a huge city and the average price will vary greatly depending on where you're at. For example, a small house in Belmont Shore will still command a very high price per sqft when compared to a 2,000 sqft tract home in North Long Beach. 
long beach average price per square foot


2010 proved to be tumultuous year with the end of the tax credit era. While Long Beach, CA real estate had great sales statistics over the year, the end of 2010 seemed to point to another market downswing. The number of sales coming down is a self explanatory statistic, but more to the point, the average days on market vs. inventory is really telling. Anytime we see the average days on the market go up while the number of homes for sale is going down, its a safe bet that there is a real slowdown in buyer interest.

The good news is that sellers that need to sell are responding with very competitive prices and the buyers that are out there are loving it. The sellers and homeowners are a different story. One had better be very motivated and very detached from the prices of 2006 in order to sell today. Luckily, there are buyers out there (and a lot of them are really good buyers), we just have to be extra diligent in giving them product of great value for their money. If you have questions on how to do this or how to find a great Long Beach, CA home in 2011, just let us know.