Todd Douglas REALTOR, Ventura County

The current real estate market in Ventura County CA continues to amaze even the most seasoned real estate professionals every day. You see, as inventory decreases in any type of product, you typically see prices go up as the rule of supply and demand takes hold. But this is not the case in Ventura County, particularly the western area. Case in point;

In the last 30 days we have seen total inventory of homes below the $600k mark drop from 1608 units to 1496 as of Dec 21. And although sales have increased over the same time frame from 364 to 399, the average sales price in the below $600k mark has dropped from $357k last month to $340k today.

How long will this continue? Nobody knows for sure, and each market is different. The key is to watch interest rates and home prices in your neighborhood closely, and consult with a real estate professional who is a licensed REALTOR (like me!) so that you know whats going on.

Now get going and buy that home!

The Internal Revenue Service wants to make it easier for financially distressed homeowners to sell or refinance their residences.

The agency said on Tuesday that it will speed up the process of "subordinating" federal tax liens - basically moving them down the line so the primary mortgage holder can take precedence. Otherwise, such liens could block the process of refinancing or restructuring a loan.

"For taxpayers trying to refinance their mortgage, the existence of a tax lien generally means the new lender will not go through with the refinancing," said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman in a conference call with reporters. "The IRS is ready to help taxpayers who find themselves in these situations. Where we can subordinate our lien to help a family win that new refinanced mortgage, it may mean they can stay in their homes."

Similarly, a tax lien could prevent people from selling a home in which they have no equity because the buyers would not be able to get a mortgage with the lien in place. "In these cases, we can discharge the tax lien so that the sale can proceed," Shulman said.

The IRS is not forgiving whatever back taxes such homeowners owe, but is just no longer requiring that its lien be paid off before the property can be sold or refinanced.

The agency also said that the program is designed for people who have a history of paying their taxes in full but who have fallen behind on taxes "because of these extraordinary times."

For many years, the IRS has already had a process in place to subordinate liens, but it takes 30 days. Now, the IRS plans to speed up its response to requests.

The agency places a lien .. when a taxpayer fails to make arrangements to pay income taxes. It issues more than 600,000 notices of such liens annually.

Taxpayers who pay their debt or arrange a payment schedule soon after receiving the initial notice are not subject to the lien. Currently, there are more than 1 million federal tax liens outstanding tied to real and personal property, the IRS said.

More information on the expedited lien subordination is at links.sfgate.com/ZFRV.

Several other tax provisions have been enacted to help people caught up in the foreclosure crisis. In late 2007, Congress enacted the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act. It exempts homeowners from paying tax on "forgiven debt," such as the amount discharged in a foreclosure, short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure. But it applies only to primary residences, and does not apply to home equity loans. Information is at links.sfgate.com/ZFRX.

California put into place its own Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Law. While it resembles the federal law, it limits the amounts of qualified indebtedness. Information is at links.sfgate.com/ ZFRZ.

Property owners in Ventura County that may own property currently assessed at greater than market values can appeal the assessed value to the Assessment Appeals Board (AAB).

Property values can decline for several reasons. For instance the demolition of real structures on the property, damage from landslides, earthquakes, etc. may cause the actual value of property to drop.

The assessment appeals process begins with the property owner filing an appeal with the Clerk of the Board. The appeal is reviewed by the Assessor and Assessment Appeals Board.

The AAB hears all applications not directed to the Hearing Officer. It may act only on the basis of evidence which is presented to the Board. The only authority of the Board or Hearing Officer is to determine the taxable value of your property. The decision on value will be determined by weighing the evidence presented.

Once the disposition of the appeal is determined, the property owner is notified.

If you feel that your property is worth less than than the value assessed by the County Assessor, you can begin your application for assessment appeal here. It is very important to understand the requirements of filing an appeal before you begin. Please read the Assessment Appeals Information document before filing your appeal. Download and read the following documents to begin.

	Assessment Appeal Information Important information to read prior to your appeal
	Assessment Appeal Information ** Spanish Version ** Important information to read prior to your appeal - ** Spanish Version **
	Application For Changed Assessment

Important: While the Clerk of the Board receives the Assessment Appeals application, this office is not responsible for the assessment, taxation or refunds of taxes.

For information on:

I sat an open house today in Port Hueneme and lets just say I was bored stiff! I mean, I know its the hollidays and all, nobody's buying homes as much it seems. Retail sales are down as well. But I took the chance that maybe by some freak chance that I would get alot of "looky'loo's" but that was an over reach! Not one person! Oh, I set up my signs, even had some freshly baked cookies to serve (thanks Deborah!), but it just wouldn't be today. So I packed up my signs, locked up and ate the cookies in silence as I pondered why on earth did I actually attempt an open house so close to Christmas?

Do you have such experiences? This is my first Christmas as a REALTOR since retiring from the Navy in November. So I have no previous experience from past holidays. I have heard that the market slows down around this time of year. But I figured open houses wouldn't be slow as well. But I suppose I have learned some kind of lesson!

For those of us who live in what is considered Western Ventura County, the cities of Ventura, Camarillo, Oxnard and beaches, etc, here are some interesting sales statistics for the period ending 12/14 (last week):

Average Sales Price

Last 30 Days $347,912
One Year Ago $652,801

This is a drop of -46.7% from the same time one year ago! This is a amazing stat as it shows how quickly the market has fallen.

Within the last 30 days we have had 408 units sold compared to only 169 units at the same time one year ago, an increase of 141.4%, obviously pointing to a "buyer's market" and it doesn't look like that will slow down for some time.

I chose to leave out the price per sq foot typically, but for those who care:

Last 30 Days: $226
One Year Ago: $349

A decrease of -35.2% Not quite in line with the drop in average sales price but I believe this partially demonstrates that buyers still appreciate, and are willing to pay for, the more highly represented units. i.e. Good condition.

Its also interesting to note that average days on market has not changed that much, down 12% to 71 compared to last years 81.