Lake Tahoe Real Estate - Rubicon

ONLINE REAL ESTATE LICENSING LAW DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL Last week the federal courts ruled in favor of Web publisher ForSaleByOwner.com in a lawsuit challenging California's requirement that Web sites obtain a real estate license in order to publish real estate advertising and information. Specifically, the court decided that California's real estate licensing law violates the First Amendment because it requires Web sites to obtain a license but exempts newspapers that publish the same information. In 2001, the Calif. Dept. of Real Estate began stringently enforcing the licensing law against "for-sale-by-owner" and classified advertising Web sites that allow individuals to buy and sell homes without a real estate broker. ForSaleByOwner.com challenged the law in May 2003, disagreeing with the distinction California's law makes between newspapers and online media. In last week's decision, the court did not hold ForSaleByOwner.com to standards of commercial speech because it concluded the Web site does not participate in commercial transactions with its customers. The court's ruling also decided that the activities of newspapers using online functionality for real estate listings are virtually identical to the activities of ForSaleByOwner.com

NEW HOME SALES CONTINUE TO RISE IN OCTOBER Sales of new single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.226 million units in October, a 0.2 percent increase above the revised September rate of 1.224 millions units, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce reported last week. The rate was 7.4 percent above the sales pace of October 2003. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of October 2004 was 412,000, a supply of 4.1 months at the current sales rate. Both the West and Northeast regions posted increases in new single-family home sales in October 2004. Sales improved by 12.7 percent in the West, while sales in the Northeast rose 19.7 percent. Sales of new single-family homes declined in the Midwest and South regions, falling 3.6 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively.

NEW LEGISLATION HELPS VETERANS BECOME HOMEOWNERS Congress recently approved new legislation that will increase the limits on mortgages backed by the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, making homeownership more affordable for veterans. The legislation increases the loan guaranty amount for veterans to $83,425, which is 25 percent of the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae conforming loan limits. This increased loan guarantee amount will allow veterans to afford houses priced over $300,000, which is especially beneficial for those who live in high cost areas such as California and Florida. The VA home loan guaranty program was initially set up in 1944 to encourage lenders to offer affordable mortgage rates and terms to veterans who qualified for the program. It is estimated that close to 90,000 additional veterans, as well as thousands of soldiers currently fighting in Iraq, will be able to take advantage of the VA home loan program because of the increased guaranty amount.

U.S. CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX DECLINES IN NOVEMBER The consumer confidence index fell for the fourth straight month in November, declining to 90.5 (1985 = 100) from 92.9 in October, The Conference Board reported on Tuesday. The expectations index also decreased to 87.4 from 92.2, while the present situation index improved to 95.2 from 94.0. "With consumers' assessment of current conditions holding steadfast and intentions to spend for the holiday season up from a year ago, the outlook for retailers is mildly encouraging," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. "But looking beyond the upcoming holidays, the continuing erosion in expectations suggests consumers do not feel the economy is likely to gain major momentum in early 2005." The Conference Board also reported that consumers' employment outlook continues to be cautious, with the percentage of consumers expecting fewer jobs to become available in the coming months increasing to 19.7 percent from 18.3 percent in October. Consumers saying jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 16.8 percent in November, down from 17.4 in October.

Information provided by - C.A.R. Newsline is published by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, a trade association representing more than 150,000 REALTORS® statewide.