Study finds walkable neighborhoods command price premiums

A new study says that homes located in more walkable neighborhoods command a price premium over similar homes in less walkable areas.

The study, “Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Home Values in U.S. Cities” was commissioned by CEOs for Cities and conducted by Joe Cortright using data from Walk Score and ZipRealty.

Key findings include:

• In 13 out of 15 metro areas (sales data provided by ZipRealty), higher levels of walkability were directly linked to higher home values.
• In the typical metropolitan area, a one point increase in Walk Score was associated with an increase in value ranging from $500 to $3,000. Gains were larger in denser, urban areas and smaller in less dense markets.
• In the typical areas studied, the premium commanded for neighborhoods with above-average Walk Scores ranged from $4,000 to $34,000.

More info here

HUD posts FAQ on new RESPA rule

The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development recently released a frequently asked questions (FAQs) concerning implementation of the new Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) rule, according to the California Association of REALTORS®. The FAQs were compiled from questions raised within the industry since the publication of the rule.

Some of the topics covered include requirements and delivery of the Good Faith Estimate, the HUD-1 Settlement Statement, and specific information about completion of the GFE and HUD-1 forms.

"If we learned anything from the current crisis, it's that it is hard for borrowers to make responsible decisions if they don't have all the necessary information," said U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner David Stevens. "I believe these changes will take away much of the uncertainty borrowers have about the accuracy of disclosures."

California Coastal Commission may be given excessive judiciary powers

Two bills under consideration in the California Senate, AB 226 (Ruskin) and AB 291 (Saldana), give the California Coastal Commission judicial powers and gives Commission staff new, unprecedented authority to stop permit applications.

AB 226 would greatly expand the Coastal Commission’s enforcement authority by allowing the Commission to act as both prosecutor and judge and impose civil penalties and allow the Commission to retain the penalties it assesses to augment its own budget. Currently, civil penalties are imposed by the Attorney General’s office on behalf of the Coastal Commission. Meanwhile, AB 291 would allow the staff of the Coastal Commission to halt processing of a permit application if the Commission staff asserts that any violation exists on any property for which a permit is filed.

Staff discretion does not equal due process. Under AB 291, the executive director of the Coastal Commission has sole discretion to completely halt an application for a coastal development permit without any basis other than an assertion of a violation, which may not be related to the permit application. The Commission, not its staff, is the decision-making body, and it should remain that way.

The Coastal Commission already has the necessary tools by which to enforce the Coastal Act. Besides, the Attorney General has been effective at collecting civil penalties for the Coastal Commission through the judicial system, collecting millions of dollars in fines and penalties over the years.

FHA Clarifies Position on HVCC

National Mortgage News recently reported that, according to the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will not implement the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) for its mortgage insurance programs. According to the article, FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens met with a delegation from NAMB and discussed a variety of topics. After talking with HUD, NAR believes it is clear that FHA supports much of what the Code has accomplished. FHA is currently reviewing its appraisal policies and may adopt changes that take HVCC into account.

NAR's HVCC Web page >
Federal Housing Administration >

Green Building Code Effective This Month

The state's green building code, the first of its kind in the nation, took effect August 1, the California Building Standards Commission has announced. This new code standardizes practices for reducing the environmental impact of buildings in a variety of ways. It encourages the use of renewable, recyclable, and recycled material in the building process. It also encourages the reduction of a building’s potable water use by 20 percent, and it establishes a two tiered 15 or 30 percent energy savings above current levels for all buildings through a combination of more efficient appliances and windows, better insulation, and other performance enhancing measures.

Application of the code is currently voluntary. It was adopted last year as a step toward mandatory green building standards, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for by 2010.

For more info:
http://www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/bsc/2009/part11_2008_calgreen_code.pdf