REAL ESTATE NEWS...Buying a home in California has become easier

Buying a home in California has become easier says C.A.R
The California Association of Realtors says that buying a home in the state has become easier as mortgage rates fall and house prices stabilize. The association’s housing affordability index increased in the first quarter of this year with the proportion of home buyers who could afford a median priced existing single-family home up to 34 per cent from 31 per cent in the last quarter of 2014. Home buyers needed to earn a minimum annual income of $87,700 to qualify for the purchase of a $442,430 home. Marin, San Luis Obispo, and Monterey counties saw the largest year-to-year improvements in affordability, mainly due to increases in median annual household income and interest rate declines. Contra Costa, Solano, and San Joaquin counties experienced the largest year-to-year declines in affordability, resulting from double-digit home price growth.
 
Bay Area realtors fight fireplace ban
Real estate agents are strongly opposed to the proposal from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District which would ban the sale or rental of any home in the area that has a working wood-burning fireplace. Homeowners would be forced to make the fireplace inoperable or replace it with an approved natural gas or electric fireplace. Typical costs would run into thousands of dollars. Craig Gorman, president of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors told Mercury News:  "Clearly, this is an infringement on property owner's rights. We would like to receive education and financial incentives for those who choose to retrofit." Nine public meetings have been arranged for stakeholders to have their say on the proposal and the first took place in March. There will be no final vote on the rules until all of the consultations have concluded.

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Is they any buyer there? Psychic lists Laguna Beach home
Celebrity psychic James Van Praagh has listed his Laguna Beach home for $3.89 million. The OC Register reports that the creator of “The Ghost Whisperer” is selling the three-bedroom, three-bathroom home with separate guest house and is described by the psychic as “so close to heaven”. However Van Praagh and husband Brian Preston are seeking a larger home in Sonoma with additional space for their dogs.