Lake Tahoe Real Estate - Incline Village/Crystal Bay

C.A.R.'S SHARFMAN AT REAL ESTATE CONNECT JAN. 9 -11 Joshua Sharfman, C.A.R.'s chief technology officer, will discuss "The Paperless Transaction: Which Platform Will Win?" at Real Estate Connect at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, Jan. 9-11. At C.A.R., Sharfman is developing the Association's Transaction Management System (TMS), set to launch in 2005. The C.A.R. TMS will interface with WINForms® electronic forms software, enabling users, with one click, to create a transaction, apply a workflow and move data from the forms to the TMS. C.A.R.'s TMS also will facilitate interactive collaboration between consumers and their REALTORS®, with each party receiving an electronic copy of the appropriate documents at closing. Real Estate Connect NYC 2005 also will feature segments on online lead generation, new audio and video technologies, multimedia property presentation, breakthroughs in virtual home tours and more. C.A.R. members may register for Real Estate Connect NYC 2005 at the link below or by calling (800) 775-4662 ext. 128.

CALIFORNIA'S HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDEX REMAINS AT 19 PERCENT The percentage of households in California able to afford a median-priced home stood at 19 percent in October, a 6 percentage-point decrease compared with the same period a year ago when the Index was at 25 percent, according to a recent C.A.R. report. The October Housing Affordability Index (HAI) was unchanged from September, when it also stood at 19 percent. C.A.R.'s monthly housing affordability index measures the percentage of households that can afford to purchase a median-priced home in California. The index is the most fundamental measure of housing well-being in the state. At 42 percent, the High Desert region was the most affordable C.A.R. region in the state, followed by the Central Valley region at 26 percent. The Santa Barbara region was the least affordable in the state at 9 percent, followed by the Monterey region at 11 percent.

LATEST VERSION OF WINFORMS® AND STANDARD FORMS NOW AVAILABLE The latest version of WINForms® software and C.A.R. forms now can be downloaded from C.A.R. Online (www.car.org). In addition to the semiannual form updates and many feature enhancements, the new WINForms® software has an expiration date of March 31, 2005, giving WINForms® users two additional months to use the product prior to renewal. Click on the link below for instructions to download the latest version of WINForms® Desktop software.

FED RAISES TARGET FOR FEDERAL FUNDS RATE ABOVE TWO PERCENT The Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee raised the target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 2.25 percent on Tuesday. This is the fifth increase in six months, starting with a 25 basis point increase at the end of June, which was the first time the Fed had raised the rate in four years. The federal funds target rate is the interest rate charged by banks when they borrow funds "overnight" from each other. "Output appears to be growing at a moderate pace despite the earlier rise in energy prices, and labor market conditions continue to improve gradually," the Fed said in a prepared statement. "Inflation and longer-term inflation expectations remain well contained." While the federal funds rate has no direct impact on other rates, such as those for mortgages, it can alter them indirectly. Most economists are predicting mortgage rates will rise slowly throughout 2005.

REMODELING MARKET REMAINS STRONG IN 2004 The Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a strong third quarter, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently reported. The current market conditions index, based on existing home additions, alterations and repairs being completed, moved up to 51.8 from 50.6 in the second quarter of 2004. The future expectations index, determined by factors such as the amount of work committed for the next three months and the backlog of remodeling jobs, remained unchanged from the second quarter at 52.4. Both indices are measured on a scale of zero to 100. "With the ongoing favorable interest rates, rising employment and household incomes, and high home price appreciation rates, we expect the remodeling market to remain on a strong growth path," said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. "The RMI is still above 50, which signals that the market remains healthy. All indicators point to another booming year for remodeling in 2004 and the outlook for 2005 is quite good as well."

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.