Home Sales up in September

In the month of September, homes sales in California were up 6.7 percent. Those looking for bargains were purchasing foreclosures while the median home price fell. In September, the median home price was $249,000.

Homebuyers were buying up foreclosures making sales go up 6.7 percent. Sales figures on the other hand, were still below average for the month of September for the Bay Area and southern California. DataQuick, a real estate information service home in San Diego revealed that home sales were lower than the figure seen in August, which is down 6.2 percent with a total of homes sold at 35,404 in September.

The median home price in September for September was $249,000, which is down 6 percent from what was seen in 2010 and the same as was seen in August of 2011. This is the 12th continuous year over year decrease in the median price. This means that many of the homes sold for half or less than what the home was worth.

DataQuick president, John Walsh stated the number of potential home buyers was growing but the demand is not seen in the numbers yet.

He stated, “Empty-nesters want something smaller, growing families want something bigger,” and went on to say, “People still die, they get married, retire — all of this generates demand. And only a fraction of that demand is being met in today’s market.”

A large amount of the homes that sold in September were foreclosures along with short sales in which the bank sold the home for less than the mortgage. The figures show that more than half of the homes that sold in California in the month of September were foreclosures or short sales.

The figures showed around 33.8 percent were foreclosures down from the 34.3 percent seen in August and 35.6 percent seen in September 2010. Reports showed 18.7 percent were short sales, which is up from the figure seen in August of 17.5 percent and 15.6 seen in September of 2010.

Home sales in southern California were up 0.3 percent from September 2010 but were down from the 7.7 percent seen in August of 2011 bringing the figure to 18,149. The median price for southern California fell 5.2 percent from 201o to $280,000 and only up 0.4 percent over the August figures.

The Bay Area saw home sales increase 6.6 percent from 2010 but down from the figure seen in August to 6,749. The median price for the area decreased 7.6 percent from 2010 and was also down from the month of August to 365,000.

 

San Diego on the Most Expensive City List

On September 30, Kiplinger magazine published the lists of the most expensive and the cheapest places to live across the nation. San Diego was found on the most expensive list in the tenth position.

As reported by the magazine, the average home price in San Diego is $555,768, making the San Diego metro one of the most expensive places to live in the United States. The average price is not the same figure used by real estate professionals who use the median price instead of average home price. Apartment rentals on average are around $1648 per month, which is double the national average. San Diego has a median household income of $62,901.

San Francisco also made it on the most expensive list in third place. The average home price in San Francisco $808,481, with rentals around $2035, which is, triple the national average. The median household income is $74,876.

Short Sales Growing in Popularity

Short Sales can save borrowers that are underwater as long as everyone agrees. Short sales are for homeowners that want to avoid foreclosure or for those looking for a great bargain, if all goes to plan.

Short sales are transactions in which borrowers owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, known as underwater, where the lending company agrees to a discounted payoff. In San Diego County 18.7% of the home resale market for the month in June was short sales, which is up from 2% we saw five years ago, states local real estate tracker DataQuick.

Short sales are growing, however, the process of the closing take time, is uncertain, and changes all the time, which can hinder interested parties.

Kurt Wannebo, a San Diego broker that has over 6 years of experience in short sales stated, “Short sales are changing all the time,” and went on to say, “The banks change their processes all the time … and there are new laws and new short-sale government programs.”

A new state law that was signed in July is meant to help protect short sellers may make the process even longer, more uncertain, and cost the seller more.

Who should use a short sell?

In most cases, those that opt for a short sell are ones that can no longer afford their mortgage and want to walk away as their investment is no longer there.

Shelia Brady and her husband purchased a condo in Rolando for $285,000 in 2004; the condo is now in escrow being sold as a short sale for $120,000. The couple not only lost value but also was behind on their house payment due to surgery that stopped her from working for 2 ½ months while her husband has been unemployed for 2 years.

Why would this couple use a short sell instead of letting the foreclosure process take over?

“You have such a strong moral obligation toward your mortgage,” Brady said. “You sign a document saying, ‘I will do this.’ ”

Greg Ives, 33, purchased a downtown San Diego condo at the Hard Rock Hotel to be used as a rental investment for $405,000. The value on the property depreciated and the amount he could charge for rent depreciated. Once he paid his mortgage, he found he was $1,000 under for several months. He filed for a secure loan modification but was denied, he then decided on a short sale. After five long months, the deal closed. He still owes the lending company and will have to pay $340 per month for the next ten years. He stated that his best option was a short sale. “I’m grateful to be done with it,” Ives said.

For any questions regarding selling your property via a short sale or if you are interested in a buying a short sale property, contact one of our expert real estate agents in the San Diego area.

La Mesa Real Estate Market Improving

Everyone is looking forward to the day when the real estate market starts improving. According to Jeanne Koopman a real estate with Pacific Sotheby with 13 years experience stated, “I have to say, I’ve seen prices coming up a little more, especially in my neighborhood in the last year and a half.” Ms. Koopman lives close by the Village, which offers quite a bit for buyers with amenities within walking distance such as post office, farmers market, restaurants, library, and banks. This is why she personally moved to the area six years ago.

She stated, “When you have an open house in La Mesa, you have a lot of people coming by, but it has to be priced right. People are still looking for a deal. Many of the people looking, grew up here, now have families and want to come back.”

Homes close by the Village are selling faster than other areas but to many this is not a huge surprise. The homes are normally smaller and when it comes to price, they are in the first tier. Aaron M. Kerper, a La Mesa Realtor with Prudential California Realty, as well as the current president of the East San Diego County Board of Realtors stated this signifies a “seller’s market.”

Those are certainly words we have not heard in a long time. Aaron Kerper explains the reason he is stating it is a sellers market after going over the graphs, charts, and statistics.

Kerper explanation, “With respect to La Mesa (zip codes 91941 and 91942), we actually have several different markets operating within those zip codes, depending on the price-point and the type of home being offered.” “Looking at the last two years, it’s a seller’s market in the under $400K market. Homes are selling at close to asking price—with prices up 5.1% in June over the same month two years ago, up 1.6% year over year.” “Lenders are now agreeing to do short sales and banks are putting their homes on the market. There are 25% more homes on the market, 65% more in escrow and 70% more sold than two years ago. Property is moving through the pipeline at this price point.”

One house that is being held open by Jeanne Koopman in North Mesa is one of the largest in the community at 2550 square feet. The home has been on the market for one hundred days listed for $375,000. This is a traditional sale. The home owners selling the home are in the middle of a divorce and are motivated sellers. Koopman believes the home will sell, but it will take more time. The home needs a few repairs and is the largest home in the area.

When you have six months of inventory on the market is it considered a “market in the balance.” At the price range there are 2.6 months of inventory which definitely shows a sellers market.

Kerper teaches real estate courses at Grossmont/Cuyamaca and Southwestern Colleges takes a different look at the stats a more academic view. “Looking at the history is very important. Unlike the stock market, you have to be willing to look it at over a span of time. There are more properties on the market in the last few months than there were two years ago. Two years ago, there was a lot of uncertainty or fear. People were hunkering down and people in distress couldn’t get their properties on the market.” Basically,” Kerper stated, “the market has corrected itself. Sellers are putting their homes on the market at realistic prices.”

In the La Mesa area, more homes are coming to the market in the $400K to $800K price range. Banks are working with buyers for foreclosures and short sales. However, with more than 6 months of inventory and a large difference between the list prices and the selling price it makes the area a buyers market in this price range.

“This has been a very hard-hit group. There are not first-time buyers in this price range. These buyers are more particular—looking for a “wow” factor—their move is more a “want” than a “need.” But what’s important for sellers to know is that the market is still moving,”

A restored historic Craftsman home listed by Jill Smith of Leonard Smith Associates one block from the Village is listed for $449,000, which is the low end of the tier. This home has been on the market two months. The home owners have been renting the home out for the last year. As soon as the tenants gave notice, they were moving the home owners but the home on the market. The home is in excellent condition with a separate workshop and parking in the alley.

“There are definitely more people out there looking,” he says. “But it’s the banks that are holding us up.”

Kerper added, “Availability of credit is important. As you go up in price, the market tightens. If jumbo loans are not available or offered only at high interest rates, that means significant down payments are being required. So it’s a different picture for homes in the $400K to $800K price point.”

Across the hill, a traditional sale listed by Peg and Tom Keeley of Keller Williams with homeowners that really do not wish to move but are looking to downsize. The homeowners are wanting to not only downside but also move closer to their daughter living in North County.

She explains the downstairs could be converted to a “granny flat.” It is a basement that has a separate entrance, private bath, along with fireplace. The value range is $619,900 to $639,900, which is in the 2nd tier pricing. The home has been on the market a little over 2 months.

“More buyers are coming out, but the sales are still pretty stagnant. He points out that the maximum amount FHA will loan is coming down to $540K in October. This could help spur the sale of this home.”

Mark and Joy Berner, real estate agents with Century 21 Award, have a home listing with a prominent Russell Road address on Mt. Helix for $995,000. The floor plan was created by the owners with entertaining guests in mind. A few of the furnishings are a bit dated since it was built in 1962 however, the floor-to-ceiling windows offer breath taking views.

“At the upper end, things are still pretty slow,” Joy Berner stated. During open houses, the home is getting quite a bit of traffic. If this home had been on the market a few years back it would have been a bidding war. Today, the home has been on the market close to 100 days and has been in escrow once, but it fell through.

Aaron Kerper corroborates the depressed state seen at the higher end of the market with homes in the price of $800K to $1.5 million.

“There was a period three months earlier this year when no homes in this price point sold. There has been a tremendous fluctuation in home prices at this end of the market. Currently there is a one-year inventory of these homes, and even though that is less than last year, it most certainly is a ‘buyer’s market’ in this price range. If you compare it to 2004-05, prices between $1.5 million and $3 million don’t exist anymore.”

Attached homes in La Mesa are mainly priced around $50K to $249K, and according to Kerper priced at this lower price point, which represents a “seller’s market.” The number of attached homes that are for sale, pending, and sold increased last month. The number of units on the market increase by 155 percent over 2009 but there is only 3.8% inventory. “People gravitate towards these because they’re affordable,” says Kerper.

The real estate market in La Mesa may not be coming back strong, but we are seeing a sellers market in two different segments, which are under-$400K single-family homes and attached homes. Sales are still slow and prices more open to discussion in the $500K+ range.

Kerper stated, “I am a third-generation real estate broker. When my family came here, La Mesa was the first place they settled. My grandfather built his first home here. One of my grandmothers still lives here on Severin Drive. Although I work all over, I concentrate my business in East County. I’ve been with the Prudential office in La Mesa for 11 years.” “La Mesa remains a place that people seek out and find desirable—East County’s finest community.”

Change is still the top trend in the real estate industry

The 2nd quarter of 2011 still shows the real estate market is up and down which means that change is still occurring and nothing is impossible.

When it comes to real estate today, you will hear different stories according to the person talking and where your home is located. The bottom line is that homebuyers are few and far between with the main reason being the falling prices.

Yes, lower prices encourage those looking for a great deal, but it can cause those looking for a home to back off. Who wants to buy a home to have the price drop lower than what they paid?

The good news is that in major cities home prices were back to the levels seen in the summer of 2003. Home prices may be on the rise however, the housing market is still the weakest link in the United States economy.

Home prices have not fully recovered and will not until the number of foreclosures are reduced, companies being hiring in larger numbers, banks have some slack in lending rules, and more families feel comfortable about buying a home.

Barry Newman, a HouseHunt agent working for @properties in Deerfield, Illinois stated, “Prices are going down, and they have to go down,” and went on to say, “I don’t think we’ve hit the bottom, and I think there are a lot of people holding back because of all the foreclosures on the market.”

Other agent across the US that was polled by HouseHunt.com stated the 2nd 2quarter of 2011 was about the same as the 1st quarter with numbers steady but a bit from prosperous times.

Joyce Pettit of Keller Williams Realty in Boiling Springs, South Carolina stated, “It’s slower this year than last year for me, and if I’m judging from the previous few quarters, people are still looking and still buying, but, overall, they’re a lot more particular,” and went on to say, “I’m hoping that prices have pretty much stabilized here. I don’t think they can fall a whole lot more.”

Sixty four of those that responded to the poll said that prices were down from the first quarter at 56%, but went on to say that 19% said that appreciation is up 0 to 5% when in the 1st quarter the figure was 21%. Seven percent of respondents said prices were up around 5 to 10 percent when compared to the 1st quarter at 9%. Five percent said prices were up 5% when compared to the 6% seen in the 1st quarter.

HouseHunt agent Kristen Malcolm of Coldwell Banker in Cherry Hills Village stated, “Houses are moving, inventory has dropped because so many houses have gone under contract and sold, and in Cherry Hills there have been quite a few instances where people have gotten full asking price and multiple offers,” and went on to say, “There’s so much demand; so much is going under contract and selling. There are lots of buyers.”

There are still more home sellers being seen than buyers with 52% saying there are more in sellers in their communities.

When it comes to inventory, 82% of respondents stated that there is a good supply only down a bit from the 1st, which was 87%. Asking prices are better with more home sellers receiving around 95% of their target price.

Clyde Thomas, an agent with Coldwell Banker stated, “We lost more than 4,000 homes because of flooding. It’s not a good situation right now, and there’s a real fight when it comes to homes coming up on the market.”

“There are far more sellers than buyers,” Thomas said. “It’s been pretty hard.”

In May, the national median price for existing homes was $166,500, which was close to 5% below the comparable price seen in May 2010, as reported by the National Association of Realtors. The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.5%, which is a bit above the four-decade low of 4.17% seen in November.

Mike Bearden, president and CEO of HouseHunt Inc. stated, “I don’t yet see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Prices are still declining in most areas despite incredibly low prices and interest rates. Many sales these days are all cash investor sales. Banks must start lending money to more prospective home purchasers for housing prices to stabilize and begin to increase. The banks are waiting for a better economy and stronger employment, but those cannot be achieved without housing participating in the recovery. We will see how the rest of 2011 plays out; then we may have a clearer picture as to when housing will recover.”

Other important results from the 2nd quarter 2011 survey by HouseHunt.com

84% average days on the market, was over 60 days and is closer to 4 months.
66% most customers were repeat buyers or investors, which is up from what was seen in the 1st quarter of 58%.
65% stated they are seeing more multiple offers on their listings.

Tear Down Programs in San Diego

Some select lenders in the San Diego area are faced with inventories of foreclosures rising have started tear down programs to help lower their existing home inventories. Instead of allowing these homes to enter the already flooded market, which will bring on more pressure on the existing home sales, some major banks are tearing down the homes that have recently foreclosed. In San Diego close to 27,000 homes are foreclosed on each year. Last month, San Diego was in the 2nd position for REO filings with Maricopa County in Arizona topping the list, which is up 534 percent.

JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America are now destroying their REO inventory. The way the properties are chosen varies from lender to lender. One major consideration is the projected tax write off for the transaction. If the home was not foreclosed on with the idea of tearing it down, tax write offs can be given at up to full market value.

The problem of foreclosed homes

Bank of America foreclosed on over 40,000 homes during the 1st quarter of 2010. The southwestern US is affected more than other areas of the US at this time. Just last month there were over 42,462 homes in pre-foreclosure and found in auction filings, which equals 4 out of every 10 filings across the United States.  

There is controversy concerning this new program.  Families that have lost their homes due to foreclosure over the last four years are now homeless, living in shelters, on the street, or with family or friends.

What is better? Should these families still be living in their foreclosed homes? Should the homes be used for shelters for others that are homeless? What should be done with the homes that are fast becoming eyesores and in need of repair?

What is the real solution for the banks that are holding 100,000 foreclosed homes? Should the banks just hold on to the properties, pay the property taxes, and keep maintaining these homes until the market is better?

Drop in Existing Home Sales

June saw a drop in existing home sales but an increase in construction and new home permits. Existing home sales, which include town homes, condos, and single-family homes, decreased 0.8% in the month of June to an annual rate of 4.77 million. In May, the figure was 4.81 million. This figure was 8.8% lower than the 5.23 million-unit level seen in June of 2010 as reported by the National Association of Realtors.

The National Association of Realtors explained that this low figure was due to cancellations of contracts. In addition, the National Association of Realtors the Midwestern and southern US saw gains in sales however, this activity was offset by the drops seen in the western and western US. Single-family home sales stayed the same while condos dropped a bit. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist stated that overall, any recovery in the market has stayed uneven.
 
“Home sales had been trending up without a tax stimulus, but a variety of issues are weighing on the market, including an unusual spike in contract cancellations in the past month,” he explained. “The underlying reason for elevated cancellations is unclear, but with problems including tight credit and low appraisals, 16 percent of NAR members report a sales contract was cancelled in June, up from 4 percent in May, which stands out in contrast with the pattern over the past year.”
 
Existing home sales did not perform well; there is still some optimism for June’s market. Building permits that were issued for private homes for the month of June increased to an annual rate of 624,000, which is a 2.5% rise over the figure seen in the month of May at 609,000 as reported by the Census Bureau. Building permits for single-family homes saw a 0.2% gain at 407,000 over May’s figure of 406,000. Permits for all homes in the month of June were 6.7% over the estimated figure of June 2010 at 585,000.

Construction of private housing starts for the month of June were at 629,000 which is an increase of 14.6 over what was seen in May at 549,000 and 16.7% above the figure seen a year ago of 539,000. Construction of single-family home starts for June rose to 453,000, which is 9.4% higher than the figure seen in May at 414,000.
 
Building permits may have seen a rise, but completion in the construction market was down in June which was 535,000 being 1.7% below the estimate in May of 544,000 and 39.3% below a year ago at 881,000. Single-family home construction completion for the month of June was at 436,000, which is the same as May’s rate of 436,000.
 
First claims for unemployment benefits were up for the week that ended on July 16, after seeing a drop the prior week, as reported by the Employment and Training Administration. Claims for the week rose to 418,000, a rise of 10,000 from the prior week’s figure of 408,000. The four-week moving average was at 421,250, a drop of 2,750 from the prior week’s average of 424,000.  

The week that ended on July 9 saw a total number of insured unemployed workers at 3,698,000, as published by the Employment and Training Administration reported, which is a drop of 50,000 from the prior week’s level of 3,748,000. The four-week moving average was 3,720,500, a drop of 4,000 from the prior week’s average of 3,724,500.

Even though the recovery in the housing market is uneven, consumer sentiment rose in the month of June but only very small. The Leading Economic Index for the month of June rose 0.3% to 115.3, after seeing a 0.8% rise in the month of May, and a 0.3% drop in the month of April, as reported by the Conference Board reported last week.
 
Looking forward into the coming week reports
New home sales for June reported by the Census Bureau
Consumer confidence data for July reported by the Conference Board
First unemployment claims for the last week reported by the Employment and Training Administration
Q2 gross domestic product information reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis consumer sentiment data for the month of July reported by the University of Michigan.

Mortgage Defaults Drop Again in California

The last quarter saw fewer homeowners being pulled down the road of foreclosure. In California, homes sales were up 33 percent from what was seen in February. In the Bay area, the housing market is experiencing more sales with prices down.

There were a total of 68,239 Notices of Default in January to March from JP Morgan Chase & Co, JPM UPBank of America Corp, BAC DOWN Wells Fargo Company, and WFC UPA.

This figure is down 2.2 percent from what was seen in the previous quarter of 69,799 and is down 15.8 percent from what was seen in the first quarter of 2010 as reported by DataQuick. DataQuick is a San Diego firm follows trends nationally of the real estate market through public property records.

During the last quarter, the Notices of Default were at the lowest seen since the 2nd quarter of 2007, which were 53,493. It was also just a tad over the half of what was seen in the first quarter of 2009, which were 135,431.

John Walsh, DataQuick president stated, “Lenders and servicers have put various temporary holds on foreclosure filings while they work on procedural issues and respond to regulatory and legal challenges. It’s unclear how much of last quarter’s decline can be attributed to market factors and strategic decisions, and how much can be attributed to the formalities of the foreclosure process.”

The majority of the loans went into default during 2005 through 2007, which is the median origination quarter for defaulted loans and is still the 3rd quarter of 2006, which is used as weak underwriting standards peaked at that time, which has been seen the last two years. The majority of the loans established in 2006 are serviced or owned by companies that did not make the loans.

The majority of the active “beneficiaries” in the formal foreclosure process during the last quarter included JPMorgan Chase with 9,634, Wells Fargo with 8,329 and Bank of America with 7,158.

The services with the highest number of defaults during the last quarter included ReconTrust Co (mainly for Bank of America and MERS), Quality Loan Service Corp (Bank of America), California Reconveyance Co (JPMorgan Chase), NDEx West (Wells Fargo) and Cal-Western Reconveyance Corp (Wells Fargo).

The most costly zip codes in California noticed had more mortgage defaults with a slight rise quarter to quarter while their defaults decreased less on a year-over-year basis than in the overall market. California’s 80 zip codes with median sale prices of $800,000 or more last quarter reported a 5.8 percent quarter-to-quarter rise in default notices and a 4.7 percent year-over-year fall.

However, zip codes with medians prices below $200,000 reported first-quarter defaults dropped 5.5 percent from the prior quarter and drop of 17.7 percent from a year ago.

On primary mortgages, California homeowners were on average behind on their payments six when the lender filed the Notice of Default. The borrowers owed a median $15,818 on a median $323,667 mortgage.

On home equity loans and lines of credit in default, borrowers owed a median $4,076 on a median $67,222 credit line.

Even though 68,239 default notices were filed during the last quarter, the defaults only involved 66,251 homes due to some borrowers being in default on multiple loans

The least common area of California to see default home loans was in San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo counties. On the other end, the most common areas for default home loans were in Tulare, Madera and San Joaquin counties.

CA Court Expands Liability To RE Brokers On Short Sales

In a recent California court of Appeals case, Holmes v. Summer, holds that if a real estate broker knows that a listed property is significantly upside-down and cannot be sold without a “short sale,” that the listing broker has a duty to disclose this “material fact” to a potential buyer. This means if the broker is not representing the buyer, this information must be made apparent to the buyer. The broker must notify the buyer that the short sale may not be able to obtain approval from a lender and the closing may not occur.

In this situation, the homebuyer entered into a contract with a home seller to buy a house for $749,000. The buyer sold his own home in order to get the money to buy the new house, however, the loans on the target house totaled over $1.14 million making the agreed upon buying price not enough close enough pay off the debts unless there was the seller contributed $392,000, or the lenders agreed to a short sale.

“In Holmes v. Summer, G041906 (Cal. App. 4th, filed Oct. 6, 2010), Justice Moore wrote, “$392,000 is not exactly ‘chump change’” – and that this was the “material fact” that needed disclosure.” There was no approval before for a short sale through the lender.

The Listing Agent – “apparently,” as the case is quiet on the issue never revealed in the paperwork to the homebuyer before accepting the buying agreement that it was a short sale. The homebuyer declares they thought it was a “normal” sale.

The homebuyers then sued the Listing agent, “claiming that the listing broker was under an obligation to disclose to the buyers that the property was over-encumbered and could not be sold at the agreed upon purchase price, unless the seller contributed or the lenders capitulated.” The Court of appeal reversed the earlier ruling in favor of the broker. The Appellate Court found that under the facts of this case, the brokers were duty-bound to disclose to the homebuyers that there was a “substantial risk that the seller could not transfer title free and clear of monetary liens and encumbrances.”

The seller’s broker disputed that she had a duty not to disclose the seller’s confidential financial information. “the court ruled that the existence of the three deeds of trust was public record and could be disclosed.”

In a terse appellate opinion, Justice Moore opinion was that the buyers were entitled to the broker’s opinion of the likelihood that the transaction would close, as the broker was more knowledgeable about these procedures.

“The court ruled that the Seller’s breach of contract was a reasonably foreseeable likelihood that the Buyer should have been made aware of – before the buyer sold his house to complete this purchase.” In addition, the broker was supposed to have known the buyer was selling their own home in order to buy the home, as this is what normally occurs in the state of California.

This new ruling raises disconcerting issues for brokers. This may be interpreted to increase “fiduciary” duties to non-clients! Alternately, it may be interpreted to increase the duties of every agent to include more than the normal “inspect and disclose” duties that are already in place or other unending duties that non-clients may create.

Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce honors Eco-Savvy Community

Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce honored Brookfield Homes’ new home community Rockrose at The Foothills by naming them the 2011 recipient of the Environmental Spirit Award. The Chamber held its 43rd Annual Business Awards Dinner at the Park Hyatt Resort Aviara in Carlsbad.

Rockrose was unveiled on year ago featuring single-family detached residences that go beyond the State of California’s Title 24 standards for energy efficiency by at least 35%.

In naming Rockrose its 2011 Environmental Spirit Award winner, the Carlsbad Chamber highly praised Brookfield Homes by naming Rockrose the 2011 Environmental Spirit Award winner, “a commitment to more sustainable home building with its first eco-savvy neighborhood, Rockrose at The Foothills of Carlsbad.” Brookfield just happens to be the first homebuilder to receive this award.

Every homeowner at Rockrose integrates six areas of eco-savvy design, including energy conservation, water conservation, waste reduction, improved indoor air quality, sustainable building materials/wood conservation, and renewable energy/solar power.

Steve Doyle, president of Brookfield Homes San Diego/Riverside division, stated that Rockrose represents the company’s commitment to combine forward-thinking green building features with quality architectural design and excellent construction.

“We appreciate the Carlsbad Chamber’s recognition and are proud and humbled to receive the 2011 Environmental Spirit Award,” stated Doyle. “We’re honored to be the first homebuilder to earn the Chamber’s award for environmental stewardship.”

Doyle explained to the crowd of 550 that Brookfield took advantage of the recent slow down in real estate slowdown reconsider their business model. The company spent two years examining sustainable products and building practices to deliver the eco-savvy model at Rockrose.

“Over the last few years, we took the opportunity to reinvent our product,” stated Doyle. “We wanted to become the sustainable builder for San Diego County.

For homeowners this is a money saving and eco-savvy features that get attention such as a recirculating hot water system, tankless water heaters, low VOC carpets and paints, Merv 8 air filters, formaldehyde free insulation, along with other options such as electrostatic air filters and photovoltaic solar panels.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Governor, authenticated Brookfield’s efforts in a March 2010 proclamation:

“Rockrose not only generates jobs and homes for Californians, it also sets a new standard in creating sustainable communities,” Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Whether in construction materials, energy sources, landscaping and more, every facet of this project aims to make California an even better – and greener – place to call home.”

Rockrose was recognized in January for design excellence by the National Association of Home Builders. The new home community was named a finalist in four separate categories at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC) Gold Nugget Awards, as well as being named a finalist at the 2010 Building Industry Association (BIA) and Sales and Marketing Council (SMC) of Southern California’s joint annual awards, the SoCal Awards during the last year.

Rockrose has received praise not only by receiving the Environmental Spirit Award but also from a wide range of energy industry executives and regulatory officials.

Lee Schavrien, the senior vice president of finance, regulatory and legislative affairs for Sempra Energy Utilities, described Rockrose a “model for other home builders – even a challenge for other developers.” In addition, “We applaud Brookfield Homes as a leader in a new proactive approach to energy efficiency by building it in.”

Anthony Eggert of the California Energy Commission stated, “Projects like this demonstrate that it can be done.”

Jan Cortez, the executive director of the American Lung Association’s San Diego office, stated that Rockrose will serve as a model project for the Lung Association to educate the community.

“Indoor air quality is important to San Diegans. It’s great to see a model home that is energy efficient and progressive but also is a healthful home,” Cortez explained.

To learn more about the community, contact a San Diego Realtor.

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