Palos Verdes Real Estate

January 2021 Newsletter

Dear Neighbor:

Well 2020 is over, to the relief of most.  Any further mention of it is [ahem] hindsight.  As I’ve said before, amid all the craziness it turned out to be an unexpectedly good year for sellers of real estate, though few, including me, would have predicted it.  The shortage of houses for sale created at least partially by Covid, caused a frenzy among buyers who had to buy for whatever reason, including the sub-3% interest rates. 

The election of last November had its share of excitement and controversy, and lost in that to many of us were all the provisions of Proposition 19, which passed.  It was promoted as allowing those whose houses had burned down, to buy a new house while keeping the property tax assessment they formerly had, and allowing those 55+ to buy anywhere in the State for more or less than they sold for and also largely retain their former tax base – they can do it 3 times and it’s a little more complicated than that, so check it out before acting on it.  I think most people voted for it on that basis, but obviously this was going to cost the various counties money in decreased property taxes, so the bean counters got busy and  . . .

the provision of Prop 19 that got much less attention was the elimination of the provision that allowed parents to pass the family home on to their children or grandchildren at the same tax basis as the parents had enjoyed.  As of February 16, 2021, that tax break will go away and the property will be re-assessed upon such transfer, unless the transferee is then living in the home as their primary residence.  If you have plans to have your kids inherit your home (or you are the kid inheriting it) I recommend you investigate this immediately, as the bell rings on February 15, 2021.  Any transfer after that is subject to the new law.

All my listings will have closed escrow by the time you read this.  The market is still hot, so if you are thinking of selling and want to get in on it, give me a call (310 613-1076) or email ([email protected]).  As you know, you can also visit my website, www.DanaGraham.com, and read my many articles on real estate, Palos Verdes history, and history generally.

Here’s to 2021 being a better year than was 2020!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 5th, 2021 at 7:43 am and is filed under Buyers, Everything I've Written, Newsletters, Palos Verdes Information, Real Estate General Info, Sellers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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