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92 STATE OF AFFAIRS: WEST » IN THE NEWS High-End Home Sales Rise in California e number of homes sold for more than $1 million in California increased 45.1 percent in 2013 against 2012, according to real estate information service DataQuick. Last year, 39,175 homes sold over the million-dollar mark versus 2012's 26,993 homes. Of those homes, 10,602 were bought with cash. ose homes that were financed in this price bracket had a median down payment of 30 percent, and the firms most willing to provide financing were Union Bank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo. "e luxury home market is unique— always has been. It responds to its own set of economic factors. ings like job growth, mortgage interest rates, and migration patterns do not play the same role as IPOs, stock market performance, or how well one type of investment does compared to another, and where one wants to park one's excess money. e $2 million threshold seems to be a more interesting cutoff point. Homes selling below that level do seem more responsive to the more traditional market factors," DataQuick president John Walsh said. e sales numbers year-over-year for the $1 million, $2 million to $3 million, $3 million to $4 million, $4 million to $5 million, and $5 million-plus price ranges all saw growth. Homes selling for $2 million to $3 million and for more than $5 million both set all-time records. Newly built homes and condo sales in the $1 million-plus price category were both up over their 2012 numbers. Overall, home sales in California were down by 0.6 percent in 2013, dropping from 449,059 homes sold to 446,319. Vectra FS, Valuation Vision Introduce RepairSmart BPO Vectra Field Services, a provider of pre- foreclosure and REO mortgage field services, and Valuation Vision, a company specializing in alternative valuation products and technology solutions, together announced the launch of RepairSmart BPO, a new property valuation report. According to a release, the new solution "leverages the expertise of a property inspector and the market and valuation knowledge of a local real estate agent," providing lenders, asset managers, investors, and insurance professionals all the information they need to know what's required to prepare an asset in order to maximize their return. "is next-generation valuation product provides every detail needed to fuel a winning game plan for our clients," said Vectra president Brice Bishop. "RepairSmart BPO combines products and services traditionally ordered separately from multiple suppliers and bundles them into an intuitive report that clearly reveals the right execution strategy for any asset." RepairSmart BPO taps the expertise of Vectra's inspector network, who inspect more than 300 property components to create an accurate and comprehensive repair estimate. at data is then captured and reconciled by one of Valuation Vision's local agents to deliver a report designed to reflect a subject property's true potential in the local market. "RepairSmart BPO greatly improves the reliability of valuation risk assessment by combining innovative technology, relevant human expertise, and in-depth [and] current market data to generate a truly collaborative result," said Valuation Vision CEO Shane Copeland. "No other product leverages more diverse and relevant input to determine true capital expenditure exposure in their valuation methodology." Housing Scorecard Details Progress, Examines San Francisco MSA While the housing market made great strides toward recovery last year with improvements in foreclosures, home prices, and homeowner equity, the economy is "still healing" from the effects of the recent downturn, according to the latest Housing Scorecard from the Obama administration. e January report found several improving indicators and particular strength in the San Francisco metro area, which has benefited from significant government support. Citing recent RealtyTrac data, the Obama administration reported foreclosures declined 33 percent over the year in 2013 to their lowest level since 2005. At the same time, REO activity declined 31 percent. Existing-home sales reached their highest level since 2006 with an annual gain of 9.1 percent in 2013, according to the January Scorecard. New home sales also improved, rising 16.4 percent over the year to their highest level in five years. Underwater homeowners also felt some relief from rising prices, which brought national equity up $3.4 trillion over the first three quarters of the year, according to data from the Federal Reserve. "With foreclosures down, home sales up, and equity continuing to grow, the housing market continues to make slow but steadily improving progress," said Kurt Usowski, deputy assistant secretary for economic affairs at HUD. e January Housing Scorecard highlighted the impact made by the administration's Making Home Affordable Program, which was enacted in 2009. In total, more than 1.9 million homeowners have received assistance through the program as of December. More than 1.3 million homeowners have received permanent loan modifications through the administration's flagship Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). e Federal Housing Administration enacted another 2.1 million loss mitigation actions over the same time period. e administration also lays claim to another 4 million proprietary modifications, which it says it influenced by the creation of HAMP. e San Francisco metropolitan statistical area (MSA) suffered uniquely during the recession and is now showing great improvement, according to the administration. "As the housing market continues to improve nationwide, the San Francisco metropolitan area is also showing signs of significant improvement," Usowski said. e San Francisco metro is made up of two distinct areas—San Francisco and Oakland— each of which weathered the housing crisis differently. During the bubble, Oakland home prices increased at a rate 34 percent higher than the national average, while San Francisco's home prices lagged the national rate by 11 percent. During the bust, Oakland's home prices fell 45 percent, while San Francisco's home prices declined 22 percent. rough early 2010, San Francisco's delinquency rate kept pace with the national rate. However, San Francisco's delinquency rate has since improved at a faster pace. Serious delinquencies in the San Francisco MSA decreased 51 percent over the year in 2013, outpacing the national decline of

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