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1. 

   'First Look': Local real estate market shifting

   By THE BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN

   Tuesday, Jun 18 2013 12:14 PM

   The Bakersfield residential real estate market continues to change, the founders of Majestic Properties said Tuesday on "First Look with Scott Cox."

   Bart Tipton offered these numbers: Two years ago, active for-sale listings were comprised of about 33 percent bank-owned properties, 33 percent short sales and 33 percent regular sales.

   Now it's about 10 percent bank-owned properties, 5 percent short sales and 85 percent regular sales. Californian President and CEO Richard Beene asked where the market stands on a scale of 1 to 10. Tracey Tipton gave the market a 6.

   "We're seeing some market turnaround," Tracey said. Beene said of the market, "This town will not be healthy until this thing is stabilized."

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2. 

   Couple pleads guilty in federal mortgage fraud case

   A Bakersfield couple pleaded guilty Monday in a mortgage fraud scheme that prosecutors say cost lenders more that $6 million in losses. In a Fresno federal court, Eric Ray Hernandez, 37, and Monica Marie Hernandez, 32, both pleaded guilty...

3. Deal expected to help Realtors, their customers

   More than a dozen Bakersfield Realtors are moving to a new office under a consolidation expected to increase collaboration in the local home market. Bakersfield's Prudential Tobias Realtors has acquired the local office of Arroyo...
4. 

   Inventory rises but home market continues recovery

   New data show the local housing market continued its recovery last month even as the total supply of single-family homes for sale registered a noticeable increase. The median price of Bakersfield homes sold in May hit $188,000, 4.2...

5. California sues JPMorgan Chase over "illegal" debt collection

   SACRAMENTO -- California's attorney general sued one of the nation's largest banks Thursday, alleging that JPMorgan Chase & Co. used illegal tactics in its debt collection efforts against about 100,000 credit card holders. The lawsuit filed...
6. 

   Investors have swooped in -- quickly

   Painful though it was for many Bakersfield homeowners, the housing bust of a few years ago created great financial opportunity. Since the start of the real estate downturn, local and outside groups -- from individuals and family trusts to...
7. 

   Looking for a house? How to battle the big guys

   Consumers can compete with seasoned investors in Bakersfield's current home market, local Realtors say. But it takes awareness, determination and the help of a good agent. To start with, keep in close contact with your Realtor in case a...
9. 

   The housing boom? It's not what you think

   By traditional home-buying standards, Stephen Laymance has done everything right. He has a steady job with a big company, he was pre-qualified for a loan, and he's gone to look at so many homes for sale in southwest and northwest...
10. 

    Captured on film, kit foxes become an issue in development fracas

    From a distance, the 12 acre plot of land looks abandoned and lifeless. But if you look closely you see many holes under the surrounding fence -- holes that were were made by the residents -- San Joaquin Kit Foxes. Now neighbors who hope...

11. Report raises concerns about investor-driven housing bubble

    A leading observer of Bakersfield's housing market has begun expressing concerns about an investor-driven bubble. In a note accompanying his preliminary February market report, Bakersfield home appraiser Gary Crabtree wrote that one in...

12. Supervisors to consider crackdown on vacant homes

    The fear that an abandoned home can spread across a neighborhood motivated Supervisor Mike Maggard to call for county staff to create the start of a new ordinance that will get its first, conceptual airing before the Kern County Board of...

13. Crabtree Report: Bakersfield home prices set to rise 18 percent in 2013

    Bakersfield home prices are on track to rise 18 percent this year -- an average increase of $30,000 per house -- according to a widely read monthly report released Thursday. Local appraiser Gary Crabtree based his forecast on dual sets of...

14. Keep Your Home California doubles lender participation

    More Valley homeowners should be able to qualify for mortgage help now that the number of lenders participating in a state-run mortgage assistance program has doubled. Keep Your Home California, a $2 billion federally funded program that...