Federal mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae announced Thursday they will suspend about 16,000 scheduled foreclosures nationwide during the holiday season.

Details weren't available about the number of affected borrowers in the Sacramento region and California. The temporary suspension applies to borrowers who are 90 days or more behind on payments.

The mortgage firms said they will suspend foreclosures from Nov. 26 through Jan. 9. Executives said the move would give certainty to affected borrowers during the holidays and provide more time to gear up new loan modification programs.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae said affected households will be contacted about the temporary suspensions. The temporary ban applies only to homes that are occupied.

The two firms, which were seized by the federal government in September, hold about 20 percent of the nation's delinquent loans.

– Jim Wassermann@sacbee.com.

How low can this go?

October home sales blew through another barrier in the Sacramento County real estate market, as the median sales price fell below $200,000 for the first time since April 2002.

The reverse breakthrough – back to $195,000 – came exactly one year after the county's median sales price for new and existing homes combined fell below $300,000, according to MDA DataQuick statistics released Thursday. The median is that point at which half cost more and half cost less.

Three years of falling home values have now pushed median sales prices below $200,000 in three counties: Sacramento, Yuba and Sutter. Six years ago, news reports pointed to fast-rising sales prices in those counties "shattering" the $200,000 barrier.

The silver lining to the reversal of fortune: another strong month of home sales across the Sacramento region.

"I think the quest for a bargain has overpowered concerns about the economy and where the housing market might be next year," said MDA DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage.

DataQuick reported that 4,201 homes changed hands in Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties. That was down from 4,369 sales in September.

October again broadened the momentum of a year that has seen seven straight months of sales higher than the same months of 2007. The strong performance also showed that buyers stayed in the game despite warnings of possible economic collapse by prominent Washington, D.C., officials throughout September. That's when buyers initiated the contracts that led to most of October's closings.

The sales burst – equaling levels last seen in the area in early 2006 – flies in the face of continued reports of banks refusing to lend, said Folsom real estate agent Mark Solich.

"If you have good credit and full documentation, the money is there," he said.

Statistics show 1,709 more closings last month than during October 2007.

Bank repossessions again accounted for the majority of home purchases, especially in Sacramento County, the largest sector of the region's real estate market. DataQuick said two-thirds of the county's sales involved bank repos.

"The bad news is there's a lot of foreclosures in the market. The good news is they're selling," said Pat Shea, Sacramento regional manager for Prudential California Realty. "Teachers, policemen, nurses – they can all buy houses now."

Analysts saw similar patterns in Los Angeles and the Bay Area as foreclosures have mounted across California. DataQuick said 51 percent of Southern California's October sales were bank repos. It was 45 percent in the Bay Area.

DataQuick's October highlights for new and existing homes combined:

• Sacramento County's $195,000 median price is 34.9 percent below October 2007 and 49.6 percent below its August 2005 high of $387,000.

• Placer County's $320,000 median sales price was 20.5 percent below the same time last year. The median is now 39 percent below the December 2005 high of $525,000.

• El Dorado County's $388,000 median is down 7.1 percent from a year ago. The county's sales price has slipped 27 percent from the March 2006 peak of $531,250.

• Yolo County's $279,750 median price is down 22.8 percent from October 2007. It slipped below $300,000 in September for the first time since January 2004. The county's median sales price is now 41 percent below the November 2005 high of $474,000.

• Yuba County's $175,000 median price in October was 34.5 percent below a year ago. It dipped below $200,000 in March for the first time since January 2004. The median price in the county has fallen 50.2 percent since its November 2005 high of $351,500.

• Sutter County's October median price was $183,000, down 29.7 percent from the same time last year. It dipped below $200,000 in May, August and September, a level not seen since January 2004. The county's median home price is now 46 percent below the December 2005 peak of $339,000.

• Nevada County's median price was $365,000, down 18.9 percent from last year. The price has fallen 27.1 percent from an October 2005 high of $501,000.

• Amador County saw October's median price dip to $250,000, down 27.5 percent from the same month in 2007. The median has fallen 41.2 percent from the May 2006 high of $425,000.

The number of homes for sale in El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties also continued to fall in October. Sacramento-based TrendGraphix counted 10,879 for-sale signs in the four-county area. One in four are foreclosed properties.

Mike Lyon, head of Sacramento's Lyon Real Estate, attributed the falling inventory to "sellers giving up in a foreclosure-dominated market."

The time is here when can you live 3,000 miles from your mom and get a text message if she's not out of bed by noon.

And if your aging dad forgets to open the medicine box to take his heart pills, that's another digital alert on your cell phone, BlackBerry or laptop.

If this sounds far-fetched, you haven't seen the newest real estate phenomenon in Roseville. It's a national demonstration home for advances in housing elder generations. The single-story house, opened Oct. 23 at Eskaton Village off Blue Oaks Boulevard, is a glimpse of what might happen when 70 million baby boomers hit their 70s and 80s.

"Three hundred-some people have toured this house," said Sheri Peifer, vice president with Carmichael-based Eskaton Senior Residences and Services. It's a daily pilgrimage of architects, home builders, technology insiders and elder-care professionals. Visitors came this week from Florida, Georgia and Oregon. The 1,850-square-foot house is a joint venture with Roseville builder Lakemont Homes.

Most people associate 40-year-old Eskaton with assisted living. But its demonstration house is a pitch to the design and building industry for what's possible now in standard senior housing. The new in-home technology on display helps seniors with what they want most: to stay in their own house as long as possible.

So think fitness centers for the brain instead of biceps. (A special computer designed with help from the UCLA Center on Aging offers memory exercises to ward off dementia). Or picture in-home blood pressure checks on a wireless device that sends results to nurses. Webcams offer personal medical consultations without an office visit. (Intel's new touchscreen Health Guide device asks: "How are you feeling today?" If not so good, it suggests what to do before it turns into trouble).

The remote monitoring, however, is most interesting to children of aging parents. A "Grand Care" digital system "allows seniors to live at home and offers family members peace of mind they're doing fine," said Kathy Hatten, an Eskaton guide who takes people on tours through the house.

Sensors that look like computer mice and detect motion can be placed throughout the home. If motion falls to an unusually low level – suggesting a fall or medical problem – alerts are sent to children or others who may be down the street or across the country.

This two-bedroom, two-bath house, however, is not just about technology. It also contains small touches you never think about when you're younger. The air filter is near the floor instead of in the ceiling. Doors are 36 inches wide to accommodate wheelchairs. There are no steps to trip on. Shelves are low and electrical sockets are high.

The demonstration house is intended to attract builder interest in an "Eskaton Certified" home program.

One thing is for sure about baby boomers. They don't like to think about life after their current status as "active adults." But if Roseville's new demonstration house is any indicator, that stage, too, will have its perks. Information: www.eskaton.org.

Workshop targets foreclosures

This entire year has been a series of foreclosure prevention workshops. But the big one is coming now.

Hope Now, the national alliance of mortgage lenders and nonprofit loan counselors, will be in Sacramento on Thursday, Dec. 4. The free event is scheduled from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Sacramento Convention Center on J Street.

Details are still sketchy. But these events bring mortgage workout specialists from up to 20 financial institutions to talk with troubled borrowers.

John Jelavich, vice president for homeownership preservation initiative at Walnut Creek-based PMI Group Inc., said his firm will mail invitations to borrowers with loans backed by the firm's mortgage insurance. Lenders, too, may be mailing invitations, he said.

More information is at www.hopenow.com or (888) 995-HOPE (4673).

Mortgage rates fall with economy

Mortgage interest rates, meanwhile, are hovering near the 6 percent mark again. The weekly Freddie Mac survey showed rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans averaging 6.04 percent this week. That's down from last week's 6.14 percent, and off dramatically from a high of 6.46 percent three weeks ago. The firm's economists credit a slowing economy for bringing rates down.

The financial Web site Bankrate.com showed similar overnight results for mortgage rates. Bankrate on Thursday reported a national average of 6.05 percent.

Less crime, cleaner streets, bike lanes – the quality of life in Rancho Cordova has dramatically improved for most residents since the city incorporated just five years ago, city leaders and residents say.

But advocates and some officials fear Rancho Cordova is in danger of effectively becoming two cities – the haves vs. the have-nots – as the City Council looks to strip an affordable housing requirement from the city's plans.

It is the most explosive in a series of moves affecting low- to moderate-income residents, including last year's restrictions on thrift shops and the council's vote Monday to criminalize picking through trash bins and scavenging for recyclables from the trash.

The move to cut an affordable housing requirement could divide the city between affluent neighborhoods south of Highway 50 – where large tracts of land are waiting to be developed – and north of the highway, where working-class and poor residents are more likely to live, affordable housing advocates say.

"They decimated any commitment on their part to build affordable housing," said Shamus Roller, the Sacramento Housing Alliance's executive director. "Rancho Cordova does have some revitalization issues, but they're basically making two communities."

This year, Rancho Cordova is required to update its "housing element" – a plan laying out housing policy for five years. All jurisdictions are required to submit a housing element to the state's Department of Housing and Community Development.

Under its original plan, which the city adopted after incorporating in 2003, Rancho Cordova had required 10 percent of new residential units to be affordable. But in a 3-2 vote earlier this month, the City Council went against city staff's recommendation and decided to drop the 10 percent requirement from the plan the city will submit for state approval.

Mayor Linda Budge supported dropping the 10 percent requirement, which she said is an impediment to development in this rough economy.

"It gets us beyond today's current economic climate," Budge said at the council's Nov. 3 meeting.

Councilman Ken Cooley, however, in an interview called that a "false argument."

When there's a clear standard, developers know what to expect and will factor the cost into the price they're willing to pay for land. Neighboring communities like Folsom have an even higher requirement of 15 percent, he said.

"I just think it will produce more well-rounded communities," Cooley said.

If Rancho Cordova does drop the 10 percent requirement, it doesn't mean the city will stop building affordable housing, said Curt Haven, economic development director.

Officials have talked about passing an ordinance separate from the plan the city will submit to the state.

That ordinance could lay out a more flexible approach to affordable housing, including provisions that would allow developers to donate land and pay fees in lieu of housing. It also could offer incentives for projects that create mixed-income developments, Haven said.

But Cooley said ambiguity and a lack of definitive requirements would undermine any efforts to build affordable housing.

"When you drop the requirement, you'll have a thousand reasons why it doesn't make sense to do it now, or you'll defer it," he said.

The debate over affordable housing in Rancho Cordova could have significant long-term implications for the city, which is one of the few areas in the region with land available for development. The 32-square-mile city is only about half developed.

"They have a lot of growth coming potentially in the next 10 years," said Valerie Feldman, acting managing attorney for the Legal Services of Northern California. "What it might mean unfortunately in the long-term is there will be a Rancho Cordova that looks very lopsided."

Officials say there are still affordable homes and rental apartments in Rancho Cordova, as compared to surrounding areas. But some advocates see the council's effort to drop the affordable housing requirement from the city's plans as part of a larger pattern where the city has improved neighborhoods at the expense of low-income and working-class residents.

"There has been sort of a hostility expressed or a feeling we'd like to be a different Rancho than we are in some respects," Cooley said.

Last year, the council put restrictions on thrift shops and check-cashing businesses. Then, this week, the council voted to make it illegal for people to pick through the garbage or scavenge for recyclables in trash bins.

"I'm speechless. It's ridiculous to criminalize poverty," said Joan Burke, advocacy director for Sacramento Loaves & Fishes, an organization that works with homeless people. "They're spending their time to make laws criminalizing people who are poor and desperate."

The new ordinance prohibits people from going through trash and recycling bins and allows police and code enforcement officers to issue a $100 fine on first-time offenders. Repeat offenders in a 12-month period can be prosecuted for a misdemeanor, which could carry a maximum penalty of $1,000 and six months in jail.

Adam Lindgren, the city attorney, defended the ordinance, which the City Council said would keep the city clean and protect against identity theft.

"This is aimed at taking garbage off the streets and off the sidewalks," Lindgren said. "This is not aimed at taking nickels and dimes out of the pockets of needy people."

Several residents praised the city's efforts to improve neighborhoods. Kevin Jenkins has lived in the area since 2000 and is now a member of the Lincoln Village Neighborhood Association.

"The transformation of the quality of life in our neighborhood has been absolutely amazing," Jenkins said.

It will, however, be a challenge balancing community development with programs to help the city's low- to middle-income residents, he added.

"You don't want to see us become a Gold River," Jenkins said referring to a nearby affluent enclave. "There are some legitimate concerns."

City officials are currently refining the housing element to reflect the changes the council voted on earlier this month. The council will discuss the matter at its Dec. 15 meeting. If approved, the city will send the plan to the state.

Homeowners struggling with their mortgages are invited to a free workshop today at which they may be able to meet with lenders.

The event, 2 to 8 p.m. in Pannell Meadowview Community Center, 2450 Meadowview Road, is being organized by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency and Sacramento City Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell.

Homeowners facing or already in default or fore-closure are encouraged to attend if they have loans with Bank of America, Chase, Countrywide, IndyMac Bank, Wachovia, Washington Mutual or Wells Fargo.

They need to bring loan documents and financial information, such as pay stubs and bank statements, to verify their income so the lenders can determine if they're eligible for a loan modification.

– Sandy Louey

A modest apartment house with style is yours for the asking, if you own a compatible empty lot.

The Capitol Gardens apartments, an art moderne-styled complex designed and built by Sacramento architect Jacob Loyth, has sat for more than a half-century at 1517 N St.

But the Capitol Area Development Authority wants to relocate the front four apartments built in that style to make way for new development.

Tonya Binkley, a tenant, had never heard the term art moderne until she moved into the Capitol Gardens. Binkley, 30, chose the $635-a-month studio apartment because it was old.

"It's a good idea to save it because downtown's historic buildings are a big draw," she said. "They give downtown character. To tear it down would be a bummer."

At least one board member of the Sacramento Old City Association applauds CADA's efforts to save one of a limited number of art moderne structures in Sacramento.

The association's Vivian Gerlach's first choice would be for a CADA-approved developer to build around the Capitol Gardens. Barring that, she thinks CADA is doing the right thing trying to find a home for the units.

"You lose that sense of place when buildings like this go away," said Gerlach. "You can take a trip through time as you walk different blocks of Sacramento."

Art moderne styling is characterized by horizontal lines, flat roofs, a streamlined appearance, rounded corners, glass block windows and stainless-steel trim.

Another example of the art moderne style is the downtown Greyhound bus station.

According to Historic Environment Consultants, Capitol Gardens architect Loyth moved to Sacramento from Chicago in 1930. He built the apartment house for $32,000 in 1949.

Art moderne accents on the Capitol Gardens include decorative bands extending across the front of the building on the second floor, a flat roof and an entrance canopy with curved metal trim.

Ten rear units would be demolished because they are not architecturally significant.

"If it is feasible to relocate the front four units, we would like to do that," said Marc de la Vergne, CADA development manager. "So I would like the public to know that we would make the building available to someone if they could find a home for it."

Whether the new owner would have to pay to move the building, has not been decided. However, the building itself is free.

"The earliest a building move could occur would be in the fall of 2010, provided that frozen financing markets thaw enough by then to allow a developer to secure project financing," said de la Vergne. "When it becomes clear that that a new development on the site will actually proceed, CADA will provide tenants with generous notice of any impending development activities."

CADA is presently evaluating three developer proposals for the site. The CADA board will receive presentations from the developers Dec. 12.

CADA is entertaining proposals in height from eight to 15 stories for whatever would go on the seven-tenths of an acre that includes the Capitol Gardens land. CADA's preference is that the development be for-sale condominiums.

CADA would like the four units moved to a spot in midtown or downtown.