San Francisco Real Estate - Residential

TICs selling for nearly what condos cost!

Recently in TheFrontSteps blog there was a question posed by a reader:

In Andy Sirkin’s famous online article on condo conversion in SF, the graph seems to suggest that vacant 2 unit TICs are fetching the same price as condos (Condominium Conversion in San Francisco), implying there is not much upside in condo conversion price-wise. However, I have also heard from some Realtors that condo conversion of duplexes can increase the building value by 10%. What’s your thoughts on this?

Our reply:

Not being a Realtor, I am speaking from a purely investment point of view. Because the laws are changing all the time. SF Supervisors are trying to close the loopholes to keep people from converting 2 & 3 unit apartment buildings into condos to avoid rent control. But the market finds a way. And TICs have now become that way.

Essentially people are buying “shares” of building and, depending on the TIC agreements, specific space can be designated as “owned” by one party or another. It is a more open arrangement than a condominium and works well for people who want to buy something, not rent, especially those who are buying for the first time. Also, there is not the same expense in setting up an HOA and all the bureaucracy and reporting requirements that are associated with condominiums.

But back to the original question. Yes, TICs seem to be selling for almost the same price as condos, though there are some deals to be had in different areas. I think that is mostly due to the fact that people are overcoming their fear based on a better knowledge of the product.
The challenge to date has been financing. Fractional loans have a higher interest rate (in general) than traditional loans. But lenders are quickly working to fill this need so new loan products are being introduced all the time. Once again, free market enterprise comes to the rescue.

- Mick Orton
SFResidence.com

posted by SFResidence.com @ 10:08 PM 0 comments

Things to do in San Francisco - Part 33 - Stow Lake Boat & Bike Rentals

posted by SFResidence.com @ 6:51 AM 0 comments

Real Estate market economist presents a rosy picture at the Coldwell Banker Previews Retreat

Today in Monterey at the Coldwell Banker California Previews Retreat, real estate economist Gary Watts put the gloom and doom of the media, in our case, the San Francisco Chronicle in perspective. He pointed out that bad news sells. Considering that newspaper subscriptions and the number of people watching network news have dropped dramatically, maybe that is not really the case. Apparently BAD NEWS does not sell either. Especially when it is a distortion of what's really happening.

In about 2 hours he dispelled all the points the news has been making with facts and figures. He did not say why the media is intent on doing this, but I have heard other financial people say that it is because the big news corporations are heavily into the stock market and want people's money there. I do not know this for a fact, but it certainly makes sense. Another guess might be to alter the reality about how good the economy is really doing under the Bush tax cuts and help get a Democrat elected next term.

Regardless of the reasons, he predicts we are in the 23rd month a what has historically been an average of 27 months for housing downturns. Even so, San Francisco done well during this supposed downturn, so does this mean it will do even better??? We think so.

Here is a link to the PDF which is rather large, but there is some great information, particularly launching into what the media has been reporting as inaccurate and misleading.

- Mick Orton

posted by SFResidence.com @ 10:04 PM 0 comments

San Francisco Real Estate Market Update for the week of August 19

Read what Rick Turley, President of Coldwell Banker, San Francisco/Peninsula says in his latest weekly report:

Media reports regarding the condition of the mortgage industry continue to have a perplexing effect on buyers. Some potential buyers aren’t even attempting to qualify for loans for fear of rejection, and others are simply confused by what the media is reporting and think that reasonable loans don’t exist any more. The reality is that credit tightening has only affected a very, very small percentage of buyers. The fact is that they could be missing a good buying opportunity by waiting, or not trying to qualify.

Our partner Princeton Capital is a well-capitalized, multi-source lender, and is guiding many of our customers through some of the confusion, and assisting them through successful purchase transactions. This remains a great time to buy a home, and a chance to leverage the many opportunities now available. In areas of the East Bay and North Bay, sellers are beginning to lower their listing prices; meaning there are bargains to be had. In other areas, multiple offer situations and tighter inventory render it absolutely crucial for buyers to be working with a strong, solid lender.

Read the entire report here.

- Rick Turley

* For an e-mail alert when this report is updated, send an e-mail to info@SFResidence.com with "weekly market report" in the subject line.

posted by SFResidence.com @ 4:53 PM 0 comments

Mortgage Weekly Update - Last Week in Review

Foster Weeks publishes a weekly mortgage report which is updated every Monday morning. How is this affecting the San Francisco real estate market? Read our weekly and monthly market reports.

...the Fed can't do much to help you overcome the feeling of summer slipping away - their actions have helped to stabilize the financial markets, and calm some of the "credit crunch blues". Just over a week ago, the Fed made a decision to lower the rate at their "Discount Window", allowing banking institutions another method of providing assurance of liquidity to their clients, and also helping many institutions continue to fund home loans. Due to the Fed's action, the past week was somewhat calm in the financial world...at least calmer than has been seen in awhile. Both the Stock market and the Bond markets moved higher, and conforming home loan rates remained stable to very slightly improved...

Read the entire report here.

- Foster Weeks

posted by SFResidence.com @ 9:14 AM 0 comments

TRI Coldwell Banker San Francisco real estate statistics - last week in review

SFResidence is part of the TRI Coldwell Banker office at 1699 Van Ness in San Francisco which is one of the premier offices in the City and has the market share numbers to prove it. We have some of the top agents selling real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a result, our office posts some impressive numbers.

Well, it's only a couple of more weeks before we will start seeing an upswing in activity. This week was very slow, which is to be expected at the end of summer. It probably is a combination of the uncertaintly in the stock market along with all the news with interest rates. Though these hysterical news reports have little to do with home mortgage loans, especially in San Francisco, the herd mentality sometimes kicks in and people wait to see how it all shakes out. There will be no report next week.

Here are the numbers for this week 8/22/07:

• 6 new listings (average price $1,721,333 - low $428,000, high $2,350,000)
• 5 ratified sales (pending) (average price $1,203,400 - low $459,000, high $2,800,000)
• 1 closed sales (sold) (price $400,000)
• 1 reduced (price $850,000)

- Janis Stone

posted by SFResidence.com @ 3:08 PM 0 comments

Mortgage Weekly Update - Last Week in Review

Foster Weeks publishes a weekly mortgage report which is updated every Monday morning. How is this affecting the San Francisco real estate market? Read our weekly and monthly market reports. Although the Fed's moves last week did not affect home mortgage or short term borrowing rates, it did have a calming effect on the market!

...many saw Friday morning's surprise action by the Fed as a move that saved the day in terms of the financial markets...at least for now. What was the surprise move exactly? It was actually a doubly good surprise, consisting of two specific actions by the Fed, designed to help ease some of the current fears in the financial markets.

First, a .50% cut to the Discount Rate, taking it from 6.25% down to 5.75%. This is the rate at which the Fed lends money directly to commercial banks, credit unions, savings & loans, and also including large mortgage bankers. Now this is a different rate than the Fed Funds Rate - which is the rate at which banks lend money to other banks, currently at 5.25% - and is the rate generally discussed in terms of cuts or hikes surrounding normally scheduled Fed meetings. Note, the Fed's move to cut the Discount Rate has no impact on mortgage rates or consumer rates like home equity lines of credit. The Discount Rate is generally above the Fed Funds Rate, which does make borrowing money from the Fed a last resort for lending institutions, as they would generally borrow from other banks at a lower rate. However, with the current liquidity situation making that more difficult by the day, the Fed's move will help provide lending institutions more liquidity at more desirable rates in the short term.

Read the entire report here.

- Foster Weeks

posted by SFResidence.com @ 8:09 AM 0 comments

San Francisco Real Estate Market Update for the week of August 12

Read what Rick Turley, President of Coldwell Banker, San Francisco/Peninsula says in his latest weekly report:

There has been a flood of commentary on the credit crunch this week. Both facts and speculations have dominated the headlines. To truly understand the local impact we're experiencing, it's best to listen to the actual comments from out in the field. So this week, I am simply compiling the feedback from our agents and managers in our Bay Area offices. You be the judge as to what is really going on.

Comments from East and North Bay offices:

"Agents dealing in highly sought after areas are less concerned about the buyer’s mortgages since a really competitive offer would need 20% down as a minimum……The media is saturated with news of doom and gloom and it is intimidating our Buyers out here. Otherwise, we are seeing increased activity this week…… We have sold some of our older inventory this week….. Price reductions are seeing action…… The mortgage crisis has given us all the jitters, but as each day passes, we realize that life goes on and so does real estate. Many of our buyers are unphased at this point, though we are seeing drop in activity…….

Read the entire report here.

- Rick Turley

* For an e-mail alert when this report is updated, send an e-mail to info@SFResidence.com with "weekly market report" in the subject line.

posted by SFResidence.com @ 7:55 PM 0 comments

TRI Coldwell Banker San Francisco real estate statistics - last week in review

SFResidence is part of the TRI Coldwell Banker office at 1699 Van Ness in San Francisco which is one of the premier offices in the City and has the market share numbers to prove it. We have some of the top agents selling real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a result, our office posts some impressive numbers.

As I write this we are in Los Angeles for a Coldwell Banker event where Realtors from all over the country gather to trade tricks, tips and ideas to help generate more business. As you'll see from the numbers, this is the reason the broker chooses weeks at the end of summer to have the Elite Retreat because of the typical business slowdown at this time of year.

Here are the numbers for this week 8/15/07:

• 5 new listings (average price $757,800 - low $410,000, high $1,295,000)
• 6 ratified sales (pending) (average price $1,299,833 - low $555,000, high $2,050,000)
• 6 closed sales (sold) (average price $1,309,750 - low $575,000, high $2,795,000)

- Janis Stone

posted by SFResidence.com @ 3:59 PM 0 comments

Sunday Chronicle reports San Francisco neighborhoods still strong!

Yesterday, the Chronicle's Real Estate pull out section featured an atricle about some micro-climates still being strong even after declining sales in other areas and mortgage problems.

Pacific Heights and the Marina are doing better than San Francisco and the state as a whole with nearly 8 percent median price gains for the first 6 months.

Read the article here.

- Mick Orton

posted by SFResidence.com @ 8:13 AM 0 comments

Mortgage Weekly Update - Last Week in Review

Foster Weeks publishes a weekly mortgage report which is updated every Monday morning. How is this affecting the San Francisco real estate market? Read our weekly and monthly market reports.

...last week was just plain the worst of times, as far as the financial markets around the globe were concerned. French bank BNP Paribas — the largest bank in France and second largest in Europe — touched off a crisis in Europe on Thursday when it announced that it couldn't determine the values of three of their mutual funds due to their containing US sub-prime mortgage investments, and actually prohibited withdrawals from these funds until a valuation could be made.

This led to a lack of confidence not only with their customers and investors, but also among all European Union banks. These banks, not knowing the extent of each other's investment exposure in US mortgage backed securities, suddenly realized they couldn't trust one another enough to lend each other money via normal inter-bank loans. This created an instant "liquidity crisis" in Europe, and Stock markets across the world reacted negatively as a result...

Read the entire report here.

- Foster Weeks

posted by SFResidence.com @ 7:48 AM 0 comments

San Francisco Real Estate Market Update for the week of August 5

Read what Rick Turley, President of Coldwell Banker, San Francisco/Peninsula says in his latest weekly report:

It has been an interesting week. The financial markets reacted severely to the tightening of credit in the mortgage industry. Institutional second loans for purchase (ex: 80/10/10) are predominately gone, and practically overnight. On a national scale, the Fannie, Freddie conforming loans, and FHA, VA remained relatively unchanged, but that doesn’t help us much here where the lay of the land is mainly a jumbo loan arena. To balance the perceived risk from investors who purchase these loans, most interest rates on jumbo loans have increased a full percent or more.

Therefore, it is imperative to thoroughly review and understand the financing qualifications and terms for each potential home buyer. In order for any transaction to be closed successfully, buyers will require a real estate professional that is fully informed, knowledgeable and able to provide expert guidance as it relates to the financing aspects of the transaction. It is also important to ensure that buyers are working with a well-capitalized, established lender such as our partner, Princeton Capital. Our Sellers also need to take advantage of our in-house loan professionals who are prepared to help Listing Agents scrutinize offers coming in on their properties...

Read the entire report here.

- Rick Turley

* For an e-mail alert when this report is updated, send an e-mail to info@SFResidence.com with "weekly market report" in the subject line.

posted by SFResidence.com @ 10:37 AM 0 comments

Understanding San Francisco TICs better

A reader asks:

I am trying to understand TIC's better - If I want to buy into a TIC now, and think I may sell in a few years how does it effect the mortgage (not for individual loans), say for example if the rates go up? Does the new buyer buy into the existing mortgage or does it bump up the rate of the existing mortgage?

Our reply:

First of all it depends on the terms of the underlying loan but generally speaking, TIC units get a loan that is assumable. So when you sell to a new person they assume the underlying terms of the existing note. So it does not bump up the rate of the existing loan.

- Janis Stone

posted by SFResidence.com @ 3:33 PM 0 comments

Things to do in San Francisco - Part 32 - San Francisco Zoo

posted by SFResidence.com @ 10:59 AM 0 comments

TRI Coldwell Banker San Francisco real estate statistics - last week in review

SFResidence is part of the TRI Coldwell Banker office at 1699 Van Ness in San Francisco which is one of the premier offices in the City and has the market share numbers to prove it. We have some of the top agents selling real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a result, our office posts some impressive numbers.

While we are in the summer slowdown and the fog is back over the City, sales are still happening, though not at the pace of the spring market. Even so, multiple offers are very common, probably because the inventory is so low.

Here are the numbers for this week:8/8/07

• 6 new listings (average price $1,199,500 - low $529,000, high $2,397,000)
• 8 ratified sales (pending) (average price $868,125 - low $530,000, high $1,188,000)
• 8 closed sales (sold) (average price $1,168,225 - low $399,000, high $2,605,000)

- Janis Stone

posted by SFResidence.com @ 8:40 PM 0 comments

New developments in San Francisco

A reader asks:

Do you foresee a change in the market in the next few years with all of the new developments in San Francisco? How do you think it will effect the market?

Reply:

Any time there is a large increase in supply and the demand does not increase at the same pace it does effect the market. In San Francisco each area is a sub-market. So the building in the South of Market area the the 3rd street corridor is going to primarily effect those areas, especially the "older" contemporary projects. It will probably not effect the condos in Victorian or older, smaller buildings since that is a different profile of buyer.

Buyers who like the charm of Victorians and older properties usually are not willing to go into new projects. I doubt it will effect the market in established markets of the north part of the City including Pacific Heights, Marina, Cow Hollow, Presidio Heights, Russian Hill, Telegraph Hill and Nob Hill. These areas still lack adequate supply for the demand.

The buyers that I have worked with in the established areas of San Francisco want to live in those areas and are not willing to go to the newer complexes out of these areas. At the same time, the buyers who like the new projects and easy access to the 280 Freeway and the Bay Bridge want to live in that area of town. Here is an article from the San Francisco Business Times showing the residential development pipeline of projects that were under construction, or were approved and in the planning stages.

So far the demand is keeping up with the supply but this is the first time since I have been a realtor that we have seen so many units coming online at the same time. We will have to wait and see.

- Janis Stone

posted by SFResidence.com @ 7:51 AM 0 comments

Mortgage Weekly Update - Last Week in Review

Foster Weeks publishes a weekly mortgage report which is updated every Monday morning. How is this affecting the San Francisco real estate market? Read our weekly and monthly market reports.

Last week's rates improved slightly even on news about the failure of American Home Mortgage company.

...Good news came in the form of friendly inflation and employment news, which helped rates on conforming home loans improve by about .125% over the course of the week. "Conforming" home loans are those under $417K, and subject to very standard credit, income and asset qualifying, nothing exotic, outside the box or fancy - and there's a reason those are being singled out here as having improved. More on that later.

A little bad news came by way of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, revising previous personal savings rate estimates higher, but showing that Americans still save less than 1% of their income. If you're not sure that you are preparing effectively for your future plans, like retirement or sending your kids to college, please get in touch with me, and let's review your situation to see if I have an idea or referral that might help.

The ugly last week - well, it was really ugly. The media screamed all week about issues in the mortgage industry, particularly impacting what are called "non-conforming" home loans; those that are dollar amounts higher than $417K, or with credit, income or assets not falling under traditional guidelines. Many of those rates got excessively ugly, in many cases, overnight. Why? It's an interesting story, and not one that even the media seems to understand very well. But read on, as this week's Mortgage Market View unpacks all the details...and what you can do now to make sure you won't be impacted...

Read the entire report here.

- Foster Weeks

posted by SFResidence.com @ 8:32 AM 0 comments

Please be careful in the Marina

We received an alert from one of our fellow Realtors about a sudden rise in attacks in the Marina. Here are some simple suggestions from the police:

• Do not fight back - they are very dangerous. Pepperspray, etc...is not very helpful in these cases because it could anger them enough to use their weapons.
• Report anything suspicious immediately. Do not go out alone at night. Do not wear flashy clothing, jewelry or brand name clothing.
• Call our neighborhood supervisor Aliota-Pier at 554-7752 and request more police patrols.

What happened to this once safe area? We are told that supervisor Aliota has lent our neighborhood patrol to the Western Addition. A final word of advice; avoid the Walgreens at Divisadero and Lombard at night.

Please be safe.

- Mick Orton

posted by SFResidence.com @ 8:01 AM 0 comments

San Francisco Real Estate Market Update for the week of July 29

Read what Rick Turley, President of Coldwell Banker, San Francisco/Peninsula says in his latest weekly report:

An island of good news appeared this week in a sea of negative media regarding weakness in the housing market. The National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index jumped five percent to 102.4 in June.

The index was created to be a more forward-looking snapshot on home sales than NAR's existing home sales report, which charts sales at the time of closing. The pending home sales index tracks when a sales agreement is signed, generally a month or more ahead of closing. The nationwide report is good news in that it indicates that home sales could see an increase in coming months. Now we need a few more media sources to pick up reports such as this, and we’re working on that. The important message to a Buyer in one of our micro markets where sales activity is slower is that historically as soon as media picks up that sales activity is stronger – Sellers quickly become less negotiable...

Read the entire report here.

- Rick Turley

* For an e-mail alert when this report is updated, send an e-mail to info@SFResidence.com with "weekly market report" in the subject line.

posted by SFResidence.com @ 12:53 PM 0 comments

Things to do in San Francisco - Part 31 - Haas-Lilienthal House

posted by SFResidence.com @ 8:05 AM 0 comments

TRI Coldwell Banker San Francisco real estate statistics - last week in review

SFResidence is part of the TRI Coldwell Banker office at 1699 Van Ness in San Francisco which is one of the premier offices in the City and has the market share numbers to prove it. We have some of the top agents selling real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a result, our office posts some impressive numbers.

You could say this was one of our slowest weeks in a long time, however, as summer goes, it is usually pretty laid back with all the people and agents gone on vacations. So the numbers should not be all that surprising. As we move toward the end of August things will start to pick up for our usual fall market.

Here are the numbers for this week:

8/1/07

• 6 new listings (average price $4,679,500 - low $799,000, high $23,000,000)
• 10 ratified sales (pending) (average price $1,372,700 - low $350,000, high $2,380,000)
• 2 closed sales (sold) (average price $927,500 - low $549,000, high $1,306,000)

- Janis Stone

posted by SFResidence.com @ 1:04 PM 2 comments