Archive for January, 2010
From Forbes.com: Ten Cities To Go From Renting To Buying
Original Article by Francesca Levy, 01.21.10, 04:50 PM EST
In these metro areas, now is a good time to make the jump to homeownership.
The U.S. government has pushed hard to make homeowners out of one-third of Americans who still rent their homes. It introduced and later extended a tax credit for first-time home buyers, and has kept federal interest rates at their lowest levels since the 1940s.
Market conditions are such that now is a particularly good time for some renters to take the hint.
In Depth: 10 Cities To Go From Renting To Buying
In Portland, San Francisco, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C., the premium to buy–the spread between what you’d spend on renting and what you’d pay each month for a mortgage–is far narrower now than its 15-year average. And economists predict a significant home-price hike in five years. So upgrading will cost much less than usual, and home buyers are likely to get a good return on their investment.
Interest rate chart for the last six months
Here is the interest rate chart (for the last 6 months) pulled today from bankrate.com.
Click on the image for a full-size view.
Hello Rainy Season… Upcoming Listings
Upcoming listings:
$890,000 // SOMA // 1st Street BR/BA: 1/1 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Stunning elegant 1 Bedroom Deluxe floor plan with nook and lots of upgrades
$829,000 //Dolores Heights // Liberty Street BR/BA: 2+/1 PKG: 0 Brief Description: Top floor, Edwardian condo. 2BD; office; open living/kitchen, deck, w/fantastic views of Headlands; Downtown; Bay & Bridge. Beautiful period detail: boxed beam ceilings; fireplaces & mantels; built-ins; etc
$525,000 // Lone Mountain // Stanyan BR/BA: 1 /1 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Spacious contemporary condo in excellent neighborhood. Open floor plan, dining room & updated kitchen and bath. Move-in condition!
Special Report: Low Rates, Don’t Wait.
“ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END…” Or so the popular saying goes. And in mid-December, the Fed reiterated once again that their Mortgage Backed Security (MBS) purchase program…the program that has helped keep home loan rates low for much of the last year…will end on March 31, 2010 as previously stated. Here’s the lowdown on what this means, and all the latest news impacting home loan rates and the markets. During their regularly scheduled December meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve kept the Fed Funds Rate unchanged. But history has shown that when the Fed has left rates too low for an extended period of time, there is a price to be paid, via higher inflation. Yet if the accommodation is removed too early, it can derail an already fragile recovery. The Fed continues to walk this tightrope, trying to get it “just right.” Along with this decision, the Fed emphasized and reminded that their MBS purchase program will still end on their already revised deadline date of March 31, 2010. Why is this significant? Let’s look at the numbers to get an idea. The Fed purchased MBS in 2009 bringing the year-to-date total to $1.087T. This means there is $163B left to purchase before March 31, which in turn means the Fed will purchase about $11.5B on average each week through the end of the buying program. This is less than half of what the Fed was buying regularly throughout 2009 and a 1/3 less than what the Fed has been buying in recent weeks. So why does this point to higher rates around the corner? When there is lots of supply and diminishing demand, the price of that item will subsequently go down – it’s Economics 101. So, when MBS prices start to drop, the yield on those investments goes up, and the yields are directly correlated to mortgage interest rates, which means…you guessed it…that interest rates on mortgages have to go up as well. Give me a call if you want to see how you can benefit from the current low rate environment…before it becomes too late.
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Upcoming Listings and a whole host on Unusual Buyer Needs
Upcoming Listings:
$1,095,000 //SOMA // 5th Street BR/BA: 2/2 PKG: 1 Brief Description: One-of-a-kind custom live/work loft in former warehouse. 24’ ceilings, fireplace, over 1,620 SF. 6 min to BART, 8 to Union Square
$779,000 // Inner Mission // Shotwell Ave Brief Description: 4-Unit building Contractor’s special- great investment. At least 1-unit vacant, Bankruptcy sale, no parking
$595,000 //SOMA // 6th Street BR/BA: 1/2 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Stylish spacious loft with downtown view, full bath on living & mezzanine levels, gas kitchen, 15-unit elevator building
$499,000 //SOMA // First Street BR/BA: 1/1 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Nice junior 1-bedroom condo with west-facing city views. Great condo for first-time buyers or for pied-a-terre
Pocket Listings:
$2,299,000 // Mission Dolores BR/BA: 4/2.5 PKG: 2 Brief Description: 3k sq ft, chef’s kitchen, library, play room, two offices, deck and no yard
$1,350,000// Marina // Webster BR/BA: 2/2 PKG: 2 Brief Description: Fabulous remodeled lower condo in a 2-unit building. Hardwood floors, wood-burning fireplace, gourmet hi-end kitchen, 2 full bathrooms and outstanding location!
$TBD// Hayes Valley // Laguna BR/BA: 2/2 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Condo in same building that I listed the 2BR in last year. 1100+ sf. 2/2. Contemporary 1990s construction. Hardwood floors. Great building with good energy. Big storage. Tenant occupied. Delivered vacant will be priced in the Mid-600K’s
Price Reduction:
$519,000 Old Price: $549,000// South Beach //Harrison Street BR/BA: 2/1 PKG: 1 Brief Comments: Great value in South Beach- perfect for first time home buyers or as an investment. Needs cosmetic upgrades.
Unusual Buyer Need:
Price Range :< $ 3,000,000 Neighborhoods: Cole/Noe/Eureka/Mission-Dolores Brief Comments: 4+BR family house w/yard, 2-car parking
Price Range: < $2,000,000 Neighborhood: Marina, Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights, Cow hollow and District 8 Brief Comments: Looking for a small building or commercial condo for use as an office.
Price Range: < $1,600,000 Neighborhood: Mission Dolores, Duboce Brief Comments: Looking for a 2-unit fixer with 2-levels. 3+BR upper flat and 2+ BR lower flat PKG: 2-3
Price Range: < $1,500,000 Neighborhood: Marina, Pacific Heights, Russian Hill and Lake Brief Comments: Looking for a renovated condo, min 1700 sq.ft. parking and charm (high ceilings, etc). Will consider Noe and Cole Valley if single-family home.
Price Range: <$1,500,000 Neighborhoods: Pacific Heights/Cow Hollow >>ONLY<< Brief Comments: Picky buyer looking for 2bd w/parking & a view
Price Range: <$1,400,000 Neighborhoods: Noe, Mission Dolores, Duboce, Hayes Valley, Nopa and Alamo Square Brief Comments: Looking for 3-4 units building. Flexible about condition and parking
Price Range: <$1,250,000 Neighborhoods: Marina, Cow Hollow, Russian Hill, North Beach, Pac Heights, Noe Valley and Portero Brief Comments: Buyer needs a Condo BR/BA: 2/2 or BR/BA: 3/2 with at least 1,500 square feet, parking and open space – preferably private roof deck or balcony/deck with some views. Small building – less than five units ok with Quiet Street. No street level or low level floors
Price Range: <$1,200,000 Neighborhoods: Potrero, Noe Brief Comments: Buyer needs SFH or Condo 3 beds, min 2 bath with parking new or recently remodeled, at least 2000 sq. Ft.
Fast Facts
(Editor’s Note: Set forth below are Unit Sales/DOM/Monthly Supply charts for the month of November for single-family homes, condominiums and 2-4 units, as well as Supply/Demand, Sales Rate and Median Price charts for the same month.)
Single-Family Homes
Condos
2-4 Units
After 5 years…
In 2009, its 5th year in business, Paragon…
- #3 in unit sales
- #4 in dollar volume sales
- Lowest in Days on Market as Listing Agent (of top 10 brokerages)
- Highest Sales Price to original List Price percentage as Listing Agent (of top 10)
- Average home sales price: $929,000
Resource for Mortgage Rate Trend Information
Here is a resource for information on mortgage rate trends. Bankrate.com provides a tool for creating simple charts in a variety of types for periods of 3 months to 5 years. Sometimes it’s nice to have a simple chart, and there are so many situations in which this could come in handy.
The Market Crash – Graphically Put
There has suddenly been a lot of talk in the media about how, based upon December numbers, the housing market is faltering – and there’s talk of a “double-dip” and so on. Honestly, I have no idea what the future holds, but drawing big conclusions from 1 month’s data is nonsensical. In any case, here is a chart of SF listings going under contract. December’s ratifications did fall from the autumn, as they always do, but comparing the numbers to not only last year (crash) but to 2007, we see that December 2009 was not particularly weak, at least not here in SF.
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