| For Statistics Junkies - San Francisco Home Price Trends Since 1995 | April 23rd, 2009 |
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It always helps, though, to see the truth of it borne out with real data: San Francisco Home Appreciation and Depreciation Since 1995 Those dying to feast on additional statistics on percentage declines and dollar per square foot as of April 15, 2009 can grab more information here. |
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I’m not going to lecture you about how real estate is a long-term investment. And how Buyers now are seeking a home first and an investment second. You’re all smart enough to know that.| Hotsheet - Market Activity for Past Two Weeks | April 17th, 2009 |
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Hotsheet Statistics for the Past 2-Weeks: SF Houses, Condos & TICs(compared to the previous 2-week period) New Listings: 315 – slightly up from 306 Back-on-Market: 64 – slightly down from 67 Price Reductions: 207 – substantially down from 273 Went Contingent: 171 – down from 185 Contingent REO: 7 – down from 11 Went Pending: 164 – up from 151 Sold: 104 – down from 133 Sold REO: 9 – down from 20 Expired/Withdrawn: 131 – substantially down from 199 |
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| Another Reason to Buy– Mortgage Protection Insurance | April 11th, 2009 |
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Another reason I’m withholding your hall pass to rent forever instead of buying is the new Mortgage Protection Insurance– provided by the California Association of Realtors Housing Affordability Fund (aka C.A.R.H.A.F—let’s call if ‘CAR-HALF’ for fun). If you qualify for CAR-HALF, you can receive up to $1,500 per month for up to six months to help make your mortgage payments. Other program benefits also include coverage for accidental disability and a $10,000 death benefit. More details on who qualifies and how to apply for CAR-HALF are on my Examiner website. |
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| Is It Really Cheaper to Buy than Rent? | April 10th, 2009 |
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Is it Really Cheaper to Buy Instead of Rent??? It’s true! It’s true! The papers even say so! The Rent vs Buy equation really is coming more into balance. To see how, you can use this excellent online calculator provided by RPM mortgage which measures the cost of rent against the after-tax cost of buying. For further proof here’s a sample pdf analysis that compares a $2600 rent payment to a $650,000 home purchase with 20% down at a 5.25% interest rate with 1 point. I know not everyone is fortunate enough to have 20% on hand—and that not everyone can afford a $2600 monthly payment. But the calculator can be used for lower price points and lower monthly payments, and could help you analyze your costs should you decide to shop neighborhoods with less expensive housing or go for a lower downpayment (FHA loans can require as little as 3% down). |
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| Hotsheet on Sales | April 4th, 2009 |
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• Inventory levels are relatively stable. • The number of listings accepting offers increased 43% compared to the previous 2-week period. • For every 3 listings that accept an offer, 1 comes back on market, which is a historically very high level. • Days on market for active listings are stable at 60 – 66 days for SFD, Condo & TICs. • The number of expired and withdrawn listings has increased substantially. New Listings: 306 - down from 382 Active on Market SFD: 646 up from 630; Median LP = 899k; Average Days on Market = 66 days Contingent/Pending SFD: 289 listings; Median LP = 625k Bank-Owned Properties: Months Supply of Inventory All SFD 5.8 months (up from 3.2 one year ago) All Condos 8.7 months (up from 3.8 one year ago) All TICs 14.4 months Properties at the lower ends of SF prices continue to be much more active than those at the higher price points. TIC and 2-4 Unit Bldg inventory levels are very high. |
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Hotsheet Statistics for the Past 2-Weeks: SF Houses, Condos & TICs| San Francisco’s Softening Rental Market | April 4th, 2009 |
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The easiest way to see how the market has shifted are the incentives apartment buildings are offering. A Pacific Heights building with a swimming pool is offering free parking in an effort to fill vacancies. A Russian Hill building will throw in the first month free. There are more places that allow pets. And a smaller landlord in Hayes Valley reduced his deposit to half-a-month’s rent. Supply indicators also point to lower rents. Craigslist postings max out at 1000 units available for over $3,000. Below that there are close to 1,000 available in the $2500-3000 range and another +/-750 available in the $2000-2500 range. The inventory pops up to 1000+ in the $1500-2000 range (one-bedroom territory) as well as in the $1500 and below range. Our rental department tells us that the toughest units to move are the ones in the very high end—which for them is $4000+. |
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It’s tough to get raw data on the San Francisco rental market– but word up from the San Francisco Apartment Association and anecdotal evidence indicates a distinct softening in rental prices, and an increase in vacancies. Some think both the high end and low end markets are affected, with expensive apartments more difficult to rent, and longtime San Francisco’s taking advantage of the weak market to move into better homes or new neighborhoods.| Prices MAY Be Heating Up | April 2nd, 2009 |
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Another home that went with multiple offers was a fun, ‘artsy’ house on the Northeast corner of Bernal Heights. It had a dramatic, loft-like living/dining room and very cool, remodeled kitchen. The challenging layout (steep stairs to one bedroom, a steep ladder to another) didn’t deter eight buyers putting in offers. Listed for $750,000, we know it’s in escrow for at least $800,000. Other properties that closed for over asking in the past week are: 314 Garfield, a 2BR/1BA single family home in the modest Ingleside Heights district, listed for $562,400 and sold for $587,000 (lender owned property); a 2BR/2BA townhome style condo at 1805 Fillmore in Pacific Heights, listed for $769,000 and sold for $775,000; and a beautiful vacant 2-flat building at 228-230 Liberty Street in Liberty Heights (near Noe Valley), listed for $1,380,000 and sold for $1,480,000. Some of our agents definitely think that homes which sold just two months ago would go for more now, particularly in the under-$800K range. I’m also seeing (finally!) closings at Oceanview Terrace, a huge (370U) condo building near the Daly City border. During the real estate bubble investor buyers went crazy for this building and bought many of the units there. For a long time the place was dense with bank-owned and short-sale listings, but I’m seeing shrinking inventory there relative to last fall, and two 2BR units closed there in the past few days for right around $400K each. |
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