SoMa Grand (1160 Mission) Update: Sales, Office, And Phan’s Food
According to the sales office (which has moved into the building), SoMa Grand is now 50% in contract or closed. That’s up from 40% at the beginning of February and represents roughly 25 net new contracts over the past four months.
Two new model units will be open this weekend. And work on the ground floor Charles Phan concept restaurant is “underway and slated for fall.”
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The Infinity
Builder: Tishman Speyer
Location: South of Market - San Francisco, California
Address: Folsom St & Spear St, San Francisco, CA 94105
Type: Condos Stories: 37
Units: 365 -->Bath: 1 to 3Beds: Studio to 3
Unit Size: 539 - 1,755 sq.ft.Price: From the $600,000 Phase: New Construction
Completion Date: Open now!
Type: Condos Stories: 37
Units: 365 -->Bath: 1 to 3Beds: Studio to 3
Unit Size: 539 - 1,755 sq.ft.Price: From the $600,000 Phase: New Construction
Completion Date: Open now!
The Infinity, San Francisco’s landmark of contemporary design, is an extraordinary collection of residences located just off the Embarcadero at the corner of Spear and Folsom Streets in San Francisco’s South of Market (SOMA) neighborhood. These luxury condominium residences feature tower homes with spectacular views of the City and the Bay, as well as homes in the “treetop residences” that enjoy the property’s beautifully landscaped courtyard. The Infinity provides unparalleled living space, first-class service and exceptional amenities, including a 24-hour attended lobby, an inviting landscaped garden, a 5,000 square foot state-of-the-art fitness center with 75-foot lap pool, treatment room, changing rooms and saunas, club lounge with catering kitchen, business center, private screening room, and personal concierge service.
The Montgomery
Builder: New Urban Properties
Location: Downtown - San Francisco, California
Address: 74 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco 94105
Type: Condos Stories: 8
Units: 107 -->Bath: 1 to 2Beds: Studio to 2
Unit Size: 480 - 1,216 sq.ft.Price: From the $400,000 Phase: Completed
Completion Date: Available now
Type: Condos Stories: 8
Units: 107 -->Bath: 1 to 2Beds: Studio to 2
Unit Size: 480 - 1,216 sq.ft.Price: From the $400,000 Phase: Completed
Completion Date: Available now
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Bay Area home sales edge up in April
Bay Area home sales edge up in April
May 20, 2008
La Jolla, CA.----Bay Area home sales edged up from a seven-month run of record lows last month, indicating that mortgage availability is improving and that an increasing number of fence sitters have decided they like today's lower prices, a real estate information service reported.
A total of 6,310 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine- county Bay Area in April. That was up 28.8 percent from 4,898 in March, and down 15.3 percent from 7,447 for April 2007, DataQuick Information Systems reported.
The month-to-month jump was the strongest for any March/April in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988. Starting last September and through March, each calendar month was the slowest on record. Last month was the slowest April since 1995 when 5,636 homes were sold.
"The big issue here is that mortgages are becoming obtainable, which will reduce the pile of stacked up pending escrows. It's unclear if the financing is because of policy changes or because mortgage investors are getting more interested in securities. Probably both," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.
The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $518,000 last month, down 3.4 percent from $536,000 in March, and down 21.4 percent from $659,000 in April last year. Last month's median was 22.1 percent lower than the peak median of $665,000 reached in June and July last year.
Last month's median price would have been closer to $578,000 if the availability of jumbo home loans had remained stable. A year ago jumbo loans, mortgages above $417,000, accounted for 63.4 percent of all Bay Area home loans. Last month they were 28.8 percent, DataQuick reported.
May 20, 2008
La Jolla, CA.----Bay Area home sales edged up from a seven-month run of record lows last month, indicating that mortgage availability is improving and that an increasing number of fence sitters have decided they like today's lower prices, a real estate information service reported.
A total of 6,310 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine- county Bay Area in April. That was up 28.8 percent from 4,898 in March, and down 15.3 percent from 7,447 for April 2007, DataQuick Information Systems reported.
The month-to-month jump was the strongest for any March/April in DataQuick's statistics, which go back to 1988. Starting last September and through March, each calendar month was the slowest on record. Last month was the slowest April since 1995 when 5,636 homes were sold.
"The big issue here is that mortgages are becoming obtainable, which will reduce the pile of stacked up pending escrows. It's unclear if the financing is because of policy changes or because mortgage investors are getting more interested in securities. Probably both," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.
The median price paid for a Bay Area home was $518,000 last month, down 3.4 percent from $536,000 in March, and down 21.4 percent from $659,000 in April last year. Last month's median was 22.1 percent lower than the peak median of $665,000 reached in June and July last year.
Last month's median price would have been closer to $578,000 if the availability of jumbo home loans had remained stable. A year ago jumbo loans, mortgages above $417,000, accounted for 63.4 percent of all Bay Area home loans. Last month they were 28.8 percent, DataQuick reported.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Taking a closer look. Who is buying a home these days?
First-time homebuyers priced out of the market during the frenzied 2001-2005 market are among those most attracted to real estate today. In November 2007, 39 percent of buyers were first-timers, up from 36 percent in 2006, according to NAR. The key impediment to buying? Meeting tighter bank qualifying criteria.
International buyers increasingly are looking at opportunities in the U.S. real estate market. Declines in the value of the dollar against other currencies and lower prices translate into a discount of up to 30 percent for some foreign buyers.
Investors from other states also are seeking bargains in those markets hardest hit by the real estate downturn. Some are even buying properties sight-unseen for conversion to rentals until the market heats up again – a risky proposition, according to some observers.
International buyers increasingly are looking at opportunities in the U.S. real estate market. Declines in the value of the dollar against other currencies and lower prices translate into a discount of up to 30 percent for some foreign buyers.
Investors from other states also are seeking bargains in those markets hardest hit by the real estate downturn. Some are even buying properties sight-unseen for conversion to rentals until the market heats up again – a risky proposition, according to some observers.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Top 10 Best Cities for Home Sellers
Four factors are widely seen as affecting whether a housing market is a good one for sellers: job growth, amount of new construction, vacancy rates, and credit availability. Forbes magazine used a variety of resources to determine how the country’s 40 largest metro areas fared according to these measures. The result is this list of top 10 cities for sellers. San Jose, Calif. Because of a tough regulatory environment, new home construction dropped 63 percent last year.San Francisco. When the conforming loan limit recently jumped from $417,000 to the maximum $729,750, that made credit much easier to get for many of the city's homebuyers.Salt Lake City. The 3 percent annual job growth rate, paired with a declining inventory of existing homes and one of the nation’s sharpest declines in construction made this market a good one for sellers.Austin, Texas. Texas is very affordable, plus the city has the nation’s fastest job growth at 4.1 percent.Kansas City, Mo. The number of unsold, vacant houses dropped by 40 percent last year.San Antonio, Texas. Jobs are growing by 3 percent and construction starts have dropped by 42 percent.Denver. The 49 percent drop in construction starts paired with the 2 percent rise in new jobs are good news for sellers.Providence, R.I. Vacancy rates at 1.6 percent combined with a 42 percent cut in inventory help sellers.Charlotte, N.C. Moderate prices and strong job growth bode well for sellers.Seattle, Wash. Strong job growth and a 42 percent decrease in new home construction are good news for sellers.Source: Forbes, Matt Woolsey (04/07/2008)
Monday, March 17, 2008
NAR Economist Among Top Forecasters
THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS'® Chief Economist Lawrence Yun has been named among the top 10 economic forecasters by USA Today. Yun is ranked fifth on the list and is responsible for NAR’s real estate statistics and economic forecasting. The annual list recognizes accuracy in forecasting.
“NAR is proud of USA Today’s recognition of Lawrence Yun and his economic forecast accuracy. He is a highly regarded economist, and the housing and real estate industry have come to rely heavily on his economic analyses,” says Dale Stinton, NAR executive vice president and chief executive officer. “This acknowledgement contributes greatly to NAR’s reputation as the leading innovator in housing-related research.”
Yun was named NAR’s chief economist and senior vice president of research in November 2007. He has been with the association since 2000, previously serving as vice president and senior economist. He pioneered the development of the Commercial Leading Index after helping develop the residential Pending Home Sales Index.“I’m honored to be recognized among some of the best economists in the country,” says Yun. “The economy and housing industry are facing many challenging issues at this time, which makes this an interesting and stimulating position.”
USA Today enlisted the help of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta to determine the most accurate forecasters among the economists surveyed in the newspaper’s quarterly survey on the U.S. economy. The economists, whose identities were unknown to those gathering the data, received four scores — one for each quarterly survey — and were ranked on the average of those four scores. FRBA used statistical methods to assess the joint accuracy of the predictions rather than assessing the accuracy of each forecast variable separately, as is commonly done.
Before joining NAR, Yun worked as an economic consultant to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Education. As a research associate at the University of Maryland, Yun developed the graduate economics curriculum for and taught free-market economics in the former Soviet Union as that country transitioned from communism to a free-market system.Yun received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland in 1995. He received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in 1987.
“NAR is proud of USA Today’s recognition of Lawrence Yun and his economic forecast accuracy. He is a highly regarded economist, and the housing and real estate industry have come to rely heavily on his economic analyses,” says Dale Stinton, NAR executive vice president and chief executive officer. “This acknowledgement contributes greatly to NAR’s reputation as the leading innovator in housing-related research.”
Yun was named NAR’s chief economist and senior vice president of research in November 2007. He has been with the association since 2000, previously serving as vice president and senior economist. He pioneered the development of the Commercial Leading Index after helping develop the residential Pending Home Sales Index.“I’m honored to be recognized among some of the best economists in the country,” says Yun. “The economy and housing industry are facing many challenging issues at this time, which makes this an interesting and stimulating position.”
USA Today enlisted the help of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta to determine the most accurate forecasters among the economists surveyed in the newspaper’s quarterly survey on the U.S. economy. The economists, whose identities were unknown to those gathering the data, received four scores — one for each quarterly survey — and were ranked on the average of those four scores. FRBA used statistical methods to assess the joint accuracy of the predictions rather than assessing the accuracy of each forecast variable separately, as is commonly done.
Before joining NAR, Yun worked as an economic consultant to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Education. As a research associate at the University of Maryland, Yun developed the graduate economics curriculum for and taught free-market economics in the former Soviet Union as that country transitioned from communism to a free-market system.Yun received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland in 1995. He received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in 1987.
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