Another new SFisHOME Group listing - Heart of North Beach

600 Chestnut Street #111 is a half block from Columbus Avenue... close to Bimbo's, Washington Square Park, Chinatown, the Wharf and more. Contact The SFisHOME Group for a showing or come by on Sunday.

Huge Price Reduction

81 Lansing #408 is now priced below $800,000. This is a special condo - top floor & no shared neighbor walls, 12 foot ceilings, 2 Car Parking, tons of storage space, and an elevator right outside your door.

Scroll down for the full listing, or visit www.SFisHOME.com or www.81LansingTopFloor.com.

Call or email for an appointment, or come by Sunday 2:30pm to 5pm.

New Listing: 81 Lansing - Urban Chic

Urban Dweller's dream home... end unit with no attached walls, large walk out terrace, RARE 2-Car parking, convenient walk to AT&T Park, the best South Beach & SOMA restaurants. 12 Foot ceilings with massive windows, an open Kitchen-Living Room floor plan. A HUGE walk-in closet with extra ceiling storage (remember those 12 foot ceilings?). Elevator is right outside your door for Penthouse style living. So Urban Chic for downtown or East or South Bay commuters.

Check out the photos & the "nearby" link for just how close everything is from Tully's Coffee to Maya & Fly Trap Restaurants and more at www.81LansingTopFloor.com or the below widget.

Just Listed - Laurel Village perfection!!!

Nestled behind a 3-unit building so it's very quiet - you will not know you are on California Street. Find the "Video" link when you open the ad below and listen to the lack of background noise during the video shoot. So peaceful. This is also a "House" with it's own yard that is part of a Condo association. Call or email me for more details or to set up a showing appointment.

Mortgage Update - May 17th 2008

Per a Lender at Union Trust:

Agency Jumbo Loans are finally priced nicely. Agency Jumbo loans are between 417k and 729k. We've been waiting for this for a long time. For example, 30 year fixed mortgages for jumbo loans today are floating around 7.125%, however if your loan is at 729k, but above 417k then the loan can qualify for better jumbo financing at 5.875%, 30 year. The difference is 1.25% in rate but $731 per month for a jumbo loan. That is an annual savings of almost 9k.


Fannie Mae as of June 1st, 2008 will no longer require larger down payments for 'declining markets'. This is GREAT news. It means that banks will start to follow suit and mortgage underwriting guidelines should be easing up for all conventional financing in markets that have seen downturns. It's a huge statement by the government that they feel the 'worst' has hit and now things can normalize. Realizing SF has been protected from the downturns, some of you may have family and friends or rental properties in other markets that were effected by the 'declining market' underwriting limitations.



** STATED INCOME LOANS STILL AVAILABLE TO 80% LOAN TO VALUE AND 1.5 MILLION LOAN AMOUNTS: 700 FICO's required. Spread the news.

So if you've been thinking about Buying... start with your lender first... here's a recap of articles and steps to get started:

#1 - pick up the book "Mortgage Rip Offs & Money Savers" - here is my review of the book.
#2 - know your credit score - fix your credit - read this article
#3 - start getting property listings matching your criteria - sign up at www.Automated-HomeFinder.com. Or sign up at CleanOffer.com - the best MLS tool on the market - but you must know and agent with pre-paid access... if you don't have a Realtor, feel free to sign up under my account - free for you. Visit here to get the invite link.
#4 - get educated with the help of a Buyers Agent like myself - read this for what I mean about education.

With the above, you can start a confident house hunting search, ideally with the help of a Buyer's Agent. Start all 4 of the above today! Feel free to call or email me for assistance with any of the above. I provide a free copy of the Mortgage book to each of my new Buyer clients, and can refer you to 2 to 3 brokers and banks until you find one you like. Visit www.SFisHome.com for my contact info

TIC's continue to grow in sales

Comfort with TIC's is clearly growing.... sales of TIC's have gone up every year.

2002 154 TIC sales
2003 269
2004 395
2005 539
2006 652
2007 722

In 2007 there were 5394 total individual unit sales (Single Family Homes, Condos, Coops, Lofts and TIC's) so the 722 number is 13.4% of all sales. As more and more TIC home owners share what I expect to be largely positive experiences with their friends, colleagues, families and neighbors.... comfort with TIC's, and therefore demand, should grow.

Yet, there continues to be a LOT of risk aversion to TIC's, especially in buildings with 3 or more units. This risk aversion means there's a big gap in prices between TIC's in 3+ unit buildings vs. Condos or even TIC's in 2-unit buildings. But if comfort with TIC's grow, demand should grow, and the price gap should dimish. In other words, if you're an "early adopter" of TIC's (ie you buy now) and you sell when the "laggards" catch on, you should see far greater price appreciation vs. any other segment of the market.

Of course there's an ulterior motive to this report.... my team and I, the SFisHome.com Group... have 2 current listings in a 3-unit building, and we've got 3 more TIC listings in two more buildings coming onto the market soon. Scroll down a bit, or click here, for the current listings, 357 3rd Ave and 355 3rd Ave.

BMR "Below Market Rate" update

The below is from sfhousing.info@sfgov.org

Before pasting the email.... a "BMR", a Below Market Rate unit isn't something I necessarily recommend... you get cheap home ownership, but you have no idea if you'll get any appreciation in price when you sell. Not that anyone else has that guarantee, but with an unregulated (normal) property you leave it up to the market (ie Buyers) to determine what the real value of your property is when you sell. With BMR's you leave it up to regulations and the City.

But... if you're interested in buying a property that is far less than market value... here's the email from the city:

Update on Currently Posted BMR Units:

-The deadline for 8-18 Colonial Way has been extended. See
http://www.sfgov.org/site/moh_page.asp?id=17815 for more information.

Upcoming BMR Units:

-SOMA Grand will be marketing 29 BMR ownership units within the next
2-3 weeks. It is important to take your first time homebuyer workshop
before you apply. Please see our first time homebuyer page for a list of
approved homebuyer education agencies.
http://www.sfgov.org/site/moh_page.asp?id=47989

-125 Mason St. will be marketing 81 BMR rental units within the next
2-3 weeks (22 one-bedrooms; 34 two bedrooms; 20 three bedrooms; and 5
four bedroom units). It is a good time to begin collecting your 2007 tax
and w-2 forms, your paystubs, and your statements from all cash accounts
in order to apply!

Other Upcoming BMR Units:

BMR Ownership Units

Bayview:
4343 3rd Street, 4343 03rd Street, 94124, Ownership Units: 2
three-bdrms units at 100% median income

Financial District:
74 New Montgomery Street, 94105, Ownership Units: 4 studios, 5
one-bdrms, 2 two-bdrms units at 100% median income

Mission District:
-Mission Mosaica, 18th & Alabama, 94110, Ownership Units: 5 two-bdrm,
16 three-bdrm units at 80%, 100% and 120% median income
-Chelsea Park, 3620 19th Street, 94110, Ownership Units: 2 one-bdrm, 3
two-bdrm units at 100% median income

SOMA:
SOMA Grand, 1160 Mission Street, 94103, Ownership Units: 17 one-bdrm,
10 two-bdrm, 1 three-bdrm unit at 100% median income

Yerba Buena:
410 Jessie Street, 94103, Ownership Units: 2 one-bdrm units at 100%
median income

BMR Rental Units

Hayes Valley:
The Hayes: 55 Page, 94102, Rental Units: 17 units - unknown bdrm sizes
at 60% median income

Pacific Heights:
2000 Post III: 2161 Sutter Street (2000 Post), 94115, Rental Units: 2
studio, 1 one-bdrm unit at 60% median income

SOMA:
8 McLea Court: 8 McLea Court, 94103, Rental Units: 3 studio units at
60% median income

Sunset:
2545 Judah, 94122, Rental Units: 2 two-bdrm units at 60% median income

Tenderloin:
125 Mason 94102, Rental Units: One, two, three and four bdrm units at
60% median income (81 units total)

Yerba Buena:
418-20 Jessie Street, 94103, Rental Units: 1 one-bdrm, 2 two-bdrms at
60% median income

Please call our office at (415) 701-5500 with any questions or visit
http://www.sfgov.org/site/moh_page.asp?id=48003. Thank you.

end of email

If you're interested in purchasing any of these properties, please contact me, and visit the city site for more information. There are several hurdles you have to go through, and then it's often a lottery process to win your bid (you can't try to out-bid anyone - prices are set in stone).

Thanks for Visiting the SFisHOME Blog courtesty of Rob Regan. If you're ready to Buy or Sell a San Francisco Property start with the best online tools for finding San Francisco properties: Condos, Houses, TIC's, Income properties, Co-ops, High Rises, 2-Unit Buildings and more:

San Francisco Email Search --- or --- Live SF MLS Search Service

Click any image button to get started with your favorite San Francisco home search service, or get your Home's Value here:

Lender Update

As a Realtor I send virtually all loan questions directly to lenders I like... today that's more important than ever because the loan environment seems to be changing on an almost daily basis. Here's an update I received via email from a lender I trust to work hard on the behalf of Buyers:

From Raffi Soghomonian, BIX Equity Management, Inc.

"The mortgage landscape continues to change with new guidelines coming out weekly. The guidelines change so fast it is difficult to keep up with it all. We have to check each transaction to make sure the loan we are working on is still available. Having said that, there are still some great loan products including higher loan to value loans.

You probably already know about the FHA product which allows up to 97% financing. Make no mistake with this loan, it is a paper intensive process and can take 3 weeks to get an underwriting approval. So if by chance you have an FHA potential transaction, get the approval process started prior to the contract phase.

The new conforming-jumbo loans will now go up to 90% financing, and up to $729,000. Loans over 80% will require MI. The rates are actually very good for these loans. Only thing here is that these are Full Doc, Owner Occupied, and 1 unit properties. Both purchases and refinances are allowed.

There are conforming loans (<$417,000) with attractive rates, that go up to 90% financing with a first and second loan. The bigger challenge is in Jumbo loans. The secondary market for this paper is still conservative which makes it harder for wholesale lenders to sell that paper. 5/1 and 7/1 Jumbo Arms are right around the 6% range, but anything longer term can get a bit pricey."

This is from
Raffi Soghomonian
BIX Equity Management, Inc.
650-591-8830 raffi@bixx.com
www.bixmortgage.com

Getting pre-approved with a Lender is CRITICAL before you start a serious home search. It's taking longer to "underwrite" virtually all loans today, and you could lose out on the home of your dreams if you don't start the process early, and you don't have a Lender who will work diligently to push the process along. This is no time to rely on a "friend" who is new to the business. You need an expert.

Interest rates are PHENOMENAL right now.... and while "perfect" properties are selling immediately, less than perfect properties are sitting longer and you have a chance to negotiate a great deal. Great rates, great buying opportunities.... it's time to Buy!!!!!

Price Trend Comparisons

The biggest question on everyone's minds are how are prices trending.... my mantra is that you MUST ask this in a very specific way. Even a neighborhood comparison from year to year isn't specific enough. You need to pick a segment of a neighborhood because (2 bedroom condos vs. 2 bedroom condos for example).

But to get those answers, you need to ask me or another Realtor what you want to know... in the meantime, using a tool like Trulia's very general neighborhood tool is far better than reading something in the Chronicle, and certainly better than a national or regional news source.

Here's one example.... and look along the left hand column for a few more (be sure to mouse over the lines to see the prices by date):

San Francisco Real Estate - Trulia

Marina (District 7A) price appreciation

A question on Trulia about how San Francisco's Marina District has changed, or not, over the past few months. To that end I did a couple of searches and will include the results here:

2 Bedroom Condo Sales from Sept 1st '07 to Dec 31st '07:
7 sales, four with posted SqFt info, price range from $875,000 to $1.48 million. Average price $1.26 million, Median price $1.4 million (4 of the 7 sold btwn $1.4 and $1.48 million). Average price per SqFt (of just the 4 with listed SqFt info) was $875.97

Here's the link to the above report (click "yes" to allow it to open)

2008 Sales, as well as all 2 Bedroom Condos that are currently For Sale, and in contract:
Only 4 sales (only 3 months vs. 4 above), 2 in contract, and 5 listed for Sale. So about 1.5 are selling per month in both reports, so with 5 on the market now, the "supply" of homes should last a little over 3 months. That's a tad slow for San Francisco, but blazingly hot compared to the rest of the country.

The price range of the 4 sales was $1,070,000 to $1.55 million with the average at $1.286 million and the Median at $1.262 million. Here's the link to this report.

Unfortunately the above two reports don't paint a clear picture. You could argue that the market has gone down because there were so many $1.4 million sales in late 2007. But you could argue the market has gone up because there was a recent $1.55 million sale, and the average price is slightly higher than 2007's.

So what's a Buyer to do? First off, as a "feet on the street" Realtor who looks at properties in the Marina every week, I'll share my thoughts... and that is that "special" properties are selling very fast, and going for the upper most of their "fair market value". Properties that Buyers aren't clamoring over are sitting on the market until they are reduced in price. Several of these are clearly over priced, and I can tell almost the moment I walk in the door. But either the Seller won't listen to their agent, or on occasion the Realtor mis-judged the property's worth, and how Buyers would receive it. In the hot 2004 market, they too would have sold immediately and for crazy prices, but today, Buyers are being very picky.

So my answer is.... "special" properties are up modestly in price, and non-special properties are down modestly in price.

By the way... the above is a Condo only report, and only for 2 Bedroom Condos. I'll run a Single Family Home report shortly and post in below.

For a specific property's current "fair market value" visit www.Evaluate-My-Home.com and enter the address and your email to get a similar report to the above two, but specific to that property.

Single Family Homes in the Marina

Here's the 2008 report.... all Single Family Homes on the market now, in contract now, or Sold since Jan 1st 2008.

Here's the report for Sept 1st thru Dec 31st 2007 Sales of Marina District Single Family Homes.

Price per SqFt is higher now $1,065 vs. $916. But the Average and the Median prices are both lower now vs. the latter part of 2007... Average was $3.3 million and is now$2.97 million. The Median was $3.07 million and is now $2.38 million.

But back to my "feet on the street" opinion... and that is that Buyers in this price range are snapping up the "special" properties in competitive bid situations. So if you're a bargain hunter, look for the properties that have some issues (small or no yard, odd layout, not the best block, poor condition, or even something that hasn't been painted and staged). Whereas, if you're interested in a property that everyone would want to live in, be prepared to compete.

For an analysis of a specific property visit www.Automated-HomeFinder.com

SF December prices lowest in 2 years

According to my feet on the street feel for the market San Francisco hit "bottom" for a couple of brief months in early 2006. According to Dataquest this December matched those lows. To put it all in perspective I've included all of Dataquest's 2007 numbers:

Jan '07 - Median Price $750,000 - up 0.7% over Jan '06
Feb '07 - Median Price $757,500 - up 2.4% over Feb '06
Mar '07 - Median Price $753,000 - down 2.1% from Mar '06
Apr '07 - Median Price $790,000 - up 1.4% over Apr '06
May '07 - Median Price $835,000 - up 8.4% over May '06
June '07 - Median Price $825,000 - up 4.4% over June '06
July '07 - Median Price $799,000 - up 3.1% over July '06
Aug '07 - Median Price $822,000 - up 7.8% over Aug '06
Sept '07 - Median Price $773,500 - up 1.9% over Sept '06
Oct '07 - Median Price $795,000 - up 3.9% over Oct '06
Nov '07 - Median Price $760,000 - up 7.2% over Nov '06
Dec '07 - Median Price $731,000 - down 1.9% from Dec '06

You'll note the seasonality of the San Francisco market... low in January, picking up steam and peaking from April through October and sliding back down again.

So how "real" are these numbers? Are there other factors at play? Should YOU be worried if you're an owner, or slow down your plans if you're a Buyer?

Outside of San Francisco, probably yes, you should be worried, although I'd strongly suggest buyers speed up... don't try to time the bottom since so many markets are already so low and you can bargain hunt and pick up something even lower than the overall market. However, in San Francisco, especially in the more affluent areas of town, "my feet on the street feel" tells me our market is going back up.... and quickly.

My belief has always been that there's much more behind the numbers to begin with... so let's look at them. First, a monthly "closed" number is actually the PREVIOUS month's activity because most Escrows are 30 days in San Francisco, so if you went into contract on a home in November, you Closed in December. So the above December numbers are actually November activity. November is Thanksgiving, and I can tell you almost nothing happened for me personally. In fact, even those that actively looked in December passed up on the homes they liked. But they are still active.... AND I've got several more active Buyers... so demand is picking up in my little world.

There were also fewer overall homes sold... and it's a median number, so more lower priced homes sold. Does that mean people are buying fewer higher priced homes? Well, back to "feet on the street feel". I have a couple of higher end buyers, and they've been extremely disappointed in the "inventory". It seems more likely that Seller's are not selling their premium homes. Unfortunately the general media can scare people into not Buying AND not Selling. Those that have to sell right now are those who can't afford to hold on... and that's usually owners of lower priced homes who don't have large cash reserves. Owners of multi-million properties don't have to sell... so they wait. If I were advising a Seller right now I'd advise them to hold off listing their home until March or April. And guess what, that's what most agents do. So this April through October's numbers are likely to go up just like 2007's numbers.

So... should you be worried about the San Francisco market? Well, if you want to buy in the "affluent" neighborhoods, expect prices to continue to rise. If you're a Seller you are still in a Seller's market. If you're in a less affluent area on the outskirts of the city, I expect this to be another tough year. As the Chronicle said a couple of weeks ago, this is a "tale of two cities".

CleanOffer San Francisco Trend Report

CleanOffer.com is the most complete MLS search service for consumers to search for homes for sale in San Francisco, and it allows you to save favorite listings and set up email alerts for specific searches. In addition they product Trend reports on the market.

The complete 2007 report is now available at this link. Interesting to see the trends for the past 7 years. The only segment of the market that was down significantly in '07 is the "Southwest" Condo market. Meanwhile, the "Northwest" market was up significantly.

If you'd like access to MLS searches on CleanOffer it's an invitation only service, but you can invite yourself at my specific link here.

Pacific Union's Avram Goldman on FOX Business News

My firm's CEO gets interviewed about the San Francisco and Bay Area real estate market. His opinion about the state of the market, and what to expect in the future.