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Week in review”¦. 2008-01-19 15:52:13 I don’t really want to pull discussions away from Morgan’s thoughts about a fool’s rally because I think he’s got a very good handle on things.   I’m in a market (western Michigan) where we’ve seen a lousy market for a couple of years, but we didn’t have the outrageous price increases that other areas saw (like where Morgan lives).   So, correspondingly, we aren’t seeing the huge decreases that other areas did.   So, if someone is looking at buying a house in my area right now, I’d say that they need to:   1) Plan on holding for at least 5 years,  2) Know the specifics of their portion of the market so that they don’t over pay and 3) If they don’t need to buy now, they should wait. So here’s the latest on what’s happening in the mortgage/real estate/financial worlds: 1. Banking - Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Chase, First Horizon and Washington Mutual all reported earnings that were either way down (Cha ...

Should You Hire A Buyer’s Agent? 2008-01-19 02:49:33 How’s “That depends,” for an answer? A good buyer’s agent can be the greatest asset you will have in navigating through the real estate marketplace, and a poor one can be a burden. So the right answer is “Yes, but only if you do your homework first and then choose carefully and wisely.” Some real estate firms have instituted a nasty habit of insisting that new customers become clients at the first meeting. If you’re the customer, that means before you’ve had an opportunity to get acquainted with the agent or find out anything about his or her personality or work habits, you’re locked in. You could end up with a great agent, or you could get stuck with someone who lets you go do all your own looking and just shows up when its time to pass “go” and collect the money. It’s kind of like getting married when a blind date meets you at your door. A buyer representation agreement is a legally binding contract between the ...

I (heart) San Francisco Real Estate 2008-01-18 19:03:55 I ran across this article today about this 82 year old REALTOR in Dubuque, Iowa by the name of Dorothy Culbertson. She’s been in the business for 50 years and was named REALTOR of the year by her local board - the second time she got that prize. And it got me thinking - I am so lucky to truly LOVE what I do for a living. A few days ago, I met a client at her house to take a look at what her house might sell for if she decided to put it on the market. She’s got two great dogs, and I found we probably spent more time chatting about things unrelated to San Francisco real estate than we did about real estate. When I left her house, even though we’d only met once before, it was just natural to give her a hug good-bye. Yesterday, I met with another client who is in the process of getting his home ready for a sale - which means going through boxes upon boxes of items in storage. And most of these items remind him of the beautiful wife whom he lost to cancer a short wh ...

Love Hotel bail-out 2008-01-18 13:40:28 It costs millions to renovate a decent love hotel. Patrons want the latest in love hotel accoutrements and decor. It’s expensive. All well and good in the roaring 80s when credit flowed like water, but not today. That’s when niche funds like MHS Capital Partners, an offshore private equity firm, and Tokyo’s Global Financial Support Co. (GFS) investment group come in and securitize them. At 8.4 percent annual returns, pink real estate funds are arousing interest in individual and institutional investors alike. Property managers can now update their facilities to attract even more business in what is generally recognized to be a recession-proof industry. Sexy Pink Real Estate Funds ...

Jeffrey Place Announces New Green Floorplan 2008-01-18 06:44:14 With the completion of their much awaited loft building nearing, developers at Jeffrey Place announced a new, affordable floorplan in their ultra eco-friendly North Block development.  The newest design draws from the original 3-story townhome plan, and essentially eliminates the lower level.  The result is a two-story, two-bedroom, green home for under $200,000.  Buyers will enjoy over 1000 square feet of green living that includes solar-panel electricity, geothermal heating & cooling, bamboo wood floors, rainwater retention and ‘living roof’ carports.  Contact me to see the ‘vignette’ or check out additional renderings and floorplans on the For Sale 43215 page. ...

Toronto Real Estate Board: 2008-01-18 03:34:48 A bright start to the New Year The first half of January saw 1,776 resale homes in the Greater Toronto Area change hands, an 11% increase over the same period a year ago Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O’Neill announced today. “This early indication certainly gives us reason to be optimistic about the 2008 resale housing market,” said Ms. O’Neill. “We are still looking forward to a strong, steady year ahead. Toronto’s land transfer tax will come into effect on February 1, so we are watching this issue.” The average price also increased considerably compared to the first half of January 2007. It currently stands at $367,574 an eight per cent increase over the $340,793 recorded at mid-January a year ago. Strong activity was noted in several areas of the GTA. Bowmanville (E17) experienced a 65 per cent overall increase in transactions compared to the first half of January 2007, primarily due to detached home sales. In Downsview (W05) ...

Open Shutter to the Past: San Francisco in Pictures: Great Highway “Carville” (1908) 2008-01-17 21:41:36 If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I’ve been in the process of a long and (at times) painful remodel of a home out in the Outer Sunset. Well, the day to move into my new home is right around the corner (in fact I’ll be slowly moving my belongings into our place over the next week or so). So to celebrate this amazing day, for today’s Photo Friday I decided to share with you a photo of the old “Carville”. Old “Carville” was located around the area of Great Highway and Lincoln Way. The newscopy for this photo read: (4/8/47): “FEW REMAIN–Several examples of car houses which used to be numerous at the Beach are shown in the above photograph, taken from a postcard mailed in 1908. One of the two buildings just over the Queen Lily Soap poster housed the old Oceanside School, still standing.” It’s a little bit of history of the old Outer Sunset and I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you enjoy you ...

We’re looking at a fool’s rally - plain and simple. 2008-01-17 18:04:29 Wall Street has a phrase for a short-lived rally of a stock on the way to the tank: Fool’s Rally.  Speculators try to “time” the stock and put in a temporary, artificial bottom by increasing demand through rapid buying.  This pushes stock prices back up for a brief moment at which point the bulls and other optimists call bottom and start to hint that maybe everything will be fine again. The Mortgage Equivalent of a Fool’s Rally We all know that it’s called a fool’s rally because people buying in to it are looking at a big loss as the stock returns to its downward trajectory; eventually finding a permanent bottom.  It is my opinion that the mortgage “mini-boom” we’re seeing right now is such a red herring. Rates are low - allowing the best-qualified, best-documented borrowers who didn’t tap every last penny of equity to lock in a low, low rate.  Mortgage brokers rejoice!  The tide is turning the loans are rolling in throug ...

Selling parking spots as condos? 2008-01-17 14:44:56 Toronto police allege two brothers defrauded a bank and investors by selling condo units that turned out to be parking spaces. It’s alleged that a real estate agent, two mortgage specialists from a bank and a real estate lawyer were in on the scheme. The police say, "All of the participants comprised the entire gambit of the real estate transaction. The owners, the agents, the bank employees, the lawyers … everybody that had anything to do with it. It was all baloney." See story in the Toronto Star » ...

December 2007 Sales Data is Here! 2008-01-17 13:16:23 The latest market report is here. (You can also view previous market updates by selecting the archives on the upper right portion of the screen). From the Real Estate Market Trends Report: The median price for single-family, re-sale homes gained 3.7% to go back over $900,000 for the first time since August. Year-over-year, the median price is up 11.2%. The average price dropped 6.6% from the record high set in October. It was up 18.3% compared to last November. Home sales fell 11.9% from October, down 20.5% year-over-year. Year-to-date, home sales are down 11.2%. The median price for condos in San Francisco dipped 1.2% to $745,750 from October, up 20.5% year-over-year. The average price for condos gained 0.2% to $886,607, month-over-month. The average price was up 20.2% year-over-year. San Francisco condo sales were down 8% in November, down 17.6% year-over-year. Year-to-date, condo sales are down 1.5%. ...

A Mention on Curbed SF! How Cool! 2008-01-17 13:01:21 Just a quick note to say “YAY!” Luba’s San Francisco Real Estate Blog got a quick mention from the folks at Curbed SF - coincidentally one of my favoritest San Francisco blogs out there. They noticed my post about the potentially positive real estate outlook for SF in 2008. To those of you that have stumbled on this post and enjoy reading about San Fransico Real Estate, San Francisco Living and other random things, feel free to subscribe to the feed or subscribe to get blog updates via email . And don’t worry, if you subscribe via email, not only will I not ever share your email addres with anyone, I won’t even get it myself - I’m not sure quite how it works, but you can thank feedburner.com for that wonderful bit of magic. Thanks for stopping by and feel free to swing by anytime for all the latest! ...

Agency matters … really. 2008-01-17 09:49:55 Most people, when they want to buy a home, are entirely focused on finding the right property in the right location and buying it for the right price. They give very little thought to esoteric concepts like agency, representation and fiduciary duties.  A buyer once told me respecting agency, "I don’t really care how many fairies can dance on the head of a pin". But agency does matter. And it will matter to you too if there are outcomes from your buying experience that negatively affects your finances or personal well-being. Here is a primer on agency representation to consider before entering into the real estate market. Buyer Agency The Ontario Real Estate Association has developed a standard buyer agency agreement that brokers can use with clients. Any registered (licensed) real estate salesperson or broker in Ontario can legally act as a buyer’s agent/broker. A buyer’s agent/broker performs services for you that a seller’s agent can’t, ...

Aurora Loan Services Closing - Confirmed 2008-01-17 07:30:16 Update: It’s verified. I’ve received a deluge of emails from numerous sources since posting this. Thanks everyone. Here’s just one email I received: Auroraclosed the Wholesale and Correspondent divisions today. I am telling you this because it has been a pleasure working with you. A few items to note (as far as I understand them): Loans need to registered and locked today and will have a 30 day close period (no extensions). If you have them, register them. Please call your team as usual for loan updates and hopefully they can help you complete the loans in the 30 day period. Enjoy life and try to get through this period in the business. If no, find more enjoyable work. Here’s another: I am writing today to inform you of Aurora’s decision to shut down its Wholesale and Correspondent Lending divisions. Aurora will honor the current pipeline as well as allow for any new submissions through end of business tomorrow. Locks will be hono ...

Home sales fall in December 2008-01-17 02:10:53 Canadian existing-home sales fell 1 percent in December, a national realtors’ group said, citing bad weather. Sales of existing homes in major markets listed on the Canadian Real Estate Association’s Multiple Listing Service fell to a seasonally adjusted C$10 billion ($9.83 billion) in December, from C$10.1 billion in November, the Ottawa-based group said yesterday. Unit sales fell 2.5 percent to 29,156 units, the group said. The average resale price rose 13.1 percent in December from a year earlier to C$332,836. Unit sales for all of 2007 rose 7.9 percent from the previous year to a record 362,934 units, the Traltor group said. The MLS service captures about 70 percent of all homes sold in Canada. ...

Pitbull of local real estate 2008-01-16 21:58:52 So, the big news in our neck of the woods from Rain City Guide is Russ Cofano has taken a position with John L. Scott Real Estate as Vice President and General Counsel. Russ was the long time counsel to the Washington Associationof REALTORS and played a crucial role in significant events impacting the Washington real estate industry. He wrote for Rain City Guide and was also a contributor to the real estate blog that I moderate for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. One of the most interesting things about this announcement is where Russ is going and who he is replacing. It’s old news here, but for those who haven’t seen it, “Real Estate Alert” Fraudulant Concealment Verdict Against John L. Scott Upheld by Washington Suprene Court makes for interesting reading. Can you afford to do business with John L. Scott Real Estate? If you are entitled to your earnest money back will John L. Scott Real Estate give it back? If there is a known defect on the property listed ...