August 2010

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

Dallas-area home prices are still ahead of where they were a year ago. But the rate of increase has dwindled from earlier in 2010.

In June, home prices in the Dallas area were up 1.2 percent from a year ago, according to the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index.

That’s a fraction of the more than 4 percent year-over-year gain the area saw in January.

And the Dallas area June increase was much less than the 4.2 percent nationwide gain, Case-Shiller found.

Analysts worry that the housing sector recovery has lost steam since federal buying incentives expired a few months ago.

“The homebuyers’ tax credit has expired, foreclosures are still at high levels, and July data on home sales

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So there are plenty of New Units inside the Axis that are for sale so why would someone want to buy a Re-Sale property. It's all about the price! This first short sale unit located on the 8th floor of the Axis is coming to the market even before the complex can sell out. About half the units are still for sale in this complex and the sales office is still very much open for business but with a price of only $475k this unit will play havoc for the developers comps when it sells.

If you are looking to get in on the ground floor of a top floor condo give me a call for your tour today!

Late August 2010 Update

In the past week or two, there have been hundreds of sky-is-falling articles in every major media outlet about how home sales drastically slumped in July when compared with June and May, or as compared to July of last year, both nationally and in the Bay Area. And that this indicates that terrible times have returned to the real estate market.

But with statistics, context is everything, and these articles show a fundamental lack of understanding of current market context and, specifically, what’s going on in San Francisco.

The first chart below is of the last 2 years’ closed home sales in SF. July 2010 is indeed well below June and May 2010, as well as significantly below July 09 and July 08. However, this is almost

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Getting a New Mortgage after a Foreclosure or Short Sale?

Every week, I receive an interest rate report from one of my local lenders.  A few weeks ago, he included some information that was not only interestng, but also a little disturbing.  It has to do with how long a person's credit is damaged after a foreclosure or short sale.  In other words, when can they qualify for a home mortgage again?

Here's some details:

FHA Loans

• 2 Years after a Bankruptcy discharge date

• 3 Years after a short sale or foreclosure

One exception to the short sale rule: if the client is current on his mortgage and all otherdebt at time of short sale, and an extenuating circumstance can be documented, then the client could get another FHA loan sooner.

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  I'm sure you all have seen the negative housing news that is all over the media and I would like to give you a clearer picture of the Uptown/Turtle Creek/Downtown market. Though it is true that home sales fell in July, in our area they were down only 16% over July 2009. I think that is very good considering we were coming off the $8,000 tax incentive. Here is a snapshot of the numbers:                                    July 2009                July 2010   # of sales                    70                           59 average sales price      $260,658                 $350,623 average list to sales     96%                        97% sales volume               $17,432,558             $19,846,749   As you can see, figures were up…

Week by Week Charts through August 15th, for the past 6 Months: SFD, Condo, TIC, 2-4 Unit Buildings

Market trend charts that track by month and by quarter are more useful, but these weekly-bar charts are snapshots of most recent activity.

Homes Accepting Offers: Relatively stable



Homes For Sale: Declining as summer proceeds. As is typical.

New Listings Coming on Market: Declining as summer proceeds. As is typical. Usually the next big rush of new listings occurs after Labor Day.



Sold Listings vs. Expired/Withdrawn Listings: for the past 3 weeks, more listings are expiring or being withdrawn than closing escrow.



Percent of Listings Accepting Offers: Relatively stable

Median Sales Price for SF Houses: for the week ending

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Upcoming listing:

$2,225,000 //Telegraph Hill //Francisco St. #3 BR/BA: 3/2.5 PKG: 2 Brief Description: Spacious three level, Mediterranean villa townhome. Two fireplaces, extraordinary water views, private terraces. Located right below Coit Tower.

$985,000 //Potrero Hill // Arkansas BR/BA: 2/1 PKG: 1 Brief Description: FAB location, sweet home, gorgeous deck and garden Property Website (if any): www.363Arkansas.com.

$799,000 //Inner Richmond //Confidential Address BR/BA: 2/1 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Top floor Marina style remodeled condo.

$699,000 // SOMA // Dow Place BR/BA: 1/1.5 PKG: 1 Brief Description: This 2 level loft condominium has almost 1,300 SF and the largest floor plan in the building. Set at the Southeast corner of the building with

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I am happy to introduce you to agents in other areas. Below you will see a sample of properties in the Paragon network of agents. Where are you going? I can help you get there.

The Grubb Co. // Piedmont, Berkeley, Oakland, Kensington

16030 Broadway Terrace, Oakland
$1,798,000

Chase International // Lake Tahoe, Reno, Truckee and Squaw Valley

2855 E Lakeridge Shores, Reno, NV
$1,849,000

455 Fairfield Blvd, Incline Village, NV
$3,750,000

15580 Glacier Way, Truckee, CA
$1,895,000

11271 Alder Hill Road, Truckee, CA
$1,577,000

3600 West Lake Blvd., Homewood, CA
$2,850,000

1640 South Peak Dr., Glenbrook, NV
$3,995,000

Empire Realty Associates// Diablo, Lamorinda and Tri-Valley Areas

2345 Mt Diablo Scenic Blvd., Diablo, CA

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Learn more at: http://sfusd.ggnet.net/resources/changes.php

What factors were considered when drafting new elementary attendance areas?

Balancing enrollment with the size of the school.

• This included taking into account the size and location of schools, where students live now and where enrollment changes are expected in the future, historical choice patterns, and historical enrollment patterns.
• Avoiding major roads, highways, and natural topography such as parks.
• Proximity and creating single, undivided attendance areas around a school (i.e., avoiding non-contiguous attendance areas).
• Supporting SFUSD preschool to Kindergarten pathways.
• Maximizing diversity. This included taking neighborhood demographics into consideration.

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FHA LAUNCHES SHORT REFI OPPORTUNITY FOR UNDERWATER HOMEOWNERS Effort designed to encourage principal write-downs for responsible borrowers WASHINGTON - In an effort to help responsible homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than the value of their property, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today provided details on the adjustment to its refinance program which was announced earlier this year that will enable lenders to provide additional refinancing options to homeowners who owe more than their home is worth. Starting September 7, 2010, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will offer certain 'underwater' non-FHA borrowers who are current on their existing mortgage and whose lenders agree to write off at least ten percent of the…