More on the Harding Theatre

Today's Examiner also covers a few of the details surrounding the Harding Theatre being put back on the market.

"Developer Michael Klestoff said he still plans to knock down the rear portion of the building to make room for a nine-condominium development, while selling off the front part of the building, which contains the single-screen theater he and co-owner Patrick Stack agreed to preserve after a long battle with neighbors."

They also spoke to Supervisor Mirkarimi, "who brokered the compromise in which the developers agreed to scale back the size of their condo development and preserve the important parts of the old theater. Mirkarimi says the price was too high. The owners paid $1.6 million for the entire building in 2003."

"The price is so high it will likely dissuade any buyer who has the community interest at heart," said Mirkarimi, who represents the neighborhood at City Hall.

Well, what did you think would happen? Did you think that Klestoff would just roll over and give it back to the city for $1.6M? He's splitting the lot on Divisadero from the one on Hayes, which is probably worth close to $1M on its own, and selling the front theatre building (on Divisadero) for $2.35M. If anyone was really concerned about it, why didn't they deal with it two years ago? The real estate market has changed and if anyone wants this building, they will have to come up with market rate finances. Plain and simple.

I would love to see a theatre in that location, but I'm also realistic about what is destined to happen when neighbors wait too long to complain and think that they can turn back the clock. It would be setting a really bad precedent for future housing development if the city tries to determine what a property should be sold for. All that will do is create a more vicious market among the properties that aren't on the city's radar. Once again, Econ 101.

Census numbers show The City is one of a kind

The Examiner today discusses the latest census figures, finding that "San Francisco is a magnet for well-educated white-collar workers and new immigrants, but its population of poor residents has grown and it has a lower percentage of households with children than any major county in the nation, according to new Census Bureau statistics released Tuesday."

"Perhaps, the most striking statistic — and one The City has been grappling with in the last year — is the extremely low number of children in The City. Only one in five city households has a child — the lowest figure of any major county in the nation. Supervisor Bevan Dufty chalked the figure up to poor school test scores and the fact that San Francisco has such a large lesbian and gay community, which traditionally has not had children in large numbers. But Dufty is hopeful that those numbers will reverse."

There is an additional piece in the Examiner about how this relates to housing. "In fact, only posh neighbor San Mateo County topped San Francisco's median home price of $661,904 in 2004 among 236 large counties around the nation. Hidalgo County had the lowest median price."

Leland Avenue coming back to life

An article in today's Examiner discusses changes to the commercial center of Visitation Valley, including new housing.

"A key component in the redevelopment is the now-closed and contaminated Schlage Lock plant at the foot of Leland Avenue along Bayshore Boulevard. Plans call for a mix of housing and retail on the 20-acre site, which closed in 1999 after laying off hundreds of workers."

"Meanwhile, Adam Varat of The City's Planning Department said a $75,000 grant from the Haas Jr. Foundation will pay for a design plan to beautify Leland Avenue with trees, benches, lighting, new crosswalks and sidewalks. The redesign is part of The City's new "greening" initiative."

Visitation Valley is a neighborhood that doesn't have the cache of a neighborhood like Glen Park but offers many great benefits, including great freeway access. Many people who have been priced out of neighborhoods north of I-280 have moved into Silver Terrace or Visitation Valley. One of the most popular benefits is the proximity to McLaren Park, which is one of San Francisco lesser-known treasures.

For a Google Map to Leland Avenue, click here.

SF Tenant's Union continues protests at open houses

On San Francisco's first sunny weekend in months, some folks decided that the best use of their time was to picket open houses...

BeyondChron has an article on Sunday's protests at a Potrero Hill property.

"The organization has been using such pickets in recent months to inform and deter buyers who approach buildings where tenants have been evicted through the Ellis Act. Picketers have set up in front of these buildings during open houses, holding signs, distributing flyers and talking to potential buyers."

I guess I keep mentioning this short-sighted behavior to highlight the fact that too many people are fighting the wrong fight. They're fighting the wrong people. Why should the owner of the building on Potrero Avenue (in the article) be forced to do the city's job of subsidizing low-income housing? With rent control, there are very few choices for landowners. If this landowner needed to get out of the San Francisco market (for whatever reason) and they put this building on the market with all of the units occupied, the difference in sales price would be hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yes, that's plural. Hundreds of thousands. This may be this family's only property. This may be their retirement money. Should they not be able to take advantage of a free market?

Again, I do not condone evictions. I believe that those who are unable to compete in a free market should be subsidized by the city. But landowners are being forced to fill that position in San Francisco, and it's not fair.

"Some of the picketers are particularly sensitive to the issue of eviction. The 40-something Mecca remembers a large-scale displacement in his working-class neighborhood when he was growing up in South Philadelphia. He says his work in housing advocacy is inspired by a larger social problem. "I think this is all part of that sense of entitlement that people with money have," he says."

So, let me get this straight... Landowners are supposed to do the city's job of subsidizing housing, AND they have a sense of entitlement? I think the only fair answer here is that they are entitled to take advantage of the market conditions just like everyone else. This location was likely VERY inexpensive when it was last purchased (due to being on a busy street and in a previously less-desirable location). Someone took the risk to purchase the building, someone provided five units of housing for many years, and now they may just need to move into different investments. Shouldn't that be their prerogative?

In the end, the owners risked their savings to provide much-needed housing. What did the tenants risk? The same thing that all tenants risk: the potential loss of their home at some point in the future. It's just the nature of being a tenant, as much as that concept is lost among certain folks in San Francisco...

San Francisco opens two arts high schools

Schools and real estate tend to go hand-in-hand, at least for families with children. The Examiner today has coverage of two new arts high schools that are opening this fall.

"The Academy of Arts and Sciences is the offspring of The City's popular School of the Arts — without a requirement that students audition to attend. Metropolitan Arts and Technology High School is a replica of another charter school, City Arts and Technology High School."

"Both schools will open with only a full freshmen class of 100 students, with plans to add another grade level each subsequent year in order to slowly grow to full size of less than 400 students, serving grades 9-12. While other small high schools exist within The San Francisco Unified School District, a typical high school has 1,000 or more students."

Are fixer-uppers a good deal in today's market?

Dian Hymer has a piece today on Inman News about purchasing fixer homes in a rapidly appreciating market.

"The key to success is being able to walk away from a project that doesn't make sense. If you pay too much going in, you'll make less when you sell unless you skimp on renovations or home prices escalate. Don't be too quick to wrap up a deal. Successful real estate investors often make offers on hundreds of candidate properties before finalizing a purchase."

There's no question that houses in San Francisco have been selling for extraordinary prices lately, and with a little paint and some furniture a seller can make even the biggest fixer can look like it's in move-in condition.

Make sure to do your inspections. There's nothing like having another set of eyes (a professional, too!) to help you assess the fundamentals of the property.

It is still possible to find fixers that can sustain a significant (and costly) remodel. It just takes a good eye, and some patience.

SF Tennis Club to become housing?

The San Francisco Business Times is reporting that a developer is in contract to purchase the San Francisco Tennis Club with the intention of going through the necessary steps to convert the property into 400 units of housing.

"The property has a 180,000-square-foot, four-story building that has 12 indoor courts and 12 outdoor courts, plus a restaurant, pro shop and other facilities. Owners ClubCorp of Dallas recently repaved the courts, but the building will likely be bulldozed to enable Pulte to build anew on the real asset: 2.5 acres of prime land just 2 blocks from SBC Park."

The interesting, if not humorous, side to this story is that it will be hard to argue that any underserved (no pun intended) classes of people will be displaced here. Tennis is not known to be a sport that attracts the less-fortunate. The biggest hurdle will be getting the property rezoned for residential, something that could take years unless the Planning Department, the neighborhood, and the Supervisors cooperate.

It's outside of the Rincon Hill development area, so Chris Daly's developer surcharge would likely not apply. Expect him to scream about something, though, as it is within his supervisorial district.

According to the article, the developer is paying $30 million dollars for the site.

There is also further discussion of the Flower Market sale and mentions another that another office building is in contract with the intention of converting to housing.

It's looking like developers are finding ways to make housing work for them in San Francisco. With any luck, the city government and the SOMA neighbors will find a way to facilitate it, and we will start to see the disparity between housing and housing need start to decrease.

More housing = less evictions. Work out the math, Chris Daly.

And no, that developer did not just pay $30M for the SF Tennis Club site so you could argue for low-income housing. Not unless some city subsidies are going to cover the difference (which never happens). You'll get your required 10% affordable quotient (40 homes, in this case), and the city will have up to 400 buyers that don't have to look at TICs, which will result in fewer evictions.

'Cuz remember, Chris, that's what it's all about, isn't it?

Prices of Homes Sold around San Francisco

Once again, here's the link to the Chronicle's weekly list of homes sold around San Francisco.

Seller has the right to say no

Robert Bruss answers a reader's question today in the Chronicle about a seller's obligation to accept a full-price, all cash offer.

"...a home seller does not have to accept a full-price, all-cash, no-contingency purchase offer even at the full asking price specified in the listing of the local multiple listing service."

As many buyers who have been around the San Francisco market are aware, it's very common for sellers to have expectations far above a property's list price. You'll often see the line "seller reserves the right to accept, reject, or counter any offer." As Mr. Bruss points out, this is not a necessary addition to an MLS listing (unless an agent's broker requires it within their office), but it does serve to highlight when an asking price is far lower than that seller's expectations.

Real estate is all about negotiation and market value. If you know the market and you see something that's too good to be true, then it almost certainly is. That doesn't mean that bargains and opportunities don't come around every day in this town. You just have to know the market well enough to know when it's time to jump on something great.

There are many reasons why a property sells below market value, but an aggressively low asking price is rarely one of them.

Funny money for mortgages getting a hard look

There is a synicated piece in the Chronicle today on a Nevada company's program to 'rent' you a bank account full of money when purchasing a home.

"Need a hundred grand on deposit to convince a lender that you deserve a million-dollar mortgage? You've got it ... even though you haven't really got it, because you "rented" it from a company in Nevada for an up-front fee of 5 percent -- $5,000."

You don't actually 'get' the money. They rent you an account and verify to anyone that calls that the money is yours.

The article goes on to discuss the FBI's potential investigation of this company for fraud, of course.

What this 'rental' seeks to solve is the problem of having enough reserves to satisfy mortgage lenders for the size of the loans that people are taking out these days to purchase a home.

If you need a $900,000 mortgage (on a $1.2M home, for example), the bank will expect to see somewhere around $100,000 in reserves in the bank AFTER you have made your downpayment and closed escrow. This makes perfect sense, but when so many people are stretching to afford housing these days, they often can't afford to keep that much money in the bank.

The banks are basically interested in seeing six months' worth of all of your payments at-the-ready. The sources for this money could include savings, stocks, life insurance, and 401k or IRA monies as well.

The other 'service' that this company was providing was a 'verification of employment' for a fee. If you have just lost your job but can legitimately afford the home you're in escrow for, the bank will pull the loan if they can't verify that you are currently employed. Even if you have taken a sabatical (a voluntary maternity/paternity leave, for example), the banks look down on that and will want to see two years of job history prior to lending you any money.

I don't condone what this company was/is trying to do, but it does offer the opportunity to see some of the pitfalls that you might run into when looking to purchase a home. Talk to your mortgage broker as far in advance as possible and give them as much info as you can. It will save you a lot of heartbreak in the long run.

Greenspan: Investments Won't Soar Forever

Alan Greenspan on Friday reminded folks that home and stock prices will not rise forever and are subject to price fluctuations. SF Gate has an Associated Press article on the subject this morning.

"History has not dealt kindly with the aftermath of protracted periods of low-risk premiums," Greenspan said.

CBS Marketwatch has an additional piece from Saturday's final day of the Jackson Hole, WY Fed Policy meetings.

"As the housing boom ends, housing prices "could even decrease," Greenspan said."

He didn't say anything about a 'bubble', nor did he say anything about economic disaster. Just that housing prices 'could even decrease'...

Yahoo! News also has coverage on the Jackson Hole meetings.

In some hot markets, lottery is ticket to home ownership

In another piece from CBS MarketWatch, the Mayor's Office of Housing is profiled as a lottery system for affordable housing.

"Here, in the land of the $726,900 median-priced home, people earning an average income can afford about one square inch of house, so they either remain renters, call on more affluent family members for help to buy, or vie with other desperate owner-wannabes to buy units at below-market rates through city programs aimed at first-time buyers."

This is exactly what I was talking about earlier today with regards to deed restricted housing. It's affordable now and will remain affordable forever. This is good for folks wanting to get into the market, but you will not build any equity at all. It's merely a way to control your destiny at an affordable price. The sales price (when you sell) only increases from your purchase price based on actual costs of improvements plus sales commission and transfer tax. Not a penny more.

As an example, there are beautiful lofts in Potrero and South of Market that have sold recently for under $200,000. They originally sold in the late 1990s and the owner was unable to sell for more than what they paid plus commission and transfer tax. There are entire loft buildings, by the way, that are affordable owner-occupied housing, too...

Don't get me wrong, it's a great option for some people, but I just want everyone to understand the complete picture and that it's not the answer for everyone.

Added 8/27 - SF Gate has a similar article on this same topic, discussing some of the affordable housing projects that are coming online soon in San Francisco.

If you're interested in this type of property and meet the criteria, get on the list with the Mayor's Office of Housing ASAP and hope that your tickets gets pulled in the lottery. 10% of every new development is required to be affordable housing, and those units will go to folks who are preregistered with the city.

For more information on the Mayor's Office of Housing, visit SFGov.org.

New players overshadow old markets - Usual suspects in real estate cycles become less volatile

CBS MarketWatch has an interesting article on why the San Francisco real estate market (among others) will not likely suffer a significant recession due to the speculators moving on to places where land is readily available (like Las Vegas).

"Now places like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Bakersfield, Calif., and Naples, Fla., are supplanting real estate's usual suspects. These burgeoning regions are now on today's cutting edge in land speculation."

"So what's to come for the big names? For one, smaller inventories and steadier price hikes -- not to mention the assumption of greater risk by the newer markets -- seem to be insulating West Coast and Northeastern cities from the threat of a much-feared real-estate bubble."

Now, other than my perpetually optimistic view of things, it's nice to see someone else out there showing WHY I have reason to continue to see the brighter side of San Francisco's real estate market.

"Even though Las Vegas and Bakersfield have set records for price increases in recent months, the usual suspects have been rising at a more measured pace."

Just what Greenspan likes to say... Measured pace... Sounds like what I've been saying all along...

Behind the housing hype - SF Bay Guardian

The Guardian has a piece this week about their perceived shortfalls in Mayor Newsom's plan to create more affordable housing.

"The new initiative, dubbed Home 15/5, calls for the construction of 15,000 housing units over the next five years, with a little more than a third (5,400) to be affordable to low- and moderate-income households – currently defined as those earning up to $76,000 (low) to $114,000 (moderate) a year for a family of four."

"But the city needs another 12,637 affordable units by next year, according to projections included in the General Plan's Housing Element, a 250-page policy guide developed by the Planning Department and approved by the Board of Supervisors and state officials last year."

"Not all housing is good housing," Julie Leadbetter, of Homeless Advocates of the Mission, told the crowd gathered on the steps of City Hall that day. "We have to ask, who's this housing good for?"

I know Julie personally, and although she means well, I completely disagree with her. We need to continue to create deed-restricted (affordable/low-income/no-income) housing, but we need housing at ALL LEVELS to prevent what they are really worried about: evictions.

Look at it this way: most TICs units are what buyers are looking for... They are 2-4 bedrooms, large square footage, original details (Victorian, Edwardian, etc), great locations, and the list goes on. If that's what the free market wants to buy, then the free market will find a way to buy those units. But, realistically, if there were sufficient units available in other types (read: new) buildings in other locations, people would move to those locations where prices would likely be more reasonable. That would take pressure off of the current rental units.

One other thing that is lost in this media battle: affordable for-sale housing is DEED RESTRICTED. If you buy at a reduced price, you will not make ANY money on that unit when you sell. You will gain the benefits of a mortgage tax write-off, but you will not be able to take advantage of market appreciation. This is not the American dream that most buyers are expecting. They just assume that they get a good deal and they sell and make money.

We need this housing as much as market-rate housing, but why not build enough market rate housing (while increasing housing density along transportation corridors, too!) to bring prices down? That's what this is all about. Supply and demand. Econ 101.

This debate should not be about making money, but unfortunately it is. And it's all about that supply/demand equation. If you can shift that balance, you solve the problem (or at least begin to solve the problem).

"Supervisor Maxwell has already been holding Land Use Committee hearings on the discrepancy between definitions of affordability, and on affordable-housing development scenarios. Supervisor Mirkarimi wants to see developers include more low-income units with their projects. "We need a greater inclusionary rate, so we don't have to continue fighting these fires," Mirkarimi told us. "And we need to create more opportunities for middle- and working-class families to own their own homes.""

Activists, Supervisors and attorneys can continue to fight about this (and the above-mentioned 'fires') till the cows come home, but all it will do is distract everyone from the real solution and cost both sides a lot of time and energy.

Chronicle’s Front-Page TIC Story Ignores "Victims"?

The sensationalists at BeyondChron have a complaint piece today about the Chronicle's coverage of TICs.

"In Thursday’s Chronicle story, “Strangers sharing mortgages,” it is not until the 35th paragraph of a 40 graph story that readers are informed that “TIC’s displace renters and erode the city’s stock of affordable housing.” Up to then, the article largely resembled a sales brochure for the real estate investors and agents who profit most from the TIC industry (even sales brochures cite some of the risks)."

I know I am probably beginning to sound pro-TIC or even pro-eviction, but that's not the case. I just want to highlight the fact that evictions are NOT about TICs. Evictions are about lack of housing stock. If we keep fighting about TICs, how can we possibly focus on building more housing?

When will the 'us vs. them' attitude take homebuyers into account? The majority of homebuyers are currently tenants and they are TIRED OF RENTING. They want to own property. They want to have a say in their own destiny. Instead of hoping that Ted Gullicksen can create a protest or Brian Basinger (AIDS Housing Alliance) can incite a riot on their behalf, they are purchasing a home in whatever manner they can. They have no evil intentions. They just want a home.

Why are first-time homebuyers not "victims"? Because they have jobs? Because they have different priorities than lifetime tenants? That's just patently unfair to make a statement like that.

Even better, the story continues by saying that "With the housing boom starting to wane, expect the Chronicle news section to engage in even greater distortions to keep its real estate advertising revenue flowing."

Maybe this writer should get out on a Sunday to see how many buyers make up this 'waning' housing market... Or ask the 27 buyers that just wrote offers on one Noe Valley property this week...

Two new projects hope to bring life to Bayview area

The Examiner today has an article on a proposed 341-unit condominum complex on the site of the now-defunct Coca-Cola factory at 5800 3rd Street.

"The project is meant to be family-oriented, said Bob Kagan, senior vice president of developer Levin Menzies & Associates, with one- to three-bedroom apartments and townhouses and play areas for kids. He said the prices will start at around $500,000 to be affordable for young families. The company plans to offer financial assistance to business owners who wanted to move into the retail space, perhaps opening a café or restaurant."

"The project is expected to go to the Planning Commission for approval Thursday."

The light rail on 3rd Street is supposed to open "next year," but that will create many new opportunities for developers to create housing along that corridor. And with such good transportation, it can be a viable option for people without cars.

The second project is just down the street... "It's on the heels of another large project just two blocks away, approved two months ago. Armstrong Place is an entirely affordable project, with 256 for-sale and rental units — half for seniors — that nonprofit BRIDGE Housing plans to build at 5600 Third St."

S.F. Flower Mart vendors consider bid from developer - Part 2

As I posted earlier, the SF Flower Mart (@ 6th Street/Brannan) is considering selling a portion of its land to a developer who whose intention is to build housing. SF Gate has a detailed article on the topic today.

"...the 88 shareholders of the cooperative that controls the west end of the Flower Mart have received ballots asking them to authorize the sale of their portion of the site to AvalonBay Communities, a real estate investment firm in Virginia."

You will recognize the AvalonBay name from other projects in the South Beach/SOMA area, most of which (I believe) are rental housing.

Predemolition sales offer help-yourself, home-hardware bargains

Carol Lloyd's Surreal Estate column on SF Gate today covers the world of predemolition sales.

"That's right -- this sale is taking place at a 4,000-square-foot home in Portola Valley, a sprawling 1950s ranch house that was remodeled only five years ago and slated for demolition this month. It features a gleaming granite and oak kitchen, hardwood floors, three new tile and oak bathroom vanities and old-growth redwood siding, among other things. And all of it -- from the subfloor to the roof gables -- is available at bargain-basement prices as long as you're willing to write a check, rip the stuff out (or pay someone to do it) and cart it off."

I guess this would appeal to the do-it-yourself-er in all of us...

The best part of the article is the list of recycled resources at the bottom. My favorite is Ohmega Salvage in Berkeley...

Quake insurance could get cheaper

An article in SF Gate today discusses how The California Earthquake Authority is looking to have earthquake insurance rates cut by 22%.

Among the attendees in this discussion is Governor Schwarzenegger.

"The reduction is being proposed largely for two reasons. First, scientists have determined that earthquake hazard probabilities, along with the risk of property damage, are lower than previously thought, and the authority is required by law to base its rates on the best available science. Second, the cost to the authority for reinsurance, or insurance for insurance, has sharply fallen."

The argument, for the most part, among folks who do not carry this insurance (like myself) is that premiums and deductibles are too high to merit having the insurance at all. For most of the victims of the Northridge quake (SoCal), their damage did not exceed their deductible, leaving them with no benefits. Of course, since earthquakes are not covered by your traditional homeowner's insurance, an earthquake could be devastating for many (most?) homeowners if they do not have adequate savings to make those repairs.

Supe proposes new TIC lottery system

Bevan Dufty is proposing a new TIC lottery system whereby folks who have made it into the lottery process will have improved chances after each year when they are not chosen. An article in the Examiner this morning discusses one TIC owner's concern that he could be waiting indefinitely to get the lucky pick.

"Peter Holden, a San Francisco clerk who 20 years ago bought the four-unit Hayes Valley building he lives in, said he hopes Dufty's new plan goes ahead because it offers some certainty that he can eventually get out of the landlord business without having to sell his property."

"Under the old system," he said, "I see my chances decreasing forever."

San Francisco's Bunny Slope Mentality

Well, there's one bride and a few monks that are happy, but the rest of us are pretty bummed out that Icer Air 2005 has been cancelled by the City.

SF Gate's Culture Blog rips city government a new one, as we all should.

"How is this event any different from a major movie studio closing down a couple of streets so The Incredible Hulk can blow up a few cable cars? At least with the Moseley plan the public is invited to enjoy the free entertainment, instead of being shuffled away by a bunch of overprotective studio types."

I know that the folks over on Potrero Hill offered to welcome the event with open arms... Why the heck not?!?

I know that I live in a city so I can say IMBYP (In My BackYard, PLEASE!). If I wanted seclusion, I'd move to the country.

My brother got married at the Flood and I would have considered it a welcome addition to the reception if Johnny was throwing a party nearby...

The SF Gate article also has a great foot-in-mouth line from Supervisor Alioto-Pier, “This is the only responsible thing to do,’’ she said. “You can’t do an event in San Francisco and not discuss it with the neighborhood groups, and not abide by the conditions of the permits,’’ she said. “San Francisco’s not for sale.’’

Not for sale? Hmmmm....

Strangers sharing mortgages - Many would-be homeowners say TICs are worth the risk

SF Gate has yet another story on TICs and the upcoming individual mortgages.

"One of the few tricks to getting into the superheated San Francisco housing market has been the tenancy in common. In so-called TICs, co-owners share a single mortgage on a property. As a result, the owners are intertwined financially. If one owner can't make the payments, the whole group can suffer.

The practice, already widespread in San Francisco, could become even more popular because of a new kind of mortgage loan that would free owners from financial dependence on one another. The new mortgage would allow each owner in a TIC to have his or her own loan, which also would make it easier to sell or refinance units."

Once again, everyone's favorite tenant's rights activist has his say... ""They would make TICs look so much like condos that they actually cross the line and turn into condos," said Ted Gullicksen. "They may trigger TICs to become covered under condo conversion law."

Sorry, dude. No can do. A TIC is a form of HOLDING TITLE. There is NO WAY to regulate HOW PEOPLE HOLD TITLE. A condo conversion takes a large building with one assessor's parcel number and gives it multiple parcel numbers. In a TIC (with one loan or many) there is no change to the parcel number and therefore no conversion. It's just a bunch of people joining together to purchase a single property.

Ted & Co. will just have to be a little more creative if they think they can 'stop' TICs from forming. It's not about the TIC, it's about the evictions. Evictions are a function of supply and demand.

Not all TICs result in evictions, and not all evictions are a result of TICs... But ALL EVICTIONS ARE DUE TO A LACK OF HOUSING.

Do I need to say it again? Apparently, I do. BUILD MORE HOUSING!

For more information on the as-yet-not-understood concept of 'holding title', here's a link to a great PDF file from Chicago Title Company. Even Ted should be be able to understand this one.

Funny, but I don't see 'condo' on there anywhere!

New-Home Sales Hit Record High in July

Regardless of what's going on in the existing home market, SF Gate is reporting that new home sales are still increasing, with a record high in July.

"New-home sales in July soared to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.41 million units. That represented a 6.5 percent increase from June's pace of 1.32 million units, which had been the previous record"

This really doesn't affect us in San Francisco, where we rarely (if ever) see 'new' homes, but it does show that people are still buying homes at a record pace, despite the doom-and-gloom tales by some economists and media outlets.

Latest home sales figures from California Association of Realtors

According to the California Association of Realtors (CAR), "The median price of an existing home in California in July increased 17.1 percent and sales increased 1.3 percent compared with the same period a year ago...". Today's Examiner also has an article discussing these numbers, but finds a way to make them look a little less rosy.

It's quite funny how a press release can be issued with some housing data and the media can spin it into something negative... Their comment about the 0.4% drop between June and July was a very small part of the article, but they found a way to include it in their first paragraph.

As you can see in the following quotes (which I agree with), this June to July shift is very common (and I have discussed this many times already this year). “Year-to-date sales continue to outpace last year's, but are moderating compared with the levels experienced earlier this year,” said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “This is in line with our expectation that sales in 2005 will be 1.4 percent ahead of last year’s record pace."

"Historically, June accounts for the largest share of annual sales and there typically is a month-to-month decline in sales from June to July in the regional and county sales figures, which are not seasonally adjusted,” she said.

So if it happens every year, why pretend that it's a problem?

Harding Theatre back on the market

After a significant outcry by neighborhood and preservation activists, the Harding Theatre is back on the market for $2.35 million dollars.

For a bit of background on the single screen theatre at 616 Divisadero between Grove and Hayes, see the web site dedicated to saving the theatre.

The theatre was purchased quickly a couple of years ago by local developer and real estate agent Michael Klestoff for $1.6 million. Only after his plans were approved by the city preliminarily did folks in the area start to make a stink about it. In the interim, however, the site has gained in value dramatically. Since all of Klestoff's attempts to turn the space into mixed-use housing and commercial met with tremendous opposition, he really had no choice but to put it back up for sale.

That begs the question: what now? Who's going to pay the going rate for the land/building who can't re-develop the site? There's no way that someone can turn that site into something viable with a purchase price that high, but the free market would say that it's easily worth that much.

Idealism is great, but right now we need housing. I grew up working in a small theatre and have as much nostalgia as anyone in San Francisco for the single-screen movie house, but the opportunity to make this work was two years ago when the parcel was on the market. Not now. Not at this price. Not without someone with more stock options than investment sense.

Does anyone else see an Armory-like battle in the works? Does anyone in the neighborhood really want to see this building shuttered up and covered with graffitti for the next 10 years while the activists fight anyone that comes along?

The city will not help make this into a community space. The Supervisors may just fight about it and delay any sort of progress, but that leaves private developers to make it work. And they need to justify it financially.

Heck, I'm a neighbor and have been for eight years. What I want to see is neighborhood vibrancy. I want to see more restaurants, more commercial, and more housing. We have a definite shortage of community spaces, but that is NOTHING compared to the lack of housing that we're dealing with.

Losing historic spaces sucks. Period. But this is a valuable piece of real estate and it's time to work with whomever buys it and make it into something that the neighborhood can be proud of: a mixed-use development with more housing.

Update - 8/24

I also have the link to the MLS listing for the sale. It mentions (in a non-public area of the listing) that the lot is in the process of being split so the parcel on Divisadero will be separated from the lot on Hayes. I would assume he's only selling the Divisadero parcel at this point and keeping the Hayes parcel for his own development. This would increase dramatically the current value property vs. his purchase price. I would assume we'll see some housing put on the Hayes parcel, then.

The original building wraps around to Hayes Street. If the lots get split, the building will have to be demolished, at least partially...

Great San Francisco History web site

SFGeneaology.com is a site created "...to provide FREE internet access to genealogical and historical information for San Francisco and San Mateo Counties, and the State of California."

That said, there is some great information about the history of different neighborhoods, dating back as far as they can find data (much of which is donated).

For example, looking up information about the long-since-defunct Lone Mountain Cemetary (where USF is now located), I found the following:

Dates of Existence: May 1854 to 1862
Location: between 162 and 170 square acres
Number interred: 7,000 (1862)
Moved to: see individual cemeteries
Notes: this cemetery was divided into the Calvary, Odd Fellow's and Laurel Hill cemeteries

Curious about what was in your neighborhood 200 years ago, if anything? This site just might have some information!

Vacant Lots on Castro to Be Filled by New Homes

From this summer's Noe Valley Voice comes an article about two long-discussed vacant lots in Southern Noe Valley.

Neighbors are concerned about the scope of the new homes due to a couple of recently constructed 'monster homes' on Valley Street.

"The neighborhood's worries are rooted in a number of bloated homes that recently went up around the corner, on a Valley Street cul-de-sac. In the last two years, developers have renovated, or torn down and rebuilt from scratch, at least five homes on the pitched block between Castro and Diamond streets. The largest, a four-bedroom, 41/2-bath house with 4,400 square feet, sold in March for $2.7 million. That same month, another new house, with four bedrooms and 51/2 baths, sold for $2.3 million."

Also in the same issue of the Voice is a nice little graphic on the cost of living in Noe Valley, including home sale prices and rents around the neighborhood.

Mid-Market eyed for unusual projects

Also in the Examiner today, a discussion on the potential future of the Mid-Market area, between Fifth and Tenth Streets.

"For example, Group I is building 60 tiny condominiums a block from Market Street. The project has attracted attention because of the small size of the units, their relative affordability and the lack of parking because of its transit-rich corridor location. The condos at 83-91 McAllister St. start at 225 square feet and will be priced in the $200,000s and up, project manager Dan Paris said."

This is an area of San Francisco that is ripe for people of all economic levels to have a say in its future, and to see some positive changes for everyone. Anything is better than dozens of vacant, boarded up buildings...

S.F. Flower Mart considers bid for part of property

From today's Examiner: a real estate developer has put in a bid to purchase a portion of the Flower Market at Sixth Street and Brannan.

"The San Francisco Flower Mart is made up of two separate entities: the San Francisco Flower Market, an Italian flower growers' collective founded in 1956, and the California Flower Market Inc., created in the mid-1950s by Japanese-American flower growers.

San Francisco Flower Market is selling off its portion of the property, roughly one-third of the 280,000-square-foot building that stretches nearly an entire block from Sixth Street to Fifth Street along Brannan Street."

And the activists get their $0.02 in, too. "South of Market activist Jim Meko said the area is zoned for service and light industry and that the neighborhood should remain a place with jobs, not just housing"

Do we want more housing or not?

Developers Adopt Wait and See Attitude Toward Planning Reforms

In order to build more housing, all roads pass through the Planning Department. Developers have their concerns about how well the backlog in Planning might be handled, even with twenty-six new employees...

There's no argument that the Planning Department has problems. Now it's up to the Mayor and the Supervisors to make sure that issue is addressed properly. One of the biggest hurdles will be appointing heads of either the Building or Planning Departments without running into resistance from the progressive supervisors, or from the Mayor (if a candidate is suggested by the supervisors). We've already seen the back-and-forth about the acting head of DBI put through the ringer over her appointment just prior to taking maternity leave.

Bay Area Mayors Roundtable

CBS5 had an hourlong interview tonight with the three Bay Area mayors... Interesting to see them all together, especially how competitive they were with each other...

"Three mayors, three cities. and one candid discussion with Hank Plante. For the first time ever mayors Gonzales, Newsom and Brown talk openly about gay marriage, the Bay Bridge, housing and their vision for the Bay Area’s future."

Here's the link to the video on the CBS5 web site.

It all came back to two things: housing and public transportation. If they don't find a way, individually and collectively, to make those two items work, then they haven't done their jobs.

Another application filed to turn Armory into housing

This story was run in the Examiner almost a month ago, but I wasn't looking for it at the time...

Turns out another hardy soul has decided to take on the Supervisors and the Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition and try to turn the Armory building into housing and office space.

"A developer filed an application last month to turn the imposing Moorish-style fortress at 14th and Mission streets into 173 units of housing with some office space."

"A plan to turn it into a movie studio fell through in 1986 and a proposal for live-work lofts was abandoned in 1997. Partly because of its historic significance, it was at the center of the dot-com gentrification wars, with protesters flooding a Planning Commission meeting in 2000 to fight a new-media office complex."

There is also an old print shop on Mission @ 15th Street which has been on the Supervisor's radar as a location for housing. This would make up an entire city block that could be turned into more residential units, but so far there is nobody willing to take on the project and not get paid for it. Imagine that...

"The conversion [at the Armory] requires installing a complicated pumping system to deal with possible flooding from the old Mission Creek that runs under the structure, seismically upgrading the building with an underground supporting wall, cleaning up lead and asbestos, and removing old fuel tanks. The electrical, ventilation and plumbing need to be redone...the cost of the entire project will likely run about $45 million."

Unless there are some subsidies out there, you won't see any developer taking this project on at less than 90% market rate (which is how normal market rate buildings are approved, with 10% slated for Below Market Rate units).

Let's hope it works this time.

With Valencia Gardens construction in full-swing, that neighborhood is ready for the influx of vibrancy. I DID NOT say gentrification, just vibrancy. There have been two entire city blocks sitting vacant for a long time now, and the best thing for that location is to get some housing in there ASAP.

How many parcels are left in San Francisco where we can build this many units of housing? How many locations need attention as much as 14th & Mission? It's time to find a way to make this happen...

Sorry, Ted Gullicksen, there are no tenants being displaced this time... Just a big, empty building that needs some love... And a little help from your friends at the Board of Supervisors...

Further misinformation on condo conversion

The folks at BeyondChron need to do their homework. Sensational journalism only works when you have some bit of truth to what you're writing.

Today's rant includes a piece on so-called condo conversions of buildings that were BUILT as condos, and only rented by the developer for tax reasons or market climate. Not a single one of these developers had any intention of being long-term landlords. They did what any non-subsidized developer would do: they looked at the market and sold when the time was right. There's nothing AT ALL wrong with that.

"Now, as the market for condos continues to heat up, property owners are increasingly putting those rental units up for sale. Owners of five large buildings in the South of Market, including 595 units at 250 King street and 102 units at 175 Bluxome, have already made the switch, leading to the loss of hundreds of rental units for San Francisco tenants."

Repeat after me: Build more housing! Build more housing! Build more housing!

If these guys would spend 50% of their time thinking of ways to solve the problem instead of finding ways to clog up the system, think of how much brainpower would be put to better use!

The sad reality is that Daly and Gullicksen are hard at work right now to take away the rights of those who can best solve this city's housing problem: the developers. Remember, unless we are paying their bills, we need to find a way for them to profit. It's what makes this country great, right? Take away their ability to make money, and THEY WILL LEAVE. That will increase the pressure on the rental market, pushing more and more people into TICs, creating more and more evictions, and sending more and more people out of the city. And we'll be left with nobody to build the housing that we so desperately need. At all levels, and all price points.

Seems pretty simple, doesn't it? Shouldn't more people be looking for candidates to replace Daly when he's up for re-election? Anyone game?

Presidio more of a haven for families with children?

The Examiner today has an article which discusses how the Presidio may be the family-friendly neighborhood that many say doesn't exist in San Francisco.

"With large houses and sprawling yards, even some families who can afford to buy homes in San Francisco are choosing to rent in the Presidio because of its family-friendly amenities and know-your-neighbor culture."

Using your mortgage as a checking account: The CMG Plan

It's always interesting to hear about new mortgage products on the market, especially those that might help pay down a loan balance more quickly.

Jack Guttentag has a piece today on Inman News about a product from CMG that functions both as a mortgage and as a checking account. Your paycheck is deposited into your account, and pays down your principal balance. As you use your paycheck (by withdrawing funds, writing checks, etc.), your principal balance goes back up. But even if you use all of those funds in a month, the bank has been able to use your money in the interim, thereby paying down the balance a little bit at a time.

Apparently these programs have been used in other countries for a while now, but this one of the first times I've seen this product offered in the US.

Permit manager received loan after condo OKd, papers show

SF Gate has more coverage on the SF Department of Building Inspection (DBI) manager's criminal case.

It was tough enough to get projects through when all was legal and disclosed. Now I can only imagine the scrutiny each and every permit will end up receiving, and the delays that will result.

One of the common issues I run into as a real estate agent is concerning work done without permits (both with home sellers and with home buyers). When delays at the DBI cause people to skip the permitting process, it hurts everyone involved. It potentially decreases the value of the property, it could result in fines and considerable investigative work by a building inspector, and could be a hazard (fire or otherwise) if the work was not done by a licensed tradesman. Not to mention the loss of revenue to the city when permit fees don't get paid.

Imagine the positive domino effect... If we hire a few more GOOD employees at DBI (including a new Planning director), their salaries could be paid by all of the permits that get submitted when the department proves it can do its job correctly and on time!

I recently did a remodel on my home and had a very smooth experience with the DBI. Although one item needed to be changed that required additional structural engineering, ultimately it was for the long term structural integrity of the home (making up for prior work done without a permit by a previous owner) and did not result in a huge cost. Sometimes the permitting process works out fine and does not prohibitively impede a project...

Further info on individual TIC loans

The San Francisco Business Times has an article this morning on the current situation with individual TIC loans.

Most importantly, there appears to be interest from the secondary market (other banks who buy loans that are originated elsewhere). This is going to be extremely crucial for this program to really grab hold... If the banks who are considering this now don't have a secondary market, they will be forced to hold the loans for the duration (which for Bank of Marin is ten years). Most banks will eventually sell their loans to a third-party, thereby freeing up more capital for other clients.

Says Bob Griswold, President and CEO of Bank of Marin, "There are people who are interested in making a secondary market in individualized TIC loans," adding that he's been approached by such parties. "I think we'll see a secondary market develop."

There is also further discussion of E-Loan's entry into the TIC market in the fourth quarter of this year.

There is also a previous SBT article from August 16th on this same topic.

Currently, the Bank of Marin product, although already completely sold out, has a slightly higher price than traditional loans. They have offered their loan to borrowers who needed $300,000 to $400,000 loans, at an interest rate of 7%. The loan is amortized over 30 years, but is payable in 10 years (owners would have to refinance at that time, or pay the loan in full). The rate is fixed for five years, then adjusts once for the final five years.

Compared to the current risk associated with co-borrowing as TIC buyers are forced to do, this slightly higher rate will just mean that TIC prices will stay lower than condo prices, but only slightly...

List of recent home sales around San Francisco

Once again, here's the link to the Chronicle's list of recent home sales around San Francisco.

This is coming from the county recorder's office and from public records, not from the MLS. Also, bear in mind that many of these transactions would have closed as much as a month ago, meaning that offers were accepted (and pricing decisions were made) up to two months ago.

Mission muralist fights eviction from home

In the Chronicle and on SF Gate this morning, there's a piece about one tenant's creative attempt at thwarting an owner move-in eviction.

"Susan Kelk Cervantes, a central force in the creation of hundreds of murals in San Francisco's Mission District, is facing eviction and is trying an unusual strategy to stay. She wants her apartment turned into a landmark because of her contributions to the working-class neighborhood."

Susan is a part of Precita Eyes, a non-profit based in the Mission District. Five years ago they faced the threat of losing their space on 24th Street and they were (through help/donations from many people, including myself) able to purchase the building, which they still own today.

Now Susan faces eviction from her home on Precita Avenue in North Bernal Heights and she's attempting to get the building declared a landmark so she cannot be evicted. She currently pays $300/month in rent.

SoMa developer fee gets signed into law

As discussed earlier, the Daly Shakedown Fee was signed into law yesterday by the Board of Supervisors. From SF Gate today:

"Without naming names in the letter, Newsom was clearly chastising Supervisor Chris Daly, who represents the South of Market community and persuaded developers to agree to the high fees. The mayor wrote that the Rincon Hill project "was marred by the worst type of strong-armed 'alderman- style' tactics" and that such behavior is "simply unacceptable.""

As voters in San Francisco, we need to insure that this money now goes to where it belongs: public services, parks, open spaces, and infrastructure... Newsom is said to be willing to take this measure to the voters if necessary...

Phil Ting Issued Owner Move-In Eviction

I don't consider this breaking news, but since BeyondChron is so hyped up about it, figure I'll spread the word about how overblown something like this could end up being.

"Beyond Chron has learned that Assessor Phil Ting issued an owner move-in eviction notice (OMI) in April of 1998. The eviction forced tenant Rowan Chapman to move out of a unit at 1452 6th Street so that Ting could move in. Owner move-in evictions have sparked the ire of tenant's rights groups in the past, and Ting's role in such an action could impact his current battle with Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval and Ronald Chun for the Assessor's office this November."

Who cares about his record in public service? Who cares about his position on key issues... He needed a home, he bought a home, and he moved in. Now he's the devil?

Just for the record, I have no opinion on any of the three candidates, but I find it ridiculous that anyone would try to create a frenzy over something that is not only completely legal, but that comes as part of being a tenant. Any time you don't own the space you live in, you run the risk of being displaced. With the latest eminent domain rulings, even homeowners run the risk of losing their homes.

Repeat after me! Build more housing! Build more housing! Build more housing!

There's no mention here of the status of Rowan Chapman (the evicted tenant). Was this person of a protected class (elderly or catastrophically ill)? It's entirely feasible that Rowan could have had the ability to cash in some stock options and buy a house when they were asked to move out. Does anyone really know? Would the story be as sensational if they did their background research to find out?

I will repeat, I am not in favor of evictions, but we must look at them on a case-by-case basis.

And should this even be a political platform issue? Why don't you just lambast him because he's a homeowner? Go after all of the city officials who own property. Isn't that the root of the complaint? Us against them...

To top it all off, there is no such address as 1452 6th Street. 6th Street doesn't have numbers that high. A little fact checking should be in order prior to making such published statements...

Booming home market has helped economy

No kidding, right?

SF Gate has yet another 'bubble'-related article about how many jobs have been created by the housing boom. "In one recent study, Wells Fargo economists Michael Swanson and Scott Anderson estimated that more than half of all the payroll jobs created since the end of the last recession were either in construction or in allied fields such as real estate, financing and home improvement."

If you believe the hype of the bubble, this article is right up your alley. If you don't, this is the same stuff you've been reading since 1999. Nothing more than some guys with advanced degrees in things other than real estate hypothesizing about what might happen someday, perhaps...

Planners trying to cope in wake of tech downturn

As many neighborhoods face re-zoning, the SF Examiner has an article discussing the continued fall-out from the housing crunch of the dot-com era.

"Today's housing crisis is only increasing the pressure on The City to find more land for housing without sacrificing these businesses, many of which offer high-paying blue-collar jobs."

"In early September, the Planning Commission will consider temporary zoning to deal with the problem until permanent rezoning for the Eastern Neighborhoods — Mission, SoMa, Bayview, Visitacion Valley, and Showplace Square/Potrero Hill — is in place, probably in about a year."

As I have mentioned before, if you want to have a say in how your neighborhood is zoned or redeveloped, now is the time to ask questions. If you wait, as the residents who live under the reconstructed Central Freeway did, to complain about something that has already been decided, you'll almost always lose out.

Director of AIDS Housing Alliance threatens riots

C'mon now! Threatening a riot? Are you kidding me? Housing policy in this city sucks. We all know that. But riots?

AIDS Housing Alliance director Brian Basinger has posted an open letter on BeyondChron today that says "The Mayor's Office has expressed its support for TICs, with the tacit understanding that they are the result of evictions, mostly of vulnerable seniors, disabled and catastrophically ill people."

Are you kidding? TICs are the result of a tight housing market. Sometimes that does involve evictions (which I will remind you I am NOT in favor of), but there is no 'tacit understanding.'

The free market (remember Econ 101, Brian?) will ultimately prevail, unless the city creates housing for people who cannot otherwise survive in such a market. Again, I reiterate that housing is needed at all levels. If there was more market-rate housing, there would be fewer people out there looking to buy into TICs. Nobody 'wants' to buy a TIC. It's 100% a function of supply and demand.

Build more housing, build more housing, build more housing. Can it be any clearer than that?

Brian wraps up his letter by saying "There comes a 'tipping point' when the frustrations of people who are not adequately being served by the market or their government spill over into periods of social unrest. San Francisco has a rich history of such actions: the White Night Riots, the AB 101 Riots, the I-Hotel, etc. We may be approaching the point where we cross the line that leads into such periods."

Sounds like a bit of a threat to me...

The tale of an eviction that turned into a home

Carol Lloyd's Surreal Estate column today talks about a couple who, for various reasons, and after being evicted once, ended up buying the flat they originally rented.

It's a bit of a sappy, feel-good story, but the reality is still that these folks ended up with something far better than a rent-controlled apartment...

IRL Cars take to the San Francisco streets in Chocolate Mini-Grand Prix

After mentioning Johnny Moseley's ski jump event (which the Norwegians are excited about, by the way), I figure it's fitting to mention that the Indy Racing League is coming to Sonoma next weekend and they will have a little promo event near Ghiradelli Square on Wednesday the 24th @ 11:30AM featuring media darling Danica Patrick and former Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice.

"Three open-wheel racecars will rumble through the streets of San Francisco at historic Ghirardelli Square for the Chocolate Mini-Grand Prix."

You think that the Pacific Heights folks are pissy about some snow? Wait till they get a taste of 900 horsepower rolling by some offices in the middle of the workday...

Oil prices sink mortgage rates

Inman News has an article today on how oil prices are responsible for a drop in mortgage interest rates this week.

"Mortgage rates fell because a pair of economic reports led investors to believe that the economy is slowing due to high fuel prices, according to Bankrate.com. The report on retail sales in July showed weaker-than-expected growth. One strong venue of retail sales was at gas stations; as the Consumer Price Index showed, people spent more at gas stations in July because fuel prices went up 3.8 percent. While higher fuel prices might increase overall inflation, they also can stall the economy. Among investors the latter concern outweighed the former; the prospect of economic weakness sent rates lower."

Also interesting was the comment that "long-term mortgage rates are at about the same low level they were at this time last year. So it isn't surprising that the housing industry continues to thrive. Home sales are strong and housing starts are up for the first seven months of the year over the same period last year."

Condo conversion OK'd on Rincon Hill

In Wednesday's SF Examiner, there's an article about a 320-unit apartment building that has just been given approval for condo conversion.

"Under the deal, Blackrock Real Estate/Rincon LLC., the owners of the Rincon Towers at 88 Howard St., can sell off the residential component of the building. In exchange, the owners will provide a settlement package worth $5 million to tenants, money that can be used for relocation or as a down payment for a condo, according to a memo from Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Marcia Rosen."

Does any other city in the country provide a political climate that would see a developer paying out $5M to tenants when a building is converted? Not likely. But it must make financial sense for this developer, or they wouldn't have considered it.

Wanna bet that Chris Daly has already started looking at ways to prevent this from happening or to increase that $5M package to a number that will make it financially impossible for the developer to make it work?

Chilly reception for Olympian's plan for ski jump in Pacific Heights

The Bay Area's own Olympic skiing gold medalist, Johnny Moseley, is having a little 30th birthday party for himself and a few thousand of his friends. The problem is that said party involves hundreds of tons of snow and a Pacific Heights street...

As one might imagine, there are plenty of people who will be inconvenienced by this, and none of them are very pleased about the publicity stunt.

As quoted from SF Gate, ""What the hell are you guys thinking?" said Bruce Miller, who lives in the area and, like most of the neighbors, just found out about the Aug. 27 event recently. "The arrogance of this organization is outrageous. This whole thing is unacceptable.""

"Despite what Miller and other objectors say, though, the company staging the event received city permits to close Fillmore Street from Broadway to Green, and Vallejo from Steiner to Webster, on Aug. 26 and 27. Residents will not be able to drive to or from their homes."

Even more bummed than the Monks who meditate on the street, "no one is more irate than Laurie Beijen and her fiance, Ben Tulchin, who are getting married at the historic Flood Mansion at Broadway and Fillmore the day of "Icer Air 2005.""

For those that might want to watch the mayhem, it's happening on August 26th and 27th. You know I'll be there...

Guide to San Francisco Architectural Styles

One of my colleagues from Pacific Union, Sharon Kramlich, has a great guide to architectural styles that is very appropriate for San Francisco. It lists eras of construction, some defining details, and has sketches of sample properties.

One of most common mistakes, especially among real estate agents in their marketing, is mis-categorizing a property.

The next property I have listed in Glen Park (shown at right, first showing in early September) was previously listed as a Victorian, but as it was built in 1908, it was well after the Victorian era and would more appropriately be categorized as a Colonial Revival home. This is a perfect example of how all peak-roofed homes just get tagged as Victorian, when in fact there are multiple styles with peaked roofs.

Enjoy!

How do they do it?

For the third day in a row, Kelly Zito covers real estate in the Chronicle with a story on how buyers are affording to get into the market. Today's story is page 1 news, including a photo of my listing with yours truly in the background.

Some of those interviewed are stretching to make it work. "It's painful, more painful than I thought it was going to be," said Kris Crichton, who bought a $640,000 condo in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood using $50,000 in equity from a home she owned with her former husband and an interest-only loan for part of the mortgage. "I'm eating ramen and PB&J every day, but at least I have a house."

There is also a graphic titled "affording the unaffordable" which shows how homeownership rates have increased the most for buyers in their thirties.

San Francisco moves forward on citywide WiFi plan

Now this is something to get excited about, unless you work for Comcast or a broadband provider...

SF Gate has coverage today of the City's plans for creating a free/inexpensive wireless network for everyone inside of the city limits.

"The city of San Francisco wants ideas for making the entire 49-square mile city a free — or at least cheap — Wi-Fi zone. Taking a step toward bridging the so-called digital divide between the tech-savvy and people who can't afford computers, the city government on Tuesday issued guidelines for a plan to "ensure universal, affordable wireless broadband access for all San Franciscans.""

Unless, of course, we get activists or progressive supervisors complaining that people who don't yet own computers can't access this service and it shouldn't be built...

Here we go again... Housing activists blast Newsom's "Home 15/5" plan

Just when you think something good is happening for housing in San Francisco, the housing activists are looking to ball up the process. Beyond Chron has a piece today covering the concerns of a group calling themselves the Housing Justice Movement.

""We call upon the Board of Supervisors to hold public hearings on how the Mayor can change official city housing goals by a mere press conference," said April Veneracion of the South of Market Community Action Network, who said at least 12,000 new units of truly affordable housing are needed within the next two years to satisfy the needs of low-income San Franciscans. Newsom, Veneracion argues, has no plans to try and fulfill those needs."

We need housing at all levels. We MUST build any housing we can find a way to build. Keep pushing for additional housing, but DO NOT slow down the process any more than it already has been by our 'caring' supervisors. New housing will take the pressure off of the market at all levels. Yes, we need more super-low and no-income housing. There's no argument about that. But if we keep fighting about how much of a particular type of housing needs to be built, then NOTHING will ever get done.

Remember, this is capitalism. Someone needs to pay for this housing, and the city doesn't have the money. There has to be enough of a market-rate component to what's being built for developers to be able to make a profit. If they don't make a profit, they'll go across the bridge and find a situation where they can make a profit. They have ZERO obligation to build housing for our low-income residents. It's the city's job to help make this all possible, but unless you all agree to pay more taxes, where is the city going to get the money to subsidize this construction?

I would love to see everyone taken care of at once, but since that's not going to happen, let's just get started by building SOMETHING! ANYTHING! Pretty please?

For more details on Newsom's Home 15/5 plan, see my post from August 4th.

Housing market dips a bit?

Two days in a row we get to quote Kelly Zito from the Chronicle! Today's article uses a bit of the info from yesterday, as well as a couple of interviews with area real estate-types.

She actually came by my open house in Noe Valley on Sunday (which she refers to at the end of the article), but none of my wisdom was actually imparted to Chronicle readers. What a shame! :-)

I know that when one looks at Bay Area-wide numbers (or statewide numbers as she did today) you might feel that things have shifted a bit. But again, as I mentioned yesterday, this is all a function of inventory and speculation. The speculators have left the market. This has created a sense of slowing, but that only lasted a month and it happens EVERY YEAR around this time, then August hits and the inventory drops to ridiculously low levels. Guess that's because everyone is hypothetically on vacation. Except, of course, for the 400 people that came through my open house last weekend...

The Examiner also jumped on the media bandwagon this morning with quotes from a bunch of SF real estate folks.

I know it will come as a surpise to many of you, but I really don't agree with what the Examiner article is saying. Multiple offers and over-asking sales prices are nothing more than a function of pricing. Speculative sellers who insist on over-pricing their properties will lead to this type of data. We're not talking about housing prices slipping. This is about one month of greedy sellers not getting what they want because they asked too much. Period.

Is the market as hot as it was in March? Definitely not. But that's because the spring is a different market. Although based on what I'm seeing right now (this week, in August), we could see some of that same activity for a couple of weeks before the flood of inventory after Labor Day.

Overheated Bay Area Home Sales Take a Breather In July

Kelly Zito covers today's Dataquick report on July home sales in SF Gate.

As one astute Craigslist optimist wrongly assumed, prices did not drop 11%... The number of homes sold dropped 11%. Wishful thinking, I know...

"The number of properties that changed hands in July dropped 11.9 percent on a month-to-month basis and 10.8 percent year-over year."

What happened in July was that too many sellers jumped on the speculation bandwagon with the "I'll sell if I get X dollars for my house!" They saw what happened in the spring when there was VERY low inventory. They didn't market properly. They didn't prepare their property. They put it on with a discount real estate broker who put it in the MLS and slapped a lockbox on the front door. Then they were SHOCKED when it didn't sell.

Those folks have all left the market now. They still live in their houses, and they really had no intention of moving... Unless that dream offer came in. Which it never will in this market without proper marketing and the right agent.

The 'real' inventory right now (stuff that people will actually buy) is about 50% of what it was in July. Low inventory equals a seller's market. I bet Dataquick has a different story to tell when we talk about August's numbers...

From today's SF Examiner...

A couple of interesting real estate-related items in today's Examiner:

1. Mission Street Sees Condo Boom - The area around the Transbay Terminal has a number of projects underway, and "the area around the terminal is expected to become a redevelopment area in the next decade with the eventual development of 3,400 housing units as well as offices and hotels."

2. San Francisco Students soar to top of state's list - Test scores rank best of California's urban areas. Unfortunately, they have no online version of this article, but it's on pages 5-7 of the print edition (which can be read in PDF format). I guess some folks might legitimately consider staying in SF rather than moving to Marin when their kids reach school age...

Bank of Marin to be first to offer individual TIC loans?

As I discussed earlier, SF Gate is reporting this morning that the Bank of Marin is scheduled to begin offering individual TIC loans within three to four weeks. This will not cause a landslide of new TIC sales, for one simple reason: "Under its new program, it will make a limited number of fractional- interest loans to individuals who buy units from developers who got their acquisition/renovation financing from Bank of Marin." If a developer/building owner doesn't get its financing from Bank of Marin, they don't get the individual loan packages.

To me, that appears to rule out the opportunity for current landlords of buildings to jump into the TIC game to take advantage of this new plan. Since TIC loans are an almost exclusively San Francisco thing, there will be no national market for these loans, and therefore Bank of Marin will have to hold these loans for the duration, and will not have a secondary market in which to sell them. Additionally, "Its initial $20 million loan commitment includes acquisition/renovation loans as well as the new fractional-interest loans. All of the new loans already have been spoken for."

Based on some basic math, if they have $20M to loan and they're doing loans around $400k, that's only 50 units. This won't change the real estate market by itself.

And that's pretty much it. There are a few buildings out there right now that are either on the market or are slated to be sold, and those buildings will be the guinea pigs. Unfortunately, this will not give current or many future TIC owners a shot at an indivudual loan. At least not yet...

And lucky for us we get to hear from Ted Gullickson again today! "We are opposed to TICs because TICs are unregulated," says Ted Gullickson, office manager of the San Francisco Tenants Union. "This would make them even more numerous." Well, Ted, just because you don't have your hand in someone else's business, doesn't mean it 'needs' to be regulated. Could you believe that anywhere else in the USA, it's possible to form a TIC or convert a condo without having to deal with your desired 'regulations'? Somehow, people manage to get by. This includes tenants, too...

My next concern? That the Board of Supervisors will finally find a way to somehow restrict TICs, evictions, or condo conversions. Unfortunately, and few understand this concept, a tenancy in common is a form of holding title. It is NOT a property type. I could own a single family home as tenants in common with my brother if I wanted. People referring to properties as TICs is a bit misleading. A tenancy in common is a group of people and their agreement, not a particular type of property.

How will the 'Supes regulate that?

I will refer again to my post from the other day about Ellis Act evictions... If Bank of Marin, Circle Bank, Sterling Bank, or E-Loan (who are all slated to come online with their TIC loans very soon) create a viable way for TIC owners (present and future) to have individual loans, you will see tremendous pressure on buildings greater than 7 units. Since those are not currently condo-convertable under the standard lottery plan, they are more or less ignored by the TIC speculators. Individual loans will blow that one right out of the water, and many of San Francisco's most coveted larger buildings could hypothetically be cleared of their tenants (by either the seller or the group of buyers) and sold to individual buyers.

This is fantastic news for people who would love to stay in a desireable neighborhood like Russian Hill, but where there is little condo inventory. How much would the landscape change if a couple of 20 unit buildings were made available near Polk Street? How much would that change prices of condos? How high will the prices of TICs go?

There are so many questions now, and we will likely see our 'Supes do their best to answer each and every one of them very soon...

DirecWay must die

This is truly worthy of a rant. If you ever have the crazy notion to go out and sign up for internet service via DirecWay (the satellite internet provider), do yourself a favor and skip it. I needed service in a location that has neither DSL nor cable internet, and thought that would be a suitable option for part-time use.

I was terribly wrong, and they refuse to tell you the limitations of the service until it's already installed (and you've paid the installer's fee).

First of all, they do not allow access to POP email accounts. You can access some webmail, but they would rather that you use a direcway.com email account. Yeah, right... I'll get right on that...

They also don't allow any VPN access, and although our MLS is not run via VPN, DirecWay thinks it is and won't allow access.

I cancelled the service on the same day it was installed and have yet to receive a refund after 2 months. They haven't even managed to send me the return box...

The best part: their customer service is outsourced to India.

All political correctness aside, I did find a CLASSIC web animation piece from Ill Will Press about outsourced tech support and customer service. It's well-worth a couple of minutes of your time... Note: there is language in this piece that is likely not suitable for office environments or small children...

Since there are good DSL and cable broadband options in San Francisco, this may never be a problem for you, but if you ever have to consider other options, make sure that DirecWay is not one of them.

Some good info on how your credit cards relate to your credit score

Jack Guttentag has a good bit of advice on Inman News today about how best to take care of your credit score as it relates to your credit cards.

The one piece of advice that I have to add to this: cancelling cards doesn't help your score. FICO looks at closed accounts the same as open accounts. If you had six cards, but now you have only two, your score will not be positively affected, and might even be hurt by what FICO perceives as the potential for you to re-open those accounts and go shopping.

Mr. Guttentag refers to a 'genie' in the article as the little system that figures out your score... I would rather see it referred to as a 'weasel'. None of the calculations make any sense, and some of my clients will have late loan payments, bad debt, and little history, and still have an 800+ score. Others, myself included, have perfect payment history for many years, but are carrying a little balance on a credit card (and have a few closed accounts - in good standing), and get dinged for it.

The best advice is to just pay everything on time. If you miss a payment, just make sure you get it paid before the next billing cycle starts. That's when it hits your credit report -- after the missed payment is 30 days late. Think of that as your 'grace' period, but don't use it more than you absolutely have to.

The Latest on Octavia Boulevard

The whole Octavia Boulevard project is coming together bit-by-bit, and it looks like we'll see the new central freeway extension and boulevard operational by the end of this summer. There is a great site with very up-to-date info on the construction, the plans, and the timeline at OctaviaCentral.org.

With that comes the planning process and public comment period for the zoning of the entire neighborhood, which includes all of the newly available land where freeways used be (such as the lot @ Laguna and Oak, for example). There is another great information site on the planning process. There was a meeting on July 28th, but there is a yet-to-come deadline for public comment at the end of August. If you have any questions about this area, now's the time to do some research and ask important questions before final decisions are made. The Planning Department has a long list of links and downloadable documents at their Market and Octavia Neighborhood Plan page.

If you live nearby, get to know your neighborhood's future. If you don't, check it out anyhow. It's going to make Hayes Valley a very different (and hopefully user-friendly) neighborhood...

Record number of Ellis Act evictions in May

BeyondChron has a doom-n-gloom article on the number of housing units which were delivered eviction notices via the Ellis Act in May of 2005.

Last time I checked, Ted Gullickson of the San Francisco Tenant's Union wasn't an economist, but he's got an opinion just like everyone else... "A warning to short-term real estate speculators and tenancy in-common (TIC) buyers: Your housing bubble is due to burst." So predicts Ted Gullickson of the San Francisco Tenants Union. According to Gullickson, "the current boom of low interest rates coupled with the inflated real estate market is not going to last much longer. In fact, it soon will crash in the way that the stock market did in 1929. His caution comes after the San Francisco Rent Board reported for May of this year 80 Ellis Act evictions – the highest number on record." Gosh, Ted, thanks for the warning. I'll start packing my bags and selling my belongings right away.

Personally, I feel these evictions come out of buyer's frustration with the housing market and their need for a roof over their heads. Nobody 'wants' to evict someone in order to sell or purchase property. Remember, Ted, homeowners need homes, too. Many of those homeowners were your constituents at one time who got tired of fighting and decided to control their own destiny by purchasing. If you look anywhere but our little island, you'll see that homeowners have the right to decide who lives in their units and when they are vacant. When there are people that need assistance in obtaining or keeping housing, the local municipalities help to fund programs for this very cause. In San Francisco, it is the responsibility of the homeowner/landlord to subsidize housing.

I do not condone evictions of any type, but the reality is out there and since the Ellis Act is a state law, there hasn't been anything the Supervisors or Mr. Gullickson can do about it.

Here's an idea: BUILD MORE HOUSING! Stop fighting about what kind of housing is being built. Just build the housing, already! Give the developers INCENTIVES to build (do you hear that, Mr. Daly?). That will take pressure off of both the purchase and rental markets... I know it sounds easy, and it IS EASY. Just not with our current crop of supervisors...

If May saw a record number of evictions, just wait until individual TIC loans are offered commercially. That will take down the real barrier to entry for many buyers, and we will likely see an increase in TIC sales, which means more evictions in 3-7 unit buildings. The prices for TICs will also rise, but probably not quite to the levels of a fully-certified condo...

Gullickson continues his sage advice, ""Real estate prospectors don't get hurt because they're the least accountable; they end up owning the building for such a short time. The TIC buyers, however, are going to find that their million dollar apartments are worth only $500,000 after the bubble bursts." Uh huh.... Yeah... 50% price drops...

Stay tuned. I doubt any of this will sort itself out any time soon...

Fewer Homeowners Facing Default, Foreclosures Down 12%

Here's one mostly-unreported reality to the so-called bubble: equity appreciation! An article in the Chron and SF Gate today discusses how even though some homeowners might be running into troubles paying their mortgages, when they look at the reality of their home's value, many have been able to sell, cure any defaults, and walk away with some money in their pocket.

"Notices of default are usually filed after borrowers fall several months behind on their mortgage payments; they mark the first formal step in the foreclosure process."

The important thing to remember here is that if you're falling behind, you don't have to lose everything. If you can sell your house before the bank gets ahold of it, you'll be far better off than if you think that they'd sell it and get full market value. A bank is only looking to cure the default and move on. They don't always hire the most aggressive agents and don't always push for the highest prices.

If you ever find yourself behind on your mortgage, feel free to call me up and pick my brain about what you might be able to do to keep your house or how we can sell it and save as much equity as possible. Remember, until the bank actually forecloses, it's not too late!

Of course, foreclosure happens to VERY few homeowners... But for those who actually hand their houses over to the bank, it didn't have to get so ugly... There's almost always a solution where the homeowner can come out ahead, while still paying off bad debt.

New York still better, according to some

A recent Harris poll has shown that their sample group still would prefer to live in NYC than anywhere else. Inman News has a bit of information on the survey.

San Francisco was fourth.... We didn't even make the podium... San Diego and Vegas were #2 and #3 respectively... Seattle was #5 and Chicago #6, so at least we're still among good company...

Shorenstein buys Mission Bay site, plans 465,000-square-foot building

The San Francisco Business Times has a story on yet another very large development (albeit a commercial one) in Mission Bay.

The building, to be developed by the venerable Shorenstein Co., will be their first new construction in twenty years. "The privately held company has not developed anything in the city since building 123 Mission St. in 1986."

To me, 465,000 square feet means more jobs, more services in the neighborhood, and another boost to the local economy (initially in construction, eventually in long-term jobs).

Some of you may also remember this building as the former home of Esprit clothing...

New Listing! Detached 3BR Noe Valley Home $729,000

Figure I can use this platform to shamelessly plug my own listings, no?

I have just listed a fantastic property in the heart of Noe Valley. It's a tranquil three bedroom, two full bath detached home, on the rear of the lot, surrounded by trees and gardens.

Although technically a condominium, sharing in the homeowner's association with the building facing Clipper Street, this is a stand-alone house. There is also one car side-by-side parking in the garage of the front building, plus some additional storage.

The first open houses are this weekend: Saturday 12pm - 2pm and Sunday 1pm - 4pm.

Check out photos and more details at 553AClipper.com.

The address is 553A Clipper Street and the cross street is Diamond. This is just a couple of blocks from the 24th Street corridor, too!

3 bedrooms
2 full baths
1455 sqft (per tax records)
one car parking
master suite with view deck
formal dining room
eat-in kitchen
significantly remodeled in 2004
laundry
additional storage
shared landscaped garden

Offered at $729,000

Showings are very easy by appointment in addition to what's already scheduled.

Real Estate rates up for sixth week in a row

Inman News has an article with some details on the current state of affairs in the real estate financial markets.

How is this affecting home sales? I haven't seen much change. There was too much over-priced inventory (due to overly optimistic sellers) in July, but now that we're into August, the inventory has dropped dramatically and we're seeing a stronger seller's market again.

Expect to see more inventory hitting immediately after Labor Day, with the market staying strong for sellers into October and perhaps November. Buyers will see more opportunity in November and December, albeit with less inventory and far fewer choices than in the early-Fall.

Some light summer reading on architecture

For those that like to read about the history of their particular style of home or just about home design and architecture in general, John King (who writes the Urban Design column for the Chron and SF Gate) has an article on some recommended reading this summer...

What am I reading right now? "The Lost City: The Forgotten Virtues of Community in America" by Alan Ehrenhalt. I'll let you know what I think about it when I'm done!

Cleaning up your street and neighborhood

In case you weren't aware, the practice of placing items out in the street or on the sidewalk (like furniture) is illegal. Craigslist is a far better option for giving stuff away...

Now, since none of you have ever done anything like this, I should still point out that somehow things end up on the sidewalk in front of our houses. Sunset Scavenger won't take them away with the trash, so what do you do?

Call the Department of Public Works by dialing 28-CLEAN. Give them the location and description of the trash and they'll send a truck out to pick it all up. If there is any incriminating evidence within the pile of trash about where it came from, they will fine the perpetrator, too.

If things are allowed to linger on the streets, it invites more trash to accumulate. Just like graffitti... which by the way, you can contact DPW about as well.... See the link above for more details.

If you do have stuff that belongs to you that you can't give or throw away, Sunset Scavenger will pick up large items once per year by appointment as part of your regular service. If you have a lot of stuff, I have great haulers who will come and take it all away for you, too.

Thanks for doing your part to keep SF clean!

18-month Hotel-to-Condo Moratorium flys unanimously with Supervisors

The Examiner has a report on yesterday's Board of Supervisor's meeting where the 18-month hotel-to-condo conversion moratorium has been unanimously approved 10-0.

Pacific Union signs new lease in Letterman Digital Arts building in Presidio

The Examiner has an article today with details on the new home in the Letterman Digital Arts Center to the majority of Pacific Union's San Francisco agents and staff. Agents from the Marina office and the California Street office (where I am based) will all move into this new 35,000 square foot space in January of 2006. The two other offices in South Beach and Civic Center will remain as they are now.

Since I'm a mobile agent and work from everywhere except the Pacific Union offices, the only effect this will have on me is that I get to pick my mail up from a nicer office... :-)

Of course, whenever my clients want to meet in the conference room overlooking the bay and the Presidio, I'll be happy to oblige.

Warning over alcohol law 'lunacy'...

This is not San Francisco news, nor does it have anything to do with real estate, but it does have some San Francisco comparisons...

The BBC is reporting that a senior judge has claimed "plans to relax drinking laws [in the UK] will fuel violent disorder on the country's streets and is "close to lunacy.""

Wow. And I thought 2 AM was too early...

Maybe this judge needs to take a trip to Manhattan or Chicago... Or maybe Las Vegas?

I've always thought that one of the reasons that San Francisco has become such a sleepy little town is the early closing times of bars and restaurants. After living in Europe for a while, I realized that eating later is much more fun and going to sleep early is no fun at all.

What ever happened to the San Francisco that was famous for music and culture? I know... Real estate got too expensive...

Doesn't mean that we still can't stay up a little later, now does it?

If you need me, I'll be down at the pub tonight. Seriously... The Original McCarthy's on Mission Street... Then over to 12 Galaxies to see the Supplicants...

SFHomeBlog Widget Now Available

For those of you who (like me) have gotten sucked into the world of desktop widgets either using Konfabulator or Mac OS 10.4, I have posted a Konfabulator version of a widget that acts as an news reader for this blog. It sits quietly on your desktop with the headlines of the latest articles and updates automatically when I post a new article.

My good friend Barry Owen worked out the code on this widget for me. I haven't sent him the requisite bottle of tequila as payment for re-coding the widget for the Mac OS X Dashboard yet, but I'm working on it. Figured I'd start with the cross-platform version first, and go from there.... Enjoy!

The link for this download is in the sidebar to the right for future reference, or click here and download it right away!

Help Wanted: SF Planning Department and Building Inspections

The news digest SFist chuckles about the newest problems to plague the Planning Department and the Department of Building Inspection... Nobody wants to run these departments, and especially not for $150k/year...

"Of course, we've all managed to get by making way less than $150,000 a year, but we don't think possible candidates want to hear about things like couch surfing and Craigslist."

Real estate price gains expected to reach double digits

Since the majority of what you get to read in the media lately is focused on the hypothetical doom-and-gloom, how about I print some of the positive stories that aren't getting any play elsewhere?

Inman News has an article today discussing figures from the National Association of Realtors, showing positive gains in both existing and new home values for 2005.

Says NAR President Al Mansell, "Because there is such a tight supply of homes available for sale, we’re now projecting the national median existing-home price this year to rise at a double-digit rate..."

There is also a link in this article to the NAR's annual forecast with lots of raw data for the numbers-obsessed among you.

Eminent Domain - How this could affect you...

After a piece on KALW's Your Call Radio this morning (Real Audio archive can be downloaded here), I wanted to bring up the concept of eminent domain, or the taking of private property for public use.

There was a landmark supreme court decision in June of this year involving a case in New London, CT where private property was 'seized' by the city (i.e. houses torn down) and turned over to private developers who created new developments (a mixture of commercial and residential) as part of a larger Pfizer campus. The CNN.com Law Center has good coverage of this case in an article from June 24th. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is quoted in the dissenting opinion as saying "The court today significantly expands the meaning of public use. It holds that the sovereign may take private property currently put to ordinary private use, and give it over for new, ordinary private use." Ouch.

The original goal of this law was to allow cities to make decisions that were in the best interest of the public and would benefit the many rather than the few. It also allowed for the city to pay market-rate prices for the properties seized. Both of these items came into question and ultimately fell at the hands of the supreme court.

They take this idea one step further in CNN/Money where Parija Bhatnagar discusses the potential abuses that could come from the big box stores that are looking to push deeper and deeper into urban and residential locations.

As I posted on July 29th, the San Francisco Planning Commission has no problem approving a Home Depot right at the entrance to South Bernal Heights. How long will it be before they start deciding that certain neighborhoods would better serve the public need if they were full of big-box shopping instead of homes?

It's a scary propsition, for sure...

Option ARMs and other non-traditional loans

As our market has been rising at such a strong rate, it has been easy for borrowers to get into otherwise risky loans, knowing that their equity will ultimately rise and make up for any changes in their principal balance.

If the market changes, these loans will not be as favorable, but if you know what you're looking for and you know what your goals are, they may still be a great way to get the house you want.

Jack Guttentag has a good article on Inman News which discusses this topic and offers some good definitions, details, and potential pitfalls of these recently-popular mortgages.

As an aside, I currently have an option ARM on my house and plan on keeping it for at least a couple of years... maybe longer...

Chris Daly vs. The Developers

He's at it again. Chris Daly has found a way to squeeze even more money out of developers in SOMA, while somehow managing to reduce the availability of basic items. According to Matier and Ross in today's Chronicle, "in addition to rent subsidies and affordable housing for people in the area, the deal also allows the money to be used for "leadership development, community cohesion, civic participation and community based programs.''"

But there's a catch... "The funny part is, thanks to Daly's grab, the city may come up short on the money for park space and other amenities needed to serve the new neighborhood, according to City Hall insiders."

I'm sure that SOMA's non-profits appreciate this extra effort by Daly, but what this city needs is MORE HOUSING. Keep finding ways to make it more difficult and developers will build elsewhere... And if you take away basic city services for the middle-class, you run the risk of hurting the values of the available housing down the road. There are problems across the board, Chris. The city's lower economic classes may be the only people who vote for you, but they're not the only ones you should pay attention to...

Jack McGoldrick was quoted in an SF Gate article as he got into the act by fighting for the money to be spread city-wide. "I don't want this city getting balkanized," McGoldrick said. "I don't want this city getting fractured, and I think unfortunately that is what's happening here today. We should think as one city, not as 11 districts."

Parking as economic indicator?

Daniel Gross has an interesting article in Slate on measuring a city's economic health (mostly in the commercial sector) by tracking how easy and/or expensive it is to park your car.

I'm sure that folks in downtown San Francisco have seen prices and availability change dramatically in both directions in the past five years, right along with the commercial rental market...

Condos are first step in bold terminal plan

Dan Levy has a good article on SF Gate (which is also the cover story in Sunday's Chronicle Real Estate section) on the development around Piers 30 and 32 and the Cruise Ship Terminal. As anyone who walks down the Embarcadero has seen, "...only one part of the $360 million plan has gotten off the ground -- a 22-story condominium high-rise on a parking lot across from the piers. Called the Watermark, the austere glass-faced tower is under construction and set to open by the end of the year."

They are talking about the entire plan being completed by 2012 (per their permits with the city), but as can be anticipated, there will likely be some delays... The plan calls for the terminal building to have "a soaring glass lobby with stunning up-close views of the bay and the bridge. High-end office space, shops and restaurants would surround the building, and a new public amenity called the Brannan Street Wharf would be available to waterfront frolickers."

All in all, the South Beach neighborhood is under going considerable change, and this is just a fraction.

List of Home Sales Around SF

If you haven't seen this list in the Chronicle, or even if you have, it's also available online. This is a list compiled from public records, and is accurate information (albeit a bit dated).

This is a good way to browse anonymously and see what properties are changing hands for around your neighborhood.

If you have questions about your home's value, or about properties you might see around town, shoot me an email, and I'll give you the information I have at my disposal as well.

Do you cheat at the mortgage game? If so, you're not alone...

An article in SF Gate discusses how some borrowers have been abusing the system when they look to borrow money.

"Although most cases of fraud involve multiple misrepresentations, the institute's study found that fibs and falsehoods on applications by individual borrowers constitute the most common problems (56 percent of all cases), followed by bogus or incorrect tax and financial documents (33 percent), fake employment verifications (12 percent) and fabricated or intentionally inflated appraisals (10 percent)."

There is a way to tell the banks what they need to know, and do it without any sort of fraud or deception. As for appraisals, I haven't seen any problems with appraisers being able to verify value in this very hot market.

Besides, just getting into properties in this market is difficult enough. The last thing you want to do is push the limits any further, right?

Buying the right replacement windows

Inman News has an article this morning discussing the different available window types and when you should consider replacement (and when to skip replacement, too!).

As many of you know, I replaced my windows this year, taking out the aluminum replacements that had been installed in the 60s in favor of wooden double-paned windows that fit the period of the home. This dramatically quieted down the interior of the house (along with insulating walls and attic), and makes the house look as it was intended.

For resale value, his advice is very important. Don't replace to follow a trend. The doors and windows that many people are installing now will actually end up bringing down the value of the house (IMHO). Beveled, etched glass entry doors with gold floral inlay DO NOT belong in a Victorian. EVER! The doors that people are buying from almost everywhere these days seem to have the same awful style, and they are being installed in houses of all eras. When in doubt, go out and buy a book on architecture for the period of your home, and buy something to match, even if it costs a little more. As the saying goes, the front door is the first and last thing a home buyer sees when viewing your home. Spend a little money there and you'll reap the benefits.

If you need referrals to good window or door suppliers (whether for custom or simple replacement), please don't hesitate to ask.

SF Building Department - Bad to worse...

One of the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection's managers was arrested today "on 10 counts of bribery, three felony counts of perjury and two counts of filing false economic disclosure statements with the city." SF Gate has an article on the latest debacle to befall the troubled city department...

Newsom vows 15,000 new housing units by 2010

The SF Examiner is reporting that Mayor Gavin Newsom is getting down to business on creating new housing.

Of course, as he has done during his entire stay on the Board of Supervisors, Chris Daly needs to get his $0.02 in by saying that he is singlehandedly responsible for "Trinity Plaza, Rincon Hill and the Transbay Terminal — [which] will alone bring more than 10,000 units to The City." Never mind the 1500 units he's still 'blocking' on Mission between 14th and 15th Streets (in the Armory and former print shop). He can be found patting himself on the back in his own blog on a regular basis...

More housing = good for San Francisco. Period. Get over the politics and help the developers find a way to afford to build here.

Also in the Examiner this morning, a story on a new law proposed to aid neighborhood planning, and more on the Community Benefit Districts that I mentioned in a post on July 28th, where neighborhood businesses are electing to tax themselves to improve basic services.

Beyond Chron has more info on the Community Benefits Districts and the recent decision by businesses and property owners in the Tenderloin to take part in their own destiny. They also had a piece on this yesterday, with some additional info.

TIC and Condo Conversion resources

Andy Sirkin has been the first and last name one thinks of when they're looking to form a TIC or convert said TIC to condominiums.

He also has one of the most informative real estate legal web sites around.

Check out his site for some great info on everything you might want to know as you head into buying a TIC, converting, equity sharing, and more.

This is, by the way, completely unsolicited. I have found a wealth of knowlege on his site and hope you do, too!

If you are looking to get into a TIC or to convert to condos and would like additional referrals, please don't hesitate to ask. I have a long list of very qualified attorneys from which to choose.

E-Loan to be acquired

After I posted a couple of articles last week about the potential future of individual TIC loans by E-Loan, it was reported today by Inman News that E-Loan will be acquired by the Puerto Rico's largest bank, Popular.

I wouldn't imagine that we'll see too many ground-breaking decisions coming from a company that is in merger/acquisition talks. Will this ultimately delay or eliminate E-Loan's entry into the individual TIC loan market? We'll have to stay tuned, I guess...

They are, however, planning on keeping their headquarters in Pleasanton as well as retaining their CEO and "most of their employees."

18-Month Moratorium on Hotel Condo Conversions

Mayor Gavin Newsom, the Board of Supervisors, and union leaders avoided an outright permanent ban on condo conversions of hotel rooms, reports SFGate in an early Wednesday story.

Two of the more high-profile properties that were investigating the option included the Fairmount and the Palace Hotel. Developers apparently looked to capitalize on the hot real estate market while Supervisor Aaron Peskin suggested a ban as a way to preserve jobs. Perhaps this all has more to do with the hotel labor strike than with real estate?

USA Today: Changing Face of U.S. Real Estate

One of my clients sent me this article from USA Today on the Changing Face of U.S. Real Estate which highlights the differences in one Silicon Valley neighborhood's demographics and how they have changed in the past 40 years...

Thanks, Brett, for forwarding this!

Debate continues over future of former UC space in Hayes Valley

For those that live in Hayes Valley, the future of the site bordered by Buchanan, Hermann, Laguna, and Haight is still up for discussion. This former UC Extension was shut down in 2003 and developers want to convert it from public use to mixed-use private (residential and commercial). Beyond Chron has an article discussing the current situation, including the mention of an August 25th meeting between neighbors and developers.

As that neighborhood cleans up, that very large parcel of land has become more and more valuable, highlighting the fact that losing another community/educational facility might not be in the community's best interest...

TIC protests hit open houses in SF

Ted Gullicksen (of the San Francisco Tenant's Union) helped to organize a protest during yesterday's Sunday open houses, and was focused on properties where tenants had been evicted via the Ellis Act. The online daily news site Beyond Chron has an article this morning about the protests. Apparently they set up protests at 11 properties all across San Francisco.

As my posting from yesterday references, individual TIC loans may only serve to create more evictions as property owners find ways to vacate their buildings and put them on the market. On the other hand, we will have more homeowners, so it becomes a question of where to draw the line...

Pre-emptive offers can be risky for everyone

Inman News has an article by Diane Hymer on the pitfalls of writing and/or accepting pre-emptive offers on real estate transactions.

IMHO, the best strategy is to let the market decide what the house is worth... Run the property through the proper paces of open houses, aggressive, wide-spread marketing, and give everyone a couple of weeks to see it and make a decision about value. If you have priced the property well, the market will determine what the house is worth.

This doesn't account, however, for unrealistic expectations. If you have done proper marketing (a good, local agent, placement in every possible media outlet, mailers, showings, etc), you will know that you have gotten the best price the market will bear for your house in the current market, even if it's not a higher price than your neighbor just received.

There are always limited exceptions to every rule, but most houses sold in pre-emptive situations would have sold at or above their final price had they been through the paces and when everyone had an equal shot at presenting their offer.

One thing that she doesn't mention in this article, however, is the pitfall of accepting a single pre-emptive offer and finding out that the buyer is going to back out. If you have received two or more offers, you will likely have a good, strong back-up offer to bring to to the table and complete the transaction. If your single, pre-emptive offer goes away, you're back to square one and your property will likely be viewed as 'damaged goods', even if the initial buyer just changed their mind (irrespective of the quality of the property).

If you're the buyer, how badly do you really want THIS property? Are you willing to overpay to make sure you get it? If not, wait for the offer date and gauge the interest level at that time. You might find that there's not as much hype as the seller/agent implied there would be. The best tactic is to look at actual value, regardless of list price. If you know the comparable sales for this type of property, and this one is priced at or near the actual value, there's a good chance they won't get the multiple offers that other properties have received.