Four wheels good, two legs bad?

Arrol Gellner writes today on Inman News about America's fascination with their cars and the lack of city planning that could do something about it...

We Americans are a puzzling bunch. We travel to Italy, France or Spain and come back smitten with the charmingly walk-able streets, close-knit houses, and humanly scaled public spaces we find there. Yet we seldom stop to wonder why our own built environment is so utterly lacking in those traits.

It's no mystery: In spite of rising population and dwindling resources, America remains saddled with long outdated planning ideals that are the furthest thing from the European examples we admire so much.

America is a vast nation, and perhaps in consequence, our planners and engineers have historically been trained to think big. This tendency has produced some magnificent civil engineering projects such as railways, dams and bridges. Yet it hasn't been nearly so successful at the scale of human habitation.

Thanks to the megalomania of our traffic engineers, for example, American cities are among the least pedestrian-friendly in the world. Each year, larger and larger swaths of urban and suburban land are paved over with ubiquitous six-lane thoroughfares bristling with redundant arrays of traffic signals. Aside from creating barren, monotonous and alienating cityscapes, such roads are also daunting barriers to people on foot, no matter how many kinds of whiz-bang pedestrian signals we install. Rather than drawing our cities together, our roads tear them apart, providing one more incentive for Americans to drive instead of walk.

I guess we have some semblance of 'planning' in San Francisco... The planning department waits for the Supervisors to come up with something, then they all fight over it with the mayor for a while, and it appears now that eventually there will be nowhere to park your car... So dammit, get out and walk!

Mayor vetoes C-3 parking legislation, but offers amendment [SFHomeBlog]

Don't Mess with Potrero Hill

File this one under "what not to do when advertising real estate", I guess...

The Potrero Hill blog takes a local real estate company to task for some misrepresentations of the neighborhood in a recent mailer,

I appreciate Hill & Co. promoting the hood, but c’mon guys let’s get some facts straight. The Neighborhood House and Community Garden aren’t exactly businesses, and the locals call the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House ‘the NABE’.

I’m wondering if the residents of Bernal Heights got a similar mailer, as the original Four Star Video store is located there (and no, I don’t refer to it as Dr. Video).

Word of advice to Hill & Co: If you’re going to try to pretend you know Potrero Hill, at least do some fact checking with the locals.

Potrerowhere? [Curbed SF]

Don't Mess With Bernal... [SFHomeBlog]

Glen Park's Overdue Library (updated)

From CurbedSF,

And even though we probably will never go there, we got all steamed and also wanted to know "what the hell is going on with the library-turned-condos-turned-supermarket that they’ve been building at the corner of Diamond and Bosworth for, like, the last six years (since the last one burned down)? The structure is complete, and it looks like they are doing finishing work on it now, but so far all we see is a sign to support the local library. WTF?"

We know you really want a supermarket (you guys should talk to Noe Valley), but that's the site of the new Glen Park branch library. It's supposed to be finished and open at the end of 2006, and get ready for some cool public art because that's all been comissioned.

3/31 Update from Curbed:

Construction's supposed to be completed April 1. Since that's tomorrow, that completion date appears unlikely but based on the project's history, our hats are totally off to the developers who managed to get it this far.

Some debate about the location of the market in the complex- Canyon Market rather than Bi-Rite, since Bi-Rite pulled out of the deal when the developer changed in 2003. We think it will occupy the big ground floor with the library upstairs. Then again maybe not. One tipster said the market's requirement for a full-scale kitchen and ventilation slowed the project down, but considering that the original grocery burned down in 1998, that seems to be an exaggeration. Canyon Market is the project of Jane and Richard Tarlov, formerly of Oakville Grocery, and they're scheduled to open August 1.

Glen Park Community Plan [SF Planning Dept.]

New Construction - Glen Park Branch [SF Public Library]

SFHomeBlog featured on Realtyblogging.com

Realtyblogging.com featured this very site today...

Matt's blog is a great example of how you really don't need a bunch of fancy graphics and web knowledge to have a great blog. SFHomeblog uses a stock, free template from blogger.com. Matt took the extra step of FTP to his personal website, and has added a few key links, but that's it. SFHomeblog's popularity is due only to Matt's great writing, a goal every blogger should aspire to.

Thanks guys!

And someday I may even spend the time to bring in some bells and whistles, but for now, you see it for what I had hoped it would be... Good info, no fluff...

Bad to worse: Teachers vote to strike

From SFGate today,

San Francisco public school teachers overwhelmingly approved a walkout Wednesday night in the first strike vote taken by the group in 27 years.

The United Educators of San Francisco -- which represents 6,000 teachers and aides working in the San Francisco Unified School District -- voted 2,203 to 317 to strike.

The union has been working without a contract since July 2004. The teachers and aides last had a pay raise in the 2002-03 academic year.

Interim Superintendent Gwen Chan said she was surprised the strike vote passed by such a large margin.

"I'm disappointed that the vote indicates that the teachers are prepared to strike," she said. "We have really looked at our books and tried to come up with more, but it's very challenging. We'll have to make big sacrifices if the board decides to offer more."

The union is asking for a 10 percent raise, much of it in retroactive pay, plus a onetime, 1 percent bonus for every member. The district is offering a 7.5 percent raise, with almost half of it not coming until June 2007.

Myong Leigh, the district's chief of policy and planning, said the money differential between the two proposals is $27 million over the life of the new contract, which would expire June 30, 2007. Kelly said Wednesday he didn't agree with that number but couldn't provide the union's calculation.

The union also is fighting for several new health and safety provisions, including rodent extermination, a first aid kit in every classroom, and a working phone line in every classroom.

SF Teachers Vote To Authorize Strike [NBC11.com]

San Francisco Strike? [Intercepts]

SF Teachers and Paraprofessionals Strike Vote set for March 29 [UESF]

The rent was $2 a month, gave quake refugees a roof

The Chronicle today has an article about a new centennial earthquake display on Market Street, featuring a restored Earthquake Shack...

The newest building on Market Street may also be the most humble.

Its walls are 1-inch-thick redwood boards. Those walls enclose 140 square feet of space -- less than one-third the size of a premier room at the sleek Four Seasons Hotel next door. The steeply pitched shingle roof is held aloft by a thin skeleton of rafters.

The shack arrived Sunday after a journey that began in 1906, when it was among the 5,610 constructed for earthquake refugees. Now, tucked inside a big white tent, the small shack has hit the big time -- but only for a month.

The tiny green structure will be open to the public during April as part of a larger earthquake display organized by the city's Department of Building Inspection. It sits on Yerba Buena Lane between two infinitely larger structures, the Four Seasons and Marriott hotels, having arrived at dawn Sunday on a flatbed truck after spending the last year behind the San Francisco Zoo's African Savannah.

The charge was $2 per month per shack; for $12 to $25 the shack could be moved to private property as families resettled their land. By the summer of 1908, the refugee camps were history and shacks were scattered across the landscape.

Shack facts

The 5,610 shacks built in San Francisco the year after the 1906 earthquake came in four models ranging from 140 square feet to 375 square feet.

The average construction cost was $135 - that's $2,770.68 in 2006 dollars.

They had no toilets, kitchens or insulation, although stoves could be installed at the refugee camp.

After the city closed refugee camps late in 1907, most shacks began a second life as starter homes or building blocks. For instance, three shacks were combined at 1227 24th Ave. in the Sunset District to form a small home that is now a city landmark. An additional shack sits at the rear of the lot.

One newly restored shack can be visited by the public between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. from Monday to April 29 at Yerba Buena Lane, on the 700 block of Market Street. It is the centerpiece of an exhibit on earthquake-savvy construction methods organized by the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection.

San Francisco Rising: 1906 Earthquake and Fire Commemoration [SFGov]

Zillow starts email update service

From Zillow's blog,

According to the U.S. Census, three-quarters of Americans own real estate, compared to only one-quarter who own stocks. It’s so simple to track changes to a stock’s value, but it’s been nearly impossible to easily figure out the changing value of your largest asset – your home.

Starting today, Zillow is making this easier via monthly e-mail updates which allow you to track Zestimates and recent comparable sales for up to 25 different homes at a time. Home owners can track their largest investment, sellers can be made aware of changes that could affect the selling price, and buyers can keep tabs on their favorite homes.

The Zillow Home Report email, delivered every 30 days, includes the following:

Current Zestimate on any home

30-day Zestimate change – by dollar and percentage

Updated comparable home sales

Ability to track up to 25 individual homes in one email

Guess they must have heard about Real Estate ABC's beta launch and decided to post some news of their own...

Competition for Zillow? [SFHomeBlog]
New Home Valuation Site Launches [SFHomeBlog]

Social services available on new 211 hot line

From today's Chronicle,

Odds are you've already called 411, 511 or 911.

Now a new three-digit phone number is coming to San Francisco: 211.

Starting today, callers in the city who dial 211 will automatically be routed to a social service hot line, offering assistance finding everything from drug treatment to job training.

In the Bay Area, the 211 service won't initially work with cell phones and some company switchboards, which need to be reprogrammed to recognize the new three-digit number.

3-digit numbers

Here's a look at how three-digit codes (also known as N11 numbers) are generally used around the country. Not all of them are used in every city.

211: Community social services

311: Nonemergency police call and city services

411: Directory assistance

511: Traffic and transit information

611: Repair service

711: Telecom relay services (hearing/speech impaired)

811: Phone company customer service

911: Emergencies

Competition for Zillow?

Thanks to TechCrunch for this one...

By now, everyone who cares about real estate has seen Zillow. There's a new service starting soon that aims to challenge their new-found dominance in the online home values market, called Real Estate ABC.

Three month old Zillow, which gives people an indication of home values in specific locations based on publicly available comparables, will be having some competiton in the near future.

The new site is called Real Estate ABC (which is owned Internet Brands).

The Zillow competitor is in beta on a hidden URL: www1.realestateabc.com/home-values/. I have no idea if they’ll leave it up, but as of right now it’s live.

The name isn’t as cool and the design isn’t a fluid as Zillow, but it may be better in some ways. For instance, Real Estate ABC allows users to adjust property values for a particular property with an Ajax slider. Adjustable property factors include Interior, Exterior, Lot Size, View, Privacy/Noise and Local Market Conditions.

Users can also refine property values by adding or removing comparables directly on the results page. In fact, Real Estate ABC gives significant detail on comparables, including distance from a specific address. Real Estate ABC also provides a mashup with Google maps, although they do not use satellite images like Zillow.

Zillow is perhaps one of the most popular recent mashup to launch. If anything, Real Estate ABC shows that if a mashup site is going to try to make a go at creating a real business, they need to build in proprietary features that are not easily duplicated before the competition arrives.

I ran my house through this service, which unlike Zillow actually runs on Apple's Safari browser (Zillow only runs on IE or Firefox), and it came up with the same initial starting number. Then I clicked on the 'Adjust Value' tab and positioned sliders that change the value of the home (by comparing it to the other houses in the neighborhood). In the end, it came up a bit lower than Zillow, but IHMO it came up with a more real-world price.

New Home Valuation Site Launches [SFHomeBlog]

Fed Boosts Key Interest Rate (updated with analysis)

From SFGate,

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday boosted a key interest rate to the highest level in five years as new Chairman Ben Bernanke followed the Alan Greenspan inflation-fighting formula.

The action, the 15th consecutive quarter-point move, left the federal funds rate at 4.75 percent, its highest level since April 2001.

Fed officials, who were holding their first interest rate meeting under Bernanke, left the door open for further rate increases although private economists believe only one or two more rate hikes are likely.

But more important than the expected rate hike were Bernanke's comments...

In its statement, the Fed sounded at an upbeat note about the current business climate, saying "economic growth has rebounded strongly in the current quarter but appears likely to moderate to a more sustainable pace."

The statement retained language used last time that "some further policy firming may be needed." That language is seen by financial markets as signal that further rate hikes could occur.

UPDATE: Monica DiPerna from Guarantee Mortgage sums up today's Fed meeting and the associated rate changes...

We have had re-pricing all day long...the lenders really were affected by Bernanke basically not discussing any chance of ending rate hikes...so today the 30 year fixed ended at 6.625-6.75% for most lenders. A 5 year fixed is now approximately 6.00-6.25%.

The increase sent stocks, which were trading modestly higher before the announcement, into the red. Bond prices tumbled, pushing the yield on the 10-year Treasury up to 4.78 percent. Bond prices and yields move in the opposite direction.The Fed also said that inflation expectations remain contained but added that recent increases in the price of oil and other commodities "have the potential to add to inflation pressures.

Bernanke really showed his true colors today...he appeared more hawkish than during his hearings...very interesting..it could be that the last couple of months there has been more inflationary news out...

But we should always remember, that the best product when the 30 year fixed was at 8.5% over 5 years ago was the Adjustable Rate Mortgages...these products will become more popular if the 30 year fixed hits 7.75%...Right now though, many people are calling to lock their loans in on a 30 year interest only or extend their adjustable for 5-10 years...The people with adjustables should really consider locking their loans in before the fixed period of their loan turns adjustable...

Specifics for a $600,000 mortgage (this week vs. last week):

30 year fixed at 6.625 payment $3,820 v.s. 6.5 with a payment of $3,771 last week

5 Year fixed at 6.125 payment $3,627 vs. 5.875% with a payment of $3,531 last week

The Federal Reserve... Not just for adults anymore! [SFHomeBlog]

Further steps to charge toll for driving in core of downtown area

From today's Chronicle,

Congestion charging -- imposing a toll on drivers in a city's downtown core -- is about take on a bureaucratic life of its own in San Francisco.

In a sign that the musing of one Board of Supervisors member is on course to become reality for Bay Area motorists, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority soon will receive $1.04 million from the Federal Highway Administration -- and add $260,000 in local funding -- to study how to implement a program similar to London's 3-year-old system of charging a flat fee to drive downtown during business hours.

That's $1.3 million to figure out how to collect millions from drivers willing to pay the freight to give a financial boost to public transit systems and perhaps curb traffic congestion.

And that's how, not if.

London operates its congestion charge from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Traffic signs alert drivers when they are about to enter a zone, where a system of 203 cameras tracks vehicles. Motorists must pay the $14 congestion charge before or on the day of travel and can pay by telephone, on the Web, at designated stores, by mail and even by text message.

The London program has generated more than half the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's proposed 2006-2007 budget in its first three years of operation, O'Hara said. But it was also expensive to implement, using about £200 million in government funding.

A system in San Francisco could use a camera network like London's or a tag-and-beacon system, much like FasTrak, that would automatically pay the charge...

Charge to drive in downtown S.F. seems more viable [SFHomeBlog]

The N-Judah Chronicles

After a soft-roll-out, the N-Judah Chronicles officially launched today... Thanks to Craig for the tip...

So what will you find here at the N-Judah Chronicles? Everything that makes living in San Francisco at once wonderful, and a pain in the ass, all at the same time.

Among the subjects you'll find: the Great SF Tradition of trading stories about the Muni's Follies, and the occasional chatter about Muni Policy (but not too much - we try to keep the mood light).

There are also articles discussing local history and reports from the shenanigans of our fellow citizens on Muni. And what blog is complete without snarky comments on the decline and fall of Western Civilization?

Later this month you'll start to see postings giving you a guide to nightlife along the N-Judah line and suggested places to go out on the weekend that are fun, affordable, and accessible by mass transit. It's not so much that I hate cars - I just hate having one in the city.

the N-Judah Chronicles [craigblog]

Wealthy Developer Tries to Stop Rebuilding of Trinity Plaza

From today's BeyondChron,

There is nothing unusual in San Francisco about neighbors protesting a proposed development project. But when the neighbor is a wealthy condo developer, whose company is building a controversial 24 story condo tower with five floors of parking, one would think they would think twice before trying to stop an adjacent project with 34% affordable units that is almost universally seen as a boon to the Mid-Market neighborhood.

But Alexis Wong and her AGI Capital Group, who have an approved project at 1160 Mission, clearly have a different vision for the Mid-Market area than do the backers of the rental housing project slated for the adjacent Trinity Plaza. It’s a choice between a neighborhood dominated by upscale condos and parking garages or one centered by 1900 new rental units and pedestrian-friendly retail spaces---and the Planning Commission will soon decide.

The AGI Capital Group has filed five pages of challenges to the draft Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) prepared by the City for the 1900 unit rebuild of the Trinity Plaza Apartments. The primary goal of the challenges is to create a smaller project, one that would necessarily have far fewer affordable housing units than currently projected for the site.

Huh? Why would anyone who is building housing in that neighborhood NOT want there to be more new development?

On March 21, land use attorney G. Scott Emblidge wrote a letter to the Planning Department on AGI’s behalf raising a host of concerns about the Trinity Project.

AGI’s chief concerns are the EIR’s alleged failure to analyze a smaller project, its lack of analysis of a possible mixed-used project, and its alleged failure to recognize that the Trinity rebuild would “adversely impact” the neighborhood’s character.

Uhhh... Yeah... That's the WHOLE POINT! It's the non-housing character of the neighborhood that BOTH parties are trying to change. And I won't call that adverse...

Does anyone else out there have a problem with the Trinity Plaza development? Is anyone else crazy enough to piss-off Angelo Sangiacomo?

Ritz-Carlton Lite [Curbed SF]

San Bruno Avenue Profile

Many San Francisco residents probably couldn't point out San Bruno Avenue on a map... But Francisco Da Costa has a great article on his site about the great locally-owned businesses that still thrive in the Portola District.

Businesses on San Bruno Avenue have always played an important role in the history of San Francisco. When the 1906 earthquake struck San Francisco nothing much happened on San Bruno Avenue. Large areas down town and in the Mission District were devastated by the earthquake and more by the ensuing fire.

Businesses on San Bruno Avenue took upon themselves to help the folks all over the City - especially when it came to supplies of food stuff. San Bruno and the surrounding area called Portola at that time produced a lot of healthy greens and there were cow pastures, goats, and lot of chicken farms. Simple folks but with a big heart.

I have had the pleasure over the years to sit and talk with the old timers many of them have since passed away but they told their stories and explained a lot of stuff that have not been recorded in history books.

Read the full article with photos here...

The Federal Reserve... Not just for adults anymore!

SFGate has a piece today on a new Federal Reserve web site geared towards the younger generation,

The Federal Reserve on Monday launched a Web page geared just for youngsters from 11 years of age to 14.

A cartoon of a smart-looking eagle — with really big talons — is tour guide of sorts for the site, , which offers a dose of Fed history. And since school kids are accustomed to tests, there's even a 10-question quiz:

When was the Federal Reserve Board created and by whom? What is a primary responsibility of the Federal Open Market Committee? Where is the Fed's Board of Governors located?

The kid's page is part of the Fed's effort to bolster financial literacy among young people.

SFGate wrote this as if all adults actually understand what the Fed does...

Nothing like simplistic descriptions to help enlighten us all!

And this comes JUST IN TIME for Bernanke's speech tomorrow...

There's even a QUIZ for those who really miss being in school, too.

Federal Reserve Kid's Page

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Residential sale: Stonestown and the Villas Parkmerced

Another from today's SF Business Times,

San Francisco's blistering residential real estate market led to two immense transactions in 2005, including one of the largest apartment deals ever on the West Coast.

The Villas Parkmerced sale, at around $700 million, is a San Francisco record for an apartment complex. The other important deal was the sale of Stonestown Apartments. While considerably smaller, at around $156 million, it is significant because it could lead to a major expansion of San Francisco State University.

The Business Times Real Estate Deal of the Year contest judges voted for the two neighboring projects to share the top award.

At 3,221 units on 115 acres near Lake Merced, The Villas Parkmerced has been a residential landmark in San Francisco for more than a half century, built in the years after World War II for returning veterans.

It sold for $324 million in 1999 when Leona Helmsley unloaded it to Carmel Properties. Carmel invested considerably to upgrade the property and at the height of the market found investors willing to pay a premium. Over a dozen bidders, some from overseas, took a run at it, but a partnership of New York's Stellar Management and Rockpoint Group was victorious. Stellar is a major holder of New York apartment buildings and is making its first foray into California. The project is subject to the city's rent-control program and can't be converted to condominiums.

The Stonestown deal was driven by SFSU's need for more on-campus housing and significantly grows its campus to 134 acres from 106, a coup for the smallest campus in the state's 23-university system.

Chicago firm nabs pair of S.F. sites for 40-story tower

From today's SF Business Times,

Chicago-based Fifield Cos. has snapped up two key parcels on the top of Rincon Hill and has hired international celebrity architect Richard Keating to design a 40-story luxury condo tower there.

Fifield finalized the land acquisition earlier this month from Theodore Brown and the Archdiocese of San Francisco, which had entitlements to build a 25-story building at 375 Fremont St. and a 28-story tower at 385-399 Fremont St., according to Tim O'Brien, the company's senior vice president.

The new 435-unit project, the application for which was filed March 20, represents a validation of sorts for San Francisco's Rincon Hill plan, which calls for tall svelte buildings pointing skyward. It's also a victory for San Francisco Planning Director Dean Macris, who had criticized the Theodore Brown and Archdiocese designs as excessively dense and light-blotting and had unsuccessfully lobbied for a single, slender tower.

"They were too close together and too clunky," said Macris. "The Fifield design is a wonderful response to the site, it's a beautiful proposal."

The best quote in the article, however, is the response to comments that there are already too many projects in the pipeline, possibly leading to a market saturation...

Despite the more than 30,000 residential units in the pipeline in San Francisco, with 5,000 or 6,000 slated to be completed annually over the year six years, O'Brien said he is not worried about an oversaturated condo market. He said the expense and political obstacles of building in San Francisco will kill off many of the developments. The 20-block Rincon Hill planning area is slated to have 3,675 new housing units, a 1.5-acre community park and $30 million in community enhancements.

I wonder how the other Rincon/SoBe planners/developers feel about that comment?

We all know that Supervisor Daly is torn between creating new housing and milking developers for his own political agenda, but how will the 'Supes react if some of these projects end up mired in Planning hell? Will they find a way to help them get built?

Condominiums at the Palms popular with first-time buyers

From today's San Francisco Business Times,

Rising interest rates may be dragging down the residential real estate market, but so far they do not seem to be affecting deluxe housing popping up in San Francisco.

By now, the sizzling sales at the St. Regis, the Beacon and the Ritz residential conversion at 690 Market St. have been widely reported. Now the 300-unit Palms at 555 Fourth St. is logging similarly dazzling numbers.

Mitch Laufer, communications director for Vanguard Properties, said they have sold out the first batch of 80 condos, the third and fourth floors along with part of the fifth. Half of the second installment of condos -- the rest of the fifth floor as well as the sixth, seventh, and eighth -- are also under contract. Laufer said he expects the building to sell out by June.

He said about 25 percent of buyers are empty-nesters and 50 percent are first-time home-buyers. The remaining 25 percent of buyers will use the units as pied-à-terres.

Some observations...

You'll likely have noticed that I only had 15 posts in the past week. That must be a new low for me. It wasn't 'cuz I didn't try... There's just very little housing news out there being published.

That said, there are things that I'm seeing that run contrary to what the media has been saying for so many months now, and perhaps they just don't want to admit that things are not quite as bad as they thought.

Open houses were absolutely slammed yesterday (March 26th), even at a listing for $3.5M

Mortgage interest rates were down for a second week in a row

Sales of existing homes were unexpectedly up in February

The Bay Area economy is doing just fine, with jobs increasing, rents going up and rental vacancies decreasing

I know the naysayers can dig around and find some negative news, too, but I'm just posing the question... Is it really that bad out there?

Tomorrow brings Fed Chair Ben Bernanke's first chance to change interest rates. There are opinions on both sides about how he'll react to recent market activities... If he raises rates, will that really have any effect? He has said that even if they do raise rates, they're likely only one or two increases away from leaving it alone for a while...

The New Skyline

SFCityScape has an editorial on the past, present, and future projects that will make up San Francisco's new skyline. An image of many of the buildings that comprise this skyline can be seen here.

...each of the condominium towers proposed by planners on Rincon Hill has been proposed by developers. And now that two developers who'd been pushing to have their previously proposed, squatter and too-close-together projects grandfathered in have sold to a developer proposing to build the single, taller and less-bulky tower preferred by the Planning Department, the neighborhood's future skyline has assumed its final form.

If all goes as planned, in a few years there will be nine towers between 350 and 550 feet tall in the district, five near the summit and four on the flats closer to the waterfront. Given their highly visible location between the Financial District and the base of the Bay Bridge, they will transform the city's skyline; the three towers already under construction set a high standard for design. But will San Franciscans without a special appreciation for highrise architecture be better off? We believe so.

But will only the wealthy be able to enjoy the neighborhood? Developers are contributing $34 million to programs for the poor elsewhere South-of-Market; thanks to San Francisco's affordable housing quotas, hundreds of non-luxury homes will be built; and we still believe that even high-end housing makes all homes cheaper by increasing total inventory. In fact, we believe the entire Bay Area will benefit as pressure to sprawl is reduced.

Rincon Hill towers get permits after OK for seismic safety [SFHomeBlog]
Applications for 27,000 units raise prospect of housing boom [SFHomeBlog]

Should they build those high-rises on stilts?

In yesterday's Chronicle, there was an interesting piece on how global warming could melt enough of the world's glaciers to raise ocean (and bay) levels by as much as 20 feet in the next 100 years.

Glaciers and ice sheets on opposite ends of the Earth are melting faster than previously thought and could cause sea levels around the world to rise as much as 13 to 20 feet by the end of the century, scientists are reporting today.

If the researchers' estimates are correct, a rise in ocean waters projected by the new studies not only would drown many of the low-lying inhabited atolls and islands that are already endangered by rising ocean waters, it also would threaten coastal cities and harbors on every continent.

Scientists have been warning for decades that greenhouse gases from autos and industry are warming the planet and raising the seas, but the studies appearing today in the journal Science are the first to suggest that sea levels could climb as high as 20 feet as a result of global warming.

And in San Francisco, that means that not only is the highly-regarded Marina District below that new 'shoreline', but so is most of SOMA, Mission Bay and the Central Waterfront. This image shows how far inland the water could go...

This is obviously one study's opinion of how bad it could get, but if the first three floors of a new high-rise are at risk of being underwater, you might want to look at floors four and above. Or just find another study that says it won't be quite so bad...

At the same time, you won't be able to park your SUV downtown anyhow, so you may as well do your part to save the ozone and sign up for CityCarShare, FlexCar, or ZipCar. In the end though, you might want to consider renting another form of transportation for your new water-front pad...

Home stagers in San Francisco busier than ever

From today's Examiner (their 'revamped' site still sucks, btw)...

As the housing market slows, more home sellers are turning to professional home staging for the help they need to get their property in shape for showing and selling, according to the San Francisco Association of Realtors, a trade group of more than 5,000 local members.

“It is becoming more common to stage homes and property as owners realize the value and benefit of the service,” said Matthew Borland, president of the association and managing partner of Zephyr Real Estate. “It’s a strategic move that helps compensate for flaws in the home and helps present the property at its very best."

“All properties should be staged, and it need not be expensive. Utilizing a client’s existing furnishings and presenting them in a clean, simple manner which optimizes the property is important. I often tell clients that the way you live in a home and the way you show a home are completely different,” Borland said.

Staging can include everything from painting and minor repairs, furniture and artwork to landscaping, cleaning and hauling; whatever it takes to set the stage and get a property looking good with mass market appeal.

The process can result in higher purchase offers with less time on the market.

In the interest of full disclosure, I will disclose that Mr. Borland is my manager and I do work for Zephyr, although I did not have anything to do with this article being published...

First impressions play key role in real estate sale [SFHomeBlog]
Jon Carroll on Home Staging [SFHomeBlog]

Domestic partner property inheritance upheld

From today's SFGate,

Domestic partners, like married people, can inherit real estate from one another in California without being hit with big increases in their property taxes, a judge has ruled.

The March 17 decision by Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Jack Sapunor upheld the 2003 state Board of Equalization rules and a 2005 state law that gave registered domestic partners the same tax break as spouses under Proposition 13.

The ruling is important for same-sex couples, especially those who have owned property together for many years, Jon Davidson, legal director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, said Friday.

Domestic partners include same-sex couples of any age and unmarried opposite-sex couples in which at least one partner is 62 or older.

This is all based around Proposition 13, which I discussed yesterday...

County assessors from Tehama and Madera counties joined Sutter County in challenging the tax break. Sutter County Counsel Ronald Erickson was unavailable for comment on the ruling. Prop. 13, a 1978 initiative, cut property taxes and limited annual increases in assessments to 2 percent, but provided that property would be reassessed at full value when it changed ownership. However, transfers to spouses at death or divorce were not classified as changes of ownership, meaning that they are still subject to the 2 percent limit. The same exemption applies to any transfer of the family home to a child or grandchild.

Prop 13: A Lamprey on the Necks of California Youth?

From Jordana Thigpen in today's San Francisco Sentinel,

My plan this week was to address the 10% raise which United Educators has requested.

Yet it is delusional to write about the problems that our public schools have in San Francisco, and in the State generally, without addressing Proposition 13. Yes, that Proposition 13 - the 27-year-old, $3.2 billion gorilla in the room, which no elected has the courage to address. Like most 27-year-olds, Prop 13 is about to experience its Saturn Return. Astrologically, this portends great change.

Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? So are our public schools. Reforming Proposition 13 is the only way to save our State and get our educational system back on track.

Proposition 13 arose the way that most revolts do - from corruption. A series of scandals involving county assessors made the public lose faith in the process. The counties weren't assessing properties uniformly (partly because of incompetence; San Francisco actually had the worst performance record in the 1960s.) This, and resulting inequities between poor and wealthy school districts, ultimately led to the Serrano v. Priest series of Supreme Court decisions throughout the 1970s. Yet the public was evenly split in the months leading up to the June 1978 primary, uncertain as always surrounding tax reform.

But then Los Angeles County announced it intended to do huge assessment increases in the new fiscal year, and the public hobbled our schools forever by passing Prop 13. We can cut a bit of slack for the 1978 vote. California voters in the 1970s were suffering from the afterburn of the 1960s, as well as having to deal with hellish orange and ochre shag-carpeted aesthetics at every turn. Presumably, it took a toll.

But it's pretty sad that the public didn't heed the prescient warnings of the opposition at the time: that Prop 13 would, among other problems: (1) subsidize commercial property owners; (2) make home ownership prohibitively expensive and create a disincentive for transfer; (3) unsustainably lay the tax burden on the disproportionately smaller class of young working people; (4) effectively destroy home rule for municipalities; and (5) siphon the blood of the school districts.

This has been my personal feeling for years. There are plenty of people out there who can very well afford to be contributing more to the public school system than they currently are, but will not have to... All because of Prop. 13 and having owned their homes for many years.

But Ms. Thigpen's suggestion protects those who need it, "Prop 13 protects senior and disabled homeowners, whose homes are still assessed at the 1975-1976 rate. It is extremely important that this remain a feature of any reform. In fact, as Baby Boomers evolve, this feature of Prop 13 will become critical."

California Proposition 13 [Wikipedia]
Professional house flippers [SFHomeBlog]

Standard and Poor's to Launch New Real-Estate Product

For those that are just dyed-in-the-wool convinced that we're going to see the housing market come crashing down, this one's for you... From today's RealEstateJournal.com (WSJ)...

Investors who think the housing bubble is about to burst will soon be able to bet not only on when it will happen, but where.

Standard & Poor's, a unit of McGraw-Hill Cos., is rolling out 10 indexes that will track housing prices in various regions of the U.S., as well as a composite index. The indexes, which plan to launch in April, will serve as the basis for futures and options contracts that will trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

The contracts will allow investors to go long or short on a specific housing market -- that is, bet on it rising or falling in value.

Dubbed the S&P/Case-Shiller Metro Area Home Price Indices, the 10 cities comprise Boston, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

The indexes will use calculation techniques developed by economics professors Karl Case and Robert Shiller (authors of Irrational Exuberance), such as repeat-sales calculations and a database comprised of home sales from a variety of sources, including lenders, multiple-listing services and public records. Data will be gathered continuously, and the indexes will be updated and published monthly, Standard & Poor's said.

You bet your house: Home price futures are coming [SFHomeBlog]
What Do Cheddar Cheese, Nonfat Dry Milk and Housing Have In Common? [Matrix]

Kabuki Theatre Sold to Sundance Cinemas

Lots of folks got to this one before me, but the news is still good: Sundance Cinemas has confirmed their purchase of the Kabuki Theatre in Japantown. SFist seems to have hit the streets with the news first:

With January's merger between AMC and Lowes theatres, the company they became, AMC Entertainment Inc, is required by U.S. Department of Justice and the attorneys general of California to sell the Kabuki and 1000 Van Ness theatres. While the Van Ness property remains available, today the long-rumored purchase of the Kabuki by Robert Redford's Sundance Cinemas was officially announced.

Expected to become "a state-of-the-art independent movie house", Sundance plans on beginning renovations to the theatre in early May, following the San Francisco Independent Film festival. This fall it'll reopen as the "Sundance Kabuki" (that has quite a nice ring to it, doesn't it?), with stadium seating in at least five of the eight auditoriums, larger screens, and booze sold in the mezzanine and balcony levels.

The Reuters piece we read stated that "the company plans on keeping the Japanese-influenced decor in the complex's largest theater", which we applaud. Hey, Redford, while you're at it, bring back the Kabuki disco ball!

Sundance Film fest ponders buying Kabuki [SFHomeBlog]
Sundance Buys Kabuki [Ess-Eff]
City, Japantown leaders welcome deal for multiplex [SFGate]
Sundance Cinemas buys San Francisco theater [Reuters]

New Housing Complex Offers Positive Change For The Tenderloin

From KCBS.com,

Some two hundred people in San Francisco's Tenderloin District -- including some who were formerly homeless -- are living in a new lower-income housing complex, which celebrated its grand opening yesterday.

There are sixty-seven occupied apartments in the new Curran House, located in the 100 block of Taylor Street. The nine-story complex includes studios and one, two and three bedroom units with one, one and a half or two bathrooms each.

Curran House residents include people with disabilities, and individuals and families with relatively wide income disparities.

Rents range from $750 for a studio, to $1,150 for a three bedroom unit. At least ten units have been reserved for the homeless.

Curran House includes ample green space. Residents and visitors enter the large lobby through a "decompression garden," and the lobby leads to a separate courtyard with space for children to play. There's also a rooftop garden, as well as a conference room and ample common areas on the ground level.

Affordable New residential: Curran House [SF Business Times]

Study ranks CA nearly last in the nation for percentage of homeownership

From today's Chronicle,

If the Bay Area were to have homeownership rates on par with the rest of the nation, 256,000 more households would need to own homes, according to a new study by a state building industry association that hopes to loosen existing land-use policies. But environmental groups say boosting residential production -- while a way to address some of the state's housing problems -- could cost Californians more in traffic, pollution and sprawl.

The study, titled "Homeownership in California," makes the case that the state's 57 percent homeownership rate -- the second lowest behind New York -- lags far behind the national average of nearly 70 percent because a patchwork of environmental policies and legal decisions has choked off new home building and thereby pushed home prices $300,000 above the national average.

Now, as a dwindling number of residents can afford even modest homes, the building industry contends the answer is to curtail the use of the quality act by environmental groups to halt development and to force cities to identify and plan for a 20-year supply of new housing.

[The Sierra Club] and others support the development of underutilized urban plots as well as so-called inclusionary housing ordinances. Such measures, which are already on the books in many cities including San Francisco, require builders to make a certain portion of any home development affordable to low- and moderate-income households.

Unfortunately, this seems to imply that relaxing environmental safeguards is the answer, but I think that increasing housing density is a more practical solution. Even in San Francisco where we have the highest density in the Bay Area, we could still do better in many ways, such as along the often-debated transit corridors.

This is yet another reminder how creating a housing moratorium is just ridiculous.

Is new condo development being shut down?

This week's Guardian covers what they're calling an indirect housing moratorium in the eastern neighborhoods...

No one's quite sure what to call it yet, but it has shaken San Francisco's housing debate to its very core, pitting developers against proponents of low-income housing and blue-collar jobs.

San Francisco planning officials acknowledged March 16 that no developer in eastern San Francisco can build another market-rate unit until the city answers a key question:

How does a million-dollar loft impact the person who cleans that loft — or works in a warehouse next door — and needs a place in the city too?

Here's the backstory: The San Francisco Planning Department determines on a project-by-project basis whether an environmental impact report is necessary. Several months ago planners decided that a 68-unit residential building at 2660 Harrison St. had a green light to move forward with no EIR.

When land-use attorney Sue Hestor and the Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition appealed that decision, the Board of Supervisors did something unusual: On Jan. 24 the board upheld Hestor's appeal, which in effect asked that an EIR for the project include an analysis of the "cumulative impact" of all market-rate housing, including 2660 Harrison, on the eastern neighborhoods of the city.

In other words, a 2660 Harrison EIR would have to include a look at the project's impact on available jobs in eastern San Francisco and on the future availability of low-income housing.

And under that precedent, every developer of every market-rate housing project would have to undergo the same expensive, time-consuming process.

Although I agree that the infrastructure is key to good neighborhood planning, this needs to be a priority so that construction on all levels of housing can continue. The best thing that could happen for home buyers in San Francisco is more inventory, but the flip-side of that is only going to drive prices further out of reach.

A deep breath for city planning [SFBG]

Updated list of vendors that sell prepaid parking meter cards

As someone whose job requires driving around town and often parking at meters, I must say that the new prepaid parking cards for parking meters are fantastic.

When they first launched, they were only sold in a few locations, but now there are multiple vendors around the city including some drug stores. MUNI's web site has a list by neighborhood.

It's nice to not have to worry about parking only to find that I am out of quarters...

Parking Meters Now Take Prepaid Cards [SFHomeBlog]

Existing Home Sales Post Unexpected Gains

From today's SFGate...

Sales of existing homes unexpectedly rose last month as a warmer than usual winter boosted demand in many parts of the country, but a slack demand in some areas produced what one analyst called a "tale of two cities."

The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that that sales of existing single-family homes and condomiums rose by 5.2 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.91 million units.

The Realtors have been forecasting that sales of previously owned homes would fall by about 5 percent this year compared to last year's record pace. But Lereah said he may have to revise that forecast given the unexpected strength in February.

By region of the country, sales rose by 19.2 percent in the Northeast and were up 11.1 percent in the Midwest and 5.1 percent in the West in February. Only the South showed weakness last month with sales there dropping by 2.5 percent from the January pace.

As you all know, I'm not one to post national stories very often, but this one came as a surprise to almost everyone.

The market in San Francisco is quite strong right now, and I would attribute any slowness to media hype, and not to rising interest rates. There are some great opportunities out there for buyers, while at the same time there are a surprising number of properties selling with multiple offers and over-asking. In our Zephyr sales meeting yesterday, more than 50% of reported sales were over-asking...

This is definitely not 2005 all over again, and we may see things slow again as the traditionally heavier summer inventory comes onto the market, but as I keep saying, this is a very good, balanced market right now.

Housing crash experts WRONG again [Inman Blog]

Deciding when to switch to a fixed rate mortgage

Today's WSJ/Real Estate Journal.com has a food-for-thought article on some things to consider if you have an adjustable rate mortgage...

More than $2 trillion of adjustable-rate mortgages come up for interest-rate resets in 2006 and 2007, according to Moody's Economy.com. For homeowners who want to refinance to a fixed-rate loan, the timing couldn't be worse -- the average rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages is at the highest level since 2003.

WHAT TO DO: If the rate on your ARM is about to move higher and you have no plans to move in the next five to seven years, locking in a fixed-rate mortgage may make sense. To find out how much more you'd pay refinancing to a fixed-rate loan, click here [Bankrate.com].

If you plan to move soon, don't bother refinancing -- it's likely you wouldn't recoup your closing costs. For borrowers with hybrid mortgages, which combine a fixed-rate and an adjustable-rate loan, the decision to refinance or wait until the fixed-rate period ends depends on whether it's likely rates will continue to rise, or whether we're nearing the end of the current round of rate increases, as some economists predict.

Just a couple of weeks ago I posted some calculations on how the 30-year fixed mortgage has changed between now and the historical low. That 'timing couldn't be worse' line above is a bit misleading. Yes, rates are higher, but if you do your homework you might find (as they point out above) that it might not make sense to refinance if you aren't going to be able to recoup your closing costs on that loan.

And for the record, the 30-year fixed opened DOWN nearly a 1/4 point this week.

Family Rent Subsidies?

Today's BeyondChron discusses the concept of family rent subsidization as a way to keep families in San Francisco,

For all of the political talk and media stories about families with children leaving San Francisco, no action has been taken to stem this trend. This could change tomorrow, as the Budget Committee of the Board of Supervisors considers a proposal by Supervisor Chris Daly to devote $5 million from the city’s current year surplus to help families pay the rent. The rent subsidy program would immediately help struggling families stay in San Francisco, and also allow families living in overcrowded units, shelters or in SRO’s to obtain suitable housing. The city’s political leadership appears strongly supportive of the rent subsidy plan, but with competing proposals for street repair, parks maintenance, and more police officers, the needs of San Francisco’s low-income families could once again get lost in the shuffle.

Let us stop for one moment and recognize that we already have in place what may be the world's largest non-governmental rent subsidy program. It's called RENT CONTROL.

Don't get me wrong, this rent subsidy might be a great idea, and I am 100% for finding logical (!) ways to keep families in San Francisco, but let's not forget that right now it's those 'EVIL' landlords that are subsidizing tens of thousands of families' rent each and every month. Somehow Daly and the article's author forgot to remind everyone of that.

What choices are there for homes that aren't selling?

In this 'balanced' market, there are inevitably going to be properties that are over-priced, or sellers whose expectations are out of line with buyer's wants and needs. Dian Hymer has a good article on Inman News today about some considerations if your house is languishing on the market...

What are your options if your home is less desirable in the current marketplace than you'd hoped it would be?

One option is reduce your price. Another is to hold out for a while, hoping that the market improves to meet your price. In most cases, however, the latter option is unlikely to yield results.

A third option, if there's no urgency to sell, is to rent the property for a time and sell at a later date. This might be worth considering. However, as with any scheme, there are pros and cons that should be evaluated carefully before making a decision.

On the positive side, a property that is, or will soon be, sitting empty will generate income. This income can help offset mortgage and property tax obligations and homeowner association dues for condo owners. Another plus is that you can buy time until the market improves.

On the other side, consider that the market in most places is still good. 2006 isn't expected to be as strong a year for homes sales as was 2005, which was the best year ever. However, David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, predicts that the 2006 home sales volume will be the third best ever.

As a seller, your best bet is to hire an agent who knows your neighborhood and who knows the agents who work your neighborhood with buyers. Then learn the comps and choose an asking price that makes sense in today's market. There are plenty of properties changing hands in San Francisco, despite what many media reports might lead you to believe. This balanced market can be great for sellers who do their homework, prepare their property well, and price it right the first time.

Capital gains rate rules change in '08

Here's an interesting clarification for those that might have misunderstood the capital gains tax changes coming in 2008, from Sunday's Chronicle...

"Someone I know told me that this billionaire he knew was going to sell everything in 2008 because there will be no tax on long-term capital gains. I went online and, sure enough, there was one sentence that said the same. If this is true, isn't it big news? Shouldn't many of us begin planning to sell our assets in '08? Wouldn't that mean that a lot of real estate, private companies and stocks would be sold that year?"

John's online "discovery" includes a morsel of truth in a mountain of misunderstanding.

The morsel: The federal long-term capital gains rate in 2008 will indeed be zero, but only for people in the two lowest tax brackets and only for a limited amount of capital gains.

It is not another tax break for the rich and only a modest break for low- and middle-income people.

Check out the article for a great example calculation. This will likely only affect a small percentage of people, especially in higher-income areas like San Francisco. And her bottom line, "...that's hardly enough to plan your life around."

As always, refer to your accountant or CPA for the latest tax laws.

Sundance Film fest ponders buying Kabuki

I still think that the new Examiner web site sucks, but one of their four articles today reports that one of Robert Redford's ventures may be interested in buying the Kabuki Theatre...

Sundance Cinemas, LLC, a spin-off venture from the festival, is the frontrunner to buy the AMC Kabuki 8 in Japantown, according to city and Japantown officials. It has plans to turn the cinema into a miniature version of the annual Sundance event complete with foreign films, movie discussions and, of course, independent offerings.

If Sundance completes the deal, the Kabuki would become one of the first theaters in a new North American independent movie chain the company is launching on the cachet of its annual festival in Park City, Utah. The Sundance Group also owns properties and a cable TV channel.

Paul Osaki, the director of the Japanese Cultural Center of Northern California, said Sundance should sit down with community residents, if the company plans on buying the theater.

'Sundance in San Francisco' sounds great, but having been to Park City in January, their ski and mountain culture is invaded by black-wearing Hollywood-types... The Japanese-feel of the Kabuki might suffer the same fate unless there is some agreement prior to the sale... Especially for the community uses for which the theatre is currently used...

Sundance launches Sundance Cinemas [Cinematical]
New Sundance Cinemas Circuit to Launch In Madison, WI [Indiewire]

Related: Sundance Institute, Sundance Film Festival

Prison term for developer who defrauded investors

From today's Chronicle,

A San Francisco real estate developer will spend eight years in prison and pay more than $17 million in restitution and fines for defrauding more than 700 investors, a judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup sentenced John A. Hickey, 49, on Thursday to 97 months in prison and ordered him to pay a $15,000 fine and $17.4 million in restitution. The judge told Hickey to begin serving his sentence July 7.

Hickey was convicted by a federal jury in November on two counts of securities fraud and eight counts of mail fraud after a three-week trial in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

Federal prosecutors said Hickey raised about $20 million from 724 investors through his company, Continental Capital Financial Group, by offering shares in two limited partnerships. The partnerships were created to develop real estate in Napa and Sonoma, among other locations.

Somehow, however, the Department of Real Estate hasn't caught up with him yet, as his license is still active...

SEC vs. John A. Hickey [9th Circuit Court of Appeals] (PDF file)
SAN FRANCISCO REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER CONVICTED OF SECURITIES FRAUD AND MAIL FRAUD [Department of Justice]

Related: McKay Eviction Unmasks Real Estate Speculators [SF Tenant's Union]

The Seeds of a Neighborhood Tree Planting

From this month's Noe Valley Voice,

When Stephen Fowler moved to Noe Valley in 1997, he loved the neighborhood, but felt there was something missing. "It seemed to me that Noe Valley had a lot less trees than many other neighborhoods," says the 25th Street resident. "I think trees are overwhelmingly positive in that they add color, attract birds, absorb carbon dioxide, and create a pleasant environment."

If you agree--and if you'd like to see a new crop of saplings gracing once-barren sidewalks--the time may be ripe to get a tree of your own. The group Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) is sponsoring a May tree planting in Noe Valley. New trees cost $150 each, including tree purchase and help with concrete removal and planting. But you'll need to act soon: The deadline to sign up for a tree is March 31.

FUF, a non-profit organization that believes trees are crucial to a livable urban environment, has worked with San Francisco residents to plant more than 40,000 trees since its founding in 1981.

Go to the article for contact information on how to participate in this round of tree planting in Noe Valley.

Also, this year is FUF's 25th anniversary and they're throwing a big party. Congrats on 25 years of planting thousands of trees in neighborhoods across San Francisco!

Professional house flippers

From this week's Surreal Estate column in the Chronicle,

The woman told me that every two years they bought a new house, moved in, fixed it up -- and then sold it. It was a living. And with some handy skills like carpentry, gardening and simple accounting hitched to a hot real estate market, no doubt it was a very good living at that.

What made their itinerant homeownership so profitable was that their work was entirely sheltered from income taxes. If they played their cards right, they could make up to $500,000 tax free, every two years.

How? Because this couple was brilliantly exploiting the wickedly profitable (not to mention marriage-centric) IRS code known as the capital-gains homeowner exemption -- a law that allows a homeowners to exempt up to $250,000 (and $500,000 for married couples) in capital gains from the sale of their primary residence.

Of course, profits margins that high might be unattainable. But according to this woman, flipping homes like cheap burgers was a much better bet than regular work, which might have thrown them into a 30- or 40-percent tax bracket. In a word, they were professionals -- professional homeowners.

She goes on to ask if this is 'fair'...

Is it fair? I certainly applaud the idea of allowing people not to be penalized when they move or retire. After all, people have to live somewhere and most often these "profits" simply need to be are poured back into the homeowner's new residence.

But do we really want to sanction a profession like "real estate flipper" as untaxable just because flippers can leverage the homeowner exemption over and over? I don't think so.

If we do want to provide that kind of tax break, why not give the privilege to professions that benefit society as a whole -- nurses or public school teachers or scientists working to cure malaria?

To me what's not fair to society was Proposition 13 (the law that fixes property taxes on a property until resale). Sure, it helps quite a few people who wouldn't be able to keep their homes if they were taxed at current values, but just think about how well-funded our schools would be and how smooth our roads would drive if those well-heeled folks who bought a home in 1998 for $500k (and are paying roughly $5000/year in property taxes) were now paying tax on the current $1.5M value of the home...

Keep the capital gains deduction, scrap Prop. 13 (with exemptions for the truly needy)... That's my $0.02.

California Proposition 13 [Wikipedia]
Capital Gains Tax [Wikipedia]

Ting vows end to assessments backlog

From today's Chronicle,

San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting pledged Wednesday to clear within 24 months a backlog of thousands of property-tax assessments that is costing the city at least $2 million a year in uncollected revenue.

Ting, who was appointed by Mayor Gavin Newsom in July and then was elected to the post in November, blamed the backlog on poor management by his predecessor and years of staff cuts in his department.

Calling the failure to promptly assess new construction or the higher value of a home sold for a profit to a new owner "a persistent problem," Ting has promoted chief assessor Alex Tharayil to the position of deputy assessor- recorder. Tharayil will be meeting every other workday with a special team focusing on the backlogged assessments.

A conservative estimate from the department shows the city is failing to collect at least $2 million worth of assessments for new home construction, a projection Ting called "extremely low." There is no estimate for how much more the city could tax for properties that have sold recently to new owners for a price higher than a previous assessment by the city.

On Wednesday, Ting said his office has identified 4,000 properties that should be reassessed generally because they have either been sold or received substantial improvement. An additional 18,000 properties are awaiting initial examination to see if a reassessment is warranted to bring their value in line with their true worth.

Office of the Assessor-Recorder [SFGov.org]

Hunters Point PG&E Power Plant To Close

From NBC11.com...

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Wednesday announced that it will close the aging Hunters Point power plant this spring.

In 1998 the utility announced plans to close the gas-powered plant. Since then it has been working to complete nine electrical transmission projects specified by the California Independent Systems Operator, which would allow for the plant's closure, spokesman Paul Moreno said Wednesday.

"The plant's closing is condition-specific, not time-specific," Moreno said. He said the utility expects to be able to meet the conditions set by the ISO this spring.

The ISO currently requires PG&E operate the plant under the "reliability-must-run" contract, Moreno said, but will release the plant from that contract once the last of the nine transmission projects are completed and tested. After it's released, the utility can choose to close or to continue to operate the plant. We won't go back on our word," Moreno said. "I don't think even the strongest cynics think we won't close it."

Moreno said the utility does not currently have plans for the plant site. "When we close the plant a contractor will demolish and remove all structures. The substation next to the plant will remain, but it has no emissions and does not generate power," he said.

The utility might sell the land, Moreno said, at which point the city of San Francisco would be given first right of refusal to buy the land for the price of the highest bid.

PG&E to shutter Hunters Point power plant early [SFGate]

Facts about the Potrero to Hunters Point 115-kv Cable Project [PG&E]

Day of Action to Shut Down PG&E Hunters Point Power Plant [IndyBay]

End is near for Hunters Point plant [SFGate]

State offering 40-year mortgages for first-time homebuyers

From today's San Francisco Business Times...

A state agency that helps first-time homebuyers introduced a 40-year fixed mortgage on Wednesday.

The California Housing Finance Agency already offers 30-year fixed and 35-year interest only mortgages.

All three mortgage options are offered at below market, fixed interest rates.

The fixed rate on the 40-year mortgage will initially be 5.75 percent, about one point below average market rates for 40-year mortgages.

Loans from CalHFA are available to low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers who meet CalHFA income limits and who are buying homes that fall at or below CalHFA sales price limits, which are pegged to home prices in each region.

Price limits for San Francisco (found in this PDF document) are as high as $768,000 for new construction properties and $757,000 for resale properties (depending on certain buyer and property criteria).

Planning Commission Hears Trinity Plaza Rebuild Presentation

From BeyondChron,

Last Thursday, March 9, the Planning Commission held the first of several hearings regarding the Trinity Plaza rebuild. Even though the hearing was more informational and was not an action item, the hour-and-a-half meeting was not without contention.

...[Project architect] Mr. Fort-Brescia proceeded to unfold the Trinity Plaza rebuild that would blend glass, steel, and what seems like elements from nature, but not without Fort-Brescia’s annoying spin that the current Trinity Plaza is a parking lot with a motel in the middle of the city, and an underdeveloped site using an older design of suburbanization in an urban environment as well as the current spin of building housing close to downtown using high-rise structures.

The presentation opened with an overview of the area surrounding the 4+ acres to a look at the current Trinity Plaza footprint and a drawing showing a typical day of sun angles. Based on these sun angles, the design of the rebuild calls for the tallest building at the northeast corner of the property and the shortest at the southwest corner, or at 8th and Market Streets. Next came the overview of the rebuild showing inside courtyards, one near Market Street and a larger, open green space near Mission Street and through the center of the property, for a total of about 63,000 square feet.

Following the presentation, Planning’s Dean Macris expressed his pleasure over the aspect of foot traffic for theaters and restaurants ("a gathering place, if you will, for people") as well as the "building block" style of the design, but he also pointed to the amount of planned parking for the site (1,450 spaces for 1,900 units), which "surprisingly enough that works out to .75 per unit," which he editorialized as being "a very workable figure for a C-3 district."

The BeyondChron article has lots of photos of the proposed design from the presentation, or you can get a full (90 minute) Video On Demand of the presentation from SFGTV @ SFGov.org.

Agencies Adopt New Credit Scoring System

From today's Chronicle,

The nation's three major consumer credit bureaus have created a new credit scoring system designed to make it easier for financial institutions to evaluate loan applications and to give consumers a better way of measuring their financial health.

The credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — announced Tuesday that they're introducing "VantageScore" to banks, mortgage lenders and credit card companies immediately. The new scores will be available to consumers after the lender rollout, probably later this year.

The new system's scoring tops out at 990, rather than the previous 850, which will confuse both the public and the lenders, I'm sure.

Experian said the new scores will be grouped on "the familiar academic scale." Experian gave these groupings, with A and B being the best potential borrowers and D and F being the weakest:

A — 901-990

B — 801-900

C — 701-800

D — 601-700

F — 501-600

Dissecting new credit scoring [SFGate]

Where cranes flock, buildings sprout. It's not always pretty.

From today's Chronicle and John King's Urban Design column,

The California clapper rail is on the decline in the Bay Area, scientists say. But there is no shortage of another distinctive species: long-necked cranes.

Construction cranes, to be exact. Often accompanied by backhoes and pile drivers, just as gulls trail a pelican at meal time.

The most obvious sighting is the flock hovering above the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge, but at least a dozen are nestled in San Francisco's fast-changing districts south of Market Street. You even see a pair out in Golden Gate Park, perched where the California Academy of Sciences will reopen in 2008.

And here's the scary thing: Until they are gone, we'll have no way to tell whether they're leaving us with a rich new urban habitat, or a fowled civic nest.

...steely cranes fill me with doubt as well as anticipation: This migratory flock leaves a permanent mark on the landscape. Each new building lives a dozen different lives. One might look good in the air but be dreadful on the ground; another might be ungainly to the eye but a delight to the residents.

And each is part of a much larger composition. Mission Bay, for instance -- by the time the cranes north of Mission Creek disappear, there will be a new batch south of the creek, harbingers of yet more housing-filled blocks. What looks awkward now might soon seem reassuringly familiar.

SF Teachers May Ask For Parcel Tax Vote

From NBC11.com...

A state mediator and the union representing San Francisco school teachers are considering asking for a parcel tax to help pay for raises for teachers.

The two sides say they plan on forming a committee to explore proposing a parcel tax to voters that would pay for increased salaries and benefits for the nearly six-thousand teachers who work in the San Francisco Unified School District.

The teachers last had a pay raise in the summer of 2002.

A measure for a parcel tax would have to be approved by both the union and the Board of Education before it could be placed on a ballot.

Voters would then have the final say.

Applications for 27,000 units raise prospect of housing boom

From today's San Francisco Business Times,

Developers in San Francisco filed applications last year for the most residential units in recent history, setting the stage for a potential housing boom in coming years.

Home builders filed applications for planning permission or building permits for more than 6,600 new units last year, up 25 percent from 2004. City officials said a total of 27,493 new housing units are now in the planning stages or under construction.

It's too early to say how many of the housing units in the city's planning pipeline will get built. Only 17 percent of projects are under construction. But some developers said they expect strong market demand to continue, raising the prospect that most of the new units will be constructed.

"I believe 75 percent of the projects will be built in the next 10 years," said Chris Foley, a partner at Polaris Group, which scouts sites for new condominium projects and then sells the units.

The three neighborhoods with the largest number of units are Rincon Hill with 3,600, mid-Market with 2,400 and Showplace Square and Potrero Hill with 2,385.

A recent study by the city's planning department on proposed projects did not include data on how many are expected to be sold to low-income buyers. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who began pushing a new housing plan last year, said he wants 36 percent of new units to be affordable to poor families. Newsom's housing plan calls for building 15,000 housing units over five years.

I have no doubt that the planning department will be looking both to create affordable housing out of these 27,000+ units, as well as create larger, 2+ bedroom family housing. Let's hope that plays out positively.

S.F. home hits block for record $65M

From today's San Francisco Business Times,

Three and a half years after it shattered San Francisco sales records, a mansion on Billionaire's Row in Pacific Heights is back on the market for twice as much: $65 million.

Two structures at 2845 Broadway went for $32 million in November 2002, making them the most expensive estate in city history. But the property still wasn't finished.

Construction guided by New York architect Charles Young on the 17,500-square-foot limestone main home and 5,000-square-foot guest house is still not complete.

When owner Peter Sperling, son of the founder of the University of Phoenix, bought the property, it had not been publicly listed but was marketed discreetly by broker David Barrett, head of Warwick Properties Group.

But in a nod to how busy the high-end housing market has become in San Francisco, Sperling this time around put 2845 Broadway on the same multiple listing service used for everything from low-slung bungalows to highrise condominiums to SoMa live-work lofts.

Selling wouldn't deprive Sperling of a place to hang his hat in San Francisco. While work was being done at 2845 Broadway, he picked up a ready-to-go mansion at 2323 Hyde St., which had listed for $15 million, in 2003.

Sperling set the city's high-price mark for the year -- just as he had the year before, and the year before that, with the 2001 purchase with his father of 3450 Washington St. for $18 million.

Ritz-Carlton Club Units Selling Quickly

From today's San Francisco Business Times,

The thirst for ritzy downtown condos in San Francisco appears to be insatiable.

Coming on the heels of the quickly sold-out St. Regis project, buyers are chomping at the bit for units in the Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences project at 690 Market St., a joint venture between the Ritz-Carlton and Alameda-based developer Jim Hunter.

In the first five days since the developers started accepting reservations for the 101 units in the old Chronicle Building, would-be Ritz-Carlton clubbers have plunked down 60 reservation deposits for a piece of the 1890 building, according to Robert van Dijk, the project's director of sales and marketing. Of the 60, 18 are for condos, and 42 are for monthly slots at the project's fractional ownership units. Owners of fractional units pay $200,000 to $300,000 for a one-twelfth, deeded interest.

All potential owners who have put money down on a private residence, have also reserved a fractional share, said van Dijk.

"They are looking at the fractional shares and saying, 'this will be my guest house.'" said van Dijk. "These are individuals used to having a guest house."

Built in 1890, the 16-story building was the first skyscraper in the West and home to the Daily Dramatic Chronicle newspaper.

Podcast Episode #3 Now Available

Download the latest podcast in MP3 format here.

The links below correspond to the stories on this week’s podcast.

Lead news stories
- Bayview/Hunters Point redevelopment passes unanimously
- Person to person lending
- Mortgage report from Monica DiPerna of Guarantee Mortgage

Current/upcoming legislation
- Mayor vetoes parking legislation but offers an amendment
- Daly’s June ballot item
- Charge to drive in downtown SF?

Upcoming events
- Small Property Owners of San Francisco meeting – Tuesday, March 14
- Plan C Happy Hour – Wednesday, March 15
- Plan C TIC Workshop – Wednesday, March 22

Summary
- Slight uptick in interest rates, but rates still at historical lows
- Spring inventory is finally hitting the market, offering buyers a bit more to choose from
- Sellers still seeing strong demand, strong open house traffic

Click on this icon to subscribe to this podcast via iTunes.

Or you can click on this icon to subscribe to this podcast via XML.

Mayor vetoes C-3 parking legislation, but offers amendment

From the Chronicle today,

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made good Friday on his threat to veto legislation meant to tackle traffic congestion by limiting new off-street parking in the downtown corridor but then turned right around and offered a slightly amended version of the ordinance.

In fact, Newsom said in his veto letter to the Board of Supervisors that he fully supports the intent of the legislation that restricts downtown parking with the goal of reducing reliance on the automobile. It was some of the details with which he took issue.

Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who carried the legislation that was approved by the board on a 7-4 vote last month, said Friday that he will introduce a new measure that incorporates Newsom's proposed changes.

Unlike the other items that Newsom has vetoed in recent months, this was less a veto and more an amendment that couldn't be worked out prior to the Supervisor's vote. The changes he is suggesting are small and serve only to clarify a couple of items.

Under the board-approved plan, developers of residential projects would have been allowed to build no more than three off-street parking spaces for every four dwelling units. The only exception would have been for so-called family housing -- at least 1,000 square feet in size with at least two bedrooms -- in which case there could be one parking space for each home.

Newsom signed off on that and wants no change.

Where the mayor disagreed with the board was on parking lots. Under the board's plan, the parking structures could have been no higher than one story above ground. The mayor wants developers to be able to go as high as three stories above ground if they are unable to build underground parking; for example, if doing so would unearth contaminated soil or run into a tunnel for BART or Muni trains. Both versions call for developers to front the parking structures at street level with commercial uses, such as stores and restaurants.

The mayor and the board also disagreed on the creation of new driveways in the downtown corridor. Under the board's proposed ordinance, new driveways on streets used by public transit, among them Bush, California, Montgomery, Stockton, Powell and Market streets would have been prohibited. Newsom wants to allow for the new driveways on all the streets but Market. But approval would not be automatic; developers would have to get special permission from the Planning Commission and, in some cases, the Board of Supervisors.

I'm sure we'll hear some complaining from Daly on this, even though they are ultimately getting what they asked for. There's no way Daly can argue, however, with the 1 space for every unit over 1000sqft/2BR, lest he look even more anti-family than he already does.

The 'real' story behind the C-3 parking legislation? [SFSOS]

50+ units of housing to replace Cala @ Haight & Stanyan

An article in the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council's March newsletter discusses the long rumored departure of Cala Foods, which will be replaced by a "mixed use project, containing 25,000 square feet of retail, three below ground levels of parking, and three floors of housing with 50 or so units."

As I mentioned in an earlier post this week, the loss of Cala is bittersweet, leaving neighbors without a full-service market (unless it is replaced by another grocery store), but many neighbors have complained of poor inventory, loitering customers from nearby Haight Street, and a generally dirty appearance.

More housing = good, so let's just hope they can find a suitable grocery for the immediate neighborhood (in addition to the small Real Foods up the hill at Stanyan & Parnassus).

Visitation Valley vs. Ingersoll Rand

From this week's SF Weekly...

In San Francisco's poorer neighborhoods, when most folks hear the word "developer," their ears perk up, and impromptu armies of residents form to fight against gentrification and to protect their community integrity. These same citizens often clash with corporations, pushing them to shut down and clean up pollution-spewing factories, and then fight amongst themselves over plans for the areas once the plants close.

Not so with the former Schlage Lock site, which is among the largest parcels of unused land in San Francisco.

Visitacion Valley's residents agree on a plan to develop this 20-acre plot, despite extreme toxic contamination in its soil and groundwater. The cleaned-up area would be a transit village, sandwiched between the new Muni light-rail station and the fast-developing Leland Avenue corridor. Outlined in a snappy, 45-page ringed booklet complete with colorful maps, the proposed development includes housing, retail space, and a much-needed supermarket.

The community approves. The San Francisco Planning Department approves. Pulte Homes, a Michigan-based developer, approves. It's like they're all one big, happy redevelopment family -- except the Ingersoll-Rand Co., which owns two-thirds of the site, won't sell.

The Schlage operations shut down for good in 1999. With so many people in favor of this site being developed, why hasn't the city stepped in?

Maybe it's because of Ingersoll's fear of future legal action. "The prospect of legal action is the main reason Ingersoll has held onto the land, despite several multimillion-dollar offers to buy it. Ingersoll has maintained that no matter how much money goes into soil remediation and other cleanup, it's possible that some residents who would live on the site would suffer from cancer decades from now, and it would be impossible to determine for certain whether toxins, or just the normal course of life, caused the disease."

Supervisor Sophie Maxwell brought this before the Board last year, but it's going to be a long process. "City officials won't say whether the eventual goal is to spur Ingersoll into action, or to force the company off the land. The costs of the current investigation alone are high, but they pale in comparison to the massive tax revenues that could flow from a viable, developed area. Nevertheless, the city taking over the site and anointing an outside developer would do little to clear up the sticky wicket of costly toxic cleanup and future health-related litigation. Maxwell and her colleagues hope that someday soon Ingersoll will back off its hard line on indemnification and let the development process move forward."

"I haven't given up on them," says Maxwell. "I don't think we will until the last minute."

Rethinking the Guardian's suggested homebuilding moratorium

Gabriel Metcalf, the executive director of the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, wrote a food-for-thought OpEd piece in this week's Guardian on why their suggested new housing moratorium should be reconsidered:

The March 1 edition of the Guardian calls for a market-rate housing moratorium in the eastern neighborhoods as part of an attempt to slow the speed of gentrification and displacement. But it might not be the best solution to the problem. In the interest of furthering the debate, here's the "other side" — three reasons why the Guardian should rethink the moratorium.

1. SPRAWL IS AN IMPORTANT PROGRESSIVE ISSUE
A local moratorium on market-rate housing construction doesn't just affect San Francisco. Population growth in California will happen whether we want it or not; the only choice we have is where people will live. The best place to direct new growth that is destined for Northern California is into the central cities: Oakland, San Jose, San Francisco, and Sacramento. If we force the housing to the suburban fringe, we lose the Central Valley to sprawl, put people where they are forced to drive cars, keep demand for fossil fuels high, and reinforce global warming.

The consequences of sprawl are also deeply political — the exurban fringe tends to vote conservative, while the cities vote progressive. By shirking density in the city, we make our society more conservative and more oil-dependent. By embracing density, we have a chance to change the country in fundamental ways.

2. THE SUPPLY OF FUNDING FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS FINITE
We need to be doing everything possible to increase the supply of below-market-rate housing. But we do not have nearly enough money to pay for the amount we need. It takes around $200,000 in subsidies to build each affordable housing unit. Helping just 10,000 families would cost $2 billion. Not very many people can be helped if this is our only strategy.

The other strategy is inclusionary housing, where market-rate developments are required to provide a certain number of affordable units. San Francisco's inclusionary housing program has already generated $18 million dollars of affordable housing funds. If the projects currently under planning review all move forward, an additional 1,325 inclusionary housing units will be created over the next few years. A moratorium on market-rate housing renders this successful program totally useless.

3. INCREASING THE SUPPLY OF HOUSING IS PART OF THE ANSWER
Slowing gentrification is a huge priority for our city. But the root cause of gentrification is the simple fact that a lot of people want to live here and are competing with each other for the available homes. A moratorium on new housing actually makes gentrification and displacement worse.

San Francisco might never construct enough housing to drive down the price of an average unit to a price that a low-income family can afford. But it is possible to fix the housing market enough so that moderate-income people can afford to live in a market-rate unit — saving San Francisco from becoming just a vacation land for trust funders and retirees. No one is arguing that the supply solution is the whole answer. But it is a part.

Kudos to the Guardian for even running this piece. Whether you agree with it or not, it's unusual to see something so thought-provoking rather than just their status-quo, aggressive anti-housing rhetoric.

Attack of the million-dollar condos [SFBG - 19 Oct 2005]

Mortgage rate comparison - Then & Now

Yesterday it was reported that 30-year mortgage rates hit a two year high.

What does this mean in real-world numbers? What is the history of the 30-year fixed? I took today's rate, the rate one year ago, and the lowest recorded rate in recent history:

The 30-year fixed today is 6.5% - Payments on a $600K loan = $3,792

The 30-year fixed one year ago was 5.75% - Payments on a $600K loan = $3,501

The lowest 30-year fixed was 5.25% in June 2003 - Payments on a $600K loan = $3,313

The difference between June 2003 and today is approximately equivalent to $100,000 in purchase price.

The difference between last year and today is approximately equivalent to $50,000 in purchase price.

If we're looking at a purchase price of $750,000 with 20% down, this gives you the $600,000 loan amount used above.

If we use conservative price appreciation year-over-year of 10%, a house purchased a year ago for $750,000 would now sell for $825,000. Even if you knocked the mortgage rate increase out of that appreciation (roughly $50k - from calculation above), you still have positive price appreciation of at least $25k, and that doesn't account for all of the other factors that cause houses to go up in price.

That's just a 30-year mortgage comparison. That doesn't account for some of the creative lending that allows people to leverage their money into larger purchases.

It is contributing to a balanced market, but is not enough to cause a downturn at this point. As more people refinance into fixed mortgages to get out of their adjustable equity lines, the market will stabilize even further.

Thanks to Monica DiPerna from Guarantee Mortgage for these calculations!

How our houses are financing our lives

This week's Surreal Estate from Carol Lloyd at the Chron covers her own borrowing practices as well as a broader discussion of leveraging one's house for remodels, travel, or college tuition.

Lately, our lives seem to be inundated with mortgages of various kinds, and we're taking advantage of them in droves. Last year, homeowners extracted some $600 billion in equity from their homes through refinancing and equity lines.

But those are mere numbers. That I too have succumbed to this mortgage mania shows just how far it has seeped into the American psyche. I always considered myself a fiscal conservative. Credit cards get paid off to zero each month. Can't afford it? Don't buy it.

How did I change?

A decade ago, I remember my mother telling me that after nearly 20 years of residing in their home, which my father had designed and built for about $75,000, my parents had a mortgage of over $500,000.

"What happened?" I asked my mother disapprovingly.

She waved my concerns aside. "This house is a bank," she said. "We'll never pay it off."

A bank? After that, I could never think about our lives in quite the same light. My parents were self-made. They were from poor, working-class families with five and eight siblings, and they had put themselves through college, worked hard, and never got a dime from any parent or grandparent, dead or alive.


But suddenly I realized that their college educations and hard work might not have been enough to cover certain ... luxuries. Like trips to Europe or my tuition at a private high school or my mother's painting habit that sometimes took time away from her more lucrative work.

I know very few people who pay cash for properties (for the tax benefits, mostly) and also very few people who have long-term plans for paying off their properties. Some might argue that this is going to lead to a real estate downturn, but I would argue that this is just a difference in priorities from previous generations. Those that paid off their houses likely didn't mortgage against them, until they perhaps pulled a reverse mortgage after their retirement.

There are definitely those out there now who are over-leveraged and who could be hurt by any slight change in the market, but of the 100+ clients I have put into homes in the past few years, I don't know any of them who are in danger of losing their house. They may decide to sell if the market shifts, but that would be a voluntary decision...

My bottom line: for most homeowners, the chance to create far greater opportunities or better living environments is more convenient than it ever has been, and it doesn't have to hurt your investment or break the bank. Talk to your mortgage broker about the best way to get what you need while protecting your investment.

Sale of Japantown hotels increases local fears

From today's Chronicle,

A deal to sell Japantown's two signature hotels -- the Miyako and Miyako Inn -- has been signed without a guarantee of long-term ownership, prompting fear in the neighborhood that the sale could further erode the district's cultural identity.

"Our fear is that the hotels will be turned into condos," said San Francisco attorney Kaz Maniwa, who chairs the Japanese Cultural and Community Center in Japantown and the California Japanese American Community Leadership Council.

The hotels are part of a larger package that includes most of the 3-square-block Japantown mall, which the Beverly Hills company 3D Investments is negotiating to buy.

Maniwa said community representatives had requested that the sale include a requirement that the buyer hold the properties for at least 15 years.

"San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, whose district includes Japantown, have been outspoken in support of preserving the cultural identity of Japantown. Newsom said Thursday that his office is drafting legal covenants to provide "protections for the cultural identity of Japantown well into the future.""

How to correctly list your home for sale

Bob Bruss has some great questions to ask Realtors when interviewing them prior to the sale of your home. From Inman news,

Ask the 10 key questions each agent hopes you don't ask:

1.) How long have you been selling homes in this area?

2.) What are the names, addresses, and phone numbers of your five most recent home sellers?

3.) What is your writing marketing plan for my home?

4.) Do you sell real estate full-time (dismiss any part-time agent unless you want part-time service)?

5.) How many listings do you currently have (watch out for agents who have too many listings and won't have personal time to devote to your home sale)?

6.) Do you have any office assistants (if so, inquire if you will be dealing with them or the agent)?

7.) What day of the week do you take off and which agent covers for you when you are gone?

8.) Do you plan to take any vacation during my listing period?

9.) Will you be able to sell my home within the 90-day listing period?

10.) What is your sales commission fee schedule?

And I'll add #11: Are you a Realtor®? Realtors® subscribe to a whole different level of ethics and take required training far beyond what a normal real estate licensee would have taken.

These are all great questions and ultimately can give you insight into whether you're hiring someone who will do the job or not. Even if you have worked with one agent on other transactions, it never hurts to speak to at least one, if not two, other agents. You might be surprised what you learn from the others, even if you continue to work with your original agent.

Neighbors object to Scientologists' offer to buy 1912 building

From today's Chronicle...

San Francisco's North Beach, the city's bohemian quarter, has said "no" to chain stores through zoning laws to preserve the quirky, colorful character found in its cafes, clothing shops, bookstores and nightclubs. Now, some merchants and the supervisor whose district includes North Beach are eyeing a new land-use restriction to block a real estate acquisition being considered by the Church of Scientology, whose religious marketing practices strike some as inconsistent with the neighborhood's live-and-let-live ways.

...a deal with the church could be thwarted by legislation introduced this week by Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who is seeking to restrict use of the building by religious institutions, among other groups, as a means of preserving the neighborhood's character.

"This legislation is intended to ensure the existing types of uses that have been in the Colombo Building for 100 years," he said. Peskin is planning another piece of legislation that would permanently designate the building off-limits to churches, among other institutions.

The address of the building is 1 Columbus, where North Beach and FiDi meet...

Move Underway To Stop Scientologists From Buying SF Building [NBC11.com]

Curbed launches in San Francisco

From their press release/email...

Four months after dipping into the California real estate scene with Curbed LA, Curbed.com is proud to announce its second West Coast blog, Curbed SF. Like its New York and Los Angeles cousins, Curbed SF gets inside the neighborhoods of the city with an eye on real estate, architecture, urban planning, and the quirks that make the city home.

After several months of development, the site just went live. Check it out at

http://sf.curbed.com

The site is written by real live San Francisco residents, Philip Ferrato and Alison Laichter, overseen by me and the Curbed.com team.

This is just the second step in a larger national expansion for Curbed.com, the most-read real estate and neighborhood blog on the web.

More soon. Until then, enjoy Curbed SF.

Cheers,

Josh
-----------------
Josh Albertson
National Editor
Curbed.com

Welcome to SF, guys! I know Lockhart and crew created something very cool in NYC and I welcome the addition of the SF edition!

Daly submits proposed ordinances for June ballot

It's only March, but here we go with the Daly/Gullickson/Tenant's Union ballot measures for the June election. And we get started with one that has really been misrepresented by the press and the authors of the legislation (hence Newsom's veto).

From today's Chronicle, "Meeting a deadline for the June ballot, Supervisor Chris Daly submitted proposed ordinances Wednesday that would require landlords to disclose when tenants have been evicted from certain properties."

"...Daly wants voters to decide whether owners of a property with two or more units should have to notify prospective buyers if an elderly or disabled tenant has been evicted. The Board of Supervisors approved similar legislation, but Mayor Gavin Newsom vetoed it."

This is nothing more than a way for Daly to attempt to resurrect his flailing campaign for re-election and is useless legislation intended to draw attention to himself.

As a Realtor® who works with disclosures every single day, I want to set the record straight on what we currently are required by law to provide...

Notification to buyers when someone has been evicted is something that belongs in the disclosure process and during escrow (when buyers have every right to extract themselves from a transaction) and not at open houses where it serves only to impede the search process for potential buyers (many of whom are long-time tenants themselves).

I do not believe that it’s been made clear enough that we as agents are required to provide a vacancy disclosure during the offer writing/disclosure process (for any vacant unit we are selling), when buyers still have the opportunity to cancel any sort of contract if they are not comfortable with the situation. Daly, BeyondChron, Gullickson, et al. have been advertising that this disclosure is not provided until final papers are signed at closing, and that's a load of crap.

I am all in favor of full disclosure, and not in favor of evictions, but this will artificially burden the already brutal home-buying process. Chris Daly needs to understand (since he obviously doesn't) that we currently provide the disclosures to interested parties, per the current law. If he wants to advertise that this information is available to those interested parties, let him have at it. But, as usual, his legislation only serves to burden the process and attempt to make him look good to his tenant constituency. It does not help tenants, buyers, or sellers any more than the current law does.

Do we really want Daly to stay in office where he has done little more than throw tantrums and embarrass this city? Don't be fooled by this or any other ballot measure that he proposes. This is a waste of taxpayer money, and a last-ditch effort by Daly to get above his pathetic 30% approval rating.

Planning Commission to Review Trinity Plaza on Thursday

From BeyondChron, "The Planning Commission will hold a hearing on Trinity Plaza’s Environmental Impact Review (EIR) tomorrow, providing an opportunity for commissioners and the public to weigh in on the project. The hearing comes near the close of the official approval process for Trinity, which is poised to bring up to 1,900 units of housing to the Mid-Market area, 600 of them affordable. In addition to reviewing the EIR, the hearing will consist of a full presentation of the project from its sponsors. While the Planning Commission will not act on the project today, its final approval could come within the next two months, when commissioners grant or deny the EIR."

Owner Angelo Sangiacamo's "representatives will present the details of that agreement tomorrow, which include demolishing the current building and replacing it with up to 1,900 units. 360 of those units will be affordable, rent-controlled housing provided to the current Trinity Plaza tenants to replace their old units. In addition, twelve percent of the remaining units will also be affordable. The new Trinity Plaza will also include 51,883 net square feet of retail uses at street level, as well as 63,000 square feet of usable open space."

"Following tomorrow’s hearing, the Planning Commission will schedule a date to take action on the EIR. Their approval likely represents the final step in ensuring Trinity Plaza will happen. Should this approval come, Trinity would arrive in the Mid-Market neighborhood as debate surrounding the area’s future continues. Some argue that Mid-Market should become a redevelopment area, claiming the neighborhood is blighted and has a bleak future without Redevelopment Agency help. Opponents point to projects like Trinity Plaza as proof that the neighborhood is already on the upswing, and a Redevelopment Agency would merely rob the city of funds and the Mid-Market community of the power it exercised when negotiating with Sangiacamo. "

City’s grocery stores grow increasingly rare

From the Examiner today (their redesigned online version, for the record, now SUCKS, and they have not responded to requests for explanation about why they turned into a tabloid with very little local news)...

Imagine having to walk a mile just to get bread, meat and vegetables under the same roof.

In a city like San Francisco, it may seem unlikely, but neighbors in areas as diverse as the Excelsior, Noe Valley and Haight-Ashbury are worried that the possible exit of Cala Foods and Bell Markets from The City may mean just that.

Two of the 10 Cala and Bell stores in San Francisco — which are owned by Ralphs Grocery Co. — have already shuttered their doors. The property owners of the lot that houses the Haight Cala recently applied for a demolition permit, and city officials say the remaining seven stores are also poised to close.

Representatives at Kroger Co. and its subsidiary, Ralphs, did not return calls seeking comment, but several city officials confirmed that the multibillion-dollar retailer has been considering closing its San Francisco stores for some time.

But city officials hope that Ralphs’ departure does not mean the end of neighborhood supermarkets. Ralphs does not own any of the properties Cala and Bell stores sit on, and most owners seem open to leasing the space to another grocery store.

Nobody in the Haight or Cole Valley will be sad to see the poorly-managed Cala go away, but if it is not replaced (as has been rumored for quite some time) by a Mollie Stone's or other small, local grocer, those nearby residents will need to head out to 12th/Lincoln to Andronico's, to Fulton/Masonic to Albertson's (which is not doing well, either), or to the Safeway on Church/Market.

More coverage of the Redevelopment approval at BVHP

Today's Chronicle has coverage of last night's meeting...

More than half of San Francisco's Bayview-Hunters Point will fall under the jurisdiction of the city's Redevelopment Agency under a proposal approved Tuesday evening that aims to clean up blight, create jobs and build affordable housing in the struggling community. The Redevelopment Agency commission unanimously backed the plan that turns more than 1,300 acres of the Bayview into a redevelopment area -- the largest redevelopment plan in San Francisco history.

Acknowledging the strained relationship between the city's black community and the agency, which in the 1960s bulldozed homes in the Western Addition and forced out many black families, commissioners said the goal of the Bayview plan is to keep residents living there, not somewhere else.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has final say on the matter and is set to vote on the issue sometime this spring. Mayor Gavin Newsom expressed his support for the plan in a letter Tuesday.

Despite hearing assurances that the plan forbids eminent domain on any building where people live, some residents still said they did not trust the agency.

Among those that don't trust the agency are Francisco Da Costa of Environmental Justice Advocacy. In a post titled 'Negro Removal a Reality', he writes "SFRA is not about jobs - it is about taking property and giving it to developers to built homes and facilities. In this case SFRA will build mostly Market Rate units and use Tax Increment to make millions of dollars."

He also wrote a long editorial prior to yesterday's meeting, "The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency (SFRA) has the worst track record when it comes to displacing homes, facilities and people. SFRA has been a failure at Mission Bay, screwed thousands over in the Western Addition and will now that SFRA has got its way in the Bayview Hunters Point."

I still do not have an position on this matter, but am happy to hear that they are not going to eliminate existing housing. That doesn't account for the locally-owned businesses in BVHP, however...

UPDATE: I would like to add two articles from BeyondChron today, who are strongly opposed to the redevelopment.

1. Bayview-Hunters Point Turns Out in Force Against Redevelopment by Casey Mills - "The San Francisco Redevelopment Commission voted last night to approve the transformation of 1,200 acres of Bayview-Hunters Point into a Redevelopment Area. The vote came in the face of massive turnout from Bayview/Hunters-Point residents and community activists at the meeting, many of which came out strongly against a Redevelopment Area. Speaking before the Commission’s hearing and at a press conference beforehand, a variety of speakers argued that the Redevelopment Agency has not changed since it played a central role in displacing the black Fillmore community in the 60s, and continues to work towards allowing private developers to profit off the displacement of low-income communities and communities of color like Bayview/Hunters-Point."

2. Land Speculators, Politically-Favored Developers Win Big if Redevelopment Agency Seizes Control of Bayview by Randy Shaw - "Yesterday, the San Francisco Redevelopment Commission decided to dramatically expand Redevelopment Agency control of Bayview-Hunters Point. Real estate developers, land speculators, property owners, favored nonprofit groups, and Mayor Newsom have the most to gain from expanding Redevelopment, while non-subsidized tenants, small business owners, seekers of affordable homeownership, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and taxpayers citywide have the most to lose. But much of the testimony at Tuesday’s hearing was about race, as African-American opponents of the Redevelopment takeover ask why their neighborhoods continue to be targeted for “urban removal.” Yesterday represented an all too familiar story."

Redevelopment Agency Commission sends thumbs-up recommendation to 'Supes on Bayview/Hunters Point

I listened to the Redevelopment Agency Commission on KPOO Radio today for much of the nearly four hours of live coverage. There was significant public input, as well as significant explanation of the plan.

The agenda from today's meeting can be found here.

After the public comment period, and despite many requests from residents of the Bayview/Hunters Point to leave their neighborhood alone, it seems evident that there is a majority sentiment to move forward on the redevelopment. As one of the commissioners said, "This plan is not perfect, but it is more perfect than any plan we've had before. And without a plan, the people perish."

I learned that this process has been going on for nine years now, and those involved from the community have made a significant contribution to the plan, and they currently support it. It seems to me, after listening to the broadcast today, that the fear comes from people that were not aware of the background of public involvement that has taken place (like myself, honestly).

I also understand that there are controls in place to prohibit certain aggregation of multiple plots of land, and that there are significant plans in place for affordable, low-income, and very-low-income housing.

In the end, the commissioners spoke and all were in favor of the project. They applauded the members of the community for speaking up (even if they felt that many were under-informed prior to today's meeting).

The vote to send this project (items (d) thru (h) on the agenda) up to the Board of Supervisors was unanimous among the commissioners. I do not have any information on when the 'Supes will be voting on this issue. I will be very curious to hear if, after tonight's meeting, the community is still against this project.

Now, it appears, the biggest consideration is how to spend the $190,000,000 that is going to be put into the community, and how to prepare the residents to properly utilize this opportunity.

As a related side note, Mary Rogers passed away last Friday. She was someone who was instrumental in the community when the Western Addition was redeveloped, and she was duly honored during today's SFRA meeting. There will be a memorial service for her on Saturday morning, March 11th at the church on Pierce & McAllister.

Bayview/Hunters Point Redevelopment Meeting Today

Just a little reminder that today is the day for the Redevelopment Agency's meeting on Bayview Hunter's Point.

The details:
Tuesday, March 7th at 4:00PM in City Hall, Room 416, "to consider the proposed Redevelopment Plan Amendment for the Hunters Point Redevelopment Project (the "Redevelopment Plan Amendment") and to consider all evidence and testimony for or against the approval of the proposed Redevelopment Plan Amendment"

There are also rallies planned prior to the meeting, at 3pm, on the steps of City Hall. SFBayView is holding "our own press conference and rally prior to the Redevelopment Commission voting the land grab up or down; speak out the way the great Dr. Carlton Goodlett would – the street is named after him."

There is also an editorial on SFBayView on the redevelopment. "It was “redevelopment” that caused a mass exodus of Black folks from the Fillmore. Residents were pushed out of their homes “in the name of urban renewal,” as the Chronicle says. Many ex-residents of what is now called the Western Addition moved here to Bayview Hunters Point, so the proposed redevelopment of BVHP is like a recurring nightmare."

Will your neighbor provide your next home equity loan?

From today's Chronicle, "Prosper.com is a kind of eBay for loans, an online marketplace where lenders bid to provide loans to borrowers. Like other Internet businesses that eliminate the middleman, its proposition is that everyone involved reaps the rewards of lower costs. Borrowers get better interest rates than they'd pay on credit cards or bank loans. Lenders earn more interest than they would from money-market funds or savings accounts."

When I first read this article, I just assumed it was another Lending Tree model where you put your loan scenario out there and lenders 'compete' for your business. But this is entirely different. This is person-to-person lending. If you have money to lend (up to $25,000), you can shop around for borrowers who are looking for a loan. If you want to borrow, you can post your request and people with money to lend will come to you, hypothetically at better interest rates than the banks are charging.

Besides using the Internet to democratize the loan process, Prosper offers a social networking twist, a bit like the Web site Friendster. Prospective borrowers can band together in groups to increase their appeal to lenders. Although each individual in a group is solely responsible for his or her loan, the idea is that a shame element would come into play, reducing defaults.

Potential borrowers must submit personal information and agree to have their credit rating checked by the Experian credit bureau and posted online, along with their debt-to-income ratio. As with credit card applications, people self-report their income, which is not checked. They put up profiles describing themselves, how much money they want to borrow ($25,000 is the maximum) and the maximum interest rate they're willing to pay. There's a bid period, typically from three days to two weeks, during which lenders can offer to fund chunks of the loan and propose what interest rate they'll accept. When the auction ends, the site combines the bids with the lowest interest rates into a single loan.

All loans must be repaid in three years. There is no penalty for early payment. Prosper handles all the transaction processing. It charges borrowers a one-time fee of 1 percent of their loan amount. Lenders pay 0.5 percent of their loan balance annually.

Monthly loan payments are transferred directly from borrowers' bank accounts to lenders' Prosper accounts. Loans are unsecured. That means that, unlike mortgages or home equity loans, there is no collateral backing them up. Borrowers who default face the same consequences as those who skip out on their credit cards. Their names are turned over to collection agencies and they are reported to the credit-rating bureaus.

In a quick-glance through some of the requests, the needs range from a few hundred to $25,000, and have many small bids from multiple lenders lined up to each provide a piece of the total. I imagine that people are testing the waters with their offer of a $250 portion of the loan, where if this venture fails (or the level of trust that has developed on eBay doesn't materialize), the lenders won't be out a huge sum of money.

As the article says, this model may be a savior for people with less-than-perfect credit that couldn't get reasonable rates from a bank. "There clearly is an opportunity to do AA and very high-quality lending at rates higher than what one might ordinarily receive. That isn't at the heart of what Prosper's marketplace will evolve into. It's that lower-quality set that offers an enormous opportunity to really bridge the gap between lenders and borrowers."

UPDATE: Check the comments below for a post from Megan at Zopa, the pioneer in the P2P lending category with some comparisons of the two services...

Charge to drive in downtown S.F. seems more viable

From today's Examiner, "The success in Stockholm of a program to charge drivers fees for heading into the highly congested heart of the city could bode well for a similar proposal in San Francisco, according to officials."

"Since being implemented on Jan. 6, downtown traffic in Sweden’s capital has plunged 25 percent and transit usage has increased by about 40,000 riders per day, dramatically decreasing rush-hour travel times, data released today shows."

"Traveling into the center of Stockholm between 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. during the week costs driver the equivalent of about $1 to $2 depending on the time of day. There is a maximum charge of $7 for those who make multiple trips, said Johan Westman, technical spokesman for IBM in Sweden. The company’s technology is behind the system. Fees are enforced using cameras to photograph license plates and electronic transponders that can electronically transfer funds from drivers’ bank account, Westman said."

I suppose since you won't be able to park your car downtown, it's only logical that the city would also charge those that dare to attempt to drive into the financial district... I guess they feel that not enough people are waiting for the already-crowded buses and MUNI cars...

Personally, I would love to see a public transportation system that would make this viable, but forcing people out of their cars in order to raise the funds to fix the root of the problem seems a little backwards to me.

More coverage of Bayview/Hunters Point Redevelopment

BeyondChron attended last week's EIR meeting and are reporting on some of the feedback that was given to the commission.

Before a packed house of predomimantly black residents of the Bayview-Hunters Point, the Planning and Revelopment Commissions, in a special meeting last night, voted to certify the Final Environmental Impact Report for "Redeveloping and Rezoning" the 1,361 acres of land that compromises that district, it's neighborhoods and community. While it is doubtful any minds were changed, many voices were heard.

There seemed little disagreement over the fact that certain isolated areas could use some cleaning up, but the prospect of widespread cleansing was a fear expressed by many. Despite assertions by some Board members that this was 'not the same' RDA that bulldozed and destroyed the Fillmore, it is difficult to imagine that was much consolation to the sceptics, especially when one considers the similar, but more subtle, gentrification and displacement that continues today in the Mission and other once 'affordable' neighborhoods. It raises the question as to what the value and purpose of an EIR is, if it doesn't report on the total impact on peoples environment and lives, including the historical, communal, spiritual and social effects; particularly with a project of this magnitude. Shouldn't it be about more than just parking, pollution and paychecks?

"The next engagement will be a Rally on Tuesday, March 7th at 3PM on the steps of our City Hall, prior to the RDA meeting in Room 416 when they are scheduled to vote on "reclassifying" Bayview/Hunters Point, potentially making all or part of these 1,361 acres subject to 'seizure by eminent domain'."

Two good Smart Money articles

Smart Money has a couple of good articles related to homeowners and tax benefits.

A Primer on Homeowner Tax Breaks - "Thinking about purchasing your first home? Then you're probably well aware of the potential tax breaks coming your way. In case you're not, let's review"

Points or No Points? - "When it comes to mortgage points, it pays to keep score. Be warned, though: It can get tricky. The term points has multiple meanings in the mortgage world."

Rent control, protected tenancies and the question of fairness

Carol Lloyd got more than a few letters after her column last week on protected tenants. This week she expands the topic a bit with feedback from some of her readers.

After speaking to nearly a dozen of my letter-writing critics, I discovered that most didn't fulfill my darkest stereotyped ideas of them: They weren't rich, Republican or unsympathetic to the plight of the poor. Aside from one reader who owned over a hundred units in Reno, all were small-property owners, who lived in or had lived in a flat in their small building. Most were in their 50s and 60s and had been Bay Area residents for a long time.

"Even when you adopt a child, your responsibility ends when the child is 18," argued landlady Ruth Wheeler. "The city is saying that by renting a unit, we have possibly 'adopted' this person for life, no matter how long that life is, and for better or for worse."

One former landlady, who asked to remain nameless, framed it more personally. "I'm an old lady, and so yes, I agree that old ladies should be protected. But who is going to protect me from my protected tenant?"

These landlords bring up good arguments against rent control... More than one person blames rent control for San Francisco's outrageous housing prices...

Newsom touts increase in planned housing units

From the Examiner, "Mayor Gavin Newsom said The City had approved the construction of 5,076 new homes — a large increase over the 2004 figure of 2,131. Newsom said one of the reason prices are astronomical in San Francisco is that The City has not kept pace with projections of how many new units it needs to build each year."

"Newsom attributed the increase to better leadership and beefed up staffing at the Planning Department, Department of Building Inspection and other city agencies. Newsom said The City should meet his administration’s goal of building 15,000 new housing units over the next five years. Newsom wants 33 percent of them to be affordable."

Updates on the Japantown Sale

Both the Examiner and Chronicle have updates on the Japantown sale, with the Examiner discussing one of the potential buyers, and the Chron reporting on Mirkarimi's bid to create a Special Use District.

From the Examiner, "The top contender to buy a handful of properties at the cultural and economic heart of Japantown is a non-Japanese, Beverly Hills-based mall and hotel developer. Representatives of 3D Investments LLC, which is owned by the Daneshgar family of Los Angeles, have been presented as the potential buyers of two hotels and two malls in meetings with city officials this week."

"3D Investments LLC owns a number of malls, hotels, condominiums and other properties around the country, including the Waianae and Waikoloa malls in Hawaii."

From the Chronicle, "San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi added a new weapon to the battle to save Japantown this week when he proposed legislation to classify the neighborhood as a special-use district. Prompting Mirkarimi's legislation is a fear that new owners may not maintain the area's cultural identity. Introduced Tuesday, the ordinance would require any changes in the property's use to be faithful to the neighborhood's cultural and historical integrity."

"Don Tamaki, an attorney representing Kintetsu, said the potential buyer "is willing to be contractually bound to keeping the Japanese theme and to holding the properties for a long term.""

Rincon Hill towers get permits after OK for seismic safety

From today's Chronicle, "The developer of what will be the tallest residential towers in the fast-growing Rincon Hill neighborhood South of Market near San Francisco's waterfront has obtained final permits to construct the two towers at One Rincon Hill."

"One Rincon Hill is a special building because of its height and how that will punctuate the City skyline," developer Michael Kriozere said in a written statement Monday. "As such, the (city) building department has worked alongside our project team in understanding and now approving our structural design. We have enjoyed working with the building department throughout this process."

"Although a panel of experts convened to advise the city had approved the project's engineering, city building inspectors wanted additional assurances that the towers could ride out a large quake without collapsing and also could remain habitable after the shaking stops. Inspectors said in December that they are confident the development meets state and city safety standards."

Advocates: $10M needed to keep families in city

From today's Examiner, "San Francisco nonprofit Coleman Advocates will release a report today entitled “San Francisco Families Struggle to Stay: Who’s Leaving, Why and What the City Can Do.” Noting research that shows The City needs 36,000 units of affordable family housing, the child advocacy group plans to argue for a $10 million budget agenda that will support solutions to the flight of working-class families."

They're going to be holding a press event today on the steps of City Hall from 1pm - 2pm to discuss this proposal.

UPDATE: There's more on this topic in Thursday's Examiner as well...