Danielle Lazier

San Francisco Bay Area Condo Prices in the Tanker? Not so Fast. The Devil is in the Details.

Or in the case of San Francisco condo prices, the angel is in the details. San Francisco condo values have held their values better than any other Bay Area county. See chart below.

In April, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that condos or “individually owned multi-unit complexes are suffering through a perfect storm of circumstances that have undermined values and left remaining homeowners to pick up the slack for defaulting neighbors.”

The article explains how distressed home sales in condo complexes (foreclosures, short sales, REOs) combined with tighter lending guidelines have made it nearly impossible for a would be home buyer to buy a condo without either an extremely large down payment or no loan at all (all cash purchase).

In other words, if there are too many renters vs owners or too many homeowners in default or an HOA balance sheet that isn’t so balanced, the major banks will not lend purchase loans (not to mention the major refinance problem).

A lack of financing for prospective condo buyers puts heavy downward pressure on condo prices.

But, of course, the devil is in the details. As we often point out in this San Francisco real estate blog, it is important to read the entire article and thoroughly analyze the statistics before freaking out. Yes, the value of a condo in the San Francisco Bay Area is significantly lower than in 2007 BUT not all counties have fared the same.

Take a look at this chart. In San Francisco, the price of a resale condo is down 14.5% 2010 vs. peak. Sonoma county condo values are down 53.9% over the same period.

Whether you are a current owner of a SF condo or a prospective condo buyer in San Francisco, you can take comfort.

The San Francisco real estate market is unique. People from all over the world want to live here. We are a small peninsula with very little land left to develop. And have you tried to tear down, remodel or renovate in this town?! We have limited listing inventory (supply) in good times and bad. That keeps us somewhat insulated from major market fluctuations. Again, I am not saying that we are immune. We have suffered during this Great Recession. (For gosh sake, I sell real estate for a living!) Times have been tough. And yet, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/09/BUHC1IRH7P.DTL&ao=2#ixzz1Lm6Hvs2Z

Tags: condo values, sfgate

Behind the Headlines: Foreclosures Spread Through Pricey San Francisco Areas

Today’s Chronicle reports a rise in foreclosure activity within San Francisco’s more expensive communities. “Bleeding” headline aside, it’s actually a good article BUT you gotta read the whole thing. If you only read the headline or first paragraph, you may miss the point and assume that the San Francisco real estate market is in worse distress that it is.

Indulge me this analogy.

Recently, my friend caught a nasty cold and cough. (You know that one that’s going around!) Three weeks and mountains of medicine later, she finally recovered. I caught a similar illness and was better in about a week.

I like to joke that I have a heartier constitution. (Must be the Texan in me!) It’s not that I’m immune to illness, it’s that when I do fall prey to a bug, I tend to get less sick and recover more quickly….

Kind of like the San Francisco real estate market. It’s not that we don’t have distressed property here because we do have short sales, REOs, and foreclosures in almost every neighborhood. Our SF housing market has undergone a correction averaging about a 18-20% home price decline from the peak. There’s no doubt about that.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: carolyn said, foreclosure, foreclosures, sfgate, short sale, short sales

Nest It, Locavore Style! Focus on local extends to home design for San Francisco Bay Area Homes

Provenance, purity. Sustainable, eco-friendly. San Francisco residential architecture and interior design brings it home. Personally, I think this is great. We have so many wonderful local artisans and designers. Why not make use of them when creating your dream whether that is building a new home or redecorating your living room?

For more on the local San Francisco home design movement and some helpful resources check out the recent SFGate article: Focus on local extends to home design.   Now, if only one of these fabulous designers would come decorate my little Victorian! Doesn’t everyone want to design the SFHotlist dream home?

Tags: architecture, home design, interior design, locavore, sfgate

Real Estate Market Outlook – The Devil’s in the Details but Good News for the San Francisco Real Estate Market

Last week, I heard Robert Kleinhenz, Deputy Chief Economist from the California Association of Realtors (CAR) give an Economic Forecast Update. He talked about how the media continues to cover “the California real estate market” when there is really no such thing. What is happening in the major cities and coastal regions is not the same as what is happening inland. As the 5th largest world economy, California is large and diverse. We have many economies and many real estate markets.

If you want to understand what is going on in your neighborhood, keep it local – very local. Become an extreme real estate locavore, if you will. And remember that the devil is in the details.

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Tags: case shiller, home prices, locavore, nytimes, sfgate

San Francisco Real Estate For Sale: Fared Best in ALL Bay Area!

Digging a little deeper into last Friday’s SFGate.com article entitled, “Home prices hint they’re nearing bottom,” I found a nice, fun fact about San Francisco Real Estate for sale.

“San Francisco continued to hold up best in March, with the median off 24.2%, at $626,500.” Sorry, Contra Costa County, you fared the worst with a 47.4% drop in home values to $215,000.

Sure, we may or may not have hit bottom. Sure, home values may or may not continue to decline. No one has that elusive crystal ball, neither you nor I.

Yet, there is strong evidence to suggest that communities like San Francisco will continue to hold their values better than neighboring counties. Why? Supply and demand is a major part of the equation and should not be underestimated.

Even though the “numbers may not make sense” from a traditional perspective, I, for one, am happy I own a home in San Francisco. The potential for appreciation here is just fundamentally greater than in areas that are not finite.

For example, where I’m from in Dallas, TX, there is a lot of land. All one needs is a new Walmart, Cineplex, and Chili’s and you’ve got a new mecca! When I was in high school, Plano,TX was really far away! Or so it seemed. Now, Plano is practically considered city center b/c the suburbs have moved so far past it…almost to Oklahoma! Seriously.

And yes, smartie-pants, I read that Economist article, “Shelter, or burden?” More on that later!

Tags: sfgate, supply and demand

What’s Happening in SF Real Estate? – Bottom’s Up!

Is a SF Real Estate market rebound in the works? Bottom’s up!

Heard on the street from both other SF real estate agents and home buyers:

• There are a lot more home buyers at the open houses.
• Multiple offers are back (especially in the lower price ranges) though oddly the offers are not always for more than the asking price.
• People are feeling better. Hello, social psychology 101!

Is the general malaise lifting? Are we coming out of this Buyer’s Market and headed for a rebound?

Remember, I have been telling you to act now and not wait for the masses to get the picture? This is a phenomenal moment in time for San Francisco home buyers. Don’t miss the moment, folks.

Even SFGate.com is talking about it. And, you know that once the mass media is talking about a market rebound, you better act quick. They report on what those of us on the ground, the real estate foot soldiers if you will, have known for weeks and months. Cheap money & cheaper home prices & mass fear mongering in the news === time to buy both real estate and stocks. Choose wisely. Be conservative but dream big. Be proactive.

So run, don’t walk to your mortgage broker. And then, yes, give me a call.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/16/BUH9173MFJ.DTL&type=realestate

Tags: Buyer's Market, Multiple Offers, sfgate