(Read More: US Home Sales Rise to Highest Level in More Than 3 Years)

First time home buyers are already dropping out of the market, representing just twenty-nine percent of home buyers in April, according to the NAR—the lowest in two years. Rising mortgage rates, now at their highest in two months, are playing a part, but there are also fewer low-end homes to buy. The number of homes in the foreclosure process is now down nearly twenty-five percent from a year ago, according to a new report from Lender Processing Services.

Just eighteen percent of home sales in April were of distressed properties, the lowest since the Realtors began tracking this number in 2008. Compare that to thirty-five percent about a year and a half ago. Sales of homes priced below $100,000 were down ten percent in April compared to a year ago, while every other price range saw sales gains. Those who can get credit are now competing for what little there is to buy, and pushing prices well beyond expectations.

(Read More: Mortgage Applications Sink as Interest Rates Jump)

“I don’t see it lasting,” added Fairweather. “I think the minute they increase interest rates, you’ll see people pull back.”

—By CNBC’s Diana Olick; Follow her on Twitter @Diana_Olick or on Facebook at facebook.com/DianaOlickCNBC

Questions? Comments? RealtyCheck@cnbc.com

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100758136

(Read More: The Million-Dollar Home Challenge)

Mid-Atlantic, a small Maryland builder with six communities, now has 10 percent of its backlog in spec homes, and they are not alone. The big public builders are heading back to spec as well.

“I think the biggest competitive advantage builders have right now is that they have product, and with existing inventory so low they need to take advantage of the fact that they actually have something to sell,” explained Megan McGrath, a home building analyst at MKM Partners. “When you’re starting to think about the first-time buyer coming back into the market, you may want to increase your spec inventory a little.”

(Read More: Housing “Stuck” Due to Short Supply)

Supplies of homes for sale are down across the nation. Inventory in March fell 17 percent from a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. Listings usually rise dramatically in the spring, but they have not kept pace with historical averages.

In its earnings release Monday Meritage Homes CEO Stephen J. Hilton noted, “Housing demand is greater than the supply of homes available for sale in many of the areas where we operate, causing home prices to increase.”

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100669083

April 22 (Bloomberg) — Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman discusses the madness in Bay Area real estate with Emily Chang on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg West.” (Source: Bloomberg)

The recent tech boom in the Bay Area has also meant a boom in the real estate market, with a mad dash to buy homes.

Bloomberg TV talks with Redfin CEO about the area’s real estate market.

Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/morning_call/2013/04/how-crazed-is-the-bay-areas-real.html

(Read More: Could Rentals Be the New Red Flags in Real Estate?)

Healthy housing market gains are historically driven by increasing employment and income, not by lack of supply; the latter leads to price bubbles. First-time home buyers, who generally account for 40 percent of the home-buying market or higher are still under-represented at just 30 percent, according to the Realtors. This is due to tighter credit conditions in the mortgage market and now decreasing affordability.

December’s disappointing drop in home sales, month-to-month is a clear warning for the housing recovery going forward. Rising home prices are not the sole measure of a healthy market. Supply and demand need to fall closer in line, and a robust economic recovery should be driving both home sales and prices.

(Read More: One Overlooked Fact About the Housing Recovery)

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100397644

Rents going up…and up! Data via ApartmentList.com

In terms of where to find the highest demand, Apartment List doesn’t have data on every city on the Peninsula, but reports that Mountain View jumped 45%, San Mateo jumped 54% and Sunnyvale jumped 40%.Over the last 12 months, the cities rank in this order (aggregate rise = 10%)

Clearly, the recent tech boom has a lot to do with this rent spike. The high salaries of this industry creates a competitive rental market, whereby landlords can ask higher rents. Tenants may end up offering even more than that rent, in order to stand out from the dozens of other people applying for an apartment.

John Kobs, CEO of Apartment List points out that another big factor is inventory of homes for sale. “For the past two years the available inventory of for sale homes in the Bay Area has been at an all-time low.” As a result, many people who want to buy are forced to become renters instead, unable to find a home for sale. And logically, “these people who are able to buy have higher income on average than renters, and are therefore able (and willing to) pay more rent. The supply side of for sale housing is a key driver in the increase in rents.”

Local Experiences

Many of us have friends looking for apartments now reporting back with horror stories– or maybe we have those horror stories ourselves: incredibly high rents, hundreds of people looking at available units, desperate applicants offering everything from home baked cookies to cold, hard cash to sweeten their chances. But can it all continue? Readers, is there any end in sight for rising rents in the Bay Area?

Anna Marie Erwert writes from both the renter and new buyer perspective, having (finally) achieved both statuses. She focuses on national real estate trends, specializing in the San Francisco Bay Area and Pacific Northwest. Follow Anna on Twitter: @AnnaMarieErwert.

Article source: http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2012/08/16/peninsula-rents-going-the-way-of-sf-and-manhattan/

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/47722580?__source=RSS*blog*&par=RSS

Mill Valley, CA (PRWEB) May 26, 2012

James Wavro of the San Francisco property management and leasing firm J.Wavro Associates was recently featured in a Wall Street Journal article that covered the lucrative San Francisco rental market, where he explains how competition is driving rental prices sky high.

In the article, Wavro suggests part of the reason the rental market is so competitive in San Francisco is that home prices are so high that rental rates are still much cheaper than mortgage payments. He also says traditional supply and demand economics are in play, as the current boom in the technology sector keeps adding hundreds to thousands of new workers to the Bay Area every year.

This comes as no surprise to people living in San Francisco, as many residents willingly pay the price to rent a property in such a technology-fueled, innovative city. “It’s a competitive market for a reason and the people who live here know they’re paying for a location and lifestyle that are unlike any other city,” explained Wavro.

Trulia’s Winter 2012 Rent vs. Buy Index that was released in March shows just how true this rings. Trulia looked at rental prices and prices of equivalent homes across 100 metro areas, and found that it’s still smarter to rent than buy in only two of those cities, Honolulu and San Francisco.

“We have a long way to go up in rents before we achieve parity with the cost of housing,” Wavro told the Wall Street Journal.

J.Wavro has over a decade of experience finding the best rental properties in San Francisco. The latest available apartments, town-homes and houses for rent in the area can be found at www.jwavro.com.

“It’s a battle for apartments around here, but we have the biggest selection of rental properties in the area and we’ve helped a ton of people get leases.”

For more information about San Francisco property rentals, available apartments for rent, or any of J.Wavro Associates services, call (415) 675-8804 or visit jwavro.com.

About J.Wavro Associates

J.Wavro Associates is a group of licensed real estate professionals specializing in rental property leasing and executive relocation in the San Francisco Bay Area. They specialize in helping to lease rental properties, and have an extensive corporate and private network that allows them to consistently attract suitable tenants. Their Bay Area executive relocation specialists offer rental assistance to people looking to move to the Bay Area or locals looking for a new home. The real estate professionals of J.Wavro Associates can provide a wealth of knowledge on a particular neighborhood or neighborhoods of interest to clients. They will also identify specific properties that fit the client’s exact needs and budget. As part of their executive relocation service, J.Wavro Associates will arrange appointments, provide property tours and assist in lease negotiations.

J.Wavro Associates employs more than 20 licensed real estate professionals who specialize in rental property leasing and executive relocation service in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their leasing services help property owners enjoy the profit from their rental investments without any of the hassle. Their relocation specialists save renters time and money by quickly finding the right apartment to fit their needs.

J.Wavro Associates serves the City of San Francisco and other Bay Area locations including the South Bay and Marin.

For more information about J.Wavro Associates, call them at (415) 675-8804 or visit them on the web at jwavro-sf.com.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebrental-properties/san-francisco/prweb9538626.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/05/26/prweb9538626.DTL

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/46748517?__source=RSS*blog*&par=RSS

The pharmaceutical industry is cutting back these days, but you would never know it from the construction underway by Pfizer Inc.

The drug maker broke ground Monday in the Boston area on a new 180,000 square-foot facility that will house researchers being moved from Groton, Conn. In the U.K. earlier this year, the company said it would mostly shutter its operation in Sandwich, the birthplace of Viagra, choosing instead to concentrate research at a new facility in Cambridge, England.

Pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer are increasingly concentrating research and development in a handful cities known as “bioscience clusters” that are …

Article source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204531404577054612465799788.html

The last time the spread between Bay Area median prices and Sacramento median prices grew so big was a decade ago, just before tens of thousands of Bay Area transplants arrived in Sacramento, turning a healthy housing market into a bona fide boom.

Since then, that wave of transplants has slowed to a drip, with barely more residents relocating from the Bay Area to Sacramento than heading in the other direction.

At Gay Realty Watch, we look for news to share with you about the gay real estate market – both lgbt real estate news and news specific to gay and lesbian real estate meccas.

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Article source: http://www.gayapolis.com/news/artdisplay-realestate.php?artid=11946