The report by the Irvine, Calif.-based firm shows the Santa Rosa-Petaluma Metropolitan Statistical Area as the 18^th most profitable market for those who buy, renovate and resell homes, part of a list of the 25 markets where the practice generated the highest rate of return in 2012.

Brian Burke

Yet Brian Burke, managing director of the Santa Rosa-based real estate private equity investment fund Praxis Capital, cautioned against labeling the area or any other as a hub for that activity.

“It’s very deal specific — it’s hard to generalize,” said Mr. Burke, whose company specializes in real estate investments that include flipping homes. “What that tells me is not that Santa Rosa is the best place to buy homes because you can buy at a deep discount. Houses in Santa Rosa have appreciated faster than homes in other areas.”

A “flipped” home in Santa Rosa generated an average gross profit of 19 percent, or $53,558, according to the report. There were an estimated 527 such sales over the year, with an average original purchase price for the home of $285,344. The number of single family homes involved in the practice had increased 47 percent from the year before.

The city was the least profitable of other Bay Area markets that made it to the list. Flipped homes in San Francisco and San Jose generated an average return of 23 percent.

The most profitable market on the list was Orlando, Fla., where a home purchased at an average price of $103,701 generated an average profit of 63 percent upon resale, according to RealtyTrac.

Climbing home prices have attracted an array of investors in the current market, with “flipping” being among those practices. RealtyTrac estimated the sales that involved a flip by counting transactions that occurred within six months or less of a previous sale of the same home. The firm looked at 600 metro areas for the report.

The practice has changed from the days when buyers could purchase a distressed property at a deep discount and sell at a profit after basic renovations, Mr. Burke said. While investors were able to put between $10,000 and $30,000 into a property for a profitable sale while the market was at its low, those activities now entail from $30,000 up to as much as $250,000, he said.

“Now the business has shifted to looking for properties that may need another bedroom, or even a full rebuild of a home,” he said. “It’s basically the homebuilding of this decade. It used to be you buy a property and build 20 homes on it — that was real estate development.”

Investors, which account for the majority of absentee buyers, purchased 24.2 percent of all homes across the Bay Area in April, according to San Diego-based real estate data tracker DataQuick. That number was up from 23.5 percent in April 2012, with investors paying a median of $362,000 across the Bay Area region.

With multiple private placement funds involving single-family homes, “flipped” homes and multifamily properties in Texas, Praxis has grown to $25 million under management in four years, Mr. Burke said. Those funds have generated an average 20 percent annualized return for investors, but it is the stability of the funds that has proven attractive in a volatile investment climate, he said.

Median home prices in Sonoma County were up 23.5 percent in April versus the same month in 2012, at $376,000, according to DataQuick. The number of sales, 611, was also up 15.3 percent, while the number of sales Bay Area-wide notched down 0.6 percent.

Median prices continued to climb outside of Sonoma County as well, with approximately half of that due to price appreciation and half due to a greater number of higher-priced homes in the sales mix, according to DataQuick. Distressed sales are also on the decline, accounting for 24 percent of sales versus 44 percent across the Bay Area one year ago.

In Marin County, a median price of $799,000 was 29.3 percent greater than one year ago, with 345 homes sales representing an 18.2 percent increase. Napa County saw an April median of $385,000, up 21.3 percent, and a 13.3 percent increase in homes sales, at 136. There were 1.3 percent more homes sold in Solano County, at 564, and the median price of $238,000 was up 36 percent from April 2012.

Bay Area-wide, median prices rose above $500,000 for the first time since almost five years. Prices first passed that threshold in May of 2004, and continued rising for four years before dropping below $500,000 in June 2008. Median prices for homes sold across the Bay Area reached a low of $290,000 in March 2009.

Bill Facendini

With fewer distressed properties in the mix, larger investors are now looking towards higher-end homes and income properties, said Bill Facendini, president of Terra Firm Global Partners. More of their investor clients are holding on to their current properties, particularly those that are generating rental income, he said.

Meanwhile, the period of flipping distressed properties has left a positive mark on many neighborhoods, he said.

“It has been good for communities. I’ve seen some communities that had started to slide, but then these people come in and refresh some of these distressed homes. People are having pride of ownership again,” he said.

Article source: http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/73472/santa-rosa-ranked-one-of-most-profitable-flip-markets/

A real estate agent tours a home for sale during an open house in San Francisco. According to real esate agents, in the current market environment, not having inside knowledge will prevent people from getting the house they desire. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Century 21 Realty Alliance president and broker Orhan Tolu shares what he knows to help buyers and sellers navigate the Bay Area’s strong and growing real estate market. The company had the biggest market share growth last year—357 percent—in the entire state of California when Century 21 Realty Alliance made its move into San Francisco, completing 850 transactions in their first year, with roughly 11 agents.

The Commercial Window

“This is the year to buy,” says Tolu.

If you have the capital, commercial properties are what you want to invest in, especially in San Francisco, Tolu says. In the current economy, it costs twice as much if you want to build a new building than what you can buy one for, and commercial property values are still comparatively low compared to housing. You might be able to buy a building for $200 per square foot, but it would cost about $400 per square foot to build that building today—and land is getting increasingly scarce.

“);

“Commercial is always the last sector in the real estate market to fall, and is the last one to pick up,” says Tolu, who has 15 years of experience in selling commercial real estate. “So it always happens in that cycle.”

“Right now there’s still a lot of vacancy in office space, there’s a lot of vacancy in retail,” Tolu said. “Commercial went up, rent went up, and there is a shortage of listings in apartments, too. But it’s not as bad as houses.”

“On the office or retail sector, I think it’s going to take another two years for the market to fully heal and become as good as residential in the state,” Tolu said.

In the next four to five years, Silicon Valley’s expansion will continue, and the real estate market is just growing. Analysts say the market has still not returned to normal levels, making this a good time to jump on a property if one is looking to invest.

“Real estate is maybe going to appreciate 30 to 40 percent in the next two years,” Tolu said, compared to banks or investment in stocks. “So if you add the appreciation plus net income return, it’s going to be more than 20 percent increase in a five-year time period, so there’s nothing better than a commercial real estate investment in the world, nothing better.”

Compared to other real estate sectors, “maybe you pay a little bit too much compared to the other areas, your net cap is less, but your appreciation is always much, much higher,” Tolu said.

Overseas investors may not be familiar with the market or the nuances of the way sales are made in each city. With the purchases of commercial property, there’s a big difference from housing, Tolu says. With residential real estate, buyers can look in newspapers, magazines, or search online, but commercial listings are less frequent.

Tolu says that in Silicon Valley, there are about 15 realtors who specialize in commercial real estate, and 50 to 60 in the Bay Area. In most transactions, the realtors can just make a few calls among themselves and sell the property without listing it on the market. If you want to invest in commercial real estate, be sure to find a local professional commercial real estate agent, he suggests.

International Buyers

Foreign buyers will be at a disadvantage if they search overseas. It’s necessary to be in the United States in order to even start the search, go to showings, and buy a house with the limited time buyers have to bid on properties. For international buyers, working with a company that has a large global network can greatly help facilitate the process and improve your chances of getting that house.

Just recently, Tolu said, a Century 21 real estate broker from London gave him a call—two people from London wanted to purchase a property in San Jose.

“She already did the search for me, she already did everything for me,” Tolu said. “All I have to do is send one agent to go show [the property], to take care of them.”

Many buyers in the Bay Area may be looking for something that requires specialized knowledge—condominiums, for example, are different from houses, and it’s best to choose an agent with that specialization. Properties are often sold within a week of listing, and some buyers get hasty after not being able to get a property after a certain amount of time, leading to bad decisions.

Use a Better Network

It’s crucial to have the most updated information while doing your search—lest you start to prepare to bid for a property that’s already sold. There are many popular online listing sites, like Trulia, but how up to date are they?

Listing information is released within 24 hours on Century 21’s website, Tolu says, but many other real estate sites take their listings from Century 21’s listing generator, and often aren’t updated until 72 hours after it’s available. There are even houses that are sold the next day, which the agents would know, but websites might not show.

Experience Is Key

In the current market environment, not having inside knowledge will prevent you from getting that house. Many buyers lose three or four properties before they start looking for help.

“[There’s] a huge shortage of listings. I’ve never seen a shortage like this in the last 50 years,” Tolu said. “And if you look at the data, the listing comes in today, and tomorrow it’s gone already.”

Sellers barely need to advertise, Tolu says. “You just put it in the Internet and somebody will buy it with a high price anyway. Why spend money for advertisement?”

A good broker will know the ins and outs of the neighborhoods you’re interested in, and be able to help you navigate the market, where prices are rising daily. “Rely on your broker, because your broker and your agent have much more updated information than the Internet.”

Pricing isn’t a sure thing in this market, and buyers who caution to bid 10 percent above asking price might end up with a house only months later, when asking prices too have gone up 20 percent, according to Tolu.

“If a house comes along and you don’t get the right advice, you’re going to lose that house anyway,” Tolu said. “Each time you lose, the price is going to keep going up and up. Rather than waiting six months and having the price go up, work with an experienced agent and you’ll buy it at your first look.”

Expand Your Options

Most buyers make the mistake of starting with an area they like and then look at what houses are there, Tolu said. It’s a common mistake.

If you only consider buying a house in a particular neighborhood or city, your choices are very limited, and if there are no listings, you’re stuck. Broaden your search to nearby areas, Tolu suggests, and look at their school districts as well. Then work with an experienced agent and bid right the first time.

School Districts

If you delay or don’t get the right information and haven’t gotten the house in the school district you want come September, it might affect your children’s education.

“If you do it at the right time, then your kids will go to the better schools—good schools,” Tolu said. “Otherwise in September when the schools open, if you still don’t have a property, you don’t have a good location or a good school for your kids.”

If you buy a house in a better school district, you won’t have to spend money on private schools, which can be at least $20,000 to $30,000, and very time-consuming to drive to and from, Tolu said.

Additional reporting by David Zhang

The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 21 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.

Article source: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/business/navigating-the-bay-area-real-estate-market-370116.html

The uneven recovery of the Bay Area real estate market over the past year has created opportunities for real estate owners to challenge their property tax assessments. Areas that have experienced the strongest growth, as well as markets in which the recovery is lagging, may be ripe for challenges to property tax assessments.

Pregnant propositions

Under California’s Proposition 13, property taxes are based on the purchase price paid for a property or on the cost of constructing the property. Thereafter, Proposition 13 caps value increases (and property tax increases) at 2 percent annually.

When property values decline, Proposition 8, the bookend to Proposition 13, requires county assessors to reduce taxable property values below Proposition 13 value caps to reflect current market conditions. As real estate values recover following a downturn, assessors restore taxable values back to Proposition 13 levels.

Over the past year or so, core Bay Area markets (primarily San Francisco and the Silicon Valley) have experienced strong growth in market rents and declines in capitalization rates, particularly as compared to other Bay Area real estate markets. Because of the brisk recovery in core markets, county assessors have aggressively moved to restore 2012 values, determined as of Jan. 1, 2012, back to Proposition 13 levels. Such value restorations can bring major increases in assessments and taxes.

Assessors exercise value judgment

In order to restore property values to Proposition 13 levels, California requires county assessors to evaluate market sales and rental information. In so doing, assessors consider ranges of information on sales and rentals, and exercise their judgment as to whether values should fall in the top, middle or bottom of a range.

While assessors generally determine values for residential properties using computerized mass appraisal techniques, commercial properties tend to be more complex and require individual attention by assessor staff.

This year, the assessors in San Francisco and Santa Clara County have restored property values and assessments to levels at or near Proposition 13 amounts, which, in some cases, has dramatically increased tax bills as compared to 2011. In doing so, assessors may have justified assessments using more recent rental rates or cap rates, rather than using average rates during the 12 months prior to Jan. 1, which tends to accelerate value increases.

In 2012, most Bay Area counties announced increases in their property tax rolls.

The 2012 roll increases are due, at least in part, to increasing sales and leasing activity, which tend to be reflected in higher property tax values and assessments. However, these increases also reflect Proposition 13 value restorations described previously, and highlight those counties which merit increased consideration as far as whether to review and appeal property tax assessments.

Property tax appeal opportunities

The current situation presents several types of property tax appeal opportunities. First, for properties in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, it is possible that assessors have been overly aggressive in restoring values to Proposition 13 levels. Taxpayers should request backup information supporting full or partial restoration of Proposition 13 levels and if the assumptions appear excessive, file an appeal.

This same advice goes for properties in secondary and tertiary markets, particularly where there have been Proposition 13 value restorations. Properties in these markets should also be reviewed, however, to determine whether they have participated in the economic recovery that San Francisco and the Silicon Valley have experienced. Economic recovery among Bay Area counties has been uneven, and hasn’t benefited every city within a county consistently.

In San Mateo County, for example, property values in Atherton have increased significantly, but values in East Palo Alto have continued to decline. Similarly, in Contra Costa County, values in five cities increased while in the county’s remaining 14 cities values generally declined.

Finally, property owners should not assume that a “no change” assessment or that a lower assessment by the local assessor is correct. Values in some areas declined during 2011, which means that market values as of Jan. 1, 2012 may be lower than 2011 values, and should not reflect value increases that have occurred during the first nine months of 2012.

Cris K. O’Neall specializes in property and local tax matters as a partner in the law firm of Cahill, Davis O’Neall LLP, the California member of American Property Tax Counsel, the national affiliation of property tax attorneys.

Article source: http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/bay-area-homeowners-appeal-tax-assessments-59956.aspx

San Ramon, CA (PRWEB) October 01, 2012

While most real estate markets in the United States remain a buyer’s market, this is untrue for San Francisco bay area. Homes are in high demand and sellers are receiving multiple offers in very short time frames.

When real estate markets are this active, home buyers need to be able to have reliable sources for the most current market conditions. Being first to properties coming on the market can sometimes be a huge advantage for a buyer. Buyers are frustrated when they review listings and become excited about a property only to learn that the information is out-of-date and the home has been sold. Buyers searching for homes in the San Francisco suburb of San Ramon can find current information by visiting Ehomesurf.com. Their data base is updated daily and they also email you when homes within your criteria come on the market.

Mona Koussa, the owner of Ehomesurf.com said, “Home buyers need to act quickly to be able to purchase the home they like the best. Today we are expiring record Low inventory of homes for sale in the San Francisco Bay Area. As of today, there are only 30 single family homes for sale in San Ramon, Ca, while the median sold price is $634,000 which is up 5% from last year. At the same time, we are experiencing multiple offers situation with most listings.”

Since Ehomesurf.com is a member of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), data is updated within 24 hours of receipt. This insures that interested buyers always have the latest available data concerning. Koussa urges buyers to be prepared to act quickly when seeking to buy in San Ramon.

Says Koussa, “Buyers need to have a “Green File” ready. This file has all your important financial documents including:

• Financial statements
• Bank accounts
• Investments
• Credit card
• Auto loans
• Recent pay stubs
• Tax returns for two years

“Check your credit rating. Your credit score will have a huge impact on what type of home you can buy, and at what price. Anything above 620 is considered good.

“Be Careful With Your Finances. Now is not a good time to make sudden career changes or large purchases. You want to approach home buying from a position of financial stability.”

Buyers who have the best information and are prepared to finance quickly are in the best position to purchase a home in San Ramon. Frequently check Ehomesurf.com for the latest information on San Francisco Bay Area homes for sale.

Ehomesurf.com is owned and operated by Mona Koussa, who is a realtor specializing in the East Bay in Northern California. A seasoned, expert realtor — with over 13 years proven experience in successful transactions and over $270 million in closed sales. In addition to her years of experience in the real estate field Mona Koussa is a: Certified Short Sale Agent, Certified Foreclosure Agent and a Certified Home Retention Consultant.

Prudential California Realty

DRE Liscence: 01260089

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/10/prweb9847308.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/Ehomesurf-com-Releases-New-Figures-that-Show-San-3910476.php

“We were outbid quite a few times,” said Sury Balasubramanian. “They were all-cash deals with no contingencies, way over our budget.”

They decided to get aggressive.

“We realized that our budget of $600,000 would not cut the mustard,” he said. They found a three-bedroom Sunnyvale townhome listed at $649,000 and beat out 14 other buyers with a $725,000 bid.

Their experience is the story of the day in the Bay Area real estate market, especially in the tech-fueled swath from San Francisco to San Jose.

Buyers are battling over tight inventory, with for-sale homes in such short supply that they sell up to twice as fast as a year ago and draw multiple offers. In many areas, asking prices and sale prices are up significantly from this time last year.

The combination signals a shift to stability for the once-plummeting housing sector, experts say.

“The market has clearly turned,” said Christopher Thornberg, principal at Beacon Economics. “The question is: How high a bounce? Will it be a basketball or a bowling ball? The answer is more on the bowling ball end. While things have clearly (improved), it’s not like the problems are finished.”

Price per square foot

Asking price per square foot – a metric that captures the most current market snapshot while controlling for a change in the mix of properties being sold – rose in 105 out of 239 Bay Area ZIP codes analyzed in April compared with a year ago, with many of those areas in the South Bay and Peninsula, according to real estate information service Zillow. (Data were not available for some ZIPs.)

“There is more growth in listing prices in that area than elsewhere in the Bay Area,” said Stan Humphries, Zillow chief economist. “A desire to live close to the major technology companies is definitely helping those markets.”

Zillow shows that properties in towns such as Palo Alto, Los Altos, Mountain View, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, San Jose and Santa Clara are selling at above asking price.

Realtors specializing in Silicon Valley said the change is tangible.

“Over the past year, we have seen the market start to accelerate,” said Eric Boyenga of Intero Real Estate in Cupertino. “We could feel that job growth was happening when we started getting relocation calls almost every day.”

That revved up even more this year, said his wife, Janelle Boyenga, also with Intero.

“The light switch went on in mid-January, when (tech workers) realized, ‘Omigosh, Nasdaq stock prices are going up, the economy is doing well – we’d better jump into the housing market.’ We’re seeing hundreds of people going through open houses on the weekends; they’re like rock concerts.”

Asking prices are also up farther afield in suburbs both pricey (Corte Madera, San Anselmo, Moraga) and modest (Concord, Discovery Bay), according to Zillow.

“We’re seeing growth that’s organic, not stimulated” by government home-buyer tax credits, Humphries said. “We expect a lot more to spread throughout the San Francisco metro area, which will help stabilize prices.”

Inventory is the other “real-time” real estate metric – lower inventory signals a recovering market. It is down significantly in every Bay Area county this year as demand outpaces supply. Some have fewer than half as many houses for sale as a year ago, according to multiple listing service data provided by Realtor.com.

Besides a surge in demand, there are several factors on the sellers’ side. Many homeowners are staying put, waiting to put their houses on the market until they’re sure that prices are on an upswing. Many others are underwater, so they cannot sell without taking a loss. At the same time, the pace of foreclosures has slowed in response to government programs.

Quicker sales

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/06/02/MNJ11OMMVC.DTL

A few weeks ago the National Association of Home Builders put out a report asserting that new lower loan limits going into effect in October at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) “will reduce housing demand and place downward pressure on home prices in major housing markets.”

On the blog that day, I wrote that the games were only beginning.

Now another report, this time from researchers at George Washington University, is suggesting just the opposite, that lower loan limits may raise cost for a very few borrowers, but overall will not affect most mortgage shoppers.

The report focuses on the FHA, claiming, “The FHA still could serve 95 percent of its historic targeted market even if the maximum FHA loan limit were reduced by nearly 50 percent.” Its market share right now (30 percent) far exceeds its target population.

“FHA’s expansion played a major role in keeping the housing market afloat during the economic collapse of 2008 and 2009,” said Robert Van Order, co-author of the report. “However, we now are left with large loan limits that were set when home prices at the top of the bubble. They don’t reflect current market conditions and are unlikely to assist the FHA in reaching its historical constituencies – first time, minority and low income homebuyers.”

Page 1 of 3 | Next Page
Show Entire Article

Hedge Fund Giants Are Coming Up Small This Year

Wednesday Look Ahead: Why the Services Data is Unlikely to Boost Stocks

WTO Rules China Curbs on Raw Material Exports Illegal

Oil Prices Climb Back to Pre-Reserve Release Levels

Fearing Bailout, Moody’s Downgrades Portugal to Junk

More Top Stories

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/43643094?__source=RSS*blog*&par=RSS

Leading Forest Hill, San Francisco Realtor Cece Doricko reports seeing signs of a turnaround in the city’s luxury home market. More information on current market trends and available properties in Forest Hill, St. Francis Wood, and other premier neighborhoods can be found in Doricko’s newly launched website.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) June 09, 2011

San Francisco’s luxury home market is showing signs of a turnaround, according to prominent Bay Area Realtor Cece Doricko, who specializes in Forest Hill, Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow and St. Francis Wood, CA real estate. Citing figures from Coldwell Banker’s latest San Francisco Luxury Market Report, Doricko reports a 13.6 percent increase in the number of home sales in the first quarter of 2011 as compared to that of the same period last year.

“Buyers of Pacific Heights luxury real estate and other luxury properties in San Francisco are starting to make their presence felt once again,” says Doricko, “and it’s not surprising why. Homes in these kinds of neighborhoods have always been sought-after and now there are quite a few that are priced lower than they have been for some time. It’s no wonder, then, that buyers who have the means are not letting these opportunities pass them by.”

On a year-over-year basis, the median sale price of San Francisco luxury real estate went down by 4.3 percent in the first quarter though it shows an increase of 3.9 percent when compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. “You won’t be seeing any dramatic price dips in these neighborhoods,” says leading Forest Hill, San Francisco Realtor Doricko. “Properties in areas like Forest Hill and Pacific Heights have always been at a premium, so whatever price declines you’re seeing now are likely to be it, especially since luxury home sales are already trending upwards.”    

Doricko, whose area of expertise includes Cow Hollow, San Francisco luxury homes and properties in Lower Marin County, recently launched a new real estate website, CeceDoricko.com, in anticipation of the market’s eventual recovery. “When people start buying homes again, they are going to need all the relevant and up-to-date information that they can get and this is what I aim to provide via this website.”

To begin exploring the San Francisco luxury home market and to learn more about Doricko’s real estate services, visit her new site, CeceDoricko.com.

###

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebSanFranciscoRealtor/CeceDoricko/prweb8529269.htm

Join Benzinga.com at The Traders Expo Dallas, June 15-18, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion, where you can meet with renowned trading experts. Register now and prepare for four days that will get you on track for a profitable future! register FREE today!

Article source: http://www.benzinga.com/press-releases/11/06/p1151874/signs-of-a-turnaround-in-san-franciscos-luxury-real-estate-market