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Bay Area has six of the nation’s ten most expensive home markets

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 21:44:28 +0000

Bay Area has six of the nation’s ten most expensive home markets

PARSIPPANY, N.J.

November 28, 2012
5:43am

• The difference between Silicon Valley and the Central Valley

• “A product of ongoing high demand, projected population growth and the low inventory levels”

What’s the difference between living in Los Altos in Silicon Valley and Delhi in the Central Valley?

Just $1,583,834.

That’s the difference in the median prices of homes in the two cities that are just 112 miles apart, according to a new report Wednesday from Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, which is listing the media prices it has found in 2,500 markets.

Several of the nation’s most expensive real estate markets are in Northern California, it says. Google, Apple, Facebook and Stanford University are all located within 15 minutes of this year’s most expensive market, Los Altos, where the average listing price of a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home is $1,706,688.

“The success of many of our native tech companies has shined a spotlight on Silicon Valley and our real estate market in the San Francisco Bay Area,” says Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in the San Francisco Bay Area. “Listing prices in our market are a product of ongoing high demand, projected population growth and the low inventory levels of homes in what is one of the most desirable locations to live.”

Lowest median in the Central Valley is in Delhi in Stanislaus County where the money that fell off the table in Los Altos might buy a four-bedroom, two-bath home: $122,854.

In contrast, the most affordable market this year is Redford, Mich., where a similar home, four-bedrooms, two-bathrooms, is listed at $60,490 — a listing price difference of more than $1.6 million from Los Altos. In fact, says the report, 28 homes could be purchased in Redford for the price of a similar home in Los Altos.

Overall, the report found the average listing price of a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in the U.S. to be $292,152. Affordability remains strong in many markets across the country as 36 percent of the markets analyzed by the report had an average home listing price of less than $200,000 for four-bedroom, two-bathroom homes.

The five most expensive markets are all in California, with four in the San Francisco Bay Area. Los Altos tops the list, followed by Newport Beach ($1,658,000), Saratoga ($1,582,434), Menlo Park ($1,506,909) and Palo Alto ($1,495,364). But even with these high priced markets, California was not the most expensive state. The average listing price of a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in California ($431,625) is less than both Hawaii ($742,551) and Massachusetts ($489,063).

Article source: http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=22378

Catherine Kaufer Selected For "2012 San Francisco East Bay Select Real Estate …

Sat, 24 Nov 2012 09:24:44 +0000

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Catherine Kaufer of Danville, CA has been honored with a recognition by Diablo in its selection of “2012 San Francisco East Bay Select Real Estate Agents.”

DANVILLE, Calif., Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – Announcing a special recognition appearing in the October, 2012 issue of Diablo published by Diablo Publications. Catherine Kaufer was selected for the following honor:

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121113/DC12025)

“2012 San Francisco East Bay Select Real Estate Agents”

Catherine Kaufer commented on the recognition: “This is quite an honor for me. The fact that Diablo included me in its selection of “2012 San Francisco East Bay Select Real Estate Agents,” signals that my constant effort to deliver excellent work has paid off. It is gratifying to be recognized in this way.”

About Catherine Kaufer: a short profile by and about the honoree:

I have been a Real Estate Broker since 1998 in Northern California. After 14 years of being a Top Producing Real Estate Broker in the San Francisco Bay Area, in 2008, I noticed that traditional real estate was becoming ineffective and I needed to change with the market and re-evolve as a broker to provide creative ethical solutions for my clients. Being very sensitive and determined to help people resolve all different situations, I have invested myself in more comprehensive education and to be coached and associate myself with world renowned professionals. I am passionate about real estate.

Following the publication of Catherine Kaufer‘s selection for Diablo‘s 2012 San Francisco East Bay Select Real Estate Agents list, American Registry seconded the honor and added Catherine Kaufer to the “Registry of Business Excellence™”. An exclusive recognition plaque, shown here, has been designed to commemorate this honor.

For more information on Catherine Kaufer, located in Danville, CA please call 925-648-2262, or visit www.catherinekaufer.com.

This press release was written by American Registry, LLC with contributions from Catherine Kaufer on behalf of Catherine Kaufer and was distributed by PR Newswire, a subsidiary of UBM plc.

American Registry, LLC is an independent company that serves businesses and professionals such as Catherine Kaufer who have been recognized for excellence. American Registry offers news releases, plaques and The Registry™, an online listing of over 2 million significant business and professional recognitions. Search The Registry™ at http://www.americanregistry.com.

Contact Info:
Catherine Kaufer
Phone: 925-648-2262
Email Address: catherinekaufer@gmail.com

SOURCE American Registry

RELATED LINKS
http://www.americanregistry.com

Article source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/catherine-kaufer-selected-for-2012-san-francisco-east-bay-select-real-estate-agents-179166201.html

Catherine Kaufer Selected For "2012 San Francisco East Bay Select Real Estate …

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 14:39:59 +0000

DANVILLE, Calif., Nov. 13, 2012 — Catherine Kaufer of Danville, CA has been honored with a recognition by Diablo in its selection of “2012 San Francisco East Bay Select Real Estate Agents.”

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121113/DC12025)

“2012 San Francisco East Bay Select Real Estate Agents”

About Catherine Kaufer: a short profile by and about the honoree:

For more information on Catherine Kaufer, located in Danville, CA please call 925-648-2262, or visit www.catherinekaufer.com.

This press release was written by American Registry, LLC with contributions from Catherine Kaufer on behalf of Catherine Kaufer and was distributed by PR Newswire, a subsidiary of UBM plc.

Contact Info: Catherine Kaufer Phone: 925-648-2262 Email Address: catherinekaufer@gmail.com

SOURCE American Registry

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Article source: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/13/4982942/catherine-kaufer-selected-for.html

Hundreds attend Bay Area vigil in memory of Sikh temple shooting victims

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 00:51:43 +0000

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Hundreds attend San Jose Vigil

Mourners gather at Sikh Gurdwara San Jose on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012, for a candlelight vigil in memory of the six Sikhs killed Aug. 5 by a white supremacist in Wisconsin. (Erchi Zhang / SFGate)

Junaid Shaikh, president of the Northern California Islamic Council, attends the vigil with his family at Sikh Gurdwara San Jose. (Erchi Zhang / SFGate)

Pradeep Singh (left), of San Jose, attends the vigil with his cousin Jasmeet Singh (right). (Erchi Zhang / SFGate)

Bay Area residents gather in front of the Sikh Gurdwara temple during a candlelight vigil in memory of the six Sikhs killed Aug. 5 in Wisconsin. (Erchi Zhang / SFGate)

Gurpreet Singh, 5, of Sunnyvale, attends the candlelight vigil with his family. (Erchi Zhang / SFGate)

Various religious groups, including Muslims, Jews and Christians, gather at Sikh Gurdwara San Jose for a candlelight vigil in memory of the six victims fatally shot Aug. 5 in Wisconsin. (Erchi Zhang / SFGate)

Julie Celebi, who represents the First Unitarian Church of San Jose, says that, even though she is not a Sikh, she can understand the senselessness of the tragedy and show her support. (Erchi Zhang / SFGate)

People put candles around a fountain during a candlelight vigil at Sikh Gurdwara San Jose. (Erchi Zhang / SFGate)

Manjot Longia, 15, of San Jose, places candles around a fountain during a candlelight vigil at Sikh Gurdwara San Jose. (Erchi Zhang / SFGate)

Mohinder Singh Bajwa, the priest at Sikh Gurdwara San Jose, leads the crowd to pray for the victims of the Sikh temple shooting. (Erchi Zhang / SFGate)

Hundreds of people gathered at Sikh Gurdwara San Jose Wednesday night for an interfaith vigil to remember the six victims fatally shot Sunday in Wisconsin.

“We have had hate crimes against the Sikhs since 9/11,” said Sukhdev Singh Bainiwal, one of the directors of the Sikh Temple in San Jose, referring to the murder of a gas station owner in Arizona on Sept. 15, 2001. “But we never thought a big tragedy like this would hit the Sikh community,” Bainiwal said in an interview.

As one of the organizers of the vigil, Bainiwal said the message the Sikh community wants to deliver is that all Americans should “come together” and “get that hatred out of us.”

He estimated that more than a thousand people had come to the temple Wednesday night, partly because of the close tie between the Sikh communities in Wisconsin and San Jose. Two priests who died in the shooting had preached in San Jose in previous years.

In the crowd, many come from various religious groups other than Sikhs. Julie Celebi, who represents the First Unitarian Church of San Jose, said she had no idea there was such a large Sikh community in the Bay Area before attending the vigil. But she said that it’s “inspiring” to see so many people come together to show their support.

“Even though I’m not a Sikh,” Celebi said. “I can understand the senselessness of the tragedy and show my support for their loss, regardless of my faith background.”

At least two other cities in the Bay Area, Fremont and Hayward, held similar vigils Wednesday night, as part of a nationwide remembrance for the shooting.

Bainiwal admits that there is still a lot of work to do to educate Americans who the Sikh Americans are. Sikhs have been in California since the 19th century. They helped build California railroads, and many settled in Central Valley, Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

Now at a big price, “a lot of Americans do know who the Sikh community is,” Bainiwal said. “And hopefully the misconception that who the Sikhs are will be subdued.”

Article source: http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2012/08/09/hundreds-attend-bay-area-vigil-in-memory-of-sikh-temple-shooting-victims/

Kilroy Realty Corporation Acquires Value-Add Opportunities in Two West Coast …

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 17:15:29 +0000

LOS ANGELES, Jul 26, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
Kilroy Realty Corporation

/quotes/zigman/171049/quotes/nls/krc KRC
+1.05%

continued its successful pursuit
of value-add office building opportunities in strongly growing West
Coast commercial centers, acquiring a rare development site on Brannan
Street in San Francisco’s SOMA district and a Class A office tower in
greater Seattle’s prestigious Bellevue community.

KRC said the development site transaction, which closed last week,
represents a unique opportunity to build a state-of the-art office
property amid one of downtown San Francisco’s most popular technology
and media corridors at a total investment cost notably below recent
prices paid by other purchasers for similar assets.

In the Seattle transaction, which closed this week, the company said it
has purchased a premium quality, multi-tenant office tower, located in a
popular high-density submarket that is now experiencing strong demand
growth, at a price comfortably below replacement cost. KRC said it plans
to significantly enhance the property with a capital improvement and
modernization program that will support both property specific and
market-based rental rate growth.

Brannan Street Development Site Details. KRC paid
approximately $18.5 million for the 0.82-acre development site, located
at 329 Brannan Street in San Francisco’s SOMA district. The site is
zoned for approximately 5.0 FAR coverage and the company intends to
build a six-level office building designed to appeal to the area’s
growing community of technology and media companies. It is KRC’s second
ground-up development project in Northern California.

The new building will be LEED Gold certified. Its design will reflect
the dominant brick and timber character of the neighborhood, similar to
properties at 301 and 250 Brannan Street, which KRC also owns and which
are both 100% leased. The new building’s design will incorporate open
floor plates, concrete floors, large windows to capture natural light,
and multiple common areas–all features popular with the area’s creative
workforce.

KRC expects to complete entitlements for the development site by
year-end 2013 and complete the building in 2015. The company estimates
the total cost of the project, including land, will be approximately $80
million.

Seattle High-Rise Acquisition Details. KRC paid
approximately $186 million for the 417,000 square-foot, 24-story, Class
A office tower known as Skyline Tower located in Bellevue, Washington.
The purchase price includes the assumption of an in-place mortgage of
approximately $84 million. The loan bears interest at a rate of 6.37%
and matures on April 1, 2013.

Skyline Tower is a LEED Silver certified property featuring spectacular
views of the Cascade and Olympic Mountains and Mount Rainier, and sits
in close proximity to Bellevue’s affluent residential and retail
neighborhoods. The property, which is two blocks from KRC’s Key Center
office tower, is currently 92% leased to a diverse tenant base that
includes technology companies Expedia and Valve Corporation.

About Kilroy Realty Corporation. Kilroy Realty
Corporation, a member of the SP Small Cap 600 Index, is a real estate
investment trust active in premier office and industrial submarkets
along the West Coast. For over 60 years, the company has owned,
developed, acquired and managed real estate assets, consisting primarily
of Class A real estate properties in the coastal regions of Los Angeles,
Orange County, San Diego, greater Seattle and the San Francisco Bay
Area. At March 31, 2012, the company owned 11.8 million rentable square
feet of commercial office space and 3.4 million rentable square feet of
industrial space. More information is available at
http://www.kilroyrealty.com .

Forward Looking Statements. This press release contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are based
on our current expectations, beliefs and assumptions, and are not
guarantees of future performance, results or events. Forward-looking
statements are inherently subject to uncertainties, risks, changes in
circumstances, trends and factors that are difficult to predict, many of
which are outside of our control. Accordingly, actual performance,
results and events may vary materially from those indicated in
forward-looking statements, and you should not rely on forward-looking
statements as predictions of future performance, results or events.
Numerous factors could cause actual future performance, results and
events to differ materially from those indicated in forward-looking
statements, including, among others: risks associated with investment in
real estate assets, which are illiquid, and with trends in the real
estate industry; competitive market conditions; the ability to complete
potential acquisitions and dispositions on announced terms; the ability
to successfully operate acquired properties; the availability of cash
for debt service and exposure of risk of default under debt obligations;
government regulations that may affect development, redevelopment and
use of properties; and the ability to successfully complete development
and redevelopment projects on schedule and within budgeted amounts.
These factors are not exhaustive. For a discussion of additional risk
factors that could adversely affect our business and financial
performance, see the factors included under the caption “Risk Factors”
in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011,
quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, and
our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All
forward-looking statements are based on currently available information
and speak only as of the date on which they are made. We assumes no
obligation to update any forward-looking statement made in this press
release that becomes untrue because of subsequent events, new
information or otherwise, except to the extent it is required to do so
in connection with ongoing requirements under Federal securities laws.

SOURCE: Kilroy Realty Corporation


        Kilroy Realty Corporation
        Tyler H. Rose
        Executive Vice President
        and Chief Financial Officer
        310-481-8484
        or
        Michelle Ngo
        Vice President
        and Treasurer
        310-481-8581

/quotes/zigman/171049/quotes/nls/krc

Add to portfolio

KRC

Article source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kilroy-realty-corporation-acquires-value-add-opportunities-in-two-west-coast-tech-and-media-centers-2012-07-26

4 sentenced in $20M mortgage fraud scheme

Sun, 13 May 2012 09:02:41 +0000

DISCOVERY BAY, Calif.—Four people have been sentenced in a $20 million mortgage scheme that involved properties in Northern California.

Seventy-six-year-old Ronald Nelson and his wife, 53-year-old Edith Nelson, both of Discovery Bay, each received more than 30 months in federal prison on Thursday. The couple pleaded guilty to bank fraud and tax evasion earlier this year.

Two San Francisco Bay area real estate agents, 49-year-old Cristeta Lagarejos and 68-year-old Nelda Asuncion, also pleaded guilty in the case. Lagarejos received an 18-month sentence. Asuncion was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Prosecutors say the defendants obtained loans for more than 20 properties—many of them senior care facilities—using fake buyers and false employment and earnings information between 2002 and 2007.

The Nelsons were barred from operating senior homes. But prosecutors say they used the straw buyers to skirt that restriction.

Article source: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_20609868/4-sentenced-20m-mortgage-fraud-scheme

Home values drop in SF, other big metro areas

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 01:41:28 +0000

Click photo to enlarge

Real estate values in much of the Bay Area are continuing to fall, according to a report released Tuesday.

Home values in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area — which includes San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and San Mateo counties — dropped 1.9 percent in January from the month before and were down 1.7 percent year over year, according to the latest Standard Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price report.

San Francisco was one of 18 of 20 metro areas with year-over-year declines. The only areas with gains were San Diego, at 0.1 percent, and Washington, at 3.6 percent. Eight metro areas — Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Portland, Ore., Seattle and Tampa, Fla. — had year-over-year drops of 6.7 percent or more.

“Keeping with the trends set in late 2010, January brings us weakening home prices with no real hope in sight for the near future,” David M. Blitzer, chairman of SP’s index committee, said in the report.

Pointing to a potential “double dip” for the nation’s real estate market, 11 cities — Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Phoenix, Portland, Ore., Seattle and Tampa, Fla. — reached new lows from the market’s peak in 2006 and 2007.

“The housing market recession is not yet over, and none of the statistics are indicating any form of sustained recovery,” Blitzer noted. “At most, we have seen all statistics bounce along their troughs; at

worst, the feared double-dip recession may be materializing.”

Although San Jose is Northern California’s largest city, it’s not included in the Case-Shiller report because its metro area is not one of the nation’s 20 largest.

Earlier this month, however, DataQuick Information Systems reported that the median sale price for existing single-family homes in Santa Clara County was $495,000 in February, down 3 percent year over year.

The Case-Shiller indexes are designed to track the values of typical single-family homes in a region.

Contact Frank Russell at 408-920-5876. Follow him at Twitter.com/mercspike.

Article source: http://www.mercurynews.com/business-headlines/ci_17726918

Calif mom charged with trying to kill disabled son

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 20:37:36 +0000

UKIAH, Calif.—A Northern California woman has pleaded not guilty to charges that she tried to kill her bedridden son by setting the Willits house she was about to lose to foreclosure on fire.

Nancy Jo McGinty was arraigned in Mendocino County Superior Court Friday on charges of arson and attempted murder.

The 51-year-old real estate agent was arrested a week ago in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she moved with her 31-year-old son after the December blaze destroyed their home.

The son is paralyzed and brain injured from a Jeep crash six years ago. Neighbors rescued him after several propane tanks McGinty allegedly place in the dwelling exploded.

Authorities allege that McGinty, under the financial and emotional stress of caring for her son, originally had planned to kill himself, too.

———

Information from: The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, http://www.pressdemocrat.com

Article source: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_17596364