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Is the Rise in SF Bay Area Home Prices a Sign of a Healthy Real Estate Market? – Virtual

Wed, 19 Mar 2014 03:10:02 +0000

San Francisco has seen a record increase in home prices in recent times. ACL Real Estate and Property Management analyze whether this growth is a sign of a healthy real estate market by reviewing the recently released report by The Demand Institute.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) March 18, 2014

Analyzing the recent report published by The Demand Institute, leading real estate and property management firm ACL Real Estate and Property Management says that San Francisco is unlikely to continue to witness the double digit housing price growth it experienced in 2013.

According to their report, A Tale of 2000 Cities, published by The Demand Institute in February 2014, home prices are likely to increase by an average of 2.1% per year during 2015-2018. However, this figure does not fully reflect the huge pricing differences the nation is likely to see across region. Here is how the report sees prices across states by 2018.

The report also demonstrates the disparity between home prices and the median income, with rents in San Francisco as high as thrice the national average. The Case-Schiller House Price Index for June 2013 had put the price rise in San Francisco at 47%, the highest among all the metropolitan areas studied. This increase, The Demand Institute’s report says was “largely driven by investors buying up swaths of distressed homes to meet growing rental demand.” At the same time, the report forecasts an annual growth rate of 2.1% for single-family homes during 2015-2018, given the expectations of better equilibrium between demand and supply.

“Rising housing prices is not always an indicator of a healthy market because health is more a function of whether people can afford homes at those prices in the long term,” says a spokesperson from ACL Real Estate and Property Management. According to the report published by The Demand Institute, 41% of households faced a moderate-to-severe housing cost burden in 2013 (with 25% carrying moderate burden and another 16% carrying severe burden). The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies defines a moderate cost burden as “the need to allocate 30 to 50 percent of pretax household income to essential housing expenses: mortgage principal and interest payment, rent, insurance, taxes, and utilities,” while a severe burden occurs when this figure rises to 50 percent.

The situation is scarcely better for renters. Following the 2007-2008 recession, more and more homeowners have turned into renters, leading to rising demand for rental accommodation. According to The Demand Institute’s study, 31% of tenants in the United States are today spending about 30%-40% of their pre-tax income on housing, with one in every four spending more than 50%. So, is the San Francisco residential market really healthy?

About ACL Real Estate and Property Management: With wide experience and a proven track record in quality service and reliability, ACL Real Estate and Property Management has carved a niche for itself for its real estate and property management services in the East Bay and Peninsula areas. The company has a successful track record of assisting home owners in both selling and buying any type of property. The company also offers comprehensive property management services that ease the process of selecting tenants, maintaining the home and ensuring timely rent collection for homeowners.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/03/prweb11678686.htm

Article source: http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2014/03/18/rise-sf-bay-area-home-prices-sign-healthy-real-estate-market

America’s Cup sends rentals into the stratosphere

Fri, 12 Jul 2013 08:52:36 +0000

Would you pay $18K a month to rent this place, because it has a view of the Bay and thus the race action?

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The home, perched atop Clarendon Heights, is one of many being marketed as a temporary rental specifically suited for fans of America’s Cup, and is actually the least expensive example we’ll offer today. Per its write up through Trulia, this is a 3 bed, 2 bath, “available June 15th through August 15th.” For the weekly rental price of $5,000, up to 12 people could share the home, which includes “sweeping views of the Ocean, Golden Gate Bridge, North and East Bay” plus two-car garage, patio, and utility costs (as long as they don’t exceed $250 a month, which if 12 people actually stay there, is possible).

$18K a month is a bargain, going by this next example:

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A relatively unremarkable loft-style condo of 2 beds, 2 baths, this 2,300 square foot unit is advertised as follows: “Available July-Sept 2013. Sleeping 6 comfortably, look no further for a conveniently located place to stay for the upcoming America’s Cup races.” The views aren’t featured (we can’t tell if there is one) but the fact that it’s walkable to the Embarcadero is. For that, you’ll pay $25K a month (that includes utilities and cable, plus one car parking).

Moving still higher on the monthly rent, we land at this home somewhere on Francisco Street with a view of the action from its roof deck.

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With 6 beds and 4.5 baths and a Marina District address, this condo asks $30K a month. Advertising on Trulia promises: “the master suite features a private deck, and there is a rooftop deck with extensive views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz… and full view of the Americas Cup Events this summer.”

Is America’s Cup fever really this hot?

Can homes close to, or with a view of, the fabled race really command prices like these? The comments await.

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/2013/07/11/americas-cup-sends-rentals-into-the-stratosphere/

Top cities to buy bargain fixer-uppers don’t include San Francisco

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 19:09:48 +0000

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San Francisco doesn’t offer the best area for people hoping to buy bargain fixer-upper homes, probably because even fixers sell for a fortune in the Bay Area, and not many properties end up foreclosed or otherwise abandoned to decay much anyway, given the value of property in general. So, even among our few homes for sale needing “TLC,” we don’t find many “bargains.” The properties above show that.

Among the currently MLS listed homes for sale in San Francisco proper, only 16 came up under a parameter search for “fixer-upper,” and zero came up when the term “foreclosure” was also added. RealtyTrac maps SF’s pre-foreclosures (we’ve got 180 shown in purple below), bank owned (we have 185 marked in gold below), and for auction properties (we’ve got 41, marked in red below). This section of the map shows you a portion of the RealtyTrac heat map.

A portion of RealtyTrac’s heat map for distressed property in SF.

Slim pickings, really, in a city with a lot more potential homebuyers than potential homes for sale. The city’s inventory in May was down 24.5% year-over-year.

Best cities for fixer-upper bargains

RealtyTrac, prolific provider of U.S. real estate data with a particular focus on foreclosure-related activity, analyzed national data to find the 15 best markets for buying fixers at discount prices. The figures show the number of foreclosed homes old enough to potentially be candidates for makeovers that are also valued at $100K or less– a sure sign, in more robust markets– of a bargain. Also analyzed here: the average market value of a distressed home as well as the change in the median sales price of such properties in each location year-over-year.

“Low-priced homes are still plentiful in many markets, particularly in the form of foreclosures,” said Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac vice president. “While these homes may be in need of more work than a typical home and are certainly harder to find now than in previous years, buyers and investors willing to put in a little extra legwork and sweat equity can often find the best deals in their markets on these foreclosure fixer-uppers.”

RealtyTrac analysis found that nationwide , there are more than 51,000 potential foreclosure fixer-uppers: bank-owned homes that were built before 1960 with an estimated market value below $100K.

Meanwhile, back in SF

As usually happens when we compare other parts of the country to San Francisco, our home prices stand out in sharp relief. For less than you’d need for a downpayment on a fixer here, you could buy an entire home outright somewhere else. So if your reason for wanting a fixer-upper is bargain price (though of course, “bargain” is a relative term), you might want to look elsewhere.

Article source: http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2013/06/10/top-cities-to-buy-bargain-fixer-uppers-dont-include-san-francisco/

Where have home prices risen most in the Bay Area? You’ll be surprised

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 19:02:02 +0000

East Bay homes, like this house in Fremont, saw the biggest price gains during the past year in the Bay Area.

Blanca Torres
Reporter- San Francisco Business Times

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Home prices are shooting up across the nation with the Bay Area leading the pack — but which submarket has soared the most? Oakland.

Metropolitan Oakland — which includes much of the East Bay — saw home prices jump 31.2 percent from May 2012 to May 2013, towering above San Francisco with 19.6 percent growth and the San Jose metro area with 23.2 percent, according to Trulia, the San Francisco-based real estate information site. Nationwide, home prices grew by 9.5 percent during the past year.

Everyone keeps talking about how expensive homes are getting in San Francisco, but East Bay prices have more room to grow. Those growth figures over one year look pretty steep — and they are — but you have to keep in mind that prices dropped by greater percentages after the 2008 mortgage crisis.

“Inventory is really low,” said America Foy, an agent with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate who specializes in the East Bay.

A lack of inventory has led to bidding wars even in lower-cost areas or starter homes, Foy said, but more home owners are realizing that their homes are worth more and putting more homes on the market as demand shows no sign of slowing down.

“Some people have been saving up for the last four or five years, so they are ready to buy a house,” Foy said. “It’s smart to buy a house right now, that’s what people are feeling.”

Trulia looked at how much home asking prices had grown in 100 metropolitan markets in the United States and determined the 10 most expensive markets based on price-growth and percent of income going toward a mortgage.

You see the full list here. Here’s Trulia’s top ten:

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Blanca Torres covers East Bay real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.

Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/real-estate/2013/06/where-home-prices-grew-most-in-bay-area.html

Man Arrested In SF Real Estate Scam

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 22:52:08 +0000

A Stockton man was arrested this week after allegedly defrauding seven people in San Francisco out of more than $300,000 in a phony investment scheme, according to police.

Keith Wilson, 55, was arrested Tuesday in Stockton on a $1 million arrest warrant out of San Francisco after a 22-month long investigation into his businesses Tribeca Properties, LLC, and Lone Cedar Corporation, police said.

Wilson offered investment opportunities involving the purchase of distressed or foreclosed properties. Several victims became suspicious, however, after they discovered the properties had never been purchased by Wilson or his companies.

Wilson, who is now in custody in San Francisco, faces charges including securities fraud, money laundering, grand theft and elder abuse, police said.

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Article source: http://sfappeal.com/news/2012/01/man-arrested-in-sf-real-estate-scam.php