After 20 years in San Francisco, John Perry and Rob Picciotto, along with their children, Ben and Louisa, and three dogs, transplanted themselves to Oakland. “I didn’t think we would ever leave San Francisco, but a convergence of things made us consider moving,” said Perry.

In 1998, Perry and Picciotto had stretched to buy their Bernal Heights house and make it work as their family grew. In June it sold for more than triple what they’d paid, a windfall that allowed them to pay cash for a less expensive house in Oakland’s Leona Heights neighborhood in the hills above Mills College.

“We don’t have a mortgage anymore, which is awesome,” Perry said. “We doubled our square footage on more than an acre of land, and have phenomenal neighbors. Oakland is so diverse; it’s a whole new world to learn and explore. There’s more space, more mix.”

For a growing number of San Francisco residents, the math is compelling. Their houses now are worth more than ever. Meanwhile, although homes in the East Bay have had big price run-ups over the past year, they had fallen further during the downturn – meaning they’re still shy of their peaks.

“San Francisco is on the leading edge of the appreciation curve and other places are a step behind,” said Patrick Carlisle, chief market analyst with Paragon Real Estate Group in San Francisco. “The majority of our San Francisco neighborhoods now have met or exceeded their previous peak values reached in 2007 or 2008.”

Huge price differential

The result is that the price differential between San Francisco and other Bay Area counties, especially the East Bay, is greater now than ever, he said. Silicon Valley’s price appreciation has been strong enough that moving there from the city is more of a lateral move.

For David and Tamra Biener, the rising real estate market meant they could finally trade their cramped Dolores Street condo for a bigger place in the East Bay. With children soon to turn 6 and 8, their family outgrew the two-bedroom condo a couple of years ago – they’d converted the dining room to a third bedroom to make do – but were stuck because they were underwater.

“Our kids running up and down the hallway sounded like a herd of elephants to the people above and below,” he said. “We wanted to move in 2011, but at that time the condo was worth maybe $50,000 less than I’d bought it for. I was thinking, it’s another $50,000 in (real estate) commissions, so it will cost us $100,000 to get out of the condo. We can’t do that because we have to come up with 20 percent down on the new house. It’s supposed to work the other way.”

Way over asking price

But now the tide has turned.

“The crazy thing is that two years go by, we list our house for $50,000 more than I paid and get another $125,000 over listing,” he said.

Listed at $875,000, the house went for just a tad over $1 million. As soon as they were in contract, the Bieners made an offer on a five-bedroom Walnut Creek house with lots of room for the kids. It was listed at $1.285 million; their offer was just $15,000 over asking.

“There are two things going on that favor moving from the city to outside the city,” he said. “The prices have gone up way faster in San Francisco than they have outside of it. And the demand is so much higher in the city that you get that extra 10 or 20 percent over listing.”

Agents around the region said they’re seeing a definite increase in San Francisco out-migration.

“There was a time when you could be a move-up buyer in San Francisco, taking the equity out of your home or condo and buying a bigger one in the city, but that’s not the story anymore,” said Steve Dells, an agent for 25 years with Zephyr Real Estate in San Francisco. “The values in San Francisco have escalated so quickly and so much that whatever a move-up buyer can afford likely won’t be enough space to accommodate their reason for moving.”

Ashley Langworthy and Peter Gleason would have liked to be move-up San Francisco buyers, but the financials didn’t pencil out. With twins on the way, the couple needed more space than their one-bedroom Hayes Valley tenancy in common.

‘Cold foggy areas’

“The places in San Francisco where we could afford more space were in cold foggy areas near the edge of Daly City,” said Langworthy, a landscape designer. “We would have stayed in San Francisco if we could have been in neighborhoods we liked.”

Instead, they looked in the East Bay. However, the competition over there meant they got outbid 10 times and ended up paying above asking for a two-bedroom Berkeley house.

Their Hayes Valley TIC went for almost $100,000 more than the $450,000 they paid for it in 2008, not a windfall but enough to help them get a foothold in a stand-alone house in the East Bay. “I think the East Bay is a little more affordable than San Francisco, but it’s still very competitive,” Langworthy said.

Christine Englund and Dean Charlton migrated from the city to the East Bay because she got a dream job in San Ramon.

“Our house in West Portal is in one of the foggiest neighborhoods in town; 2 miles up from the ocean, you’re totally socked in for the summer,” Englund said. “It’s a two-bedroom one-bathroom, with a little yard, just 1,500 square feet.”

Listed at $799,000, the house got 12 offers and sold in late May for $1.025 million. “We hit just the right time,” Englund said. “Interest rates were still a bit lower than now and inventory was so tight in San Francisco.”

Their East Bay house, located in upscale Piedmont, was cheaper at $905,000 but at least 50 percent larger, with a third bedroom, second bathroom, bigger yard, deck and even a wine cellar.

“We got so much more space for the money, and then the weather, the people, the restaurants, everything we value were also great,” she said.

Fewer school-age kids in S.F.

While the current exodus is too new to have official statistics, longer-range census data underscore San Francisco’s ongoing family drain. San Francisco has about 8,000 fewer school-age youngsters in 2010 than in 2000. Of the city’s 805,235 residents, just 13.4 percent are younger than 18 – a smaller percentage than any other major U.S. city, including the Manhattan section of New York City, where 15 percent of the population is under 18. In San Jose, 24.8 percent of the residents are children; in Oakland, it’s 21.3 percent.

What will it mean to San Francisco if families continue to flee?

Perry, the 20-year resident who recently moved out with his partner and their children, has some sanguine thoughts.

“San Francisco renews itself on a regular basis,” he said. “A lot of cities don’t sustain the same populations through all the stages of (the residents’) lives. There may be different cities for different times in our life.”

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Families-flee-S-F-for-East-Bay-with-cheaper-homes-4796027.php

After 20 years in San Francisco, John Perry and Rob Picciotto, along with their children, Ben and Louisa, and three dogs, transplanted themselves to Oakland. “I didn’t think we would ever leave San Francisco, but a convergence of things made us consider moving,” said Perry.

In 1998, Perry and Picciotto had stretched to buy their Bernal Heights house and make it work as their family grew. In June it sold for more than triple what they’d paid, a windfall that allowed them to pay cash for a less expensive house in Oakland’s Leona Heights neighborhood in the hills above Mills College.

“We don’t have a mortgage anymore, which is awesome,” Perry said. “We doubled our square footage on more than an acre of land, and have phenomenal neighbors. Oakland is so diverse; it’s a whole new world to learn and explore. There’s more space, more mix.”

For a growing number of San Francisco residents, the math is compelling. Their houses now are worth more than ever. Meanwhile, although homes in the East Bay have had big price run-ups over the past year, they had fallen further during the downturn – meaning they’re still shy of their peaks.

“San Francisco is on the leading edge of the appreciation curve and other places are a step behind,” said Patrick Carlisle, chief market analyst with Paragon Real Estate Group in San Francisco. “The majority of our San Francisco neighborhoods now have met or exceeded their previous peak values reached in 2007 or 2008.”

Huge price differential

The result is that the price differential between San Francisco and other Bay Area counties, especially the East Bay, is greater now than ever, he said. Silicon Valley’s price appreciation has been strong enough that moving there from the city is more of a lateral move.

For David and Tamra Biener, the rising real estate market meant they could finally trade their cramped Dolores Street condo for a bigger place in the East Bay. With children soon to turn 6 and 8, their family outgrew the two-bedroom condo a couple of years ago – they’d converted the dining room to a third bedroom to make do – but were stuck because they were underwater.

“Our kids running up and down the hallway sounded like a herd of elephants to the people above and below,” he said. “We wanted to move in 2011, but at that time the condo was worth maybe $50,000 less than I’d bought it for. I was thinking, it’s another $50,000 in (real estate) commissions, so it will cost us $100,000 to get out of the condo. We can’t do that because we have to come up with 20 percent down on the new house. It’s supposed to work the other way.”

Way over asking price

But now the tide has turned.

“The crazy thing is that two years go by, we list our house for $50,000 more than I paid and get another $125,000 over listing,” he said.

Listed at $875,000, the house went for just a tad over $1 million. As soon as they were in contract, the Bieners made an offer on a five-bedroom Walnut Creek house with lots of room for the kids. It was listed at $1.285 million; their offer was just $15,000 over asking.

“There are two things going on that favor moving from the city to outside the city,” he said. “The prices have gone up way faster in San Francisco than they have outside of it. And the demand is so much higher in the city that you get that extra 10 or 20 percent over listing.”

Agents around the region said they’re seeing a definite increase in San Francisco out-migration.

“There was a time when you could be a move-up buyer in San Francisco, taking the equity out of your home or condo and buying a bigger one in the city, but that’s not the story anymore,” said Steve Dells, an agent for 25 years with Zephyr Real Estate in San Francisco. “The values in San Francisco have escalated so quickly and so much that whatever a move-up buyer can afford likely won’t be enough space to accommodate their reason for moving.”

Ashley Langworthy and Peter Gleason would have liked to be move-up San Francisco buyers, but the financials didn’t pencil out. With twins on the way, the couple needed more space than their one-bedroom Hayes Valley tenancy in common.

‘Cold foggy areas’

“The places in San Francisco where we could afford more space were in cold foggy areas near the edge of Daly City,” said Langworthy, a landscape designer. “We would have stayed in San Francisco if we could have been in neighborhoods we liked.”

Instead, they looked in the East Bay. However, the competition over there meant they got outbid 10 times and ended up paying above asking for a two-bedroom Berkeley house.

Their Hayes Valley TIC went for almost $100,000 more than the $450,000 they paid for it in 2008, not a windfall but enough to help them get a foothold in a stand-alone house in the East Bay. “I think the East Bay is a little more affordable than San Francisco, but it’s still very competitive,” Langworthy said.

Christine Englund and Dean Charlton migrated from the city to the East Bay because she got a dream job in San Ramon.

“Our house in West Portal is in one of the foggiest neighborhoods in town; 2 miles up from the ocean, you’re totally socked in for the summer,” Englund said. “It’s a two-bedroom one-bathroom, with a little yard, just 1,500 square feet.”

Listed at $799,000, the house got 12 offers and sold in late May for $1.025 million. “We hit just the right time,” Englund said. “Interest rates were still a bit lower than now and inventory was so tight in San Francisco.”

Their East Bay house, located in upscale Piedmont, was cheaper at $905,000 but at least 50 percent larger, with a third bedroom, second bathroom, bigger yard, deck and even a wine cellar.

“We got so much more space for the money, and then the weather, the people, the restaurants, everything we value were also great,” she said.

Fewer school-age kids in S.F.

While the current exodus is too new to have official statistics, longer-range census data underscore San Francisco’s ongoing family drain. San Francisco has about 8,000 fewer school-age youngsters in 2010 than in 2000. Of the city’s 805,235 residents, just 13.4 percent are younger than 18 – a smaller percentage than any other major U.S. city, including the Manhattan section of New York City, where 15 percent of the population is under 18. In San Jose, 24.8 percent of the residents are children; in Oakland, it’s 21.3 percent.

What will it mean to San Francisco if families continue to flee?

Perry, the 20-year resident who recently moved out with his partner and their children, has some sanguine thoughts.

“San Francisco renews itself on a regular basis,” he said. “A lot of cities don’t sustain the same populations through all the stages of (the residents’) lives. There may be different cities for different times in our life.”

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Families-flee-S-F-for-East-Bay-with-cheaper-homes-4796027.php

Jeff Bezos

J.K. Dineen
Reporter- San Francisco Business Times

Email
 | Twitter
 | Google+

Amazon.com Inc. is pushing ahead with a San Francisco expansion that will grow its footprint in the city to nearly 150,000 square feet.

In August, the Seattle-based online retailer signed a 65,000-square-foot lease at 475 Sansome St. The deal surprised downtown real estate observers because Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) had previously leased 20,000 square feet in the Sansome St. building but had planned to sublease the space when it took 83,000 square feet at 188 Spear St. Instead, not only did Amazon decide to keep its space at 475 Sansome St., it tripled its commitment there.

Amazon has about 80 jobs open in San Francisco, more than half of which are for its Amazon Music division, according to the group’s website. The ads are looking for engineers and designers to “help us build the world’s best online music player.”

The deals come as Amazon, led by Jeff Bezos, is also making big moves in Silicon Valley. In 2012, the group agreed to a lease of close to 600,000 square feet at Jay Paul Co.’s Moffett Towers complex to house its Lab 126 subsidiary, previously located in Cupertino. The lab is where the Kindle and the Amazon smartphone are developed.

“Amazon is on a space tear in the Bay Area,” said Research Director Colin Yasukochi of CBRE. “If you add up what they did down in the valley and what they are doing here, they have added a lot of space in the Bay Area. Of course, if you compare it to what they are doing in Seattle, it’s a drop in the bucket.”

In downtown Seattle, Amazon is developing a 3.3-million-square-foot high-rise campus on three blocks; construction is underway on the first block.

The Sansome St. deal was the second large new lease in the month of August, slightly smaller than Cisco’s 67,000-square-foot lease at 500 Terry Francois.

J.K. Dineen covers real estate for the San Francisco Business Times.

Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2013/09/amazon-goes-on-bay-area-growth-spurt.html

Share this gallery: 1 of 16 

Share this gallery: 1 of 16 

Share this gallery: 1 of 16 

Share this gallery: 1 of 16 

Share this gallery: 1 of 16 

Share this gallery: 1 of 16 

Share this gallery: 1 of 16 

Share this gallery: 1 of 16 

Share this gallery: 1 of 16 

Share this gallery: 1 of 16 

Share this gallery: 1 of 16 

Share this gallery: 1 of 16 

Share this gallery: 1 of 16 

Share this gallery: 1 of 16 

Share this gallery: 1 of 16 

Share this gallery: 1 of 16 

“Cash is king” is an all-too-true cliche in today’s Bay Area real estate market, where all-cash offers can beat out those with mortgages, even when the financed offers are higher. That’s motivating some folks — even fairly regular  people who don’t have Silicon Valley mega-bucks — to go the extra mile to be able to make cash offers.

Whether it’s borrowing from relatives, taking out a home equity loan, tapping retirement funds, or a combination, having that cash in hand can vault a buyer to the front of the line. For a detailed look at how some ordinary people took extraordinary steps to become cash buyers, click here.

“It’s an oft-told tale right now,” said Stuart Maus, an agent with Red Oak Realty in the East Bay. “The market is super-competitive. A cash buyer can afford to lay up a little bit, knowing that the terms of all cash and the ability to have a short close may counter a slightly higher offer with a longer escrow period. A buyer with all cash can sharpen their pencil and come in more aggressively with price.”

Consider 3361 Victor in Oakland’s Redwood Heights neighborhood (pictured above). The modernist home closed in late April for $820,000, 19 percent over asking.

“The winning buyer paid all cash with no loan or appraisal contingencies and a three-day inspection period,” said Aman Daro of Red Oak Realty (Red Oak’s Deidre Joyner was the listing agent). “There were three offers. The highest offer had inspection, appraisal and loan contingencies, so the listing agent got the lower, all-cash offer to up their price and the sellers accepted it.”

Shana Negin and her husband, who both work as technology creatives, got financial help from her parents for  an Oakland home, in which all four of them put their names on the deed.

“They wanted to put some of their retirement investments into something stable and also wanted to help us out,” she said. “Even though we have a pretty decent income, we were never going to have an opportunity to buy a house without that kind of help,” she said. “In a broader picture, people’s parents have been helping them throughout history. If this is a trend, people are just returning back to the way it was.”

Even people who buy with all cash may very well want to get a mortgage afterwards so they can pay back the source of the funds or simply have more liquidity. There are a number of issues cash buyers should consider in structuring their purchase to make sure that their cash-out refinance will go smoothly. For advice from mortgage pros on this, click here.

“A responsible buyer will not only have their cash lined up for the purchase, but will have a plan for how to manage ownership of the property in the year ahead,” said Dianne Crosby, senior vice president of RPM Mortgage in Orinda.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. For news and insights on Bay Area real estate, follow her on Twitter: @csaid

Article source: http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2013/06/07/regular-folks-transform-into-cash-buyers-to-compete-in-hot-housing-market/

Well what do you know! After writing on TechCrunch for the past year about how Silicon Valley’s Gatsbyesque wealth couldn’t find much real estate to buy, Bay Area inventory is up. Bidding wars are down. And rising rates are squeezing buyers who have to borrow money. Below is Redfin’s quarterly rundown of what’s happening in Silicon Valley real estate.

Bidding wars are less intense. Bidding wars are still common, with Redfin agents facing competition on 95 percent of all homes in May 2013, the highest of any of the 21 markets Redfin serves. For example, Redfin Silicon Valley agent Brad Le reports that this nice-enough $2 million Cupertino listing got 12 offers, and likely went under contract in June for well above $2.4 million. But fewer bidders are competing. Since Redfin publishes competitive dynamics for every offer our agents write, we measure the average number of competitors in a bidding war, which has declined from a peak of 16.3 in January to 7.8 in May. As agents, we know that demand is waning not because buyers no longer want a home but because they’ve despaired of ever being able to get one. About one in four of our Bay Area homebuyers have told us at some point in the last three months that they’re taking a break from their search out of sheer frustration.

Also-rans are left behind. The decrease in competition hasn’t changed the pricing of the most sought-after properties. But occasionally, close also-rans languish. Redfin Silicon Valley agent Mia Simon noticed that two nearly identical Mountain View homes, one slightly better looking, sold at the same time last week: The beauty queen sold for $200,000 over asking, drawing all the attention away from its neighbor, which got only one offer and sold for $150,000 less than comparable properties in the area.

Flash sales. The fact that homes are still selling very quickly may reflect a fundamental change in consumer behavior rather than simply a hot market; the median days on market for Bay Area homes that sold in May was 12 days; last year at this time it was 18. Mobile instant alerts triggered by the debut of new listings have been behind this trend, with 302 listings in May going under contract in less than 24 hours. Some of our buyers don’t even like to go into a Costco for too long if it will block the cell signal they need to get instant alerts. This has also put pressure on real estate websites to get inventory quickly. On average, brokerage sites like APR.com, ZephyrSF.com, and Redfin.com get new listings days earlier than national portals; the reason is that the brokerage sites employ real estate agents with complete, direct access to the Bay Area’s four local Multiple Listing Services.

More homes for sale. Higher prices, and perhaps the fear that higher interest rates could dampen demand later, have at last drawn would-be sellers into the market. Bay Area inventory began the year down 59 percent from 2012, but has now improved to the point that it’s only 28 percent down from this time last year; by year-end we expect 2013 inventory to be up year-over-year for the first time since 2011. Redfin’s own Bay Area listing business has increased more than 100 percent over last year. In 2013, real estate’s spring may come in summer, and summer may come in fall. Sales volume will increase, and price increases may lose steam.

More new construction coming in the East Bay and in San Francisco: Builders are often slow to respond to inventory crunches, in part because it takes time to finish projects, in part to drive profits from a run-up in demand. This is why we’ve seen line-ups, lotteries and camp-outs among buyers competing to get units as they’re released by builders. But four new projects are releasing units this summer in San Francisco, where the total number of homes has barely budged since World War II: 300 Ivy in Hayes Valley, One Rincon Hill Phase Two near the Bay Bridge, The Icon in the Mission, and Linea-built projects in the Mission like Nove.

More inside jobs: We hear more reports of pocket listings, where the listing agent sells the home to one of his own clients or to one of his partner’s clients, without offering the property to the broader market. The actual data suggests that this is common only for homes priced above $5 million. Few sellers at lower prices would ever bypass the larger market, which can draw in enough buyers to spark a bidding war. But there are other types of inside jobs. “Some Redfin clients are trying to get creative,” reports Landon Nash, Redfin San Francisco agent. “I just closed one deal with a client who asked his landlord to sell, and I have another two — which may or may not close — in the works.”

Interest-rate anxiety: With interest rates increasing since May 1, and sharply since May 22, Bay Area homebuyers have felt more pressure to buy a home soon. On June 4, interest rates exceeded 4 percent for the first time in a year. “You know how analytical we can be in the Bay Area,” said Redfin agent Brad Le. “Some of my clients know down to the dollar how much more their mortgage is per month with the current rates, and others already stretching to afford a home have been priced out by the rate increase. The buyers who remain are even more motivated to find something.”

Buyers are withdrawing money from retirement accounts to compete with more cash in bidding wars. In the past week, three different Bay Area buyers did this, despite the penalties associated with withdrawals from 401(k) accounts. Bay Area sellers continue to have a strong preference for cash buyers, to avoid a second price negotiation if an appraisal comes in low from the buyer’s lender. Buyers are also getting help from their parents. Just last month, Redfin clients living in a one-bedroom San Francisco apartment with two small children needed extra dough to avoid being priced out of the Oakland Hills market, so the parents — who were already tired of staying in hotels during visits from the East Coast — just became a party to the purchase. Virtually every Redfin agent in the Bay Area has a story about this.

Surprisingly, fewer for-sale-by-owner listings: Of the Bay Area sales closed in May, 89 percent had been listed by an agent. By comparison, 85 percent of May 2012 sales were agent-listed. Usually, when the market makes it easier to sell a home, more sellers try to do it themselves. But the Bay Area is in such a frenzy that people here are hiring an agent in even greater numbers to play the game to perfection, and to get top dollar. Of course, as real estate agents ourselves, Redfin benefits from a decline in for-sale-by-owner sales. Nonetheless, Redfin’s website is the only one I know of that shows both all the agent-listed homes for sale as well as for-sale-by-owner listings.

A decline in commissions offered to buyers’ agents, from 2.65 percent for Bay Area listings that debuted in May 2012, to 2.56 percent in May 2013. Sellers have been emboldened by the market to offer the buyer’s agent less, with no fear of steering.

A still-exclusive club: Booms usually bring an increase in the number of agents. Not in the Bay Area. In May 2012, 6,008 Bay Area agents represented homebuyers on 9,456 transactions. By May 2013, 5,540 Bay Area agents represented buyers on 8,295 transactions. Because the market here has been inventory-gated, 2013 sales actually declined 12.3 percent, whereas the number of active agents declined 7.8 percent.

What does it all mean? The Bay Area real estate market is getting back to its own version of normal, which still isn’t that normal at all.

• REDFIN

Redfin is an online real estate company that provides real estate search and brokerage services. Redfin uses an interesting combination of online real estate search and access to live agents. They employ their agents so they can better control customer satisfaction; traditional brokerage firms license their name to independent agents. Redfin claims to save homebuyers on average $7,500 by reimbursing roughly 1/2 of the buy-side real estate fee directly on closing. Redfin also pays bonuses to agents when they…

? Learn more

Article source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/15/silicon-valley-real-estate-update-the-craziest-market-in-the-u-s-just-got-a-little-less-crazy/

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

The Department of General Services is planning the sale of a large section of surplus land in its administration, and marketing has commenced for the property. According to a press statement, the DGS has already listed the property and opened talks with interested buyers until October 3. The 81 acres of land that are being offered up for sale by the state of California once belonged to the former Agnews Developmental Center.

According to DGS Director, Fred Klass, California Gov. Jerry Brown is looking to sell the land located in Silicon Valley’s Golden Triangle area in order to pay off some of the “wall of debt” that the state currently owes. “This sale will allow us to meet that goal while providing a tremendous development opportunity for the San Jose community,” said Klass.

Also making headlines is a very different kind of real estate property as Kimpton Hotels has put up for grabs one of its San Francisco Bay Area venues. The Serrano Hotel is now available for an asking price of around $65 million, or a per-room rate of around $275,000. The 236-key hotel recently underwent a $7 million renovation process for not only its façade but also the windows.

The 16-story hotel also offers a dining option in the form of Jasper’s Corner Tap Kitchen, as well as 2,500 square feet of meeting space at the venue. Considering the rising profile of the Bay Area’s hospitality market, the Serrano Hotel is set to see investors flock to the property.

Article source: http://www.cpexecutive.com/property-types/hospitality/san-francisco-bay-area-properties-put-up-for-sale-as-california-looks-to-pay-off-wall-of-debt/

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

The Department of General Services is planning the sale of a large section of surplus land in its administration, and marketing has commenced for the property. According to a press statement, the DGS has already listed the property and opened talks with interested buyers until October 3. The 81 acres of land that are being offered up for sale by the state of California once belonged to the former Agnews Developmental Center.

According to DGS Director, Fred Klass, California Gov. Jerry Brown is looking to sell the land located in Silicon Valley’s Golden Triangle area in order to pay off some of the “wall of debt” that the state currently owes. “This sale will allow us to meet that goal while providing a tremendous development opportunity for the San Jose community,” said Klass.

Also making headlines is a very different kind of real estate property as Kimpton Hotels has put up for grabs one of its San Francisco Bay Area venues. The Serrano Hotel is now available for an asking price of around $65 million, or a per-room rate of around $275,000. The 236-key hotel recently underwent a $7 million renovation process for not only its façade but also the windows.

The 16-story hotel also offers a dining option in the form of Jasper’s Corner Tap Kitchen, as well as 2,500 square feet of meeting space at the venue. Considering the rising profile of the Bay Area’s hospitality market, the Serrano Hotel is set to see investors flock to the property.

Article source: http://www.multihousingnews.com/news/national/san-francisco-bay-area-properties-put-up-for-sale-as-california-looks-to-pay-off-wall-of-debt/1004083683.html

SUNNYVALE (KCBS)— New townhome projects continue at a rapid pace in Sunnyvale, where home construction can barely keep up with demand. The 14 currently under construction probably won’t be empty for long. Home values increased nearly 11-percent nationwide over the last year, but homes in the Bay Area are getting even greater gains.

The Standard Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday showed that all 20 cities measured by the report posted year-over-year gains for the third straight month.

And prices rose in 15 cities in March from February. That’s up from only 11 in the previous month. The monthly figures aren’t seasonally adjusted and may reflect the beginning of the spring buying season.

• Latest Case-Shiller Survey Results
• DataQuick’s Median Bay Area House Price By County

Prices rose in Phoenix by 22.5 percent over the past 12 months, the biggest gain among cities. It was followed by the Bay Area (22.2 percent) and Las Vegas (20.6 percent).

Niccole Beckerman said her family has been priced out of the Silicon Valley.

“It’s really expensive. My parents were trying to buy a house and it’s really expensive just because the schools are really good,” Beckerman said.

The story is the same throughout much of the Bay Area. According to the San Francisco Association Of Realtors, the median Bay Area price for a single-family home has crossed above the $1 million mark for the first time since 2007.

The Inventory of available homes remains extremely low according to San Jose realtor David Martz. He said there are only about 1,000 homes for sale in a population of nearly two-million people in the greater San Jose area.

“Combined with the fact that we currently have interest rates at an all-time low, it’s possible to get an interest rate close to three percent, which is driving demand, so the buyers are out there in force,” said Martz.

Martz said four out of every five homes that come on the market here receive multiple offers, with prices, in some cases, going up hundreds of thousands of dollars over asking.

Despite the gains, a limited number of homeowners are putting their houses on the market. That’s helped lift home prices. And it’s made builders more willing to ramp up construction. Applications for building permits rose in April to the highest level in nearly five years.

The supply of available homes jumped in April, but was still 14 percent below its level a year earlier.

Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow, a real estate data provider, said that the increase in the Case-Shiller index has been skewed higher by cities such as Phoenix and San Francisco. Fewer homes are available in those areas because many homeowners still owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. That makes it difficult to sell.

Still, even excluding those markets, home prices are rising steadily nationwide, Humphries said. The increases are “certainly confirmation that the housing market is experiencing a brisk recovery,” he added.

The housing recovery is creating more construction jobs and bolstering the economy in other ways. Higher home prices make homeowners feel wealthier and encourages them to spend more.

Rising prices also encourage more would-be buyers to purchase homes, before prices rise further. They also enable more homeowners to sell homes, by reducing the number of people who owe more on their mortgages than the homes are worth.

Prices have been increasing steadily since last summer. Still, they are about 29 percent below the peak reached in July 2006.

Banks have raised their credit standards since the housing bubble burst and are demanding larger down payments. That’s made it particularly hard for potential first-time buyers to get a mortgage.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Article source: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/05/28/builders-cant-keep-pace-with-demand-as-bay-area-housing-booms-again/

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) May 31, 2013

Arcus Lending, a San Jose Mortgage Broker and Bridgette Akunal, a Residential Real Estate Specialist with Intero Real Estate, have teamed up to institute a scholarship for deserving Santa Clara High School, California students to help enroll into college.

Based on an essay competition, The Akunal Arcus Lending Scholarship was awarded to three selected graduating seniors who are enrolled full time at Santa Clara High School with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and have been accepted to a Junior or Four Year College.

“At Arcus Lending we believe in giving back to the community. Schools are a great way for us to make a positive impact on the community we operate in”, said Shashank Shekhar, CEO of Arcus Lending, Amazon.com Best-selling author and among the top 1% loan officers in the country.

“This generous scholarship is open to all graduating seniors and is based on academic standing and college readiness. I cannot express my gratitude enough to Akunal and Arcus Lending Team for this donation and their willingness to support our students in their ongoing academic endeavors.” said, Dave Grissom, Principal, Santa Clara High School.

“As a Residential Real Estate Specialist serving the San Francisco Bay Area for the last 13 years, I highly embrace this great opportunity to be a resource to young adults. By assisting in their education and personal empowerment, they can make a difference for a better future,” said Bridgette Akunal, one of the leading professionals in the real estate industry and an active member of many Silicon Valley Organizations.

First place winner was honored $1200, second place winner $500 and third place winner $300 towards their scholarship tuition at the Santa Clara High School Graduation Ceremony on May 29, 2013.

About Arcus Lending:

Arcus Lending (NMLS 1035734) is a mortgage broker offering home purchase and refinance loans in the state of California. The company plans to expand its operations on the East Coast this summer by offering home loans to residents of those states.

More information about Arcus Lending can be found by calling at 855.644.5626, by emailing at info(at)arcuslending(dot)com or by vising their website at http://www.ArcusLending.com

About Bridgette Akunal :

Bridgette Akunal (DRE-01297423) is a real estate consultant specializing in residential and investment properties in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. More information on Bridgette Akunal and Intero Real Estate Services can be found by calling 408.973.9800, by emailing at bakunal(at)interorealestate(dot)com or by simply visiting http://www.360SiliconValleyRealEstate.com

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebArcusLending/Scholarship/prweb10602484.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/New-Scholarship-Instituted-by-Arcus-Lending-and-4564522.php