Bay Area Real Estate Trends

It struck me today that most bank owned properties are resold with financing and that almost half the foreclosures examined in the SF Audit were void on their face. So…the banks that “Sold” these properties had no right to do so. And the new loans were unsecured debt rather than secured debt. And then most [...]

Housing Housing’s Dilemma: There’s Not Enough To Buy – CNBC UK housing market heading for ‘lost decade’ – Telegraph Existing Home Sales: Is NAR Data Correct for January? – Global Economic Intersection  At this point there is no doubt sales volumes are increasing – but the improvement originally conveyed in December makes the January “improvement” [...]

The trend of increased sales volume but still lower prices continued in the Bay Area in January. This is counter-intuitive: usually price follows volume so prices should be showing more signs of stabilization. The fact that the median price is still falling illustrates that the increase in volume continues to be with the least-expensive, distressed [...]

I was asked a typical real estate question today and it actually stopped me for a moment.  The question was “What is the local market like right now?”  As a real estate broker, I get this question all the time and have a pretty typical response.  Today, however, I started thinking about buyer’s market vs. [...]

An article in The Atlantic suggests that cities aren’t only greener, but that physical proximity to others promotes intellectual and economic growth. There are other models that might help us unravel this, especially those that explain the dynamics of networks. In particular, there is a phenomenon in economics that’s known as a “Knowledge Spillover.” It [...]

Housing Experts Respond to January Home Sales Report - DS News Why Renters Rule U.S. Housing Market (Part 1) – Gary Shilling The collapse in housing and the 33 percent plunge in house prices since 2006 are favoring renting over homeownership. This trend will dominate the housing market for the next four or five years, and [...]