“We made so much money you couldn’t believe it. And you didn’t have to do anything. You just had to show up.” “Now an escalating crisis in the market, which seemed to reach a new crescendo late last week, is threatening a wide band of people. Foremost are the... Read More »

“Since the new year began, a burst of activity has broken out in Manhattan and several Brooklyn neighborhoods as New Yorkers frenetically hunt for co-ops, condominiums and town houses, sending prices higher despite sluggish sales in many other cities.” ∙ Housing Market Heats Up Again in New York City... Read More »

“A new national survey found that 90 percent of appraisers reported that mortgage brokers, realty agents, lenders and even consumers have pressured them to raise property valuations to enable deals to go through. That percentage is up sharply from a parallel survey conducted in 2003, when 55 percent of... Read More »

“Over the last 15 years, downtown Vancouver has become a leader in North America’s urban housing renaissance. Under Vancouver’s “living first” policy, which was adopted 20 years ago, the downtown population has increased to 80,000 from 40,000, out of a total city population of 600,000. By 2030, planners expect... Read More »

“Planners and demographers said Thursday it may be time for the Bay Area to bite the bullet and plan for density….San Francisco should see about 161,000 new residents by 2035…” (Population expected to swell by 2 million) Read More »

“In the San Francisco Bay Area, luxury homes continued the recent pattern of small quarterly gains. Increases have ranged between 0.3% and 1.8% over the past five quarters. Values have risen modestly for eight quarters.” “Despite the slight increase from the second quarter, market conditions varied widely in the... Read More »

“Do not be afraid of falling prices. It’s sales that are important,” Lereah said. “We needed prices to fall. We had a balloon and we are deflating it. It got to the point where homes were unaffordable and we reached a breaking point. That’s the reason we are... Read More »

David Lereah, the senior vice president and chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, “expects real estate prices to continue to fall in most U.S. markets. In areas that experienced the largest price appreciation in recent years, a correction is needed, he said, this time citing San Francisco... Read More »

“ Lereah said home prices typically appreciate at the rate of inflation, plus one or two percentage points. Buyers who plan to stay in their homes should see those gains, but “people who purchased last year with the intent of flipping are likely to get burned,” he said.” (Realtors... Read More »

“The chief economist of the California Assn. of Realtors has stopped using the term “soft landing” to describe the state’s real estate market, saying she no longer feels comfortable with that mild label.” (Housing Expert: ‘Soft Landing’ Off Mark) “It’s official – even the nation’s leading group of real... Read More »