CFAH

Articles Filed Under: Seemingly Random

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Online Home “Porn”

Online Home “Porn”

It was inevitable. First those corner magazines full of airbrushed pictures (e.g. Real Estate Times), and then those steamy online virtual tours. And now, short little films. · Dream Homes Read More »

Only in San Francisco

All of a sudden our so called housing “shortage” is starting to make sense… Joshua Brody and his wife, Juliana Grenzeback, have been married for seven years, but they have never lived together. Grenzeback lives in a neat, pleasant house in San Francisco. Brody lives across the street in... Read More »

Understatement Of The Week

Sounds all too familiar: “Lots of people are putting impressive amounts of money into their houses,” said Mark Scott of Mark IV Builders in Bethesda at a recent remodeling seminar…“They don’t have any money in the bank,” he said, but they’re not worried because they’re counting on future appreciation.... Read More »

Overstatement Of The Week

From SF Gate: “Who would have guessed the best-looking new housing complex in SF is across from the Cow Palace?” Answer: Not us. And we wouldn’t have been wrong. Kudos to the Mercy Housing California, Carter Terrace is a great addition to the neighborhood. And we applaud all the... Read More »

The Supreme Court’s In The House

Last Monday the Supreme Court squashed a long running challenge by the owners of the Hotel San Remo in North Beach concerning a $567,000 fee they were required to pay to the city in order to convert their property from rental units to hotel rooms. Having already lost legal... Read More »

Unclear On The Concept

Making money through arbitrage (e.g. flipping) is dependent on an inefficient market. Condo Flip™ is attempting to create a marketplace for builders, buyers, and sellers, in order to make transactions more efficient for the flippers. Wait a second… Read More »

Yes! Yes! No.

The title naturally caught our eye (Why You Can’t Afford a House in San Francisco), and we think the author’s analysis gets off to a strong start. But then he sputters. And falls flat. The entire premise of this article is that housing prices should be directly correlated with... Read More »

It’s A Seller’s Squirrel’s Market

Within a month of putting her two-bedroom house in San Francisco on the market recently, homeowner Linda Gao had five offers, each one above her asking price of $699,000. So before accepting the most-attractive bid, she threw in an extra condition: If you want to buy my house, you... Read More »

Freakonomics Freaks NAR

Freakonomics just moved to the top of our summertime reading list. Pointing to data that suggests that “full-service” “realtors get 3-4% more for their own houses and leave their own houses on the market 10% longer” than their clients’ properties, and suggesting that “discount” brokerages might be the way... Read More »