You might recall our previous discussion about San Francisco’s housing P/E. In summary, it’s out of whack. From an investing perspective, while the cost (Price) of an investment in San Francisco real estate has risen, the returns (Earnings) have remained flat. This suggests that the majority of buyers are... Read More »

The senior vice president and chief economist for the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® recently penned an article for Realtor® Magazine titled “Keep a cautious watch”. The three trends he suggests we keep a cautious eye on: ∙ Speculation: This form of investing can be risky when buyers go out... Read More »

According to a report just released by the Census Bureau, the population of San Francisco declined 4.2% (or 32,000 people) from April 2000 to July 2004. According to CNN, “Hurt by skyrocketing housing prices, people are leaving San Francisco, Boston and other large cities in droves.” “Droves” might be... Read More »

According to the California Association of Realtors, the Media sales price of a single-family detached home in the San Francisco Bay Area dropped .2% (from $723,070 to $721,730) in May of this year. Granted, not a huge decline, but directionally interesting. Also of note, sales activity has declined 8.3%... Read More »

10% of the listings featured in HILL & CO’s full page Sunday Real Estate ad screamed “PRICE REDUCED!” Perhaps under pricing listings to generate bidding wars is so last year, and the new new pricing thing is to over price in order to make buyers feel like they’re getting... Read More »

It’s only been a few months since a bidding war left 199 New Montgomery “sold out” and at least seven units are back on the market (i.e. being flipped). In the current market it wouldn’t really catch our attention except that at least one unit (#506) is already being... Read More »

Entrepreneurs from coast to coast are creating investment funds and ancillary businesses to capitalize on any downturns in the real estate market. One such “opportunity fund” has a stated plan of acquiring “new and converted condominium units purchased by speculators” and then holding them for “extended periods or shorter-term... Read More »

Since the end of 2002 the number of real estate clubs affiliated with the National Real Estate Investors Association has grown 300%. And since 1999, the number of stock market clubs has dropped nearly 50%. This may be in part due to the increase in independent investors using real... Read More »

Financial savvy for some, financial folly for others. According to The Chronicle and LoanPerformance, in 2002 less than 20% of property purchases in San Francisco utilized interest-only mortgages. In 2005? Nearly 70%. And according the Federal Reserve, owners’ equity in household real estate has grown 46 percent over the... Read More »