Owner: Owen Gets Real URL:http://owengetsreal.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Tue, 03 Jul 2007 02:52:25 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A View of San Francisco and The Bay Area's Real Estate Market & More. Site statistics:Click here
$300M Replacement On Tap for River Rock Casino 2007-07-02 19:43:00 Source: Brian K. Miller, GlobeStGeyserville, CA - River
Rock Entertainment Authority has announced plans to replace its 62,000-sf starter casino near this Sonoma County community with a 600,000-sf, Tuscan themed facility. The estimated $300-million resort would include a large casino, 260 hotel rooms and suites, plus meeting rooms, a pool, spa and restaurants. River Rock Entertainment Authority is a Tribal governmental instrument of the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, a federally recognized self-governing Indian tribe. The Tribe has 947 enrolled members and a 75-acre reservation in Sonoma County. It’s starter casino, which opened in 2002, would close once the new resort opens. In deference to the wineries that surround it, the new resort has been designed to resemble a Tuscan village, with courtyards, gardens, and buildings of varying heights. It would overlook the Alexander Valley from the Tribe’s Rancheria off Highway 128 between Healdsburg and Geyserville, 75 mile Read more:Casino
San Francisco Could Put Housing Over Caltrain Depot 2007-07-02 18:33:00 Source: Bonnie Eslinger, beslinger@examiner.com, The Examiner(Jason Steinberg/Special to The Examiner) The space above and around the Caltrain rail yard at Fourth and King streets shouldbe developed, according to a new report from the San Francisco
Planning andUrban Research Association.San Francisco
- Dense development should be built around San Francisco’s Caltrain station, according to a new public policy report that suggests one high-rise project could even be put over the train station’s rail yard.The Caltrain rail yards at Fourth and King streets divide Mission Bay from neighborhoods to the north. A new report by the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association advocates for a development project that would be built over the rail yard. Such a project would create a bridge connecting the two areas, concentrate more people near the transit hub and potentially generate funds to improve Caltrain, according to SPUR.The Caltrain s Read more:Depot
, Housing
Efforts Made To Help Borrowers Avoid Foreclosure 2007-06-29 16:30:00 Source: Mortgage News DailyA few things have happened in the last few days that may ultimately ease what many are calling an onrushing foreclosure train wreck. While some attempts are more meaningful and far-reaching than others, at least a couple of institutions which can do something to avert any coming catastrophe appear to be moving in that direction and it is heartening to see that the system may be capable of responding to trouble. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) just issued a joint consumer alert on mortgage payment increases. The alert urged homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages and especially those with the non-traditional types such as interest only or payment option mortgages to plan immediately for any resets of their rates in the coming year.The advisory states that borrowers should seek information on the characteristics of their mortgages and begin Read more:Avoid
, Borrowers
, Foreclosure
Inman Innovator Award Finalists 2007-06-25 23:34:00 39 real estate, technology and media companies compete. Inman
News today released the finalists' names for the coveted 2007 Inman Innovator Award
s, recognizing innovation in real estate. Winners will be announced at the annual Real Estate Connect SF technology conference, Aug. 1-3, at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Thirty-nine real estate, technology and media firms have been chosen as finalists, including John L. Scott Real Estate, Fidelity National Information Service, the Houston Association of Realtors, Trulia and Zillow. The Inman Innovator Awards recognize companies that use technology and innovation to enhance the real estate transaction and experience for consumers and real estate professionals. In addition, one individual who embodies the spirit of innovation in real estate is honored each year. Past winners of the Inman Innovator Awards include: Redfin, RE/MAX International, ZipRealty, Cendant, Google Earth, PropertyShark and LendingTree. The 2007 Inman Innovator Awar
Subprime Mess Hits Wall Street Again 2007-06-25 19:21:00 Source: Mortgage News DailyWhat is now routinely called "the subprime mortgage mess" is continuing to roil the U.S. economy and last week it again caused major concern in the larger financial markets. Bear Stearns announced on Friday that it was pledging as much as $3.2 billion in loans to save one of its hedge funds that is in serious trouble because of risky investments in the subprime mortgage market. Two days earlier Yahoo News printed an article from Agence France Press (AFP) which said that two of the big hedge funds managed by Bear Stearns were close to being shut down as their mortgage-related bets went south. The funds were identified by The Wall Street
Journal as the High Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund and the High Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund.Hedge is a broad term applied to a variety of funds that try to reduce volatility and risk and preserve capital and income under all market conditions. Funds employ Read more:Again
, Subprime
City Buys One South Van Ness for $71M 2007-06-22 18:34:00 Source: Brian K. Miller, GloberStOne South
Van NessSAN FRANCISCO - The City of San Francisco has acquired One South Van Ness from TMG Partners for $71.5 million. The city, which occupies a substantial portion of the eight-story, 504,471-sf building, exercised a fixed purchase option it had obtained along with its lease agreement. The property is located very near City Hall in the Civic Center district. Originally developed as a data processing center for Bank of America, the building was converted to office space in 1989 but continued to be owned and largely occupied by the bank until 2005. The property features a large central atrium, has unobstructed views of Twin Peaks. It is 100% occupied by the City and County of San Francisco, California Pacific Medical Center and the California State Compensation Insurance Fund. “The lease with option to purchase structure gave the city time to stage its relocation from other city buildings where they had leases,” says Matt Field, manag
Good News and Bad News: The Yield Curve 2007-06-22 18:04:00 Source: Mike Simonsen, Altos ResearchIn case you missed it, long term interest rates are rising. In some respects this is actually good news. The yield curve, charting interest rates along their maturity duration, is no longer inverted. Recall that an inverted yield curve means short-term rates are higher than long-term rates, an awkward financial state that commonly signals a coming recession. So a positively sloped curve reflects general economic strength. That's the good news.The yield curve first inverted nearly a year ago. It was a time of pick-your-poison for the housing market. To get "right", either we were going to see recession, where the resulting joblessness would pummel housing demand. Or we'd be faced with rising long term interest rates, making mortgages more expensive and pummeling housing demand.As of June 2007 the yield curve is no longer inverted. The Market sees significantly less recession risk. Chart courtesy BloombergWell, the economy has spoken. The bears are Read more:Curve
, Good News
, Yield
State Of The Nations Housing - Harvard Study 2007-06-22 18:00:00 Source: Mortgage News DailyThe Harvard
Joint Center for Housing
Studies recently released its annual State
of the Nation's Housing report for 2007. It is dismal reading. While it states that the longer-term outlook for housing is (more) upbeat, the length and depth of the current correction will depend on the course of employment growth and interest rates, as well as the speed with which builders pare down excess supply. The influx of immigrants and their children has and should continue to drive household growth between 2005 and 2015 and, with the enormous increase in household wealth over the past 20 years, healthy income growth will help propel residential spending to new heights.That's the good news. The flip side is that basic housing affordability remains a major problem. "In just one year, the number of households with housing cost burdens in excess of 30 percent of income climbed by 2.3 million, hitting a record 37.3 million in 2005." The report Read more:Nations
, Study
Beacon Flips Rincon Center Residential for $143M 2007-06-20 17:18:00 Source: Brian K. Miller, GlobeStRincon Center
SAN FRANCISCO-Beacon
Capital Partners has sold for $143 million the 320-unit apartment component of the three-building Rincon Center commercial complex it acquired last June for $275 million. The units, which are more than one-third empty, are located on floors seven through 23 of 88 Beale St. Beacon continues to own floors one through six, which house 470,000 sf of office space and 60,000 sf of retail. The new owner, Capital Properties of New York City, is planning extensive upgrades, including added tenant amenities and services. The property marks its first acquisition in California. More West Coast acquisitions are in the works, according to the privately held investment, development and management company’s founder and president, Richard Cohen. The apartments were originally approved as condos when the building was constructed in 1989. The vacancy is due to the fact that Beacon, and the company from which it acquired the property, h
Mortgage Rates Take Biggest Jump In Three Years 2007-06-20 14:19:00 Source: Mortgage
News DailyInterest rates as reported by Freddie Mac and those published by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) diverged sharply for the week ending June 14 (Freddie Mac) and June 15 (MBA). Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey concluded there was a double digit jump in the rates of each of the four products the survey tracks, taking each to levels last seen nearly one year ago. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) had an average contract interest rate of 6.74 percent, an increase of 21 basis points from the previous week. Points remained at 0.4. This is the highest the 30-year FRM has been since July 20, 2006 when it averaged 6.80 percent.The 15-year FRM averaged 6.43 percent with 0.4 point compared to the previous week when it averaged 6.22 percent with 0.4 point. The last time the 15-year rate was higher was also July 20 when it averaged 6.44 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) were up a little less dramatically than the Read more:Mortgage Rates
, Rates
, Three
, Years
Glass Curtain Rises On Rincon Hill Tower 2007-06-17 17:32:00 Source: Carl Nolte, SFGate/ ChronicleFloor-to-ceiling walls give rooms great views -- a design Willis Polk pioneered in San Francisco. This week crews poured the 60th and last residential floor at One Rincon, the condominium atop San Francisco's Rincon Hill. In about a month, the building will be topped off at 605 feet. At the end of the week, the building stood 587 feet, 8 inches above First and Harrison streets. It is taller than the Washington Monument and, like it or not, One Rincon is already a San Francisco landmark. One Rincon still has an incomplete look about it. The cement core of the building is exposed at the top, and the glass exterior reaches up to the 50th floor, 482 feet above the street. It is the glass and metal facing of the building -- called the curtain wall in the trade -- that will give One Rincon its look, the way the dark color of the Bank of America building gives that tower its distinctive appearance, the way the white bulk of the Telephone Read more:Curtain
, Glass
, Tower
Mortgage Lending Cuts Into Wall Street Banks' Profits 2007-06-15 23:10:00 Source: Inman NewsOriginations down, foreclosures up in Q2. Wall Street
investment banks Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers reported a drop in revenue from mortgage underwriting, although second-quarter profits were still up at two of the three firms. Bear Stearns Companies Inc. said profits were down 10 percent, despite record setting second-quarter revenues of $2.51 billion. Excluding a one-time accounting charge, net income would have been $486 million, down from $539 million for the second quarter of 2006. Earnings per share would have been $3.40 for the quarter. Fixed-income net revenues were $962 million for the 2007 second quarter, down 21 percent from the record $1.2 billion posted in the second quarter of 2006. Mortgage
-related revenues reflected both industry-wide declines in residential mortgage origination and securitization volumes and "challenging market conditions" in the subprime and Alt-A mortgage sectors, the company said. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. blame Read more:Lending
, Wall Street
MBA Delinquency Data Not As Dire As RealtyTrac Reports 2007-06-15 23:01:00 Source: Mortgage News DailyOn Tuesday RealtyTrac released some pretty scary numbers relating to foreclosures. According to its data, RealtyTrac said, more than 176,000 people got foreclosure notices in May, an increase of 90 percent since the same month one year ago and the highest figure ever recorded in their monthly report. The bad news made all of the network newscasts but we have always been a little leery of this particular source because RealtyTrac basically sells information on individual foreclosures to those interested in investing in the product. Information to non-subscribers on their website is limited. Nothing wrong with that; we would just like to have a little better understanding about the source of its information. Results of the quarterly National Delinquency Survey conducted by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) were released on Thursday and were much less alarmist than the RealtyTrac figures. Granted it is a different time l
Home Supply is Up, Foreclosures Rise Nationwide 2007-06-15 22:47:00 Source: Kelly Zito, SFGate/SF ChronicleCalifornia's weakening real estate market helped push foreclosures -- particularly for speculators and others who took out subprime mortgages -- higher nationwide in the first quarter. In fact, the percentage of homes newly in foreclosure nationwide would have fallen from the fourth quarter of 2006 without large climbs in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada, researchers at the Mortgage Bankers Association of America said. Recent high home prices and loose lending standards had many credit-impaired borrowers taking out subprime loans, often with initially low rates. A spate of home building in many markets also prompted investors to snap up homes using subprime or exotic loans. Now these loans are beginning to reset, and payments are jumping by hundreds of dollars per month. As home prices have slackened, more average homeowners and investors are falling behind on payments or walking away from properties altogether. Prices i Read more:Foreclosures
, Nationwide
, Supply
Foreclosure Filings Continue To Rise 2007-06-13 19:19:00 Source: Inman NewsRealtyTrac reports 90% year-over-year gain in May. Foreclosure
filings jumped 90 percent in May compared to the same month last year, reported RealtyTrac, a company that maintains a national database of pre-foreclosure and foreclosure properties. The company's U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for May shows 176,137 foreclosure filings, including default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions -- a rate of one foreclosure for every 656 households. The number of foreclosure filings rose 19 percent compared to April 2007. RealtyTrac's previous monthly report for April found that foreclosure activity for that month was up 62 percent compared to April 2006. Nevada's foreclosure rate of one foreclosure for every 166 households in May was the nation's highest for the fifth month in a row, RealtyTrac reported, and about four times the national average. RealtyTrac reported 5,235 foreclosure filings in May, a 40 percent increase compared to June and about five Read more:Continue
UrbanDigs.com Founder Noah Rosenblatton on Inman TV 2007-06-13 18:32:00 Source: Inman
TVUrbandigs.com founder Noah Rosenblatt talks to Inman TV about his highly successful real estate blog and its well-earned credibility, based on content. The blogger also gives some insight into the Manhattan real estate market.Visit www.owengeronimo.com to find out more about innovative mortgage products and solutions!
CA's Foreclosure Filings Run at 3rd Highest Rate in U.S. 2007-06-12 22:01:00 Source: Mathew Padilla, OC RegisterRealtyTrac, the Irvine-based data tracker just released its May 2007 U.S. Foreclosure
Market Report, which says: • Nationwide "a total of 176,137 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported during the month, up 19 percent from the previous month and up nearly 90 percent from May 2006. The report also shows a national foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 656 U.S. households during the month.• In California, with 39,659 foreclosure-related filings, "foreclosure activity increased 30 percent from the previous month and more than 350 percent from May 2006, boosting the state’s foreclosure rate to third highest in the country. California documented one foreclosure filing for every 308 households, more than twice the national average." In the previous post, I wrote that RealtyTrac is revising its figures amid criticism of double counting. It's more accurate to say the company
PUC To Build $178M LEED - Platinum HQ 2007-06-12 20:39:00 Source: Brian K. Miller, GlobeStSan Francisco - The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is spending $178 million to develop what may be the "greenest" headquarters office building in the US. Designed by Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz, the 12-story, 254,000-sf structure at 525 Golden gate Ave. will be a testament to water conservation, energy efficiency and reduced carbon footprint in commercial projects. With regard to energy conservation, wind turbines on the roof, solar panels embedded in outer walls and a natural-cooling "thermal chimney" are some of the features that will allow the structure to supply 40% of its own energy needs. On windy, sunlit days, the building could go off the power grid completely by supplying 100% of its energy needs, officials predict. The building also will employ advanced water-saving and water- recycling strategies. Faucet sensors, waterless urinals, and on-demand water heaters will cut use to five gallons per occupant per day, compared to average off Read more:Build
, Platinum
Gold Nugget Awards Honors 2007 Winners 2007-06-12 15:22:00 Source: Multi Housing NewsSan Francisco -- The Gold Nugget Awards
were recently presented to winners at a gala in San Francisco, attended by more than 800 real estate industry professionals.Celebrating its 44th year, the awards ceremony is the premier event of PCBC, an annual industry trade show and conference. The awards honor design and planning excellence for projects from 14 Western states as well as international locations. This year’s honorees excelled in industry categories such as sustainable design, mixed-use, seniors housing, affordable housing, specialty design, site and land planning, and custom design.The Gold Nugget Awards judges selected the 2007 winners from 577 entries. The judging panel during the three-day evaluation period included eight industry professionals representing a range of design, planning and development disciplines. Judges were: Eric Brown, principal with Artisan Homes of Phoenix; John Coons, principal with Sasaki Associates of San Francisco; Gordon C Read more:Honors
, Winners
Sterling, Hines Pony Up $281Million for San Francisco Office 2007-06-12 15:08:00 Source: Adam Perrotta, Commercial Property NewsA joint venture between Sterling
American Property Inc. and Hines has acquired 333 Bush Street in San Francisco
, a 43-story, 543,000-square-foot Class A office tower. The partnership purchased the building for $281 million from TMW Property Funds, a subsidiary of Prudential. Located in the city's Financial District, 333 Bush (pictured) is currently 75 percent leased, with tenants including America Online and the law firm Heller Ehrman L.L.P. The tower was designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill and is sited near Union Square, the Crocker Galleria and many restaurants and hotels. Hines will lead the property management and leasing of the property. Sales velocity in San Francisco
has been moving briskly of late, with nearly half of all downtown properties having changed hands in the past two years; Sterling head of acquisitions Tarak Patolia identified the city as "one of the fastest growing office markets o
Big Jump in Overnight Mortgage Rates 2007-06-11 15:52:00 Source: Inman News30-year fixed rate at 6.29%; 10-year Treasury yield at 5.11%.Long-term mortgage interest rates shot higher Friday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield sank to 5.11 percent. The 30-year fixed-rate average jumped to 6.29 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate rose to 5.99 percent. The 1-year adjustable stayed at 5.57 percent. The 30-year Treasury bond yield was down to 5.21 percent. Rates
and bonds are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Mortgage
rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states. Points on these mortgages range from zero to 3.5. In other economic news, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 157.66 points, or 1.19 percent, finishing at 13,424.39. The Nasdaq was up 32.16 points, or 1.27 percent, closing at 2,573.54. Stock figures are current as of 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.Visit www.owengeronimo.com to find out more about innovative mortgage prod
Will Subprime Problems Spill Over Into Conventional Markets? 2007-06-11 14:11:00 Source: Mortgage News DailyTwo days, two economic forecasts; the first which we reported on earlier from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed a rapid deterioration in the confidence that association's economic advisors have in the near future of the housing industry. Now we have the June Economic Outlook from Freddie Mac. Freddie Mac's monthly offering always has a theme and it is more than a little disquieting that the motif for June appears to be "not every house needs to be foreclosed."This is really not an overstatement. The Outlook states that, in the subprime market, 1 in 13 homes are candidates for foreclosure. It further quotes the National Delinquency Survey as saying that in the second half of 2003, approximately 670,000 homes entered foreclosure, 37 percent of which were covered by subprime mortgages. This year the projection is that over a million homes will enter foreclosure, a 30 percent increase over last year and 60 per Read more:Conventional
, Markets
, Spill
, Subprime
A European Style Plaza Is Emerging From Gritty Area of Old U.S. Mint 2007-06-10 22:15:00 Source: Carl Nolte, SFGateSan Francisco - For years, the two alleys that border the Old U.S. Mint in downtown San Francisco were cautionary tales in urban planning as they gradually declined into seediness after the Mint museum closed its doors in 1994. The little stub of Mint Street, and the block of Jessie Street that runs from Mint into Fifth Street near Mission Street, had nothing but potential. The reality, however, was grim. There were drugs, there were derelicts, there was public urination. The two little alleys were a big mess. But now, the two streets are being reborn into something called Mint Plaza. Cars have been banned from a block of Jessie, and it will be transformed into a small plaza, like something in Europe, with restaurants, green trees, outdoor dining and a new atmosphere. Mint Street, which runs off Fifth into Jessie, will get a new look, too -- with new pavement, new parking arrangements, and a cafe or two. "This is the greatest thing that ever Read more:European
, Gritty
, Style
14 Percent Decline in Single-Family Home Sales, For 2007 Forecast by CAR 2007-06-09 14:27:00 Source: East Bay Times Single-family home sales in California are expected to drop 14 percent this year, and the statewide median price will rise 1.8 percent, the California Association of Realtors said in its Midyear Housing Market Forecast
issued today. Sales
are expected to fall to 410,500 units in 2007, a 14 percent decline from the 477,460 pace recorded in 2006. The forecast also predicted the median price of a home will reach $566,500 this year, a 1.8 percent increase from the $556,640 median for 2006. <SCRIPT language='JavaScript1.1' SRC="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/N4639.BizJournals.com/B2308338.4;abr=!ie;sz=300x250;click=http://dc.bizjournals.com/event.ng/Type=click&FlightID=21671&AdID=31096&TargetID=648&Segments=1,16,724,2183,3301,3622,3862,4117,4263,4314,4611,4614,4829&Targets=3394,61,648,2014,3078,3381,3619,3866,4009,4055,4337,4344,4550&Value Read more:Decline
, Family
, Percent
Edgeio's CEO Keith Teare on Inman TV 2007-07-06 01:06:00 Source: Inman
TVKeith
Teare, talked about new trends in listings syndication and who's leading the onlineclassifieds.Visit www.owengeronimo.com to find out more about innovative mortgage products and solutions!
Street Plums - Picture of the Week 2007-07-05 18:09:00 Check out what happened to these plums @ Hood Pix Experiment.Visit www.owengeronimo.com to find out more about innovative mortgage products and solutions! Read more:Picture
, Street
Delinquency Rate on Home Equity Loans Up in Q1 2007-07-05 18:04:00 Source: Inman NewsABA says credit card delinquencies fell. The delinquency rate on home equity loans jumped 24 basis points to 2.15 percent during the first quarter, the American Bankers Association said Tuesday.Delinquencies on home equity lines of credit -- which have the lowest delinquency rate of categories tracked in the ABA's Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin -- were also up 3 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2006, to .6 percent. The increase in delinquencies on home equity loans helped push the average rate of delinquency on eight loan categories tracked by the bulletin up 19 basis points, to 2.42 percent -- a level not seen since 2001. Slow job growth, falling home prices and weak economic growth helped to worsen consumers’ financial position overall, said ABA Chief Economist James Chessen. "There are still signs of consumer financial distress, which will continue throughout most of this year as the worst of the housing problem works its way through the economy, Read more:Equity
, Home Equity
, Home Equity Loans
, Loans
Mortgage Rates All Over The Map This Week 2007-07-05 17:40:00 Source: Inman NewsUpcoming economic reports have markets on edge. Moderating inflation and the July 4 holiday kept long-term mortgage rates mixed this week, according to surveys conducted by Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com. In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage sank to an average 6.63 percent from 6.67 percent last week, and the 15-year fixed fell from 6.34 percent to 6.3 percent. Points, which are fees lenders charge for loan processing expressed as a percent of the loan, averaged 0.4 on the 30- and 15-year loans. Adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) costs were scattered this week, with the five-year Treasury-indexed ARM falling to 6.29 percent from 6.3 percent and the one-year ARM rising to 5.71 percent from 5.65 percent last week. Points on these loans averaged 0.4. "Long-term mortgage rates continued to move lower for a third consecutive week, in part reflecting a moderation in core inflation," Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said in a prep Read more:Mortgage
, Mortgage Rates
, Rates
Happy 4th To All ! 2007-07-05 01:12:00 Photo Courtesy of UniqhornsVisit www.owengeronimo.com to find out more about innovative mortgage products and solutions! Read more:Happy
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