Archive for April, 2009Deal or No Deal Results: Mountain View on the Rise?Cirios Verdict: NO DEAL This property is a well-maintained home in Mountain View, CA. Mountain View is home to Google, Yahoo and numerous other Internet and tech companies. Schools are good, crime is low and affordability, is, well, never mind. Prices, after holding up well relative to other parts of the Bay Area, are coming [...] Cirios Top Ten at Ten – 4/14/09The Top Ten Stories YOU Need to Read This Morning 10. Contrary to every other data point out there, these guys see list prices on the rise. 9. If Goldman can pay back TARP funds, why can’t Wells Fargo? They made $3 Billion dollars last quarter. There is no way their earnings are not accurate [...] Cirios Top Ten at Ten – 4/13/09The Top Ten Stories YOU Need to Read This Morning 10. The guys who failed at risk management in the boom are asking you for a second chance. 9. Investment banks are going start buying assets from private equity. Around and around we go … where we stop nobody knows. 8. In breaking news, homes [...] Inflation vs. Deflation: Endgame ApproachesBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Of the myriad highbrow economic debates currently raging throughout the world of punditry, academia and government policy, few are as contentious as the one over the future of prices: Inflation vs. Deflation. Indeed, the endgame for this issue is not insignificant, as many believe our economic [...] Keepin it Real Estate: The Stabilization FallacyBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Despite recent reports to the contrary, the impending stabilization of the housing market is a myth. While declines in certain markets are coming to an end, real estate, in general, is still in freefall. Last November, amidst a great deal of media fanfare, Fannie Mae (FNM) [...] Cirios Top Ten at Ten – 4/8/09The Top Ten Stories YOU Need to Read This Morning 10. The Feds are at the tip of the iceburg. 9. Short selling is to blame and not mortgage fraud and the SEC’s inability to police Ponzi schemes. 8. After two years of demanding consolidation, it finally happens. 7. Wholesale inventories fall as Americans refuse [...] San Francisco Home Sales — $1,000,000+Last week, we posted a graph showing home sales over $1,000,000 in the entire Bay Area. Despite the obvious seasonal trends, sales are slowing significantly. Below is the same data for San Francisco. Notably, although sales definitely fell of the proverbial cliff in Q4 of last year, declines were barely perceptible until this year. Click [...] Cirios Top Ten at Ten – 4/7/09The Top Ten Stories YOU Need to Read This Morning 10. That buyers are returning to the market says homebuilders have a vested interest to be as positive as possible. 9. In other news, CEOs are losing confidence in the economy. Who’s opinion do you trust? 8. When priced correctly, homes actually sell. 7. Cartoon [...] Deal or No Deal: Mountain View on the Rise?We’re changing up the Cirios House of the Week a bit — we want to know whether you think this is a DEAL or NO-DEAL? In other words, would you buy this house at this price? In our results post, we’ll tell you what we think. This week’s house comes to you straight out of [...] Cirios Top Ten at Ten – 4/6/2009The Top Ten Stories YOU Need to Read This Morning 10. Mortgage Fraud — the REAL reason housing continues to be in big trouble. 9. Cartoon Characters providing good financial insight. 8. Homebuilders are unable to sell the old fashioned way – with upgrades and more upgrades. 7. Inflation is the new deflation for bond [...] Cirios Top Ten at Ten – 4/3/2009The Top Ten Stories YOU Need to Read This Morning 10. Bernanke and the Fed are working hard to get you that 4% mortgage you’ve always dreamed of. 9. Hedge funds are feeling the pinch in more ways than one. 8. Home loan mods just dont work out for everyone. 7. Confirming earlier reports, the [...] House of the Week Results: How Much is that Condo in the Window?This property is one of the many, many, many small condos for sale in Orange County. Santa Ana is centrally located next to what used to be the center of mortgage lending in this country, which has quickly turned into the center of a whole bunch of unoccupied commercial space. All kidding aside, condos like [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: Jumbo Prime R.I.P.By ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Countrywide was to subprime lending what Thornburg Mortgage was to jumbo-prime. Now, both are out of business. Thornburg said it expects to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, ending a nearly 2-year struggle to fend off creditors and survive the credit crunch. The company, once the [...] Cirios Top Ten at Ten – 4/2/09The Top Ten Stories YOU Need to Read This Morning 10. Writing mortgage insurance for Fannie and Freddie loans is not a very profitable business. 9. People without jobs cannot pay off their loans. 8. Mortgage rates are very low for those lucky few that can qualify. 7. What is the bottom going to look [...] Housing Perspective: February Pending Home SalesFollowing a pattern set with both existing home sales and new homes sales, pending home sales bounced in February, up 2.1% from the previous month. The National Association of Realtors’ released its monthly index that tracks the number of signed contracts, showing a gain to 82.1, from 80.4 in January. A reading under 100 indicates [...] Cirios Top Ten at Ten – 4/1/09The Top Ten Stories YOU Need to Read This Morning 10. Lennar stock is up amidst a precipitous decline in orders … makes sense. 9. The US continues to make less stuff. 8. If you can see a light at the end of the tunnel, you might get a deal. 7. The postal service is [...] Zip Code Spotlight: Berkeley — 94703Each month we examine a single zip code, identifying micro-trends within the area to try and figure out how close (or far) that market could be from a bottom. This month we shine the Zip Code Spotlight on 94703, an area smack in the middle of storied Berkeley, CA. The area contains an eclectic mix [...] By The Numbers: Housing InventoryAs the nationwide housing crisis continues to unfold, one of the most important data points to watch is housing inventory. Housing inventory is examined by comparing the total number of listings in a given area to sales pace, resulting in a measurement of months’ supply. This number represents the number of months it would take [...] The State of the Markets – 4/1/09The month of March brought a degree of chaos to the financial markets, and indeed to the country as a whole, not seen in, well, months. The stock market culminated another wave of selling with multi-decade lows, only to rebound in the strongest counter-trend rally since the bear market began last year. The AIG bonus [...] Doing Your Real Estate Homework: CraigslistCraigslist.com is a tool almost everyone is familiar with, but most people don’t associate it with their home buying search. While Craigslist does have numerous listings of homes for sale in its “real estate for sale” section, we believe the site’s rental data is more valuable for the diligent home buyer. An informed home purchase [...] Cirios Trends – April 2009In this month’s issue, check out: The State of the Markets – 4/1/09 “Optimistic pundits declared the housing market’s bottom just months away, while prices stubbornly maintained their distinctly southward trend.” By The Numbers: Housing Inventory “Looking closely at historical months’ supply provides evidence that this measurement can actually be predictive for housing value trends, [...] House of the Month: 2 Bathrooms = Desirable in South San FranciscoWho wants to share a bathroom with their children?! Not anyone in this office. Many Bay Area markets are dominated by small homes with only 1 bathroom. In these areas the premium for an extra bathroom is material … as it should be. Neighborhood Overview: South San Francisco is the self-proclaimed “Industrial City” located just [...] |