Archive for May, 2009Home of the Day: Pricey for 1 bathroom in San MateoAddress: 129 Aragon Blvd. San Mateo, CA 94402 (Click address for listing) List Date: 10/17/2008 Current List Price: $1,099,000 Original List Price: $1,149,000 Interesting Tidbits: * Good location * 1,930 sq ft. with only one bathroom * Hardwood floors * Unique design Very good curb appeal Decent sized kitchen Hard wood floors in numerous rooms [...] Top Five at Ten – 5/29/2009A daily list of the stories YOU should be reading 5. Consumer sentiment is up yet again. Is there light at the end of the tunnel? 4. On the other hand business purchasing activity is down this month, a sign we’re not out of the woods just yet (and a sign that reading economic indicators [...] Newly released statistics show home purchase activity on the riseBoth the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Existing Home Sales index and the Commere Department’s New Residential Sales statistics showed continued increases in home sales activity in April, prompting some to wonder whether the elusive bottom is approaching. One important aspect of these statistics worth noting is that these increases have come largely at the [...] Home of the Day: Rebuilding in Los AltosAddress: 240 Alvarado Ave. Los Altos, CA 94022 List Date: 03/27/2009 Current List Price: $699,000 Original List Price: $699,000 Interesting Tidbits: * Tear Down * Approved for 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathrooms * Agent warns: DO NOT WALK ON PROPERTY * One of the cheapest properties in Los Altos * Lot is only 4,226 sq ft. [...] Cirios Top Five at Ten – 5/27/09A daily list of the stories YOU should be reading 5. GM looks to be following Chrysler into the realm of corporate bankruptcy. 4. Bank of America has raised three quarters of its capital gap ($26 Billion) since the release of the stress test results. 3. Existing home sales are up, particularly in lower price [...] Housing Perspective: March Case/Shiller Home Price IndexStandard and Poor’s published their March Case Shiller Home Price Index today, and the news is not as good as some had hoped. Home prices dropped virtually across the board, with the nationwide, 20 city index falling more than 19 percent year over year. The only metropolitan areas showing slight increases were Charlotte (+0.30%), Dallas [...] Straight Up Statistics – Deconstructing the AverageAs more statistics come out on a daily basis that are supposed to tell us that the recession is over and we’ve hit the bottom, its more important than ever to be aware of the nuances these statistics come along with. Government officials, bankers, retailers and snake oil salesmen alike throw out statistical arguments at [...] Home of the Day: On the Water in Discovery BayAddress: 5813 Drakes Dr. Discovery Bay, CA List Date: 01/07/2009 Current List Price: $749,000 Original List Price: $825,000 Interesting Tidbits: * Deck looking over the water. * Fully updated kitchen * Deep water dock * Numerous competing homes in the area. Updated Kitchen Deck that over looks the bay Deep Water dock for your boat. Cirios Top Five at Ten – 5/26/09A daily list of the stories YOU should be reading. 5. Unemployment could remain at 8% for awhile … stock market up 2%. Makes sense. 4. Homes prices fall a record 19.1% … stock market up 2%. Makes sense. 3. The CEO of a large American institution says it is going to be harder to [...] Home of the Day: Over-priced in Pacifica?Address: 316 Heathcliff Dr. Pacifica, CA 94044 List Date: 3/5/2009 Current List Price: $534,500 Original List Price: $534,500 Interesting Tidbits: * Odd Shaped Roof for a home in California * $500,000 with only a one-car garage? * Unmaintained backyard * No pictures of a living room Front of the house looks ok Kitchen looks nice [...] Cirios Top Five at Ten – 5/22/09A daily list of the stories YOU should be reading. 5. The NY Times asks … “What can you get for $370,000?” 4. People continue to lose their jobs … the housing market is not in recovery mode quite yet. 3. A glimpse into why the health of Wall Street is important to everyone. 2. [...] Cirios Top five at Ten – 5/21/09A daily list of the stories YOU should be reading. 5. For the first time in months, the market has declined (correctly, in our minds) in response to the fact that people do not have jobs. 4. Mortgage rates are near historic lows. Keep in mind there’s a lot more to the decision of whether [...] Home of the Day: Moraga for less than a MillionAddress: 26 Woodside Dr. Moraga, CA 94556 List Date: 4/27/2009 Current List Price: $869,000 Original List Price: $899,000 Interesting Tidbits: * Over 10,000 sf ft. FLAT lot * Nice hardwood floors * Kitchen needs updating * Large Patio for Entertaining Hardwood floors throughout the living room Large FLAT backyard Kitchen is dated Sayonara, SECBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. The horses, pigs, cows, goats, sheep, llamas, ostriches, dromedaries and rhinos have all left the barn, yet the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) still thinks it should be minding the door. In light of its woeful inability to perform even the simplest of tasks — [...] Cirios Top FIVE at Ten – 5/20/09A newer, sleeker list of the stories YOU should be reading today. 5. In this real estate market, the Hamptons might not be as exclusive as it has been in the past. 4. When liquidity (viability) is a problem, there is an easy solution….securitize. We have to admit that we find it surprising that it [...] Home of the Day: A Russian Hill Gem?Address: 999 Green St. #1201 San Francisco, CA (click for MLS Listing) List Date: 3/12/09 Current List Price: $1,628,000 Original List Price: $1,920,000 Interesting Tidbits: * Amazing Views * Desirable Location in Russian Hill * Open Floor Plan * Recent Price reduction Yes, that is Alcatraz Nice open kitchen Nothing like a living room with [...] R.I.P. Free CreditBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Remember the good old days? Back when you and the credit crunch were young, and only those “subprime” people over on the other side of town — you know, the ones living wildly beyond their means, dependent on credit for the very necessities of life — [...] Cirios Top FIVE at Ten – 5/19/09A newer, sleeker list of the stories YOU should be reading today. 5. The negative savings rates in the early part of the decade are leaving a lot of people walking a fine line. 4. Housing starts are at a record low, which may actually be a good thing. 3. The new credit card industry: [...] Home of the Day: Oakland on the Mind?Address: 5 Bowles Place, Oakland, CA (click for MLS listing) List Date: 5/07/09 Current List Price: $780,000 Original List Price: $780,000 Interesting Tidbits: * Quiet street, located at the end of a cul-de-sac * Huge lot — but is it usable? * Just 2 bedrooms, but a lot of extra house to use * Desirable [...] Deflation Still Clear and Present DangerBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Deflation, the economic beast many feared would devour the next decade, appears to have been vanquished. Or has it? Superficial signs of renewed inflation are everywhere: Oil prices appear to be stabilizing, and concern is growing about future supply shortages (which, by extension, could lead to [...] Housing Perspective: May Homebuilder SentimentHousing market optimists picked up another bullish datapoint this morning, as the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo builder confidence index rose to 16 from 14 last month. According to Bloomberg, that’s the highest reading since last September. So what happened the last time builders felt this good about their prospects? Lehman Brothers went belly [...] Home of the Day: Noe Valley on the CheapAddress: 587 Jersey St, San Francisco, CA 94114 List Date: 04/30/09 Current List Price: $799,000 Original List Price: $799,000 Interesting Tidbits: * One of the lowest listing prices of any single family in Noe Valley * Many original fixtures and accents (from the early 1900s) * Needs “substantial renovation” Is that caution tape on those [...] Cirios Top FIVE at Ten – 5/18/09A newer, sleeker list of the stories YOU should be reading today. 5. Bankers expect the government to ease caps on executive bonuses and compensation. 4. The nation’s large homebuilders are still hard at work convincing Americans they need a 4000 square foot monster on a postage stamp. 3. Homeowners are finally starting to understand [...] Cirios Top FIVE at Ten – 5/15/09A newer, sleeker list of the stories YOU should be reading today. 5. Responding to an impressive performance by the stock market in the past few months, consumer confidence is back to levels not seen “since the September failure of Lehman Brothers.” 4. UBS is giving bankers a 50% pay hike to stem the tide [...] |