Welcome back to the “Over, Under, At” weekly feature. It’s a simple breakdown taken from MLS data that shows the number of closed sales that sold Over Asking Price, Under Asking Price or At Asking Price. 

*Just a reminder that new construction sales are rarely included in this list since they don’t get posted on the MLS.

Happy Monday folks.  The last two weeks gave us some more positive figures, but this week, we’re back down in the dumps.  Bah humbug.  As I’ve mentioned many times, looking at just one week’s worth of sales doesn’t give us a clear picture of the market.  But it does give us a little glimpse.  One thing that is very difficult to account for is new construction sales.  I can honestly say that I’ve seen a good amount of recent sales occur in the new construction segment of the market, which unfortunatly (as noted above) are not usually listed in the MLS.  If we could include those numbers, this picture might look a little better.  But for now, we just hang tight and check the monthly numbers and hope that those continue to show some positive improvements.

Keep in mind that these reports are meant to be helpful for potential buyers and sellers - but to really understand the pulse of the SF real estate market, talk to a local real estate agent. We’re in the trenches and these closed sales went into escrow a month ago (sometimes less, sometimes more). We are much better in tune with what’s going on in the market TODAY and can give you much more in depth information than any set of statistics can. If you need advice from a San Francisco Realtor, feel free to email me or call me at 415–307–1392. I’m always happy to talk real estate.

Here’s a quick breakdown of closed San Francisco home sales for the week from March 2–8, 2009: 

Single Family Homes - 13 Homes Sold

Condos/Lofts/Co-ops’s - 11 Homes Sold

The Bank of Canada cut the overnight rate by 50 basis points to 0.5% in early March and

made two uncharacteristically candid statements. First, the Bank vowed to maintain the

0.5% rate “at this level or lower” until the economy shows sufficient strength to close the

output gap, thereby mitigating the downside risks to the inflation outlook. Secondly,

policymakers indicated that they were contemplating adding stimulus to the economy

through some form of quantitative or credit easing, the details of their ruminations will be

announced in mid April.

There was a note of optimism in the statement as the Bank asserted that fiscal and

monetary policy stimulus will support the economy in the second half of the year. Additionally,

the Bank views Canada as being in a better position than most countries and

forecasts a stronger rebound once the global economy stabilizes. Our base case view is

that the amount of fiscal and monetary policy stimulus will return the economy’s growth

rate to the positive column later this year but given the upheaval in the global economy,

a shift to less-traditional measures cannot be ruled out if the economy fails to revive.

The inclusion of the reference to quantitative and credit easing

indicates that the Bank is keeping its options open as it works to nurse the economy back

to health and that policymakers here are ready to follow the lead of the U.S., U.K. and

others in moving to more innovative ways to attack the problems.

The bulk of the activity is occurring in the $250 - $350,000 range.  The activity that occurred in January in that range probably pushed the wave up into higher ranges for February.  People moving up from that starter to the larger home.

I believe now is a great time to be buying real estate.  Buyers have selection, negotiating power, and the lowest interest rates in decades.  If you have secure employment and are in the market to buy, then why wait?

The average sale price in February increased by 25.29% over January from $239,821 to $300,465.

Total sales Volume increased from 62 sales in Red Deer to 113. An increase of 82.26%.

The question is for those of that were waiting for the “bottom”, has that passed or was February an anomaly?  Just like knowing when the peak is, we don’t know where the bottom is (was) until it has passed us.

Real Estate is LOCAL.  The numbers are different in Blackfalds than Red Deer, Red Deer is different than Calgary and Alberta is different than a national average.  Before you make a real estate decision talk to your Realtor, they should have these numbers for you.  Not all do however, this tends to separate the great Realtors from average or even the “part timers”.

Do you remember 2005?  It may surprise you but 2005 was a record year before 2006, 2007, 2008 for sales.  The first three months looked like this:

The headlines and interest rates announcements looked like:

18 October 2005
Bank of Canada raises overnight rate target by 1/4 percentage point to 3 per cent

While the Oil and Gas market today is in decline rather than incline, mortgage money is plentiful and at more affordable rates than 4 years ago.  Should we be hiding from the economy and the economic outlook or doing what we can to change it?

Your Friend in Real Estate,

Patrick Galesloot

After all, it doesn’t matter if you know what time it is if you are having smoke inhalation “issues”!

Even electrically powered smoke alarms can have back-up batteries, and your CO detector may need a battery too.

You also want to suck the dust out of your detectors with a vacuum, and if the smoke alarm is older than 10 years, you should replace it (CO alarms should be replaced every 7 years).

Thanks,
Mark

They specialize in providing employers with a pool of employees that reflect the diverse and multicultural population of the region. Specifically, they assist employers in achieving their diversity goals by matching them with qualified individuals with disabilities. 

A good friend (and loyal reader of The City Update (TM)) that has been dedicated to the Hire-Ability mission has sent in a plea for help.  She sent it to her friends and family, but the request is worthy enough to share with you all (who I consider friends and family).  So please read on… 

Hello Friends,   As you all know, I work in vocational services for people with mental health disabilities, and just like everyone else, we’re being affected by the current economic burp (crisis?!).  

Businesses are tightening their budgets, layoffs are happening everywhere, and employers are now more hesitant to give our clients a chance.  

In order to meet our State goals, we need to find jobs for 30 people by the end of March.  

I know you’ve all heard me go on and on before, and know how passionate I am and how important reintegrating people into society is to me, so please let me know if you, your company or anyone you know is looking or thinking about hiring.  

We have clients who are trained in Janitorial, Food Service, Warehouse work, and Clerical / Basic Administrative, and companies may be eligible for tax credits. It’ll bring you many good karma points, I promise!   Many Thanks & a Big Hug, Michele

So you all don’t officially know Michele, but trust me, if you did, you would know just how passionate she really is about her organization’s cause.  

If you think you might have a lead on a position that fits the above criteria, please give Michele a holler. And if you’re curious about the Hire-Ability, please check out their site at www.hire-ability.org. 

The real deal though is that different parts of the Stimulus Plan affect different parts of the country differently.  And frankly, I think most of us are concerned with what’s happening right here in our frontyard, San Francisco, that is. 

So, here’s a condensed version of some of the key components of the plans that are meant to put Humpty Dumpty (our economy) back together again.   

Lower Interest Rates:  The stimulus bill is supposed to pump money into the mortgage market.  And in turn, banks are supposed to get so excited that they drop mortgage rates all across the board.  Well, rates ARE at historic lows… but frankly, we haven’t seen the drastic drops that we were all hoping for.  But - with rates hovering around the low 5% range (and lower prices than we’ve seen in years) monthly payments have become quite affordable. 

Increased Conforming Loan Limits:  Yay!  While San Francisco home prices have been dipping, they’re still much more expensive than most markets in the US.  Which is why it’s so important to note that the limit for conforming loans is (at least for 2009) going back to $729,500.  That means a purchase price of up to $911,875 qualifies for a regular loan!   

An $8,000 Tax Credit from Uncle Sam:  OK, so this one doesn’t do too much for San Francisco homebuyers.  Singles that make $75K or less and married couples that makes $150K or less can claim this tax credit.  But the reality is that only buyers in the lower price tiers in San Francisco will really qualify for this credit.  However, there are rumors that those that make more than the income limits will receive a partial credit, but no one seems to know the scoop on how that will play out. 

Help Avoiding Foreclosure:  This comes to us in a variety of forms, from refinancing between 80%-105% of your homes value if you qualify.  There’s a variety of restrictions (a loan amount of less than $729,500, be an owner occupier, proof of financial hardship, etc.) but if you make the cut, and pass a trial period of three months at a new reduced rate (that means making your payments on time), you get to keep the new reduced rate for 5 years.   

$10,000 Credit from the State of CA for New Construction:  There’s a lot of hoops that need to be jumped through to received this tax credit (which is split up over 3 years.)  But in a nutshell, if you buy a NEW and never before occupied property, you get a nice chunk of change in return.  But, there is two catches - one, lots of paperwork, but more importantly, this credit won’t last long.  A certain amount of money has been earmarked for this tax credit, and once it’s gone, it’s gone for good.  The good news - there’s a great amount of SF new developments that qualify. 

So - if you are thinking of buying, these are some pretty good incentives.  Not all of these might fit your specific situation, but several of these might be enough to get you thinking about how you can take advantage of the stimulus, and do your part to help the economy.  Is now the right time for you to make a move?  Call me at 415-307-1392 or email me at luba@zephyrsf.com and we can discuss your situation.

Perhaps I’m just as caught up as everyone else is re: the economic crisis, but it’s been a bit tough getting back to this blog.

Here’s where we’re at: We’re in the midst of planning our Canada-wide expansion, thanks to all the great activity that’s happened in Edmonton (yay for Edmonton real estate). But, as with all things that you think should be as simple as the flick of a switch (like getting your cable hooked up — why DOES it take so much work to get cable?! ), this expansion is going to take longer than expected.

BONUS NEWS
We’re thinking of going into the US. Yuppers. Why not, right? Canada’s one of the toughest places to get a site like this going… so, I mean, if we can do it here (at least in Edmonton), why not try the US, too?

Hope you’re surviving the changing times,
jw

Tagged: Edmonton real estate