Today in Monterey at the Coldwell Banker California Previews Retreat, real estate economist Gary Watts put the gloom and doom of the media, in our case, the San Francisco Chronicle in perspective. He pointed out that bad news sells. Considering that newspaper subscriptions and the number of people watching network news have dropped dramatically, maybe that is not really the case. Apparently BAD NEWS does not sell either. Especially when it is a distortion of what’s really happening.

In about 2 hours he dispelled all the points the news has been making with facts and figures. He did not say why the media is intent on doing this, but I have heard other financial people say that it is because the big news corporations are heavily into the stock market and want people’s money there. I do not know this for a fact, but it certainly makes sense. Another guess might be to alter the reality about how good the economy is really doing under the Bush tax cuts and help get a Democrat elected next term.

Regardless of the reasons, he predicts we are in the 23rd month a what has historically been an average of 27 months for housing downturns. Even so, San Francisco done well during this supposed downturn, so does this mean it will do even better??? We think so.

Here is a link to the PDF which is rather large, but there is some great information, particularly launching into what the media has been reporting as inaccurate and misleading.

- Mick Orton

Read what Rick Turley, President of Coldwell Banker, San Francisco/Peninsula says in his latest weekly report:

Media reports regarding the condition of the mortgage industry continue to have a perplexing effect on buyers. Some potential buyers aren’t even attempting to qualify for loans for fear of rejection, and others are simply confused by what the media is reporting and think that reasonable loans don’t exist any more. The reality is that credit tightening has only affected a very, very small percentage of buyers. The fact is that they could be missing a good buying opportunity by waiting, or not trying to qualify.

Our partner Princeton Capital is a well-capitalized, multi-source lender, and is guiding many of our customers through some of the confusion, and assisting them through successful purchase transactions. This remains a great time to buy a home, and a chance to leverage the many opportunities now available. In areas of the East Bay and North Bay, sellers are beginning to lower their listing prices; meaning there are bargains to be had. In other areas, multiple offer situations and tighter inventory render it absolutely crucial for buyers to be working with a strong, solid lender.

Read the entire report here.

- Rick Turley

* For an e-mail alert when this report is updated, send an e-mail to info@SFResidence.com with “weekly market report” in the subject line.

Foster Weeks publishes a weekly mortgage report which is updated every Monday morning. How is this affecting the San Francisco real estate market? Read our weekly and monthly market reports.

…the Fed can’t do much to help you overcome the feeling of summer slipping away – their actions have helped to stabilize the financial markets, and calm some of the “credit crunch blues”. Just over a week ago, the Fed made a decision to lower the rate at their “Discount Window”, allowing banking institutions another method of providing assurance of liquidity to their clients, and also helping many institutions continue to fund home loans. Due to the Fed’s action, the past week was somewhat calm in the financial world…at least calmer than has been seen in awhile. Both the Stock market and the Bond markets moved higher, and conforming home loan rates remained stable to very slightly improved…

Read the entire report here.

- Foster Weeks

SFResidence is part of the TRI Coldwell Banker office at 1699 Van Ness in San Francisco which is one of the premier offices in the City and has the market share numbers to prove it. We have some of the top agents selling real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a result, our office posts some impressive numbers.

Well, it’s only a couple of more weeks before we will start seeing an upswing in activity. This week was very slow, which is to be expected at the end of summer. It probably is a combination of the uncertaintly in the stock market along with all the news with interest rates. Though these hysterical news reports have little to do with home mortgage loans, especially in San Francisco, the herd mentality sometimes kicks in and people wait to see how it all shakes out. There will be no report next week.

Here are the numbers for this week 8/22/07:

• 6 new listings (average price $1,721,333 – low $428,000, high $2,350,000)
• 5 ratified sales (pending) (average price $1,203,400 – low $459,000, high $2,800,000)
• 1 closed sales (sold) (price $400,000)
• 1 reduced (price $850,000)

- Janis Stone

Foster Weeks publishes a weekly mortgage report which is updated every Monday morning. How is this affecting the San Francisco real estate market? Read our weekly and monthly market reports. Although the Fed’s moves last week did not affect home mortgage or short term borrowing rates, it did have a calming effect on the market!

…many saw Friday morning’s surprise action by the Fed as a move that saved the day in terms of the financial markets…at least for now. What was the surprise move exactly? It was actually a doubly good surprise, consisting of two specific actions by the Fed, designed to help ease some of the current fears in the financial markets.

First, a .50% cut to the Discount Rate, taking it from 6.25% down to 5.75%. This is the rate at which the Fed lends money directly to commercial banks, credit unions, savings & loans, and also including large mortgage bankers. Now this is a different rate than the Fed Funds Rate – which is the rate at which banks lend money to other banks, currently at 5.25% – and is the rate generally discussed in terms of cuts or hikes surrounding normally scheduled Fed meetings. Note, the Fed’s move to cut the Discount Rate has no impact on mortgage rates or consumer rates like home equity lines of credit. The Discount Rate is generally above the Fed Funds Rate, which does make borrowing money from the Fed a last resort for lending institutions, as they would generally borrow from other banks at a lower rate. However, with the current liquidity situation making that more difficult by the day, the Fed’s move will help provide lending institutions more liquidity at more desirable rates in the short term.

Read the entire report here.

- Foster Weeks

Read what Rick Turley, President of Coldwell Banker, San Francisco/Peninsula says in his latest weekly report:

There has been a flood of commentary on the credit crunch this week. Both facts and speculations have dominated the headlines. To truly understand the local impact we’re experiencing, it’s best to listen to the actual comments from out in the field. So this week, I am simply compiling the feedback from our agents and managers in our Bay Area offices. You be the judge as to what is really going on.

Comments from East and North Bay offices:

“Agents dealing in highly sought after areas are less concerned about the buyer’s mortgages since a really competitive offer would need 20% down as a minimum……The media is saturated with news of doom and gloom and it is intimidating our Buyers out here. Otherwise, we are seeing increased activity this week…… We have sold some of our older inventory this week….. Price reductions are seeing action…… The mortgage crisis has given us all the jitters, but as each day passes, we realize that life goes on and so does real estate. Many of our buyers are unphased at this point, though we are seeing drop in activity…….

Read the entire report here.

- Rick Turleyinfo@SFResidence.com with “weekly market report” in the subject line.

* For an e-mail alert when this report is updated, send an e-mail to

SFResidence is part of the TRI Coldwell Banker office at 1699 Van Ness in San Francisco which is one of the premier offices in the City and has the market share numbers to prove it. We have some of the top agents selling real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a result, our office posts some impressive numbers.

As I write this we are in Los Angeles for a Coldwell Banker event where Realtors from all over the country gather to trade tricks, tips and ideas to help generate more business. As you’ll see from the numbers, this is the reason the broker chooses weeks at the end of summer to have the Elite Retreat because of the typical business slowdown at this time of year.

Here are the numbers for this week 8/15/07:

• 5 new listings (average price $757,800 – low $410,000, high $1,295,000)
• 6 ratified sales (pending) (average price $1,299,833 – low $555,000, high $2,050,000)
• 6 closed sales (sold) (average price $1,309,750 – low $575,000, high $2,795,000)

- Janis Stone

Yesterday, the Chronicle’s Real Estate pull out section featured an atricle about some micro-climates still being strong even after declining sales in other areas and mortgage problems.

Pacific Heights and the Marina are doing better than San Francisco and the state as a whole with nearly 8 percent median price gains for the first 6 months.

Read the article here.

- Mick Orton

Foster Weeks publishes a weekly mortgage report which is updated every Monday morning. How is this affecting the San Francisco real estate market? Read our weekly and monthly market reports.

…last week was just plain the worst of times, as far as the financial markets around the globe were concerned. French bank BNP Paribas — the largest bank in France and second largest in Europe — touched off a crisis in Europe on Thursday when it announced that it couldn’t determine the values of three of their mutual funds due to their containing US sub-prime mortgage investments, and actually prohibited withdrawals from these funds until a valuation could be made.

This led to a lack of confidence not only with their customers and investors, but also among all European Union banks. These banks, not knowing the extent of each other’s investment exposure in US mortgage backed securities, suddenly realized they couldn’t trust one another enough to lend each other money via normal inter-bank loans. This created an instant “liquidity crisis” in Europe, and Stock markets across the world reacted negatively as a result…

Read the entire report here.

- Foster Weeks