Shorter-Term ARMs Fall Slightly

McLean, VA Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.10 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending October 2, 2008, up from last week when it averaged 6.09 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.37 percent.

30-year fixed-rate mortgage: Averaged 6.10 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending October 2, 2008, up from last week when it averaged 6.09 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.37 percent.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage: Averaged 5.78 percent with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 5.77 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 6.03 percent.

Five-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages ARMs: Averaged 6.00 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 6.02 percent.A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 6.11 percent.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs: Averaged 5.12 percent this week with an average 0.5 point, downfrom last week when it averaged 5.16 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.58 percent.

Commentary From the Freddie Mac Site:

"Average mortgage rates were nearly unchanged during the past week, leaving rates above the levels of two weeks ago," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. "Reflecting the rate uptick from two weeks ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that loan applications were down 23 percent last week.

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Howard Bell

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Russian Hill: Greening the Broadway Tunnel

This is a very good project that has been fully supported by the Russian Hill Neighbors Association, a nonprofit neighborhood organization established in 1981 to encourage friendly association among Russian Hill neighbors and merchants andto respond to neighborhood concerns.
Greening the Broadway Tunnel-West was a $660k DPW project. The City awarded us $325k, but the funds were retracted because of major budget cuts. Some of that money has now been restored (see above).

Greening: ($299k) -- planting twenty-eight trees up the sides of Broadway (just outside of and rising with the tunnel retaining walls), four planter trees on the pedestrian bridge, and fourteen trees in the median strip.

Cable Car Square on Hyde Street ($174k) -- A pedestrian pathway will lead from the SE corner of Broadway and Larkin (starting at Helen Wills Park) to an attractive square at the Hyde Street Cable Car stop. The pathway and square would be demarcated by special paving.

Traditional Ornamental Street Lamps ($187k) -- will help demarcate Broadway as an historic, grand boulevard.

Donations can be made through PayPal or sent to RHN at the following address:

Judy Junghans, Treasurer
RUSSIAN HILL NEIGHBORS
1819 Polk St. #221
San Francisco, CA 94109
Voice 415-267-0575

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Howard Bell

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SF Homes Prices: How Are We Doing

Everything after this week is old history. Still, it hasnt been all that bad for us.

Dataquick reports that bay area regional home sales had a slight uptick. No doubt due to bargain hunters picking up seemingly deep discounts of 30% or more.

The nine-county region saw a total of 7,232 new and resale houses and condos sold last month, down 4.7 percent from 7,586 in July but just 0.9 percent lower than the 7,299 sales a year ago. An "average" August sees just over 10,000. sales.

The bay area median price of a home has dropped almost 32% since last year. The hardest hit being Contra Costa (down42%), Solano (down almost 36%) and Sonoma (down 31%).

San Francisco Home Prices

Dataquick reports that home prices are down almost 12%, from a median of $822,000 to $725,000. Given whats happening to the outer regions, we are not doing that bad. More than anything the credit crunch and the difficulty in getting jumbo loans to finance higher priced homes seems to be the culprit.

The biggest reason for the relative health of San Francisco home markets is got to be the reverse commute that is bringing well paid jobs onto San Francisco.

Google, Apple, Ebay and Genetech all offer free round trip commuter buses to bring people than normally would likely live in the South Bay to san Francisco. They are populating the city with good jobs, seemingly untouched by the
financial services crises. i cant see Google really hurt by all of this.

San Francisco cant escape completely because we are the financial center of the west. We will certainly see job loss but the tech sector can hold us up. In fact, our credit rating as a city just went up! So, keep your fingers crossed...we just might escape with little harm.

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Howard Bell

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Still Solvent After all These Years

Mayor Gavin Newsom today welcomed Moody’s upgraded bond rating for the City and County of San Francisco. According to its most recent ratings, Moody’s upgraded the City’s general obligation bond rating to Aa2 from Aa3 and revised the rating outlook to Stable from Positive. Moody’s also upgraded the City’s various general fund obligations to A1 from A2.

"We are proud that Moody’s has upgraded the City and County of San Francisco’s bond rating," said Mayor Newsom. "This rating is a statement about the strong, fiscal health of San Francisco, but we must remain steadfast in our commitment to financial prudence and sound managerial practices, in order to continue our terrific progress."

According to Moody’s, "Among San Francisco's strengths were an above-average resident socioeconomic profile, a highly diverse and robust revenue base, an exceptionally strong balance sheet at close of fiscal year 2006-2007, and a moderate debt burden with relatively rapid, direct debt retirement.

The ratings agency's upgrade came on the heels of the Mayor’s signing of the city’s $6.5 billion city budget last week, which closed a budget shortfall of $338 million.

This means that we will be able to borrow and fund more programs at less cost. Interresting how San Francisco can do it and the state is busted. This city closed a budget shortfall, I have to hand it to all the reasons why. The mayor, proximity to Berkeley and Stanford and all those Googlers who help keep the bars and restaurants open in times like these.

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Howard Bell

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A web site of over 450 articles related to real estate focused primarily on property management.

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15 More Victory Gardens

Why plant a victory garden?

In 1943, Americans planted over 20 million Victory Gardens, and the harvest accounted for nearly a third of all the vegetables consumed in the country. Today our food travels an average of 1500 miles from farm to table. The process of planting, fertilizing, processing, packaging, and transporting our food uses a great deal of energy. More than just energy is at stake. The amount of water used and the amount of pollutants produced to manufacture the plastics and sealants and then fly or truck produce is unnecessary and expensive. Producing and buying locally, from sustainable sources we can save money, energy .

The Mayors office will will install at least 15 pilot urban organic food gardens in San Francisco. Victory Garden staff will install, and support, each Victory Garden. Through public outreach and education programs, Victory Gardens 2008+ aims to create a community of urban food producers.

Just think about this... food for more animals, birds and butterfly's. Victory gardens grown in playgrounds or near public schools can augment fresh food for lunch programs. Micro sustainable food stands in each neighborhood, providing fresh food and small incomes for those who care to raise it. Great idea!

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Howard Bell
www.yourpropertypath.com
A web site of over 450 articles related to real estate focused primarily on property management.
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San Francisco Trades Jobs for Homes

The Planning Commission is considering rezoning areas in four neighborhoods. These areas contain about 5 million sq ft of light and small industrial use properties and may be converted into housing development.

All the areas involved are part of an earlier San Francisco, one that employed and prospered as the industrial part of the city: SOMA, Potrero, the Mission and the waterfront. The recent developments of the last 10-15 years show residential and office development has begun to compete with industrial uses.

I certainly appreciate the value that the influx of internet workers to our city has done. They bring wealth and creativity to San Francisco and have put us on the map in very different ways than ever before. I dont even mind being, in part, a bedroom community for Silicon Valley. But I dont think its in our best interest to shut out people who actually make things.

Im sure this has to do with the disappearance of blue collar working families everywhere, as countries like China and Mexico become the new American work bench.

What do we do with the labor force that are not programmers or scientists? Couldnt we support the re emergence of light industry to support working families, provide jobs and take back (at least in some small ways) some of the jobs we have lost to other countries. That would be a truly balanced program, not just some affordable housing, but to actually address the issues of non technical working people by supporting the development of new light industry.

Heres the Benefit

1. 10,000 new homes.

2. 15% must be low income

3. Higher tax revenues for the city

Heres the Cost:

1. A loss of economic diversity

2. A loss of blue collar jobs

3. A more homogenized San Francisco - LA north?

Attend the next meeting and tell them what you think....The next Board of Supervisors meeting is on Monday, September 15 starting around 1:30-2:00pm, room 263.


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Howard Bell
www.yourpropertypath.com
A web site of over 450 articles related to real estate focused primarily on property management.
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Fisherman’s Wharf : Finally an Eco Friendly Plan

Coming Soon......No Longer a Tourist Trap

A plan to be more welcoming to pedestrians and cyclists and less auto-friendly will cost $10 million to improve the world-famous tourist attraction. San Francisco has dedicated about $100,000 for planning and designing, another $10 million has not been secured. The city would apply for federal and state grants to help secure the plans success.

The area generates a lot of cash for the city and the hope is to create a more European feel and keep that cash coming.

Plans call for removing on-street parking and removing one traffic lane to create a bicycle lane and wider sidewalks with benches.

The city plans to host a number of community meetings on the proposed street makeover before developing a final plan next year. if the city is successful it may again draw interest from San Francisco's citizens. We hardly go there as it is...way too unattractive

Thanks for Reading
Howard Bell
www.yourpropertypath.com
A web site of over 450 articles related to real estate focused primarily on property management.
Your Property Path New Brief
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