CATEGORY ARCHIVE: Just Quotes (Emphasis Added)
May 12, 2008
When Investment In Neighborhoods Isn’t “Enhancement” Enough...
“Imposing community impact fees on developers similar to those applied to builders with projects in the South of Market area would likely happen for future development areas, one city legislator said.
“No area plan improvements that create greater development opportunities and greater opportunities to profit from development will go forth in the city of San Francisco without having mitigation or impact fees that will provide for the enhancement of those areas,” Supervisor Jake McGoldrick said.”
∙ Community funds to bridge economic gaps in SoMa [Examiner]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (27) | (email story)
May 8, 2008
JustQuotes: Fewer Transfers Yields Fewer Dollars And Offsets Savings
“On Tuesday, the City Controller’s Office released a report that put [San Francisco's projected budget] shortfall for next fiscal year at approximately $305 million, $33 million less than what was projected a few weeks ago.
The savings came from the departmental cost-cutting, as well as well-performing hotel, sales, property and business taxes, according to the Controller’s Office.
The “good news” however, is tempered by less-than-expected property transfer tax revenue. The City budgeted to receive $123.5 million from the sales of real estate in San Francisco [down from $144 million the year before], but have now adjusted that figure and expect to bring in $91.6 million.”
∙ Sales of soaring skyscrapers sag [Examiner]
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May 7, 2008
JustQuotes: Barney Frank’s Housing Bill Reduced To Political Rubble?
“As the House prepared to vote on a housing-relief bill offered by Democratic leaders, President Bush on Wednesday told the lawmakers, in effect, not to bother. “I will veto the bill that’s moving through the House today if it makes it to my desk,” the president said at the White House, after meeting with Republican House leaders."
“Under the [Frank] bill, lenders would be required to reduce the principal balances for borrowers at risk of default. The troubled loans, typically with high, adjustable interest rates, would then be refinanced into more affordable 30-year fix-rate loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration. The new loans would be limited to 90 percent of a property’s value, based on an updated appraisal, and the government would retain a stake in any future sale of the property.
The Bush administration prefers a more limited expansion of federally insured mortgages and has argued that housing relief can be accomplished by the Federal Housing Administration without new legislation.
The president on Wednesday repeated his opposition to a bill “that will reward speculators and lenders” who have suffered because of their own foolishness.”
∙ Bush Vows to Veto Housing-Relief Bill in House [New York Times]
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JustQuotes: Redevelopment Plans For Hunters Point Public Housing
“Six residential towers will stretch up to 65 feet above the highest peaks of Hunters Point providing enviable views of The City and Bay, under newly released redevelopment plans to rebuild the public-housing site for low-income as well as market-rate residents.
Currently, 154 of the 267 decrepit public-housing units at the hilly site within The City’s southeast area are rented from the San Francisco Housing Authority, according to city documents. The rest sit empty.”
“Along with 267 public-housing units planned for the rebuilt neighborhood, there will be 315 market-rate units, 141 below-market-rate rental and ownership units, and at least 17 units built by Habitat For Humanity, plans show.”
“Narrow, tree-lined streets in the redeveloped site will follow a classical grid-pattern that connect with roads in surrounding neighborhoods — a vast contrast to the current street-design that follows the circular contours of the land, according to Torney. The project will also include a trio of parks.
Work on the redevelopment effort is expected to begin late next year…[and] is expected to finish by 2015.”
∙ Public housing in Hunters Point to have soaring views [Examiner]
∙ JustQuotes: A New Vision For A Hunters Point Neighborhood [SocketSite 5/07]
∙ JustQuotes: Redeveloping The Developments (And Changing The Mix) [SocketSite 3/08]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (17) | (email story)
May 6, 2008
The Early Comment/Question Of The Day: The Anti-Chain Weak Link?
“Here in the Castro, there are over a dozen empty storefronts and more expected. Yet, the hood chased WaMu out of a great (now empty) space. So, are people really happy with boarded up buildings instead of chains?”
∙ Comment: Contempt For Chains At The Expense Of The Current Neighborhood?
Posted by socketadmin at 10:21 AM | Permalink | (email story)
That Was Then, This Is Now (And Why Was Warren Buffett Selling?)
“[Warren] Buffett said he sold two residential units in San Francisco about two years ago. The real estate agents wanted him to list one of the properties for $995,000, but Buffett listed it above $1 million and it sold for $1,750,000 in one day, the billionaire recalled.
"There were 20 buyers that day," Buffett said during a press conference. "That wouldn't happen now -- it wouldn't happen in San Francisco today."
∙ Buffett will look at RBS insurance unit [MarketWatch]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (40) | (email story)
May 5, 2008
JustQuotes: Record Sale Price For Edgewater Apartments On Berry
"Colorado-based apartment real estate investment trust paid $115 million for a recently completed Mission Bay apartment complex, a deal that shattered price-per-unit records for a major multi-family property in San Francisco.
UDR, formerly known as United Dominion Realty Trust, shelled out $595,855 per apartment, or $730 a square foot, for the recently completed 193-unit Edgewater Luxury Apartments at 355 Berry St., north of the channel in Mission Bay.
The seller was the apartment developer Urban Housing Group, which spent five years entitling and constructing the property before opening it in August 2007. Urban Housing fully leased the building in four months, beating projections by five months."
∙ Edgewater's $115M price shatters records [Business Times]
∙ Edgewater Apartments (355 Berry): An Overview And Pricing [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (38) | (email story)
May 2, 2008
Unlike The Academy Of Art, The SFUSD Looks To Sell
According to J.K. Dineen at the San Francisco Business Times, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) has hired CB Richard Ellis Consulting to evaluate the potential sale of "a group of sites totalling 11.2 acres that, with special zoning changes, could accommodate 917 housing units."
The properties extend from the Richmond to the Marina. A 36,000-square-foot site just steps from the 16th Street BART station at 1950 Mission St., for example, is zoned for four-story residential and could house 181 units. A defunct child care center at 1155 Page St., a block from Buena Vista Park, could add 36 units. The largest site -- 83,000 square feet of open space at Seventh Avenue and Lawton Street -- could be developed into 413 homes, although any construction there would be battled by dog walkers and residents who have long used the sloping grass quad as an ad hoc park, as well as seasonal marketplace for pumpkins and Christmas trees.
Other properties up for evaluation: 2340 Jackson (former newcomer High School property), 1340 Bush (parking garage), 1512 Golden Gate Avenue (Golden Gate Annex), 20 Cook (Children’s Center Administration Building), and 1101 Connecticut (vacant).
The slow and steady decline in enrollment has driven agonizing annual debates over politically sensitive school closings. In May of 2007 a citizens advisory committee looking into enrollment drop and the district's properties recommended that the school board designate 20 percent of its property as surplus and lease or sell them to third parties.
∙ S.F. schools to market 8 properties [Business Times]
Posted by socketadmin at 5:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
May 1, 2008
JustQuotes: The Fed Cuts By A Quarter Point (And Takes A Step Back)
“The Fed's Open Market Committee lowered its benchmark rate by a quarter point to 2 percent yesterday, extending the most aggressive easing in two decades. At the same time, the Fed backed away from previous language signaling a preference for further cuts and described reductions to date as 'substantial.'
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is navigating between a faltering economic expansion and near-record oil and commodity prices that threaten to stoke inflation. The central bank didn't rule out further reductions, and it may take additional actions aimed at easing financial-market turmoil, such as expanding the size of cash-loan auctions for commercial banks.”
∙ Fed May Take Breather After Seven Rate Cuts, Emergency Loans [Bloomberg]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
April 24, 2008
U.S. New-Home Sales Slide Plunge To Near Seventeen Year Low
“Purchases of new homes in the U.S. plunged more than forecast in March to the lowest level in almost 17 years as stricter loan rules and falling prices caused buyers to hold off. Sales dropped 8.5 percent to an annual pace of 526,000, the fewest since October 1991, from a 575,000 rate the prior month....”
∙ New-Home Sales in the U.S. Plunge More Than Forecast [Bloomberg]
∙ U.S. Existing-Home Sales Slide (This Time Despite The Seasonality) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (44) | (email story)
Pacific Heights The Sequel (Working Title: "Landlords Gone Wild!")
“A landlord couple have been charged in San Francisco with waging a campaign of terror against their renters in a South of Market building, including cutting out the floor supports at one apartment after the tenant went to court to keep from being evicted, authorities said Wednesday.”
“The charges stem from tactics the [Kip and Nicole Macy] allegedly used after they bought a six-unit, three-story apartment building [at 744-746] Clementina Street for $995,000 in 2005 and started eviction proceedings against the five tenants living there.
When one of the tenants, Scott Morrow, successfully fought eviction, the couple allegedly told workers in September 2006 to cut the beams that supported his apartment's floor. They also shut off Morrow's electricity, cut his phone line and had workers saw a hole in his living room floor from below, prosecutors said. Morrow has since sued the Macys.”
UPDATE (4/28): Additional details emerge.
∙ S.F. landlords charged with tenant terror [SFGate]
∙ Bizarre account of S.F. eviction battle [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (106) | (email story)
April 22, 2008
JustQuotes: American Institute of Architects Honor Awards: SF Style
“One of four honor awards for excellence in architecture handed out by the [American Institute of Architects] San Francisco chapter went to 185 Post St., a six-story box from 1955 that's been turned from nondescript to knockout by Brand + Allen Architects. The firm's design kept the masonry shell but wrapped it in a layer of fritted glass. From afar, the glass is an opaque screen; up close, it's a skin-tight, see-through blouse.”
“[H]onor awards also went to the San Francisco Federal Building, by Morphosis with SmithGroup (maybe our next president will finally follow through on promises to make the upper-floor terrace open to the public), and two residential buildings: Tehama Grasshopper, a warehouse conversion, by Fougeron Architecture, topped by a chic glass penthouse; and Bridge House, by Stanley Saitowitz/Natoma Architects.”
∙ Place: 185 Post St. among winning buildings [SFGate]
∙ The Modern Makeover And Façade Of 185 Post [SocketSite]
∙ Just Quotes: Let's Hear It For (Or Against) The Feds [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco Living: Home Tours (A Chance To Comment In General) [SocketSite]
∙ From JustQuotes To JustPhotos: The Aforementioned Bridge House [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
April 21, 2008
If This Has Been The Calm, What Happens To Sales During The Storm?
“The Bay Area's largest public companies experienced the calm before the storm in 2007. Amid signs of an impending recession, local companies continued to expand at a moderate pace, one that most other U.S. regions would envy.
The Chronicle 200, [an] annual report on the 200 largest public companies in the Bay Area, demonstrates the economic diversity and health of this region. Despite a national housing slump and credit crunch, most companies still delivered solid financial performances in 2007 - although there are clearly clouds on the horizon for 2008.”
“Some of that resilience can be traced to local companies' strong presence on the world stage. Most of the corporate leaders, especially Silicon Valley companies, have major international sales. The dollar's weakness has fueled the rest of the world's appetite for U.S. products.
The flip side is that many of those companies also have hefty employment rolls overseas, so while their robust global sales boost the bottom line back home, they don't necessarily translate into job growth here.”
∙ Chron 200: Bay Area enjoys calm before the storm [SFGate]
∙ San Francisco Recorded Sales Activity In March: Down 20.6% YOY [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
April 18, 2008
We’ve Heard Local Contractors Are Getting More Responsive Too
"Nibbi Brothers' Larry Nibbi said he has seen a flood of résumés from construction workers who were previously employed by home-builders like KB Homes and Centex. The sudden jump in the availability of workers -- and subcontractors looking for jobs -- has knocked down construction costs about 5 percent to 7 percent in some areas, Nibbi said."
"An abundance of available workers has knocked down prices for mechanical, electrical, heating, plumbing and dry wall work. Painting has remained about the same and roofing and asphalt have gone up because of the increased cost of oil."
∙ Nibbi says housing bubble loosens labor pool [San Francisco Business Times]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
April 16, 2008
Much Ado Over Nothing (Except An Overflow Cow Palace Parking Lot)
"The landmark Cow Palace got a new lease on life Tuesday when state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, dropped efforts to put the aging arena in Daly City up for sale. Instead, he settled for a compromise plan that will allow only an adjoining parking lot to be sold."
∙ Cow Palace won't be sold, after all [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | (email story)
April 14, 2008
JustQuotes: Fannie Raises A Red Flag With Regard To Foreclosures?
"On March 31, Fannie Mae sent out new guidelines to lenders intended for walkaways and other foreclosure situations. Fannie will now prohibit foreclosed borrowers from getting another mortgage through the giant investor for five years, unless there are "documented extenuating circumstances." In those cases, the mortgage prohibition is for three years.
Even after five years, borrowers with foreclosures in their files will be required to make at least a 10 percent down payment, and will need minimum FICO credit scores of 680.
Freddie Mac, Fannie's rival, counts foreclosures as major credit blots for seven years, and a senior official said the company is now aggressively pursuing some walkaway borrowers "to preserve our deficiency rights" where permitted under state law."
∙ Fannie warns homeowners who walk away [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
April 10, 2008
It's A Good Thing San Francisco's Fortunes Aren't Tied To The Valley
"Housing prices in Silicon Valley remain defiantly high. New BMWs and Saabs cruise Highway 101. But for the first time there are signs that the current economic downturn is taking its toll on the country’s cradle of technology and innovation.
Job growth has slowed, start-up companies are hiring and spending more cautiously, and early-stage investors who nurture the start-ups with money and expertise are growing more frugal."
∙ Economy Has Become a Drag on Silicon Valley [New York Times]
∙ And What Happened Seven And One Half Years Ago In San Francisco? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (41) | (email story)
April 8, 2008
JustQuotes: U.S. Pending Home Resale Index Hits Seven Year Low
“The number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes declined more than forecast in February, indicating no sign of a bottom in the U.S. real-estate recession that is entering its third year.
The National Association of Realtors' index of signed purchase agreements decreased 1.9 percent to 84.6, the lowest reading since records began in 2001, the group said today. The drop follows a revised 0.3 percent increase in January.”
“Pending resales dropped in three of four regions, led by a 9.8 percent decline in the West. Purchases fell 5.5 percent in the South and 3.7 percent in the Midwest. Pending sales increased 3.2 percent in the Northeast.”
∙ U.S. Economy: Pending Home Resales Fell More Than Forecast [Bloomberg]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (48) | (email story)
April 7, 2008
Cruising (Pier 27) And Working (Piers 30-32) But Not Sporting At All
"A long-standing and controversial plan to restore rusted piers and create a recreation and office center at the foot of Telegraph Hill could be abandoned for a new proposal that developers and port officials have been quietly discussing in recent weeks.
The new plan still would feature a state-of-the-art cruise ship terminal at Pier 27. But the office development used to pay for the terminal would instead shift south to Piers 30-32. A public recreation center - which at one time included a YMCA and a marine sports basin - would disappear altogether."
∙ Port of S.F. has new cruise ship terminal plan [SFGate]
∙ Pier Wars [SocketSite]
∙ Frederick Knows His Piers (A.K.A. Cruise Ships Closer To Pier 27) [SocketSite]
∙ Proposed SF Cruise Ship Terminal Sunk [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
April 4, 2008
JustQuotes: Food For Foreclosure Thoughts (Including Data Lag)
"Borrowers in California who fight foreclosure can stretch the process to 18 months, said Cameron Pannabecker, chapter president of the California Association of Mortgage Brokers and president of Cal-Pro Mortgage Inc. in Stockton.
That doesn't take into account the woman he knows who hasn't made a mortgage payment in eight months and hasn't heard from her lender, Pannabecker said.
'Now she's afraid to mail in a payment for fear it'll come to somebody's attention,' he said."
∙ Lenders Swamped By Foreclosures Let Homeowners Stay [Bloomberg]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
Silicon Valley Hiring Slowdown: Meaningful Or Meaningless?
"Hiring in Silicon Valley was strong during much of 2007 but lost momentum toward the end of the year, a slight slowdown that has continued into 2008, local experts on technology employment say.
"Last year was great," said Patti Wilson, principal of CareerCompany.com, a Silicon Valley job consulting firm. "Companies were hiring and they were competing with each other for top technology talent."
This year though, hiring has dropped off and some companies are laying off workers, she noted.”
∙ Tech companies still hiring, but pace slowing [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
April 3, 2008
Assessing The Potential Upside Of A Down Market: Property Tax Basis
“If your home is worth less than you paid, chances are you also can get a temporary reduction in your property taxes - without a battery of lawyers or dubious arguments about functional obsolescence."
"Some companies offer to submit a request on behalf of homeowners for $25 to $200, or a percentage of the property tax reduction. But there's no need to pay for this service.”
“In most counties, you can simply call or write your assessor's office or download a form from its Web site and mail it in. It helps to provide recent sales prices for comparable homes in your neighborhood, but it's not necessary. The assessor's office will be looking at its own comps. If the homeowner and assessor cannot agree on a value through this informal process, the homeowner can file a formal appeal with the county's assessment appeals board.”
∙ Assessors amenable to lowering home values [SFGate]
∙ Residential Property Assessment Appeals (pdf) [ca.gov]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
April 2, 2008
JustQuotes: A Shift In Policy Or Simply A Shift In What's Being Said?
"Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson indicated the Bush administration is willing to consider congressional plans to stem foreclosures by expanding government guarantees for mortgages."
"Paulson's housing comments are a shift from last month, when he said proposals to use government funds were a 'non- starter' and played down concern about homeowners whose houses are worth less than what they owe on their mortgages. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said yesterday that officials are warming to his plan to widen mortgage guarantees."
Paulson Says Treasury `Flexible' on Housing Measures [Bloomberg]
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March 24, 2008
JustQuotes: The People (And Politics) Behind Buildings And Design
The Quote:
ADCO is proposing a 38-story, elliptical-shaped glass building with five levels of underground parking. Market-rate condominiums would be built on top of the tennis courts and next door to a residence for seniors. The street that gently slopes downward to the Japantown malls would also undergo major reconstruction, including new condominiums by owner 3D Investments.
At the current height, the 1481 Post Street project would be the tallest building in the neighborhood, an issue of concern to neighborhood residents. “The height of your building will set the tone for the rest of Post Street going west,” said Sandy Mori, president of the Japantown Task Force, referring to proposals by 3D Investments. “Right now [3D Investments’] highest building is as tall as Hotel Kabuki, which is reasonable in my personal opinion.”
[ADCO Group representative Linda Corso] indicated a willingness to modify the design of the building and reduce the height to move the project forward, perhaps due to public pressure. “We’re going to take all the input from tonight back to our design team and get back to you hopefully in a month or so,” Corso said.
The housing nonprofit that owns and operates the 26-story high-rise next door to the proposed ADCO project has hired a political consultant and sent out a mailing opposing the glass building. They received 600 responses by mail out of 7,000 pieces delivered.
And our reader's response (with which we quite agree):
Please let this SOM building rise up; it's not going to work as a short cylinder. This is a perfectly-scaled building.
∙ J-Town Concerned About High-Rise Plans [AsianWeek]
∙ The Official Cathedral Hill Tower (1481 Post Street) Website [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (36) | (email story)
JustQuotes: Resolution Trust Corporation Redux?
"Even after cutting rates by 3 percentage points since September, expanding the range of securities it accepts as collateral for loans and giving dealers access to its discount window, the Fed has been unable to promote confidence. The difference between what the government and banks pay for three- month loans doubled in the past month to 1.92 percentage points.
The only tool left may be for the Fed to help facilitate a Resolution Trust Corp.-type agency that would buy bonds backed by home loans, said Bill Gross, manager of the world's biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co. While purchasing the some of the $6 trillion mortgage securities outstanding would take problem debt off the balance sheets of banks and alleviate the cause of the credit crunch, it would put taxpayers at risk."
∙ Fed May Buy Mortgages Next, Treasury Investors Bet [Bloomberg]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | (email story)
March 20, 2008
JustQuotes: More Green For Greener Building Codes In San Francisco
“San Francisco moved a step closer Wednesday to imposing the country's most stringent green building codes, regulations that would require new large commercial buildings and residential high-rises to contain such environmentally friendly features as solar power, nontoxic paints and plumbing fixtures that decrease water usage."
"New residential high-rises taller than 75 feet, new commercial buildings larger than 5,000 square feet and renovations on buildings larger than 25,000 square feet would have to comply with the environmentally friendly building standards known as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED."
"All new residential construction would have to comply with another nationally accepted standard, known as GreenPoint Rated, which requires home builders to use such features as paint made from recycled materials and solar-powered water-heating systems."
∙ S.F. moves to greenest building codes in U.S. [SFGate]
∙ JustQuotes: Standards Are One Thing, Actual Certification Another [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
March 19, 2008
JQ: Capital Requirements Follow The Asset Caps For Fannie/Freddie
"Regulators for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cut the companies' surplus capital requirement in an effort to expand their combined $1.5 trillion in mortgage investments and revive the U.S. home-loan market.
The requirement was lowered to 20 percent from 30 percent, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said in a news release today. The government-chartered companies, the largest sources of money for home loans, also agreed to raise a 'significant' amount of new capital, Ofheo said."
∙ Fannie, Freddie Surplus Capital Requirement Is Eased [Bloomberg]
∙ JustQuotes: What The OFHEO Are They Thinking? (Asset Caps) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
March 14, 2008
JustQuotes: The Ballot Battle Over Hunters And Candlestick Point
"[Carmen] Policy, still revered for his role in the 1990s 49ers dynasty, has been cast as the public face of the Bayview Jobs, Parks, and Housing initiative -- Proposition G on the June ballot. The measure would put the voters' stamp of approval on the city's plan to transform the [Hunters Point] shipyard and Candlestick Point into a sprawling, mixed-use neighborhood with 10,000 units of housing, 300 acres of parkland, 2 million square feet of commercial space (biotech, cleantech and office), and 600,000 square feet of retail."
"But the measure faces a competing initiative being led by Supervisor Chris Daly. That initiative -- Prop. F -- would require that any development at the shipyard include at least 50 percent below-market-rate housing. That is twice the 25 percent affordable housing Lennar is proposing. A study for the Mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development stated that doubling the amount of affordable housing from 25 percent to 50 percent would add $800 million to the developer's cost, which Michael Cohen, director of the economic development office, said would kill the project."
"The amount of investment Lennar and its equity and development partners are proposing to pump in the city's southeast sector is staggering. The initial investment of $1.5 billion would pay for new roads as well as sewer, water and gas systems. It would build 300 acres of parks, a "vast and effective transit system," and pay for the demolition of buildings, Cohen said. Some $5 billion would pay for 10,000 housing units and vast amount of commercial space."
"Supervisor Daly said city voters who care about affordable housing should support his initiative. He said he believes Lennar when it says it can't make 50 percent affordable work economically -- but he doesn't care. He said he would rather the city take the lead as developer and look for public funding "rather than handing the reins over to Lennar, which will net us a project that will fall short of meeting the needs of San Francisco."
∙ Lennar hands ball to Policy [San Francisco Business Times]
∙ JustQuotes: The Redevelopment Of Hunters/Candlestick Point [SocketSite]
∙ JustQuotes: No Carrot, All Stick (Or Should We Say Daly Shtick?) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
March 13, 2008
JustQuotes: It's A Good Thing We Don’t Have Any ARMs Around Here…
“U.S. home foreclosure filings jumped 60 percent and bank seizures more than doubled in February as rates on adjustable mortgages rose and property owners were unable to sell or refinance amid falling prices….About $460 billion of adjustable-rate mortgages are scheduled to reset this year and another $420 billion will rise in 2011, according to New York-based analysts at Citigroup Inc.”
∙ U.S. Home Defaults, Foreclosures Rise 60% in February [Bloomberg]
∙ An ARM (And Quite Possibly A Leg) [SocketSite 6/05]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | (email story)
March 12, 2008
JustQuotes: Redeveloping The Developments (And Changing The Mix)
“Three more decrepit San Francisco public housing developments will be refashioned into denser neighborhoods that include some market-rate housing, under a new agreement between the Housing Authority and construction companies that say they're up for the job.
The Housing Authority Commission on Tuesday named Sunnydale in Visitacion Valley, the Potrero Terrace-Potrero Annex complex on Potrero Hill and Westside Courts in the Western Addition as the next developments to be rebuilt using a mix of public and private funds.
The remade projects will include the same number of public housing units they do now, as well as hundreds of new affordable and market-rate rental units and homes for sale to help offset the costs. In all, there will be about 3,000 units in the new neighborhoods.”
“Bridge Housing Corp. will lead a team to build 605 public housing units and 1151 new units at the Potrero Hill development. Mercy Housing will lead a team to build 785 public housing units and 1,498 new units at Sunnydale. And Em Johnson Interest will lead a team to rebuild 136 existing units and 220 new units at Westside Courts."
∙ 3 S.F. public housing areas getting rebuilt [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | (email story)
March 11, 2008
A Liquidity Boost (And A Chance To Launder Some “AAA” Securities?)
"The Federal Reserve, struggling to contain a crisis of confidence in credit markets, plans to lend up to $200 billion in exchange for mortgage-backed securities.
The Fed coordinated the effort with central banks in Europe and Canada, which plan to inject up to $45 billion into their banking systems. The Fed said in a statement it will hold auctions of Treasuries in exchange for debt including AAA rated mortgage securities sold by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and by banks.
Today's steps indicate the Fed is increasingly concerned about the investor exodus from mortgage debt, which threatens to deepen the housing contraction and the economic slowdown. While they fall short of the calls by some analysts for the Fed to make outright purchases of mortgage debt, the central bank left the door open to expanding the effort."
∙ Fed to Lend $200 Billion, Take on Mortgage Securities [Bloomberg]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
March 7, 2008
JustQuotes: A Boon To The Bayview (And Another Sign For Some)
"Developer Joe Cassidy has donated a Bayview district housing site to the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, a gift that will allow the nonprofit to build a 170-unit affordable housing project targeting Bayview families.
The waterfront parcel, 900 Innes Ave., has been appraised at $17 million to $19 million depending on how many units are constructed. The donation may generate a large tax write-off for Cassidy, but he said it was motivated by the weak housing market and frustration with the city's sluggish land use approval process. He had planned to build a market-rate development on the site, but three years into the application process was still years away from breaking ground. With affordable housing a priority for elected officials across the political spectrum, the THC will be better positioned to cut through the city bureaucracy, he added."
"I don't think a market-rate project out there would pencil for us at this point," said Cassidy. "The affordable guys will be able to move it and the market rate guys would be tied up for another three years, easy, plus two years of construction. I can't wait five years while the city gets its act together."
∙ Developer donates site for big affordable plan [San Francisco Business Times]
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March 6, 2008
JustQuotes: Might It Draw Demand From Way Over In San Francisco?
"The developer of the recently opened Eight Orchids condominium mid-rise in Oakland hopes to auction off nearly a third of the units, with some starting bids $300,000 below prior asking prices, as builders struggle to unload new properties in the current housing climate."
"The auction of 41 units is scheduled for March 30....The minimum bid for one-bedrooms is $245,000, down from as high as $520,888; two-bedrooms will start at $325,000, down from as high as $630,888; and three-bedrooms will begin at $475,000, discounted from as much as $805,888. There is no "secret reserve," meaning any unit that receives at least the minimum offer will go to the bidder."
∙ Prices cut for Oakland condo auction [SFGate]
∙ 8 Orchids (Oakland) [8-orchids.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (37) | (email story)
March 5, 2008
JQ: While The Fed Giveth (Cuts), The Street Taketh Away (Spreads)
"The extra yield that investors demand to own so-called agency mortgage-backed securities over 10-year U.S. Treasuries rose to the highest since 1986, boosting the cost of loans for homebuyers considered the least likely to default.
The difference in yields on the Bloomberg index for Fannie Mae's current-coupon, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage bonds and 10- year government notes widened about 1 basis point, to 204 basis points, or 70 basis points higher than Jan. 15. The spread helps determine the interest rate homeowners pay on new prime mortgages of $417,000 or less. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point."
"Spreads tightened last week when the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two of the largest buyers of the securities they guarantee, announced that temporary caps on their $1.5 trillion portfolio would be lifted. Investors have realized that the step was unimportant because the companies remain "capital-constrained," [a] New York-based UBS analysts wrote."
∙ Agency Mortgage-Backed Bond Spreads Reach Highest Since 1986 [Bloomberg]
∙ JustQuotes: What The OFHEO Are They Thinking? [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 9:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
March 4, 2008
JustQuotes: Planning/Progress The Willie Brown Way (Via John King)
"The way [Willie Brown] tells it, [neighborhood residents] were pulling every trick they could to stop the city from erecting a parking garage on Vallejo Street desired by North Beach and Chinatown merchants. So when all the approvals were lined up, Brown ordered demolition of the site's existing structure to commence on Friday night and be done by Monday morning, when the group was certain to try to obtain a restraining order.
"It was with the demolition permit I outsmarted them," Brown recounts proudly, claiming that as the critics rushed toward court, "someone shouted out to them that the building had disappeared over the weekend. They've never recovered from that little maneuver."
I pass along this florid tale because it demonstrates "Basic Brown's" basic insight into how San Francisco and other cities evolve. Things rarely happen by chance: Our landscape is shaped by competing visions of what a shared place should be. And more often than not, the winners are those who use the most brazen tactics."
∙ Place: 'Basic Brown' reveals a brazen mayor [SFGate]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) | (email story)
February 29, 2008
JustQuotes: The Timing On Turnberry's Tower (45 Lansing) And Sales
"Turnberry Associates...has leased the defunct 25,000-square-foot Sound Factory nightclub at 525 Harrison St., directly next door to the One Rincon Hill sales center at 511 Harrison St. The space will be converted into a sales and marketing center for the tower Turnberry plans to start work on this summer [at 45 Lansing]. Turnberry spokesman Matt Levinson said...the sales office would open in "six to eight months."
∙ One Rincon Hill office welcomes glitzy neighbor [Business Times]
∙ First Impressions: One Rincon Hill Sales Center [SocketSite]
∙ True Luxury Condos At 45 Lansing? [SocketSite]
∙ Out With The Old: 45 Lansing And The Lot Around Watermark [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
February 20, 2008
JustQuotes: Will San Francisco Get What It Deserves?
“Many qualified and experience developers took a pass on [Seawall Lot 337] because of the perception that the Giants have it tied up -- And the Giants are encouraging this perception in order to keep down the competition. For a project of this size the experience and talent brought to the table so far is very modest - both on the lead-developer side and on the architect side.
Having a small cast of bidders with some weak members will also greater depress the potential land value offered. The Giants may be hoping for this; others have to hope the Port understands this dynamic, and can get the value the city deserves.”
∙ The SocketSite Scoop: The Build Inc. Proposal For Seawall Lot 337 [SocketSite]
∙ The Rendering And Additional Details For The Giants SWL 337 Proposal [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
February 19, 2008
JustQuotes: If Only It Were The Exception Rather Than The Rule
"A year ago, four empty lots along [Octavia Boulevard] were awarded to architects and developers who won a civic competition. Neighborhood leaders helped draw up the rules. They praised the winning designs.
But today the land's still empty, and there's no telling when that might change. Those fenced-off lots are in limbo - victims of a larger process in which everyone has his own utopian demands, and nobody's shy about gumming up the works if he doesn't get what he wants." (Larger agendas stall city's best-laid plans)
∙ RFPs For Housing Along Octavia Boulevard [SocketSite]
∙ Infill Along Octavia Boulevard: And The Winners Are… [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
February 15, 2008
JustQuotes: A Reminder That They’re Not Just Building Down In SoMa
"A half-dozen housing projects are under construction or recently finished, including 130-unit Symphony Towers at 724 Van Ness Ave., a 54-unit 818 Van Ness Ave., a 50-unit project at 77 Van Ness, and a 29-condo building at Greenwich and Van Ness. A half a block off of Van Ness, at 1 Polk St., Anka Development is nearing completion on the 179-unit Argenta. Elsewhere, AF Evans is planning 282 units on a large lot at Pine and Van Ness, and Bayrock Residential has entitlements to develop 107 units and a Trader Joe's at the old Galaxy Theater on the corner of Van Ness and Sutter.
Taken together, more than 2,000 housing units are in the pipeline along Van Ness, with another 1,000 likely to be built at the four corners of Van Ness and Market streets."
"From a city planning perspective, the burst of residential activity has been a long time coming. In 1989, the city passed the Van Ness corridor plan, which changed the zoning from commercial to 'commercial/residential.' The plan also raised height limits to 80 feet in some parts of the avenue and 130 feet elsewhere. Gabriel Metcalf, executive director of the urban think tank San Francisco Planning and Urban Research, said the 20-year-old Van Ness plan serves as the model for city's 'better neighborhood' planning process.
'What we are seeing now is, through several real estate cycles, that plan continuing to be built out,' said Metcalf. 'Van Ness proved the value of neighborhood planning in the sense that we are not fighting about each individual project because we did the work up front.'
Van Ness may also be benefiting from planning gridlock elsewhere. With the Eastern Neighborhood planning process still contentious and bogged down after eight years, and Market Octavia plan still stuck in committee debate, Van Ness is one of the few centrally located parts of town where dirt can be moved, according to Chris Foley, a principal with the Polaris Group, which does condo sales and works with developers to secure sites and entitlements." (S.F. housing boom moves to Van Ness)
∙ S.F. housing boom moves to Van Ness [Business Times]
∙ Symphony Towers Update: 45% In Contract And Opening February 08 [SocketSite]
∙ The SocketSite Scoop On The 52 Condos Rising At 818 Van Ness Ave [SocketSite]
∙ 77 Van Ness Rising (And Our Request For A Rendering) [SocketSite]
∙ SocketSite Readers Report: The Grand Opening of The Greenwich [SocketSite]
∙ Argenta (1 Polk): Ground Breaking [SocketSite]
∙ 1285 Sutter Street: The Proposed Design To Replace The Galaxy [SocketSite]
∙ SocketSite’s Complete Inventory Index (Cii): Q1 2008 (San Francisco) [SocketSite]
∙ San Francisco’s Market & Octavia Neighborhood Plan Moves Forward [SocketSite]
∙ For Policy Wonks Only, Or Simply Those Who Care [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | (email story)
JustQuotes: When Developers Get Carrots, MAC Makes A Nasty Stew
"Supervisor Bevan Dufty has authored a June ballot measure that would give developers who agree to build below-market-rate family-size units the ability to build more units per project site than current planning rules allow.
On Thursday, at a Board of Supervisors committee meeting, members of the Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition, or MAC, an advocacy group that aims to keep working-class people in San Francisco, said the measure would not produce enough affordable housing to justify the density bonuses it offered developers — and said they would oppose it.
The measure has the support of the Residential Builders Association, one of the group’s leaders, Sean Keighran, told supervisors at the meeting. Developers would be allowed to put more units into a project site if they provide two- or three-bedroom below-market-rate housing units on-site to meet city laws that require developers to offer 15 of the units on a project site at below-market rate."
∙ Ballot measure aims to make The City’s housing affordable [Examiner]
Posted by socketadmin at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) | (email story)
February 13, 2008
JustQuotes: And So Have We (Noticed The Graffiti That Is)
"I lived a couple of blocks south of anonfedup's mom [in Cow Hollow] and instead of poop, I would find used condoms all over the sidewalk....The car break-ins off Union have gotten out of control. I've also noticed a lot more tagging over the last couple few months."
∙ Comment: Apparently San Francisco Attracts A Lot Of Negative People [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 1:57 PM | Permalink | (email story)
JustQuotes: It’s Not About The Rates But Rather The Spreads
"The Federal Reserve's interest-rate cuts last month have failed to lower borrowing costs for many companies and households, increasing the chance of further reductions from the central bank.
Companies are paying more to borrow now than before the Fed reduced its benchmark rate by 1.25 percentage point over nine days in January, based on data compiled by Merrill Lynch & Co. Rates on so-called jumbo mortgages, those above $417,000, have increased in the past month, making it tougher to sell properties and risking further price declines."
∙ Fed Interest-Rate Cuts Fail to Lower Borrowing Costs [Bloomberg]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
February 12, 2008
JustQuotes: Consider The Why, Not Just The What ("Project Lifeline")
“At-risk borrowers with all types of mortgages, not just high-cost subprime loans, could be eligible for help under a new plan involving six big home lenders.
The plan, called Project Lifeline, will be announced Tuesday by the Treasury Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said a person familiar with the plan who confirmed earlier news reports about the plan but spoke on condition of anonymity because it had not yet been made public.
Against a backdrop of surging defaults and administration officials' prodding of the mortgage industry, the plan will allow seriously overdue homeowners [90+ days overdue] to suspend foreclosures for 30 days while lenders try to work out more affordable loan terms.
On a pilot basis, the plan will involve six of the largest mortgage lenders, in hopes that more lenders will sign on. The participants are Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Countrywide Financial Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Washington Mutual Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co.” (Feds to Unveil New Mortgage-Help Plan)
Posted by socketadmin at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | (email story)
February 7, 2008
JustQuotes: We’ve Been Wondering About Window Coverings Too
"On a somewhat related note, why do no new buildings in SF include window coverings? If you think [insert choice of buildings here] is odd looking now, wait till people move in and there's a patchwork of shades/roman blinds/drapes/screens, etc. In Vancouver window coverings are standard on all new buildings and having a consistent look through the building makes it look much better."
Posted by socketadmin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
February 1, 2008
JustQuotes: Crunch Goes The Construction Captial For Condominiums
"While a dozen amenity-packed deluxe condo projects have vied for attention over the past three years, financing for new construction has dried up in recent months. Instead of the 10 to 15 percent equity common in past few years, lenders now look for developers to put in 40 percent of construction costs, and few banks are willing to lend more than $50 million for new condo projects, according to Michael Joseph of Kearny Street Capital, a commercial mortgage broker who worked with Jackson Pacific on [One Hawthorne].
'A lot of banks are licking their wounds right now and they are not interested in more speculative development,' said Joseph."
∙ New S.F. condo project will be a rarity in 2008 [Business Times]
∙ One Hawthorne: The Design (And Some Details) Of What’s On The Way [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
January 31, 2008
JustQuotes: Not Only Did The Port Get Punked, But Perhaps Prodded
“San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin made a series of harassing telephone calls to officials at the Port of San Francisco and threatened to eliminate their jobs and cut funding to the agency because staff members disagreed with him over building-height limits on the city's waterfront, the port director said in a letter obtained by The Chronicle.”
“The dispute between Peskin, who represents North Beach, and port officials involved parcels of land along the Embarcadero on the city's northeastern waterfront. A bill sponsored by state Sen. Carole Migden at the request of Newsom's office would have allowed the financially struggling port to build lucrative developments on those lots.
But Peskin and many of his Telegraph Hill constituents, whose homes look down on the Embarcadero, wanted to make sure the Migden legislation would ensure that any buildings erected on the port property would meet local height restrictions and would be no taller than 40 feet. But port officials objected to that.
The bill ultimately became law, but the lots in dispute were cut out of the final version, meaning the fight over building requirements for the parcels is bound to resurface.”
∙ President of S.F. supes accused of harassing calls, threats [SFGate]
∙ San Francisco Seawall Lot Rezoning Public Forum (5/14/07) [SocketSite]
∙ Did The Port Get Punked? (San Francisco Seawall Lot Redevelopment) [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | (email story)
January 30, 2008
JustQuotes: The Federal Reserve Cuts Rates Yet Again (0.5%)
"The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by half a point to 3 percent, the second cut in nine days, and indicated its willingness to do so again to prevent a U.S. recession.
'Downside risks to growth remain,' the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement after meeting today in Washington. In a reference to the volatility of the past five months, the Fed added that 'financial markets remain under considerable stress and credit has tightened further for some businesses and households.'
The dollar tumbled and two-year Treasury notes rose after the decision as traders anticipated another reduction at the Fed's March meeting, if not before. The cumulative reduction in rates since Jan. 22 is the fastest easing of monetary policy since 1990. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed 0.5 percent lower and is down 7.7 percent this year."
∙ Fed Cuts Interest Rate to 3% as U.S. Growth Falters [Bloomberg]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | (email story)
January 29, 2008
JustQuotes: From The Mouth Of Reader Morgan (And John King)
As a plugged-in reader writes:
People who think SocketSite readers are "too critical" of this building [SoMa Grand] should check out this scathing attack.
An excerpt from said attack by John King:
Everything is careful and cost-effective; the interior is sleek and smart. But like too many residential containers in the Bay Area and beyond, nothing about Soma Grand engages the scene around it. It's a wet blanket at billboard scale.
And the line we almost missed (but a reader most certainly did not):
I'd gladly swap a lean version of Soma Grand for some of the towers in Rincon Hill or Mission Bay.
∙ SoMa tower: Grand it ain't [SFGate]
∙ Comment: SoMa Grand: A Reader’s Unofficial Sales Update And Insight [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (36) | (email story)
January 28, 2008
JustQuotes: U.S. New Home Sales Follow In The Footsteps Of Old
“Purchases of new homes in the U.S. fell to a 12-year low in December [and fell 26% on a year-over-year basis], capping the biggest annual decline on record.
Sales decreased 4.7 percent to an annual pace of 604,000, the fewest since February 1995, from a 634,000 rate the prior month, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The median price last month dropped 10 percent from December 2006, the biggest 12-month decline in 37 years.
The report may reinforce concern that falling home values and stricter lending rules will lead to more foreclosures and hurt consumer spending. Federal Reserve policy makers, meeting later this week, will probably cut interest rates again to try to ward off recession, economists said.”
∙ Sales of New Houses in U.S. Fall More Than Forecast [Bloomberg]
∙ U.S. Existing Home Sales Decline More Than Forecast In December [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | (email story)
January 22, 2008
JustQuotes: At Least The North Beach NIMBYs Are Out In The Open
"There's a place for everything," [Marsha Garland, founder and executive director of the North Beach Chamber of Commerce] said. "For example, I like Pottery Barn. I'm glad there's one in the Marina. But I wouldn't want one in North Beach. We don't want chains in North Beach." ('Survivor' champ may not make it in S.F.)
Posted by socketadmin at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (27) | (email story)
January 14, 2008
JustQuotes: What's/Who’s To Blame For “Bad” Building Design In SF?
“What is it with San Francisco and bad design? I just finished reading the article on the condos by Lorcan O'Herlihy in the NYTimes that were built in West Hollywood, and THIS project on Corbett is the SAME PRICE as those units which are amazing? San Francisco really needs to "get out" more and see what the rest of the design world has been up to. The poor product we are expected to buy at top dollar is insulting when compared to what designers are giving buyers in Los Angeles and Chicago in this same price range.”
∙ A Peek Inside Three New Condos In Twin Peaks: 950 Corbett Avenue [SocketSite]
∙ Remaking the Condo With Light and Air [New York Times]
∙ Habitat825 (West Hollywood) [habitatgroupla.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (42) | (email story)
January 11, 2008
JustQuotes: Bosa Buys Parcel 5 On The South Side Of Mission Creek
“Builder Bosa Development has bought another parcel in the burgeoning Mission Bay neighborhood, paying $13.5 million for [Parcel 5 on the south side of Mission Creek] that has been approved for 270 residential units, according to Old Republic Title Co.”
“The deal comes as Bosa has topped off the first 99-unit phase of the Radiance at Mission Bay and started construction on the second phase, which will have 317 units.
The first 99 units went on the market in April and just over 50 percent are in contract. Dennis Serraglio, Bosa's sales and marketing director, said most of the units went into contract in the first 60 days after the sales office opened. During the second half of 2007, Bosa sold an average of two units a month.”
“Bosa said his construction costs are still rising; he said he would not be able to sell phase two of the Radiance for less than $1,000 a square foot.”
∙ Bosa still bullish, buys again in Mission Bay [San Francsico Business Times]
∙ Why You Should Care About All Those New Developments (Part I) [SocketSite]
∙ Radiance At Mission Bay: Around 50% In Contract (And Conversion)? [SocketSite]
∙ Radiance At Mission Bay: Sales Office Open [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (17) | (email story)
JustQuotes (And A Reader Request): What’s This Offering Worth?
“As these are my lots, I'm curious what a knowledgeable crowd such as this feels the value of the lots might be and what value might you place on the plans by AA Architecture?”
∙ Permits, Plans And “Panoramic Views” Of (Not From) San Francisco [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 AM | Permalink | (email story)
January 8, 2008
JustQuotes: Just Don’t Bet On (Or Call It) A Potential ARM Bailout
""There is no evidence it is bottoming,"' [Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson] said of the housing decline on CNBC television during a trip to New York. "The evidence would be that it has further to run."
The Treasury chief indicated the outlook may prompt an expansion of the plan Bush administration officials brokered with mortgage lenders last month. The initiative is aimed at helping as many as 1.2 million Americans keep their homes by making it easier to negotiate affordable loans and freezing some adjustable-rate mortgages at current rates.
"We have this wave of resets coming," Paulson said, referring to the almost 2 million of adjustable-rate loans forecast to jump to higher rates in the coming two years. "One thing we will consider is maybe expanding this beyond subprime borrowers to other borrowers.""
∙ Paulson Sees `No Evidence' Housing Decline Is Ending [Bloomberg]
∙ Pending Sales of Existing U.S. Homes Fell in November [Bloomberg]
Posted by socketadmin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) | (email story)
January 7, 2008
Another Contractor Comments On The Cost Of Construction In SF
“Planning can be a great friend if you know how to ask but they are crippled by the mentioned heavy conformance to CEQA and a series of mandated delays (i.e. 311 and EIR processes) that only increase carrying costs and practically invite your neighbors to force ridiculous mutations of your building envelope to suit their (often unfounded) fears and desires. We have institutionalized the rights of the established homeowner over the new entrant to a community. Precisely the kind of elitism we all publicly decry. Without these delays I could reduce the cost of each project by nearly $100K in financing alone.”
∙ The Actual Cost Of Building In San Francisco [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 2:45 AM | Permalink | (email story)
January 4, 2008
JustQuotes: Words Of Wisdom By Which To Start The Weekend
"The views are what are called "peek-a-boo" by real estate agents. That's great for lingerie, but not real estate." (Reader comment with regard to 41 Federal #42)
Posted by socketadmin at 6:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | (email story)
JustQuotes: Oakland Is In The House
"We still own a flat in Noe.... we moved to Oakland because of it's great livability, great hills schools, the weather, swift commute,etc. etc. It's a mistake to assume a person is broke and desperate to move out of SF..... you can have your East Bay sunshine and still get dinner at Firefly, coffee at Tartine, and lunch at the Burger Joint with a move to Oakland. Or you can eat at Wood Tavern and Bakesale Betty's......
Everybody raise their hands if they remember when they too thought the coolest thing on earth was the ability to roll out of bed and go hook up with your friends at the Fillmore, Union, "insert any street name here"... Street Fairs. Remember how "hip" it was to wait for a brunch table at Kate's Kitchen, to go hear the great music at Radio Valencia???? Byron..... grow up." (Cashing Out: If It Can Happen There, Can It Happen Anywhere?)
Posted by socketadmin at 3:30 AM | Permalink | (email story)
December 26, 2007
JustQuotes: We The People Do Want Our Federal Building Views
"Even though [San Francisco's new Federal Building] at Seventh and Mission streets was designed to allow Jane and Joe Citizen to explore the lobby and an open-air "sky garden" that starts on the 11th floor, some agencies inside want to keep us out.
Yes, there's a guard at the entrance. Individual agency offices can't be entered without keys or automated codes. But at least one department isn't satisfied with the security, so it wants more.
Officials promise that We the People will have access. "One of the goals of the building is that people should be able to flow in and enjoy the public spaces," says Gene Gibson, the Pacific region spokeswoman for the General Services Administration. "We want this to happen as soon as we can."" (How's it going? Updates on Bay Area's big building projects)
∙ Morphosis: United States Federal Building [arcspace]
Posted by socketadmin at 4:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | (email story)
December 21, 2007
Planning For 5,700 New Homes In San Francisco’s Parkmerced
From J.K. Dineen at the San Francisco Business Times: “Parkmerced's owners want to add 5,700 housing units to San Francisco's largest apartment complex in a dramatic redesign that would cost billions of dollars and nearly triple the west side community to 9,000 units.
Stellar Management and Rockpoint Group's aggressive plan calls for the construction of between 200 and 300 units a year over the next 15 to 20 years. The owners plan to file an application for environmental review with the city before the end of the year, according to spokesman P.J. Johnston.
The proposal, as envisioned by architects Skidmore Owings Merrill, would reinvent the automobile-centric World War II-era community as a denser, more pedestrian-oriented neighborhood with a new transit stop, parks, and grocery shopping. Ten of the 11 existing 13-story towers would be preserved. Approximately 70 percent of the 5,700 new units would be in townhouses of three or four stories. Others would be in new towers up to 13 stories. The housing will include a mixture of rental apartments and for-sale condos.”
“The heart of the future Parkmerced would be a new Muni station. The developers are proposing to bankroll moving the San Francisco State University Muni station from 19th Ave. and Holloway, considered one of the city's most dangerous intersections, onto the Parkmerced property. The new station would be built on Crespi Drive and would be integrated into a Parkmerced village center with a grocery store, farmers' market, cafe, and other small shops. The owners are also considering adding one or two more Muni stops on the 110-acre property.”
"The Stellar/Rockpoint scheme calls for a number of extreme green measures. Some, like narrower streets with bike and walking paths, are commonplace. Others are more unusual, like a plan to remove the entire property off the city's power grid and instead generate electricity through wind turbines and microturbines that operate on a variety of gaseous or liquid fuels and emit very low emissions. Skidmore's design partner for the project, Craig Hartman, said cleantech advances can reduce energy consumption by 62 percent per household. A highly-efficient plumbing system and a new water recycling plant could reduce water and sewer consumption by 43 percent per home, he said."
∙ Huge housing plan to add 5,700 units [Business Times]
∙ Parkmerced [parkmerced.com]
Posted by socketadmin at 7:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) | (email story)
December 17, 2007
And Yes, A Few Kinky Condos Could Hypothetically Be Coming Soon
While Kink’s window restoration project for the San Francisco Armory has been replacing boarded-up and broken windows for the first time in 30 years, and the building might actually be feeling a bit festive (rather than altogether abandoned), it’s the hypothetical "Kink condos" that seem to be getting all the attention.
“Porn producer Peter Acworth, who bought the 93-year-old Mission Armory and turned it into a porn video studio, has approached the city Planning Department with the idea of converting some of the building into kinky condos - complete with Webcams for all the world to see.”
"My discussions with the Planning Department have been extremely hypothetical to say the least," Acworth said via e-mail. "There is no firm plan for using the Armory for anything but a conventional film studio for now."
We could be wrong, but it sounds more like an inquiry into establishing live-in film studios rather than condo development per se. And while we could be wrong again, it seems as thought the corner of Mission and 14th has been getting better (rather than worse) since Kink acquired the ailing armory.
∙ Porn prince wants to build kinky condos in Armory [SFGate]
∙ From (Proposed) Condos To Kink [SocketSite]
Posted by socketadmin at 3:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | (email story)
JustQuotes: We’re Equally As Interested In The Other Four-Fifths
"The Chronicle analyzed ownership information for 6,557 Bay Area homes and condos repossessed by lenders in the first nine months of this year. Those represented 94 percent of all Bay Area foreclosures during the time period; full records of past ownership were not available for the remaining foreclosures.
Of these, just under 1,000 were owned by 439 people who had multiple properties foreclosed upon from January to September. An additional 349 foreclosures were owned by people who listed mailing ZIP codes different from their property's address at the time of purchase - suggesting the properties were an investment, not a primary residence.
The vast majority of these properties were bought with little or no money down, according to an analysis of DataQuick's loan information. About 69 percent of the investors got 100 percent financing, meaning they did not put down a dime of their own money toward the purchase prices. An additional 12 percent made down payments that were less than 5 percent of the purchase price. Only 10 percent of investors put down the standard 20 percent.
Some 80 percent of the investor-owned Bay Area foreclosures were purchased at the height of the real estate market in 2005 and 2006, public records show."
[Editor’s Note: “Investment” properties are often undercounted due to buyers self identifying their purchases as being owner-occupied in order to benefit from more favorable mortgage rates/terms.]
∙ Investors own about one-fifth of Bay Area homes in foreclosure [SFGate]