Bay Area Jazz Lines

SF East Bay Housing Statisitics & REO Surprise

2008-01-18T16:51:00.000-08:00

It seems that every day now, we see more and more properties for sale that are listed as REO (Bank Owned Foreclosures), and/or Short Sales.

Our team, has always run numbers as a means to better understand our markets. We researched the EBRD multiple listings service, following a conversation that we had last night. We were not surprised as to which cities had a higher percentage of REOs.

However, we did not expect the number for the entire San Francisco East Bay area to be this high, 21%. That means that roughly one in five houses that are for sale, are Bank Owned in the East Bay area. The interesting factor is that this number does not include “Short Sales.”

When lenders allow a home to be sold for less than the amount still owing on the mortgage loan, that’s called a pre-closure “Short Sale!”

I think you can see where this is going once you add “short sales” into the mix as well. The competition for many houses for sale in the market are from banks.

Here’s our spreadsheet tracking cities in the San Francisco East Bay Area for Months Supply and REOs. Months supply is the ratio of inventory to sales. It tells us how many months the stock of homes for sale would last, if sales continued at their current rate.

For those living in other parts of the country, we’d love to hear what’s happening in your market. We’ve already heard from one Las Vegas agent, that 20.8% of their listings are REOs or short sales.

Bay Area Housing Forcast

2007-12-30T09:53:00.000-08:00

What's in store for real estate in the Bay Area for the coming year? Most in the real estate industry agree that it will get worse before it gets better. However, predictions vary among our "experts." What are we in store for in 2008? When will prices begin to recover? Hear what some of them are saying.

"Don't count on market rebounding in '08, experts say." - Marni Leff Kottle of the San Francisco Chronicle.

"A real recovery in the housing market is probably at least a year off," said Robert Kleinhenz, deputy chief economist for the California Association of Realtors.

California Association of Realtors's forecast for 2008; sales volume will continue to fall, 9% in 2008, as will the median price of a home, at 4%. Take a look at the 2008 California Housing Market Forecast presentation by Leslie Appleton-Young, Vice President and Chief Economist for the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.).

"The best guesstimate most can come up with these days on a residential housing recovery is that 2008 will be more than half over before housing prices even stabilize. Right now, it's anybody's guess as to when they will start to grow positively." - Ryan Fuhrmann, an article printed in The Motley Fool.

It may take until the end of 2008 or beginning of 2009 for the market to hit bottom, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.

"But the one thing that economists and real estate agents seem to agree on is this: As bad as it may get in the Bay Area, the region is weathering the downturn in the real estate market much better than most other places."

"The housing market is fairly strong in the vast majority of the Bay Area," said Ken Rosen, chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate at UC Berkeley. "It's slipping a little, but it's not the free fall you have in some parts of the country."

"When you look at the rest of the state and even the rest of the country, the Bay Area has held up quite well," said Larry Klapow, president of Coldwell Banker's San Francisco Bay Area region. "The market has shown incredible resiliency." - "So Long, '07"

"Builder's expect recovery in second half" - Jessica Saunders, East Bay Business Times.

"At least two builders expect to see some recovery in the East Bay housing market in the second half of 2008, but another expert thinks it will be 2009 before demand and supply balance out."

"Once we get through the credit crunch, and buyers realize the world didn't end, they will come back," said Scott Menard, SummerHill Homes' chief operating officer, who predicts the market will continue down through at least the first quarter. "Next year will probably be a bit of an adjustment year."

Which brings us to the question; Will 2008 be a good time to invest in real estate? See what a recent survey showed taken by the East Bay Business Times. 60% say that now is a good time to buy! Read their comments as to why.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T08:17:00.000-08:00

Overpricing House May Boomerang on the Seller

2007-11-04T09:32:00.000-08:00

In an era of falling prices, asking too much might mean your house will sell for less.

If you're thinking of putting your house on the market soon, then I think you'll be interested in taking a look at this article by Kathleen Lynn. Read the entire article HERE.

"Realtors often warn sellers about the danger of overpricing a house. Now they have evidence to show skeptical clients: research by Jeffrey Otteau, a New Jersey appraiser."

"He found that in a market where prices are declining, sellers who "test the market" with a high price usually end up with a lower price than those who price realistically."

Otteau, of Otteau Valuation Group, studied about 4,500 home sales that took place in the first half of 2007.

"He looked at houses that sold in less than a month, and found that they had a median asking price of $599,900 and sold for almost full price - a median of $599,000. When he looked at houses that lingered on the market for more than a month, however, he found that they were priced higher - at a median of $634,900 - but actually sold for less, a median of $585,000. The median is the point at which half the sale prices are above and half below.

"With a high price, the house stays on the market as buyers ignore it in favor of lowered-priced competitors. In an environment of falling prices, a house that sells three months from now is going to command a lower price than one that sells today."

"Houses that are priced right are selling," said Otteau. "Overpricing extends days on the market and guarantees that you will sell your home for less in a declining market."

"Otteau said pricing a house a little below the competition not only catches the buyer's interest - it also reassures them that they won't kick themselves later for overpaying if, as expected, home prices drift lower in 2008."

"Agents should aim to underprice the competition."

"You can't just try for a higher price because you really want it," he said. "The way to get a higher price is to create a sense of urgency by setting a lower price."

Technorati Tags: San Francisco Chronical, Bay Area Real Estate, Overpricing, Housing Inventory, Appraisal, House Pricing, Otteau Valuation Group, Real Estate Cycles,

Halloween in California

2007-10-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

Watching for Signs of a Market Turnaround

2007-10-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

"The housing market is soft. Hard times for some can mean opportunity time for others. Could now be a good time to step into the housing marker and pick up a bargain?" Dian Hymer of Inman News asks.

Her conclusion; "There are good buying opportunities in the current market for well-qualified buyers. Just make sure that you pick your bargains carefully." Read her entire article HERE.

Lew Sichelman, United Media Feature, speaks about how most would-be buyers have taken themselves out of the market until prices "hit bottom."

That could be a mistake for those who plan to stay in their new home for quite awhile. "The common wisdom is that if the house of your dreams comes along, go for it. After all, it may not be available six months from now. As long as you remain in the house, any further drop in prices will be offset by rising prices down the road."

If you look at home prices over the past 40 years, there is a very predictable cycle: Home prices increase for several years, are followed by a slight price drop and then stay flat for the next few years. You can see this pattern on a graph. Although they vary somewhat by location, they usually follow the same pattern.

Lew Sichelman states; It's tough to know the precise moment when prices stop falling and start rising once again. It's not even easy to spot a trend reversal. "If it was so easy to find the bottom," Markstein,(a senior economist with the NAHB), said, "we'd all be millionaires."

He goes on to say that "there are telltale signs that smart buyers can look for, evidence that the housing market has finally firmed and is about to rebound."

His key vital signs include;

Existing Home Sales
Building Permits
Mortgage Defaults
Foreclosure Sales
Mortgage Rates

You can read in detail about his five keys to look for HERE.

There are a few sources that can help your with you research. Your knowledgible realtor of course. DataQuick has some of the most up to date news and statisitics on housing markets. CAR, California Association of Realtors, is another good resource. Inman News always has good articles on Real Estate. On a national basis, you can visit NAR, the National Association of Realtors.

Technorati Tags: Inman News, Bay Area Real Estate, Interest Rate, Housing Markets, NAR, CAR, DataQuick, Real Estate Cycles,

Despite Crunch, Mortgage Money is Still Available

2007-09-30T08:45:00.000-07:00

"The term mortgage meltdown has become so common -- on television, in headlines and even casual conversations -- that you might assume that this is a tough time to get a mortgage."

"But the reality is different: Mortgage money is plentiful, most mortgage products remain unaffected by troubles in the subprime segment, and interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans remain in the low 6 percent range for people with reasonably good credit. Even interest rates on loans of more than $417,000 have fallen after spiking during the summer." - Kenneth Harney, Nation's Housing

The main change during the past several months, said Ted Grose, president of 1st Mortgage Advisors in Los Angeles, is that "the products that allowed people to buy houses they couldn't afford have disappeared."

"Larger mortgages, which always have carried higher rates than loans eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have recently been in the low 7 percent range, down from the 8 percent and higher levels of a couple of months ago."

"Nonetheless, say lenders and brokers, there is a widespread and persistant belief by consumers that the entire mortgage market is in crisis."

"Other than subprime and high LTV (loan-to-value) stated-income" programs, Jim Brown, chief executive officer of Veteran Mortgage said, "we've got pretty much everything now that we did before. We've got a lot of outlets."

"Most lenders and investors are quick to note that while mortgage money is plentiful, underwriting standards are stricter than they were a year ago."

"Similarly, FICO score standards generally are higher than a year ago, stated-income mortgages with no verifications are hard to find, and major investors are on the prowl for anything hinting at fraud."

"Lenders are especially wary of excessive "layering of risk" - combining low down payments with marginal FICO scores and high-to-income ratios - in markets where prices are falling."

"A major legislative development under way on Capitol Hill could expand consumers' range of good mortgage choices even further."

Read the entire Article HERE.

Technorati Tags: San Francisco Chronical, Bay Area Real Estate, Interest Rate, Jumbo Loans, Mortgage Lenders, Subprime Loans, Mortgage Crunch, FICO Scores, Real Estate Cycles,

The Old End Around

2007-09-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

Money's tight these days, so for the first time in many tears, seller financing is making a comeback. To get deals done, people are turning their backs and doing "the old end around." - Marni Leff Kottle, San Francisco Chronicle.

"Seller financing is simple in theory: The buyer and seller settle on a price and then the seller agrees to extend some amount of credit back to the buyer. The loan is secured by the property. Typically, the seller provides financing in the form of a second mortgage after a buyer has obtained a first mortgage from a bank."

"Sellers are still able to push their price points, and buyers are getting interest rates that are lower than the retail market." Heidi Rickerd-Rizzo, Branch Manager for Pacific Union-GMAC in St Helena.

Read the entire article HERE.

Doing the deal
If you're thinking of using or offering seller financing, here are some tips from real estate experts for buyers and sellers:

Buyers
-- Agree on a price with the seller and secure a first mortgage, if applicable.

-- Your agent can serve as the arranger of credit.

-- Terms are typically outlined in a standard three-page form provided by the California Association of Realtors, so you can often complete such a transaction without a lawyer.

Sellers
-- Make sure the buyer is creditworthy.

-- In a typical transaction, you're entitled to review a buyer's credit report, financial statements and other information.

-- You may want to consult with an attorney or accountant to understand the tax implications.

Source: California Association of Realtors, Pacific Union.

Technorati Tags: San Francisco Chronical, Bay Area Real Estate, Interest Rate, Seller Finance, CAR, Subprime Loans, Mortgage Lenders,

Is Your Home a Tax Trap?

2007-09-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

If you've refinanced your mortgage, you may owe the IRS more than you thought. - by Ellen Hoffman, Personal Finance, BussinessWeek.

"Have you refinanced your mortgage and taken a chunk of the equity in cash? Will you do so when your adjustable-rate loan resets its interest rate? If you fail to follow some little-known rules for calculating your home mortgage deduction, you may be writing off too much interest. Instead of saving on taxes, you could wind up owing them."

"In general, the IRS lets you deduct 100% of the interest you pay on one or more home mortgages, up to a total loan value of $1 million. But when you refinance and withdraw cash, the rules change: Only the interest on your ***original mortgage balance***, plus an additional $100,000, qualifies for a deduction. (If you want to take out more cash, use a home-equity loan or line of credit. The law allows a separate deduction for interest on borrowings of up to $100,000.)"

***Acquisition indebtedness is debt that is incurred in acquiring, constructing, or substantially improving the principal or second residence of the taxpayer and is secured by such property.

"There's no sign the IRS is currently hunting down taxpayers who may be miscalculating the mortgage deduction, but the error could trip you up in an audit. Rosica says the best way to protect yourself is to make sure you calculate this year's taxes correctly. If you've taken excessive deductions in past years, you can also file an amended return."

Read the entire article HERE.

For further clarification ask the advice of a good tax attorney or tax accountant.

Technorati Tags: Mortgage Deduction, Bay Area Real Estate, IRS,BusinessWeek

Bill would kill tax on 'phantom income' from foreclosures, workouts

2007-09-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

Losing your house to foreclosure, involved in a "Short Sale?" Not only do you lose your house, your credit and have to deal with all the stress that goes with it, but any debt forgiven by the lender is considered taxable to the IRS. Seems a bit unfair to someone with a financial challenge ahead of them.

"A bill that would give homeowners facing foreclosure a tax break when lenders forgive part of their debt would make up for lost revenue by collecting more capital gains taxes on the sales of some second homes claimed as primary residences."

"HR 3648, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, would eliminate a provision of the tax code that allows the IRS to tax debt that's forgiven as part of a foreclosure or loan modification as income."

"NAR said the bill would restore "fundamental fairness for homeowners in financial and economic distress" by eliminating taxes on the "phantom income" generated by foreclosures and workouts."

View the entire article HERE. (Inman News)

"To make up for the bill's $1.97 billion impact on tax revenue over the next decade, it would also tighten the rules for counting a second home, vacation or rental property as a primary residence for tax purposes. Under current law, up to $250,000 (or $500,000 if married filing jointly) of the gain on sale proceeds from the sale of a primary residence are exempt from capital gains taxes."

Technorati Tags: Short Sale, Foreclosure, Bay Area Real Estate, IRS, Trustee Sale,NAR,Inman News

Contra Costa & Alameda County Housing Months Supply

2007-09-13T07:55:00.000-07:00

This is a revision from the July Post as an update for what the months supply is doing on a city by city basis for Contra Costa & Alameda Counties.

What is months supply? Basically, months supply is the ratio of inventory to sales. And what it tells us is how many months the stock of homes for sale would last, if sales continued at their current rate.

See how your City's doing.

We currently have a 8.4 month supply of homes in the entire SF Bay Area. How does this compare historically? "A state of equilibrium" is considered 6 months, a point at which you would have an equal number of sellers and buyers. Considerably less, would be considered a "seller's" market, while anything more than that number would be considered a "buyer's" market. Since 1988, our low in California has been 1.3 months in April of 2004. It was even less than that in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our high was in February of 1991 at 18.8 months. The long run average has been 6.9 months. (Statistics are from C.A.R.)

Technorati Tags: Bay Area Real Estate, Real Estate Market, East Bay Real Estate, Months Supply, CAR, Housing Inventory

Stevie, In a Class by Himself

2007-08-29T20:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, it was worth the wait -- and then some.

"For more than two hours, the vocalist-keyboardist rolled through the years and relived many of his greatest triumphs. That meant such '60s era Motown nuggets as "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours," classic '70s cuts like "Superstition" and even a few '80s hits, notably "Part-Time Lover" and "I Just Called to Say I Love You." - Jim Harrington of the Contra Costa Times. Read his entire review HERE.

"He just seemed so full of life, bursting with the same spirit that has colored so much of his recorded work, and his enthusiasm was as contagious as the first cold of the season at kindergarten."

An older Stevie Wonder - still a full-time performance.
Joel Selvin, Chronicle Senior Pop Music critic

"The entire show was an outpouring from Wonder. If he wasn't snapping off hit after hit, starting the next song right on top of the last, he was talking aimlessly but enthusiastically to the capacity crowd in the balmy night air and under the almost full moon."

Such a joyous celebration, high energy, positive energy, engaging, and enjoyed by fans of all ages, Stevie as always, is so great to see live. I only hope that I have the opportunity to see him once again in my life time. Once a fan, always a fan.

Buyer's Opportunity?

2007-08-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

We've been bombarded by the news; housing inventory glut, price reductions, foreclosures, mortgage crunch, sub-prime lending woes. Some areas are worse than others. As with any real estate cycle, they have their peaks and valleys. This downward trend took it's roots in 2005, moving from one of the strongest seller's markets in history into a strong buyer's market for most areas. Interestingly enough, not all areas. There always seem to be a few areas that do well despite the existing market woes, (some parts of the Berkeley Hills, Albany, Kensington and the El cerrito Hills for example in the San Francisco East Bay Area). It always comes down to numbers, supply and demand.

Have prices hit bottom, or do they have further to go? How long will the housing recession last?

These real estate cycles typically last from two to five years. Most forcasters are pointing towards this winter to be the valley or low point of this down cycle with some relief coming sometime in 2008 or as late as 2009 depending on which source you listen to.

Lawrence Yun, NAR senior economist, said he isn’t looking for any notable changes in sales activity. "Mortgage disruptions will hold back sales over the short term, but long-term fundamentals are favorable. A modest upturn is projected for existing-home sales toward the end of the year, with broader improvement to include the new-home market by the middle of 2008."

"More buyers, and cutbacks in new construction, will eventually draw down the inventory levels and support future price appreciation, but general gains will be modest next year. Serious buyers today have a long-term view of housing as an investment – speculators have left the market."

View the U S Economic Outlook - August, 2007, from NAR, HERE.

"This isn't going to get better until this unsold inventory gets absorbed," said Standard Pacific's Delva, "And this isn't going to happen until the financing issues are resolved; the smart money has the slump ending in the latter half of next year or some time in 2009." Story by Robert Hollis, San Francisco Chronicle. View the full story Here.

Delva and other builders say a key turning point will be when potential buyers return to the market, convinced that the value of what they're buying won't continue to decline.

When that happens, "There's going to be a slew of buyers coming out of the woodwork," said KB Home's Burnstein.

Will this winter be one of the best buying opportunities that we've seen in years?

Interest rates, although much harder to obtain, are still at their lowest levels in decades. Rates on 30 year mortgages sank last week to their lowest point in two months, a dose of good news for people thinking about buying a home. "30-year rates lowest since the end of May.

"As of last week, the market for conforming mortgages was still operating smoothly, and if you qualify for one, you shouldn't have trouble getting a mortgage at a reasonable price." - Kathleen Pender also of the Chronicle.

So far, borrowers with decent credit histories and the ability to document their income - "the majority of the home-buying public" - aren't being shut out from getting a loan. - CNN, "Six Questions Consumers Are Asking About The Mortgage Market," By Amy Hoak

"Sellers can no longer be reluctant to accept offers or reduce prices. Tightening credit and diminishing mortgage products will continue to reduce the pool of qualified buyers. This, along with the increase in national housing inventories, means now is not the time to hold out for the best price possible." - Alexandra Saunders, BGS Financial.

The median price of American homes is expected to fall this year for the first time since federal housing agencies began keeping statistics in 1950.

Should I wait or buy now?

Alexandra goes onto say; "Potential borrowers cannot wait any longer. For those who are considering buying a home, be aware that the volatile credit market can change overnight, leaving fewer options available to borrowers attempting to qualify for a mortgage. With decreases in home values and fewer available mortgage instruments, delaying any longer could get significantly more expensive."

This isn't fully realized until you weigh in the effect of waiting for prices to drop while interest rates continue to increase. So, you have to ask yourself, in the coming months, do I expect interest rates to increase? If so, how much more must home prices drop to counter the effect of rising interest rates?

The buying season typically slows after the summer months with a drammatic drop-off by mid October. With so much inventory and uncertainty in the mortgage & real estate markets, there should be plenty of "bargains" this winter.

"The key theme is that while it may be a different mortgage landscape, it still can be a good market in which to buy - as long as people are buying for the right reasons and are paired with loans that ensure they will be able to keep the home in the future." - CNN

Technorati Tags: San Francisco Chronical, Bay Area Real Estate, Interest Rate, Housing Inventory, NAR, CNN, Subprime Loans, Real Estate Cycles,

11 Things: Studies Have Shown

2007-08-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

In today's SFGATE/96 Hours, weekly entertainment guide, I came accross Tim Sullivan's humorous list and wanted to share it. Here's the full list;

1. People have sex because it feels good
Later studies showed:
We eat because we're hungry.
We sleep because we're tired.
We dress because we need pockets.

2. Gambling is addictive
We're willing to bet the studies are wrong, but first:
Can we borrow some money?
Can we borrow a little more?
OK ... just a little bit more?

3. People want more public services but don't want to pay for them
Follow-up studies confirmed that people also want:
A bigger piece of the pie.
To have their cake and eat it too.
To live the good life.

4. People like to complain about traffic
Further studies revealed that Americans:
Drive large vehicles.
Make oil companies rich.
Don't realize nobody can hear them when they scream inside their cars.

5. Men talk as much as women
Additional studies suggested that:
Men and women disagree with this assessment.
Men and women disagree that they disagree.
Men and women disagree on a good time to discuss this disagreement.

6. Venting of problems can depress girls further
Further studies alluded to the fact that:
Further venting leads to further depression about venting.
Further depression leads to further venting about depression.
It depresses guys further too, but only if they listen.

7. Sex trafficking is spreading HIV
Further studies indicated that STDs:
Are transmitted.
Are transmitted via sex.
Are diseases.

8. A happy workplace leads to more productivity
Too bad:
There's no such thing.
Now stop reading this and ...
Get back to work.

9. There's too much celebrity coverage
Yet:
Celebrity coverage continues to be popular.
Celebrities are covered because they're celebrities.
They're celebrities because they're covered.

10. The word gullibility is not in the dictionary
I checked:
It wasn't.
See?
Exactly.

11. Studies show many things
Further studies:
Verified this.
Contradicted this.
Clearly demonstrated that further studies will be needed.

This article appeared on page G - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Mortgage Crunch

2007-08-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

Money Supply Drying Up - jumbo loan rates soar, even for buyers with excellent credit.

"Need a mortgage this month? It's going to be harder - and more expensive - to get one. In the past week, turmoil in the mortgage markets has caused increasing problems for home buyers in the Bay Area and around the nation." Read the Full Story, by Carolyn Said & Kelly Zito, in today's San Francisco Chronicle.

Fannie Mae's Berson said the tightening mortgage situation is likely to hurt the already troubled housing market.

"There are people who could have qualified for a mortgage a month ago who can no longer get that mortgage," he said. "That means there will be fewer home sales or else people will have to buy less expensive homes. The practical impact is that some people will choose not to buy now. This is an additional negative factor on housing demand. It means home sales are likely to be weaker than we thought they would be just a few months ago."

Technorati Tags: San Francisco Chronical, Bay Area Real Estate, Interest Rate, Jumbo Loans, Ken Rosen, Subprime Loans, Real Estate Cycles,

Bonfire of the Builders - BusinessWeek

2007-08-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

"By rushing into the mortgage business big-time, homebuilders helped fuel the housing crisis. Now they're hurting—and so is Wall Street." by Mara Der Hovanesian, BusinessWeek. Go to the Story.

"Traditional mortgage companies and banks unleashed a barrage of loans, many to borrowers with iffy credit histories who didn't bother to read the fine print about upwardly mobile interest rates. Wall Street egged on the often-reckless underwriting by buying vast quantities of home loans for repackaging as securities. Now that the boom has fizzled and foreclosure rates are rising, the important role of large homebuilders as lenders is also coming into sharper focus."

"Even as the housing supply began to exceed demand last year, builders kept sales brisk by pushing adjustable-rate, interest-only, and other risky loans."

STEALING FROM THE FUTURE
Now it's payback time. It is likely to take two to three years, by various estimates, for the excess supply to be soaked up. The boom stole sales from the future as people bought houses earlier than they might have a few years ago. From the same issue of BusinessWeek, by Peter Coy. Go to the Full Story.

Technorati Tags: BusinessWeek, Real Estate, Interest Rate, Home Builders, Foreclosures,housing+crisis, Mortgage Companies,Real Estate Cycles,

Stevie Wonder - Back in the Bay Area!

2007-08-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

"Stevie Wonder will go on his first U.S. tour in more than a decade, starting next month in San Diego."

What a pleasant surprise. I have to admit, one of the best concerts that I've ever been to was Stevie Wonder at the Mid State Fair in Paso Robles, August of 1988. It was 3 hours of high energy, great music, audience participation, humor, and just an all around good time. I'd love to hear from anyone else who was fortunate to be there to tap into their memories about it. Please leave me a comment. Thanks.

Stephen Holden, of the NY Times wrote in his review that year;

"Stevie Wonder is a pop creator whose concerts are more than just musical events. The concentrated power of his musical personality and his integration of a sweeping variety of idioms into an indelible style, along with his charisma and enthusiasm, combine to make his concerts communal celebrations at which divisions of race, class and nationality melt away."

He's scheduled to play at Concord's Sleep Train Pavilion on August 26th and the Mountain Winery in Saratoga on September 4th. Tickets for both shows go on sale at 10:00 am, beginning August 6th. Call (925) 685-8497 or visit www.ticketmaster.com or www.livenation.com.

Biography by Steve Huey, AMG - All Music Guide
Stevie Wonder is a much-beloved American icon and an indisputable genius not only of R&B but popular music in general.

"Songs in the Key of Life" an all time favorite of mine.

Stevie Wonder's website; www.steviewonder.net

Technorati Tags: Stevie Wonder, R&B, Concord Sleep Train Pavilion, Mountain Winery in Saratoga, Songs in the Key of Life, Bay Area Jazz, San Francisco Jazz,

Jazzlines Pandora Radio Station

2007-07-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

Listen To This!

Technorati Tags: Yoshi's Jazz Club,KCSM, Pandora Radio, Bay Area Jazz, San Francisco Jazz,

Standards Stricter for Borrowers

2007-07-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

Subprime problems mean 100% financing harder to get, by Eve Mitchell, Median Staff.

Thinking about refinancing a mortgage or getting a no-money-down loan to buy a home? Something that was relatively easy to do several months ago may be a lot harder in today's stricter lending environment.

In recent months, many lenders have tightened underwriting standards for no-money-down loans, also known as 100 percent financing, in response to the subprime mortgage mess that has seen foreclosure activity soar this year.

The upshot is that today many borrowers are finding it harder to get a loan than a few months ago even though interest rates are at the same level as last year. To qualify, borrowers may find that they will need to document their income, bolster their savings or find a co-signer.

Those who are getting hit hardest by the tightening loan standards are those with low credit scores, subprime borrowers and people who are unable or unwilling to document their income, mortgage experts say.

So what do people need to get a loan if they are having a hard time in today's lending environment? The Full Story and Tips can be viewed HERE.

A related story from U S News; "Lenders Crack Down After Subprime Collapse."

And from BusineeWeek; "The Subprime Mess, Let the Blame Begin."

Technorati Tags: Contra Costa Times, Bay Area Real Estate, Interest Rate, U S News, BusinessWeek, Subprime Loans, Real Estate Cycles,

Glen's Market Data - Months Supply

2007-07-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

This is a revision from the May Post as an update for what the months supply is doing on a city by city basis for Contra Costa & Alameda Counties.

What is months supply? Basically, months supply is the ratio of inventory to sales. And what it tells us is how many months the stock of homes for sale would last, if sales continued at their current rate.

See how your City's doing.

We currently have a 7.5 month supply of homes in the entire SF Bay Area. How does this compare historically? "A state of equilibrium" is considered 6 months, a point at which you would have an equal number of sellers and buyers. Considerably less, would be considered a "seller's" market, while anything more than that number would be considered a "buyer's" market. Since 1988, our low in California has been 1.3 months in April of 2004. It was even less than that in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our high was in February of 1991 at 18.8 months. The long run average has been 6.9 months. (Statistics are from C.A.R.)

Technorati Tags: Bay Area Real Estate, Real Estate Market, East Bay Real Estate, Months Supply, CAR, Housing Inventory

Happy July 4th

2007-07-05T14:04:00.000-07:00

KCSM

2007-07-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Jazz 91 online community. KSCM FM has been broadcasting mainstream jazz to the Bay Area for over twenty-five years.

KCSM has been a favorite of San Francisco Jazz fans and considered by many, including myself, as "THE" Jazz station in the area. You can listen anytime Live by installing their program and "button" onto your PC or MAC. Simply follow their online instructions, HERE. Then, if you ever do hear something "special" while playing KCSM live, you can go to their site to an updated playlist and read what's been playing.

Technorati Tags: Yoshi's Jazz Club, San Francisco Chronicle, Jack London Square, Sushi Restaurant, Bay Area Jazz, San Francisco Jazz,

C.A.R. Reports Sales Down, Median Price Up

2007-07-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

C.A.R. Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young on KNX 1070 AM, June 25, 2007.

C.A.R. Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young discusses the housing numbers for May 2007 and what they mean for the California real estate market. You can listen to the audio interview Here.

And here's the report that she's referring to released from C.A.R. on June 25th;

C.A.R. reports sales decrease 25 percent in May, median price of a home in California at $591,180, up 4.8 percent from year ago.

Here's a look at May's numbers for Contra Costa County;

Technorati Tags: California Association of Realtors, Real Estate, DataQuick, Fisher Center for Real Estate, CAR, San Francisco Chronicle,Contra Costa Times,Continuing Study of the California Economy,Real Estate Cycles,

The Foreclosure "Rescue" Racket

2007-06-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

"As soon as a lender raises the red flag, scammers descend. Here's how they wind up holding the deed."

This is an article by Dean Foust & Brian Burnsed of BusinessWeek.

MILLIONS OF TARGETS
In most states, it's not illegal for one person to persuade another to sign his or her home over. And proving it was done through deceptive means can be tricky if the promises to help the owner were made verbally, as is often the case. So many victims have little recourse except through civil proceedings. But with the number of foreclosures estimated to soar to more than 2 million over the next couple of years, more and more policymakers are scrambling to keep the situation from turning into an epidemic by enacting tougher penalties for such practices.

View the entire article HERE.

California Foreclosure Activity Jumps Again. DataQuick

Foreclosures Hit 37-Year High. Realtor Magazine Online

“Legal Guide to Foreclosure-related Transactions" C.A.R.

The Foreclosure Report from Mike at Patagonia Finance

Technorati Tags: BusinessWeek, Real Estate, Interest Rate, Realtor Magazine, Foreclosures,California Association of Realtors, DataQuick,Real Estate Cycles,

107th U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

2007-06-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

When: Thursday-Sunday, June 14-17
Where: Oakmont CC, Oakmont, Pa.
Yardage/Par: 7,230 yards; par 70
2006 champion: Geoff Ogilvy

"The United States Open Championship is the annual men's open golf tournament of the United States. It is staged by the United States Golf Association each June, scheduled such that the final round is always played on the 3rd Sunday of that month (Father's Day). It is one of the four major championships in men's golf and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour."

"The U.S. Open is open to any professional, or to any amateur with an up-to-date USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 1.4. Players may obtain a place by being fully exempt or by competing successfully in Qualifying. The field is 156 players."

"Oakmont remains perhaps the most difficult course in North America, with 180 deep bunkers (personified by the Church Pews), hard and slick greens that slope away from the player, and tight fairways requiring the utmost precision. Oakmont was the site of “the greatest round of the 20th century”: Johnny Miller’s final round 63 at the 1973 U.S. Open. Golf Digest ranks Oakmont #5 in its most recent version of America’s Top 100 courses."

View the course Hole by Hole HERE.

"Surprisingly -- considering his shocking loss in the 1962 U.S. Open -- Arnold Palmer loves the place, and he enjoys his honorary membership. During the summers, when he's home in nearby Latrobe, Pa., it isn't unusual for Palmer to drive down for the day and play the course. Last July, teeing off with Ford, he hit his drive on the first hole and received an ovation from the members in the clubhouse and at the swimming pool. Palmer gave the admirers his best presidential wave and thumbs-up sign, and then turned to Ford. "Bob," Palmer said, "that's what keeps me going."

Historical Notes
On Oct. 4, 1895, the first U.S. Open Championship was conducted by the United States Golf Association on the nine-hole course of Newport (R.I.) Golf and Country Club.

Round For The Ages: Miller's U.S. Open Victory
Revisited 30 Years Later

"It arguably was one of the greatest final rounds ever in a major championship. Nobody had ever shot a 63 in the final round of a major prior to 1973 and certainly nobody figured to do it at Oakmont. But the stage had been set two days earlier when unheralded club pro Gene Borek shot a course-record 65, thanks to rains that softened the greens. Johnny Miller then upstaged that performance with a sizzling 8-under-par round on Sunday to win the championship by a stroke over John Schlee."

"Players from world number one Tiger Woods on have been calling Oakmont one of the toughest course they ever played and view the eight-under 63 Miller shot with wonder."

"Seventy-three was just a dream round. I'm out there with Tiger and I'm out with different players and they go, 'how the heck did you shoot 63?'

Technorati Tags: U S Open Championship, United States Golf Association, Arnold Palmer, Oakmont Country Club, Johnny Miller, Tiger Woods,Golf Tournament, USGA,Professional Golf,

Father's Day

2007-06-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

Home Appreciation in the U.S.

2007-05-31T14:20:00.000-07:00

The rate of home price appreciation in the U.S. remained slow but positive in the first quarter of 2007. The OFHEO House Price Index (HPI), which is based on data from sales and refinance transactions, were released today by OFHEO Director James B. Lockhart, as part of the quarterly report analyzing housing price appreciation trends.

OFHEO’s full PDF of the report released May 31, 2007 is at: www.ofheo.gov/media/pdf/1q07hpi.pdf .

The following map provided by OFHEA gives you an overall perspective on House Appreciation over the past 12 months on a regional basis.

On a regional basis, the Mountain Census Division continues to have the strongest housing markets, as it was home to the four states with the greatest annual appreciation rates: Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Seven states experienced double-digit appreciation rates between first-quarter 2006 and first-quarter 2007. The states with the fastest rate of appreciation for the period were Utah (17.01 percent); Idaho (12.27 percent); Montana (11.68 percent); Wyoming (11.67 percent); Washington (11.63 percent); New Mexico (11.21 percent); and Oregon (10.77 percent).

At the metropolitan level, prices were up from the previous quarter in 237 of the 285 cities on OFHEO's list of ranked metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). Another 46 cities experienced price declines, with no change in two other MSAs.

The MSAs with the greatest annual rate of appreciation between the first quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007 were: Wenatchee, Wash. (25.6 percent); Provo-Orem, Utah (19.7 percent); and Salt Lake City, Utah (19.1 percent). The MSAs with the lowest rates of appreciation for the same period were: Punta Gorda, Fla. (-4.6 percent); Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, Calif. (-4.4 percent); and Modesto, Calif. (-4.4 percent).

Technorati Tags: National Association of Realtors, Bay Area Real Estate,Real Estate, OFHEO, Housing Appreciation,Real Estate Cycles,

Bay Area's Housing Prices Buck National Trend

2007-05-17T19:32:00.000-07:00

"The Bay Area appears to be shaking off the nation's housing doldrums."

"Local home prices are still going through the roof, even though far fewer properties are changing hands. That contradicts the national real estate trend of slumps in both price and sales volume."

"Why does the region's housing seem to defy gravity?"

"It's the wealth effect."

"The Bay Area is one of the strongest economies in the country today," said Ken Rosen, chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at UC Berkeley. "The upper end of the market in the inner areas (San Francisco and the counties closest to it) is doing extremely well. This is a completely different trend than the rest of the country."

Read Carolyn's entire article from today's San Francisco Chronicle HERE.

"DataQuick's county breakdowns show that existing-home prices rose in April in the six innermost Bay Area counties -- Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Clara, San Francisco and San Mateo -- but declined in the area's furthest-out counties: Napa, Solano and Sonoma."

For a complete breakdown by county, view the full story from DataQuick.

Technorati Tags: California Association of Realtors, Real Estate, DataQuick, Fisher Center for Real Estate, Housing Inventory, San Francisco Chronicle,East Bay Real Estate,Continuing Study of the California Economy,Real Estate Cycles,

Housing Outlook Dim

2007-05-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

The real estate industry was hit with some bad news this week with rising foreclosures and a drop in the nationwide median home price.

Inman News managing editor Jessica Swesey and founder and publisher Bradley Inman discuss the significance of the latest statistics.

Technorati Tags: California Association of Realtors, Real Estate, DataQuick, Housing Statistics, CAR, Median Home Price,Inman News,Foreclosures,Real Estate Cycles,

Glen's East Bay Market Trends

2007-05-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

However, these bits of information that we are able to pull are only snapshots. Tracking these numbers over time gives us the ability to spot trends. These trends may be subject to our interpretation, but they do give us an up to date insight on a market so that we are able to make a more well informed real estate decision

How many homes are for sale in your neighborhood, how long have they been on the market, and how many buyers are looking? (Simply put supply and demand). This translates to actives, average days on the market (actives only), and pending sales. The relationship that we find to each other in our respective markets can give us some indication as to whether we are in a sellers, a normal, or even a buyers market. This can be done on a more local basis, being able to look at your neighborhood by itself.

The chart above tracks the number of actives (homes for sale) and the number of pendings, (homes that are in contract with buyers). The sample was taken from 34 cities within Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Pendings have dropped in comparison to actives since July of 2005. While the inventory (homes for sale) have climbed at a very aggressive pace since then. Simply put, there are more homes on the market with fewer buyers.

We currently have a 6.5 month supply of homes in the area. How does this compare historically? "A state of equilibrium" is considered 6 months, a point at which you would have an equal number of sellers and buyers. Considerably less, would be considered a "seller's" market, while anything more than that number would be considered a "buyer's" market. Since 1988, our low in California has been 1.3 months in April of 2004. It was even less than that in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our high was in February of 1991 at 18.8 months. The long run average has been 6.9 months. (Statistics are from C.A.R.)

See how your City's doing.

We, as real estate agents, have access to the MLS, and are able to extract up to the minute information to give us a better clue as to what’s really happening in your neighborhoods.

Some of what you see is seasonal, some unique to this market.

The graph above measures a very large area. A sample this large, translates to being able to make only very broad general conclusions about this market overall. It doesn’t necessarily tell the story of the market in your particular neighborhood.

In reality, there are markets within markets, different neighborhoods within cities. Not every neighborhood in Berkeley, for example, will be quite the same. Some neighborhoods will have stronger markets than others. The right house, presented well, in the right neighborhood, and at the right price continues to bring multiple offers. However, in most cases, homes are staying on the market longer, we’re seeing price reductions, and there are more homes coming onto an already saturated market.

What can you make of all this? Making your real estate decisions should be based on up to date information that reflects the conditions of your specific neighborhood. Ask your well informed real estate agent to talk to you about the market trends and conditions of your neighborhood before making that all important decision to buy or sell a home.

Technorati Tags: Real Estate, Real Estate Market, East Bay Real Estate, Months Supply, CAR, Housing Inventory

The Spot for Jazz

2007-05-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

Yoshi's, the Bay Area's jazz oasis, holds a mega-celebration of its 10th anniversary at Jack London Square. See David Rubien's article in full from the San Francisco Chronicle's Date Book HERE.

I've been going to Yoshi's for years. In my opinion, it is, BY FAR, the best venue for Jazz in the San Francisco Bay Area. Practically every major jazz artist has played there. What the move to Jack London Square has brought us is an "acoustically pure room with state-of-the-art engineering and not a bad seat in the 310-capacity house."

"Yoshi's is one of the best jazz clubs in the world," says Kenny Burrell, the guitar master who celebrated his 75th birthday with a special concert at the club last summer. "They have the best sound system, the best equipment, and they take extra effort to present the music to the public in the best possible way."

"Oscar Peterson's been here three times since I've been here. ... Yoshi's carries a lot of magic."

Writing on his Web site after playing at Yoshi's in 2001, Peterson -- arguably the greatest living jazz pianist -- said, "There are jazz clubs and then there are JAZZ CLUBS! Having played most of the major such places in the world, in my view, Yoshi's, in Oakland, California, epitomizes what a serious jazz club should be."

"Yoshi's has the best talent, the best acoustics, the best atmosphere in the Bay Area." - Fortune Magazine.

Pianist-singer Diana Krall, one of the top-selling acts in jazz, has been back to Yoshi's three times and she's returning again June 8-9. "She likes it here," Williams says.

To celebrate the club's 10th birthday as an institution in Jack London Square, a number of promotions are planned, including Monday's release of a 10-song CD compilation of songs performed live at Yoshi's.

What's coming up on Yoshi's Calender.

All that Jazz and Sushi.

Technorati Tags: Yoshi's Jazz Club, San Francisco Chronicle, Jack London Square, Sushi Restaurant, Bay Area Jazz, San Francisco Jazz, Bay Area Jazz,Diana Krall, Oscar Peterson,Kenny Burrell,

Is It Time to Buy or $ell?

2007-05-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

There's an article written by Eral Swift in today's Parade Magazine that's definitely worth reading. Read the entire article HERE.

"How the housing market looks in the coming year will largely depend on who is doing the looking: For many Americans, this will be a terrific time to buy a house, even as others struggle to hold on to their homes, and thousands—perhaps hundreds of thousands—succumb to foreclosure."

"Sellers will have a tougher time closing a deal and may have to settle for less as prices around the country stagnate or slide. Mortgages will be tougher to come by. And builders—already competing with a fat inventory of existing homes—will see demand for their wares further erode."

"A good piece of the current slump was just inevitable: Most experts had predicted that the spectacular run-up in home prices from 2003 to 2005 simply couldn’t last—and, in some places, had soared well beyond the reach of most buyers and common sense."

"The superheated markets of those years—Las Vegas, Phoenix and much of California, for example—are now nosing into corrections."

"Mind you, real estate is local, and parts of the country will actually see appreciation—a fact that is masked by gloomy national statistics."

"With fewer qualified buyers on the scene, an already-fat housing inventory will take longer to slim down, Lereah says, (chief economist for the National Association of Realtors). How much longer? Months, he suggests. Years, Kenneth Rosen worries, (a professor of real estate and urban economics at the University of California, Berkeley)."

"If anyone stands to gain from the mess, it’s buyers with good credit, who should be able to navigate the lending straits without hassle, find plenty of inventory to choose from and have the luxury of time to mull their purchases."

Technorati Tags: San Francisco Chronicle, Real Estate, DataQuick, Housing Inventory, NAR, Months Supply,Real Estate Cycles,

Andy, Once again!

2007-04-23T17:58:00.000-07:00

I see you've discovered another facinating video!

glumbert.com - Shift Happens

You really need to check out his site; Here.

Andy's New Blog

2007-04-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

Andy Kaufman, of MyEastBayAgent, has moved and he's started to post some pretty cool stuff. You should check out his site!!!

Here's a sample; a Real Estate Roller Coaster;

"Over at Speculative Bubble, they took US Home prices adjusted for inflation and plotted as a roller coaster. It’s a nice little ride, but the ending is a little scary."

Tax Deadline

2007-04-17T08:27:00.000-07:00

Contra Costa Home prices on the Rise

2007-04-13T08:48:00.000-07:00

Prices also up in Alameda County, down Solano County; sales increase in March but down from 2006 - By Barbara E. Hernandez, CONTRA COSTA TIMES.

The median price paid for a Bay Area home in March was $639,000, up 3.1 percent in a month's time, bucking the national trend and regaining much of the decline since last summer, but the chorus still isn't singing "Happy Days Are Here Again." - George Raine, Chronicle Staff Writer.

"The housing market in the state will show a substantial decline this year, on the order of 2 or 3 percent,'' said Ken Rosen, director of the Fisher Center for Real Estate at UC Berkeley. Moreover, he said he expects the state's housing market to stay soft for a while.

"We had such a large run-up (in home prices) in the state as a whole in the last four years and now there is excess inventory in unsold houses -- in San Diego, Sacramento, Orange County and the Central Valley in particular,'' Rosen said. "Usually, the reaction time to an overheated market is two to three years.''

On the day after the normally glass-is-half-full Realtors trade association said the median price of existing U.S. homes will fall nearly a percentage point this year, DataQuick said that Bay Area prices are holding their only-in-the-Bay Area value.

"Prices seem to have held up surprisingly well, probably because of a relatively strong economy. Additionally, it's starting to look like much of the current sales lull may be due to the strong sales in 2004 and 2005. Some of today's demand probably got pulled into that period because of low mortgage interest rates and the availability of exotic mortgages," said Marshall Prentice, DataQuick president.

Levy, at the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy, said that the housing downturn of the 1990s, with slow and flat activity in prices and sales volumes, lasted seven years and that there is no reason to believe the current downturn will be short term. "I think we are closer to the middle of the housing adjustment process than to the end,'' he said.

"What the National Association of Realtors said about the price of homes going down screams volumes,'' Thornberg added. "It says, 'Guess what. This is not over. We have a ways to go.' To think we are out of the woods is silly.''

"The big story,'' said Michael Lehmann, professor emeritus of economics at the University of San Francisco, "was the big surge in prices of homes between 2000 to 2005. That is over here and everywhere,'' he said. "And overall, if the weakness continues across the nation, it will be hard for the Bay Area to resist it in the long run."

Realtors Predict Prices Will Fall

2007-04-12T13:48:00.000-07:00

National decline would be first in record-keeping era - By David Armstrong, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer.

"Saying that the housing bubble has truly burst, the National Association of Realtors predicted Wednesday that the median price of existing U.S. homes is expected to fall 0.7 percent this year, the first time that has happened since records started in the late 1960s."

"The forecast was startling, coming from the normally upbeat industry group. Last year, in a sign of the start of the slowdown, the nationwide median price of an existing home rose a modest 1 percent."

"The California Association of Realtors predicted in October that statewide median prices would fall by 2 percent in 2007."

"Economy.com analyst Mark Zandi called for an even sharper statewide drop of 6 percent."

California's struggling housing market is weakening as lenders tighten underwriting standards. "Mounting foreclosures will also be a weight on housing prices as these properties are dumped into the already fragile market at a significant discount," Zandi said in an e-mail. "This outlook assumes that interest rates remain stable and that the job market outside of housing remains stable.''

"The National Association of Realtors has also lowered its 2007 forecast for sales of new and existing homes. Tighter lending standards and the continued fallout from the subprime mortgage meltdown are to blame, said association spokesman Walter Molony."

"The national median new home sale price is expected to rise 0.4 percent this year, after a 1.8 percent gain in 2006, the association said."

"However, these figures, even revised downward, are still overly optimistic, said Ken Rosen, director of the Fisher Center for Real Estate at UC Berkeley."

Rosen expects a drop of 2 to 3 percent nationally, and as much as 5 to 15 percent in some markets. "The Bay Area will do better because it is one of the top five markets in the country. It has a small inventory and good job creation,'' he said.

"In Rosen's view, home prices could appreciate from 1 to 3 percent in the Bay Area this year."

"Despite the unsettled quality of the current housing market, this, too, shall pass, housing industry experts said."

"We still view this as a cycle playing itself out,'' DataQuick's LePage said.

Technorati Tags: California Association of Realtors, Real Estate, DataQuick, Fisher Center for Real Estate, CAR, San Francisco Chronicle,Real Estate Cycles,

Housing Market Woes

2007-04-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

The Masters - Hallowed Ground

2007-04-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

The Masters Golf Tournament

The Masters has grown to become the most prestigious tournament in all of Golf. On March 22, 1934 Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts decided to hold an annual golf tournament in honour of golf's greatest players. Early on it was called the The Augusta National Invitation Tournament. It wasn't until 1939 that the event became known as The Masters. The Masters paved the way for modern golf tournaments. They instituted many rules that are still in use today. The tournament would be held over 4 days rather than three. They eliminated qualifying rounds, and only limited access to the playing area for players and caddies only. Since 1940 the Masters has always been held the first week of April at the Augusta National Golf Club. More on the Masters History.

History of Masters Champions

Jack Nicklaus waves to the gallery on the 8th hole during second round play of the 2005 Masters at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., Saturday, April 9, 2005. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

Payne Stewart begins to celebrate after making a 15-foot putt to clinch the 1999 U.S. Open, held at Pinehurst No.2 in Pinehurst, N.C. (Getty Images)

AUGUSTA NATIONAL GOLF COURSE

Amen Corner - "The Fateful Corner," by Herbert Warren Wind, Sports Illustrated, 1958

It's one of the most eagerly awaited stretches of holes in golf -- Nos. 11, 12 and 13 at Augusta National Golf Club.

"Amen Corner" was so christened following the 1958 Masters by writer Herbert Warren Wind in an article in Sports Illustrated. That was the Masters where Arnold Palmer earned his first major championship with the help of a ruling that, even decades later, runner-up Ken Venturi was still challenging.

Wind borrowed the name from an old jazz recording "Shouting at Amen Corner" by a band under the direction of Milton (Mezz) Mezzrow, a Chicago clarinetist. (Courtesy Masters.org)

Technorati Tags: The Masters, Amen Corner, Arnold Palmer,Augusta National

Subprime Loans Going Under

2007-03-22T21:48:00.000-07:00

"Implosion hitting would-be homeowners, desperate sellers hard, but some see a reflection of safe practices."

"It's essentially eliminating 15 (percent) to 20 percent of the market," said Ed Leamer, director of the UCLA Anderson Forecast. "What drove the California marketplace wasn't foreign borrowers but entry-level buyers helped into the market by exotic loans." as quoted in an article By Barbara E. Hernandez of the CONTRA COSTA TIMES. Read the entire article HERE.

"Problems in mortgage lending go "well beyond subprime," and the tightening of loan underwriting standards now underway is likely to push demand for homes down 15 percent and depress prices by 5 percent this year. Quoted from Inman's Matt Carter, Here for the rest of the article."

That's the rather gloomy forecast by analysts who follow the stocks of major home builders for Banc of America Securities LLC.

"In a report issued Tuesday, "Dissecting the Mortgage Distress," BAS analysts said there's already an excess supply of 800,000 existing homes on the market, and another 300,000 will soon be added to inventories through foreclosure."

But the biggest problem facing housing markets may be the tightening of credit that's taking place as lenders put the brakes on risky loans including low-documentation and zero-down-payment mortgages, the report said.

"We expect loans with a combination of low FICO scores and high (loan-to-value ratios) will end or tighten with many buyers choosing to remain as renters," wrote BAS analyst Daniel Oppenheim. BAS is a subsidiary of Bank of America Corp.

"BAS expects home prices to fall by 5 percent in 2007. Coming on the heels of a 2 percent price decline in 2006, the 7 percent cumulative price drop would be the largest decline in home prices since the early 1980s."

"Falling prices are likely to cause even more defaults and foreclosures, BAS analysts said."

"We do not anticipate that the mortgage credit issues are solely a result of the loan underwriting from '06," the report noted. "Rather, our view is that a primary driver of the problem is the decline in home prices, which leaves some households owing more on their mortgage than their home is worth."

"A First American CoreLogic Inc. study released Monday contained a similar finding, predicting that each 1 percent reduction in home prices will result in an additional 70,000 foreclosures." - Subprime lending meltdown seen as threat to economy

"The meltdown in subprime lending could have broader impacts on the economy, as mortgage lenders tighten restrictions on a broad spectrum of loans including those made to small businesses, said Christian E. Weller, senior economist at the Center for American Progress."

"With subprime lenders pulling back, it means fewer people can enter the market, because people looking to sell their homes have a harder time doing so, or must lower their price," Weller said. "Prices stagnate, there are fewer home sales, home construction and home equity cash outs."

Top subprime lenders: Where are they now?

2006 subprime loan performance will be worst in a decade

"Traps of Easy Credit" Reckless lending to blame for mortgage woes - James Grant

Exotic loans become commonplace

"Lenders began offering nontraditional loans that allowed borrowers to purchase homes they might not otherwise have been able to afford, especially in markets where home prices had seen annual increases at double-digit rates."

"These nontraditional or "exotic" loan types, such as payment-option ARM and interest-only loans, allowed borrowers to start out making monthly payments that in some cases didn't even cover all of the interest owed on a loan, let alone the payback on any of a loan's principal."

"If the loans that fueled the boom become unavailable, first-time home buyers who are ready to make the plunge may be unable to obtain loans that suit their needs. Even homeowners with sensible loans could get hurt in the fallout, because of the ripple effect that would take place if sellers who are ready to move up to pricier digs aren't able to sell their starter homes to first-time buyers."

Technorati Tags: BusinessWeek, Real Estate, Interest Rate, Fico Score, Subprime Loans, UCLA Anderson Forecast,Real Estate Cycles,

Why Housing Hasn't Hit the Skids

2007-02-09T16:37:00.000-08:00

So this is the much-feared "housing bust"? Bust Lite is more like it. Existing-home prices are as high as they were a year ago, while sales have receded only to 2003 levels. The only extreme decline is in construction: Builders are trying to get rid of the houses they've already built before they put up more. The overhang of unsold homes could be back to normal by around midyear.

Read the full article written by Peter Coy from BusinessWeek, HERE.

Low rates are a major factor

There's a related article in the same February 19, 2007 issue of BusinessWeek, entitled, "It's a Low, Low, Low, Low-Rate World," written by Michael Mandel and David Henry, that support "the surprise that low rates are still keeping the floor under housing."

Money is cheap. And some experts say it could stay that way for years. That's creating opportunity—and brand new risks

Technorati Tags: BusinessWeek, Real Estate, Interest Rate, Housing Bust, CAR, Low Rate,Real Estate Cycles,

Resetting the "Odometer"

2007-01-16T08:30:00.000-08:00

New Listing! (Sort Of) by Peter Coy of BusinessWeek, (January 22, 2007 Issue, News & Insights)

Agents are pulling houses off the market and then presenting them as new offerings.

"With open houses as quiet as death lately in many parts of the country, sellers' agents are trying everything they can to make a sale, including sometimes tweaking the computerized data that potential buyers depend on. Fresh listings attract attention and can fetch higher prices because buyers are less likely to make lowball offers."

KNOWING WHAT TO LOOK FOR
"When many homes in an area are re-listed as new, it skews the "average days on market" statistic, making the market look healthier than it really is. For sellers, refreshing a listing can also disguise the fact that the previous listing was at a higher price. Buyers often regard a price cut as a sign of weakness."

"Whether it's within the local rules or not, the practice of relisting houses to give them a new debut is a symptom of an imbalance in market knowledge. Buyers can sometimes spot manipulation of the databases, but you have to know what to look for, and many buyers' agents don't."

"Is this wrong? Many MLS organizations think so."

Technorati Tags: BusinessWeek, Real Estate, East Bay Regional Data, Multiple Listing Service, East Bay Homes, Housing Watch,Real Estate Cycles,

Martin Luther King, Jr

2007-01-15T10:22:00.000-08:00

Housing: The Best Indicators of a Rebound

2007-01-08T20:11:00.000-08:00

"Has the home market hit bottom? That is the key question for the U.S. economy in 2007. According to some housing indicators, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for homebuilders, but that cautious optimism comes with caveats."

Read the article found in the January 15, 2007 issue of BusinessWeek HERE.

"To get the most reliable signal that the housing recession is over, keep an eye on the average monthly supply of new homes for sale and the average mortgage rate each quarter. Analysis by Goldman Sachs U.S. economist Edward McKelvey of eight pieces of housing data widely used as leading indicators of the housing cycle showed those two series are better than quarterly averages of new and existing home sales, housing starts, mortgage applications, housing affordability, and homebuilder confidence."

Compare how your city has faired over the past year and half; from the "strong" summer of 2005, to the inventory highs of last October 2006, and finally to the lower winter inventories of today.

Basically, the months supply is the ratio of inventory to sales. What it tells us is how many months the stock of homes for sale would last, if sales continued at their current rate. The "State of Equilibrium" is considered to be 6 months and the norm for housing inventory. This is the state where there are considered to be an equal number of sellers and buyers. This can also be used as a guage as to whether we are in a "Buyer's," "Normal," or "Seller's" market.

Technorati Tags: San Francisco Chronicle, Real Estate, DataQuick, Housing Inventory, CAR, Months Supply,Real Estate Cycles,

Buyers Judge House By Its Cover

2007-01-07T13:38:00.000-08:00

"A Spruced-up yard might entice passerbys to take a closer look at the intereior."

Read the entire article by Alan Heavens of the Philadelphia Inquirer HERE.

EXPERIENCE SHOWS that this is the season for the serious home buyer. And with so many listings for that buyer to look at, the successful seller will be the one whose house stands out in the crowd.

In the trade, this is known as "curb appeal." How a house looks from the street, the National Association of Realtors says, is often enough to bring a prospective buyer in for a look.

Though the condition of the house itself is a critical part of curb appeal, so is the landscaping. If the yard is filled with unraked leaves, frozen flowers and fallen branches from the last windstorm, it's hard to see much past the curb to the house.

Landscape Staging Tips

1) Go around the perimeter of the house and remove all discarded wood scraps, extra building materials, and move the garbage cans into the garage.

2) Prune all overgrown bushes and trees. Keep plants from blocking windows. If possible, make sure the house can be seen from the street.

3) Weed and mulch all planting areas. Keep lawn frshly cut and fertilized. Remove dead plants or shrubs.

4) Clear patios or decks of all small items such as small planters, flower pots, barbecues, toys. etc.

5) Check the paint condition of the house, especially the front door and entryway rim.

Technorati Tags: Landscaping, Real Estate, Staging, Bay Area Homes, Increase Home Value, Homeowners,Selling Your Home,

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

2007-01-04T22:32:00.000-08:00

Profile on Miles Davis written by Tim Kirker.

1926 - 1991

"The musical legacy of Miles Davis seems too huge for one man. Especially since he was a vital part of nearly every important development of innovation and style in jazz after the Second World War. His protean approach put him at the forefront of bebop, cool, modal, hard bop, and fusion. From there his sound went on to influence many other forms of music including pop, soul, R&B, funk, and rap. Davis was the last of the great trumpet players, employing a lyrical, melodic style that was known for its minimalism as much as its introspection. Another talent was his ability to assemble great up-and-coming musicians and nurture their creativity within his many bands. Both the man and his music have come to symbolize everything that jazz represents - innovative, cool, complex, and unpredictable."

What's the "all time best" jazz album, what's your favorite? I try to stay away from those kinds of debates when it comes to music. Music is so personal, and each style so unique. I could never just name one, but we all, at sometime or another, get dragged into those "Desert Island" picks just to see where it will go. I keep changing the list. It seems that I can never stop at just ten. Ten becomes twenty, twenty becomes twenty five, and so on.

And so, if you're curious, you can see my "Desert Island" picks if you view my profile. One thing never changes. There are always some that make my list and coincidently, there are always some that seem to make everyone's list.

Kind of Blue isn't merely an artistic highlight for Miles Davis, it's an album that towers above its peers, a record generally considered as the definitive jazz album, a universally acknowledged standard of excellence." Read the full review by by Stephen Thomas Erlewine Here.

"It was a relative rarity among modern jazz albums, three - quarters of an hour of extraordinary music loved equally by listeners who wouldn't know a mode from a modem, and by musicians for whom it seemed to point the way toward a fresh way of playing. "Kind of Blue" remains among the most enduring of all jazz records - more than forty years after its release, it continues to sell several thousand copies a month."

"It must have been made in heaven." Jimmy Cobb said.

(Exerpts from Jazz, A History of America's Music by Geoffrey Ward & Ken Burns).

Technorati Tags: Miles Davis, Cool Jazz, Kind of Blue, Desert island Jazz,KCSM, Jazz, Bay Area Jazz, San Francisco Jazz, Ken Burns

Happy New Year

2006-12-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

Selling Home in '07 Requires New Approach

2006-12-28T08:50:00.000-08:00

Appealing to buyers will take more work than in years past.

"If you're going to sell next year, the key to a successful closing will be planning. To get you going, here is my annual list of home seller resolutions you might want to keep."

Ilyce Glink of Inman News gives us the following pointers in her article posted today.

1. Overcome any possible objections a buyer would have.

Sellers don't often understand that their primary job is to not only eliminate any potential objections that would stand in the way for a buyer to make an offer but to exceed their expectations as well. If your home is competitively priced, and your home's condition exceeds a buyer's expectations, you'll get the offer you want.

2. Get my home into shape before I let anyone see it.

Getting a home into "selling shape" is quite different from even having a clean, beautiful home. You need to "stage" your home, which means you have to make it look exactly the way a buyer thinks it should.

For best results, do this before you invite any real estate agents or brokers in to assess how much it is worth. The agents you interview will be your "Wow!" test. If they walk into your home and say, "Wow! What a great place you have here," you know you've done it right.

How do you stage a home? Start by throwing away, giving away or packing away anything you haven't used in the last three to five years. You should also give your home a thorough cleaning and address any small fixer-upper projects you've been putting off.

Once your home is clean, you can assess what kind of other work needs to be done. Should you give your home's interior and exterior a fresh coat of white paint? Do you need to power wash your vinyl siding? Should the windows be washed? The wood floor polished? New wallpaper put up in the guest bathroom? Does your landscaping require a visit or two by a professional landscaper? Whatever you decide to do, make sure it's completely finished before you invite anyone over to see your home.

Finally, move out excess furniture, buy matching towel sets for the bathroom, and make sure you have a new cover with matching pillows for your bedrooms. Your home should look very put together, as if you were auditioning for the cover of a home decorating magazine.

3. Invite at least three agents to create a comparative marketing analysis.

Often, sellers simply call the agent who sold them their home to list it. While you may end up with that person, you'll be doing yourself a favor if you invite a couple of other agents in from different firms.

Why? Because each agent will have a different marketing plan and idea about how much your home is worth. If you invite three agents to prepare a comparative marketing analysis (a CMA is a sales tool that analyzes homes similar to yours that have recently sold, presents a marketing plan and suggested list price), one will bring in a high price, one a low price, and one somewhere in between. Each may have a slightly different idea about how to market your home, or give you ideas that you can share with the agent you finally choose.

If you don't like any of the three agents you've invited to your home, get some referrals and invite additional agents to prepare a CMA. One good way to get agent referrals is to ask the agents you invited to do a CMA who they think is the best agent in town (other than themselves, of course).

4. Know what my selling timetable is before I list my home.

Do you want to sell or do you need to sell? If you need to be out in three months or less, you'll need an aggressive agent with a very competitive list price. If you've got six months or a year in which to sell, you may choose to price your home a little higher, or may choose a different type of agent. Knowing when you have to move -- and sharing that crucial bit of information with your agent -- allows you to choose a correct pricing and marketing strategy.

5. Be realistic about the market.

After a half-dozen years of a super-hot seller's market, the tables have turned in many markets. Expensive homes are selling more slowly than homes priced for first-time buyers. (Although homes priced at $10 million and above seem to be selling at the same pace as always.)

Accept the reality of your local market and make sure you price your home realistically. Don't blame your broker if you don't get three offers over your list price within 24 hours of putting your home on the market. Sellers who set sky-high prices could wait months for an offer and may wind up with the same price they would have had if they'd priced their home correctly the first time -- or a lot less.

6. Know where I'm going.

Once you've decided to sell, you ought to think about where you want to go. Often, people move to another home within the same general neighborhood. But if you're moving to a different city, state or part of the country, you'll need to do your homework ahead of time. Start researching neighborhoods that offer the amenities you're interested in. Don't wait until you have a contract on your home. That's the time you should be seriously looking to put in an offer on your new home, not start the process of exploring neighborhoods.

Or, if you're not sure what you want to do, consider renting on a short-term or month-to-month lease. These days, landlords are hurting and they may be perfectly happy to accept a six-month lease.

7. Read all documents thoroughly before I sign them.

Why would someone sign a legal document he or she hasn't read? I'm not sure, but home sellers do it every day. If you're going to sell (or buy) in the coming year, promise yourself that you'll take the time to read and understand the listing contract, offer to purchase, and loan documents for your next purchase. (If you're taking back a loan for the home buyer, have an attorney prepare the documents so you are sure to be protected.) Unless you've got cash to spare, a mistake in these documents and the warranties they contain could seriously affect your finances.

8. Set my minimum sales price.

Everyone wants to get his/her list price. But unless you're in a strong seller's market (where there aren't enough homes to meet the demand), it's unlikely you'll get it. That means you'll probably get an opening offer that's somewhat below your list price.

In order to negotiate effectively, it helps to determine the minimum amount you'll be happy accepting for your home -- before you put your property on the market. This is a price that will allow you to walk away happy. If you receive an offer with anything above this price, it's like gravy. If it's below the minimum price you've set, you can negotiate accordingly.

The psychological benefit of a minimum acceptable price is great: It puts you in control of an emotional situation by helping you to distance yourself emotionally from the negotiation process.

9. Not be driven by greed.

One big mistake many sellers make is to get a little greedy, particularly if the first offer is above the minimum acceptable price you've set. Then, the negotiation becomes a game of how much you can get.

Remember, a successful sale means everyone walks away feeling happy. If you get so greedy that the buyer walks away, you've let the deal get the best of you. Resolve to be reasonable and you'll end up shaking hands with the buyer at the closing.

Technorati Tags: Inman News, Real Estate, Staging, Bay Area Homes, Increase Home Value, Homeowners,Selling Your Home,

Top Ten Tips on Increasing the Value of your Home

2006-12-27T09:11:00.000-08:00

Selling Your Home?

Here are the Top Ten Tips to increase the value of your home as offered by the House Doctor, Ann Maurice. For further reference, her website can be found HERE.

1. You need to present your house so that it will appeal to the broadest possible buying audience. The trick is to ensure that they can imagine themselves living there as soon as they walk in.

2. Clear the clutter. Mess all too easily becomes familiar junk which we are used to having around. It makes rooms look smaller and sends unhelpful messages to your buyers. Tidy away family photos and books. If you can't find space to store the less personal stuff, take as much as possible to the nearest dump.

3. Elbow grease can add more value to your house than almost anything else. Clean, clean and clean some more. The kitchen and bathroom are the two most important rooms, but don't stop there. Dust every surface, ornament and lampshade you possess.

4. Make sure all entrances are uncluttered, warm and welcoming. Mark the path to your front door with potted plants on either side. Make sure the doors open properly and aren't hampered by a row of coats or muddy boots behind. Check that furniture doesn't stop any of the internal doors from opening or shutting properly.

5. Potential buyers won't be able to visualise themselves living in your home if the walls are bright, patterned or just plain ugly. Paint them in light, neutral colours. You can introduce splashes of colour with rugs, cushions, throws, table runners and flowers.

6. You can make a world of difference to a dark entrance hall with a strategically placed mirror. Carefully positioned, it will add space and maximise the available light. Ensure that it is hung at eye level.

7. Do all those little jobs round the house that you've always meant to finish. If you don't know what you're doing, get someone in who does. Broken window catches, a front door bell that doesn't work or half-finished shelves convey an air of neglect and signal to a potential buyer that there may be other, more significant aspects of the house that have been left undone.

8. Ensure that every room has a clear function and purpose. Play up the existence of a dining room by clearing away all the children's homework and games. A third bedroom could be a bedroom, a study or a dressing room, but not all three at once. Organise some storage systems so that the principal function of the room they're in remains clearly defined.

9. A carpet that is dark or heavily patterned dominates a room and makes it seem smaller. Replace carpets that are old, worn or just dirty. This may seem an unnecessary expense, but it will lift the appearance of the room and your buyers won't be imagining the extra cost of replacing the carpet themselves.

10. Be ruthless when it comes to dealing with your pets. It's easy to get used to their smell - so ask a friend to be brutally honest with you. Does your house smell? Before each viewing eliminate unpleasant smells and banish pets to a willing friend's while you are showing people round. Get rid of pet hair too - brush and vacuum until you're sure it's gone.

Technorati Tags: Ann Maurice, Real Estate, Staging, The House Doctor, Increase Home Value, Homeowners,Selling Your Home,

Homeowners Find Bidding Wars Over

2006-12-26T08:37:00.000-08:00

After Disappointing 2006, U.S. Real Estate Market Expected to Stagnate in 2007.
By Rachel Konrad, AP Business Writer

"Although few experts predict that home values will fall dramatically in 2007, many economists say that prices won't improve for 12 to 18 months. And without the cushion of rising home equity -- which softened the blow of high oil prices last year and kept consumers buying big-ticket items at a rapid clip -- Americans may lose confidence in their finances, and the broader economy is likely to suffer."

"Ambitious building booms in many markets in the past half-decade, combined with mortgage interest rates that have increased about 1 percent in the past year, have resulted in residential real estate stagnation. The gridlock defies conventional wisdom, stubbornly remaining neither a buyer's nor a seller's market."

"We are currently experiencing the worst of the market freeze, which is being exacerbated by the gap between the buyer's desire for bargains and the seller's fantasy of what they once thought their homes would be worth," said Diane Swonk, chief economist for Chicago-based Mesirow Financial, who forecasts a rebound in early 2008. "The good news is that there are some signs of stabilization. The bad news is that a substantial backlog of unsold homes still exists."

"The newest forecast by Moody's Economy.com, a private research firm, projected that the median sales price for an existing home will decline in 2007 by 3.6 percent -- the first decline for an entire year in U.S. home prices since the Great Depression of the 1930s."

"Areas along the coast of the nation and the large urban areas tend to see stronger price gains in housing upturns, and stronger declines in downturns," said Celia Chen, a housing economist with Moody's Economy.com in West Chester, Pa.

"We have to work off the inventory," said Daniel Nussbaum, a licensed investment adviser and CEO of Calabasas-based TheUSARealty.com. "I honestly think we're past the worst of it, but if you don't take out your magnifying glass you might not notice."

"It's definitely a friendlier market than earlier this year, but not a dramatically cheaper one," Zach Chouteau, 41, said. "People have gotten really spoiled by the rapidly escalating prices, and it seems like they're in denial that things have leveled out. They're just fishing for the best price."

Technorati Tags: Associated Press, Real Estate, Rachel Konrad, Housing Inventory, Moody's Economy, Homeowners,Real Estate Cycles,

East Bay Housing Inventory Stacks Up

2006-11-25T08:18:00.000-08:00

"As the housing market slows down, many areas in the East Bay are showing a growing inventory of homes sitting on the market. And while Antioch and Brentwood are at the top of the list of standing inventory, so are Rossmoor in Walnut Creek, Alamo and Diablo." as stated in an article in today's Contra Costa Times, written by Barbara Hernandez, and entitled "East Bay Housing Inventory Stacks Up."

Basically, the months supply is the ratio of inventory to sales. What it tells us is how many months the stock of homes for sale would last, if sales continued at their current rate. The "State of Equilibrium" is considered to be 6 months and the norm for housing inventory. This is the state where there considered to be an equal number of sellers and buyers. This can also be used as a guage as to whether we are in a "Buyer's," "Normal," or "Seller's" market.

"Bay Area home sales held steady at a five-year low in October as buyers and sellers circled each other in a game of wait-and-see. Prices remained flat, a real estate information service reported." - DataQuick

"The year 2006 marked a turning point in the California housing market. After four successive years of new records for both statewide sales and the statewide median price, the existing home market declined sharply in 2006, while price appreciation slowed with each passing month." - 2007 Housing Market Outlook as posted in CAR, (California Association of Realtors).

A Summary of CAR's Forcast for California in 2007; "The market should see less of a decline in sales in 2007, with an anticipated 7 percent decline in statewide sales for 447,500 homes. Inventories will remain in the range of the long run average of 7 months through much of 2007. Inventories, affordability constraints, and a continued gulf between seller aspirations and buyer expectations will result in a 2 percent decline in the median to $550,000 in 2007." You can find the current NAR national forcast HERE.

Home prices fall, after 4 hot years. Median figure for Bay Area dips from $616,000 to $611,000.

"The Bay Area could be following other regions of the country that already have experienced a decline in prices. The National Association of Realtors reported that the median price for a house nationwide fell 1.7 percent to $225,00 from $229,00 in August, the first drop since 1995."

"Historically, California has had about 7 to 10 months of inventory, according to the realty group. This means the current supply is close to normal but it feels like a significant change after a tight market. As buyers continued to take their time, the number of homes sold sank to a five-year low last month, dropping almost 30 percent from September 2005, DataQuick found. The total number of houses and condos sold fell to 7,907 in September from 11,205 a year earlier." - San Francisco Chronicle, Marni Leff Kottle.

"Most homeowners are simply going to wait out the slowdown," said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors.

Technorati Tags: San Francisco Chronicle, Real Estate, DataQuick, Housing Inventory, CAR, Months Supply,Real Estate Cycles,

Sonny Rollins: Hero of Jazz

2006-10-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

"Sonny Rollins, 76, is considered by many to be the greatest living jazz improviser. Even in his 30s, when the country teemed with brilliant saxophonists -- from Coleman Hawkins to Ben Webster to Charlie Parker to John Coltrane -- Rollins was in a class by himself. Now, when virtually no contemporary of his stature is still active, he stands alone, towering over a jazz scene in which geniuses are dying off faster than they are being replaced." Read the rest of David Rubien's article found in today's San Francisco Chronicle Datebook, entititled; "Sonny Rollins: Hero of Jazz."

Jazz Profiles from NPR, salutes saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins, whose career-long penchant for exploration and innovation has resulted in some of jazz's most influential recordings, performances and collaborations. Don't miss the Sonny Rollins talk about the influence of Louis Jordan and Coleman Hawkins on his music!

Hear what Down Beat has to say, "Sonny Rollins is the first major influence on a significant number of young tenors since the Stan Getz of the late forties and early fifties. Unlike the mesmeric Getz of that period, Sonny's approach is far from cool, and he is seldom lyrical. Sonny's style is hot, driving, deeply pulsating, and is rooted in Charlie Parker and before Bird, Coleman Hawkins."

"When Sonny Rollins picks up the tenor saxophone, the world listens. For nearly half a century, he has played music with the majesty of a Greek god, and today remains one of the few surviving icons from a golden era of jazz that will probably never be equalled." Europe Jazz Network

You can visit the Sonny Rollins Website Here.

Jazz Files recommended recordings can be found HERE.

Don't miss his upcoming concert this Friday, October 20, at the Masonic Center. For details, visit the San Francisco Jazz Festival website.

Technorati Tags: Sonny Rollins, Jazz, San Francisco Jazz Festival, San Francisco Chronicle Datebook, San Francisco Jazz, Bay Area Jazz, NPR Jazz Profiles,Europe Jazz Network,Jazz Files,Sax,

FORECLOSURE BIDDERS: RESEARCH THE FACTS

2006-09-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

"California Foreclosure Activity Hits Three-Year High," as reported by DataQuick Real estate news.

"Second quarter California foreclosure activity rose at the fastest pace in at least 14 years, the result of waning home price appreciation."

A Reckoning With Risk. "Will adjustable-rate loans lead to record foreclosures? Here's an article found in August's edition of U. S. News & World Report.

Buying real estate for a song is alluring, but there are pitfalls that could spell disaster.

"Nationwide interest has spawned an industry of foreclosure mavens as well as countless Web sites, infomercials, how-to books and seminars."

I had the oppostunity to attend one such seminar on Forecloures and Short Sales that was offered by Finanicial Title Company last week and wanted to share some insights.

"Such auctions may have piqued the interest of novice investors anticipating a rise in interest rates and the inability of some owners to meet their financial obligations.

"Yet while there is a tantalizing possibility of getting a deal, people who are intimately familiar with foreclosure auctions — lawyers, mortgage bankers, brokers and former auction regulars — advise steering clear of them."

"Success is not impossible, but to even set foot in the ring you must put in hours of due diligence and overcome myriad obstacles, including competing against auctiongoers who have mastered the art of the bid."

"You really have sharks at these sales," said Bruce Bronster, a partner in the Manhattan office of Dreier L.L.P. — his litigation group has handled more than 3,000 foreclosures. "You're a guppy. And you're going up against very seasoned and sophisticated guys."

This is from an article entitled; "Foreclosure Auctions: Bidder Beware," by Stephanie Rosenbloom of the New York Times.

"You don't know exactly what you're getting," said Melissa Cohn, the president of the Manhattan Mortgage Company. "That's the biggest risk."

For a better understanding of the foreclosure process, here are some links to review, compliments of Financial Title Company;

Foreclosure Timeline - California

Short Sales - Real Estate Preforeclosure
"The forclosure rate is soaring in most areas of the country presenting incredible opportunities for preclosure real estate investors! There are a number of ways the informed real estate investor can profit from homes facing foreclosure and one of the most lucrative is the pre-foreclosure.... SHORT SALE!" What is a Short Sale? Read the entire article HERE.

Trustee Sales - High Risk - High Payoff?
Keep in mind some of the risks and do your homework.

Post Foreclosure - REO Many properties are not sold at the trustee sale. If the minumum bid is not met, the bank becomes the owner of the property, REO (real estate owned).

Top Three Foreclosure Scams and One That Isn't

To Find a Bank's REO/Loss Mitigation Departments Phone Numbers; www.scotsmanguide.com

Technorati Tags: Short Sale, Foreclosure Process, Real Estate, DataQuick, Trustee Sale,REO,U S News

John Coltrane Turns 80 on Saturday

2006-09-22T10:37:00.000-07:00

There's an excellent tribute to John Coltrane in today's San Francisco Chronicle Datebook, written by Greg Tate.

"In an art form more celebrated for its sinners, John Coltrane, who somewhere over the rainbow will turn 80 on Saturday, held the honor of being the music's first saint." The article entitled, "Coltrane at 80 - a talent supreme" can be viewed HERE.

"Bar none, John Coltrane is the most influential tenor saxophonist in jazz history. Whether it's his patented "sheets of sound," his rapid-fire improvisations or his bold cathartic wails, no aspiring jazz saxophonist can afford to neglect the music of Coltrane." Jazz Profiles from NPR, John Dilberto.

Ballads - (No two lovers should be without this CD!!)

"John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" is one of the most compelling, spiritual testimonies in the history of jazz." - Rolling Stone Magazine Review.

"Without reservation, Blue Train can easily be considered in and among the most important and influential entries not only of John Coltrane's career, but of the entire genre of jazz music as well." - All Music Guide

This Page is a tribute to the greatest Tenor saxophonist of all time, John William Coltrane (Trane)

Technorati Tags: John Coltrane, Jazz, Bay Area Jazz,San Francisco Jazz,Ballads, Desert island Jazz,Sax,

How Toxic Is Your Mortgage?

2006-09-04T21:58:00.000-07:00

Nightmare Mortgages
"They promise the American Dream: A home of your own -- with ultra-low rates and payments anyone can afford. Now, the trap has sprung." - Mara Der Hovenesian, BusinessWeek Magazine.

"For cash-strapped homeowners, it was a pitch they couldn't refuse: Refinance your mortgage at a bargain rate and cut your payments in half. New home buyers, stretching to afford something in a super-heated market, didn't even need to produce documentation, much less a downpayment."

"The option adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) might be the riskiest and most complicated home loan product ever created. With its temptingly low minimum payments, the option ARM brought a whole new group of buyers into the housing market, extending the boom longer than it could have otherwise lasted, especially in the hottest markets. Suddenly, almost anyone could afford a home -- or so they thought. The option ARM's low payments are only temporary. And the less a borrower chooses to pay now, the more is tacked onto the balance."

The bill is coming due.

"Most of the pain will be born by ordinary people. And it's already happening." This is the message brought to us indepth in an excellet article found in BusinessWeek's September 11, 2006 issue. View it in its' entirety HERE.

More evidence of a coming problem; "Real estate foreclosures rise 18% nationwide." as reported by RealtyTrac.

To view additional BusinessWeek articles on mortgages;
Struggling to keep up with your mortgage?
Mortgage Lenders: Who's Most At Risk?

LoanIQ(TM) allows you to instantly identify high-risk loans and reduce overall loan default exposure. Quickly and accurately fast-track low-risk loans and escalate loans with a higher risk of loss to quality control and due diligence.

And finally, here's your resource for mortgage calculators; www.mortgages.interest.com

Technorati Tags: Foreclosures, Real Estate, Business Week, RealtyTrac, Freddie Mac, Mortgage Lenders

OVER 55? CALIFORNIA PROPERTY TAX RELIEF

2006-08-21T13:39:00.000-07:00

California Proposition 60 and Proposition 90
Transfer property tax base.

Since its passage, Proposition 13 prohibits property tax increases until property ownership is changed.

If either spouse is over age 55 (when the old home is sold), PROP 60 allows replacement of a primary residence with a new home of equal or lesser value (but see below) within the same county and transfer of the Prop 13 assessed valuation from the old home to the new property. This is allowed once in your lifetime, and a spouse who has done it before 'taints' both spouses.

PROP 90 allows counties to elect to accept transfers of Prop 13 values for moves from other counties when a primary residence is replaced with a less expensive (but see below) home. If you are over 55 and move into a county which accepts Prop 90, you may take your old, lower Prop 13 value, regardless of from which county you move.

7 COUNTIES WHICH ACCEPT PROP 90
(Current as of 6/1/2005)
Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Ventura. [Contra Costa, Inyo, Kern, Riverside, Modoc, Monterey, and Marin have dropped out of the Prop 90 program.]

"Propositions 60, 90, and 110 are constitutional amendments approved by the voters of California. They provide for the transfer of a property’s base year value from an existing residence to a replacement residence, under certain conditions, for qualified persons over the age of 55 or persons of any age who are severely and permanently disabled."

For the most accurate up to date information, see the State Board of Equalization's website.

Here are the conditions that need to be met in order to qualify for the exclusion;

1) Both properties must be located in the same county, unless the county in which the replacement residence is located has an ordinance that allows intercounty base year value transfers.

2) As of the date of transfer of the original property, the transferor (seller) or a spouse residing with the transferor must be at least 55 years of age, or be severely or permanently disabled.

3) At the time of sale, the original property must have been eligible for the Homeowners’ Exemption, or entitled to the Disabled Veterans’ Exemption.

4 Generally, the replacement dwelling must be of equal or lesser value than the original property.

5) The replacement dwelling must have been acquired or newly constructed within two years of (before or after) the sale of the original property.

6)The owner must file an application within three years following the purchase date or new construction completion date of the replacement property.

7) The original property must be subject to reappraisal at its current fair market value. Therefore, transfers of the original property that are excluded from reappraisal (e.g., most transfers between parents and children) will not qualify.

Technorati Tags: Tax Relief, California Tax Law, Real Estate, Proposition 60 & 90, State Board of Equalization,Proposition 13,

Ever Changing Miles

2006-07-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

"Miles Davis kept forcing jazz in new directions, but his stark, lyrical trumpet sound was a constant, and it still seduces."

"He didn't play the trumpet like a trumpet, he played it like a voice. - Bobby Hutcherson

Jesse Hamlin wrote a great article in the Chronicle Datebook a couple of weeks back. What a great piece and with substance on an idol of mine who recorded what I will always consider the Jazz Classic.

"I play 'Kind of Blue' every day - it's my orange juice." - Quincy Jones

I am guilty. I couldn't hang with him at first during the "rock-jazz fusion that Davis began exploring in the late 60's when he started using electric instruments and dancing backbeat grooves." I'm even ashamed to admit that I walked out on one of his performances at the War Memorial in San Francisco.

However, whatever direction his music took, his influence and music stays with us forever.

"Miles was famous for not looking back or repeating himself. He plunged into whatever music grabbed him at the moment, made it his, then moved on, leaving legions to chew on what he'd done."

"When I hear jazz musicians today playing all those same licks we used to play so long ago, I feel sad for them. I mean, it's like going to bed with a real old person who even smells real old. Now, I'm not putting down old people because I'm getting older myself. But be honest, that's what it reminds me of....I have to always be on the cutting edge of things because that's just the way I am and have always been." Miles Davis from his 1989 autobiography, "Miles."

Technorati Tags: Miles Davis, Cool Jazz, Kind of Blue, Desert island Jazz,KCSM, Jazz, Bay Area Jazz, San Francisco Jazz, Ken Burns

Housing: Where the Market is Really Heading

2006-07-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

"Amid all the ups and downs in the housing data of late, how you feel about the direction of this year's most closely watched economic sector may well depend on which day of the week you check the news." You can read the full article by James Cooper entitled, "Housing: Where the market is really heading," in the July 10th issue of BusinessWeek.

"Looking past all the recent month-to-month noise in the numbers, it's clear that demand for both new and existing homes is down from last year's peaks, and that the growth rate of prices continues to slow. However, the drop in sales is not as steep as the data had suggested earlier in the year. Sales are declining in an orderly fashion, not collapsing, and that pattern will most likely continue for the rest of the year."

Here's what Christopher Cagan, PH.D., director of research at First American Real Estate Solutions, has to say in his paper entitled, “The Real Estate Cycle in 2006,” dated May 18, 2006.

“The residential real estate market stands at a pivotal position in the spring of 2006. Over the previous few years, home prices have risen rapidly almost everywhere. In many coastal areas, prices have more than doubled since 2000. In recent months, the market has returned to more normal conditions. In many places, the inventory of properties offered for sale has increased. Buyers no longer rush to meet or exceed the asking prices of sellers. In some cases sellers have reduced their prices. On the whole, price appreciation has slowed down or flattened, but there has been no crash. Depending on the local area, prices are rising at single-digit levels, flattening out, or slightly declining – in other words, conditions have returned to normal after a very strong bull market.”

Finally, David Lereah, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtor's was asked in an interview; "Do you think the housing market could ever crash?" Here's his answer;

"I'm getting tired of all these doomsayers. We live in houses, and our houses are not going to crash. This isn't the stock market.... Local economies are relatively healthy. There's job creation -- this isn't a scenario where bubbles burst. Can there be one or two or three or several local markets where prices actually go down? Yes. But to generalize for 30 markets or the whole real estate marketplace -- that's absurd."

"Why the Bubble Won't Burst," interview with Michael Youngblood, Managing Director of Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co.

Housing Bubble Prospects Question and Answers provided By NAR.

You can also view the Anti Bubble Reports on their website for Market-by-Market Home Price Analysis Reports.

Technorati Tags: BusinessWeek, Real Estate, First American Real Estate Solutions, Real Estate Bubble, NAR, National Association of Realtors,Real Estate Cycles,

Real Estate For Your IRA

2006-06-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

"For decades, banks and brokerage houses have effectively convinced us that IRA holdings can be invested only in stocks or bonds."

"Unfortunately, with the sharp decline in the stock market and the bottoming out of interest rates, most of us could only stand by and watch as our retirement savings lost their accumulated value."

"Few knew that there was a viable investment alternative that offered both safety and incredible growth. That alternative, which banks and stockbrokers don't want you to know about, is real estate."

"That's right. Contrary to what you may have believed, it is perfectly legal to hold real estate investments in an IRA account--and to enjoy unprecedented returns." - from the publisher of IRA Wealth: Revolutionary IRA Strategies for Real Estate Investment by Patrick Rice and Jennifer Dirks.

"Most people are completely unaware they can purchase Real Estate with an IRA, 401K and other retirement funds...and that includes most Realtors," says Robert Hubbard, Founder of IRA123.com.

This is described in more detail in an article written by Philana Patterson, printed in The Real Deal, a New York publication, "Real estate buyers can tap retirement accounts."

You can also read about IRA Basics on Pensco Trust Company's website.

Leverage Your Purchase

"The ability to purchase real estate with IRA has been in existence for many years. However, most people believed that they had to buy their property entirely with cash. They did not know that they could obtain a loan to help them with their purchase. For those few who have heard they could get a loan, they have not known how to go about getting one." Mark Robbins, CTX Mortgage Company

Technorati Tags: Self Directed IRA, Real Estate, Investments, Leverage,Pensco,

John Coltrane - Ballads

2006-05-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

"Bar none, John Coltrane is the most influential tenor saxophonist in jazz history. Whether it's his patented "sheets of sound," his rapid-fire improvisations or his bold cathartic wails, no aspiring jazz saxophonist can afford to neglect the music of Coltrane." Jazz Profiles from NPR, John Dilberto.

Ballads - (No two lovers should be without this CD!!)

"When John Coltrane was asked, "Why a ballads album?", he said "Variety." Meaning a change of pace. And perhaps he wanted to apprise those who haven't discovered that he can be lyrical."

"John played the tunes straight, in the in-choruses, unless you count his lovely phrase endings as deviations from melody. When the development occurred, he made his musical points quickly and succinctly. I'd never heard him play this tightly."

- Gene Lees
(Excerpted from the original liner notes for Ballads)

This is a particularly fascinating album, one of my favorites. It's a strong recomendation to anyone's music collection and certainly has it's place on my own Desert Island Jazz list.

It is certainly a departure from some of his more well known works, such masterpieces as "A Love Supreme" or "Blue Trane."

"John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" is one of the most compelling, spiritual testimonies in the history of jazz." - Rolling Stone Magazine Review.

"Without reservation, Blue Train can easily be considered in and among the most important and influential entries not only of John Coltrane's career, but of the entire genre of jazz music as well." - All Music Guide

This Page is a tribute to the greatest Tenor saxophonist of all time, John William Coltrane (Trane)

Technorati Tags: John Coltrane, Jazz, Bay Area Jazz, San Francisco Jazz, Ballads, Desert island Jazz,Sax,

Staging Your Home Will Help You Sell It More Quickly and Bring a Much Higher Price

2006-04-25T08:20:00.000-07:00

A new book by Barb Scwartz reveals the maximum profit benefits of Home Staging. Robert Bruss, of Inman News, reviews her book, in an article entitled, "Home staging helps show house at its best."

"Staging your home," East Bay Business Times" - April 21, 2006by Gina Vierra

Mortgage Lenders: Who's Most At Risk

2006-04-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

"As delinquency rates rise, red flags are flying over some aggressive finance outfits," as stated by Mara Der Hovanesian, of BusinessWeek.

"For months doomsayers have been predicting that the slowing housing market, along with rising interest rates, would lead to mortgage foreclosures and bank losses. That hasn't happened yet, but delinquency rates have started to rise. What's worse, instead of cutting back on the exotic mortgages they've leaned on throughout the boom, many lenders are charging ahead on such high-risk loans full tilt. "Mortgage lending standards show little sign of tightening," says Frederick Cannon, bank analyst with New York's Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc. investment bank. "[Lenders] should have dialed back the aggressive loans by now."

"The much-feared troubles may finally be arriving. Delinquency rates jumped more than 7%, to 4.7% in the fourth quarter of 2005, from the year before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Assn. Home buyers are becoming over-extended. In California, where seven of the 10 most expensive U.S. cities are located, one in five buyers already spends more than half of pretax household income on housing -- much more than the 30% recommended by the Housing & Urban Development Dept."

"Despite the lenders' precautions, some borrowers will receive a rude shock starting this year. Repayment terms on about $1.3 trillion of adjustable-rate loans will increase in 2006 and 2007, forcing some borrowers to pay up to 150% more per month. "In the hands of an unsophisticated borrower, [these loans are] dangerous," says Robert W. Visini, vice-president for marketing at San Francisco mortgage tracker LoanPerformance (FAF).

"About 10% of U.S. households now face a great risk of running into credit problems, according to research done by Meredith Whitney, senior financial institutions analyst for CIBC World Markets Inc. (BCM ). If borrowers start to default on their loans, their lenders could themselves face mounting problems."

"Real estate rates at highest level in nearly 4 years," according to Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac, as reported by Inman News.

"Mortgage rates this week climbed for the fourth straight week to highs not seen since the summer of 2002, according to surveys conducted by Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com."

"In Freddie Mac's survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to an average 6.53 percent for the week ended today, with an average 0.6 point, up from last week's average of 6.49 percent. The 30-year fixed has not been higher since the week ending July 12, 2002, when it averaged 6.54 percent.

Foreclosures Soar 63 Percent over Last Year
RISMEDIA, April 19, 2006—RealtyTrac(TM) (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its March 2006 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows 101,597 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure in March, a 13 percent decrease from the previous month but a 63 percent increase from March 2005.

Technorati Tags: Foreclosures, Real Estate, Business Week, Berkeley Real Estate, Freddie Mac, Mortgage Lenders

5 Key Ways to Avoid Buying a Bad Condo

2006-04-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

Emeryville Condos
I like the advice that Robert Truss, a writer for Inman News, gives on buying condos. You can view his whole article HERE.

"Whether you are a first-time home buyer, or a retiree planning to "down-size" your residence, condominiums are "hot" during the 2006 peak home-buying season. In most communities, condos are still affordable for home buyers."

"Condominiums are no longer the "ugly ducklings" of real estate. Now they appreciate in market value almost as fast as single-family houses."

What Robert Truss goes on to cover are the following headings;

WHY BUY A CONDO INSTEAD OF A HOUSE?
NEW OR RESALE CONDO -- WHICH IS BEST?
THE FIVE KEY QUESTIONS CONDO BUYERS SHOULD ASK.

Rent Vs Buy?

An article written in the Chicago Tribune a few days ago, by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, entitled "Rent Vs Buy," raises some very good issues in this ogoing debate.

"Rents are experiencing their sharpest hikes in five years, and mortgage interest rates that hit a 40-year low several years ago are on the rise. People on the fence about whether to buy or rent are feeling the squeeze from both sides."

As a further indication that rents are on the rise, the Mercury News reported,

"SANTA CLARA COUNTY APARTMENT COSTS UP 5.8% FROM A YEAR AGO."

This was publihed today in an article entitled, "Rental Rates Rebounding in Valley," by Michael Liedtke.

"Apartment rents are increasing more rapidly in Silicon Valley and other major markets in the West as the economy produces more jobs and rising interest rates prevent more people from buying homes, according to statistics being released today."

"The market is changing, and a lot of times that's the time to act," said Ron De Vries, vice president with Chicago-based Appraisal Research Counselors. "Maybe it's time to buy while interest rates are still low. Or maybe this would be a good time to rent before the increases come through."

Use this calculator to determine whether it is a better financial decision to rent or to own a home.

Technorati Tags: Emeryville Condos, Real Estate, Berkeley Real Estate, Buy Vs Rent

Sun's Out, Spend Some Time Out Doors!

2006-04-18T19:32:00.000-07:00

After the last dismal few months of rain, what a welcome relief to get a little sunshine to brighten up our lives.

Take a tip from my two friends, Norm and Andy. Take a breather, spend a little time out doors soaking it all up. What better place than to spend the afternoon strolling the Berkeley Rose garden.

Check out Andy's article at www.myeastbayagent.com, written Thursday April 13, 2006.

And here's what Alhambra Valley looks like in the Spring.

Technorati Tags: Berkeley Hills, Berkeley Real Estate, My East Bay Agent, Alhambra Valley,Berkeley Rose Garden

Times' Up!

2006-04-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

Today's your last chance to file taxes and extensions.

"but beautiful"

2006-04-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

For Me, one of the most pleasant surprises to happen in jazz in the last ten years came with the release of a CD in 1996 of music that had been recorded twenty two years earlier. It was a rare "but beautiful," (and incidently, that's the name of the CD), live meeting between Bill Evans and Stan Getz.

"Pianist Bill Evans and tenor-saxophonist Stan Getz only recorded in the studio together on one occasion, making these previously unreleased concert performances (issued for the first time in 1996) quite valuable," writes Scott Yarrow in his review with AMG.

"Although released under the pianist's name, this CD is very much Stan Getz's show and his beautiful tone sounds quite exquisite on "But Beautiful," "Emily," "The Peacocks," and the swinging "You and the Night and the Music."

“There are four qualities essential to a great jazzman. They are taste, courage, individuality, and irreverence. These are the qualities I want to retain in my music.” - Stan Getz

"Although Getz played attractive compositions tastefully with harmonic and melodic sophistication, so too did many substantial musicians who never received much critical and popular acclaim. The primary reason for his greatness and his popularity lies elsewhere, in his tone. It is uniquely his. Big and pure and rich and definite, it possesses such an intrinsic appeal that master saxophonist and innovator John Coltrane proclaimed his envy of it — and Roost Records released a Getz album in the Fifties called, simply and accurately, The Sound." Benjamin Franklin V, Excerpted from: The Essential Stan Getz

"Let's face it. We [tenor saxophonists] would all play like him, if we could." —John Coltrane

The Bill Evans Webpages

From the Liner Notes, written by Helen Keane, in 1995. "I feel it's important that I explain why Bill is not playing on most of "Stan's Blues."

Since Bill and Stan hadn't worked together very often, they called a rehearsal on the day of the performance in Laren. They rehearsed for about three hours. The format for the evening was that the trio would perform for about 40 minutes, then Stan would join the group as Bill's special guest.

Stan Getz was a very unpredictable guy and sometimes he could be a very bad boy.

After the trio finished their set, Stan was announced. As he entered the stage, he called a tune they hadn't rehearsed. I was watching the performance on a television monitor in the audio truck and saw the angry expression on Bill's face as Stan began to play unrehearsed "Stan's Blues." Bill played a little on the melody chorus, then took his hands off the keyboard and didn't play for the rest of the tune. As soon as he got Eddie Gomez's eye, Bill shook his head, meaning "don't take a solo."

That explains why there's no piano on "Stan's Blues." Bill was a gentle person, but very strong. Although he always worked well with other musicians, obviously Stan's behavior really affected him.

Stan may have had a demon in him from time to time, but he also had the ability to be charming. At the later performance, Stan warmly wished Bill a happy birthday and played an impromptu "Happy Birthday." There is no way of proving it, but knowing Stan, I believe that this was his way of apologizing for what happened in Holland. I think Bill was very touched by Stan's birthday wish before an audience of seven thousand people.

Technorati Tags: Bill Evans, Stan Getz, but beautiful, Bay Area Jazz, San Francisco Jazz, Jazz

It's Hard To Believe The E-Mail Message Isn't From The IRS.

2006-04-12T06:56:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting warning on scammers that everyone needs to pay attention to. The warning came from an email newsletter that I receive from Cohns Loans, in Albany, California.

The logo looks real. The message appears to be sent from admin@irs.gov. The "copyright 2006 IRS" at the end of the message seems authentic. It may look like the IRS, but it's scammers who are swamping consumers' e-mail inboxes with messages notifying them of an audit or offering access to a refund. The fraudsters' aim is to collect your Social Security number, credit card account number, and bank information. "We've seen an explosion of this scam this year," said an IRS spokeswoman.

In recent weeks, consumer complaints about the e-mail scams are pouring in at the rate of about 100 a day on average. So far, 12 Web sites operated in 18 countries perpetrating this or similar types of IRS-related fraud was found.

It's no wonder consumers get lured into providing sensitive data. One of the messages (see sample below) directs consumers to click on a link to collect their refund. Not only does the message look authentic, but the Web site that appears when you click on the link looks eerily similar to the official IRS.gov Web page. Scammers copied the official IRS logo, and even the type font matches the IRS site. And, if you click on the "Home" button, it takes you to the official IRS site, at www.IRS.gov. The fake Web site also includes an authentic-looking privacy policy that says "Internal Revenue Code Section 6109 allows us to request your Social Security Number." The only oddities are the Web site address at the top of the page -- which starts with "http://tzk.kozle.pl" -- and the information requested, which includes your Social Security number and credit card information "where you want the refund to be made."

IRS won't e-mail you.

Taxpayers take note: The IRS generally does not send e-mail messages to taxpayers. They do not communicate with taxpayers via e-mail. They may send you a letter, may call you, but they do not send out e-mail.The bulk of the scams have been through e-mail, though sometimes fraudsters will mail a regular letter, or even call taxpayers. If taxpayers get any communication that purports to be from the IRS and if they're not sure that it's a legitimate correspondence and it's asking for financial information, they need to call the IRS and check it out.

"Some of these e-mail scams that we saw, they would not only ask for your bank account number, they would ask for your password to your bank account -- something we would never ask for," an IRS spokesman said. Still, "we do communicate with taxpayers probably more frequently than people think. It's not just through audits". "People forget to sign their tax return, or they got their bank account information wrong on their direct deposit. There are a number of other reasons we would call people, but taxpayers need to double-check and bring some skepticism to these communications, not just with the IRS but with anyone calling and requesting financial information," the spokesman said. To find out whether a communication you received from the IRS is legitimate, call the IRS at 800-829-1040. Ask them to confirm that the IRS is trying to contact you.

One should consult with a qualified tax professional prior to implementing taxation strategies.

Technorati Tags: IRS, Tax Scam, Real Estate

Large Price Increases Result In Tax Hits for Home Sellers

2006-04-09T16:58:00.000-07:00

Tom Herman points out the importance of understanding current real estate tax law in his recent Wall Street Journal article. That along with this decade's real estate boom comes a big tax liability.

"A growing number of homeowners, riding the crest of the real-estate boom, are getting hit by an unpleasant surprise when they sell: a hefty tax bill."

"As home prices have surged, more people have been selling their home for bigger gains than the exclusion amount -- and thus are facing unexpectedly big tax bills."

"Many people who thought they wouldn't owe taxes when they sell are now on the hook. Among those most likely to be affected are homeowners who bought many years ago and who live in hot real-estate markets such as California, New York, Hawaii, Florida and Washington, D.C."

"Many sellers are startled to hear they owe any tax at all because they didn't realize the 1997 law erased a popular provision that had allowed them to avoid taxes. That provision generally allowed sellers to defer or eliminate capital-gains taxes by rolling over their proceeds within a specified time period into a new home costing as much or more than the old one. The law also deleted another provision that generally offered a once-in-a-lifetime $125,000 exclusion for people age 55 or older."

Technorati Tags: Real Estate, Real Estate Tax, Google Real Estate, Real Estate Boom, Wall Street Journal, Property Values

Business Week's Hot Property Picks

2006-04-06T20:39:00.000-07:00

How Strong Is the Housing Market Where You Live?
Housing prices have repeatedly defied forecasts of a bust, but the market is finally showing signs of cooling. How can you tell if the area where you live is vulnerable to a downturn?

Read the "California February Home Report," as shown by DataQuick Real Estate News.

"Why Real Estate Will Never Crash." John D. Behle gives tips on what every investor should do.

Here's what William Bronchick suggest in his article, "How to Invest in a Changing Real Estate Market."
What is the ideal market for investing?
What are some basic strategies to limit risk?
Inventory trends.
Falling markets.
Exit strategies.
"Real Estate Bubble Theory is Full of Hot Air."

Hear what Business Week Online real estate writers have to say about the market.

Technorati Tags: Housing Bubble, Real Estate, Business Week

Couple Bursts Housing Bubble with Real Estate Value Formula

2006-04-01T08:37:00.001-08:00

In two recent New York Times articles, both published in todays Contra Costa Times, two economics professors suggest many real estate markets aren't inflated afterall.

"Before you buy a house calculate its potential," and "Some New Math on Homes," by Damon Darlin of the New York Times.

"In a paper," Gary and Margaret Hwang Smith, "presented at the Brookings Institution this week, "Bubble, Bubble, Where's the Housing Bubble?" they said that even though prices had risen rapidly and some buyers unrealistically expected the trend to continue, "the bubble is not, in fact, a bubble in most of these areas."

"They argued that the value of a home is determined by the rent it could fetch. Calculate the future rents, subtract mortgage payments, taxes and other costs, factor in a good annual rate of return of 6 percent or more, and one should be looking at the proper price of a house or condo."

"The Smith formulas provide a way to determine if a buyer is overpaying."

"The calculation doesn't mean that as a seller you'd necessarily get that much. Supply and demand — and the Greater Fool Theory — will still determine the price. It means as a buyer you could go that high and still be happy with the decision in years to come."

Their bottom line was: "Buying a house at current market prices still appears to be an attractive long-term investment."

"At the risk of sounding like a real estate agent, Mr. Smith said there are two risks to consider when buying a house. One is that you buy and the price goes down. The other is that you don't buy and the price goes up. "The second is more scary," he said."

"Over Time, Owning a Home Really Pays Off." Realtor Magazine Online

Technorati Tags: Housing Bubble, Real Estate, Contra Costa Times

New Home Valuation Site Rivals Zillow

2006-03-30T20:15:00.000-08:00

"Even before the digital paint has dried on Zillow.com, a real estate valuation site that launched in beta form in February, an alternative site has sprung up at RealEstateABC.com. Both sites offer free home-price estimates to consumers at no charge and without requiring any form of registration." You can read the whole article Here, written by Glenn Roberts from Inman News.

"The site typically generates 30 comparable sales for each subject property, and users can edit this list of comparable properties by selecting and deselecting other comparable properties. The ABC Values tool features a Google-based mapping platform that identifies a subject property with a distinct icon that resembles a blue house. Comparable properties are listed on the map with reddish house-shaped icons, and other properties in the area that sold within the past five years are posted on the map as beige house-shaped icons."

This is another amazing site worth looking at, but like Zillow, it does have its limitations.

Like most people trying the site out for the first time, I entered my home address with anticipation of more miracles, a real estate appraisal with a push of the button. Unbelievable, 30 comps appeared, just like that. All of my neighbors were right there, within a quarter mile of my home.

Impossible, I thought, since I've only seen a couple of homes sell recently around here. Well, of course, there's only one home listed here that's sold within the last six months. The rest go anywhere from the summer of 2005, all the way back to 2003. Nice information, but maybe not too relevant. You never know. The dollar per square foot value for a specific address in 2003 may have the makings of a future interactive trivia game.

Find an agent. For $25 I get listed. For $200, I get listed as a featured agent within a zipcode that I get to own for a year. Instant credability. That's easier than passing the State Broker's exam!

The "Adjust Value" features are pretty cool. You can have some fun with these. However, even as a Real Estate Broker, I wasn't sure how to accurately tweak the "slider".

Hey, and don't forget that other site that launched this week as well, "Electronic Appraiser."

"This is more than just a face-lift," said Greg Sullivan, president and CEO for Electronic Appraiser. "We're continually identifying areas to expand and evolve how we distribute our services. Our customers can expect processes to be easier for all segments of our products, as well as more resources related to residential real estate. Our growth in service offering and continued profitability shows that the value in our products is proven instantly." (From a "Business Wire" released today).

I do agree with what Amy Bohutinsky says about both sites below. Consumers are more sophisticated now and will demand a much more up to date information platform to help them make a well informed decision. These sights will develop over time, definitely improve, and eventually change how we do real estate business in the future.

Amy Bohutinsky, a Zillow spokeswoman, said the launch of another valuation tool is more proof that consumers are hungry for real estate information. "I think what you're seeing is evidence that there's a great consumer search for more information on the Web, and consumers want data that's traditionally been very hard to find online for free. Valuations and data on 60-plus million homes is a first step on what we see as a marathon of opportunity to give consumers tools and processes. This is our first step. Seeing other sites out there develop consumer tools and information is a great thing."

A statement at the Web site notes that the ABC Values tool uses "methodologies similar to those used by Realtors, brokers and appraisers -- although we highly recommend that you consult local professionals to obtain an expert opinion. There is no substitute for deep local market expertise."

Technorati Tags: Real Estate, RealEstateABC, Google Real Estate, Inman News, Zillow, Electronic Appraiser

The Frankenstein Economy

2006-03-28T21:45:00.000-08:00

Follow this link to itulip.com to read the full story.

Technorati Tags: Real Estate Market, U S Economy, Google Real Estate, Households, Housing Bubble, iTulip

Louis Jordan - "The King of the Jukebox"

2006-03-24T20:09:00.000-08:00

Louis Jordan

"In the Forties, bandleader Louis Jordan pioneered a wild - and wildly popular - amalgam of jazz and blues with salty, jive-talking humor. The music played by singer/saxophonist Jordan and his Tympany Five got called "jump blues" or "jumpin' jive," and it served as a precursor to the rhythm & blues and rock and roll of the Fifties." - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"Although Jordan's music has been described as part novelty, his jumping music bridging the gap betwwen the big band style and older school R&B through to the rock and roll of Chuck Berry and Little Richard. In a sense that's why he's represented here. The man and his music influenced so many, from Ray Charles, Etta James through to B.B. King as well as a whole range of rock and rollers. And of course, if you take a listen to the music the man produced, it still swings today, which is why musicals based loosely on his life and songs are so successful - his music has great staying power." (Read the full profile Here.)

"Jordan is one of a number of seminal black performers who is often credited with, if not inventing rock and roll, certainly providing most of the building blocks for the music." From Wikipedia.

"The rhythm of his band was so engaging -- it was unbelievable. And Jordan had a fabulous sense of humor. He found songs that could reach a wide public." - Rolling Stone

The Best of Louis Jordan (MCA) - "Serious collectors will want to explore a more complete series, particularly the one put out by Classics, but for a single acquisition, this is the Louis Jordan set to get." - Scott Yanow,AMG.

Lyrics to Louis Jordan songs.

Technorati Tags: Louis Jordan, King of the Jukebox, Jump Blues, Jumpin' Jive, Jazz, Rock and Roll

"Zestimate" with Zillow

2006-03-20T08:56:00.000-08:00

"Welcome to the addicting and voyeuristic world of Zillow, the Seattle-based real estate Web site that offers real-time market values on more than 40 million homes nationwide."

Zillow ranks in real estate's top five after one month. "Nearly 2.8 million Americans last month logged on to Zillow.com in the days after its well-financed and publicized launch Feb. 8. They were eager to get an estimate, or what Zillow calls a “zestimate,” of a property's value and much more detail about the millions of homes listed on the site.

Zillow.com, a Seattle-based Internet company, offers an easy way to estimate the price of your home - or that of your neighbors. Just type in an address and check out the "zestimate." But the results do not necessarily jibe with owners' expectations.

"Not Everybody is Thrilled with Zestimating Property Values," by Roger Showley, writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

This article goes on to ask the question, "But how reliable is this home pricing information, which for those interested in real estate gives new meaning to being a looky-loo?"

"In some cases, the prices shown are wildly different from the reality of today's slowing real estate market." Overnight, an Internet sensation has arisen as homeowners click away on a new Web site to look up the value of their homes, then turn to those of their neighbors, family, bosses, politicians or celebrities – anyone with a street address.

Here's what Barbara Clements, of The News Tribune, goes on to say in her article entitled, "The Mark of Zillow;"

"Newspapers, blogs and real estate trade journals have blasted the site for giving inaccurate information on homes, with valuations as much as 20 percent above or below actual value. According to the company, variances on Zillow’s estimates range high or low by about 7 percent. In the Seattle area, the variance might be as little as 5 percent, Zillow says."

To all the criticisms, the site’s chief financial officer, Spencer Rascoff, says: Yes, we know that.

“This is a starting point,” said Rascoff, also a former Expedia employee. “You’re not going to be accurate 100 percent of the time on 40 million homes.”

"The Zillow Conspiracy," by Dustin Luther of Seattle's Rain City Guide. Rain City Guide is a great "cutting edge" real estate blog out of the Seattle area. Dustin makes some interesting observations;

Zillow seems to inspire one of three questions in people:

How did Zillow do such a good job zestimating the value of my home?
How did Zillow do such a bad job zestimating the value of my home?
Did they really hire people to digitize that many public records?

The answer to these questions:

1) They hired some darn smart people
2) Apparently not smart enough
3) I smell a conspiracy!

"What's your boss's house worth? Zillow can tell you," by Noelle Know, writer for USA Today.

"There's only one problem: You can't believe everything you see."

The article goes on to state; "The property values, or "Zestimates," are only within 10% of the right price 62% of the time, and the accuracy varies widely by county and state, ranging from a low of 47% for New York to a high of 82% for Nebraska, the company says."

View some of the comments made by readers of "Mortgage News Daily" about Zillow in their article, "Zillow May Not Be Ready For Prime Time."

Mortgage News Daily sums it up this way; "It is a shame that Zillow came on line before it was ready for prime time. The hype has been incredible - ABC's Good Morning America featured it this week and, as we stated at the beginning, CNN, CNET, Motley Fool, USA Today, Business Week, and dozens of metro newspapers have given it a lot of free air or ink. Many people have visited the site, came away disappointed and may not bother to go back. Better that Zillow had all of their ducks in a row before going public."

Technorati Tags: Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Google Real Estate, Property Values, Zillow, Rain City Guide

Phil Elwood Tribute at Yoshi's

2006-03-18T19:06:00.000-08:00

Longtime Chronicle and Examiner jazz critic Phil Elwood, who died Jan. 10, was remembered today in a packed memorial at Yoshi's in Oakland.

"Phil was the quintessential jazz critic," said performer Jon Hendricks, who met Mr. Elwood at clubs and festivals. "Most jazz critics love the music, but Phil knew the music as well as loved it."

Chuy Varela, from KCSM, served as a well deserved Masters of Ceremonies. A special all-star tribute band led by saxophonist Mel Martin, featuring vocalist Kim Nalley, trumpeter Allen Smith, pianist Dave Mathews, bassist Robb Fischer, percussionist John Santos, and drummer Eddie Marshall provided music, along with performances by Mike Lipskin (solo piano)and Richard Hadlock's trad-jazz band. Solos were also provided by Denise Perrier and Michele Rosewoman.

A plaque was installed in his honor at his customary table at Yoshi's where you often found him sipping Chardonay and listening to Jazz.

I didn't know Phil as well as most who attended, but like so many people in the Bay Area, he became an influence to me. I was fortunate to attend two of his jazz appreciation classes while at the Berkeley Jazz School.

Class with Phil was always facinating. I think that Chronicle jazz writer Jesse Hamlin, said it best; "I remember him coming into his Monday night jazz history class at Laney College in the mid-'70s," "with a funky old record player and a old briefcase stuffed with scratchy albums, most without their jackets. He'd just start riffing and reminiscing and playing records, never referring to notes, for 90 minutes at a stretch. That music was in his veins."

His appreciation for music went well beyond jazz. For he felt, as he so often paraphrased Duke Ellington, "that there are only two kinds of music, good and bad."

"Phil Elwood was born March 19, 1926, and raised in Berkeley. He first saw Count Basie in 1939 from a ballroom balcony in Oakland, which sparked his lifelong interest in jazz."

"He used to ride his bicycle around to Oakland thrift stores and spend his paper route money buying old jazz 78s by King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton and others. Those discs were the beginnings of a legendary jazz record collection, which he stored in a serpentine basement in his North Berkeley home."

He was also one of the first people to broadcast jazz on the FM dial. His weekly radio program, "Jazz Archive," began in 1952, when very few people even owned FM radios. His show continued on Berkeley's KPFA until 1996.

Phil was a "life-long friend of jazz and an irreplaceable treasure for the Bay Area music community."

Exerpts are from an article entitled "Phil Elwood: 1926 to 2006," written by Joel Selvin, Senior Chronicle Music Critic.

As an added note, Joshua Kosman had an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, Tuesday that talks about the Sunday celebration at the Great American Music Hall, entitled; "Late music critic, radio broadcaster Phil Elwood gets an exuberant tribute."

Technorati Tags: Phil Elwood, Yoshi's, Jazz, KCSM, KPFA, Berkeley Jazz School

The Genius After Hours

2006-03-15T15:20:00.000-08:00

Ray Charles
Known as "The Genius" since the early 1950s, Ray Charles started out primarily as a jazz and blues pianist and singer in the style of his early musical idols such as Nat "King" Cole and pianist Charles Brown. But over his more than 50 years in show business, Charles built a career that defied genre, bringing his soulful voice, keyboard prowess and songwriting talent to the pop, country and R&B charts.

It seems I can never hear enough of Ray Charles. I first saw him in the early seventies, and for anyone who's never seen him live,...I'm really, truly sorry. That first concert had me coming back to his shows for years.

I collected his records over the years, lots of records. I'm not sure if I could pick a favorite, but there was one record that always got more play time than any of the others. "The Genius After Hours," under the Atlantic label released in 1961. It was always the perfect late night listening jazz album.

After misplacing the disc, I spent countless hours searching, trying to find it again. It was out of print in the U.S. and not yet available as a CD. It wasn't until November, 2001 that it came out as a CD (Import) with the Wea/Rhino label. You can currently find it under an "Atlantic Masters" label.

It's not what most listeners would expect from Ray Charles. To explain it best, I'd like to quote directly from the liner notes;

"Today, without having lost the Southern Juke-Box audiences for whom his church-flovored early hits were geared, Charles has found a mass market that has earned him international identification, almost exclusively as a singer. In this respect, his career has duplicated Nat King Cole's: it was as leader of a Cole-style combo, patterned along the lines of Nat's trio of the early 1040's, that Ray got under way as an instrumentalist in 1949. Today, as in Nat's case, many of those have followed his development as a singer are only conscience secondarily, if at all, of his background as a musician."

View the Official Ray Charles Website.

Technorati Tags: Ray Charles, The Genius After Hours, Jazz Pianist, R&B Singer,KCSM, Jazz, Georgia

The 10 Habits Billionaires Have.

2006-03-13T14:57:00.000-08:00

(Li Ka-Shing)

According to Forbes magazine's annual list of "The World's Richest People," which ranks billionaires, many of the 793 billionaires made their fortunes in the real estate industry.

"Number of Billionaires Up to Record 793," by J W Elhinstone.

According to Martin Fridson's book, "How to be a Billionaire," here's what Realtor Magazine published about what you can learn from their habits, lifestyles, and business styles;

1) Go commercial. Billionaires who make their fortunes in real estate don’t do it by selling one home at a time. They do it by owning and operating office buildings, shopping centers, apartment complexes, and luxury hotels.

2) Do more than invest. Buying a piece of property and sitting back and waiting for it to appreciate in value is not the way to make billions. You need to enhance its value. J. Paul Getty did just that after he bought New York’s Pierre Hotel for $2.35 million in 1938 and turned it into a hub for New York society by convincing a prominent socialite to stay there. He increased the value of the investment by more than eight times.

3) Be able to see the property for what it could be. Just because you buy a shopping complex doesn’t mean that’s the best use of the property. Recognizing that real estate will have a greater value with an alternative use is what helped billionaire Laurence Tisch achieve success when he acquired controlling interest in the Loew’s Theatres chain and converted prime Manhattan property into the Summit Hotel. Know the zoning laws in your area and apply to have properties rezoned if needed.

4) Be tenacious and relentless. Billionaires don’t let obstacles or pitfalls keep them from achieving their goals. Just because you fail doesn’t mean you can’t succeed in the end. Kirk Kerkorian, who headed Chrysler Corp. and other companies, has made and lost millions in many investments, but he refuses to give up and always gets back in the game and continues to make deals.

5) Have a thick skin. People are by nature resentful and jealous of successful people. Don’t let criticism of your work deter you from your goals.

6) Have superior information. If you do more research than your competitors, you’ll have an advantage in any transaction.

7) Don’t accept the cards you’re dealt. Although one-third of the world’s 46 billionaires who make their money in real estate inherited and then grew their fortunes, two-thirds are self-made, according to Forbes.

8) Live in California. Of the 21 U.S. billionaires who made their fortune in real estate, according to Forbes, more than one-third live in Atherton, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Palo Alto, or Stockton.

9) Get, and stay, married. Of the 43 real estate billionaires whose marital status is known, according to Forbes, 37 are married, while only three are divorced and three are widowed.

10) Go back to school. Of the 26 real estate billionaires whose educational attainments are known, 20 have a college degree or higher. Five made it on high school diplomas, and one is a high-school dropout

View Forbes video entitled, "Highlights From Our 18th Annual Billionaires List," or "The Making of the Billionaires List."

Who are the world's richest people, Forbes 2006 List of Billinaires.

You can always dream of winning the lottery. Take a few tips from Patricia Huang's article on, "How To Spend $1 Billion."

Do you have what it takes to be a billionaire? Take the Quiz.

Technorati Tags: Billionaire, World's Richest People, Forbes

Bay Area Home Sales Activity

2006-03-11T09:06:00.000-08:00

"Since 1978, DataQuick has built a solid reputation as a premier provider of real estate information solutions. From the early days of microfiche to today’s high-speed Internet solutions, we’ve helped thousands of customers realize their goals by offering the most current and advanced data products on the market."

DataQuick Real Estate News is another resource to keep referring back to. You'll find that a number real estate news articles pull their statisitics from this great informational site. I use it to give me a snapshot of the real estate activity in the area. View their Home Sales Activity charts Here. It's broken down by zipcode to help give you a more informed picture of the neighborhood you're living in and how the past months sales compares to last years. You can also review Home Sale Price Medians by City.

Of course, for Californians, that can be either good or bad news depending on whether your are looking to sell or purchase property. California's Housing Affordability Index, as reported by the California Association of Realtors, is now at an all time low. This index measures the percentage of households that can afford to purchase a median priced home in California. As of their Feb 2, 2006 report, that index now stands at 14% for all of California.

"With mortgage rates, home prices rising faster than annual incomes, affordable housing is not an option for many." This mornings article in the Contra Costa Times, entitled "American Dream fading for Many," by Alan Heavens further deals with this issue.

Technorati Tags: Real Estate, Bay Area Real Estate Market, Google Real Estate, DataQuick, Housing Affordability Index, California Housing

Understanding Easements

2006-03-03T17:15:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has ever purchased a home has come accross a description in their preliminary title report referring to easements. One of the most common found are Easements in Gross, or a personal right to use land. For example, Utility Companies may have an Easement in Gross to install and service power lines.

To learn more about easements, there's a very informative article supplied to us by Robin Sewell, Marketing Manager for Chicago Title in Albany. It's in their March 2006 Critical Issues Resource publication and it's titled "Understanding Easements, What is an easement or right-of-way?"

Technorati Tags: Real Estate, Easements, Google Real Estate

Hot Caribbean Real Estate Market

2006-02-28T22:08:00.000-08:00

American Buyers Drawn To Strong Caribbean Real Estate Market

"The Caribbean real estate market for American buyers is strong and getting stronger, according to Ricardo Cardenas, vice president and regional director of RE/MAX of the Caribbean and Central America."

"Purchasing properties in the Caribbean could be a good hedge against a domestic market that is slowing down," said Cardenas. "Property values are low in many areas, but they are appreciating rapidly, so a relatively small investment can yield good returns."

"Property values are low in many areas, but they are appreciating rapidly, so a relatively small investment can yield good returns," he added.

Here's one such bargain found along the Honduras Coast. For $490,000, you can purcahse a 5,200 square foot mansion with 300 feet of beachfront. View the details HERE.

Technorati Tags: Real Estate, Caribbean Coast Real Estate, Google Real Estate, Honduras Real Estate, Retirement Property, Vacation Property

Realty Tax Tips

2006-02-27T18:56:00.000-08:00

CHECKLIST OF THE TEN MOST OFTEN OVERLOOKED REAL ESTATE TAX DEDUCTIONS
These are the highlights taken from a publication written by Robert Bruss and reprinted in an article in Inman News, March 3rd, 2006.

1) Home acquisition mortgage loan fees: If you bought your primary or secondary home last year, you probably obtained a mortgage to finance and purchase. That mortgage is called “acquisition mortgage” because it enabled purchase of the residence. If you paid a loan fee to obtain the acquisition mortgage, usually called “points,” that loan fee qualifies as an itemized interest deduction. Each Point equals 1% of the amount borrowed.

2) Home improvement loan fees: If you paid a loan fee to obtain a home improvement loan, that loan fee is fully deductible in the tax year it was paid.

3) Loan fees paid to refinance a home loan or borrow against other real estate: If you refinanced your existing home loan last year, or borrowed against other real estate such as an apartment building, any loan fee you paid must be deducted over the life of the mortgage; i.e., if you paid a $1,000 loan fee to refinance with a new 30-year home mortgage, you can deduct $33.33 for each of the next 30 years.

4) When refinancing, deduct any undeducted loan fees: Thanks to low mortgage interest rates, many home owners refinanced again last year after previously refinancing a year or two earlier. These home owners should remember to deduct on last year’s income tax returns any undeducted loans fees from prior mortgage refinance.

5) If you bought or sold property last year, remember to deduct prorated real estate taxes: A major tax deduction many real estate buyers and sellers overlook is the prorated property tax they paid at the close of the escrow. Even if the other party remitted the payment to the tax collector, but you were charged a prorated portion of the tax bill, be sure to deduct your share on your last year’s return.

6) Deduct prorated mortgage interest in the year of property purchase or sale: Similarly, if you bought a residence (or other real estate) and took over an existing mortgage, don’t forget to deduct your prorated interest share for the month of the sale ( even if the seller makes the payment to the lender). Your closing settlement shows your prorated share of mortgage interest.

7) Mortgage prepayment penalty: If you paid off an existing mortgage early and were charged a prepayment penalty by the lender, that prepayment qualified as an itemized deduction.

8) When land rent payments qualify as interest deductions: Millions of homes are located on leased land an Internal Revenue Code 163(c) allows land rent to be deducted like interest when the lease: (a) is for at least 15 years, including renewal periods; (b) is freely assignable; (c) contains a present or future option to buy the land; and (d) is like a security interest, such as a mortgage. Of course payments to buy the land are not deductible, nor are ground rent payments deductible if you do not have the option to buy the land, such as in a mobile home park.

9) Home construction loan interest: If you built a new home last year, or are building one now, don’t forget to deduct the construction loan interest paid. It’s deductible if the construction period does not exceed 24 months before occupancy of your principle residence.

10) Deduct prepaid property taxes and mortgage interest: If you prepaid this year’s real estate taxes last year, as home owners do to increase their tax deductions, or if you paid your January of this year mortgage payment in December of last year, don’t forget to deduct these extra mortgage interest and property tax payments on last year’s income tax returns.

**For a more comprehensive understanding of the legal/tax consequences, we strongly suggest your contacting an attorney and/or CPA for specific advice on the matters stated herein.

Compliments of Lorrie Williams and Gabriela Frey, Financial Title located in Albany, California. Lorrie can be reached at; lawilliams@financialtitle.com.

Technorati Tags: Real Estate Tax, Inman News, Financial Title

Housing - Just Cool or Going Cold?

2006-02-20T10:23:00.000-08:00

Here's an article from yesterday's Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle that asks some very good questions about the real estate market. These questions are then addressed by examining past historical cycles within the Bay Area.

It's entitled; "Housing -- just cool or going cold? With home sales continuing to drop, questions about its cyclic nature are taking on a new sense of urgency." The article is written by Kelly Zito, a Chronicle Staff Writer.

Here are a few interesting exerpts to give you a flavor of the article. It's definitely well worth reading.

"The Bay Area real estate market typically runs in cycles, forming almost a stair step pattern of multiyear price increases followed by periods of stagnation or even mild declines."

"At the end of the last two major housing booms in the early 1980s and 1990s, prices in most areas did not collapse."

"On the coasts, you see price run-ups, and then instead of having large price declines, you have mild declines and flattening for a period -- it's what you'd call a stylized fact of the industry," said Andrew Leventis, economist at the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, the overseer of mortgage titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

"Nothing leads to big declines in house prices except job destruction," said John Krainer, economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

"San Francisco may have more of a chance to not have a severe (correction) because it's so hard to build here," said UC Berkeley's Rosen. "The difficulty in putting on new supply protects home prices from big adjustments."

"People ask why are home prices so high in California, and my response is: 'Everybody in the world wants to live in California,' " said Michael Carney, real estate professor at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona.

Technorati Tags: Housing Bubble, Real Estate, Google Real Estate, Bay Area Real Estate, San Francisco Chronicle

East Bay Real Estate Market Trends & Conditions

2006-02-17T11:19:00.000-08:00

As a homeowner or real estate investor, you have probably been following the recent news reports on a cooling, or a the possibility of a bubble bursting in our real estate market? The headlines catch our attention. It’s there, in our face, almost daily, someone’s interpretation, based on some numbers, telling us of what’s really going on in our real estate markets.

One such example is a Contra Costa Times article entitled “Real Estate Market Continues to Cool,” by James Temple, based on just released statistics off of the DataQuick Information Systems site. For those who are not familiar with DataQuick, it’s one of the most up to date and more reliable research sites on real estate.

Whose crystal ball do we use? Sellers market, buyers market, normal market, housing bubble, soft landing? The information on these articles is almost always based on someone’s interpretation of old data. "Timing is everything when buying a home," is another recent article to take a look at, also written by James Temple of the Contra Costa Times.

In his article, he asks the question "is now the time to buy an East Bay home?"

"Some industry observers answer with a resounding yes or no, having deciphered clear signs from their crystal balls that housing prices will absolutely rise -- or unquestionably fall -- over the next few years. Others, however, say that timing the market is a fool's game, that personal circumstances should outweigh short-term trends and that buyers should take precautions for any eventuality."

Often times we are listening to an analysis of a market that’s anywhere from 20 to 45 days old. Furthermore, the numbers used are very general and always cover very broad areas, with the smallest statistics being based on entire cities. What most of us really want to ask, is, “what’s happening today, in our own unique neighborhoods?”

We, as real estate agents, have access to the MLS, and are able to extract up to the minute information to give us a better clue as to what’s really happening in your neighborhoods.

However, these bits of information that we are able to pull are only snapshots. Tracking these numbers over time gives us the ability to spot trends. These trends may be subject to our interpretation, but they do give us an up to date insight on a market so that we are able to make a more well informed real estate decision.

How many homes are for sale in your neighborhood, how long have they been on the market, and how many buyers are looking? (Simply put supply and demand). This translates to actives, average days on the market (actives only), and pending sales. The relationship that we find to each other in our respective markets can give us some indication as to whether we are in a sellers, a normal, or even a buyers market. This can be done on a more local basis, being able to look at your neighborhood by itself.

The past seven years we’ve had far too many buyers’ looking at a much smaller number of homes for sale. It’s been a strong sellers market every where. As stated in the article, Ken Rosen, from UC Berkeley, is quoted as saying, “There’s no question that we have moved from a seller’s market to equilibrium or even a buyer’s market in certain cases.” I have to agree with Mr. Rosen. However, this change did not happen overnight as some other news article headlines may have suggested, but gradually over the last 6 months.

The chart above tracks the number of actives (homes for sale) and the number of pendings, (homes that are in contract with buyers). The sample was taken from 34 cities within Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Pendings have dropped noticeably in comparison to actives since July of last year. There are more homes on the market with fewer buyers. This has been a gradual change over a six month period.

Some of what you see is seasonal, some unique to this market.

The graph above measures a very large area. A sample this large, translates to being able to make only very broad general conclusions about this market overall. It doesn’t necessarily tell the story of the market in your particular neighborhood.

In reality, there are markets within markets, different neighborhoods within cities. Not every neighborhood in Berkeley, for example, will be quite the same. Some neighborhoods will have stronger markets than others. The right house, presented well, in the right neighborhood, and at the right price continues to bring multiple offers. However, in most cases, homes are staying on the market longer, and we’re starting to see some price reductions. There are also markets within price ranges. Homes that sell for under $800,000 may have a stronger market in general than homes selling for over $1,000,000.

What can you make of all this? Making your real estate decisions should be based on up to date information that reflects the conditions of your specific neighborhood. Ask your well informed real estate agent to talk to you about the market trends and conditions of your neighborhood before making that all important decision to buy or sell a home.

Technorati Tags: Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Google Real Estate, Real Estate Market Trends, DataQuick, Housing Bubble

Adverse Possession – Modern Day Land Grab for Squatters?

2006-02-08T18:04:00.000-08:00

I keep attending real estate classes where the concept of “Adverse Possession” comes up. The idea of a land grab always comes to mind with some of the newer agents. We all have this image in our mind of squatters from the old western movies putting up stakes on the open range to claim the land as their own through possession. It’s a similar idea, an idea that you rarely hear about these days. In fact, everyone that I have ever talked with knows of no one who has ever successfully attained property through this method, with but one exception, myself.

First of all; “What is Adverse Possession?” The classic definition of adverse possession is; “A method of acquiring title to real property through possession of the property for a statutory period under certain conditions by a person other than the owner of record.” For an example using a legal precedent, view the article entitled; “The Nuts and Bolts of Adverse Possession," written by Christopher Schwindt.

There are five essential elements to this process;

1) Open and notorious occupation. It does not require residency on the property.

2) Continuous for five consecutive years.

3) Hostile to the interest of the true owner and without any degree of permission.

4) Held under a claim of right or color of title. Claim of right – Adverse possessor treats the property as his own because he feels that he is the owner of the title. I have a right to this property! Color of title – Adverse possessor holds document appearing to give good title, such as a forged deed, invalid will, etc, but it does not.

5) Payment of taxes for five consecutive years.

My grandmother purchased two lots in the Oakland Hills with her brother back in the 1930’s. The property was off of Skyline Blvd with beautiful views. Their dream was to one time build and live up in “the hills.” They even placed a small RV on the land where one of her sons stayed and lived for a brief period.

“Uncle Joe” owned the property after my grandmother passed away. He had lived in New York all of his life. The Bay Area, for him, was only a place to visit on occasion and, on one such occasion, he decided to “sell” his property real cheap to his nephew’s four boys, (myself and my brothers). So we bought the two lots for what he and my grandmother had originally paid. This amounted to a couple of thousand dollars. This was back in the late 1960’s. It was "Uncle Joe's" way of leaving us, “the kids” something.

We immediately had it surveyed so that we could see what exactly we had “inherited.” We’d drive by on occasion to see what if anything was going on in the area, to walk the land and, finally sit at the property's edge to look at the panoramic views of the bay. There were no sewer hook-ups, no water and no electricity in the area at that time. The idea of building one day, once the utility services were in, was an appealing dream. We continued to pay the property taxes as had my grandmother and “Uncle Joe” had done since the 1930’s, but, as time went by, we made fewer and fewer trips to the property.

It wasn’t until years later when we put the property up for sale that we discovered there was a “cloud on title.” The property had been purchased from a Delaware Corporation, which we soon discovered was defunct.

There was only one deed that we could find, describing only one lot. In order for us to clear this up, we approached Richard Waxman, our attorney. Rick, now one of the managing partners of Wendell Rosen in Oakland, talked to us about taking a quiet title action. This is a court action brought to establish title and to remove a cloud on the title.

We were given the above guidelines. The property was again surveyed. A fence went up in the front of the property with a sign posted for the “world” to see our claim of ownership. We spoke with neighbors to see if any claim other than ours was even a remote possibility, and found nothing.

Finally after a five year period, we felt that we had established through “adverse possession,” ownership of the property. The case went to court and although it was an unusual procedure, even for the judge, (her first such case), it was made so very obvious to her that there were no other claims to this property but ours. The court awarded us title and the property was eventually sold.

This is such a rare procedure. Again, I have heard of no one, other than ourselves, ever having successfully claimed property in this manner. What we had in our favor was the truth, that the property was indeed ours. Adverse Possession was only a means to clearing title.

The point of the story is that such a thing can happen. It is possible. The intentions of the law were to protect people like us, however, it does open up the possibility of land being taken without your knowledge if you are not careful. Leaving land that you own alone for long periods of time without improvements could run the risk of loss by such a quirky law. So, just in case, for those of you with concerns of ever having this remote possibility ever happen to you, I’ve included an article for you to take a look at as a precaution, “Understanding – and Avoiding – Adverse Possession" written by Benny. Kass.

Technorati Tags: Adverse Possession, Real Estate, Real Estate Law

2005-11-28T13:41:00.000-08:00