Market Conditions | Real Data SF

Posted on November 6, 2019June 15, 2023

Real Estate and Tax Law 101

Recently, several of my clients have asked for a quick rundown of various real estate and tax-related laws. Here are some of the key laws any current or future home-owner should be aware of. Note: the laws are complex. This is intended to provide a starting point only. Consult with your own attorney or tax advisor, or contact me for a referral.

1. Home Mortgage Interest Deduction.

You can deduct home mortgage interest on the first $750,000 ($375,000 if married filing separately) of indebtedness. However, higher limitations ($1 million ($500,000 if married filing separately)) apply if you are deducting mortgage interest from indebtedness incurred before December 16, 2017. See IRS Pub 936. ... Additional Details

Posted on September 9, 2019September 10, 2019

San Francisco’s new “COPA” Law could turn Owners of 3+ Unit Buildings into, um, Sausage

“Coppa” with two “p’s “ is a delicious dried pork salume of Italy and Corsica. “COPA” is a new SF law that requires owners of buildings with three or more residential units to give a right of first offer and a right of first refusal to a designated set of non-profits before they can sell their building to a third party. If a seller fails to comply with the statutory requirements, they may well feel that they’ve been through the COPA meat-grinder. Penalties can include disgorgement of profits and a fine equal to 10% of the sale price they received. ... Additional Details

Posted on August 9, 2019August 9, 2019

How Does San Francisco Rank as a Global City?

“Home ownership has dropped, evictions and homelessness have climbed sharply, surging demand for rental units has led to a shortage, and soaring rents are fodder for daily conversation…. In the last few years, [it] has become one of the world’s 10 most expensive places to rent, ahead of cities like Tokyo, Sydney and Singapore.”

San Francisco? Actually, Dublin, Ireland, according to a Deutsche Bank Report cited in a New York Times article a few days ago. But before you heave a sigh of relief, consider this: Dublin ranked 8th most expensive city in the world to rent a mid-range 2 bedroom apartment, clocking in at around USD $2,000. San Francisco came in second – just after Hong Kong and ahead of New York. The quoted rent for SF: a whopping $3,631, down slightly from 2018. ... Additional Details

Posted on February 1, 2017September 18, 2017

The 2016 San Francisco Real Estate Wrap-Up: Houses on Simmer; Condos Cool

The data is now in for 2016 and we have sliced and diced it to perfection. The results? Single family homes are on simmer, with median prices up a “mere” 6% over last year. City-wide, houses hit $1,350,000 in the last quarter of 2017, an all-time high. Meanwhile condominiums are going sideways. At $1,078,000, they were down about $25,000 from a year previous. In fact, their median price is effectively the same as it was at the start of 2015.

Posted on October 18, 2016August 2, 2018

San Francisco’s Hottest Neighborhoods: Not Where You Might Think

Noe Valley? Bernal Heights? Those are so yesterday. Maybe you’re thinking Bayview/Hunter’s Point as people search out more affordable housing at the city’s edges.

Well, you’re right about the edge but wrong about the direction. Based on our recent analyses, San Francisco’s “hottest” neighborhoods are also some of its foggiest: go west to the Sunset and its more southerly counterpart, Parkside.

Now admittedly, together these comprise a lot of smaller neighborhoods. Many would object to, say, the Inner Sunset with its vibrant retail scene centered on 9^th Ave and Irving, being lumped in with the quieter environs of the Outer Sunset. Fair enough: our analysis is really of MLS Districts, rather than individual neighborhoods, but it’s no less telling for that. ... Additional Details

Posted on September 20, 2016August 2, 2018

Bay Area Housing Affordability: A Grab-Bag of Charts

In my July Newsletter, I did a wrap-up of the year so far and concluded that the market, for the moment at least, seems to be going sideways. Post Labor-Day inventory has already shown a big jump in anticipation of the short buy/sell season between now and the end of November. It’s too soon to say whether the new inventory will excite buyers to loosen their wallets or simply cause them to be pickier.

So with the market on “pause,” I thought I’d put together a grab bag of charts that cover SF housing affordability, both from the standpoint of owning and renting. Many view housing affordability as a central concern for San Francisco’s long-term future. Changes in the rental ... Additional Details

Posted on July 18, 2016August 2, 2018

Real Data SF July Newsletter

Mid-Year Report – A Soft Landing For San Francisco Residential Real Estate?

With the data in for the for the first six months of 2016, the cooling trend that I’ve noted in recent newsletters is increasingly clear. Since sales typically dip in the middle of summer due to seasonal factors (everyone, especially those who own or are looking to buy higher end homes, is on vacation), it’s best to compare 2nd quarter results with those of a year ago.

In Q2 2016, the year-over-year appreciation rate was 4% for houses and less than 1% for condos, as compared with 2014 to 2015 rates of 20% and 18%: A significant slowdown. However, median home prices are still at their highest point ever. ... Additional Details

Posted on May 23, 2016May 23, 2016

Mapping the Spread of the Million Dollar Home in the Bay Area

Thanks to my well-read friend at The Economist for sending me this fascinating infographic.

You can find the full article here at The Atlantic. Their choice of Westwood Park as their poster-neighborhood is an interesting one. On the one hand, it’s a tiny area tucked in to the west of City College between Monterey and Ocean Avenue and it’s not exactly a household name, even to longtime SF denizens. On the other hand, the statistics are impressive: four years ago, according to the article, just 2.9% of its homes cost $1 million or more. Today, 96% of them do. ... Additional Details