I came across a site recently that not only provides a database of available rental units for many US cities, but also has nice, easy-to-read charts on rental trends for specific areas. Unfortunately, you can’t get very precise in terms of zip code or neighborhood, but it certainly give you a good sense of rental trends. And trends, as we all know, are what it’s all about!
Welcome to RentBits.com:
I’ve added them to my blog-roll.
At the end of last month, the media was full of Case-Shiller’s upbeat report on the national housing market for July 2009, its most recent reporting month. Three months of improving sales “continue to support an indication of stabilization in national real estate values,” according to the September Report.
Here’s the chart, by the way, which also shows that on a national basis we are back to Autumn 2003 price levels.
See that little up-tick at the very end of down side of the mountain? That’s what every one is celebrating, folks. Indeed, it’s hard not to laugh when the Report includes tortured phrases like “the rate of annual decline … seems to be decelerating” or “all metro areas are showing an improvement in the annual rates of return, as seen through a moderation in their annual declines.” Whoopee! ...
And now a brief announcement from your sponsor…. I managed to snag www.realdatasf.com a few months ago in what, if I recall correctly, was a brief moment of late-night single-malt-scotch-induced inspiration. Though I cannot deny the allure of the alliterative, “Misha’s Musings” was always meant as a place-holder till something better came along. For those of you who are sorry to see the old name go, keep in mind that the new one has 33.33% less characters to type.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve had several questions about per square foot prices recently. There’s no doubt that it’s a very useful metric, for the obvious reason that it allows you to get closer to an “apples to apples” comparison of the value of two different properties that are different in size. Of course, that leaves all sorts of other variables — location, amenities, etc. But if, say, you’re looking to make an offer on a property, certainly you’d want to start by looking at what other properties in the same area have been selling for on a per square foot basis, and then use that to see if the property you’re interested in is in the ballpark. ...
Several readers and clients have asked me recently about price per square foot metrics. Certainly, if you’re trying to figure out how much a home is worth, it helps to get a sense of value by knowing what houses (or condos) are going for in the area on a per square foot basis and multiplying that by the size of the house in square feet. Elementary my dear Watson.
However, others have been curious about whether there might be a discontinuity between the median price of homes and the median price per square foot, and what that might mean, especially in the context of how much each has fallen from its all-time high. So I decided to take a look. ...
Does anyone really know what’s going on? Despite the gloom and doom of my recent posts (Waiting for the Other Sheep to Drop, Alphabet Soup: What Shape will the Recovery Take?), the latest publication of the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI) on Tuesday trumpets: “Fifth Consecutive Increase!” The LEI is supposed to predict economic activity approximately 6 months into the future, so you’d think that a five-month run would mean it’s time to celebrate, especially given what looks like the impressive bounce shown in this graph. ...
I really couldn’t find a suitable graphic for a falling shoe….
Thanks to my reader JC for pointing out the San Francisco Chronicle’s September 21 article on the $30 billion or so in “option ARMS” that are going to reset, starting in 2010. These are not the subprime ARMS that caused the derivative markets to unravel, the ones that closet reactionaries are still all too eager to blame on the avaricious poor (now is that an oxymoron?) who signed up for them.
No, these are the the loans that the relatively well-heeled and savvy took out to buy their higher end homes. They appreciated the “options” an option ARM offered. Like being able to pay just the interest for the stated fixed period of the loan — often 5 years — rather than paying down the principal as well. Or even paying less than the interest due and rolling the balance into the principal, just like those negative amortization loans that got us into so much trouble in the 1980s. (We really never learn, do we.) ...
It’s been a few months since I took a look at my own stompin’ ground, Noe Valley, and how prices have been doing compared to the city as a whole. We dispensed with the notion that Noe Valley was somehow “immune” some time ago. Sadly — at least for home-owners — and happily for buyers, Noe hasn’t bounced back over the last few months, even though city-wide median prices have improved.
Bear in mind that “Noe Valley” means a very small area. What’s more, there were only 7 sales in August, down from 14 in May and June, and 22 in July. Sure, there’s been a bit of an improvement over the previous month, but there’s still an 11% difference between how far prices have fallen for the city as a whole (19%) versus Noe Valley (30%). ...
