patrick.net

We can all go with anecdotes about RE signs, listings on MLS for your local neighborhood and what not, which are fine. However, the real crux is in the true numbers, and looking at the listings numbers at a site like housingtracker.net, the inventory in the SF and San Jose areas continue to go up every week, and they are significantly higher than they were at this time last year. Asking prices remain stable, declining slightly, but are significantly lower than this time last year.

Anecdotally speaking, I will say though, the Peninsula seems stable. There's no dearth of available properties, but on the flip side some places do seem to linger, while some seem to go quickly.

Check i tout - one of my favorite sites now shows data for the Bay Area:

http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/ca_santa_clara/index.html

The amount of detail they reveal is awesome.

"with the auctioned deed in my hand"

Back a few years some golf course developers tired to build south of Oregon City (county seat and end of the historic Oregon Trail). First two guys went belly up. Used to drive by and the rubber tires were literally rotting off the earthmovers. 3rd guy (actually "the city") picked up from there and was able to make it a success! I think about it every time I drive by.

Check it out, the Chronicle has an article just out about the statewide home sales numbers:

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/25/BUGAOPELMV35.DTL

The article is a lot less RE rah-rah than I would have predicted. They even have a nice quote from Thornberg (stating what we here have known all along):

Christopher Thornberg, a principal with Beacon Economics in San Francisco, put it bluntly.

"The median price is a bunch of hogwash," he said. "You can have prices looking like they're up when they're down, because it is incredibly subject to where slowdowns are occurring. If there is more slowdown in a (lower-priced market), then you could show the median price going up just because there is a shift in the type of product being sold."

skibum,

Sorry about the anecdotes. (I thought this was a "Spring Time, Feel Good" thread).

Sorry about the anecdotes. (I thought this was a “Spring Time, Feel Good” thread).

Hey, I'm not dissing them. They have their place, and I'm not trying to be a wet towel on the "Good Spring Times" vibe. Hey, let's break out the PBR, sit back, and watch the FBs go at it!

The safety net should have holes just big enough for him to fall through.

Malcolm,

Keep posting gems like this one, and you might just make a "convert" out of me. ;-)

Actually, I wouldn't want "SDCIA Jeff" to starve to death, but I DO think he should be prohibited from: (a) breeding, (b) ever buying another "investment" property again.

Rowemoore,

Funny, a couple little birdies who keep sharing their agency's sales sheets with me -- on in SF one in Mill Valley -- clearly show that more and more homes are going *UNDER* asking. In Feb., they weren't going under by much; just token amounts. But last month had quite a few going for more than $100K under.

Under is the opposite of _over_.

Just wanted to clear that up for you.

Interestingly, both of my informants have told me that their management have indicated they are to reassure everyone that "the market is red hot again". And the SF guys apparently told everyone there they'd be shot on sight if they so much as peeped a word about under-asking deals. They were told to blatantly lie, and talk about multiple bids and over-asking deals.

Oh yea, they were told to hit the blogs and local papers too.

"let's break out the PBR"

I got NO problem w/ that! Oh other than it's only Wednesday? :(

Kieth over at Housing Panic had Thornberg's presentation on a video link and all I could think about was "peak to trough" decimation. Just calculating the loss of "equity" in this country from say Oct. 2005 to Dec. 2009 is going to be mind bending!

Anyone notice the complete 180 degree change in SDCIA Jeff's attitude about his "investments" from a few short months ago? Back then, he was King of the World, top senior SDCIA member, confidently handing out sage advice to the "younglings". He would politely tolerate comments from us JBRs at arm's length, but it was obvious by his tone always that he was only feeling pity and disdain --for us.

Oh what a difference a few months (and hungry "alligators") makes. Here are the highlights:

"I own three terrible houses in Cape Coral..."
"a series of misjudgments and being taken advantage of (and lied to)..."
"I am losing ~$1000 on month on each of these houses... "
"I am just sick about them and often cannot sleep..."
"Anyway, what should I do?"
"I am too embarrassed..."
"I think about "walking away," but then I think about the credit score hit..."
"I am dizzy thinking of it."
"Please help me! What should I do!?"

HARM,

What's worse (if you read their posts at all) is that they have totally abandoned their "charter". When hot topics gravitate toward "making money in RE through "shorting" the home builders and selected lenders" you have got to know they are just LOSING IT over there!

Sellers are dropping their asking prices in northern Los Angeles, and they have been for a year now. For sale signs are flourishing in almost every neighborhood. Foreclosures are up to the same level as they were last fall.

The local MLS provides different results depending upon how you search. If you have regular Internet access, fewer homes show up. If you have Realtor MLS access, you see far more properties.

Zillow over values crap properties and under values (relatively) higher end listings.

The very same Realtors who wouldn't spit on me if I was on fire two years ago treat me like a King today. Realtors do become testy after I mention the collapsing boom, "I've been doing this for 28 years and prices are NOT falling ..."

Mortgage brokers have become extremely aggressive (I have good credit and a decent savings).

Open houses got little traffic during the previous four months, but since the passing of Easter people have been out in droves. Agents now have Mortgage Brokers at the open houses to greet visitors.

Sellers are rejecting my low ball offers (10-15% below list) outright. Some selling agents are blackballing my use of BuysideRealty. In these instances those homes have not sold since Jan and sit on the market. More listings appear in various places every day.

J. Pake,

You seem to represent the ideal buyer to these realtors b/c you are unencumbered (screwed) by a maxed out FICO and over leveraged property they know they can't sell for what is owed!

Welcome and great feedback!

He leaves a really really nasty letter at my house

If it is not nasty enough to be threatening, ignore it.

If it is threatening, call the police. There are a few ways a professor can lose his tenure.

Okay, that axehole over on the SD investment board pisses me off.

He has 3 properties he's underwater on and are losing money.

He has some SLC properties that are in the green.

He's trying to figure out how to get rid of the aligators without touching his SLC properties. He's talking foreclosure and short sales. WTF? He should sell his goddamn lousy properties AND his good properties, and use anything he makes from SLC to cover his losses in FL. It's so damn obvious a third grader could tell him what to do. Instead, he wants the banks to eat his losses while he keeps his gains.

If he takes any other route than selling and absorbing the cost himself, I hope the banks take his FL properties, his SLC properties, his primary residence, and garnish his wages to make up every last penny, including foreclosure/court costs.

Sales here in our West San Jose neighborhood seem brisk. Two homes were listed and sold in under a week (one in the low $800k range, the other $900k). Very depressing......

CG

"How to make 100k extra in 1 year? Wait and buy in 08!"

Hello Kitty,

I'm making money just blogging. One thing is for sure. Sellers keep trying to execute the same sort of "exit/entry" strategy that j_u_s_t i_s_n_'_t w_o_r_k_i_n_g!

It isn't. That's why we're seeing all these cheap ploys on the sell side. We love to kid about "equity locusts" but in truth most of these punks are scared sh!tless to move out of the neighborhood (let alone out of state). They know prices have plummeted and they are frantically trying to get to the BUY SIDE! Tell Prof. Numbnuts to pound sand, will ya?

I just made a very "toned down" post on that "SDCIA Jeff" thread. My goal was to educate, not flame, gloat or ridicule. Perhaps, some of what I said will sink in for other SDCIA members (hey, it's a long shot I know, but there's always hope ;-) ):

http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/sdcia/vpost?id=1854186&trail=60

HARM,

If that's "toned down" I don't want to see "fired up"!

Seriously, the only thing the guy can say to that is:

Yes Dad. :(

I suggest everyone high tail it over before they take it down in 3, 2, ...

He leaves a really really nasty letter at my house (where im renting) complaining about how this is thier ‘prime window’ to sell and how trashy I make the neighborhood look by working on my truck and/or motorcycle where they can see out their kitchen window! How dare I own a truck and motorcycle.

El Jefe has some good ideas. I've got a few more to add:

If you have a tricked-out car stereo, start blasting it during the guy's open houses. If you don't own one, borrow a friend's pit bull, get a lawn chair, some 40-ouncers in paper bags, break out your best wife-beater tshirt, and sit in the front lawn during said open houses and stare down every BMW-driving yuppie who pulls up to visit whilst grabbing onto your crotch.

SFBB,

Similar situation w/HK's greedy (probably b**mer) neighbor. Just itchin' to get to the BUY SIDE! Sellers that are real touchy now will turn into savages (if) they can get to the BUY SIDE! Now that they know how the game is played. Pffftt.

@DinOR,

:lol: Well... at least I was trying to be toned down!

But, honestly I didn't gloat or insult. Just tried to stick to the facts as I saw them. If that came off as harsh, then maybe, just possibly, it's because reality's a total b*tch. :twisted:

HARM and DinOR,

I thought HARM's post over at the SDCIA site was quite genteel. If anything, it useful, helpful advice for a bunch of folks who seem to have lost their way...

Well HARM certainly didn't mince words, now did he!

I'll agree, it was the same level of sobriety one "should" expect when wrapping a sports car around a telephone pole, crawling from the wreckage and asking where the next BAR is!

Uh... dude, don't you think you need a hospital right now, not another bar?

You have to admire the restraint!

I’ll agree, it was the same level of sobriety one “should” expect when wrapping a sports car around a telephone pole, crawling from the wreckage and asking where the next BAR is!

Dude, when I was on jury duty, this describes almost the *exact* scenario we were deliberating over. Except in my case, the defendant had also plowed into a pedestrian and killed him.

Except in my case, the defendant had also plowed into a pedestrian and killed him.

I hope the defendant was found guilty of murder.

He was.

If you have a tricked-out car stereo, start blasting it during the guy’s open houses. If you don’t own one, borrow a friend’s pit bull, get a lawn chair, some 40-ouncers in paper bags, break out your best wife-beater tshirt, and sit in the front lawn during said open houses and stare down every BMW-driving yuppie who pulls up to visit whilst grabbing onto your crotch.

Karma warns that when one day you need to sell because some bad fate befalls you, that something like this may happen.

Just sayin...

Sales here in our West San Jose neighborhood seem brisk. Two homes were listed and sold in under a week (one in the low $800k range, the other $900k). Very depressing……

A peer of a friend was looking to buy in the Fortress area - 1.25m range. Overbid on 5 offers, and lost all of them.

Frickin Fortress.

FyI: No one has yet commented on my SDCIA post, but they haven't taken it down either. So far, they just seem to be ignoring it.

I also used a discounter (ziprealty) and its not worth it.

What's wrong with using ZipRealty? I was thinking about it. Did something bad happen?

HARM,

That must have been hard to sit through. All the deliberation, the depositions, the cross examinations. Uh can't we just hang the bastard NOW?

I have heard paramedic stories (as I'm sure has skibum) where people have been in terrible accidents and don't quite realize they're missing limbs yet? Like the guy that's looking for his prized Rolex (TM) and isn't aware the wrist it was on is no longer attached to his body.

"they just seem to be ignoring it"

Well, ignore it at your own peril. Perhaps he is still looking for his Rolex (TM)? :(

If you have a tricked-out car stereo, start blasting it during the guy’s open houses. If you don’t own one, borrow a friend’s pit bull, get a lawn chair, some 40-ouncers in paper bags, break out your best wife-beater tshirt, and sit in the front lawn during said open houses and stare down every BMW-driving yuppie who pulls up to visit whilst grabbing onto your crotch.
--
Karma warns that when one day you need to sell because some bad fate befalls you, that something like this may happen.

Just sayin…

Possibly. My experience has been that most people who say they'd do this never actually would. And that those who actually would, aren't the sort which are likely to have the same done to them. In other words, you quite likely would end up getting your ass kicked if you tried to bestow "karmic justice" upon Mr. Wifebeatershirt yourself.

My lawyer once gave me very good advice when I was dealing with an ex employee who kept causing trouble a while back. He said, "Don't agitate crazy people. You have a lot more to lose than they do, and they usually don't even know if they have anything to lose at all."

@DinOR,

It wasn't too bad (deliberation only took a few hours), but I was kind of amazed that *anyone* could actually consider letting this clown off on a lesser charge. At least nobody considered letting him go scott-free, though. Our choices basically were: manslaughter or 2nd degree murder.

Karma warns that when one day you need to sell because some bad fate befalls you, that something like this may happen.

This neighbor toolbag started this whole process with an unwarranted nasty letter. This is HIS karmic retribution.

Speaking of karmic warnings, is there anything karmic-related that says not to be snotty and holier-than-thou?

Speaking of karmic warnings, is there anything karmic-related that says not to be snotty and holier-than-thou?

Not necessarily.

Oh, the SDCIA site allows registered users to search for their previous posts. This is one I posted (responding to our friend, Jeff) BACK IN JULY, 2006:

7/26/06 at 12:49 PM
Forum: Discussion Board
Subject: SLC--Boy, do I need help with L/O
Posted By: HARM

You've had an excellent run in one of the greatest bull markets in RE history. For the sake of your family, you may want to consider diversifying out of housing and into some other assets. No trend lasts forever.

"This toolbag neighbor started this"

He certainly did. Besides his beef (if he has one) is w/ HK's LL, not HK personally.

Isn't this so typical of all the sellers attempting to cash out? The whole freaking neighborhood is supposed to be on their best behavior until they get their check. Then ya'll can start killing each other for all they care (as they're rolling in Big Fat Stacks) heading down the road!