Howard Sobel's (howardsf) Blog

“For Gen Y, the home is a place to live out of, not to live in,” he says. “They don’t think of this as a sacrifice. It’s just their lifestyle." says John McIlwain, a senior fellow for housing at The Urban Land Institute in Washington D.C. Via msnbc web site CubixSF 766 Harrison Street The New Af...

30-year fixed-rate mortgage: Averaged 4.58 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending July 1, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 4.69 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.32 percent.The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage: Averaged 4.04 percent with an average 0....

Market Composite Index: (loan application volume)   increased 8.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. Refinance Index: increased 12.6 percent from the previous week and is the highest Refinance Index observed in the survey since the week ending May 22, 2009. Purchase Ind...

Soft Story Retrofit Not Yet a Mandate The San Francisco Board of Supervisors recently passed a program to incentivize voluntary seismic retrofits. Buildings built before May 21, 1973 that are 3 or more stories and five or more residential units are the focus of the program. 43 to 85% of these woo...

  The U.S. House has passed a bill giving home buyers an extra three months to complete their purchases and still qualify for a generous tax credit.The Senate is working to reach an agreement with Republicans to pass the House-passed homebuyer tax credit closing date extension early as today. Alt...

California The state is in decidedly worse conditon than San Franciso. Once employment growth returns in 2011. The state unemployment rate, now at 12.5%, will fall slowlyand  should average 11.8% for 2010. Californias economy will grow, but the unemployment rate will still see double-digits unti...

Mortgage Bankers Association for the week of  6/9/2010 Market Composite Index: (loan application volume)   decreased 12.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. This week's results include an adjustment to account for the Memorial Day holiday Refinance Index:  decreased 14...

30-year fixed-rate mortgage: Averaged 4.72 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending June 10, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 4.79 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.59 percent. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage: Averaged 4.17 percent with an average...

  First Republic Bank produces the Prestige Home Index each quarter. They report California luxury home prices declined in the third quarter of 2008 from a year ago. 1. Los Angeles area values fell 1.9% from the second quarter of 2008 and 4.2% from the third quarter of 2007. The average luxury ho...

 Quiet Enjoyment Is now a service included with ones rent. Quiet enjoyment includes untimely repairs, refusal to accept lawful rent. It defines varoius kinds of harassment that landlords have sometimes been guilty of. Most of this was already illegal. but now you can take these issues to the rent...