« January 2008 | Main | March 2008 »
Interior photos of the Maybeck house at 720 Castenada are finally up, yay! My god, what a beautiful home. These photos are a little small, so check out the listing here.
Socketsite did a little more research than the listing agent and found some great history on the place. Read Too Beautiful To Describe (Except By The Architect): 270 Castenada for the architect's full description. (They are referencing the listing agent's marketing copy that reads: "Too beautiful to describe."--made me laugh!)
Ah the Airstream. Apartment Therapy posted about the Airstream today and I thought, oh, I’m going to blog about this. Don’t we all love Airstreams? They hold such romantic ideas of cross country travel for many of us. And this one, designed by DWR is very hip and cool and just under $50k. After reading the comments I started to day dream a little more about the idea of taking long driving trips with Eric to Yosemite or San Diego.
Then, I remembered that you have to stay in an RV camp.
One summer, my whole family rode with my grandparents from Texas to Florida in an RV hopping from one KOA campground to the next. The child in me fondly remembers playing tetherball with a bunch of boys sporting crew cuts, eating baloney sandwiches every day for lunch and running around with my sister in the warm night air chasing lightning bugs with two girls from Mississippi who wore their bathing suits and nothing else all day (there wasn’t a pool). It was a white trash vacationing at its best. It was also the late 70s. Wasn’t everyone white trash then?
God, having an Airstream means living in RV camps for weeks on end! My parents were young, in their very early 30s, they didn’t know any better. But, I’m about to turn 40 (okay, about to turn 38, but I’ll be 40 soon…) and somehow the glorification of white trash living is no longer as appealing to me as it was a few years ago. The idea of drinking Coors and eating hotdogs more than once a week makes my indigestion kick in and forget about the mosquitoes, I just can't rally around the emotional commitment of constantly lathering myself with OFF. I think I’m more of a weekend camper. I’m afraid long distance touring with the Airstream is out of my cultural grasp. I’ll leave that for the young and the retired.
good morning, 2008
Originally uploaded by gee, nicole.
I love using Flickr's Explore tab to look at photos I might never find through my contacts and their maze of tags. I found Nicole Gee's photostream in the Interstingness section and immediately added her to my contact list. Everyday, I look forward to her next still life photo. Often afterwards I think, gosh, I really want a muffin right now!
Lowest rates in years! Refinance! OMG the buyer's market is finally here! Yes, for some. When you read about 30-year mortgage interest rates dropping, newspapers are reporting on conforming loans or loans $417,000 and under. SFGate is especially good at keeping this detail out of the headline. It's confusing to everyone. The reduction helps a lot of middle America or folks with adjustable rate mortgages, but for everyone else in large cities, it means very little. Why? Because unless you bought a house in the 80s then you are sitting pretty to refinance. But today a loan of $417,000 (and 20% down) will buy you about $500,000 worth of house or condo. (TICs are nonconforming and have not experienced a reduction in rate and in fact are almost 2% higher than conforming loan interest rates--they still give you more room for your buck however!)
So, what exactly does that buy you in San Francisco? I'm sorry to say very little. Literally. Square footage for the average $500,000 house is 1,137 and 675 for a condo. The discrepancy you see here is the fact that condos are in dense areas centrally located in the city while the houses in this price range are mainly in District 10 (i.e Bay View and Outer Mission). Check out current sales of Single Family Homes. Sadly, many of the homes for sale in district 10 are in foreclosure or short sales. I have a feeling there were a lot of 100% financing/adjustable rate mortgages sold out there. So, if you don't mind the challenges of a not-quite-gentrified-neighborhood or find the 3rd street light rail perfect for your commute (only 20 minutes into downtown), then 2008 is a great year to buy a house in district 10. Just be sure to save some money for renovations. A lot of money.
Condos on the other hand, in this price range, are even smaller. The average square footage for a $500,000 condo is 640. What they lack in size, they gain in location. These condos can be found all over the city and can be a great way of getting into the market. Check out a full list of current condo sales. You'll notice again, they are not all in the best condition. Keep your contractor glasses on and look for potential. 
This sweet 2 bedroom at 1111 Potrero Ave needs a little help in the kitchen, but otherwise is quite charming. Okay, I just used the realtor term "charming" which means small, but I told you that already!
Now, if Congress passes the controversial Economic Stimulus Package, the conforming loan limit would be pushed up to $625,000 nationwide and $729,000 in larger cities such as San Francisco for one year. That's right only during 2008. With 20% down, a loan of $729,000 will buy you an $874,800 house at the lower conforming interest rate. Which is an altogether different situation for Condos. In the $725k to $825 range, square footage jumps up to 1139. While houses in that range see a little jump up to 1470 sqft.
If this package passes and you've been sitting on a pretty sum for a down payment waiting for the market to change I have a little secret for you....buy early before all the other buyers just like you take advantage of the situation and flood the market. We all know what happens when more than one buyer wants a house at a great interest rate.
