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Green & Gorgeous Homes: Can they Command a Premium?

Posted on September 25, 2013 | Leave a comment

It’s not easy being green — if you’re a house for sale.

Sure, everyone loves energy efficient upgrades — in theory.

But when it comes time to fork over green paper with pictures of dead presidents, many buyers won’t pay a premium for eco features, no matter how sexy and how beneficial for the planet. That could soon start to change as some new national programs create incentives and infrastructure for energy upgrades in for-sale homes.

One problem the green industry faces is not enough appraisers are qualified to appraise green, LEED or energy-efficiency properties. Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com, they are the forerunners in green property appraisals.

Some forward-thinking developers have taken green to the max in rehabbing high-end SF houses. Here are two luxury renovations that received LEED Platinum certification — among only a handful of SF houses to snare the coveted designation.

First up, a six-bedroom Queen Anne at 235 Broderick on the border of Haight Ashbury and the Panhandle. Its owners* spent $2 million and a lot of time and energy redoing it to be ultra-environmental.

“Every single thing in that house is salvaged locally, sustainably forested or a combination,” said listing agent Amanda Jones of Sotheby’s International Realty. “Getting LEED certified requires a lot of attention to water consumption, energy use and air circulation.”

The three-story house was gutted, given a new steel frame, new foundation and lots of extras. In addition, the house is “wired to the hilt,” Jones said, with an impressive media room.

It looks spectacular in the photos — but hasn’t found someone willing to pony up extra to be that green, although lots of successful tech execs and even some Hollywood types have toured it.

The house hit the market almost five months ago at just over $4 million and this month dropped the price by $600,000 to $3.495 million.

Now, the owners, who are moving back to Australia, are contemplating renting it, at a cool $17,000 a month.

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Doing Math On Homebuying – Is it a good time to stop renting and buy?

Posted on September 23, 2013 | Leave a comment

San Diego County Rental Stats

Sep-12 Sep-13 % change

Average monthly rental rate $1,377 -$1,475 7.1%

Average square footage 870- 873 0.3%

Average price per $1.58 – $1.69 7.0%

Vacancy rate 4.50%- 4.61% 2.4%

Source: MarketPointe Realty Advisors

Pros of renting:

• Greater mobility. Selling or buying a home has transaction cost and can take time.

• You can call the landlord for repairs

• There’s no resale risk. While home prices have been rising in San Diego County, there’s no guarantee that the value will increase over time.

Cons of renting:

• The landlord can kick you out if, for example, he or she decides to sell the place

• No equity is built up: “Renting is throwing money away,” said Linda Lee, president of San Diego Association of Realtors.

• You can’t paint or remodel without the owner’s permission

Rates near historic lows

The monthly average 30-year, fixed mortgage rate rose nearly one percentage point from May to August to 4.46 percent, according to Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage buyer. However, mortgage rates are still near historic lows. Throughout the 1980s, for example, they ranged from 9 percent to 18 percent.

For the San Diego metro area, mortgage rates would have to climb to 7.3 percent for renting to be cheaper than buying, according to a Trulia report released Thursday. Trulia calls this the mortgage-rate tipping point. The last time 30-year fixed mortgage rates were that high was about 12 years ago, according to Freddie Mac.

By comparison, the mortgage rate tipping point is 7 percent for Orange County, 5.7 percent for the San Francisco metro area and 5.2 percent for the San Jose metro area.

Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

Mortgage Rates Fall as US Homebuyers Get Fed Reprieve

Posted on September 21, 2013 | 1 comment

Mortgage rates for 30-year U.S. loans fell to a five-week low, a decline that’s likely to be extended after the Federal Reserve refrained from reducing its monthly bond buying.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 4.5 percent from 4.57 percent, Freddie Mac said in a statement today. The average 15-year rate decreased to 3.54 percent from 3.59 percent, according to the McLean, Virginia-based company.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday that more signs of lasting improvement in the economy are needed before the central bank tapers its purchases. Mortgage rates, which increased from near-record lows in May on speculation of a scaled-back stimulus, probably will fall for another few weeks, said Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com, a mortgage-data firm in Riverdale, New Jersey. That gives would-be homebuyers a limited opportunity to take advantage of lower costs.

“If you are in the game for a mortgage, or if you have been on the cusp of jumping in, it’s a good idea to capture these dips if you can,” Gumbinger said in a telephone interview yesterday. After the temporary decline, rates are “more likely to be higher as we go forward then they are to be lower.”

Rear more at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-19/mortgage-rates-fall-as-u-s-homebuyers-get-fed-reprieve.html

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Tagged buying a home, mortgage rates