Author Archives: Misha

Is Buying a House a Good Investment?

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Misha

Among the scions of the real estate industry presenting at the Fisher Conference (see my previous post) was none other than Frank Nothaft, Chief Economist and Vice President of Freddie Mac.  He had a doozy of a slide set.  Here’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, single family homes | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Ken Rosen Says “Buy Now”

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Misha

Just back from the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic’s semi-annual symposium on all things real estate.  (FCREUE is the real estate department within UC Berkeley’s Haas Business School.) Ken Rosen is the Center’s oft-quoted co-chair and quietly … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, interest rates | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Alphabet Soup Revisited: What Shape Will the Recovery Take?

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Misha

Back in the still-uncertain days of September 09, every market pundit had his or her own letter for what shape the recovery would take. I blogged about Ben Bernanke‘s “U,” Liz Ann Sonders‘ “V,” and Nouriel Roubini‘s “W” here. Though … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, interest rates, Loans | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What’s Better than One New Home-Buyer Tax Credit? Two.

Posted on April 17, 2010 by Misha

As if one new home buyer tax credit weren’t enough, the State of California recently re-enacted and extended the scope of its own version, originally passed in 2009.   As a result, some California buyers can take advantage of both … Continue reading →

Posted in tax | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Hanger Steak

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Misha

And now for something completely different. What’s even closer to my heart than real estate?  Food. A hanger steak is a cut of beef steak which is said to “hang” from the diaphragm of the steer.[ That’s a meaty description. … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal, Recipes | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Case-Shiller Sounds a Cautiously Positive Note

Posted on April 7, 2010 by Misha

Last week, Case-Shiller released January data for its closely watched national housing index.  Nationally, things are looking up – well, make that flat.  And that’s good news. In the wonderfully backward language of the report, the index’s year over year … Continue reading →

Posted in Data, Economy, Market news | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Noe Valley: The Condo/TIC market

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Misha

At long last, here’s the promised data on Noe Valley condos and TIC’s. First, a look back (in anger?) at the make-up of Noe Valley sales in 2009. Note that there were more than twice as many condos sold as … Continue reading →

Posted in Condominiums, Data, Noe Valley, single family homes, Tenancy In Common | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is Now a Good Time to Buy?

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Misha

In an article entitled Great Time to Buy (Famous Last Words), last Sunday’s New York Times took a swipe at perennially optimistic real estate agents who have never seen a time that wasn’t a good time to buy a house.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Noe Valley Still Goin’ Down?

Posted on March 11, 2010 by Misha

Back in May 2009, I showed that Noe Valley was not immune from the slump in prices affecting the rest of the city, despite suggestions to the contrary from real estate agents, mavens and media. Have things gotten any better?  … Continue reading →

Posted in Market news, Noe Valley | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Looking Back at 2009: Condos/TICs

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Misha

Pretty much everything I said about how single family homes fared in 2009 also applies to the condo/TIC market.   (TIC’s, aka Tenancy In Commons are similar to condos.  For more information on TICs, see my three-part series starting here.) Condo/TICs … Continue reading →

Posted in Condominiums, Data, Market news, Tenancy In Common | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment