September Sales Results



1 bedroom, 1 bath condos, San Francisco

 We've just posted September sales reports for San Francisco and Marin counties.  These are the reports we do each month.  We focus on specific configurations of homes and condos that are representative of the market as a whole.  Our survey covers roughly 60% of all residential properties in the two counties.

Generally, average sales prices continued their upward trend while the number of properties sold in September is lower compared to the last three months.

You can get the full reports on our web site:  www.boldsf.com and click on "Statistics" where you'll find other reports as well.

Foreclosures Sharply Down

Notices of Default, the first step in the foreclosure process, are down sharply the last two months:

CA - Foreclosure Filings

For San Francisco county the trend is the same:

06075 - Foreclosure Filings

Similar declines in Notice of Default filings can be seen in all of the immediately surrounding counties (Marin, Contra Costa, Alameda and San Mateo) at the Foreclosure Radar site.

Will this have any bearing on the election?

The California Association of Realtors put out the following yesterday.  (The link at the bottom is to the original Trulia press release)

(Click here to see the map from the Washington Post)

Asking prices up year over year in six out of seven swing states
Asking prices on for-sale homes increased 2.5 percent in September, according to the latest findings in the Trulia Price Monitor. Excluding foreclosures, year-over-year asking prices rose 3.5 percent. Meanwhile, asking prices rose 1.6 percent nationally quarter-over-quarter, seasonally adjusted, and 0.5 percent month over month, seasonally adjusted.

Nationally, rent gains continued to outpace home price increases in September, rising 4.8 percent year-over-year. Among the largest 25 rental markets, year-over-year rents rose the most in Houston and Miami, where they climbed more than 10 percent. Strong job growth has pushed up rental demand in Houston. Rent increases have cooled most in San Francisco, from 14.5 percent in June down to 7.2 percent in September.

More info

Shuttle Endeavour

Lots of people turned out today in San Francisco to see the last flight of the shuttle Endeavour.  After a low level tour of the Bay area Endeavour, mounted on top of her 747 carrier headed for a final landing in Los Angeles where she will go on display at the California Science Center.

NASA wisely delayed the flight by an hour to give any of our notorious fog time to burn off but it turned out to be an unnecessary precaution.  We had beautiful weather from early in the morning providing for stunning photo opportunities.

As can be seen in some of the photos, people lined the Marin Headlands, all the vantage points along the north edge of the Presidio, as well as Crissy Field, Marina Green and many other locations around the Bay.

Tax Relief on Short Sales Expires in December ...

... unless, of course, Congress and our state legislature both take action.  Here's the situation as summarized recently by the California Association of Realtors in a recent newsletter:

Tax relief on forgiven debt set to expire Dec. 31, 2012
Unless Congress and the California State legislature take action, a break for mortgage principal forgiven in loan modifications or short sales will expire at year’s end.

The mortgage debt forgiveness issue is only one of approximately 60 expiring tax provisions that Congress appears unable to extend prior to its recess for the November elections.  Congress is pushing the extension of any expiring tax provision to the lame duck session, along with any increase in the debt ceiling, and any serious attempts to prevent the mandatory budget cuts agreed to during last year’s debt ceiling deal.

California's tax treatment of mortgage debt relief income generally aligns with federal law, and both the California and federal laws are set to expire at the end of 2012. For debt forgiven on a loan secured by a "qualified principal residence," borrowers are exempt from both federal and state income tax consequences, but only until Dec. 31, 2012.  The existing federal exemption is for indebtedness up to $2 million, whereas the new California exemption is for indebtedness up to $800,000 and forgiven debt up to $500,000.

"Qualified principal residence" indebtedness is defined as debt incurred in acquiring, constructing, or substantially improving a principal residence.  It includes both first and second trust deeds.  It also includes a refinance loan to the extent the funds were used to pay off a previous loan that would have qualified.

However, these tax breaks apply only to debts discharged from 2009 through 2012. It may be that Congress will take action to extend the federal exemption before year-end, but we will have to wait and see. If the federal law is extended, it is likely that California would follow in due course, as in the past, but it is not guaranteed.  The last time the federal tax exemption was extended, California did not conform its tax law until well into the next year.

Sellers who have transactions closing after Dec. 31, 2012, need to speak to their own legal counsel or tax advisors about the impact of the expiration of these laws and their potential tax liabilities, including the applicability of other exemptions from debt relief income tax.