Posts Tagged ‘housing’

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Property values continue to fall across Contra Costa County

Monday, July 12th, 2010

Average property values across Contra Costa County dropped 3.4 percent in the past year, according to the figures released by Contra Costa County Assessor Gus Kramer.

Richmond saw the biggest drop at 12.8 percent, followed by San Pablo at 5.9 percent, Hercules at 5.3 percent, Antioch at 4.9 percent and Brentwood at 4.1 percent.

Only El Cerrito and Lafayette saw property values rise, 1.1 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively.

Property values continue to fall across Contra Costa County – ContraCostaTimes.com.

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Napa County, American Canyon strike housing deal

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

The Napa County Board of Supervisors has agreed to a deal that would support the annexation of land and distribution of future property tax revenue to American Canyon in exchange for American Canyon agreement on taking on a portion of the County’s housing needs.

American Canyon would set aside land for 200 housing units – both affordable and moderately priced – between 2014 and 2022 and another 168 housing units in subsequent years. Under state law, the land has to be available for housing, but market forces will determine if they are built.

Napa County, American Canyon strike housing deal – Napa Valley Register.

Update – County also in talks with the City of Napa over similar discussion of development in unincorporated areas and potential for swap: City, county restart talks on housing – Napa Valley Register.

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Alameda land-use ruling could reshape state

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch has ruled that the voter-approved ballot measure in Pleasanton capping the total number of housing units in the city is in violation of state law requiring the city to build its fair share of housing.

Pleasanton housing cap violates law, judge says – San Francisco Chronicle.

John King at the Chronicle discusses possible implications for other cities: Alameda land-use ruling could reshape state.

Update – Additional article in the Oakland Tribune. Editorial: Affordable housing decision in Alameda County is an important case – Inside Bay Area.

4/8 Update – two additional articles:

Piece in the Mercury News by Chris Mohr, Executive Director of the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County. Opinion: Court ruling points up Bay Area’s housing challenge – San Jose Mercury News.

Public hearing with Pleasanton City Council on City’s next move. Judge’s halt to non-residential building permits has some Pleasanton business leaders concerned – ContraCostaTimes.com.

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Housing shortage ahead?

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

As hard as it is to talk about during the current decline in home values, workforce housing is still expected to be in very short supply by 2025, according to the Urban Land Institute Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing.

Housing shortage ahead? – ContraCostaTimes.com.

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Housing market remains uncertain

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

Slow gains in east bay home values at the end of 2009 have a Zillo.com report expecting more declines in Alameda and Contra Costa counties for early 2010.

Nationally, according to RealtyTrac, Inc., a record 2.8 million households were threatened with foreclosure last year, and that number is expected to reach 3 – 3.5 million this year.

And reports from the National Association of Realtors state that home prices are showing some signs of stability, with the fourth quarter median sale price at $172,900, 4.1 percent below the year before; while sales reached a seasonally adjusted rate of 6 million homes, up 27 percent from the prior year.

East Bay’s housing collapse may not be over – Inside Bay Area.

Foreclosures down in January, but surge on way? – San Francisco Chronicle.

Median home prices show signs of stability – San Francisco Chronicle.

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Home construction dips; permit applications surge

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Some signs of developer activity nationally:

Applications for new building permits, a gauge of future activity, rose 11 percent to an annual rate of 653,000, a far stronger showing than economists had predicted and the highest level of activity since October 2008.

Home construction dips; permit applications surge – San Francisco Chronicle.

Update:  And within the region, Silicon Valley house, condo markets show gains in December.

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Evaluate your neighborhood using WalkScore

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

Yestereday we posted a link to a report that says that making a neighborhood more walkable increases property values. As a reflection of this, popular real estate website ZipRealty has added Walk Scores and distances to transit to its web listings. It turns out one of the most common home search questions is, “How long does it take me to get to work?’

You can read about walkable neighborhoods and rate your own home at Walk Score.

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What We’ve Learned: Ugly Truths About Housing

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

Edward L. Glaeser, an economics professor at Harvard, explains what has been learned about housing from the economic crisis in the New York Times Economix Blog.

“Now that we have backed away from the abyss, we can consider making much-needed reforms, like reducing the upper cap on the home mortgage interest deduction, that could depress housing prices in the short run, but make future housing bubbles and crashes less likely.”

What We’ve Learned: Ugly Truths About Housing – Economix Blog – NYTimes.com.

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New Dublin BART transit village derailed

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

The housing portion of the Windstar Communities development near the West Dublin BART station has been foreclosed and seized by the lender.

While the market for residential development is still weak currently, the great opportunity the site represents is reflected by multiple bids for the property, including bids from Windstar Communtiies (with new partners) and the City of Dublin.

New Dublin BART transit village derailed – Inside Bay Area.

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New Study Shows More Walkable Homes Are Worth More

Friday, August 21st, 2009

A new report released by Joseph Cortright at CEOs for Cities finds:

In the typical metropolitan areas studied, the premium commanded for neighborhoods with above average Walk Scores compared to those with average Walk Scores ranged from about $4,000 to $34,000, depending on the metro area.

The gains were larger in denser, urban areas like Chicago and San Francisco and smaller in less dense markets like Tucson and Fresno, but the statistically significant positive relationship between walkability and home values held in 13 of the 15 areas studied. Bakersfield (no significant connection) and Las Vegas (negative correlation) were the only areas studied where the relationship did not hold.

Full Article: CEOs for Cities :: News & Info.

Full Report: Walking the Walk

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