KNOWLEDGE
If you have knowledge,
let others light their candles at it.
- Margaret Fuller
Articles of Interest 8.13.07
The U.S. housing crisis is beginning to echo throughout worldwide markets, according to a recent Forbes article. Speculators agree a fallout could further depress U.S. housing prices and make it harder to find buyers for a glut of foreclosed homes. That, coupled with a drop in the value of investments, could leave U.S. consumers feeling poorer and less likely to spend on domestic and imported goods.
Market Watch
From New York to Frankfurt to Tokyo, markets were jolted in the past week by fears that Americans are failing to keep up with their mortgage payments and the ripple effects that could have on the global banking and financial system.
U.S. Homeowner Woes Felt Around World
Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/13/ap4012069.html
While interest rates have remained relatively low, lenders, stung by a growing number of defaults, have greatly tightened the requirements for a loan; the supply of homes has increased to levels unseen in years; and speculators have moved on to greener pastures, realizing that there's no money to be made in a market where prices seem to have no bottom.
Storm Clouds for Builders
San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/12/RET6R9MD4.DTL
Almost unknown for the past two decades, short sales are making a comeback as a way out for cash-strapped homeowners who can't keep up on their mortgage payments.
Short Sales, Long Waits for Buyers
San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/08/12/SHORTSALE.TMP
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange last week announced that housing futures and options contracts based on the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price and Composite Indices would be extended out to five years.
Long-Duration Housing Price Derivations Debut
Inman Real Estate News
http://www.inman.com/hstory.aspx?ID=64192
Once considered a safe alternative to the overheated Bay Area real estate market, Stockton and its streets are now filled with "For Sale" signs and evidence of foreclosures. While hundreds of thousands of people nationwide are being affected by troubles in the lending market, Stockton has the highest foreclosure rate of any city in the country.
From Housing Haven to Foreclosure Leader
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/13/us/13stockton.html?ref=business
In California, the long-term commonweal seems to be winning out as authorities race to avert an infrastructure breakdown that might be more calamitous than hurricane-ruined New Orleans: overflowing rivers that could, at virtually any moment, imperil as many as 500,000 people, the nation's richest cropland, and the water source of the majority of the state.
California's Flood-Control Problems
BusinessWeek
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20247652/
Silicon Valley real estate mogul Carl Berg said Sunday that the $1.8 billion deal to sell his portfolio of buildings has fallen apart, a victim of the credit crisis rocking the financial world.
Silicon Valley Property Buyout Collapses
San Jose Mercury News
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_6610386?nclick_check=1
The East Bay Municipal Utility District is considering booting out owners of about 200 homes in three mobile home parks around Camanche Lake in a clash over private homes on public land.
Retirement Dreams on Hold: Lake Residents Await Word on Eviction
Contra Costa Times
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_6606596?source=most_viewed
Pleasanton-based Charter Properties is asking Dublin to consider a plan for a mixed-use development called Grafton Plaza, which would include four towers - 21, 20, 19 and 16 stories tall. The project would have the tallest buildings in suburban East Bay, and would dwarf everything for miles around. Outside of Oakland's 28-story Ordway Building and the 30-story Pacific Park Plaza in Emeryville - there are no taller East Bay buildings.
Developer Presents Plan to Build high-Rises in Dublin
The Argus
http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_6600321
New San Jose Councilman Kansen Chu will be tested Tuesday night when he decides whether to support a 1,900-unit apartment complex in his district or back a neighborhood group's call to suspend new housing developments in the area.
Chu Faces Vote on North San Jose Housing
San Jose mercury News
http://www.mercurynews.com/politics/ci_6610513
Several neighbors in the Briarwood residential subdivision off East Cypress Road and Rubens Way said that the nearby Courtyards at Cypress Grove affordable-housing complex has led to more vandalism, theft and fear in the area. The 96-unit affordable-housing project was built in 2006 and is home to low- and very-low-income residents.
Residents Complain About Complex
San Jose Mercury News
http://www.mercurynews.com/crime/ci_6606567
Unlike in other parts of the country, basements are relatively rare in the Bay Area. But some older houses do have them. And they are growing in popularity in high-end new construction homes.
The Lure of a Basement Can Help Hook Home Buyer
San Jose Mercury News
http://www.mercurynews.com/realestatenews/ci_6584594
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