I’m in shock. Or is it awe. Either way, my jaw hurts from hitting the floor.

We’ve all heard about the temporary changes that have been made to FHA loan limits and the economic stimulus plan. But with these temporary changes – like Cinderella’s stagecoach at midnight – the benefits will disappear on December 31st, 2007.

But could it be? Could the government have longer term plans in the works?

Today on CNN.com I read that the government is trying to make some long term changes.

Some changes mentioned:

Permanently raise loan limits. The economic stimulus bill passed in February temporarily increased the limit on loans eligible to be FHA-insured. The ceiling until Dec. 31, 2008 is now $729,750, up from the normal $362,790 for single-family homes. Those are the ceilings for high-cost areas. The ceiling is lower in low-cost housing markets.

Reduce down payment requirements. Homeowners would no longer be required to have 3% equity or the cash equivalent to get an FHA-insured loan. The House bill would allow borrowers to get an FHA-insured loan with 0% down if they can show they can afford the mortgage payments. The Senate bill requires 1.5%.

Make it easier for borrowers in high-cost loans to refinance. The House bill would let some homeowners in default or at risk of default refinance into an FHA-insured loan.

Click here for the full story!

Oh, and P.S. Don’t hold your breath on these changes. It’s a nice thought, but we all know that the best laid plans can go horribly wrong at times. If you’re planning on buying a home before December 31st of this year – stick with your original plan. But if 2008 just wasn’t going to be your home-buying year, then you have some hope that the current changes that benefit the SF Real Estate market might be around next year and beyond. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed.

Welcome back to the “Over, Under, At” weekly feature. It’s a simple breakdown taken from MLS data that shows the number of closed sales that sold Over Asking Price, Under Asking Price or At Asking Price.

*Just a reminder that new construction sales are rarely included in this list since they don’t get posted on the MLS.

Happy Monday folks. Single Family Homes did about what they did last week, but condos and TIC’s took a nose dive in terms of the number of sales. Properties are still selling – I mean, it IS San Francisco afterall. And lots of homes are selling at or above the listing price – which is very normal for this time of year (and every time of year except around November or December).

Keep in mind that these reports are meant to be helpful for potential buyers and sellers – but to really understand the pulse of the SF real estate market, talk to an agent. We’re in the trenches and these closed sales went into escrow a month ago (sometimes less, sometimes more). We are much better in tune with what’s going on in the market TODAY and can give you much more in depth information than any set of statistics can. If you need advice from an agent, feel free to contact me. I’m always happy to talk real estate.

Here’s a quick breakdown of closed San Francisco home sales for the week from March 1 – 7, 2008:

Single Family Homes –
32 Homes Sold

Condos/Lofts/Co-ops’s –
33 Homes Sold

TIC’s –
1 Home Sold

Yes, today, March 9th is the day to move your clocks one hour ahead.

If you’re reading this and you (like me) forgot all about daylight savings time, last night (or this morning – however you want to look at it) you should have “Sprung Forward.”

I know we’ve had some recent changes in the Daylight Savings time dates, but apparently I haven’t quite wrapped my head around those changes yet.

In fact, if it wasn’t for my phone letting me know to confirm the hour – I would have never known it was time to adjust my clocks an hour forward.

To find out more information about daylight savings time including history, origin, how it’s called “summer time” across the world and much more, click here.

Though you may want to wait to read about it until we “fall forward” because by the time you’ve read this and “sprung forward”, you’ve already lost an hour!

Back by popular demand – the weekly collection of the internet’s greatest hits (so to speak) from the past week. Some have something to do with San Francisco Real Estate, and some don’t even come close to being SF Real Estate related. Expect these to pop up sometime during the weekend – as my time permits. Enjoy!

A Little Birdy Spilled the Beans on my Castro/Jersey Mixed Use Listing – Can YOU Guess What it Sold For? [theFrontSteps]
Open Your Golden Gate Baby [Frisco Vista]
How SF Will Save More Trees By Buying Paper [SF Gate]
CNN Says It’s the Best Time to Buy in Four Years [CNN]
They’ve Always Wanted to Jump on our (Parking) Bandwagon [Metblogs San Francisco]
When One Roll Just Isn’t Enough! [Apartment Therapy SF]

Oh Curbed SF! I love you so!

I love you for so many reasons!

I love you for your wit.

I love you for your insight.

I love you for your photos.

I love that you love the little guy’s blogs.

I love your insights on the weird/cool/unusual/disgustingly horrid properties that you mention on a weekly basis.

And I love that you seem to love this blog of mine, even if it’s just a little. Love is a two-way street after all.

Thanks for noticing this little San Francisco Real Estate Blog today.

Have a happy Friday Curbed SF… and know that you are loved.

Welcome back to Photo Friday – my little way of taking a break from San Francisco Real Estate and instead blogging about our great City’s past instead. All photos are published with permission from the San Francisco History Center and San Francisco Public Library.

This has been a long rough week – and I can honestly say that I could use a drink or two or maybe even three. So this week – I’ve decided to post a picture of a group of guys from 1949 that look like they’re knocking back a few.

Apparently, the City’s less desirable characters used to party hard in San Francisco’s SoMa District, which believe it or not (you’ll likely believe it) used to be called “Skid Row“.

Based on the photos and some of the text attached, City officials have been trying to clean up that area for some time – and aside from a few sketchy blocks, recent officials have done a lot better than those of the past.

Now – I’m heading for that drink! But I think I’ll be partying with a bit of a different crowd. Though I have to say, those are some sharp lookin’ hats!

As always, I hope you enjoyed this week’s Photo Friday and the random bit of San Francisco history it provided you with. Hope you have a great weekend and be safe!

I am late reporting this, but if you use this blog to get all of your news, you’re probably better off watching the Daily Show with John Stewart. Although I hear newspapers and the internet are good sources for news too!

The Good News: HUD just rolled out the new limits that will apply to conforming loans, giving Californians a big increase in their conforming loan limits from $417,000 to $729,750!

The Bad News: According to Monica Di Perna of Guarantee Mortgage:

Mortgage rates are rising as we move into March. This will probably motivate more prospective home buyers and other borrowers to lift themselves off their fence-sitting position and take action before rates rise further. The rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now average 6.24 percent, with 0.5 point (fees), according to Freddie Mac, a major government sponsored buyer of existing mortgages. Last year at this time, the rate was 6.18 percent. The average rate for a 15year fixed mortgage is 5.72 percent.

“Long-term fixed mortgage rates are trending up, bringing rates on 30-year and 15-year fixed-rate mortgage back to their levels of last November,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

So, while you’ll soon be able to get a larger loan at an overall lower rate, the rate for the entire loan as been creeping slowly upward. Meanwhile – prices in SF still aren’t falling in the hot neighborhoods where the majority of well qualified buyers want to live.

Of course, things might change if the Fed does another rate cut during their next meeting on March 18th – and if rates do drop, then it’ll be just in time for the spring buying season.

If you have questions about how the HUD limits or mortgage rates affect your ability to buy a home in San Francisco, or how the market affects your home’s chances of selling your home, don’t hesitate to contact me. I love to talk real estate.

Here’s the latest Fast Facts update from the SFAR. Updates are provided almost weekly and each week is a different sector of the market (ie. Condos, Single Family Homes, 2-4 unit dwellings, etc.).

Check back next week for more statistics.

Fast Facts

I got a request from a reader that is doing some research on political issues. I don’t tend to get involved in these sorts of things, but figured that I’d help out by posting the survey for him here. So here it goes.

The purpose of this survey is to examine how people think and feel about the political issues, parties, and candidates in the upcoming election. In the survey, you will be asked a series of questions about two political candidates, John McCain and Hillary Clinton. We are very interested in how individuals that find information on the web think about politics, and your participation would be greatly appreciated. In total, the survey should take about 15 minutes to complete. The survey is completely anonymous and you can skip any questions you do not wish to answer.

Click here to take the survey

Please feel free to contact Chris Weber (crweber@notes.cc.sunysb.edu) at Stony Brook University with any questions or concerns. Thanks for your help!

Welcome back to the “Over, Under, At” weekly feature. It’s a simple breakdown taken from MLS data that shows the number of closed sales that sold Over Asking Price, Under Asking Price or At Asking Price.

*Just a reminder that new construction sales are rarely included in this list since they don’t get posted on the MLS.

I’m way behind on my “Over, Under, At’s” – so I’m posting two weeks of dataa back to back, but without any commentary. Sorry folks, you’ll have to interpret these numbers yourselves.

Here’s a quick breakdown of closed San Francisco home sales for the week from February 23-29, 2008:

Single Family Homes –
37 Homes Sold

Condos/Lofts/Co-ops’s –
51 Homes Sold

TIC’s –
8 Homes Sold