West Oakland is slowly overcoming negativity. Its proximity to the economic activity in Emeryville, Oakland, and San Francisco have given rise to its popularity. The West Oakland BART station is only 10 minutes from the Embarcadero Station in San Francisco’s bustling financial district. This allows West Oakland to be “closer to downtown San Francisco” than many parts of San Francisco itself.
One of the downsides for the residents of West Oakland has been [Read more…]
Layout of the Concord Reuse plan as adopted in February 2010
The Contra Costa Times has an update on the Concord Naval Weapons Station.
In January of 2014 the City of Concord requested a statement of qualification from interested master developers for the massive project in March. They received eight responses and had the responses reviewed by a third-party firm to score the responses. It appears that they have now narrowed the list down to four developers.
The developers are interested in the prospect of developing the weapons station. The proximity to the North Concord/Martinez BART station allows them to build low-density, single-family housing that has access to mass transit.
For more information on the Naval Weapons Reuse Project you can head over to their website www.concordreuseproject.org. To see plans of the proposed development you can view this pdf.
The San Francisco Business Times published an article this week about the slowing growth of Bay Area apartment rents. According to the article apartment rents in San Francisco grew by 9.9% in 2012. Apartment rents in the East Bay increased by 6.9%. A leading apartment advisor predicts that growth will be 3.2% in San Francisco and 3.3% in the East Bay.
I believe two factors are contributing to the slow down in rental growth. First, we have seen the residential real estate market take off and a lot of buyers have gotten off the sidelines and are buying homes. This means that a lot of renters are moving to be homeowners. Second, a number of new rental projects are being constructed. Both of these items are increasing the supply and causing rental rates to slow.
Existing apartment owners have benefited from the increased rents (the exception may be in rent-controlled areas like San Francisco, Oakland, & Berkeley). Cash flow is up and sales of apartments are at record low cap rates.
What does the tapering of rent growth and the increase in interest rates mean? Well, it probably means that the market is reaching the peak of the value cycle. Interest rate increases mean that buyers will have to pay less for properties to cover rising financing costs.
If you have questions about your apartment complex, please give me a call at (925) 385-8798.
The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 was enacted on December 20, 2007. The IRS generally considers the forgiveness of debt as a taxable income to the person that receives the forgiveness. (This is not tax advice. Please contact your tax attorney, CPA or other tax professional before making a business decision.)
Imagine Joe owes $100,000 to Frank. Joe only has $80,000. Frank agrees to let Joe pay him $80,000 and he will forgive the rest. Frank wants to claim the loss of $20,000 on his income taxes. In order to do so the IRS requires him to file a 1099-C for cancellation of debt. The 1099-C names Joe as the recipient of that $20,000 of “income” on which Joe is now liable for taxes.
The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief.
This act only applies to debt on your primary residence and not investment properties or second homes.
The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act was set to run from 2007 through 2012. It is set to expire on December 31, 2012. Depending on Congress this act may not be extended beyond its initial term.
This means that short sales must be done prior to 2013 in order to qualify for forgiveness under this act. If you are considering a short sale of your primary residence, now is the time to list if there is any hope of closing prior to 12/31/2012.
On Friday I attended a Commercial Real estate forecast hosted by Northern California CCIM and the Oakland/East Bay BOMA.
Bob Bach, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, shared his insights on the national market and how the Bay Area stacks up against other markets. Here are bullet points from his research:
Maria Sicola, Executive Managing Director at Cushman & Wakefield and Head of Research for the Americas, shared some of her thoughts on the U.S. economy and on the Bay Area in particular. She focused primarily on the industrial and office markets:
The event was an interesting one overall. Investors in office should stick to San Francisco and Silicon Valley projects where job growth has been strongest. Apartment demand is strong in the entire Bay Area.
If you are looking to invest in any of these sectors or have questions about your current investment, give me a ring at (925) 385-8798.
