I posted this yesterday but it really should have gone in its own thread:

The MLS isn’t just “what sold and when.”

If you think about it, all the information is available to anybody. It’s just that the MLS stores and categorizes the information in a particularly useful way. Now, since the information is available, why should the database that categorizes the free information be free to everyone?

I don’t think it should. This is a private trade group’s search tool and publishing tool. It now works pretty well, and only after years of trial and error, input, quarterly fees, etc.

Like, if the public wants to know what sold, then OK. Let them be able to see what sold. (Even though other databases also will share this information, such as cleanoffer.) But the radius search or polygonal search — why should a trade group have to share technology?

It’s pretty weird. People don’t really get it, I think.

Or, and I hear this argument frequently too, “But you can use the MLS to view sales by districts and we can’t.”

“Districts” — districts are nomenclature created by the SFAR. In reality they are neighborhoods. Yet it’s an unfair monopoly that a private trade group categorizes free information with nomenclature it created?

I don’t see people clamoring for unlimited access to Yahoo or Google’s publishing tools, nomenclature, or statistics. Aren’t they basically the only games around these days? Isn’t that unfair?

Capitalism is unfair. And these aren’t even monopolies. The MLS is no monopoly. Cooperating assocations can access one another’s data. So can any individual who joins and pays for it. True monopolies don’t let anyone in.

I dunno. I think people just like looking at stuff on the ‘net.

It isn’t as if agents are privy to how much a particular property is going to sell for while it’s in contract very often. And that’s what people really want to know!

– Kenneth Kohlmyer a k a der fluj

Click for larger image

Check it out! As Realtors, we get a nifty little report (Advantage Online) sent to us from the very San Francisco Association of Realtors we sometimes criticize. (Hey! We’re allowed to vent.) And like countless other real estate blogs in SF, we bring some of the data to you.

Well, SFAR has teamed up with Terradatum and will be modifying the “fast facts”, and we’ll be bringing the new version to you.

Follow the break to read the details on the new “fast facts”…

As reported previously, the San Francisco Association of REALTORS® is working with Terradatum, the award-winning real estate technology solutions company, to enhance the presentation of market data appearing in the Fast Facts section of REALTOR® Advantage Online each week. Beginning with the August 12, 2008, issue of the publication, and continuing weekly thereafter, the Fast Facts section will provide a snapshot of market statistics for San Francisco and Daly City. A different property type will be featured each week (i.e., Single Family Homes, Condo, 2-4 Units) and statistics will be given for each district 1 through 11, for the city overall (Districts 1-10) and for Daly City (District 11).

NUMBER SOLD reflects the number of properties in the market segment that closed escrow during the month.

NUMBER FOR SALE is the number of active properties on the market for one day or more that month.

MEDIAN PRICE (SOLD) reflects the “middle” price point of a group of properties that have successfully closed escrow on a monthly basis, i.e. half sold for more and half sold for less than the median price. Tracking the movement of median prices over time provides a good indicator of the direction market forces are moving.

If the percentage change is positive between the two periods then there is upward pressure on prices in that market segment. If the percentage change is negative between the two periods then there is downward pressure on prices in that market segment.

AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET (DOM) reflects how long it has been taking (on average) to draw an offer on a reasonably priced property exposed to the market. The AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET is defined as:

The average number of days it took all of the properties that went under contract during the period to accept a first position offer.

MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY (MSI) is a measure of how long it would take, in months, to sell the existing inventory at the current sales rate for the specific neighborhood and property type. The MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY is defined as:

The number of active properties on the market for one day or more that month, less the number of properties that have been withdrawn or expired, divided by the number of properties that have gone under contract for the month being measured.

[We'd like to remind you, if you want real time sold properties reports, new listing reports, open house search, direct access to MLS, a list of SF foreclosures, charts, data, graphs, and so much more all under one roof, sfnewsletter, has been doing exactly that for more than four years...and counting.]

This question is geared towards the San Francisco Realtors reading this site, and we’re hoping to get some responses, a sort of online petition if you will. (You can comment anonymously by entering a@a.com for email, and whatever name you choose.)

We want to hear it. Is this contraption we’re forced to keep at the ready in order to access MLS really helping protect data, or just a pain in the a$$? We find it particularly annoying , but wonder if we’re alone.

All in favor of keeping this gizmo say “aye”. All opposed say “nay”! [We say nay.]

For the general public a brief explanation: Just like any site, sfarmls.com (San Francisco Association of Realtors MLS) has a login requirement of username and password. However, they take it one step further requiring us to actually have in our possession the most recent “code” from this gizmo that we enter along with our username and password. This code changes every minute, so if you happen to look at the code and it changes in the middle of entering it into the field, you get denied, and must start all over. If you don’t have the gizmo at the ready, you are granted some freebies while logging in, but MLS really discourages it. Once you get all the stars to align you’re let in, but should you let the page idle for too long without action, you get kicked out and have to do it all over again (that’s another discussion altogether). We could go on, but will stop there.

So…Realtors? You loving this gizmo, or what!?

[Update: Should you want to pass this post on to your colleagues, click the post title, right click copy, right click paste where you need to, and off you go...]

Part 1:

We noticed it [3373 22nd Street] hadn’t had a Sunday open in a while, but rather than a pending or sold sign outside - we noticed the sign was just gone yesterday. It isn’t on the public mls as in contract - it just isn’t there. You know the scoop?

We are dying to know the final sales price. It was our perfect house in our perfect location - but a very unperfect price. So it wasn’t just the price - it was the price plus the people who were squatting in the house before the developer bought it, who still like to hang out around the house. For 2 + million - I don’t want to regularly have to ask the neighborhood characters to loiter elsewhere.

Now, we don’t know for certain which property you’re talking about, but imagine you’re talking 3373 22nd St, so we’ll go ahead and assume.

According to MLS it closed on 7/10/08 for a sales price of $1,950,000 (original asking was $2,095,000, originally listed 5/1…love that day!), and we heard the buyer represented himself (mls states the same). Last sale was 11/05 for a sales price of $920,000 and has definitely been fixed up since then.

Part 2:

And while I’m asking - I’ll give you a bit of insight from the east bay. We were supposed to close yesterday on our house in Oakland - only the bank hasn’t delivered loan docs yet. We have a jumbo loan and found the very last bank willing to do a 20% loan. Everyone else wanted 25% down or ridiculous rates. There is no problem with the loan - the bank is just backed up. We likely won’t close until sometime next week and the sellers are rolling with it. I was fully prepared to have to beg and plead for them not to walk - but we are hearing from our agent that a lot of deals are closing late. Is it the same over there?

Deals closing late, or the begging and pleading? We’re seeing a bit more of both.

Thanks for the insight on the East Bay, thanks for your email, and thanks for reading!

Where readers ask and we (the community) try to answer:

Where can my boss find a nice place to rent for his family [includes 10 year old son] where they won’t be the only parents in their neighborhood?

Our answer…are you kidding!? This is a loaded question, so we’re going to go ahead and link to the most detailed SF map we’ve ever found online, and you readers can feel free to throw darts at it claiming the best neighborhood for a family with a 10 year old son. It’s probably not going to be La Mission, and we certainly expect to hear some Noe Valley Neighbors chime in, but will we hear from the Western Addition, or Bayview/ Hunters Point crowd?

We all want to know. As for where to find that rental, like most, we’d suggest Craigslist.

Thanks for the email. Readers?

-San Francisco’s coolest neighborhood, La Mission, hands down [theFrontSteps]
-Sad chapter in Western Addition history ending [SFGate.com]

I knew this one would go superfast. You have to wonder if it wouldn’t have gone almost as fast if it were priced at 850K, tho. Anyway, anyone else see this property? It got into contract instantly.

A two car garage, north slope Potrero Hill, with a 25 X 100 foot lot, for 679? Simply fax your offer to the 678 area code? Well somebody didn’t mess around. Still tho — this is some 2006 type stuff right here!

-Property Details, 251 Arkansas [sfnewsletter listing detail page]

– Kenneth Kohlmyer a k a der fluj

Did we read that headline correctly? Is that quite possibly the first headline in over two years about the housing/mortgage market that doesn’t spell disaster? Or is it the shot of Tequila and can of Tecate (a bit of lime squeezed in and a touch of salt on the rim) talking?

Home loan applications are up, interest rates are down and financing continues to be approved, according to national data and local mortgage brokers.

The interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.26 percent last week, down from 6.37 percent the previous week, according to Freddie Mac.

Mainstream media is getting soft! We kind of like it. But then you had to go ruin our party:

None of this is to say that the mortgage market has returned to normal. It is still far more difficult to qualify for a loan than it was before default rates shot up last summer, underwriting guidelines are in a continual state of flux and the housing market remains in a deep slump.

The number of homes sold in the Bay Area during June was the lowest for the month since 1993, down 9.9 percent from a year ago, according to DataQuick Information Systems. Across the nine [Bay Area] counties, the median price paid for all home types plummeted 27.1 percent to $485,000, slipping under the half-million-dollar mark for the first time in four years.

Damnit!

-Mortgage market weathers storms [SFGate]

Just a bit busy, so this from today’s sfnewsletter:

“Hi Alex,
I just heard a rumor that 9W at 2190 Broadway asked for $3.45M and closed for $5M. An overbid of 43%?”

Rumor mill says…TRUE! Also true: that puts the price per square foot of this condo that “needs updating” at $1,562.50; HOA dues are $2254.50; Days On Market 39; built in 1973; 3200 square feet; and one parking space.

Happy Friday!

-2190 Broadway 9W [listing details]

Well, our frequent reader and commenter, Sophie, doesn’t really say it, the article on BusinessWeek.com does, but she tipped us off, so we’re passing it on.

And yes, we still focus on San Francisco real estate, but find ourselves looking more and more that way (San Jose/Penisula), and receiving more and more tips from there, so why not talk about it. Half of our residents work down there anyway.

Unlike other California markets that have been battered by foreclosures, real estate in Silicon Valley, part of the pricey San Francisco Bay area, has remained relatively strong and has been buoyed by the job growth in the technology sector and some of the highest salaries in the nation. The subprime problems that have vexed other parts of California have been relegated to parts of San Jose and to the outskirts of Silicon Valley. The towns with the best schools, including Palo Alto, Woodside, Los Altos Hills, and Cupertino also tend to have the most robust markets.

Please don’t go moving there. The city is more fun.

Where readers ask and we (the community) try to answer:

Hi Alex,

Thinking about changing my original single pane windows and wanted to get advice from people with experience. I’ve heard of Andersen, Millgard, Marvin, Lowen, Pella… does it really make a difference? Andersen claims to be the only “Green certified” window company, and the oldest at 100+ years with the most patents. What about them? I’ve asked 3 different people, and they went with three different brands.

With the Fibrex material, it’s a composite of wood and polymer. Should I replace wood with more wood, which just rots, or new technology that should have better insulation and sound reduction?

All thoughts welcome!

Window Man

Unfortunately, your editor has to defer completely to the readers on this, as I have absolutely no experience with this matter. Anyone else care to help? I know there are some contractors online.