FRIDAY - start your own currency
- Mortgage cap would hit California, Florida, New York hardest
- Housing crisis may prompt softening of rules for mixed-use urban projects
- Equity Rich Properties Surge
- More than one-third of the 15 most expensive ZIP codes in the US are in the Bay Area
- The best holiday lights in the Bay Area, mapped
- How Much Space You Need (and What to Do if You Don’t Have It)
Enjoy!
Mortgage cap would hit California, Florida, New York hardest - Property owners in California, Florida and New York have the most to lose if Congress limits tax deductions for interest payments on home mortgages, according to a Bloomberg analysis of Zillow data. Assuming a 20 percent down payment, the three states together are estimated to have more than 80,000 homes currently listed for sale where the mortgage could reach at least $500,000, the limit laid out for new home sales in the House Republican tax plan. In California, that’s 44 percent of homes on the market.
Housing crisis may prompt softening of rules for mixed-use urban projects - a new plan could help solve San Diego’s housing shortage and reduce a rash of vacant storefronts in buildings that were intended to have ground-floor commercial tenants operating below multiple stories of housing. The many ground-floor vacancies in such buildings, which are called “mixed-use,” is prompting city officials to explore softening requirements they be filled by commercial tenants. The change could allow ground-floor housing there instead.Supporters say the new approach would eliminate blight caused by empty storefronts and quickly produce additional housing units on the ground floors of many buildings. Developers could also more easily secure financing for proposed projects if they are no longer required to reserve the entire ground floor for tenants they are unlikely to ever find.
Equity Rich Properties Surge - The share of equity-rich properties rose to a new high—26 percent of homeowners with a mortgage in the third quarter, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q3 2017 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report. ATTOM Data Solutions found these areas (in metros with a population of 500,000 or more) had the highest share of equity-rich properties:
San Jose, Calif.: 61%
San Francisco: 56.4%
Los Angeles: 45.3%
Honolulu: 43.9%
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.: 38.7%
Seattle: 38.7%
San Diego: 38.3%
Portland, Ore.: 36.7%
Austin, Texas: 35.8%
Stockton, Calif.: 35.2%
More than one-third of the 15 most expensive ZIP codes in the US are in the Bay Area - This year, several California neighborhoods ousted prominently expensive ones in New York that topped the list last year. Manalapan, Fla., remained high at No. 2., but Bay Area neighborhoods such as Los Altos Hills and Hillsborough wound up claiming six of the 15 most expensive ZIP code areas.
The best holiday lights in the Bay Area, mapped - 20 illuminated spots guaranteed to bring cheer
How Much Space You Need (and What to Do if You Don’t Have It) - Get tips on providing ample traffic flow through kitchens, dining rooms, living rooms and other areas
