The San Francisco Examiner from San Francisco, California • 139

A Mdii of Su Furnace SoncUy Ewninei and Clnonide Sunday, May 10, 1998 E-7 Weekly home sales In 6-couirty Bay Area Total sales: i g81 Lowest sale price: $29,000 Sales Sampler: What are homes selling for in Union City? Home Sales Sampler has some of the answers. E-8 Highest sale price: Median sale price: $3,050,000 $240,000 SOURCE: DataQuIck New-housing building permits $an Jfamcwco JSkamincr Reg'Q" 1997 1998 change Oakland 2,104 1,590 San Francisco 601 1,306 117.3 San Jose 1,425 1.444 1.3 Santa Rosa 392 287 CAREY BROTHERS E-2 HOT PROPERTIES E-2 MAILBAG E-8 TRENDS E-9 First 3 months of 1997 and 1998 SOURCE: Construction Industry Research Board 1 KENNETH R. HARNEY Housing projects get whole new look in Bay Area NATION'S HOUSING rrx UW Yyl I vsa I xc XX i (i I XZj vlxi xx t. i xxl i i iiiim i innii mmumrnntHmwrrn'r- iSnTrrtrffrT'trfftrr -rr-trYt-- ij i EXAMINERCHRIS HARDY I 1 By pfi I I i I specialto i J1 J- THE EXAMINER i i i lS A I V-1 X' -S III ill II I I 1 .5 A 111 III I I1 1 1 1 Home loan delinquency rates vary across nation WASHINGTON -Why are Miami homeowners who took out new mortgages during 1997 defaulting on them at a rate more than five times the national average? Why are Washington, D.C., and Baltimore-area 1997 borrowers going delinquent at nearly double the national rate? And why, by contrast, are homeowners in San Francisco, Cincinnati and San Jose who closed on new mortgages last year defaulting at a rate one quarter the national average? No one knows for sure. But a new statistical study documents the huge and surprising variations in pay-back performances by recent home loan borrowers in 85 of the largest housing markets in the country.

The numbers come from the Mortgage Information a Sah Francisco-based research organization that tracks over 24 million home loans every month. The corporation receives confidential payment performance reports on about two thirds of all outstanding home mortgages in the United States from lending and mortgage servicing institutions. At the request of this column, the firm ran a market-by-market computer analysis of 1997 home borrowers' payment performances as of the beginning of 1998. The data covers new loans on over 3 million homes, according to Mortgage Information Corp. director Martin Wahl.

Using a measure of "serious delinquency" loans that are 90 days past due or already in foreclosure the study found that the major markets with the biggest payment performance problems to date among 1997 borrowers are: Miami, Orlando, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Orange County Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C., and Balti- See HARNEY, E-9 UBUC HOUSING The Patsy Brown's of an urban snake pit in Hayes Valley, of crime, filth, busted above, looks like plumbing, slum condi middle-class tions and a hopeless housing and has ness that breeds more a rare public hopelessness. housing ameni- Even Droiects desicmed tv: a private I lilt iT If Hili X. by some of the most acclaimed garage. The drab architects of the mid-century Ernest oldPocoWay Horn and William Wurster come to mind project in San have in recent decades tect Willie Pettus called "seas of distress." redesigned with Tt Hnpsn't have tn hp that, wav Thp issue of hnw in- balconies.

Datios. novative approaches can be housing which in turn can be a Charities benefit from boom The new face of real estate Immigrants are having a greater impact on U.S. housing market turned into what archi- Jose, left, was used to renovate public grassy courtyard catalyst to help revitalize and cheerful colors. See PROJECTS, E-12 Family Foundation for Camp Five Acres, a summer camp for children with AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. The second annual fund-raiser, a black-tie event May 14 at the Fairmont Hotel, is expected to top last year's event.

"Times are good, so we're expecting a lot more contributions this year from the brokerage community," said Kathy Mattes, a spokeswoman for the alliance. Camp Five Acres was the original name for the children's retreat a marketing play on the amount of land the facility would need. The Taylor Family Foundations was able to secure 138 acres of prime property at the Del Valley Reservoir. Camp One Hundred Thirty Eight Acres is a mouthful. So when the facility opens next year, it will be known as Camp Open Arms.

ByCorrieM. Anders EXAMINER REAL ESTATE EDITOR ENVER It is a familiar story to millions of Italian, English, German and Soviet immigrants: Live in inexpensive tenement housing for a while, save diligently to purchase a starter home, and later trade up to a far nicer home. with his office colleagues also donates from $10 to $100 of each sales transaction to a fund for local schools. "The busier the market is, the more that gets contributed to the fund," said Franzella. Contributions from his office may reach $12,000 this year, compared to $8,000 a year ago.

These are definitely good times in the nation's most expensive and bustling real estate market and the industry is opening its pocketbook. So far this year, home builder Kaufman and Broad in Northern California has donated nearly $40,000 to charities 50 percent more than the same time last year. Then there is the Real Estate Alliance for Charity. At its initial auction gala last year, the alliance far exceeded its $100,000 fund-raising goal. The alliance delivered a $165,000 check to the Taylor By Corrie M.

Anderi EXAMINER REAL ESTATE EDITOR arry Franzella is having one of his best years selling real estate. So the residential agent for Prudential California in San Bruno recently donated $1,000 to a charity that will aid construction of 10 Habitat for Humanity homes. Franzella is not alone. Contributions from other agents helped the San Mateo County Realtors Foundations raise and give away more than $80,000 over the last two years. "I've always had the philosophy that you give back to the community that supports you," said Franzella, who along That scenario from the turn of the century is being repeated today by families with Latino and Asian surnames part of a new immigration wave that will have a "profound" impact on real estate during the next 50 years.

The U.S. population by the middle of the new millennium will increase by 80 million due to immigration and those families will require 19.5 million homes for sale and another 10.5 million rentals, according to a new study by the Kenneth Leventhal Real Estate Group. Latinos will comprise 25 percent of the population, up from 9 percent See IMMIGRANTS, E-U.