#GratitudeRealty

[dakota3232-blog]

Home Builder Confidence Jumps in February

The numbers: The National Association of Home Builders’ monthly confidence index jumped 4 points to a seasonally adjusted reading of 62 in February, the trade group said Tuesday. What happened: The February gain was the second in a row and put the sentiment index, which some economists view as an early read on the pace of residential construction, back to its mid-autumn level. It easily beat the Economy consensus forecast of a one-point increase. In February, the index component that tracks views of current sales conditions rose three points to a reading of 67, and the tracker of expectations for the next six months jumped five points to 68. The measure of buyer traffic rose four points to 48. Any reading over 50 signals improvement, but the buyer traffic component is rarely above 50, even in the go-go days of the housing bubble a decade ago. Big picture: Builders are in a sweet spot: economic conditions like a strong job market are helping them sell more homes, and falling mortgage rates are making that job even easier. But NAHB continued to note that “affordability remains a critical issue.” Builders say regulations are still “excessive,” and the Trump administration’s tariffs have made raw materials much more expensive. What they’re saying: The housing market slowdown of 2018 is starting to look like a pause, rather than the beginning of the end for the cycle. In January, mortgage purchase applications for new homes jumped 43% compared to December, slightly edging last January’s tally to touch the highest level since 2013, the Mortgage Bankers Association said last week. Market reaction: Investors have boosted the stock prices of large publicly-traded builders this year. Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation are up 21% in the year to date, with shares of KB Home right behind. The S&P 500 has gained about 11% this year.   Read the full article

[dakota3232-blog]

San Diego East Village skyscraper would be one of city's tallest

  Developer Liberty National Corp., based in San Diego, is proposing a 40-story, 414 feet tall residential high-rise to join a cluster of the city’s tallest buildings near the northern fringes of East Village. The apartment tower, with 415 units and 7,610 square feet of commercial space, would be on the south side of B Street between 10th and 11th avenues. If approved, it would be the 15th or 16th tallest building in the city, depending on when it opens. Downtown planning agency Civic San Diego’s design review committee got their first look Wednesday at the project, which gave it favorable reviews. It will be another two to three months before the project returns to the design committee with changes, and then eventually to the full board for approval. Committee member Jennifer Ayala said she appreciated how well the building appeared to fit in the neighborhood. “It has a blend of residential and business feeling,” she said, “and that location could use a building that transitions well.” The developer is proposing to not include low-income housing on site, instead paying $3.4 million in inclusionary housing fees. While it could become an issue when the full board reviews the project, it does have something that Civic San Diego has struggled to get recently — density. The 11th and B project would maximize a half block site, about 30,000 square feet, in an area where planners are trying to jam in more housing. Some developers are deciding to build smaller projects on sites that could have substantially added to downtown’s housing supply. Developer JPI in September proposed a 318-apartment project on a full block site in East Village that could have held up to 900 apartments. Civic San Diego ended up approving the project when JPI added 50 more apartments. While there is pressure locally to reduce parking requirements, Liberty National is planning 582 parking spots at the 11th and B project with three floors below ground and six levels above. “I’m an advocate for the market determining how much parking you should have,” committee member Theodore Shaw said, “but you are way over.”

The building would join a four-block cluster of buildings on B Street that are some of San Diego’s tallest. Buildings nearby include Vantage Pointe Apartments at 420 feet, The Rey apartments at 304 feet and Symphony Towers at 499 feet. A few blocks away, a 490 foot apartment building from Bosa Development on Broadway is under construction. A Jiffy Lube and parking lot would be removed to make way for the building. Plans call for four penthouses (1,601 to 1,747 square feet), 42 three-bedroom apartments (1,299 square feet), 61 two-bedroom apartments (1,020 to 1,165 square feet), 215 one-bedroom apartments (590 to 743 square feet) and 93 studios (500 to 560 square feet). Read the full article