The chart below lists the primary reason people gave in a survey done for relocation.com for moving in June of 2010.

Below are the highlights from their executive summary, I’d encourage you to take a look at the entire article, it is filled with some fascinating information and stats:

• Compared to the results from the Winter of 2010, it seems that financial and economic issues still continue to exert an effect on U.S. moving behaviors but there are signs in the present survey results that the worst of the recession crisis may be over.
• Whereas in the February survey almost one in five respondents (18%) indicated that they moved to a new location with a lower cost of living and/or cheaper rent; this percentage dropped to 7% in June.
• Furthermore, only 1% of the consumers who took the survey in June indicated that they lost their home through foreclosure which is considerably lower than the 5% rate observed in the February survey.
• And, although 13% of the consumers moved in February because of a job loss, only 4% of the consumers in June moved for that reason.
• Another encouraging sign is that 4% of May/June movers were able to purchase a home for the first time due to the decline in home prices while another 10% moved to a bigger, better home or a better neighborhood.
• 18% of all May/June movers are homeowners who moved and purchased a new home (up from 12% in February) while 12% were former renters who moved to purchase a home.
• Overall, the biggest impact of the struggling economy continues to be in the lower percentage of consumers making Long Distance Moves (1,000 miles or more) compared to survey results from 2007-2008.

courtesy of the National Association of Realtors, here is a good video explanation of the difference between the Mean Average and the Median Average.

Urban Spoils is an aggregator for all those sites like groupon that offer deals and discounts in San Francisco?

Urban Spoils San Francisco

So what’s the point? If it works as advertised, you only have to check one website/email newsletter instead of the dozens that you may already be getting from all of the various sites that offer deals in San Francisco.

Right after I moved here in 2000, SFO’s terminal 2 closed and the new international terminal opened. When I’ve been making the pickup loop at the airport, I’ve driven by the closed terminal many, many times. I noticed that they were working on it a few months ago, and was excited to learn that it is scheduled to be open next year. American Airlines and Virgin America will be two of the airlines using the “new” terminal. Which is nice, since right now Virgin America uses the international terminal. I wonder if they will be moving JetBlue over as well?

The numbers are in for May 2010, and according to Case-Schiller, SF home prices were up 1.7% between April and May, and up 2.2% from March to April. The 1 year change for San Francisco is up 18.3%.

Case-Schiller data isn’t perfect (what data is?) but it is another data point that shows reason for cautious optimism. The San Francisco real estate market, though, turns on a dime, and while I worked with plenty of motivated buyers in the April/May time frame, what I’m seeing right now is a little bit different. Buyers appear to be more hesitant, and even though interest rates are at historic lows, buyers still seem very comfortable waiting to see what happens next.

The Case-Schiller data can be accessed at www.homeprice.standardandpoors.com

Let me preface this by saying that since I’m too young to be a boomer, and just a little too old to be part of Gen Y, I may perhaps have a bitter taste in my mouth since apparently I’m not really a part of either of these much chatted about demographic groups. That disclaimer aside, the SF Business Times has an interesting article today about Generation Y and their decision (although decision might be a generous word, since it doesn’t sound like they could buy a house even if they wanted to) to delay home purchasing.

Generation Y — people born between 1977 and 1989 — are a larger group populationwise than the Baby Boomers, but may have less economic impact thanks to a delay in buying real estate.

I attended a panel Wednesday evening sponsored by the Urban Land Institute titled, “Will they Ever Grow Up? Generation Y’s Uneasy Transition to Adulthood and Impacts on Residential Real Estate Markets.â€

The speakers included an impressive bunch: Nina Gruen, executive vice president and principal sociologist with Gruen Gruen + Associates, Tim Cornwell, engagement director for the Concord Group San Francisco office, Alan Mark, founder and president of the Mark Co., and Meg Spriggs, senior development director for Avalon Bay Communities.

The Presidio Landmark Apartments have started taking potential clients on tours. I often run past this building when I am out jogging, and I am pretty impressed with the work they have done to turn it into luxury apartments (emphasis on luxury, 1 bedrooms are renting for around $2,800 and 2 bedrooms are north of $4,000/month). The building received LEED gold certification, and offers quite a few amenities.

Why can’t I sell it? More importantly, why can’t you buy it? Because, as part of the Presidio trust, it is located on National Park land.

Presidio Landmark Apartments

The SF Appeal also has a fun flickr slideshow of Presidio Landmark pictures, not only of the renovation but also including original construction pictures (you can see the beginnings of the Golden Gate bridge in one of them).