US Bank Economic Forecast June 2008

As paraphrased by my best contact at US Bank, Kit Ng, Client Manager of the Northern California Business Banking Group: Keith Hembre, Chief Economist for US Bank says:

First, he does not believe that inflation will become problematic enough for the Federal Reserve to reverse direction and begin to increase its fed funds rate this year. If he is correct, interest rates in general should be relatively stable in 2008. Second, he believes that the S&P 500 Index, valued at 15.8x our 2008 earnings forecast, is now fairly valued by historical P/E standards. How we arrived at a fair valuation is a painful story, with S&P 500 index down 4.5% since May 1st (the S&P financial index down 16.7% during that period).

If you want the full 17 page June outlook, please email me for a copy.

Palo Alto Office Building For Sale 6.1% Cap Rate

This is a great opportunity to own your own office building in Palo Alto. The building is fully occupied by one tenant who then subleases about half of the property to another tenant. Great location on San Antonio within striking distance of Google, Yahoo or your favorite medical device customer. Offered at a 6.11% cap rate for Palo Alto is an outstanding return. Then when the leases expire, this could be a great re-rent or owner user building. Very impressive exterior and signage too. Call us to set up a tour or for a fully financing look at this property. Offered at $4,728,000 for 8,758 square feet on a 19,046 lot.

4 Unit Garden Style Apartment Building Listed for $1,275,000

This very unique four unit garden style apartment building consists of a two-story building totaling approximately 3,776 square feet is now on the market. All the units are spacious two-bedroom/one bath, and the current owner has maintained the interiors very well. The apartments are just walking distance from downtown Mountain View with all the dining and cultural amenities this city has to offer. There are many newly renovated and recently upgraded buildings in the neighborhood, and conveniently located in a close proximity to many of the Bay Area's largest employers including Google, Yahoo and Linked In (some of my favorites) and many other technology companies that will provide many new jobs in the immediate area and a need for housing. With it's great proximity to Castro Street and all the employers in the area, this would be a great Tenant in Common investment (TIC) or for four enterprising people to buy their own condo-like units for a fraction of the going Mountain View price. Let's talk about this when you have time to sit down. Very great way of getting into this market.