San Francisco Real Estate - Janice Lee

Sales of previously owned homes climbed in September to the highest level in a year, pointing to growing confidence in the U.S. economy as employment firms. Purchases advanced 2.4 percent to a 5.17 million annual rate, the National Association of Realtors reported today in Washington . Demand was up 1.9 percent compared with the same month last year before adjusting for seasonal patterns. Americans are returning to the real-estate market as employers have added 2 million workers to payrolls so far this year. Sales stand to get an additional boost in the final months of 2014 as the drop in mortgage rates caused by slowing growth in Europe and emerging nations makes properties more affordable for first-time buyers. The decline in borrowing costs “is encouraging for the housing market recovery,” said Brittany Baumann, an economist at Credit Agricole CIB in New York, who projected sales would rise last month. “We see upward trajectory over the next few months, but it’s go...

Gold and fixed income investments hold no appeal for billionaire Nathan “Natie” Kirsh, the owner of Jetro Holdings Inc. Real estate is more attractive, although you have to choose carefully. And if you want to invest in art, Kirsh says, you need an expert, Bloomberg Markets magazine will report in its August issue. Real estate has undergone a multi-decade shift, according to Kirsh. Retailers’ locations are less attractive than they used to be, he says, as Internet sales undermine brick-and-mortar businesses. The 81-year-old, who is worth $5.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, knows the retail industry well. His largest holding, Brooklyn, New York-based Jetro, sells groceries and supplies to restaurants and bodegas. Commercial, industrial and residential real estate is stronger, says Kirsh, a South African citizen who owns apartments in New York, London and Johannesburg. The following are excerpts from a June 5 interview conducted at Kirsh’s apartment on Cent...