Kelly Zito writes in today’s Chronicle about the slowing mortgage refinance market. “The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly refinance index, which measures refinancing volume, dropped 17 percent between mid-October and the week ending Nov. 18. In addition, the volume of all mortgage applications — both refinancing and purchases — dipped 3.4 percent compared with the week before, the Washington, D.C., trade group said.” “Since September, mortgage rates have risen steadily, taking a bite out of buyers’ spending power and making it …

The Examiner is reporting today that on Tuesday “The Board of Supervisors put off a decision on a controversial plan to establish a seniority system for The City’s annual lottery to turn 200 tenancies-in-common into condominiums.” There was no timeline given for when this issue will be brought back to the table.

Ahhh… Our beloved Supervisors have done it again! Please add this one to your ‘why I won’t vote progressive in the next election’ list. From today’s SF Gate, “The organizer of the annual San Francisco Grand Prix, a pro race that attracted some of the world’s best cyclists, said in a written statement Sunday that it will cancel next year’s race because of a raucous dispute with City Hall over who should pay for police and other city services required …

From today’s San Francisco Business Times, “Housing developers have a barely controlled mania for building skyscrapers in Oakland, despite showing no interest in such projects as recently as last year.” “At least a dozen highrise condominium and apartment projects are in the works, and they have spread far from Lake Merritt, where the towers have traditionally clustered. They are now poised to pop up all along Broadway, starting in the Auto Row area well north of downtown, then dotting the …

From today’s SFGate, “After hovering near historic lows through much of the spring and summer, rates for both long-term and short-term mortgages have climbed markedly during the past two months, taking a bite out of buyers’ borrowing power and forcing Steach and others to re-evaluate their financial plans. In particular, those with adjustable mortgages — in which payments float up or down periodically depending on the direction of short-term interest rates — have seen big swings in the past 12 …