Welcome to Inside SF Real Estate – a local blog dedicated to bringing you real estate news, trends, stats, stories, and photography from around the City. So who writes this drivel?? Read the rest of this entry »
Mortgage Rate Lock Advisory – 7/10/2009
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Friday’s bond market has opened well Read the rest of this entry »
Want to live in a walker’s paradise?
July 9, 2009Chance are, you already do! (if you’re a local reader)
Walkscore.com just came out with its annual “walkability” rankings for cities around the U.S. and San Francisco was again the top choice. Walkscore takes data from over 2,500 neighborhoods nationwide to come up with the rankings, which places the top 40 walkable cities in order. Here is a glimpse of the top cities:
- SF
- NY
- Boston
- Chi-Town
- Philly
- Seattle
- DC
- Long Beach (aka, the LBC)
- LA
- Portland (Oregon, not Maine)
Check out the awesome “heat” map on Walkscore which gives you a visual representation of where SF’s most walkable areas are located. They also rank our neighborhoods — here is a glimpse of the top 10:
- Chinatown
- Financial District
- Downtown
- North Beach
- Mission
- Nob Hill
- Pacific Heights
- SOMA
- Western Addition
- Haight Ashbury
Screenshot of Walkscore heat map for SF and neighborhood rankings
Being able to walk to shops, grocery stores,restaurants, banks, and bars is a huge lifestyle upgrade that we SF’ers should never take for granted. Anyone who’s lived in a sprawling metropolis knows what we’re talking about. So while other cities waste their time sitting in traffic inhaling gas fumes, go out for a walk, breathe in the cool, fresh ocean air, and enjoy the weather! (and pat yourself on the back for consuming less oil AND for living in such an amazing city)
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Pocket Listings for 7/8/2009
July 8, 2009What is a pocket listing? A pocket listing is a home that is not being advertised to the general public through the MLS or a listing that will come on the market in the future but right now is still a secret. Many homes in San Francisco sell while off the open market, so pocket listing culture is a big deal. Each week, we’ll be sharing info about pocket listings that we know of (most of them anyway- some have to remain completely confidential).
Information on pocket listings is sparse and secretive, so pardon us if we seem short on details for the purposes of our blog. If you are interested in learning more about a particular listing you can click HERE to contact us. Without further ado, here are this week’s pocket listings:
- Out of our pocket and over to you
To see this week’s pocket listings, continue reading –>
Second Wave on the Way?
July 6, 2009We’ve been hearing a lot lately about the “second wave”. Although it seems like we’ve made it through the rough patch and confidence is slowly on the rise, many pundits agree that another blow to the economy could be coming our way. True, it’s tough to imagine another October ‘08 or a frozen real estate market– the kind reminiscent of this past November thru February. But it could happen as unemployment continues to rise, ARMs reset, and foreclosures spike again.
An article from the SF Business Times was published today that highlights some of the ominous, looming forces that have yet to fully play out in the markets. It will be interesting to see what happens. While we don’t deny there is another wave coming, we’re curious how it will compare to the first one… particularly since there has been so much government intervention. As the article states, the size of the second wave could hinge upon Obama’s reappointment (or not) of Bernanke, whose term ends in February. Guess we’ll see how things shake out, and we’ll be prepped with boogie boards (or life preservers, depending).
Click HERE to read the article in full.
It's coming, but how big will it be?
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Google Maps Gets More RE Functionality
July 6, 2009Google Maps has come a long way since its creation. With recently added functionality such as street views, points of interest layers, and real estate search, Google Maps continues to grow in its ubiquity. We stumbled upon THIS article regarding Google Maps’ real estate search features, and thought some of you may be interested in checking it out. We’ve found the real estate listing results to be fairly decent, and the interface addictive.
Try it out HERE. And if you’re bored and want a few giggles, check out StreetViewFun.
Google maps puts a dot everywhere there is a listing
Click a dot for details
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A pad for you and a park for the pooch
July 6, 2009A top floor Edwardian condo in Hayes Valley hit the market earlier today at 119 Pierce. The remodeled 3BR/1BA home caught our eye with its dog-friendly location… just a stone’s (or tennis ball’s) throw from Duboce Park. Listed at $1,099,000, the home features a remodeled kitchen complete with stainless steel appliances, cherry cabinets, granite countertops, an island, breakfast bar and a wine fridge. Although the condo has just one bathroom, it’s nicely appointed with double marble vanities and an oversized tub. The early 1900’s home is full of charm, with a formal dining room, coved ceilings, and two fireplaces. We’re looking forward to seeing it in person, and may stop off at the park to play fetch with the pups.
Click HERE to see the listing on the MLS.
Remodeled kitchen at 119 Pierce
Duboce Park is a dog-lovers heaven!
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Happy Fourth of July
July 3, 2009Have a safe and happy holiday, everyone. We’ll be back on Monday with our regularly scheduled programming. In the meantime, enjoy some tariff-free tea, crack open a Sam Adams, and wave your stars and stripes. Cheers!
Kaboom
Field Trip to Ross!
July 2, 2009We’re sure many of you are already breaking for a long weekend, so the time is ripe for a little field trip up north. Get your parents to sign those permission slips so we can hop on the bus and head out!
Destination? 1 Upper Road in Ross. Mission? To scope out a new $17.5 million listing that three of our colleagues just listed. This amazing estate features a mansion, five auxiliary buildings, a tennis court, swimming pool, pool cabana, redwood grove, spa facility, car barn, meandering nature trails, creek, and suspension bridge… sprawled out on 3 acres of Northern California paradise.
If you’re curious how the other half lives, or just appreciate fine real estate, you might get a kick out the website and photo galleries. Want a tour in person? It’s by private showing only, of course, so call us if it’s just what you’ve been looking for. (Sorry, couldn’t resist!)
1 Upper Road in Ross
A leafy green paradise
Car barn (cars sold separately)
For more info on this home, continue reading –> Read the rest of this entry »
Tuesday Tour Show-Stoppers XIV
June 30, 2009Not much excitement was brewing as we planned our stops on this week’s tour. There simply haven’t been many new listings coming out, mainly because the 4th of July holiday is approaching and many agents get the heck out of town for a long weekend.
However, we were glad that we went on the tour today, as one listing in particular made our day. It was 2201 Baker, and all 7,630 square feet of it, that stole the show. The $7.1 million Pacific Heights mansion was purchased in 2007 as a fixer and through an extraordinary effort of architects, celebrity designers, and developers, is ready for its new owner. The home was chosen by Metropolitan Home Magazine as San Francisco’s ultimate Certified Green Home for 2009. The features are exquisite, and for once, a Pacific Heights mansion felt welcoming and flowing… not all chopped up and impersonal. The website is HERE for those interested in a virtual tour (although it pales in comparison to an in-person visit). It was the only 5 star home we saw this week, and we would give it 6 stars if possible. In our opinion, the decor easily trumped the Decorator’s Showcase mansions of the past two years.
2201 Baker wows at every turn
Daring, yet tasteful decor can be found throughout
Because the tour was very light today, we have no “View of the Week” or “Backyard of the Week” awards to hand out. But we do have a few 4 and 5 star homes to highlight. Continue reading to see our list, and if you have no idea what a Tuesday Tour Show-Stopper is, click HERE.
Watch Out for these Moving Scams
June 29, 2009Ahhh, movers. They provide extremely valuable service but unfortunately, not all can be trusted. I suppose that same statement could be uttered for many professions, but at least those professions don’t have all your stuff!
We’ve heard some doozies before, for example, the moving company that agrees to a certain price, but en route to your new home, changes their mind and holds your stuff hostage until you pay up. Relocation.com published a list of three “moving scams you’ve never heard of” which we thought would be helpful to our readers. Yelp.com is a great resource for local movers, and we’ve used and/or heard great things about Corrib Moving & Storage and Delancey Street Movers here in town.
Here’s the article from Relocation.com:
3 Moving Scams You’ve Never Heard Of
"Heya pal, we ain't unloadin' the truck till you pay up... Capiche?"
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Condo Projects Shelved
June 29, 2009From a recent article at the San Francisco Business Times:
Some 3,019 new units of housing came online in 2008, the final burst of a condo construction bubble that peaked in 2006 and started to deflate in late 2007. Since then prices have dropped 20 to 30 percent. A recent Polaris Group report found there are 1,340 condominium units available for resale — 58 percent more than available in May 2008 and a 10.3-month supply. The one major condo project currently under construction, Jackson Pacific’s 180-unit One Hawthorne St., will come online in 2010.
Every major condo project expected to break ground in 2008 was shelved, including:
Urban West Associates’ 292-unit phase two of One Rincon Hill.
Bosa Development’s 318-unit phase two of the Radiance.
Crescent Heights’s 720-unit project at 1401 Market St.
Turnberry’s 227-unit tower at 45 Lansing St.
Some huge SF developments have been delayed or canceled altogether
As grim as the news sounds, we actually think this is a good thing for San Francisco’s real estate market, particularly the neighborhoods of Read the rest of this entry »
Prime Potential in Marina Closes
June 25, 2009Following up on a story from June 8th about a home with “prime potential” in the Marina, we now have the final scoop. The home at 230 Cervantes, which we wrote about HERE, needs some work and was listed for $1,849,000. Final sales price? It went 20% above asking at $2,200,000.
Just to clarify, does that mean 20% above market value? Ummm, no. Our feeling was that the home was intentionally underpriced to create some buzz, which it most certainly received. And if you’ve been reading our blog for a while, you’ll notice that we put very little stock in an asking price.
230 Cervantes closes for $2.2
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That was quick
June 25, 20094322 25th Street hit the market less than a week ago and has already been snatched up. The MLS status went straight from “Active” to “Pending”, which means someone went in with no contingencies (and likely all cash). The Noe Valley home scored 4 stars on our latest Tuesday Tour and features 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, on three levels. Two car parking and high end finishes round out this newly constructed home. List price? $2,599,000.
4322 25th Street
For more photos, continue reading –>
Year Over Year Medians By District
June 25, 2009As most of you know, the San Francisco Association of Realtors has divided the city up into 10 market areas. Curious to find out what’s been transpiring on a district by district basis here in ‘09, we decided to run a little analysis. Our goal? To take a look at the year over year performance of each district, using median sales price as our yardstick. Here’s what we did:
- Find the median sales price in each district from January 1, 2008 through June 1, 2008. Record it.
- Find the median sales price in each district from January 1, 2009 through June 1, 2009. Record it.
- Calculate the year over year change for each district.
- Rank the 10 districts based on performance over this period.
- How are the 10 districts faring from last year? Photo courtesy of tenyearsofmylife.com
*Please note: You’ll need to familiarize yourself with THIS map in order to understand the MLS districts. All sales come from the MLS. These do not include private transactions or sales taking place at new developments. Property types included in the analysis include single family homes, condos, TIC’s, lofts, and stock cooperatives.
What did we find? Continue reading for the chart –> Read the rest of this entry »
Tuesday Tour Show-Stoppers XIII
June 23, 2009It’s the lucky number 13 edition of Tuesday Tour Show-Stoppers, and what a glorious day it was. Can I just say that we live in the most beautiful city in the US? Seriously… touring amazing residences all around the city on a day like today is a privilege, and one of the many reasons I love my job. The neighborhoods come alive, the homes glow inside and out, and the yards may be experienced in all their glory.
Speaking of yards, there were quite a few doozies out there this week. The sounds of birds chirping, water trickling from fountains, and the scent of flowers seemed to be the theme of the day. Sound cheesy? Maybe so, but I’ll take it. Beats the mound of paperwork and disclosure packages sitting on my desk, that’s for sure. Impressionable yards this week included 200 Locust, 3418 Scott, 3648 22nd, and 3870 25th. But the winner of the “Backyard of the Week Award” goes to… 456 Belvedere in Cole Valley. This home’s yard features a patio and two worn brick walkways that take you through lush gardens that reach towards the back of the lot. You’re likely to see a huge variety of perennials, catch whiffs of sweet blossoms, and spot a few hummingbirds.
May look like chaos from the photo, but is amazing in person (especially on a gorgeous day)
View of the week goes to 366 Liberty, which is of course located on Liberty Hill. This unsuspecting home starts with a humble exterior, but once you set foot inside, prepare to be wowed. It is truly an impressive house and just gets better and better as you make your way around. Step out to one of the huge rear decks and enjoy a view of the entire City skyline, bay, and mountains.
366 Liberty wins view of the week
Time for the 4 star (great) and 5 star (superb) homes of the week. Keep in mind we are not judging prices and these are our opinions only. Click the bold address on any listing for more details, and if you have no idea what a “Tuesday Tour Show-Stopper” is, click HERE.
2009 : A Rough and Tumble Year
June 29, 2009Here are some interesting facts and figures we ran today that corroborate the story of two markets, which we wrote about a few days ago. What exactly did we look at?
We isolated all sales that have taken place from January 1 through June 1 and compared 2008’s performance to 2009’s. The sales were divided up by price bracket. Our goal was to see which price brackets have seen the biggest drops (or rises) in activity since this time last year.
Sales volume by price bracket - click to enlarge
Final Thoughts
For all price brackets, the number of transactions is down 32% year over year. Since that seems to be the norm, it could be deduced that anything less is a sign of relative strength while anything more is a sign of relative weakness.
Sales on the low end continue to show signs of strength in 2009. Essentially, homes priced less than Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Macro-Level Info, Nerdy RE Analysis | Tagged market commentary, market trends, real estate market analysis, sales volume, san francisco, san francisco real estate, transaction volume | Leave a Comment »