Archive for the ‘SoMa’ Category
May 25, 2009
There is no doubt that lofts are unique property types. They appeal to a small but dedicated audience. San Francisco has some truly amazing lofts that can tempt even the die-hardest of single family home advocates (like THIS spectacular loft).
There is also the category of loft that we refer to as “loft wanna-be’s”. These are often the cheaply built, cookie-cutter style lofts that are overflowing with Lee Press-On bricks and faux stucco facades. You’ll know when you’re standing in one of these developments, as you’ll feel like a stiff breeze might blow the building away like a feather in the wind. Or you might have the nagging feeling you’re somewhere in a San Jose suburb. Either way, it doesn’t take a genius to recognize quality. Tapping on bricks with your knuckles shouldn’t sound like you’re knocking on a hollow plastic bucket.
Real brick? Right...
San Francisco, and SoMa in particular, has a blend of both loft types. Overall, we wanted to see if they were growing or diminishing in popularity. We tallied up how many condo & loft sales have taken place through May 1 of each year. Then we calculated how many of the total were attributed to SoMa loft sales. Here is what we found: Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in Micro-Level Info, Neighborhood Info, Nerdy RE Analysis, SoMa, Tips | Tagged district 9f, loft market, loft tips, loft trends, san francisco, san francisco real estate, soma lofts, south of market | 3 Comments »
March 25, 2009
I guess I spelled ‘tush’ right. Who knows. In any case, an amazing loft hit the market in SOMA a few days ago and we’re here to push some real estate porn. Located at 1097 Howard (aka “HowWeird”), this 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath loft is the poster child for why San Franciscans prefer uniqueness in their homes as opposed to cookie-cutter, boring, Big-Mac-ified housing.
Asking $2.3 mil and sporting over 4,200 square feet of glass, concrete, and catwalks, this pricey pad is peerless (not to be confused with NFL player Peerless Price). Two car parking, 18 foot ceilings, motorized screens to section off rooms, and a roof deck compliment this corner-unit loft that is the artsy result of combining three units into one.
But hey, words can only do so much. Here are some pics for your enjoyment:
1097 Howard - The Historic Lighthouse Lofts
Do YOUR little dance on this catwalk
Noiyce...
For more pics of this pad, continue reading –>
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Posted in Neighborhood Info, Public Listings, SoMa | Tagged 1097 howard, amazing homes, artistic homes, catwalk, lighthouse lofts, loft, san francisco, san francisco real estate, soma, south of market | Leave a Comment »
February 20, 2009
This is a very important question, as many new developments have sprung up over the years, particularly in parts of the city south of Market Street. The answer is yes, it is okay to buy in a new development, but keep in mind the following tips:
The area south of the financial district has seen rapid condo inventory growth.
1) Always bring an agent. You have to have your agent with you during your first visit to any given sales center if you plan on using one. Very few developers will allow you to visit alone, and later come back with an agent to represent your best interests. This is a developer custom that has evolved over the years, because like all sellers, they pay your agent’s commission. Fortunately, having an agent represent your interests costs you nothing.
2) Why use an agent? There are countless reasons, but an important one with regard to new developments is that good agents know how soft prices are at each development. Some make concessions, some are taking low offers (in some cases VERY low offers) and some are throwing in goodies such as hardwoods and appliance packages. Conversely, some are not making any concessions. A good agent will know what’s going on at each development and how to get you more for your money.
3) Above and beyond negotiation, another thing a good agent will do for you is keep you away from developments that are fledgling or are headed for big trouble. There are developments (both new and existing) that I wouldn’t let my clients touch with a ten-foot pole. Mismanaged HOA’s, annual budget deficits, lots of REO’s, poor construction quality, and law suits are just the tip of the iceberg. Beware the agent that says all these developments are perfectly good investments. They’re not.
Four more great tips if you continue reading –> Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in Financial District, Home Buying, Home Selling, Neighborhood Info, SoMa, South Beach, Tips | Tagged condominium, condos, high rise, inventory, new developments, san francisco, san francisco real estate, soma, south beach, Tips, trends | 2 Comments »
February 17, 2009
Welcome back to our new series, Building Profiles. Last time we took a good look at one of San Francisco’s older condo buildings, The Bellaire Tower. This time, we’re taking things into the 21st Century. As a matter of fact, this building was the first skyscraper to be completed in the 21st Century in San Francisco.
Part 5-star hotel, part luxury residences, the Four Seasons of San Francisco is a magnificent complex located at 757 Market between 3rd and 4th Streets. You can access the hotel from Stevenson Street, a small alleyway off of 3rd.
The Four Seasons San Francisco (courtesy of company website)
Stats and Scoops:
- The luxury condominiums within the building have an address of 765 Market Street
- Neighborhood: South of Market (SoMa) or Financial District South
- Year Built: 2001
- Style: Modern
- Height: 398 feet, 121 meters
- Layout: 419 hotel and condo units on 40 floors. 277 units are hotel rooms, 142 are luxury condominiums.
- Property Type: Mixed Use – Hotel, retail, and residential condominium
- Architects: Del Campo & Maru Architects, Handel Architects
- Other Notable Projects: Handel designed the new condos on Folsom, BLU, the new massive condo tower Millennium, and the Hokua condo tower in Honolulu.
- Non-linear viscous dampers limit wind impact (Emporis.com)
- The Four Seasons is the 44th tallest building in San Francisco.
- The Four Seasons is 1 meter taller than the Westin St. Francis at Union Square (the highrise, not the historic building).
- It would take 2.14 Four Seasons buildings stacked on top of each other to equal the height of the Transamerica Pyramid.
- The Four Seasons (121 meters) is nearly twice as tall as Coit Tower (64 meters).
- 555 California Street (237 meters) is nearly twice as tall as the Four Seasons.
- If the Four Seasons were moved to Chicago, it would be the 178th tallest building. In New York, it would rank #372.
- The Woolworth Building in NYC is twice as tall as the Four Seasons.
For real estate stats and pics, continue reading –> Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in Building Profiles, Financial District, Neighborhood Info, SoMa | Tagged 5-star, 765 market, four seasons, hotel, luxury condominiums, penthouse, san francisco, san francisco real estate | Leave a Comment »
January 31, 2009
That’s just what the Doctor ordered for San Francisco’s newest (and tallest) luxury condo high rise, The Millennium. Sales haven’t exactly been soaring since the sales center opened in June 2008. The timing of the project is partially to blame, as the economy decidedly got worse as the building was being constructed. This was an unfortunate turn of events for the developer, but they persisted anyway. The other challenge is that the units in the building ain’t cheap. Think $1,000 to $2,500 per square foot, depending on what floor you’re on. The luxury market is a small one, and catering to this crowd is quite the challenge.
So how could the sales team spice things up a bit? Last week they slashed prices across the board, fifteen percent. Since the price cut, seven units have gone into contract including one of the two penthouses on the 59th floor. We’ve taken pictures of the views from up there, so if you’d like to check it out you can click HERE. The developer also honored the 15% discount to all those currently in contract. We think this is a classy move, considering deposits on the units are non-refundable.
To read the full article about the Millennium Tower’s recent success, click HERE. It was published in the San Francisco Business Times.
The Millennium Tower is San Francisco's tallest residential highrise and the 4th tallest building in the City at 645 feet.
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Posted in Financial District, Neighborhood Info, New Developments, News, SoMa, Tips | Tagged 2009, condos, discount, luxury condominiums, millennium tower, sales, san francisco, san francisco real estate | Leave a Comment »
January 8, 2009
Welcome to the Top 10 Condominium Countdown! We ranked condo sales from 2008 based upon dollar per square foot. The numbers are hefty hefty hefty, unless you’re from a city like Hong Kong, in which case they’re wimpy wimpy wimpy.
Imagine a stack of bills like this on EACH SQUARE FOOT of your home.
Here’s a look at the top 10: Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in Countdowns & Rankings, Financial District, Neighborhood Info, Nob Hill, Russian Hill, SoMa | Tagged condominiums, condos, cost, dollar per square foot, price, price per square foot, rankings, san francisco, san francisco real estate | 2 Comments »
December 8, 2008
It’s time to play Lo-Mid-Hi again! This time we’ll be showing you what your dollar buys in SoMa’s loft and condo market. There have been 157 condo and loft sales thus far (as of 12/8/08) and we’ll be taking you on a tour of the low, the mid, and the high sales. Here we go….
- Time to get in the mix with Lo-Mid-Hi
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Posted in Lo-Mid-Hi, Neighborhood Info, SoMa | Tagged 2008 trends, condominiums, condos, high sale, lofts, low sale, median sales price, prices, san francisco, san francisco real estate, soma, south of market, trends | Leave a Comment »
December 4, 2008
Here are some more shots of the Millennium Tower views. The Millennium Tower is San Francisco’s newest luxury high-rise… 60 stories of glass shooting high into the sky.
From a middle floor on the Southeast Corner (click to enlarge)
Looking down Fremont - Very NYC (click to enlarge)
To see the other 12 photos, continue reading –> Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in Financial District, Neighborhood Info, New Developments, SoMa, Taking You Inside, Tips | Tagged 301 mission, condominiums, condos, financial district, high rise, luxury, millennium tower, new development, san francisco, san francisco real estate, soma | Leave a Comment »
December 3, 2008
Today we toured the Millennium Tower, hard-hat on head and camera in hand, so we could bring you some shots of the views. Decent photography was a challenge– the windows have not been washed and I couldn’t avoid some of my own reflections. Nevertheless, we’re working with what we’ve got.
The sales center requested (and rightfully so) that we do not share pictures of the interiors as the building is still a construction site. However, the views are fair game and we can surely say they are breathtaking. We can’t wait to see the views at night, but for now, these will suffice. These shots are all from the penthouse level. Check ‘em out:
- Click to enlarge
- Click to enlarge
Keep reading for 4 more photos or to share this story –> Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in Financial District, Neighborhood Info, New Developments, SoMa, Tips | Tagged 301 mission, condominiums, condos, fidi, financial district, highrise, millennium tower, mission, new development, penthouse, san francisco, san francisco real estate, soma, south financial district, views | Leave a Comment »
November 22, 2008
We hope you’re enjoying our series, “Getting Granular.“ After all, real estate trends on the neighborhood level are what’s important to most homeowners and people considering buying. We’ve been surprised at some of the results in our analyses, and this installment is no exception.
Looking at median sales prices in SoMa (South of Market), we expected to see a decline. SoMa is a funny neighborhood. First off, it is pretty massive (by SF standards). Second, it is divided into East SoMa (which is a bit nicer), and West SoMa (which is a bit grittier). Third, it is a neighborhood in transition. There are many other reasons why SoMa is a unique neighborhood, but we’ll keep it to those three for now.
- Are prices in SoMa headed south?
Lofts and condos are king in SoMa. The neighborhood may not appear like much to outsiders who drive the streets, but if they only knew what was behind some of those façades, they’d see that the ‘hood has some truly spectacular properties.
Because SoMa is largely in transition, and we’re in a down economy, we expected to see a bit of stagnation and possibly a decline in median values. Improvement of transitional areas tends to ride the coat tails of a growing economy — and we all know that’s not going on right now. So what did we find? Read the rest of this entry ?
Posted in Getting Granular, Micro-Level Info, Neighborhood Info, Nerdy RE Analysis, SoMa | Tagged condos, lofts, median sales prices, mexico, san francisco, san francisco real estate, soma, south of market, Tips, trends | 2 Comments »
November 11, 2008
We stopped by One Ecker Place today on the Broker’s Tour and must say, were quite impressed with a few of the units there. Out of the 51 residences, 6 are now under contract. Our favorite unit is still available, unit 403. It’s a top floor, corner unit with views of surrounding skyscrapers. The city lights must be amazing at night. We’ve put together a little photo gallery so you can have a peek inside.
The quality of construction seemed good on our walk-through. The finishes are tasteful and neutral. The best parts about the property are the exposed brick and steel, the scalloped windows, the very high ceilings, the natural light (in the choice units), and the location (if living in the financial district is your thing). I personally dig the financial district. My wife, not so much. The downside? No parking and some of the units get little natural light. Also, if you’re a private person, you should know that some of the units will be high on the fish-bowl factor. All in all, we thought it was worth a visit and will keep tabs on how they’re selling.
Per the price sheet:
- Junior one bedrooms, 400-600 square feet, from the $400′s
- One bedroom homes, 670-981 square feet, from $579,000
- Two bedroom homes, 947-1247 square feet, from $829,880
- Tri-Level loft plans (on level 1 only), 670-1137 square feet, from $749,000
Unit 403 - Our fave in the building - Click to enlarge
Unit 403 - Our fave in the building - Click to enlarge
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Posted in Neighborhood Info, New Developments, Public Listings, SoMa, Taking You Inside, Tips | Tagged brick and timber, condos, financial district, lofts, new developments, one ecker place, san francisco, san francisco real estate, soma, south of market | Leave a Comment »
November 10, 2008
An email from the marketing team Polaris Group alerted us to the opening of One Ecker Place, an old brick icehouse building which has been converted into 51 residences near 1st and Market. We’re suckers for old meets new, and have been looking forward to seeing this project in person since we heard about it long ago. You can visit the website for general information by clicking HERE.
One Ecker Place - Interior - Click to Enlarge
One Ecker Place - Interior - Scalloped Windows and Exposed Brick
One Ecker Place - The spot
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Posted in Neighborhood Info, New Developments, News, Public Listings, SoMa, Tips | Tagged brick and timber, condos, flats, new developments, one ecker place, san francisco, san francisco lofts, san francisco real estate, soma, south of market | Leave a Comment »
