Hello My Favorite People!

Lofts are an overlooked stepchild in this market. With nervous first-time buyers dropping out, this is a great time to get a deal on one.

There’s an ethos about loft-living that draws a special buyer. Basically, you love ‘em or you hate ‘em. If you love them you’re inspired by the space and generally have a renegade attitude about urban living. You also like to use your living areas creatively. I’ve seen loft owners use their walls to vertically display (and hence, store) their bicycle collection or arrange the space as a gallery for everything from their snow globe collection to their Pee-Wee Herman memorabilia.

What follows is a representative sample of some currently available lofts that I think are exceptionally good buys. Each of these units has unusual features that you won’t find in ordinary vanilla lofts:

728 Alabama, units #102 and #205, and #303.

728 Alabama in the heart of the Mission’s “Media Gulch” district, a pocket neighborhood that has just the right cool combination of industrial mixed in with smaller loft developments. Unique eateries and hang-outs, like the Universal Café, Café Gratitude, and Circolo are all within a three-block radius. You also have excellent proximity to the 101/280 on-ramps for quick trips down the Peninsula and beyond.

728 Alabama was designed by Paul Chow. I’m a sucker for Chow’s buildings (there’s another one at 1st and Lansing). His designs incorporate exposed concrete walls and floors (which some owners have covered with hardwood), along with industrial finishings that have stood the test of time—the building was completed in the mid-90s. Generally the units have good light, private decks and recessed areas that can serve as dens or studies.

Just about everyone I’ve shown a Paul Chow unit to declares it to be exactly what they pictured when they thought about buying a loft. And three units competing against in each other within the same building means you can drive an even better price on the one you choose. Price ranges on these three run from $570,000 to $599,000. The most expensive (205) is the largest, with 1100+ square feet.

720 York Street, #207– $479,000. 720 York is right around the corner from 728 Alabama, and enjoys the same neighborhood goodies as its neighbor. Also known as The Mill Building, this is a brick and timber conversion property that was once a woolen mill. Today, it has 45 loft units—most of them under 650 square feet.

This is the perfect unit for you if you’re on a tight budget but dreaming of a loft with exposed brick and timber. This is the lowest priced loft in San Francisco right now. The only catch is the size, which tax records list as 552 square feet. The unit feels much bigger, however, with unusual vaulted ceilings and thick cross-beam trusses. The block is also lovely with more brick facades down the street.

Because brick and timber units are rare, a unit at 720 York is a better than average bet for appreciation. When this project was completed in 2000 the smaller units were selling in the $225,000-235,000 range. Now their values hover on the high side of $450,000+. The unit is listed with one of my associates and is very easy to show. Just call me and I’ll get you in.

1099 23rd Street, #8– $629,000. The best thing about this place is the price. In the low-600s you’re more likely to find lofts in the 800-900 square-foot range: this one is 1100+. But here are five other reasons to like it (I held this open last Sunday and gave more thought to the benefits of owning this one):

1. Dogpatch is hot— 1099 23rd is a cool spot within striking distance of trendy night spots and eateries like The Hard Knox Cafe , and the Yield Wine Bar, along with the refreshed Mission Rock Cafe (now run by a Gary Danko protégé) and the still funky and fun Ramp Restaurant and Bar.
2. The patio. Set up as a charming rock garden, it’s private and ideal for entertaining when you want to extend your party space into a barbecue area.
3. Easy 5-year hold. My recommendation these days is to hedge your bets and plan to stick around for awhile in whatever you buy. With this much room, you can easily stretch out and relax for a number of years.
4. New neighborhood development promises more infrastructure and higher demand for housing. The Mission Bay development directly adjacent to Dog Patch is expected to bring 31,000 jobs into the area. Current plans don’t offer nearly enough housing for all these new workers.
5. You can “Go Green” with public transit. The new 3rd Street light rail and CalTrain to the Peninsula are both within walking distance.

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My take on the market in the midst of the mortgage madness? Right now there seems to be a disparity between activity in the entry level market (under $1M) and the the more expensive properties. I don’t have statistics at hand, but we’re all seeing the higher priced stuff selling more steadily while the lower priced stuff sits longer on the market. This skews the average selling prices for San Francisco homes upward—so when you look at stats for home sales in San Francisco, you should pay more attention to the median prices in San Francisco than average ones. .

Please also take any article you see in the local paper about the lousy real estate market in the Bay Area with a grain of salt. They love to deliver the bad news in the headline and lead, and place the bright spots in the market down around the fourth or fifth paragraph. Usually that fourth or fifth paragraph talks about how the San Francisco market is relatively unaffected. Please also keep in mind that the term “falling sales” in a headline is referring to the number of homes sold—not their selling prices.

That doesn’t mean the San Francisco market is rosy all around. In terms of what’s selling, I see on a case-by-case basis, sellers of condos (in larger buildings), lofts or modest houses not getting the same price the guy next door got just a year ago. Some new home projects are also offering nice concessions on pricing, financing and upgrades in certain developments. The bottom line is that the property you own could be worth significantly more than what the media would indicate—or it could be worth a little less than what it would have sold for this summer.

If you would like an honest assessment and ‘market update’ on the value of your property, please call or email and I’ll send the best comparables available on what you own. I actually think these kind of ‘financial check ups’ should be done annually. So don’t hesitate to call. Our expertise is always available to you.

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