| If These Walls Could Talk and More Good Buys | February 23rd, 2006 |
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SF History is one of my favorite subjects so I may run on here. If you’re not into lots of reading, just scan this stuff and you’ll get the gist of it. If you’re wondering who slept in your home and how they spent their waking hours, there’s a plethora of resources available to you. Here are a handful of fun ones: The San Francisco History Center has a handout on how to research your home. Most of the resources they recommend are at the San Francisco History Room, located on the top floor of the Main Library. I love the History Room—a quiet elegant place lined with wood paneling where people speak in hushed towns and wear cotton gloves to handle old books and records. The staff there is inordinately helpful and will help you find anything you need. They also have a —rich photo collection that you can survey online. Click on this link and you can search their database of images. I love looking up old street corners and doing a “then and now” comparison. You can also order copies of just about any photo (cost is $15-20) – an ideal Christmas or birthday gift! Along the lines of “San Francisco Then and Now” a great book by that title– with a series of color photographs of San Francisco compared side-by-side with seventy archival photographs from the 1850s to the 1950s. There’s a copy of this at the History Room and each time I’m there I get lost in it. More cool links for San Francisco History are on the SF City Guides site. The City Guides are a group of dedicated volunteers who offer historic walking tours all over the City. Even if you’re a native San Franciscan who thinks they know it all, you’ll love taking one of these walks. I did one of Pacific Heights years ago and quickly learned how to date a Victorian home within 10 years just by studying the windows and trim. Finally for those in District 4 (Realtor’s nomenclature for West of Twin Peaks neighborhoods) OutsideLands.org has lots of quirky historical information about the Parkside, West Portal and OMI (along with other outlying neighborhoods.) My favorite section here is a message board called the “Your Stories.” Last time I checked, there were threads dedicated to 1950s gas stations and the Magnolia Pub back in the day when they served anatomically correct desserts. OK, enough about history – now onto the hot buys of the week: 543-545 23rd Avenue - Two big houses on one lot. $1,799,000. So maybe the rear house isn’t huge (like the 4-bedroom/4-bath front one with its two master suites) but it’s still good-sized with 3-bedrooms/3-baths and family room down. Everything in both homes is brand-spanking new from the hardwood floors and French doors to the cherry cabinetry and marble front stairs. The listing agent is promoting this as ‘two units’ without specifying it as two separate houses, so it’s flying under the radar as a great value. Good block with nice architectural unity. 1307 Bay Street, #2 – Half floor 3-bedroom condo. $999,000. 1920’s corner building with mullioned windows and a gracious front stairway. Formal dining room, fireplace, big foyer. Windows are double-paned: close your eyes and I swear you would never know you were right on busy Bay Street. One parking, deeded storage common garden. There were lots of Realtors buzzing around this one on Tuesday Tour. My guess is that it will go with multiple offers. 1097 Howard, #304. Warehouse loft condominium. $649,000. A decent-size loft (+/- 950 sf) that’s in a warehouse conversion rarely comes up in this price range. It’s a concrete building, so you don’t get the brick and timber finishings, but the ceilings are nice and high, and the arched window overlooking the street is huge. Has parking. Has storage. Plus a cool common roof deck with barbecue and City views. The Lighthouse Lofts at 1097 Howard have an interesting history – originally they were sold as shells with the plumbing stubbed in. Consequently no two lofts are alike as each buyer owner finished off their own unit 219 Brannan, #10B. 1-BR/1Ba luxury view condo. $739,000. The Brannan is considered one of the premiere developments in South Beach. Everything about it feels right, from the courtyard entrance to the nicest front desk staff in town. The unit has sparkling skyline views from every room (at night it’s like being inside a Christmas tree) and a deck with a sweeping view of the Bay Bridge. We’ve got parking. We’ve got storage. We’ve got a pool. We’ve got a private health club. And we’ve got a price that’s a notch below what the unit one floor above sold for last summer. This is my listing. Call me if you want to see it (738-7040) and I’ll let you know the showing schedule. I also have a line on a 2 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath home with rooms down on a great block in the Haight Ashbury. There are some Western views and two-car parking. Price will be in the $1.3-$1.5 range. This is not yet on the market. Email or call if you want more information. And remember, if there’s anything I can do to assist you or your friends real estate-wise, please give me a call. I’d be more than happy to help. See you next week! |
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Greetings my Favorite PeopleToday we’re dipping into San Francisco history and delivering tips on some good buys. For the good buys, you can head straight to the bottom of this email. If you want to get your feet wet with some local lore, stay with me up here–| Why Zillow.com is Kinda Cool and More Good Buys | February 17th, 2006 |
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First off, here’s my potpourri of good deals this week. These are only a few of the best values available—space doesn’t allow for them all in this email. But call me (415-738-7040) if you want where the best buys are this week. 39 Carmel—a single family ‘urban retreat’ listed for $999,000. 2br/2ba (1189 square feet) with lovely Victorian trim, hardwood floors, a fireplace and a small office cottage (unwarranted). Carmel is one of my favorite streets. It sits above Cole Valley so you can get some nice views, but you’re still close enough to walk down to the shops and restaurants. 317 29th Street, #310—2br condo listed for $795,000. If you’ve never visited this building you’re in for a treat—it’s a converted Catholic school with thick plaster walls and extra high ceilings. Unit #310 is one of the development’s larger floor plans that rarely come available. Huge windows, big views, incredible light. Dynamite Outer Noe location near shops and restaurants. 969-971 Hampshire – 2 flats listed for $989,000. This little corner of the Mission is looking better and better as owners are sprucing up their facades. 5 and 6 room flats with newer kitchens and baths and neat period Arts and Crafts detail. Yes, there is parking. Yes, there is a yard. Perfect for partners. I’d scramble on this one. It will go quick, quick quick! 88 Hoff, #208. Mission District loft condominium listed for $619,000. I have a love/hate relationship with Hoff, a narrow alley dominated by a big parking garage. But it’s right off of 16th Street and a half block away from the best parts of the Valencia Corridor. I also really like this loft building, which has dramatically increased the overall quality of the block. #208 is a little different from your average loft with nice city views and an upper level that offers better than average light. Square footage is 954. Has an extra half bath. If you like Mission District lofts, then you should definitely come visit me at my open house at 728 Alabama, #205 open from 1-4 on Sunday. This building has angled designs and an industrial styling that has stood the test of time. Price is $629,000 for 969 square feet. ************************************* There’s a lot of buzz these days about zillow.com, a new website that offers free, instant home valuations—and you don’t have to enter your personal info and no one will contact you. It’s very easy to use. All you do is go to the home page, enter an address and bam!—it delivers ‘zestimate’ of value along with an anticipated sales price range. I tested the service and found Zillow surprisingly on the mark, especially with their ‘value range estimates.’ For instance, a single family in Noe Value that just went into escrow for around $1.3M had a value range estimate that topped out at $1,377,000. I was equally impressed when I requested a ‘zestimate’ on a small Marina condo at 400 Avila. Zillow checked in with $629,000—right about where (I think) the unit just went into escrow. The site isn’t perfect. It was wildly off the mark for a South Beach condo (too low) and dead wrong on a condominium flat in Cole Valley (again, too low by over $100K). Even so it’s a fun site to play with. Just take any info you get with a grain of salt and remember that the best way to get an accurate assessment of your property’s worth is to call a full time Realtor (like me) who can analyze the comps and relate them to current market conditions. Another great new site is mine—SFRealEstateBuzz.com Logon there and you can see all my old newsletters back to late summer, when I first started. My aim with my website and emails is to inform and entertain. If you know of anyone else who would enjoy receiving “The Buzz,” please send me their name and I will add them to my list of “Favorite People.” My interest in helping you and others continues. If you know someone who could benefit from my expertise, I’d love to hear from them. And remember—there’s no such thing as a ‘stupid real estate question!’ See you next week! |
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This email talks about some good real estate buys in San Francisco and a new real estate website that I think is pretty cool.| Across the Bay and Down the Way and More Great Deals | February 10th, 2006 |
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Today, I’ve got my ‘best deals’ in San Francisco section again at the bottom of this email. But I also want to tell you about market conditions in communities immediately outside of San Francisco– Take heed those of you thinking of selling and moving out of the City—now is a great time to ‘sell high’ here and then go shop in a market that’s not nearly as heated: Here is a quick overview of market conditions in Berkeley, Oakland, Marin and the Mid-Peninsula. It comes from my cadre of Realtor contacts in other areas. If you need a good agent for someplace other than SF, just call me. I’ll make sure to refer you to only the best of the best. For Berkeley, Oakland and points just north (Albany and El Cerrito) the market seems to making a comeback. As always, the listings in desirable neighborhoods are the ones getting multiple offers, but it also helps if the property is in move-in condition and well-staged. The fixer market is also very competitive as first-time buyers try to get a toe-hold on the market with some ‘sweat equity.’ Recently a single family on Albany hill with a double lot was listed for $525,500—it received 24 offers and may have gone as much as $200K above asking. When it comes to annual appreciation, West Berkeley is one of the neighborhoods that has seen the most dramatic increases, where homes that used to sell in the $350,000 range are now pushing upwards of $500,000. On the Mid-Peninsula (Foster City to San Mateo), there’s been an increase in inventory but the market remains strong in the $700,000-1,200,000 price bracket. Above that price point, it’s not as busy as last year, except in Hillsborough and the premium neighborhoods of Burlingame, where the good stuff moves quickly in the $1.2M to $2.5M range. Some sellers remain in the clouds about where the market is and insist on overpricing their properties. These homes sit for quite awhile before either being pulled off the market or selling for far below the original offering price. Mid-Peninsula buyers also seem more cautious than last year. A well-priced new listing might generate a lot of buzz, but when the offer date comes, far fewer buyers are stepping forward with offers. In Marin markets (roughly Sausalito up to San Rafael)—inventory is a little thin, although sales are starting to pick up. The lower end properties under $1M are moving fairly well, but market activity is not as hot as it was last year. Many properties that have been sitting since last year have been reduced. There are some multiple offers, but for many properties there’s more negotiation going on than last year. In price ranges above $1,500,000, inventory is hardly moving. However, things typically pick up after the Superbowl, so agents are optimistic about the market improving still more in the coming months. Here are some of the best deals I saw this week on Tuesday Tour. All should be open this Sunday. Call if you want more information: 239 Broderick (at Page) is a classic, two-story Victorian listed for $1,495,000. It’s approx 3100 square feet total, and can legally be used as a two-flat building or a single family home. If you were to use it as two units, you’d get a two-br flat up and a giant 1-br down with formal dining room, big kitchen and solarium. Great detail and some city views from front upstairs windows. 959 Dolores, #1 (at 21st) is a big 1-br condo in a classic marina style building listed for $498,000. No parking but street parking is pretty easy (at least it was when I was there–). This is a small building—just four units and has the classic 20’s styling with hardwood floors, coved ceilings and French doors. Shows great. The building also has a common roof deck. 68 Harriet is a bright two level SOMA loft with nice treesy outlooks onto a playground across the street. The layout is a fairly typical of a SOMA loft, but it felt really pretty and crisp, with nice window treatments and lovely light. List price is $555,000. 992-998 Florida is a clean 6-U building at the corner of 23rd, listed for $1,195,000. Built around 1900, it’s a Romeo style, but because it’s on the corner, half the units get great light from the street. Good tenants, fair rents with upside. Annual gross rent is $78,120 and square footage is approximately 5,106. 301 Langton, another SOMA loft listed for $569,000 is a tri-level with great light. I mentioned this one last week— it’s a townhouse unit with it’s own garage and separate entrance. I’ll be holding this unit open from 2-4 this Sunday. Please stop by. Finally, I saw a smashing mixed use building in the heart of the Mission district– with a huge Victorian flat up, a giant commercial space down, a killer loft space and a garage (this is a through lot from Mission to the alley in back) for $1,200,000. Total square footage is 4,110. Call me if you want to see it. As always, the best properties go fast. If you see something new on the market and want to get inside, just call and ask me about the showing schedule. I’ll make sure to get you in right away. See you next week! |
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Hello My Favorite People:| Best Deals I Saw This Week and Market Conditions | February 3rd, 2006 |
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The market continues hot and heavy for all types of properties. Still more listings that have sat on the market for awhile have finally gone into escrow— like a stunning townhouse at 1070 Capp, listed for $969,000 (on market since mid-December); a great set of partner-perfect flats at Octavia and Green (originally listed for $2,250,000 at the end of October—sold aquickly after it was reduced to $2,000,000), and 780 Andover, a 2br/1ba Bernal Heights contemporary home, which came on the market at the end of September for $685,000. Even South Beach where the inventory is a little deeper is moving—yesterday a Paragon agent ratified an offer on a view unit at 400 Beale that’s been listed for $1,150,000 since mid-November. BThe strong demand for investment property also paid off for the owners of the 8-unit building near Duboce Park I mentioned a couple of weeks ago —380 Noe, listed for $995,000 received 14 offers. I heard that the accepted bid may be upwards of $1.4M—a spectacular price for a heavy fixer with a brick foundation and long-term tenants. Email or call if you want the precise sales price—I can let you know after it closes escrow. Some good deals coming up at Paragon— a 2br/2ba North Slope Bernal home listed for $589,000 and a teacup-sized studio condo on one of Russian Hill’s best blocks for $329,000— an ideal pied-a-terre for someone who needs to go in and out of the City on business. It’s almost cheaper for you or your company to own this place than pay for a hotel room if you use it more than 5X a month. And it looks like something out of Architectural Digest—I think it was even featured in one of their spreads on how to make the most of small spaces. Other great deals I saw this week are: a four-room condominium flat with parking in a great Cow Hollow location listed for $675,000, and a 2br/1ba condo on Arguello listed for $699,000. I also like our Paragon listing just off Folsom Street—a loft unit with full bedroom down (with a door, a closet and everything) listed for $569,000. I will be holding another fine value open this Sunday—140 South Van Ness, #1143, a big, big (883 sf) 1-br condo recently reduced to $619,000. Come by and visit! See you next week with further updates on hot buys and other items of interest! |
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Hello My Favorite People!
