Home of the Week

For those of you who haven’t heard my husband Stefan or me go on and on about how much we love our fractional ownership 2nd home at the Carneros Inn, I want to officially announce that WE LOVE IT!

We have been up here all week enjoying the sun a mere 50 minute drive from San Francisco.  Swimming, drinking wine and enjoying our friends while all the time being able to go to work during the day.

If you or a friend are looking for “just the right place,” to spend your spare time, and have always wanted a completely effortless 2nd home, please ask me about it!  And if you get so excited you decide to contact the sales office, please be sure to tell them where you heard about it.  

New Listing! Come by for Happy Hour!

Please join me at my fabulous new listing at 520 Chestnut #404 for a Coit Tower view happy hour! Tomorrow, Thursday, June 19 from 5:30 to 7:30.

 

The home is a 2 bedroom/2 bath high-style condo built in 2008.  For more information, visit the property’s Web site.

 

Market Update Part II

Last 2-weeks sales: many more sales under than over…

Type             Over       Under         At
SFD                 24           38               9
Condo/TIC     17            32             22
2-4                   1              5              2

 

Total               42            75            33

So negotiation seems to be the name of the game right now. Among these sales there were some very big sales closed in the last couple weeks: District 7 saw 5 SFD sales between $5.5m and $18m.

 

Home Sales/Prices Decline

I was reading the Chronicle today and there is an article that says home sales are down this May over 23% and prices are down 21% from May 2007. Even knowing what I know about the San Francicso market, I was alarmed! I read further and found that Marin (which is a more similar market to the northern 1/2 of San Francisco) actually increased in median sale price 5.8%. San Francisco as a whole is reported to be down about 3.7% in volume and 5.4% in price.

Those of you who are currently searching for a home may say, “Hey, it sure seems like I’m getting less and less for my money as the months go by. How can these statistics be right?” The answer is that these statistics are too broad to tell the real story. San Francisco is a very large, desnse market with disparate home types. Unlike most of the Bay Area, we have lots and lots of condos in addition to TICs. We also have neighborhoods that are really really wealthy as well as some that are more moderate. Compared with Marin, which is full of middle to upper middle single family homes, we really run the gamut. Chances are that if you live North of the 280 and don’t own a loft in SoMa, your home’s value has even gone up in the last 12 months. If you are concerned or just interested in checking in on your home’s value, please send me an email or give me a call and I will do a quick market analysis for you.

Upcoming Listings

Here’s the inside scoop on Paragon’s upcoming listings. Get the jump on the market and ask for a sneak peak if you see something intriguing!

$2,395,000/Russian Hill:  2 Bed/2.5 Baths/1 parking.  Description: Cooperative on Russian Hill. Glamorous living with dynamic views to everything, Alcatraz, Treasure Island, Bay Bridge, Downtown, North Beach, Telegraph Hill, Angel Island. Wonderful renovations with classic touches and contemporary elegance throughout.

$2,295,000/Eureka Valley / BR/BA: 3/2 PKG: 2+car Brief Description: The top of Eureka Valley, renovated single family home captures downtown and valley views whenever possible. Large master suite with 2 person walk-in shower and fireplace. Level yard with mature trees. Enormous garage with 2 bonus rooms (staged as a home gym and office) also has further expansion potential (approved drawings will be available this week).

$2,095,000 /LOWER PACIFIC HEIGHTS/ BR/BA: 3/3 PKG: 2 independent garages+ room for 3 cars in parking pads. Brief Description: SFH with separate apartment. 2 Large decks, family room, garden, washer dryer, hardwood floors with new carpet on upper bedroom level, High ceilings with 9 chandeliers. Great location near Fillmore St. and Japan Town.

$1,349,000 /Marina / BR/BA: 2/2 PKG: 2-car Brief Description: Fabulous full-floor condo in a 2-unit building in a prime Marina location. Beautifully remodeled kitchen and bathrooms. LR w/ wood-burning fireplace, formal dining room, great floor plan for entertaining. Over 1500SF per appraisal. First open Sunday June 15.

$949,000/Haight Ashbury/ BR/BA: 2/2.5 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Beautiful 2 level townhome with private deeded garden.

$888,000/Eureka Valley/ BR/BA: 2/2 PKG: 1+ Brief Description: Lovely, full floor Edwardian condo in charming 2-unit building. With hardwood floors throughout and renovated kitchen and baths, this lovely condo has a flexible floor plan with dining area that opens to the private deck and nicely landscaped common yard. Other amenities include large parking space that could accommodate two small cars, extra storage and washer/dryer in garage.

$879,000/ Cole Valley / BR/BA: 2/1.5 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Gorgeous “Green” Remodel Edwardian condo.

$849,000/ Ashbury Heights/Cole Valley/ BR/BA: 2/1 PKG: 0 Brief Description: Charming Ashbury Heights Condo. Open Floor Plan. Remodeled Bathroom, High Ceilings. Walk to Cole Valley and BV Park. Views of GG Bridge from 2^nd Bedroom.

$850,000/ Civic Center/ BR/BA: 2/2 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Beautifully remodeled Southeast facing view unit at THE SUTTERFIELD/

$759,000/ Haight/Cole Valley BR/BA: 2/1 PKG: 1 Brief Description: 1400+ sq ft 2/1 Edwardian condo at Cole and Waller with leased parking at Kezar lot.

$759,000/ Haight/ColeValley /BR/BA:3/1 PKG: 0 Brief Description: Charming top floor Edwardian TIC flat.

$695,000/Glen Park/ BR/BA: 2/1 PKG: 1 Brief Description: SFH NOT staged-very grandmotherly- but cute, built in the 20’s. Nice details but need updating. 2 blocks to BART.

$685,000/ NOPA/216 Cole Street/ BR/BA: 3/1 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Top floor Edwardian TIC. In lottery 3 times

 $649,000/ Excelsior/ 419 Peru BR/BA: 2/1 PKG: 0 Brief Description: Saltbox cottage with panoramic downtown views, corner fireplace and walkout landscaped garden.

$549,000 /Daly City / 523 Green Ridge #3 BR/BA: 3/2.5 PKG: 1-car Brief Description: In Gated Community. 2 level condo/spacious layout with Panoramic View. Beautifully remodeled kitchen and bathrooms and new windows and roof. Living room w/a fireplace and a wet bar. HOA dues $425 1650 sq ft per tax record. Coming up at the end of June.

$429,000/Civic Center/ 83 McAllister #113 BR/BA: 2/1 PKG: 0. Brief Description: Great 2BR loft style condo in Book Concern building. Great location, 1 block to Civic Center. Vacant and very easy to show

Pocket Listing:
$1,185,000/ Hayes Valley/BR/BA: 2/ 2 PKG: 2 Deeded + 1 leased in building (3) Brief Description: One of a kind artistically significant penthouse renovation loft with 2 decks,(including roof) completely remodeled. For the discriminating buyer.

 

 

Home of the Week – Grand Units With Secret Nightclub

Sometimes I think it’s the secrets that houses are hiding that keeps me excited about this business. I saw this building on Tuesday Tour when it first came on the market and as I climbed staircase after staircase, what I couldn’t believe was just how HUGE and grand and elegant it must have been before it fell into neglect. But when I got to the top floor, I found the real prize – an “underground” nightclub with a top of the world view!! I had a good time imagining the late night jazz parties had taken place here back in what looked like the 1940s. If you want to relive the past yourself,  it will be open this Sunday 12 to 12:45 or by appointment. The address is 821-823 Fillmore. The price has been reduced to $1,499,000 and it tops 6000 square feet. It is listed by Jennifer Kauffman of Zephyr and Kyle Kirk of Vanguard. More info is available here.

A Birthday to Remember – Prop 13 turns 30

When I was in college and struggling with tuition hikes because the California budget was in turmoil (sound familiar), I challenged the wisdom of Proposition 13* to my grandfather, Elvis Horn. He said, “Well, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. But lookit, if a fella came to you and said he was gonna cut your taxes by 90%, wouldn’t you vote for ‘im?” Well, 30 years ago, a lot of people felt the same way as my grandfather, and we have been living with the legacy of the Jarvis-Gann revolution for good and bad since then. I thought, for those of us who could use a refresher on how we got where we are today, that this article on the history and effects of Proposition 13 was a good review. 

*Proposition 13 is the law that requires a 2/3 vote to increase taxes as well as the law that fixes property tax assessed values at purchase price plus 2% per year of ownership.  It has been called “rent control for owners.”

Is San Francisco Still a Bargain?

Now, I know I’d rather be here than anywhere, so the high cost of living isn’t really the point. But I do think, “Gosh it costs a lot here,” from time to time and I know I hear it from clients, particuarly those who have friend and family in less expensive markets. A recent Business Week article, though, makes San Francisco sound positively bargain basement, with our highest prices around $1,100 a square foot and most between $600 and $800. London is a whopping $6,191/square foot.  Read the article to see what $1.5 Million gets you in the world’s most expensive cities.  (Please note before you panic that some of the annual percentage changes are increased up by the weakness of the dollar.)

Market Update/Upcoming Listings

My experience this week was that the market was pretty hot.  My listing at 2178 15th Street went into contract; a 4 unit property my clients offered on went for 200k over ask with six offers; and another buyer narrowly missed a condo that had been on the market forever – after an agressive price reduction it sold with 3 offers on the table! My analysis is that the market is moving along and existing inventory has been getting snapped up this week, but I think the fact that there are only 2 this week is indicative that summer is about to arrive!  Oh the fog 🙂   

The last two weeks: Single Family sales remain very strong with more than 50% selling over asking price, but there seems to be an increasing amount of negotiation in the condo/TIC market. This is normal for the end of a selling season, because things that have been on the market a while tend to sell for softer prices. See below.

Single Family Homes: 45 closed over asking, 34 closed under asking and 10 closed at asking price.
Condos/TICs: 29 closed over asking, 52 closed under asking and 30 closed at asking price.
2-4 Unit Buildings: 6 closed over asking, 9 closed under asking and 5 closed at asking price.

Upcoming Listings:

$1,349,000 /Marina /BR/BA: 2/2 PKG: 2-car Brief Description: Fabulous full-floor condo in a 2-unit building in a prime Marina location. Beautifully remodeled kitchen and bathrooms. LR w/ wood-burning fireplace, formal dining room, great floor plan for entertaining. Over 1500SF per the condo map. First open Sunday June 15.Pocket Listing:

$1,795,000 / Inner Richmond / Brief Description: 4-unit Edwardian/no parking. Top unit will be vacant as of July 1. Good tenants (m/m) @ market rents. 2X BR/BA: 2/1 Studio: 1/1 legal rear cottage/