It’s been a crazy few weeks. There’s a lot of buyers that are out there and starting to get into the market, and there’s a lot of sellers out there trying to prepare for the busy selling season. Meetings with new buyers and sellers and doing my “regular” work has kept me away from this little San Francisco real estate blog the last week and a half – and in order to keep putting my clients first, I’ll have to put the blog to the side for just a few more days…
But please check back early next week when I’ll try to be back in full swing again with regular daily postings full of statistics and buyer and seller tips and market updates and historical photos… and… well, you get the picture.
In the meantime – stop by my crappy mobile photo blog (crappy because my phone takes really crappy photos) if you find that you REALLY miss me. 🙂
See you soon!
Archives for March 2008
Recycle Your Electronic Equipment in San Francisco this April
Clean City is pleased host two more free monthly electronic collection and recycling events.
The next two events will be held at Ocean Beach Parking Lot – Great Highway at Fulton – Beachside (directly across from the Beach Chalet) on:
· Saturday, April 5, 2008 from 9:00am to 2:00pm
· Saturday, April 19, 2008 from 9:00am to 2:00pm
San Francisco residents, businesses, schools and other organizations can drop off TV’s and monitors, computers, laptops, scanners, printers, cell phones, fax machines, Ethernet cables, telephone systems VCRs, DVDs and all networking equipment. We are unable to accept appliances of any kind or microwaves. You must bring your California Driver’s License or Identification Card to the event. For further information and more event dates and locations please visit our website at www.sfcleancity.com or call 415.552.9201 x15.
Open Shutter to the Past: San Francisco in Pictures – Woman with Dog at SF Refugee Camp (1906)
Welcome back to Photo Friday – my little way of taking a break from San Francisco Real Estate and instead blogging about our great City’s past instead. All photos are published with permission from the San Francisco History Center and San Francisco Public Library.
It’s been a light week for me this week in terms of posting – and I hope my lack of blogging hasn’t disappointed the few loyal readers I have out there. It’s been a busy week for me, both personally and professionally, and since I do all of the blogging myself here (except for the occasional guest blogger), I have had to put the blog to the side a bit. But I promise I’ll be back next week with the usual “Over, Under, At” feature as well as my random thoughts on San Francisco Real Estate and San Francisco Living.
For now though, here’s this week’s Photo Friday – it’s a woman at a refugee camp after the earthquake in 1906 with a pet dog and several caged birds.
On the back of the photo the caption: “She saved her birds and dog – nothing else.”
Which brings me to a very important topic – being prepared for an emergency, and that includes having a pet emergency plan.
From the American Red Cross website:
The best way to protect your family from the effects of a disaster is to have a disaster plan. If you are a pet owner, that plan must include your pets. Being prepared can save their lives.
Different disasters require different responses. But whether the disaster is a hurricane or a hazardous spill, you may have to evacuate your home.
In the event of a disaster, if you must evacuate, the most important thing you can do to protect your pets is to evacuate them, too. Leaving pets behind, even if you try to create a safe place for them, is likely to result in their being injured, lost, or worse. So prepare now for the day when you and your pets may have to leave your home.
The thing to keep in mind is that Red Cross disaster shelters cannot accept pets because of states’ health and safety regulations and other considerations. That means if you are someone that, like me, will NOT let go of your pets under any circumstances and would rather find a way to ride out a disaster on your own, your plan better be THAT much more thorough.
And while California Law does require the state to have a Pet Disaster Plan in place, your best course of action is to be prepared to take care of yourself and your family, and of course, your pets (in my family, my pets ARE the family!)
Here is a list of resources, that in addition to the American Red Cross website, can help you put together a comprehensive emergency plan that includes all of those that are near and near to your heart.
And you better believe that if I only had time to save that which is most important to me, it would be my pets – and fast forward 100+ years – it’d be me in that photo with just my dogs, and my fish.
I hope you have a safe and fun weekend – and I promise to catch up with the blog postings in the following week.
San Francisco Real Estate Fast Facts: Condominium Sales February 2007 vs. February 2008
Here’s the latest Fast Facts update from the SFAR. Updates are provided almost weekly and each week is a different sector of the market (ie. Condos, Single Family Homes, 2-4 unit dwellings, etc.).
Check back next week for more statistics.
Fast Facts
| Condominiums | ||
|
District 1 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
7 |
5 |
|
Median Selling Price |
809,000 |
990,000 |
|
Average DOM |
61 |
50 |
|
|
||
|
District 2 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
7 |
0 |
|
Median Selling Price |
675,000 |
|
|
Average DOM |
22 |
|
|
|
||
|
District 3 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
2 |
1 |
|
Median Selling Price |
417,500 |
649,000 |
|
Average DOM |
31 |
90 |
|
|
||
|
District 4 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
3 |
6 |
|
Median Selling Price |
418,000 |
618,000 |
|
Average DOM |
55 |
91 |
|
|
||
|
District 5 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
29 |
23 |
|
Median Selling Price |
858,000 |
789,000 |
|
Average DOM |
46 |
39 |
|
|
||
|
District 6 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
14 |
14 |
|
Median Selling Price |
752,000 |
830,500 |
|
Average DOM |
44 |
68 |
|
|
||
|
District 7 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
14 |
17 |
|
Median Selling Price |
907,000 |
1,250,000 |
|
Average DOM |
52 |
18 |
|
|
||
|
District 8 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
22 |
24 |
|
Median Selling Price |
797,500 |
577,000 |
|
Average DOM |
53 |
60 |
|
|
||
|
District 9 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
44 |
18 |
|
Median Selling Price |
724,500 |
682,000 |
|
Average DOM |
60 |
73 |
|
|
||
|
District 10 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
5 |
0 |
|
Median Selling Price |
565,000 |
|
|
Average DOM |
28 |
|
|
|
||
|
District 11 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
6 |
7 |
|
Median Selling Price |
528,500 |
340,000 |
|
Average DOM |
77 |
103 |
Weekend SF Real Estate Blog Linkage
Here’s the weekly collection of the internet’s greatest hits (so to speak) from the past week. Some have something to do with San Francisco Real Estate, and some don’t even come close to being SF Real Estate related. Expect these to pop up sometime during the weekend – as my time permits. Enjoy!
I Always Said I Liked it Straight From the Tap (Water, That Is)[SF Weekly
The City Won’t Tolerate Graffitti – But They Can’t Afford to Make You Clean it Up[SF Gate]
San Francisco Signage Discovered Under Ruins – The Lard Was A Perfect Product! [SF Curbed]
Human Nature at it’s Best and Worst – and Dog Nature, Always at its Best [women want me, fish fear me]
New Conforming Loans are Here – Sort Of? [SocketSite]
Better Than a Makeover – 3 SF Housing Projects Set to Get An Upgrade [SF Gate]
Don't Be Afraid to Say "Hi"!
So today I was checking out my site statistics and did a double take!
When I started my blog, I had a few readers. maybe 10 or so – mostly friends that were forced to read this little San Francisco real estate blog (or bribed into it with the promise of “c’mon! I’ll buy you a drink for your opinion!”)
As time went on, this SF real estate blog was down to about 5 readers. I was out of friends to bribe, and believe it or not – not everyone cares about SF real estate.
But the last few months, I notice readership rising. And what’s even more amazing, many of you are coming back to see what else I’ve written recently. In fact, I had 1,500 visitors last month – and many of them returned time and again.
But sometimes when I’m out here writing, I feel like I’m writing about the SF market for an audience of one (that’d be me) – and it’s surprisingly nice to know that somewhere out there – there are actual human beings reading this little blog written by a little ole’ SF Realtor.
So, if you happen to be reading this – feel free to say “hi”.
You can email me through the contact me page – or if you’re afraid that I’ll be a stalker (a lot of agents get this reputation that we stalk people – it’s only true for some of us, and I hate stalking because fighting those restraining orders gets expensive! :-)), then just say “hi” through the chat icon. It’s totally anonymous and I won’t know who you are or how to get back to you unless you leave me your name, number, email address or something.
I’d love to hear from some of you out there. I don’t bite, and if you contact me through the chat window – I can’t bite! (Oh, and if I’m not online, then it’ll send me a message that I will open later.)
Oh, and of course, if you WANT me to get back to you – please leave me a way to get in touch with you. Otherwise, an anonymous “hello” will do. 🙂
Have a great weekend, and don’t be a stranger! (Well – you know what I mean!)
Open Shutter to the Past: San Francisco in Pictures – St. Patrick's Day Parade (1951)
Welcome back to Photo Friday – my little way of taking a break from San Francisco Real Estate and instead blogging about our great City’s past instead. All photos are published with permission from the San Francisco History Center and San Francisco Public Library.
May the Luck O’ The Irish be with ya this weekend!
I know St. Patty’s Day isn’t officially until Monday, but hell – can you go wrong getting started on your green beer a wee bit early?
In 1951 they got the party started early too!
The big St. Patrick’s Day parade gets under way from the Ferry Building – moving up Market-st to be cheered by an estimated 60,000 spectators.
Today is the day San Francisco turned a bright and friendly green. More than 60,000 people – 99 percent of them wearing a bit or more of green – stood elbow to elbow along Market-st to watch the bands and drill teams and Irishmen clomp up to the City Hall in the afternoon sun. From one end of the city to the other vivid splashes of green appeared, ranging from brillaint green neckties and dark green skirts to pale green hats and billious green shirts. (There was even a report of a colleen wearing green-tinted fingernails, but it was not substantiated.) And all this in honor of the great patron saint and apostle of the Irish, St. Patrick. The people of this city, whether their ancestors stemmed from Ireland or not, entered wholeheartedly into this traditional celebration honoring the man whose legendary feats included banishing the snakes and toads from Ireland. The celebration of 1951’s St. Patrick’s Day began, in good Irish fashion, several days before the actual event. Luncheons and dinners were held throughout this week and scores of speeches were made by Irishmen, near-Irishmen and non-Irishmen. But the biggest event in size came this afternoon when the annual St Patrick’s Day parade jammed traffic along Market-st. The parade started in customary fashion at the Ferry Building at 2 p.m. Led by a young man of Irish descent – Sgt. James Robert McCloy, Korean war hero who lost a leg in action – the big parade rolled to the reviewing stand in front of the City Hall. Nine bands, including seven military, as well as marching units of soldiers, sailors and Marines and mounted patrols were lined up to take part in the march. The chairman of the parade is George R. Reilly, of the Board of Equalization.
So if you’re ready to get the St. Patrick’s Day party 2008 started early – here’s a list of a few places to start the celebration.
As for me – you might catch me out on the town, green beer in hand, chattering in my best impression of an Irish accent. But first, I’ve got a mean corned beef and cabbage dinner I’ll be cooking, served with (was there a doubt) a few pints of Guiness.
And so, I wish you a splendid weekend and leave you with a little Irish blessing:
May you always have walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire.
February 2008 San Francisco Home Sales Data is Here!
The latest market report is here. (You can also view previous market updates by selecting the archives on the upper right portion of the screen).
A snapshot of what’s in store for your eyes:
Home sales re-bounded from the record low set in January. The sale of single-family, re-sales homes rose 29.2% from January, a 25.1% decline year-over-year. Sales of condos and lofts rose 42.2% month-over-month, but were down 33.8% compared to last February.
The median price for single-family, re-sale homes dropped 8.3% from Janaury, but, was up 2.1% year-over-year. The average price dropped 2.6%, yet, it gained 15.5% compared to last February.
The median price for condos in San Francisco rose 6.3% to $755,000 from January, up 16.5% year-over-year. The average price for condos dropped 6.2% to $830,129 compared to January. The average price was up 9.8% year-over-year.
In a nutshell – sales are down, but price are up, year over year that is. Check out the full report here
A San Francisco Mobile Photo Blog
So I was looking at the really crappy photos that my phone takes – and decided that it’d be fun to try to do something with them.
So, I decided to start a really crappy San Francisco Mobile Photo Blog.
One day, when the network at my office can happily support a Smartphone that can take better photos , I might have a slightly less crappy mobile photo blog, except that I will still be the photographer, which means it will be only slightly less crappy.
I’ve only taken a few photos so far – and as you can see, they’re not great. Occasionally, I might sneak a photo taken on a “real” camera in there if I can’t help myself – and I’m sure from time to time I won’t be able to control myself, because that’s just how I am.
Hopefully you enjoy it, but if not – at least it give my phone a new purpose – it’s no longer just for answering email, surfing the MLS and finding the answer to random trivia questions while at the dinner table – it’s now the key to A San Francisco Mobile Photo Blog full of somewhat crappy photos. 🙂
San Francisco Real Estate Fast Facts: Single Family Home Sales February 2007 vs. February 2008
Here’s the latest Fast Facts update from the SFAR. Updates are provided almost weekly and each week is a different sector of the market (ie. Condos, Single Family Homes, 2-4 unit dwellings, etc.).
Check back next week for more statistics.
|
Single-Family Homes |
|
|
|
District 1 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
10 |
11 |
|
Median Selling Price |
1,325,000 |
1,300,000 |
|
Average DOM |
48 |
46 |
|
District 2 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
35 |
27 |
|
Median Selling Price |
825,000 |
805,000 |
|
Average DOM |
47 |
48 |
|
District 3 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
9 |
7 |
|
Median Selling Price |
659,900 |
570,000 |
|
Average DOM |
49 |
50 |
|
District 4 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
25 |
23 |
|
Median Selling Price |
825,000 |
928,000 |
|
Average DOM |
36 |
47 |
|
District 5 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
15 |
17 |
|
Median Selling Price |
1,315,000 |
1,500,000 |
|
Average DOM |
31 |
31 |
|
District 6 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
2 |
2 |
|
Median Selling Price |
2,300,000 |
2,235,000 |
|
Average DOM |
73 |
23 |
|
District 7 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
7 |
6 |
|
Median Selling Price |
2,800,000 |
2,491,250 |
|
Average DOM |
44 |
73 |
|
District 8 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
2 |
3 |
|
Median Selling Price |
1,375,500 |
1,500,000 |
|
Average DOM |
20 |
72 |
|
District 9 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
13 |
11 |
|
Median Selling Price |
820,000 |
863,280 |
|
Average DOM |
41 |
23 |
|
District 10 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
26 |
29 |
|
Median Selling Price |
660,000 |
610,000 |
|
Average DOM |
50 |
64 |
|
District 11 |
February 2007 |
February 2008 |
|
Number of Sales |
19 |
17 |
|
Median Selling Price |
725,000 |
612,500 |
|
Average DOM |
59 |
64 |
