Luba Muzichenko

San Francisco Realtor

Archives for December 2008

Taking a Break

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Regular readers have likely noticed that the blog has been a little empty recently.  I apologize for the lack of communication and do promise it’ll be back in full swing again soon. 

Things have been a little hectic with a long vacation in November, the holidays and now, family visiting from out of the country… and I have been juggling some craziness with a few real estate transactions.  So the blog has taken a bit of a back burner. 

But please don’t fret… this San Francisco Real Estate blog will gather it’s mojo and will come back in full force in the New Year!!! 

And speaking of holidays, I with you and yours the happiest of holiday seasons and a kick ass New Year!!! 

And if you don’t already know, you can subscribe to the San Francisco Real Estate Blog via email or RSS reader to get notified when we’re up and running again at full throttle. 

See ya in 2009!!! 

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New San Francisco Open Homes Website

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House circleThis was one of the headlines in the weekly email I receive today from the San Francisco Association of REALTORS®:

“Association’s New Open Home Site Launched—Success Will Depend on Promotion by REALTORS®”

So, I’m doing my part to promote the site by throwing a little link love their way – as well as telling you a little bit about what the site is all about. 

Straight from the horse’s Association’s mouth:

The San Francisco Association of REALTORS® has finally launched its new real estate portal, www.sfopenhome.com. The portal features listings of properties that are being held open for public viewing (including details relating to the property and relevant showing information).

www.sfopenhome.com offers multiple search criteria to make finding the right homes to view fast and easy. And, it’s interactive features will offer site visitors an enhanced user experience.

Appearing below is a description of the features that make www.sfopenhome.com unique.

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Interactive features offer site visitors an enhanced user experience.

Listings of properties being held open are presented in “thumbnails” with a picture of the property to the left and a brief description of the property to the right. By clicking on the listing, multiple photographs of the property and full property detail information is available.

Visitors viewing any property are able to click through to the web site of the REALTOR® who has the listing or send an e-mail communication to the REALTOR® containing an inquiry about the property.

www.sfopenhome.com also contains an interactive REALTOR® member directory and other real estate-related content, including market statistics, and links to the Association’s Spotlight videos and its homeowners’ web site, www.sfbaywindow.com.

This new portal features an easy-to-read, enhanced open home report for consumers to download and print, featuring a thumbnail photo of the property, marketing remarks and property details.

Menu Selections:

  • Search Open Homes
  • View Properties for Sale (the most complete listing of properties for sale in the San Francisco and Daly City available anywhere)
  • Market Statistics (displayed in data and chart form)
  • Find a REALTOR® (a complete listing of REALTOR® members of the San Francisco Association of REALTORS®, by office)
  • Hot Topics (current news on real estate subjects)
  • sfbaywindow.com (a web site designed to make ownership of property in San Francisco and Daly City more rewarding)
  • Spotlight videos with Tom Sinkovitz (timely stories on real estate subjects)

What’s Coming

  • A new map-based search function that will make neighborhood open home searches even faster and easier.
  • A “Create a Tour” feature that will allow a portal visitor to create a tour of selected properties that can be displayed on a map with a route.
  • A “Protect Your Rights” section describing current legislative proposals likely to affect the rights or interests of property owners that would include an opt-in feature allowing portal visitors to leave their e-mail addresses and intermittently receive “Political Alert” newsletters from the Association.

The San Francisco Association of REALTORS® is committed to improving www.sfopenhome.com to make it more serviceable to REALTORS® and more valuable to the public.

So there you have it.  You now officially have a new place to search for San Francisco open houses, condos and TIC’s. 

But, while you should definitely check out www.sfopenhome.com, what you REALLY should do is sign up for is Zephyr MLS Direct. 

With Zephyr MLS Direct, you’ll know everything that’s on the San Francisco market, in real time. Enjoy 24/7 access to the MLS – just like a REALTOR®.  you’ll see the most accurate, complete and up-to-date listing date available, enabling you to find properties first, as soon as they come on the market.  Plus you’ll get email alerts for new listings meeting your search criteria, automatic notifications of price or status changes, Friday Open home reports and more.  You will be required to give some personal information to satisfy MLS rules, but once you’ve signed up you will not be contacted by ANYONE unless you request contact!  Best of all, you get it FREE!   Go ahead, SIGN UP!  You’ll be cool if you do!

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San Francisco Condo Fast Facts October 2007 vs. October 2008

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San Francisco Association of Realtors District Map

For those of you that like your San Francisco real estate market data without commentary, here ya go.  Take a look, check it out, come to your own conclusions. 

Or – you can always ask me questions. 

Condominiums
fast facts

Condominiums.pdf

NUMBER OF UNITS is the equivalent of number of sales/transactions. For condominiums, each unit is treated as a sale. For 2- to 4-unit buildings, the “building” is treated as a sale.

NUMBER SOLD is the number of properties in the market segment that closed escrow during the month.

NUMBER FOR SALE is the number of active properties on the market for one day or more during the month.

MEDIAN PRICE (SOLD) reflects the “middle” price point of a group of properties that have successfully closed escrow on a monthly basis, i.e. half sold for more and half sold for less than the median price. Tracking the movement of median prices over time provides a good indicator of the direction market forces are moving.

If the percentage change is positive between the two periods then there is upward pressure on prices in that market segment. If the percentage change is negative between the two periods then there is downward pressure on prices in that market segment.

AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET (DOM) reflects how long it has been taking (on average) to draw an offer on a reasonably priced property exposed to the market. The AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET is defined as: The average number of days it took all of the properties that went under contract during the period to accept a first position offer.

MONTH’S SUPPLY OF INVENTORY (MSI) is a measure of how long it would take, in months, to sell the existing inventory at the current sales rate for the specific neighborhood and property type. The MONTH’S SUPPLY OF INVENTORY is defined as: The number of active properties on the market for one day or more during the month, less the number of properties that have been withdrawn or expired, divided by the number of properties that have gone under contract during the month.

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Data provided by Terradatum.

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Got San Francisco Real Estate Tools?

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Are you looking to buy a house in San Francisco?  Or maybe you’re pondering selling that little SF condominium or TIC? 

Whether buying a house, condo or TIC, investment property,etc. or looking to sell any of the above in the City, you want TOOLS!

I’m not talking hammers, table saws and drills – I’m talking about tools that provide you with HONEST and UNBIASED information about the San Francisco Real Estate Market!

So – you want to know what kind of tools you can get your hands on?

 

The City Update(TM) – The Best San Francisco Real Estate Newsletter Ever!

The City Update(TM) is a little SF real estate newsletter delivered straight to your inbox (almost) every Friday.  It has ALL sorts of awesome features including:

  • San Francisco Market Reports from the Altos Research folks
  • All of the NEW San Francisco real estate listings from the previous week
  • All of the SOLD San Francisco real estate listings from the previous week
  • Links to SF Open Houses, SF Foreclosure Listings, and more
  • Commentary about the SF Real Estate market from yours truly
  • SF Property “Pocket Listings” that I hear about (properties that AREN’T available to the general public!)

You can SIGN UP HERE or you can check out the site (just keep in mind that frankly, the site sucks – but I created it myself and since my HTML skills are LACKING, I’m just happy I got THAT far with it!)

 

SF Real Estate Market Updates

If you just can’t get enough San Francsco real estate market updates between this blog and The City Update(TM), you now have one more option when it comes to getting the latest deets on what the market is doing. 

Again, brought to you by the Altos Research folks, you can narrow down your reports by zip code or property type AND you can sign up for as few or as many zip codes as you like (you just have to reenter your info for each new zip code/property type). 

Go ahead, get your SF real estate data fix on!  You can SIGN UP HERE.

 

100% Complete Access to the San Francisco MLS

Know everything that’s on the San Francisco market in real time.  Just like a REALTOR, you’ll get access to ALL of the listings in the MLS. 

Unlike other Real Estate search sites, Zephyr MLS Direct gives you the most complete, accurate and up-to-date listing information available, which lets you find properties as soon as they hit the market. 

It also lets you save your searches and new listings that match your criteria emailed to you as soon as they hit the market!  And you can save your favorite properties, watch them go into escrow, and if they’re in your “favorites” folder, you can even see the price they sold for (which we all know is super secret data.)  You also get notified of any changes that occur to the property listings that match your criteria AND Friday Open House reports.  Cool or what?

You’ll have to give up some personal info, and “agree” to work with me as your REALTOR (it’s a technicality that the MLS requires), but I NEVER EVER EVER hold you to it.  To really build a client/agent relationship, we have to meet in person to decide if we’re a good fit to help you achieve your real estate goals.  And you’ll have to CONTACT ME to make it happen.  WHY?  Because I’m just not into stalking and I’m easy to find. 

Want your own MLS access?  You can SIGN UP HERE.

 

So, go ahead, sign up for one, two or all three of the San Francisco real estate tools above!  And if you think you’d like me to represent you in the sale or purchase of a property, call me at 415–307–1392 or shoot me an email.  I’m happy to schedule a free consultation with you to see if we’d work well together.

Oh, and as a reminder, should you sign up for any of the tools above, as always, your info will not be sold, rented, shared, abused, danced on, or in any other way misused. Just thought you’d like to know.

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You Can't STEAL a San Francisco Home

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ThiefSo we hear a lot of talk about the fact that we’re in a “buyer’s market” in San Francisco.  I’ll agree. 
 
Home buyers have a lot more power than they have had in YEARS!
 
No longer do buyers have to line up and take a number to throw the biggest non-contingent offer that they can come up with to get a property they might consider calling “home.”  In fact, homebuyers can ask for things! 
  • Lower purchase price
  • Repairs
  • Credits for repairs
  • Closing Costs
  • Seller Financing
  • Etc, etc, etc. 
In the end, the transaction can be a “win win” for everyone involved.  The seller gets a fair price for their property and the buyer pays a fair price for a home they’ll love for years to come.
 
But not everyone is happy with a “win win”.
 
There are a helluva lot of wanna-be thieves around. 
 
I run into a lot of people that think that in this SF “buyer’s market, they can steal a home. 
 
Sorry Bucko. 
 
This just doesn’t happen in San Francisco.  As a colleague of mine in the mortgage side of the industry said:
Even sellers that are motivated know that if they don’t get the minimum they want for the property can easily rent the property for another year or two to cover the costs while the values turn around.  … For the most part people who can afford to own SF real estate are just too savvy when it comes time to sell.
The offers they are making are $50K, $100K, $150K and more UNDER the actual market value of the home!!!
 
Unfortunately, these wanna-be thieves think they’re seriously looking for a home, but really, they’re wasting a lot of time – their time, the seller’s time, their agent’s time, their lender’s time. 
 
The problem is that they are reading the papers and listening to the news and the doom and gloom and thinking that the circumstances are WAY more dire than they are.  
 
In real estate, as in life, it’s often best to follow the silver rule.   
 
If the golden rule is “Do unto other as you’d want them to do unto you” then the silver rule is “DON’T do unto others are you wouldn’t want them to do unto you.”  (And no, I’m totally not making that up.) 
 
At the very least, don’t expect them to act in a manner that you wouldn’t act in if you were in their shoes.
 
Meaning, if you, the buyer, were in the seller same circumstances in this market, would you accept the price that you are offering?  If the answer is “no” then don’t be surprised if that same seller decides not to accept your offer. 
 
I’m not saying “play fair” (though I think it’d be very nice if we all could do that), but I am saying that if your offer is $100K under comparable recent sales and the property you are looking at is not a short sale or foreclosure (or possibly a developer looking to offload some leftover units – contact me if you want to learn more about that!), then you are fooling yourself if you think your offer will get any serious consideration. 
 
You just can’t steal a home in SF. 
 
But that’s not saying you can’t offer under the asking price!!!  Or even, if the circumstances are right, a smidge under the value of recent comparable sales.  A seller might be willing to leave $20K, 30K or more on the table to guarantee themselves a smooth and problem-free transaction and an escrow that will actually close. 
 
But if you wouldn’t leave $50K, $100K or much more on the table, why would you think that someone else would? 
 
Don’t get me wrong.  I fight HARD to get my clients a good value for their home.  I can spot a value and I can spot a property that may not end up being such a bargain due to competition or other factors.  But being an accomplice to attempted theft – I find it to be a long and frustrating process.  It can takes ages before the wanna-be thieves finally realize that they won’t get away with the crime and start making realistic offers on properties that they can afford. 
 
This is a great time to buy.   
 
You will get a good value if you buy a home in San Francisco now, but no matter how hard you try, it’s still unlikely that you’ll get a STEAL! 
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Which San Francisco Neighborhoods are the Safest?

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I hate to say it, but the title of this post is kinda of misleading.  It’s actually a bit of a trick question. 

Why?

Well, everyone has a different idea of what makes a neighborhood “safe.”  Frankly, each person has a different tolerance to risk. 

I live in the Outer Sunset where we seem have a higher than average amount of auto break-ins and thefts and grafitti tends to be fairly common (my fence AND my garbage can got tagged recently) but I still tend to consider it a “safe” neighborhood.  Other neighborhoods have higher rates of drug dealing or prostitution.  Others, still, have a high rate of murders and homicides.   

What YOU consider to be a safe neighborhood depends primarily on your personal aversion to risk.  Your standard of safety is not necessarily my standard of safety.  (Though I’d be so bold as to go out on a limb and say that most people feel less safe in areas with high murder rates.)

But that doesn’t mean that you need to jeopardize your safety by wandering the streets at night looking for crime. 

To find out about crime in SF, you need only look as far as your computer!

You can easily find statistics about San Francisco crime by pointing, clicking and filling out some parameters. 

SF Crime Maps is a site that’s hosted by our very own sfgov.org.  To use the site, check out the various FAQ’s and then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click “I Agree.”  From there, click the crimes you want to search for (you’ll notice homicides are conspicuously missing from the list!) and select the area parameters.  You can search up to the last 90 days. 

San Francisco Crime Blog picks up where SF Crime Maps leaves off.  The SF Crime Blog covers a variety of crimes in the blog section but really focuses on the murders that have occurred in SF.  In addition to a countdown of the homicides that have occurred, you’ll find a map that details those homicides for 2007 and 2008. 

Once you have access to statistics, you can make your own decisions whether the neighborhood you want to live in is safe enough for you.

 

Now playing: Janis Joplin – Coo Coo

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