Archives for January 2010

2009 San Francisco Sales Data

January 31, 2010 By Luba

I run this report every month, but this time, I thought I’d let you look at the WHOLE year ALL at once!
So here’s 2009’s summary of home sales pulled directly from the MLS. Remember, these are all closed sales and not pending sales. (And also remember that very few sales from new developments ever end up on the MLS.)
Check back monthly to get the latest facts and figures – and if you have any questions about these statistics, or the market in general, feel free to give me a holler! I’m always happy to talk “real estate!”
Here’s a quick snapshot of the market from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009:
Single Family Homes

2160 Homes Sold
Median Sale Price was $748,000
Minimum Sale Price was $115,000
Maximum Sale Price was $14,000,000
Median Selling Price was 99.5% of asking price
Median Days on Market was 42
Median Selling Price for homes that sold within 30 days was 102.5% of asking price

Condominiums, Lofts & Co-ops

1726 Homes Sold
Median Sale Price was $670,000
Minimum Sale Price was $115,000
Maximum Sale Price was $7,250,000
Median Selling Price was 96.5% of asking price
Median Days on Market was 61
Median Selling Price for homes that sold within 30 days was 98.5% of asking price

TIC’s

406 Homes Sold
Median Sale Price was $540,000
Minimum Sale Price was $225,000
Maximum Sale Price was $2,396,000
Median Selling Price was 98% of asking price
Median Days on Market was 70
Median Selling Price for homes that sold within 30 days was 99.5% of asking price

San Francisco Real Estate Sales Data – December 2009

January 30, 2010 By Luba

As I do every month, I ran the latest San Francisco real estate sales figures from the month of December for you. Obviously, I’m a little late, since it’s almost February, but as they say, better late than never, right? 😉
This month, single family sales volume increased. Median price dipped and days on market increased (not a surprise with lenders dragging their feet at every corner.) Condos increased in volume by a smidge and median price increased by a smidge too. and days on market increased (same as single family homes.) And TIC sales almost doubled from the month before -a BIG surprise since TIC interest rates aren’t usually very desirable and these days, rates on condos and single family homes ARE awesome. Without some sort of incentive from a seller, TIC’s just aren’t on everyone’s “to buy” list these days.
So here’s this month’s summary of home sales pulled directly from the MLS. Remember, these are all closed sales and not pending sales.
Check back monthly to get the latest facts and figures – and if you have any questions about these statistics, or the market in general, feel free to give me a holler! I’m always happy to talk “real estate!”
Here’s a quick snapshot of the market from Deccember 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009:
Single Family Homes

200 Homes Sold
Median Sale Price was $757,609
Minimum Sale Price was $169,000
Maximum Sale Price was $14,000,000
Median Selling Price was 99% of asking price
Median Days on Market was 53
Median Selling Price for homes that sold within 30 days was 104% of asking price

Condominiums, Lofts & Co-ops

181 Homes Sold
Median Sale Price was $680,000
Minimum Sale Price was $212,900
Maximum Sale Price was $3,375,000
Median Selling Price was 97% of asking price
Median Days on Market was 70
Median Selling Price for homes that sold within 30 days was 98.4% of asking price

TIC’s

55 Homes Sold
Median Sale Price was $587,000
Minimum Sale Price was $340,000
Maximum Sale Price was $1,635,000
Median Selling Price was 98% of asking price
Median Days on Market was 72
Median Selling Price for homes that sold within 30 days was 101.5% of asking price

30 Days of Sold San Francisco Real Estate

January 29, 2010 By Luba

San Francisco real estate

Want to know know what sold in San Francisco in the last 30 days? Sign up for The City Update(TM) – San Francisco’s Friendliest Newsletter. You’ll get the details, and then some, in your inbox (almost) every Friday.
If you just want the round numbers, you can check them out below.
Sold Listings 12/25/09 – 1/28/10

Neighborhood	Total Listings	Average Price	Average DOM
Anza Vista	1	$1,220,000	75
Bayview	6	$483,333	98
Bayview Heights	8	$403,161	29
Bernal Heights	9	$669,889	62
Buena Vista Park	1	$1,099,000	64
Central Richmond	2	$867,500	131
Central Sunset	5	$783,200	87
Central Waterfront	2	$630,000	216
Clarendon Heights	1	$1,148,000	95
Corona Heights	3	$598,333	130
Cow Hollow	1	$1,170,000	2
Crocker Amazon	6	$415,250	28
Diamond Heights	3	$522,000	69
Downtown	7	$686,571	89
Duboce Triangle	3	$478,222	35
Eureka V./Dolores Hts	7	$1,048,857	75
Excelsior	5	$545,000	71
Financial District	1	$1,025,000	151
Forest Hill Extension	1	$1,000,000	26
Forest Knolls	2	$731,250	82
Glen Park	4	$896,250	223
Golden Gate Heights	1	$1,150,000	101
Haight Ashbury	3	$1,361,667	71
Hayes Valley	2	$912,500	78
Ingleside	2	$692,500	34
Ingleside Heights	6	$438,333	41
Ingleside Terrace	1	$1,020,000	102
Inner Mission	14	$670,893	102
Inner Parkside	1	$900,000	129
Inner Richmond	6	$1,045,333	121
Inner Sunset	5	$873,000	56
Lake	6	$926,667	97
Lake Shore	5	$820,400	96
Lakeside	2	$799,444	85
Lone Mountain	2	$1,645,000	124
Lower Pacific Heights	6	$888,667	52
Marina	5	$2,457,800	91
Merced Heights	1	$615,000	62
Merced Manor	1	$775,000	90
Miraloma Park	2	$725,000	27
Mission Bay	4	$732,250	50
Mission Dolores	2	$717,500	68
Mission Terrace	2	$655,000	189
Monterey Heights	1	$2,400,000	83
Mount Davidson Manor	1	$767,000	35
Nob Hill	7	$871,429	114
Noe Valley	9	$1,081,722	159
North Beach	1	$775,000	79
North Panhandle	3	$549,567	67
North Waterfront	2	$480,500	127
Oceanview	1	$425,000	7
Outer Mission	3	$485,933	19
Outer Parkside	4	$612,000	57
Outer Richmond	3	$651,333	151
Outer Sunset	1	$560,000	11
Pacific Heights	7	$2,959,571	70
Parkside	4	$778,750	48
Pine Lake Park	1	$899,000	35
Portola	5	$613,778	25
Potrero Hill	5	$590,300	180
Presidio Heights	2	$1,156,500	102
Russian Hill	7	$1,303,714	92
Sea Cliff	2	$3,625,000	176
Sherwood Forest	3	$1,340,333	109
Silver Terrace	2	$459,500	21
South Beach	9	$639,722	84
South of Market	15	$694,267	77
St. Francis Wood	2	$1,765,000	127
Sunnyside	3	$663,333	39
Telegraph Hill	1	$842,000	78
Tenderloin	1	$2,600,000	198
Twin Peaks	2	$3,207,500	136
Van Ness/Civic Center	5	$679,600	148
Visitacion Valley	6	$467,000	19
West Portal	4	$894,938	67
Western Addition	1	$400,000	35
Westwood Highlands	1	$674,500	150
Westwood Park	3	$724,333	51

San Francisco's Ocean Beach – 107 Years Ago! (Plus Info on a Beach Clean-up!)

January 28, 2010 By Luba

Cliff House & Ocean Beach Panorama, 1903 from Richmond SF Blog on Vimeo.
I’ve got my FOURTH cold of the year. Yeah. I’m thinking of buying stock in Nyquil.
But in between blowing my nose and wiping the water pouring from my eyes, the one thing that is keeping me sane is being able to work from home while I watch the ocean from my window (which you can coincidentally do too if you buy my listings at 2458-2460 Great Highway – and as a bonus, you’ll be my neighbor! 😉 )
I also happened to find some cool videofootage from the Richmond SF Blog of Ocean Beach back in the days when appropriate beach apparel was a 3 piece suite instead of a wetsuit.
Since I love San Francisco history, and I LOVE Ocean Beach, I thought I’d share the video here. 🙂
And a fat “high-five” the Richmond SF Blog folks for finding this awesome footage! Keep it coming!!!
Oh, and coincidentally, there’s a clean-up scheduled at Ocean Beach on January 31st at 9am. From the invite:

Starting at Lincoln Blvd. and moving south, we will pick up the trash that has been deposited by the recent large storm swells on the beach. There is ALOT of very small plastic and styrofoam that is VERY hazardous to the environment and animal life on la playa. Please join us; bags and gloves will be provided.

Two Tales of One (Real Estate) Market

January 27, 2010 By Luba

Half Man

I called the bottom of the San Francisco real estate market last year. It felt like things were flattening out. And in some by some reports, prices were even increasing in SF!
Since the holidays, I’ve been busy as a bee trying to keep up with buyer and seller demands, and you may have even noticed that blog posts, and my “weekly” newsletter, The City Update(TM), have been rather sporadic.
So MY take on the market is that it’s picking up, volume is increasing, prices have stabilized and most agents I know are in a pretty good mood.
But still, there’s no consensus on whether or not we’re REALLY seeing the bottom of real estate prices in San Francisco, or the rest of the country for that matter.
Some people (like the folks at Freddie Mac) are saying the market is at or near the bottom, while other folks (like the Center for Economic Policy and Reseach) are saying prices are STILL too high and need to fall.
My thoughts? With interest rates at all time lows, if you’re looking to own a home in San Francisco for the long term, it’s a great time to buy if you do a traditional thirty year fixed mortgage. But if you’re looking at a housing here to try to make a quick buck, then back off and invest in something else.
Same thing goes if you’re selling. If you need to sell, and your situation dictates you do it now, you will find a buyer. They’re out there. (With the caveat that if you just bought a few years ago, don’t expect to make any money on the deal. )
And if you need help figuring out what side of the fence your buying or selling situation falls on, give me a call at 415-307-1392 or email me at [email protected]. I’ll call it how I see it – though fair warning, you may not always get the response that you want. 😉

Living La Vida Token Free (At Least in Regards to the SF MLS)

January 26, 2010 By Luba

No More Tokens for San Francisco Realtors

I don’t know how long it’s been, but for some time now, San Francisco Realtors have been forced to carry around these ridiculous tokens to access listings in the MLS.
It was meant to be an extra layer of security that made sure we weren’t giving out free MLS access to assistants, or worse yet, to CLIENTS!
But as of February 1st, we will be able to ditch these magical tokens for other secure authentication methods that are akin to those used in the banking industry.
I don’t know what all this means, except that I will no longer be able to identify a Realtor upon seeing their keychain.
I’m going to have to figure other ways of figuring out if I’m sitting next to a SF real estate agent in a restaurant.
Maybe by their hair? Their nails? Their bluetooth earpiece? Their car?
I just don’t know. I’m at a bit of a loss. I don’t know what I’ll do when I meet a new client and I don’t have a secret key that allows me to unlock the mystery that is the MLS to dangle in front of them?
Hmm…. oh wait, maybe I’ll just do what I’ve been doing all along and give them access to San Francisco MLS for free anyway.
And in the meantime, I’ll work on some guidelines on “how to spot a realtor without the use of a token.” 😉

You're Smart if you Buy a Home in San Francisco

January 26, 2010 By Luba

As I’m browsing the blogosphere, I caught a glimpse of yet another article saying something positive about San Francisco real estate.

Realtor Magazine quoted Forbes Magazine as saying SF is one of the 10 smartest places to buy a home NOW!

Why?

Well, according to them:

For people who want to own a home, the premium to buy—the spread between what they’d spend to rent and what they’d pay for a mortgage—is much lower than the 15-year average in many cities.
To determine what cities are smart buys, Forbes magazine computed the premium and also identified locales where economists predict home prices will go up the most over the next five years.

Click here for the rest of the “smart” cities for purchasing real estate.

Oh, and give me a holler when you’re ready to make that SF home purchase. 😉

You Know You Need a Break from SF Real Estate When…..

January 26, 2010 By Luba

I’ve been working extra hard lately. It seems like a whole lot is going on, all at once. And honestly, I like the fast pace of the San Francisco real estate market. In fact, the harder I work, the more I seem to enjoy my job!

But the past few weeks have been a little extra grueling, and with the rains, all I could think of was grabbing a pair of galoshes and going on a puddle hunt.

And then I saw the above pic from Uptown Almanac. Looks like Dolores Park has a wading pool.

The one problem??? I don’t have galoshes. But at this point, I’m itching to play in a puddle so bad that the lack of foot protection might not stop me.

So, if you see a strange lady romping in a giant puddle in the rain in the next few days, don’t be afraid to say “hi” and if you have an extra pair of galoshes in about a size 8.5 you care to let me borrow, feel free to send them my way – maybe we’ll go romping through San Francisco’s puddles together! 😉

Real Estate Interest Rates from your San Francisco Mortgage Broker

January 25, 2010 By Luba

Tim Higbee, from Guarantee Mortgage gives us the latest mortgage rates for the week ending Friday, January 22, 2010.
Please note that rates vary greatly based on credit scores and loan to value.

FHA 30year Fixed
Rate	APR	Payment	Closing Cost
4.875%	5.340%	$1,323	$7,244	Details
4.750%	5.252%	$1,304	$8,494	Details
4.625%	5.231%	$1,285	$11,932	Details

30 Year Fixed
Rate	APR	Payment	Closing Cost
4.750%	4.834%	$1,304	$2,790	Details
4.625%	4.763%	$1,285	$4,375	Details
4.500%	4.700%	$1,267	$6,250	Details

To get YOUR rate quote, give Tim a holler, his contact info is below:
Tim Higbee
Sr. Mortgage Consultant
CA DRE LIC #01346292
415-648-1202 (direct)

Please, Won't You Be My Neighbor! SF Ocean View Flats for Sale!

January 18, 2010 By Luba

Ocean Beach Living!

It’s always a beautiful day in my neighborhood. If you read the blog regulary, you know I live here on Great Highway in the Outer Sunset.
You’ll also know that I LOVE my neighborhood. Even on a crappy day like today, with the wind blowing and the rain pouring, I can sit in the comfort of my very own house and watch the Pacific Ocean waves land on Ocean Beach.
It’s a different vibe over on this side of San Francisco. There’s an amazing community feel, and the local businesses are fantastic. Whether we’re talking about the Riptide Bar or Noriega Produce or Java Beach or The Pizza Place, you’d be hard pressed to find another group of business owners in the City that care more about their neighborhood than these folks do.
And, we also have amazing neighbors. People actually care about the neighborhood and they get involved. And with Carmen Chu making herself available to the community to both hear our concerns and respond to them (yes, she listens AND acts on what she hears! Crazy, right?) the hood just gets better and better.
So, I’m thrilled to announce that you’ll have an opportunity to be my neighbor. We won’t be living next door to each other, but when you live on Great Highway, all of your nighbors feel close, even if they’re a few blocks away. And better yet, your neighbors become your friends! 🙂
I won’t give you the whole spoiler about the listing because I think to REALLY appreciate it, you need to see it for yourself. But the website, www.2458-2460GreatHwy.com will give you a little tease as to what living at the beach can be like. Besides the ocean views and daily access to sunsets over the horizon, and your own ginormous landscaped yard perfect for parties (complete with bonfire pit!), you get an enclosed outdoor shower (the folks at Socketsite should appreciate that!) where you can get down to your birthday suit and not be afraid of neighbor’s prying eyes.

The Enclosed Outdoor Shower!

Check out the website (www.2458-2460GreatHwy.com) or give me a call at 415-307-1392 for more info.
And, “Won’t you please, please won’t you, please…….. Please won’t you be my neighbor??? Hello Neighbor!”