Luba Muzichenko San Francisco Real Estate

San Francisco SF Realtor

SF Housing

Single Female in Search of Home for Sale

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The title of the post almost sounds like a personal ad, right?
Well I was taking a look at my list of San Francisco clients that are looking for a home or have recently purchased a home and I realized that about 35% of them are single women.
While it does appear that I tend to work with more single female home buyers than national averages, across the country, I did find some interesting statistics while searching the net:

  • Single women make up more than 20% of home buyers
  • Single women buy twice as many homes as single men
  • Single women make up more than one-third of the growth in real estate ownership since 1994

    • Not bad for girl power, eh?
    The demographic includes all women, including never married, divorced or widowed.
    Each person’s motivations for buying a home is, without a doubt, different.
    Past generations waited for Mr. Right to come along and give the poor helpless female financial security.
    But TODAY’S woman is ready to take her financial destiny into her own hands. According to an older article from USA Today:

    The trend is striking, because in 1981, the number of single women and single men home buyers was virtually the same. Since then, the percentage of buyers who are single women has almost doubled, while the percentage of single men buyers slipped 1 percentage point to 9% last year.

    The article goes on to say:

    “For the first time in history, women have access to the same resources men have always had — money, social status, power,” says Donald Hantula, professor of organizational psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia.

    “Women can go and acquire them on their own rather than searching for a mate to provide them. These demographic and social changes are not in line with how we adapted in the hunter-gatherer era.”

    In SF, women have a number of options when it comes to buying a home. My clients’ searches have included houses, condos, TIC’s, lofts, fixer-uppers, new construction, Victorian architecture, modern design and so many other variables that there’s just too many to list.

    And now that we are seeing some better deals in the San Francisco housing market, I’ve been getting more calls from single women ready to take the plunge and buy a home. In fact, now that the real estate prices have softened in SF, I’ve gotten calls from some past single female clients that are ready to jump in and buy investment property, with a big enough down payment, they are actually able to see a positive net gain on a rental property in San Francisco.

    If you’re a single woman and you’re thinking about buying property in San Francisco, whether for your primary residence or for investment purposes, give me a holler – I’m happy to help you decide whether now really is the right time for you to buy.

    Oh, and the embedded video??? Just a gratuitous baby dancing to the Single Ladies song because who doesn’t like to watch babies boogie!

    Will San Francisco See an Increase in Real Estate Inventory?

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    We seem to be seeing an increased inventory of real estate in San Francisco.  So far, we haven’t just been seeing MORE inventory, but we’ve also been seeing BETTER inventory!

    And while we don’t know if the flow of good properties will continue (though I can vouch that I have a few fabulous listings coming up in a variety of price ranges), there is anecdotal evidence that the flow of inventory will continue.

    You see, when you need to sell a home, you need to pull what we in the real estate industry call a 3R Report.  It’s also known as the report of residential record.

    It includes:

    – Address of the building including condominium or unit number if any
    – Block and Lot
    – Present authorized occupancy or use
    – If the property is classified as a Condominium
    – If the building contain any Residential Hotel Guest Rooms
    – Zoning district
    – Building Code Occupancy Classification
    – Expiration date for non-conforming use
    – Building construction date
    – Original occupancy or use
    – Building permit application history and status of building permit:
    N = Unknown
    I = Issued
    X = Expired
    C = Completed
    – Franchise Tax Board lien
    – Abatement case on the property
    – Number of residential structures on the lot
    – If energy inspection has been done and proof of compliance has been issued

    The above information will be shown on the report if available through the Department of Building Inspection microfilm records.  In many cases, submittal of additional  records from other city agencies such as the Assessor’s Office and SF Water Department will be required for the completion and/or revision/update of a 3R. Please note that a 3R does not list the electrical or plumbing permit history, cancelled or withdrawn building permit applications and any building permits taken for the commercial portion of the building.

    You need a 3R report whenever you sell a property.  And we recently received a notice from our (MARVELOUS!) office staff at Zephyr letting us know that the 3R department is taking about 3 weeks and up to process requests that normally take just over a week to fulfill!

    In fact, rumor has it that there are 70+ requests a day flying into the 3R department!  That’s quite a few new San Francisco listings that would appear to be heading to the market in the near future!

    We’ve yet to see whether these properties will be quickly snapped up, but I’d say that if they are priced in line with recent comparable SF sales, they’ll quite possibly see the multiple offer game we’re seeing these days at quite a few properties are selling for WELL over the asking price!  (But they’re marketed aggressively, so the selling price is still the true current market value.)

    But in the meantime, it’ll be great to see some more good San Francisco real estate porn! 😉

    SF Real Estate Fast Facts – January 2011

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    San Francisco Real Estate Fast Facts – Sans Commentary, Provided by the San Francisco Association of Realtors


    (Editor’s Note: Set forth below are Unit Sales/DOM/Monthly Supply charts for the month of January for single-family homes, condominiums and 2-4 units, as well as Supply/Demand, Sales Rate and Median Price charts for the same month.)
    Single-Family Homes

    Condos

    2-4 Units

    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.

    * * * * *

    Data provided by Terradatum.

    San Francisco Real Estate Update – January 2011

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    Yet again, Luba’s San Francisco Real Estate Blog brings you latest San Francisco Real Estate market report here. (You can also view previous market updates by selecting the archives on the upper right portion of the screen). Heres’s a little glimpse of the report:

    Prices for single-family re-sale homes began the year by declining.

    The median price for homes dropped 7% from December and was off 15.1% year-over-year.

    Home sales were also down from December, but that is normal. Year-over-year, home sales were up, for the second month in a row, by 19.8%.

    Home sales momentum continued trending downward, dropping a percentage point to +6.

    San Francisco Fire Engine Tour Business – Now 50% Off!!!

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    Many of you remember the historic Firehouse 33 at 117 Broad.  This unique San Francisco property had a long history on the market while the search for new owners, ready to respect the building’s history and integrity, were sought out.  In 2010, when I took over the listing of this unusual San Francisco home, the property was featured on Yahoo.com in their real estate and finance sections, NY Times , Zillow, Curbed SF, CNN Money, and SFGate, JUST to name a FEW!
    And after 3 years (and 5 agents before me), I can proudly say that I helped sell Firehouse 33 for $875,000 in December!  The new owners, also in love with the integrity of the Firehouse, have promised to cherish and preserve its history!
    But, the story of the Firehouse and its place in San Francisco history isn’t completely over!
    Robert and Marilyn Katzman, the sellers of Firehouse 33 after living there for 33 years, had hoped to find someone that was ready to slide into their entire fiery lifestyle, which included the Firehouse, the memorabilia and their amazing World Famous San Francisco Fire Engine Tour Business. However, the new owners of Firehouse 33 already had careers they loved and they had their own furnishings.
    And so, once the Firehouse sold, it was time to finish the rest of this chapter for the Katzmans.  They had an estate sale so mind-blowing that it was even covered by the California Home & Design Blog, and this took care of the memorabilia.  But San Francisco Fire Engine Tours & Adventures still has not found the right owner.
    They started the business in 1998 and in a short time the business’ popularity had spread like a wildfire all over the world.
    Featured in guide books worldwide in a variety of languages and featured on The Travel Channel, regional travel shows, on airline arrival films, news & magazine travel articles and web sites, create an ongoing demand for this tour.  But it is the AMAZING word of mouth advertising that REALLY separates this tour business from the rest!  And now, it’ll be much more affordable for the right person(s) to step into the Katzman’s fireboots… and make it their own!
    So now, with two big parts of this chapter of the Katzman’s firelife complete, they have decided that the best way to sell a fire related business is, well, to have a FIRE SALE! 🙂
    The business (when it was listed together with the Firehouse) was listed at $249,000.  But as of today, the Katzman’s will entertain offers starting at $125,000!!! Yes folks, that’s 50% off!
    To further entice you, here’s a little note from the Katzmans to give you a glimpse into the life they’ve enjoyed while running the San Francisco Fire Engine Tour Business:

    “It was our dream to become part of the fabric of San Francisco. We Love This Beautiful City and we had always loved taking friends and visitors on adventures. When The Big Red Shiny ’55 Mack Fire Engine came into our lives, our entrepreneurial spirit kicked into high gear.  We knew there was something magical about this Fire Engine and we were right .  Everyday is filled with smiles and happiness and to be able to make a living having so much fun has been a dream come true”.

    So, if you have always dreamed of making a living entertaining people in your own unique show on wheels (or maybe just got bit by the bug while reading this post) please give me a shout! Whether you have lots of personality, energy and desire OR just have the talent to hire the right people to work for you, this may very well be the opportunity of a lifetime for you!
    It’s the perfect time of the year to get up to speed before “the season”.     And at 50% off, you can now afford to get behind the wheel of the amazing San Francisco Fire Engine Tour Business yourself!

    There's a Whole Lot of Cranky San Francisco Realtors Out There

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    These days, you might be seeing a lot of SF Realtors walking around with more gray hair, muttering curse words under their breaths and breaking out to into hives.  You see other SF real estate agents pulling out clumps of hair, going into cold sweats and breaking apart their computer equipment with hammers.

    So what’s going on?

    It’s not the real estate market.  The SF market is actually doing remarkably well as compared to the last few years.

    So what has us going crazy?

    First, the back story…..

    Well, as technology improves, we as a real estate industry have been working towards paperless transactions.  For years now, in San Francisco, we’ve been using technology (most of it web-based) that was brought to us by the California Association of Realtors (CAR).  It was called WinForms and it had all of the forms we needed to do our jobs.  It had both California forms and San Francisco forms (because, come on, we do EVERYTHING differently in San Francisco, so of course, our forms need to be different too!)

    In addition to WinForms, we were able to use DocuSign to quickly and efficiently create electronic signatures on documents.  It meant we could email a contract or a disclosure to a client for their electronic and binding signature.  No faxing and more importantly, no paper.  All forms were saved as PDF’s.

    Well, the San Francisco Association of Realtors (SFAR) at some point decided to add a new system to the mix to host the San Francisco Forms and more.  The idea was to integrate four separate components – Tax Records, MLS, Form Writing AND Electronic signatures.  The Forms component is run by a company called InstaNet and is called Transaction Desk.  The Electronic Signature component is called AuthentiSign.  In theory, this entire 4 part system was supposed to work seamlessly.  All integrated, saving us time and resources, like paper work.

    But like a lot of things that are supposed to work great in theory, in practice… they don’t always fall into place the way that they should.

    So where does it go wrong….

    If  we compare the CAR to mommy and the SFAR to daddy, and San Francisco real estate agents to the children, all the poor kids know is that mommy and daddy are in the middle of the a NASTY divorce, the kids are stuck in the middle and mommy and daddy are each talking some crazy smack about each other and we don’t know who to believe.

    We’re not really sure the details of the story.  But as SF real estate agents that aren’t involved in the divorce, we don’t know what to believe.  Mommy says daddy is a deadbeat that owes her money.  Daddy says mommy is a liar and is just a stubborn bitch that isn’t willing to compromise.

    In December, we were told of this awesome product the SFAR was going to bestow upon us.  Shortly after, we were told the CAR was taking away the use of our forms on their platform.  They created their own forms for SF agents to use, but SFAR told us not to use those forms – they’re sub-par (and I’ll admit, they are.)

    An agreement was struck to give us use of the SFAR forms on the CAR platform till the end of January (if you’re keeping track, mommy and daddy fought for two months before the divorce settlement) and as of February 1st, we were left along with just SFAR’s platform.

    Now this would all be fine and well – except for a few major problems.   The SFAR’s platform is still not fully functional.  The interface is cumbersome, there are lots of bugs in the system and parts of it, like AuthentiSign don’t work at all.  As far as AuthentiSign goes, we were told it was all fine until 1 email mid-last week from one of our Zephyr managers that is trying to help navigate this mess and then finally, an email from the SFAR on Friday telling us THAT part just doesn’t work!

    Since SFAR announced to members that it will be providing Authentisign™, Instanet Solutions’ electronic signature service as a free member benefit, many REALTORS® have tested it out and provided us with invaluable feedback.
    Although Authentisign™ integrates seamlessly with Instanet Solutions’ TransactionDesk™, and allows documents and forms requiring signatures to be easily e-mailed, faxed, or uploaded into a signing, there are some aspects of the service which are in need of improvement in order to meet the expectations that SFAR has for the service. For example, members are reporting that they are unable to complete signings and that the templates needed to facilitate automated tagging of forms are not yet in place.
    Authentisign™ is the most recently developed component of the TransactionDesk™ platform, and unlike the balance of the system, is not yet ready for member use. We apologize for any inconvenience the premature offering of the service has caused.
    As we wait for the updates, SFAR is advising members to continue using DocuSign® for the time being. Once Authentisign™ is updated to be a reasonable substitute for DocuSign®, members will be able to take full advantage of this free service.

    Now let’s not forget, we’ve been going to trainings on the new system and struggling to make it work for almost 2.5 months. If we were to add up all of the hours wasted by all SF Realtors spinning wheels on a product that doesn’t work, I’d guess it’s in the thousands.  And while, at least at Zephyr, our support staff is doing the best they can to try to help us work through the kinks, we’re still left with a lot of frustration.  To give due credit, the powers that be ARE working on the bugs.  But in the meantime, several San Francisco agents have even started a support group on Facebook – together we cry, laugh and report problems that hopefully get reported back to the software developer.

    Ultimately though, we really just want mommy (CAR) and daddy (SFAR) to get back together.  We’d like them to both be there for us like they promise they will be when they collect our dues.  We’d like them to be honest with us and tell us where things really went wrong for them.  And, of course, we’d like them to figure out a way to make it so that we don’t have to resort to a variety of creative backwards solutions to get our jobs done without pulling out more clumps of hair.

    Mommy, daddy, if you’re listening…. please make up.  Your children are the ones suffering in your divorce and soon, we’re all going to need to go to family counseling. :-/

    THE 7 Best Neighborhoods in San Francisco!

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    Here’s a little sumptin sumptin from this week’s edition of Zephyr Real Estate’s “The Market Tracker”.   Besides getting the scoop on ALL of the recently sold AND recently listed properties in San Francisco, you also get cool little SF Tidbits like this one.  Sign up today so you don’t miss out on the bi-weekly awesomeness in your inbox!

    7 Best Neighborhoods in the City

    7X7 Magazine recently ranked the Best 7 ‘Hoods in San Francisco. Here are the results:

    Best For Families: OUTER SUNSET. 30% of the homes have kids, several high-ranked public schools, the ocean, parks, golf and the zoo.

    Best Transit: DOWNTOWN/SOMA. Market Street corridor, BART, six MUNI lines, countless bus lines.

    Best Restaurant Scene: THE MISSION. 84 Zagat-rated restaurants.

    Most House for the Money: NORTH PANHANDLE (a.k.a. NOPA). Average $243 per square foot, $635K median sales price.

    Safest: THE PRESIDIO. 19 crimes per half-mile radius.

    Most Walkable: LOWER PACIFIC HEIGHTS. The strip of Fillmore from Sacramento to Eddy has just about everything you could need within a few blocks. Dining, shopping, live music, parks, and even a good hospital (CPMC).

    Most Luxurious: SEA CLIFF. Oceanfront property and a median sales price of $2.4 Million says it all.

    More Notable Numbers:
    Youngest Denizens: THE MISSION. Average age is 34.
    Oldest Denizens: CHINATOWN. Average age is 48.
    Most singles: CASTRO. 66% Single (followed by Marina with 62%).

    NOTE: Information was presented by 7×7 Magazine and gathered from 511.org, Craigslist, City and County of San Francisco, Crime Mapping, Golden Gate Mothers Group, Great Schools, Trulia, Yelp, the US Census Bureau, Zagat and Zillow.

    TGIF San Francisco! Frickin TGIF!

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    Man, what a week!  I feel like I’m running on empty and am looking forward to getting a few hours to refuel this weekend!
    I’ve been a little light on the San Francisco real estate postings, but between writing offers for clients and working on getting an FHA Short Sale listing pre-approved by the lender in the fabulous Diamond Heights Village (which, by the way, this large 1BR unit has some AMAZING views of San Francisco!  and a pool at the complex to boot!), prepping a magnificent single family home listing in the Inner Sunset (3BR’s, Edwardian details and a yard that forces you into a state of deep relaxation), fighting various wars against technology (the machines are winning…. grrrrrr!) AND overcoming the spring fever caused by last week’s February heat wave here in SF, I’ve just been too swamped/unfocused on blogging to put out a worthy real estate related post.
    And today, well, today it not much different, except I do get to catch up with some clients and finally see their little boy!  AND celebrate another client’s birthday too, so at least I’ll get to play a little in between working a lot!  🙂
    But I DID want to quickly share with you a reminder that when I’m not writing about SF real estateand all the other awesomeness this City has to offer here on this blog, I’m reading about it and sharing the scoop on my Facebook Page (which also feeds to my Twitter Account if that’s more your style.)
    A few examples of recent tidbits that I shared?

    So don’t forget to “like” my Facebook Page or Follow me on Twitter to stay up to date on the various articles that relate to SF real estate, mortgage tidbits and general awesomeness (or in some cases, like Leland Yee’s tolerance for torturing sharks, crappiness) that goes on in San Francisco and beyond!
    But that being said, you know I love me some SF real estate, 😉 so Monday you’ll be able to check back here and get a scoop on the latest market conditions.
    In the meantime, TGIF and wishing you an AMAZING weekend! 

    Cherry Blossoms in Hayes Valley (and All Over San Francisco!)

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    I know, I know, you’re tired of me talking about our awesome weather, but I just couldn’t help but smile as I went past these Cherry Blossoms trees in Hayes Valley (Pierce Street to be exact.)
    We’re seeing Cherry Blossoms in bloom ALL OVER SF!  The glorious sunshine has fooled the trees into thinking it’s really spring and they’re blooming left and right.  Driving through Golden Gate Park is, frankly, magical!
    And remember, Cherry Blossoms are a symbol of the fragility of life – here today, gone sooner than you realize – so don’t just enjoy the Blossoms while you can, but get out there and enjoy San Francisco!
    UPDATE!!!!  CORRECTION!!! STOP THE PRESSES!!!  🙂
    Thanks to James leaving a message in the comments below, I now know those are PLUM blossoms!  NOT cherry!  But they still sure are PURDY! 😉

    Brrrrr….. It's Cold in San Francisco (NOT!)

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    I almost caught myself complaining today that our February weather had dropped from last weeks high 70’s to today’s (brrrrr) mid 60’s.  I mean, I had to wear a jacket, in SF, in February.  How inconvenient!
    But then I saw this post while browsing Laughing Squid’s blog.
    And then I had to laugh at the superiority of San Francisco!  HA!  Snow Day?  We don’t need no stinking Snow Days!
    And then, I caught this post on Uptown Almanac’s site featuring the video below.  Which made me stop laughing and feel bad for the rest of the country.

    And then I got over my feelings of sympathy and started laughing again!
    Hey, they could live in SF if they wanted to! 😉
    Hmmm….. do you think that our near perfect San Francisco weather has anything to do with the overall resilience of SF’s real estate market?  I’d say so!  Cheers to not having any snow days!!! 😉
    (And yes, I’ve lived here in SF since I was 2 years old, so I’m well aware that our winter months aren’t usually THIS mild, but I’m relishing in it while it lasts!!!  You should too!!! 🙂 )