Articles, Stories & Questions
Displaying all 20 submissions
2012: Birth of the New Buyer & Death of the Real Estate "Specialist"In the old model of real estate sales during the boom years, a seller hired a neighborhood specialist to sell their home. The neighborhood specialist sold many homes in their area, the seller saw their signs, gotten their post cards, and hired them because they felt comfortable with them. Specialists give the SELLER a higher degree of comfort but this is not BUYER based selling. In a ... more...
Blogged on 1/6/2012
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How Do I Find My True Property Value?What are Beds and Baths Worth? Bathrooms can be valued at $15,000 per half bath. I value bedrooms at $30-50K, depending on the size of the room. Technically, a bed or bath added without permits should not be included in the value of the property, however in practice it almost always is. Does Floor Location Matter? Except for high rises, no adjustment should be made unless the unit i... more...
Blogged on 12/19/2011
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Real Estate Q&A: Pacific Heights Condos, Marina Buyers and More!QUESTION: I recently toured with a buyer that was keen on finding a condo in Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights or the Marina/Cow Hollow. Because these were experienced buyers, we viewed a larger cross section of inventory than the average buyer would. They were willing to consider things that needed significant work—adding garages, bathrooms, replacing foundations, etc.—and a... more...
Blogged on 12/8/2011
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A Tale of Two Sales2694 Bush St. at Broderick sold in April of 2004 for $826K which was seven percent over its $769K list price. This condominium home is a well-laid out, top floor flat with three bedrooms (two large, one small) and one bathroom inside of 1471 sq ft. The home features an excellent floor plan, wonderful light, partial city views, a deeded parking space, two storage rooms, two fireplace... more...
Blogged on 8/30/2011
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Looking for a Good Deal on a Single-Family Home? Let's Start Here:The Lake Street District and The Richmond (District 1) offer one of the lowest dollars per sq ft, as well as some of the highest average appreciation year-over-year; this is one of the best spots to look if you want to maximize your investment. Other lesser dollar per sq ft areas for SFHs are the Sunset, Parkside and Merced (District 2–3). The highest dollar per square foot areas&m... more...
Blogged on 8/17/2011
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How Long Will it Take to Sell My Home?It should take between 20 and 60 days to get a buyer into your home, and get that buyer to write a contract for it. By the third or fourth Sunday open house there should be significant interest in your home; a second showing or a request for a disclosure package. If this isn’t the case, and there have been very few private showings, then you may need to rethink the price. P... more...
Blogged on 8/11/2011
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When Should You Sell Your Home?April, May and June are the best months to market your home. If this time frame does not work for you, then the next preferred time would be the first quarter or the third. The fourth quarter should be avoided if at all possible. With the exception of 2009 when the real estate market was recovering from the crash in the stock market in Q4 of 2008, the second quarter has seen the highest... more...
Blogged on 8/5/2011
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Are We Returning to the New Normal in a More Balanced Market?Statistics for Q1 2011 reveal that the market is stabilizing. In 2006, the number of condo/TIC transactions was just over 700, in Q1 2009 it dropped by half at the bottom of the market. Q1 2011 increased 95 percent from the low of 2009, with 559 sales. Single family homes trailed its high point in 2006 by just 5.8 percent. The average days on market (DOM) indicates shifting consumer beha... more...
Blogged on 5/20/2011
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Quick Glance: Days on market by property type, district and price rangeDays on market (DOM) determines whether a property is priced correctly. I was recently asked if a 15 percent under-ask offer would be worth writing on a home in Sea Cliff. I had to say no because the property had only been on the market 21 days. Had the property been on 75 days, it would have been worth considering.Citywide, condos are averaging 82 days on the market and single family hom... more...
Blogged on 2/28/2011
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Top 10 indicators of a recovery in the marketHere’s why it makes sense to be optimistic: 1.) Google announced that it’s hiring 6,000 new employees. Google may be doing so to stay competitive with other Bay Area tech powerhouses like Yahoo, Salesforce, Apple, Facebook, Twitter and Zynga. Many of which have recently leased space, are looking for new space to lease, or are in the process of building new space. 2.) Jobs. Hou... more...
Blogged on 2/18/2011
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The Market by the NumbersIncrease in volume and price underscores the divide between buyers and sellers. 2010 saw a 10 percent increase in sales volume, the first increase since 2004. Sales volume from Q4 2008 until now has been at its lowest level since 1995, however, the 10 percent gain is an indication that buyers see this market’s value and are coming off the fence. Average price was also was als... more...
Blogged on 2/11/2011
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The San Francisco Luxury MarketSales of homes priced at $2 million and above rose 18% in 2010 as compared to 2009: 252 luxury homes found new owners in 2010 as compared to 206 in 2009. This is particularly encouraging when one considers 2010 was up versus 2004, which saw 241 homes trade when the market was on fire. In fact, back in 2000, only 177 homes over $2 million sold, 30% lower than 2010’s volume. Clea... more...
Blogged on 2/9/2011
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Why You Should Fire Your Landlord“Be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy.”- Warren Buffett Real estate is an asset. Like all assets — stocks for example — values can go up or down. Unlike other assets, real estate is an investment that you actually need to use and can’t live without; you must live somewhere. As a consequence, real estate has the additional benefit of ... more...
Blogged on 11/16/2010
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"Giant" Land and Development Deals in SoMaIf you thought success stories for underdogs were limited to The World Series Champions, The San Francisco Giants, you have no further to look than the area immediately surrounding the ballpark: SoMa, South Beach and Mission Bay. A team of misfit commercial real estate lease ups and land sales will champion the other biggest underdog in San Francisco, residential real estate. In the past... more...
Blogged on 11/3/2010
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Profile: Marin Day School – Congregation Sherith IsraelMarin Day Schools have been operating in San Francisco for 29 years. Many child care facilities throughout the city have affiliations with communities to which they offer priority admissions, and the MDS at 2266 California Street is located in the Sherith Israel Campus and offers priority to its congregation. It offers both part- and full-time care for children ages 2-6. Marin Day School ... more...
Blogged on 8/19/2010
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How Do I Get My Kid Into Marin Day School?How do I get in????Short of actual labor and delivery, getting your kid into day care in San Francisco is the most long and painful aspect of parenting a child under the age of two. And much like the age-old, wise advice “Get an epidural,” the thing you frequently hear is “Get on the wait lists early.” It sounds easy enough (better than a needle in the sp... more...
Blogged on 8/13/2010
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4 Seller Strategies That Get You The Highest Value for Your HomeLast week I wrote about changes in the San Francisco real estate market, and the challenges sellers are facing to get the greatest value for their home. Today I’m writing about strategies that will help you achieve that goal. 1. ValueLet’s suppose you have a firm idea of the value of your home. You’ve looked closely at home sales and how home values in San Francisco hav... more...
Blogged on 7/28/2010
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Getting The Most Value When Selling Your HouseAre you wondering: what is the value of your home? Are you concerned about selling in a down market? In 2007, the stalling housing market helped to initiate the recession. Now in 2010, a stalling economy is preventing the housing market from gaining momentum. On Wednesday July 21, in his semi-annual monetary policy report to the Senate Banking Committee, Ben Bernanke stated that the econo... more...
Blogged on 7/22/2010
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A Killer Buyers' StrategyWhy you should avoid foreclosures and short sales, and why July and August are the best time to get a killer deal Purchasing a foreclosure or short sale property in San Francisco is usually a bad idea. The notion that the only thing wrong with distressed property is the borrowers’ ability to pay is like believing that a person can be color blind except when it comes to seeing rainbows.&nb... more...
Blogged on 6/29/2010
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The Cow Hollow Fix and FlipIt was an active week for the flip market in Cow Hollow. This showcased both the fixer opportunity and the finished product within blocks of one another. 2130 FILBERT Originally built in 1874, 2130 Filbert was purchased in 2008 for $1,300,000. This was a 2 bed/2.5 bath home, 1,500 sq ft (aprx). Nineteen months later, 2130 Filbert was back at a price of $2,450,000. Having undergone a down-to-the... more...
Blogged on 10/19/2009
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