San Francisco Real Estate Fast Facts: Condominium Sales December 2006 vs. December 2007

Here’s the latest Fast Facts update from the SFAR.  Updates are provided 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

Moving is a Pain in the Ass – But it’s Worth It!

No matter how much you love your new home, packing up your belongings and moving them is a royal pain in the ass. If you’re a regular reader, you know that I am in the process of moving to my new home across the street from the beach in the Outer Sunset.

To be frank, moving sucks. As a REALTOR here in SF, I am in the business of making people move. Whether you’re selling your home, or buying a new one – you’re going to be forced to move, and I am the one putting all of the pieces together that eventually force you to do it.

So if you’re a past, current or future client of mine – I’m sorry! I’m sorry for being a part of the process that makes you pick up your life and move it to another shelter.

But I’m only a tiny bit sorry because for the most part, our reasons for moving are usually for the better. In my case, I moved into a home that I’ve been in the process of remodeling for almost 4 years (including the planning and building phases, that is.)

All “movers” have a different reason to move.

Maybe it’s moving into the first home that’s their very own.
Maybe it’s moving into a home that will let them create thousands of memories in a space that the entire family can enjoy.
Maybe it’s it’s downsizing once the kids have left the nest.
Maybe it’s upsizing into a home where they can indulge in some extra little luxuries so that can enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Maybe it’s about getting out of an investment that they can no longer afford due to biting off more than they can chew when mortgages were given out like the prize in a box of Cracker Jacks.
Maybe it’s about cashing out on an investment that appreciated 570% in 11 years. (A client recently purchased a a home for $1.5M that had sold for $280K eleven years prior!)

No matter the reason to move, most times the move is for the better. So while the move itself and the turmoil it causes in your life make you want to stop halfway, sell all of your belongings and live a minimalist existence in a cave – the payoff is a living situation that is for the better.

One day, probably not too long after your move, you’ll wake up in your new home, the moving boxes will have have been passed on to others (rather than just recycling your moving boxes, post an ad on Craigslist, give them to a friend that’s moving, or have your REALTOR find the boxes a new home – remember it’s “reduce, reuse, recycle” – in that order), and you’ll be able to look around your new home and take a deep breath and think how lucky you are to be where you are living.

Even amidst the boxes I’ve buried myself in, I’m already feeling pretty damn lucky to be in my new home. It was definitely a move for the better. But I sure will feel better when I can find where I packed my toothbrush!

Over, Under, At – SF Home Sales: January 19 – 25, 2008

Welcome back to the “Over, Under, At” weekly feature. It’s a simple breakdown taken from MLS data that shows the number of closed sales that sold Over Asking Price, Under Asking Price or At Asking Price.

*Just a reminder that new construction sales are rarely included in this list since they don’t get posted on the MLS.

The San Francisco Market is like a roller coaster. Last week we had 63 home sales, this week we have 20. However, considerinig that a typical escrow lasts around 30 days, this week we’re looking at the sales that closed around the week of Christmas, which is notoriously slow for home sales. However, on a cheerier note, 41 properties went into contract. Places are selling, and the market outlook is still good. Read on for last weeks statistics.

Here’s a quick breakdown of closed San Francisco home sales for the week from January 12 – 18, 2008:

Single Family Homes –
11 Homes Sold

Condos/Lofts/Co-ops’s –
7 Homes Sold

TIC’s –
2 Homes Sold

Mortgage Questions Answered by Strangers

So, you have a random mortgage question that pops into your head in the middle of the night?

You can’t sleep but also you can’t call your mortgage broker at 3am – you need answers.

Well, I found a place that might be able to get you the help you need so that you don’t have to break into the Nytol.

MortgageFit is a site I ran across during one of my own sleepless nights. I found it while taking a break around 3am from packing (yes, I take breaks by looking at real estate blogs and web sites – I love what I do, and even I can admit that it’s somewhat of an obsession for me.)

MortgageFit is a community full of lenders and borrowers where people ask questions, and they get answers from professionals that are part of the communits. Discussions of all sorts are taking place, from first time buyer information, to appraisal information, to credit problems and more.

If you have a question, there is likely a discussion on the topic that is already taking place. Not there? Then ask your question and you’ll get a response in no time.

Of course, the site is not meant to be a substitute for speaking with a professional in person about your issues, but it is great as a sounding board for for your questions and concerns, or to do a little research. Also, one thing to keep in mind is that the site is nationwide – and every state has there own rules and regulations, so be sure to check with your local mortgage broker.

Open Shutter to the Past: San Francisco in Pictures: Men at North Beach Restaurant (unknown date)

This week’s Photo Friday is brought to you by Supervisor’s Aaron Peskin’s attempts to secure some prohibition style regulations in the North Beach. Apparently the man must not enjoy a good glass of wine, or for that matter, he must hate fun and must hate those that want to have fun.

I can only imagine the implications that something like this would have on the North Beach restaraunts, and on the neighborhood in general.

I decided on today’s photo selection in case Mr. Peskin ran across it – people have been having a great time in North Beach with a drink or two for generations – why try to take that legacy away from the City now?

If you don’t already have plans this weekend, consider checking out a North Beach bar or restaraunt before they become an endangered species.

Happy Friday!

Over, Under, At – SF Home Sales: January 12 – 18, 2008

Welcome back to the “Over, Under, At” weekly feature. It’s a simple breakdown taken from MLS data that shows the number of closed sales that sold Over Asking Price, Under Asking Price or At Asking Price.

*Just a reminder that new construction sales are rarely included in this list since they don’t get posted on the MLS.

So last week, the state of the market looked bleak and sad. 29 homes sold in total. But it wasn’t a surprise since Decembers typically are quite slow. And this December was slower than it has been in several years. However, things have picked up. This week we’ve got 63 home sales. However, A LOT of sales sold UNDER asking! What does that mean? It means a lot of savvy buyers got some super sweet deals on some homes. They were out there at the right time and they got their homes at the right price. If you’re out there right now and thinking about buying a home, take a look at the signals that the market is looking A-OK and decide if you want to wait to see if the bottom is still going to fall out of the market, or if you want to jump in and get the right home at the right price for you. Read on for more details.

Here’s a quick breakdown of closed San Francisco home sales for the week from January 12 – 18, 2008:

Single Family Homes –
25 Homes Sold

Condos/Lofts/Co-ops’s –
24 Homes Sold

TIC’s –
14 Homes Sold

Putting the Home Sales Decline in Perspective

I just read the statistics for home sales across the country for 2007.

Yes – 2007 home sales did see a decline from the previous year. However, even with the decline in home sales, 2007 was still the 5th highest year on record!

From the Daily Real Estate News | January 24, 2008:

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – slipped 2.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units in December from a pace of 5.00 million in November, and are 22.0 percent below the 6.27 million-unit level in December 2006.

For all of 2007 there were 5,652,000 existing-home sales, the fifth highest year on record; however, the total was 12.8 percent below the 6,478,000 transactions recorded in 2006.

Click here for the rest of the article.

The Moving Truck is On its Way

I haven’t had to move in a long time, and I forgot how difficult it is to pack up your entire life, put it into a truck and drop it off in a new place.

I haven’t quite gotten as far as the truck part, or the dropping off part. For that matter, I’ve barely managed to start the packing up part.

But I am scheduled to move to my new place in the Outer Sunset on Monday, and I have gotten as far as scheduling the moving truck. But I still have A LOT of packing to do. In fact, I have to pack my entire life, put it into a truck and drop it off in a new place.

And since I’ve only got a few days left to do all of that, I apologize in advance that my blog posting will be sporadic at best over the next week or so. So in the meantime, if you need some entertaining in the blogoshpere, check out some of my other favorite blogs for some good reading.

Apartment Therapy
Curbed SF
SFist
SocketSite
theFrontSteps
WHAT IM SEEING dot com

I (heart) San Francisco Real Estate

I ran across this article today about this 82 year old REALTOR in Dubuque, Iowa by the name of Dorothy Culbertson. She’s been in the business for 50 years and was named REALTOR of the year by her local board – the second time she got that prize.

And it got me thinking – I am so lucky to truly LOVE what I do for a living.

A few days ago, I met a client at her house to take a look at what her house might sell for if she decided to put it on the market. She’s got two great dogs, and I found we probably spent more time chatting about things unrelated to San Francisco real estate than we did about real estate. When I left her house, even though we’d only met once before, it was just natural to give her a hug good-bye.

Yesterday, I met with another client who is in the process of getting his home ready for a sale – which means going through boxes upon boxes of items in storage. And most of these items remind him of the beautiful wife whom he lost to cancer a short while ago. Without her, he can’t keep the house. His move and the sale of his home are tough on him. But he’s being strong and doing what he has to do to move on – and he’s even fixing up the house while he’s at it. A former Boy Scout – his motto is to “always leave a place better than when you left it.” I checked in to see the progress he’s made in the last month or so, and it was amazing how much he had done, and I know he appreciated hearing that someone can see the huge dent he’s put in his “to do” list to get the place ready, and to move on. When I left, he gave me a hug good-bye.

I recently closed on a property with a young couple – first time home buyers that had fallen in love with this garden apartment. They had seen a bunch of places, but called me to check out the place pretty much right after they had seen it. It was perfect for them in so many ways. It was close to the places they loved to frequent including Golden Gate Park and their favorite sushi place. It had a great kitchen where the couple could cook, and it had a great space where they could entertain their friends AND it overlooked a beautiful landscaped garden and had a TON of light. After we closed escrow, we broke into a bottle of champagne (I tell all of my clients before we start working together that they MUST celebrate with me at closing- and I bring the champagne so it’s only fair!) and I watched as they walked around their new place in awe. When I was leaving, they walked me to the door of their new place and before they said their warm goodbyes, I got two huge hugs from the happy couple.

I have plenty more of these stories about the many amazing people I’ve met and the many incredible relationships I’ve developed with my clients, with other real estate agents and with mortgage brokers. They don’t all end with a hug, but they do end with an amazing relationship.

I got into the real estate business for many reasons – I love the challenges involved, I love the fact that I learn something new every single day, I love architecture and design, I love San Francisco, but above all else, I love people. I love the relationships I develop with them. And I love the fact that after all is said and done, I can truly say that most of my clients are now my friends.

I love San Francisco real estate because it’s made up of so many wonderful people. And in case you’re wondering, yes – the artwork (at least the pictures of the people) is original and done by me.

Open Shutter to the Past: San Francisco in Pictures: Great Highway “Carville” (1908)

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I’ve been in the process of a long and (at times) painful remodel of a home out in the Outer Sunset. Well, the day to move into my new home is right around the corner (in fact I’ll be slowly moving my belongings into our place over the next week or so).

So to celebrate this amazing day, for today’s Photo Friday I decided to share with you a photo of the old “Carville”.

Old “Carville” was located around the area of Great Highway and Lincoln Way.

The newscopy for this photo read:

(4/8/47): “FEW REMAIN–Several examples of car houses which used to be numerous at the Beach are shown in the above photograph, taken from a postcard mailed in 1908. One of the two buildings just over the Queen Lily Soap poster housed the old Oceanside School, still standing.”

It’s a little bit of history of the old Outer Sunset and I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you enjoy your weekend!