This week I’m trying out a new little feature called “San Francisco Property Spotlight.” I haven’t really decided what will make me “shine a light” on a property and talk about it – for that matter, I haven’t even decided if I’m sticking with that name. Frankly, the name is a little dull, but it’s a holiday, so it’s the best I could do today.

Reasons I might mention a property…. hmmm…

Maybe it’ll be because I love it? Maybe it’ll be because I hate it? Maybe it’ll be because it’s overpriced? Maybe it’ll be because it’s a damn steal? Maybe it’ll be because it’s just damn weird? And maybe, just maybe, it’ll be because it’s one of my listings and it’s my blog and I can shamelessly plug a listing if I want to?! (Of course, any shameless plugs will come with full disclosure that they are indeed shameless plugs!)

If you like this new feature, let me know. If you hate this feature, let me know that too. And if you want to mention a property you’ve seen or that you have interest in, give me a holler – and I’ll try to dig up as much info on it for you as possible. This feature (and this blog) is a work in progress – so if you have feedback, don’t hold back!

So…. drumroll please…….. my first property spotlight is ……………

…. 57 Webster – a Hill and Company listing (ie. not a shameless plug)

Pretty little thing ain’t it?! It’s a 2 story condo with a lot of bells and whistles including (per the MLS) “a beautifully remodeled gourmet kitchen with carrera marble counter tops, mosaic tile back splash, and high end stainless steel appliances.” I mean, it’s a damn nice place. The yard alone makes be want to curl up with a good book and eat some s’mores. (I can’t help it – the trees remind me of summer camp in that wonderful nostalgic sort of way.)

It last sold in December 2006. At the time, the list price was $895K and it sold for $870K after 49 days on the market.

It doesn’t look like anything has been done to the property since the date of the sale (which was just barely over a year ago!)

So, it’s back on the market. THIS time, it’s listed at $1,025,000. Yup, if you’re counting, that’s $155K over what it sold last year – without any visible improvements. Oh, and P.S. – the owner died on the property.

Now – it’ll be an interesting one to watch – and the selling price should give an indication of the state of the SF real estate market. If it sells close to the asking price, then hell, this market is doing pretty damn well, in spite of what the media says. If it sells closer to it’s 2006 price, then well, the market hasn’t appreciated much, and if by some crazy chance it sells under the 2006 price, then hell, the media is right and I’ll just roll into a ball and start crying.

I’ll save my predictions, but the funny thing is that the comparable properties suggest that this asking price is pretty reasonable. And when it sold in 2006, it was during the holidays and it was during a time when interest rates where creeping upward and buyers were staying away from the market in general because they were waiting for the real estate market to crash. But in the beginning of 2007, they came back, and they came back strong and it looks like the same thing is happening now in 2008.

So, it (the SF real estate market) didn’t crash then (in 2007) – and I’m guessing it’s not crashing now. Stay tuned to see what happens! I’ll let you know what happens when it sells. That means you’ll have to come back to see, now won’t you!

Sorry for the “cut and paste” trick with this post. I received the below info in an email from Monica Di Perna of Guarantee Mortgage and figured it’s best if I just pass it on to you in its original form. It talks about the effect that higher limits on conforming loans will have on the mortgage process and how to prepare yourself to take advantage of those loans and the rates that go with them.

Here you go:

Lower Mortgage Rates Available Under New Economic Stimulus Law

The recently approved economic stimulus law allows people with mortgages over $417,000 and under $729,000 to take advantage of temporary lower interest rates.

Normally, a loan amount of $417,000 or under gets the lowest rates. However, as a way to stimulate the economy, the government is raising the limit to $729,000. This means that you may qualify for a better interest rate! However, in exchange for a lower rate, you are required to meet stricter reserves and FICO criteria.

Following is a more detailed overview, but please call me to discuss your personal situation so we can quickly determine if this is a good deal for you!

Monica

(415) 345-4372

******************************************************

If you feel like you can benefit from this window of opportunity, it is best to start now preparing your loan packet. It will be difficult to get these loans through to lenders because they will be swamped! But if we can prepare the package now, we wil be ready when the lenders start offering this. It is predicted they will start in 30 days – 60 days. Please read below and call with any questions!

REFINANCING

Rates Comparison

30 Year Fixed Jumbo 6.875% vs. 30 Year Fixed Conforming 5.75%

10 Year Fixed Jumbo 6.25% vs. 5.625% for a Conforming 10 Year Fixed

******THE RATE DIFFERENCE BELOW IS AMAZING. IF YOU HAVE A $700,000 LOAN AMOUNT AND CAN MOVE FROM 6.875 TO 5.75, YOU WILL SAVE OVER $600 A MONTH.

****** There are Fixed and Adjustable Rate Mortgages. Jumbo rates are higher than Conforming in all categories. Most likely, this will only apply to Interest Only loans.

Costs of Refinancing

In order to refinance, it costs about $3,000-$3,400. You pay the Title/Escrow Company about $1500-$1800 and an appraiser $400-$450. The Loan Fees cost is about $1100.

No Closing Cost Refinancing Option:

You can get a no closing cost loan. The rate is always a little higher because this is where the lender charges you the cost. However, I suggest you pay a one time cost of $3,000 rather than pay a higher rate for 30 Years. For example, as of 2/8/08 a 30 Year Fixed Conforming loan amount where you pay the closing costs is at 5.75%. If you don’t pay the closing costs, it could be about 6% or slightly under.

Roll your Closing Costs into the loan amount:

Most people add $3,000 to their loan amount instead of paying out of pocket for the costs. There are many advantages to doing it this way, but we can discuss this over the phone.

New Criteria for Refinancing or Purchasing

· Lenders require us to show 6 times all of your monthly debt covered as reserves in the bank.

· Most lenders require 700 FICO scores, though some do allow 680.

· You must show consistent work and they will require proof of your income.

· Debt to income ratios are strictly adhered to now, so a lender requires that your debt not exceed 45% of your income.

· The lender requires full documentation of two months of savings, investments, and retirement accounts ALL PAGES, W’2s for 2006 and 2007 or 2 years of all pages of tax returns if you are self-employed.

THE NEXT STEPS TO TAKE IN ORDER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE QUICKLY OF THIS OPPORTUNITY:< br>

If you qualify, you will need to provide me with all of the following information. (Unfortunately, a loan packet that is not complete will be returned by the lender and the loan file will lose its place in line for processing.)

Documents Required by Lender

· W’2s for 2006 and 2007

· Pay stubs to show an entire month of income

· Two months of savings, retirement, and investment accounts ALL PAGES FRONT AND BACK. Internet statements will work if they are truly statements with your name and account numbers. Please got to the section on the bank’s web site where it says Monthly Statements and print those out.

· A current mortgage statement.

Additional Information

· The name and phone number of your Fire Insurance Agent.

· A cell phone that I can give the appraiser so that he can call you to set up an appointment. The lender will require a full appraisal to verify your value. Appraisals cost around $400-$450 and the appraiser will ask for a check at the door.

· We can help you fill out the loan application. We will want to update your loan application very specifically. Lenders are far more cautious right now, and they want the most accurate and updated information. Email me if you want to fill out your own loan application. You are welcome to fill out and sign all pages of the loan application, or we can fill it out over the phone and I will email you the loan application so that you sign and date all pages. The loan application will also contain a US Patriot Act form that needs to be completed.

Process

The process may take longer than usual refinances. Typically, it takes 3-4 weeks. If there are many people trying to take advantage of this temporary rate break, it will be back logged. The only way to get a file through is to have a complete loan application.

Again, please call with any questions, and together, let’s take advantage of these lower rates for loan amounts of $729,000 or higher.

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.

52 sales this week – up from 37 last week. Single family homes did pretty well in the “over” department this time around, while condos and TIC’s didn’t fare quite as well. But sales are creeping upwards, and we haven’t even seen the effect of the upcoming changes to conforming loan limits. Keep your eyes peeled over the next few weeks. I have a feeling that sales for the remainder of February and March will set the tone for the rest of the 2008. Stay tuned folks. Stay tuned.

Here’s a quick breakdown of closed San Francisco home sales for the week from February 9-15, 2008:

Single Family Homes –
24 Homes Sold

Condos/Lofts/Co-ops’s –
18 Homes Sold

TIC’s –
10 Homes Sold

Here’s a “quickie” post – San Francisco Festivals for 2008. Of course, many happen on Sundays when you’re out and about looking at San Francisco open houses. But if you can tear yourself away from San Francisco real estate for a few hours, get out there and have some fun! And stay out of trouble!

(And feel free to look up even MORE events here.)

Once you have gotten your home ready for sale - marketing will be the next step in getting it sold.

There are a lot of factors to be considered in marketing a home. For instance, the steps you will take to market a $50 million dollar home will vary to a large degree from a $1 million dollar home. Since I’m guessing that most of my blog readers do not have a $50 million dollar home for sale, and instead have something more typical of the San Francisco market which can be anywhere from $500K for a small condo or TIC to $3-4 million for a property in Noe Valley or Pacific Heights, I’ll be focusing on those more regular homes here in San Francisco.

Of course, if you have a $50 million dollar home to sell, feel free to contact me to discuss the marketing approach I would suggest – I’ll be happy to assist you.

Your agent will pay for most marketing. Of course, we are talking within reason. If you have decided that your 1BR TIC warrants a TV commercial that airs on all of the HGTV shows during prime time – well, you might just have to pay for that yourself. But your agent, in most cases, can and should cover all of the basic marketing expenses. These expenses include:

Market Preparation

• Professional level digital photography
• Optional line drawing or watercolor of exterior
• Professional video shoot and DVD
• Professionally shot virtual tour

Print Marketing

• Real Estate Times display ad
• Sunday Chronicle display ad
• “Just Listed” cards delivered in the area surrounding the property as well as to select REALTORS® and clients
• Property Statements that are professionally designed

Online Marketing

• Feature property at www.zephyrsf.com website
• Publish listing at the #1 site for listing traffic, www.realtor.com
• Publish listing at the #1 site for San Francisco property information, www.sfarmls.com
• Participation in the IDX (Internet Data Exchange) program. This publishes your listing to all major Brokerage websites, including Pacific Union, McGuire, Hill & Co., Sotheby’s, TRI/Coldwell Banker and others. Individual agent websites who participate in the program would also carry your property.
• Custom property website, dedicated to your property only, e.g.: www.145gardensidedr.com
• Promotion on local blogs such as Curbed SF, theFrontSteps and maybe even your own agent’s blog and/or website.

Additional Activities for the Premier Home Market

• Catered Broker’s tour, to increase turnout from the brokerage community
• Twilight catered showing in first week with notice to neighbors and REALTORS®
• Exposure internationally to the top firms in the U.S. via our partnership with “Leading Real Estate Companies of the World” – the largest relocation network in the world

Those are some of the most basic marketing tactics for your home – and again, your REALTOR will take care of all of these for you.

But I haven’t yet touched on what might be the most important part of marketing your home for sale in San Francisco – STAGING!

Potential buyers make their decision to purchase your home in the first 30 seconds upon entering. First impression is the key to selling your home fast and for top dollar.

In addition, well staged homes sell for 30-50% faster than their counterparts.

HUD data shows that a staged home sells for 17% more, on average, than a non-staged home.

Your agent will:
a. Arrange a staging consultation at the property with or without a professional stager
b. Execute staging plan in consultation with Broker and property owner
c. Install fresh floral arrangements and will refresh as needed prior to major showings
d. Arrange for a “fix up” loan to assist you with cash flow and help get you top dollar

However, most agent don’t pay for staging, unless of course, they reflect the cost in their commission. In my case, I have set professional fees, and if a seller is willing to go above and beyond my standard commission rate, I will reimburse a seller for a portion of staging costs at the close of escrow.

Since a staged home sells for more money and sells quicker than an unstaged home, staging is in everyone’s best interest.

And let’s not forget actually showing the home – that is in fact part of marketing your property. Ideally, you will no longer be living in your property during the sale. That means that once the property is cleaned, staged and ready to present, there won’t be anyone to make a mess and it’ll be left exactly the same from one showing to the next.

However, sometimes circumstances require that you live in your home while you’re selling it. That doesn’t mean it will be difficult to sell your home. It just means that there are some things you should keep in mind when preparing to show it. From Realtor.com:

• Pull the drapes back
• Light lamps
• Simmer a few drops of vanilla on the stove
• Light your fireplace
• Set the dining room or kitchen table if you have particularly nice linen or china
• Put fresh towels in the bathroom
• Leave the house so your REALTOR® is free to deal with prospective buyers in a professional manner

Following these suggestions will help your REALTOR make the most of every showing. And while the San Francisco real estate market isn’t doing bad, putting your property in the best light possible will definitely help you sell your home quickly and for the most money possible.

So that’s the basic gist of what goes into marketing a property for sale. There’s obviously more to it than that – but I’m trying to keep this short and sweet for the sake of a blog post instead of a short book. If you have questions about the best way to market your property, feel free to contact me, and I’ll be happy to give you some advice.

I hope you’ll stop by when I’ll be talking to you about Step 6 to Selling your Home Successfully in San Francisco – Disclose, Disclose and Disclose Some More!

The latest market report is here. (You can also view previous market updates by selecting the archives on the upper right portion of the screen).

This time around the median condo price is slightly down from the same time last year, and the median single family home price is up from the same time last year.

The big news? The increase in the conforming loan limit – what else?

Congress Raises Conforming Loan Limit

Congress passed the economic stimulus package which temporarily raises the conforming loan limit to $729,750 from $417,000.

This should loosen up credit and give a boost to the real estate market, especially in high-priced areas and in the move-up market.

Home sales fell 32.5% from December, down 5.4% year-over-year. The 106 homes sold in January were the fewest number of sales since we’ve been keeping track: January 2000. Condo sales were also off, dropping 44.9%, month-over-month, and down 19.3% from January 2007.

The median price for single-family, re-sale homes rose 11.1% from December, and was up 6.6% year-over-year. The average price dropped 2.7%, but was up 11.7% compared to last December.

The median price for condos in San Francisco rose 2.2% to $710,000 from December, down 2.1% year-over-year. The average price for condos gained 8% to $885,195, month-over-month. The average price was up 8.5% year-over-year.

Welcome back to Photo Friday – my little way of taking a break from San Francisco Real Estate and instead blogging about our great City’s past instead. All photos are published with permission from the San Francisco History Center and San Francisco Public Library.

I have a mixed use fixer upper coming on the market in Noe Valley in the next week or two at the corner of Castro and Jersey Streets in San Francisco. (2 residential units and 2 commercial units, if you’re curious)

View Larger Map

And while I was talking with one of the current tenants that reside in the building, she mentioned that she had seen an old photo somewhere of the neighborhood with the building in the backgroound. So I started doing some digginig on the internet, and while I didn’t find the building itself, I found the old Castro Street cable car barns across the street on the corner where there is now a Walgreen’s and its adjacent parking lot.

According the the Cable Car Museum website:

The final branch of the Market Street Cable Railway Co. originated as a steam motor line called the Market Street Extension. Beginning at the Market and Valencia powerhouse it ran out Market to Castro Street. In response to public displeasure with this rather primitive arrangement, management decided in 1887 to convert the operation to cable and extend the line south on Castro Street to 26th Street. Accommodating the additional cars required that a small car barn be built on the corner of Castro and Jersey Streets.

From a Google clip I found of San Francisco’s Noe Valley By Bill Yenne – The Market Street Railway Company abandoned the property in 1941. The barn on the right was torn down for a parking lot and the barn on the left became a Safeway market in about 1943. In 1974 the building was abandoned and became Little Bell market in 1975. Finallym in 1988, it became a Walgreen’s drugstore and it’s been there now for almost 20 years.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s Photo Friday. Hope you have a great weekend! I hear the weather will be pretty decent so get out there and do something fun!

Just wanted to drop a quick little note to my few loyal readers. I haven’t abandonded you.

AT&T has been toying with my DSL service. One minute it’s up and running, the next, it’s not. One day they say that they have the wrong email address tied to my account, the next they say that I have a weak signal, and then two days later – magically, my DSL connection just pops back up, unannounced – just in time for the technician to come to my house to see that there’s nothing wrong.

And as soon as the technician leaves – I’m sure the little DSL gnomes that play with my signal will be right back, toying with my DSL line, and my ability to post on this here San Francisco real estate blog.

Wish me luck beating those gnomes. And if you happen to use Comcast for your internet service, I’d love to hear if their gomes are any friendlier – I’ve heard that their gnomes don’t steal your signal just for fun? Is it true? Anyone?

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.

Well, last week we had 47 home sales in San Francisco, which was up from the previous week’s 20 sales. This week we have 37 sales – not great, but not bad either. The thing to note is that we are moving back to a situation where the majority of homes are selling for over the asking price.

Frankly, I’m not surprised. San Francisco is and always will be a desirable place to live.

While the average overbid is no longer a few hundred thousand dollars over asking price, homes are still selling for over the list price. How much over? Well – this week we had a property sell for $180,000 over the asking price, and we also had one sell for just $100 over the asking price, and yes, that one does count as “over asking.” As for averages, this week the average overbid was still about $50K over the asking price. Not bad while the rest of the country is facing a downturn.

Here’s a quick breakdown of closed San Francisco home sales for the week from February 2-8, 2008:

Single Family Homes –
19 Homes Sold

Condos/Lofts/Co-ops’s –
15 Homes Sold

TIC’s –
3 Homes Sold

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.

No commentary with these stats except to say we’re definitely looking better than last week. Why am I skipping my 2 cents this week? Well, I’m still playing catch-up from my move. I’ll post a thought or two with the Feb 2 – Feb 8 statistics.

Here’s a quick breakdown of closed San Francisco home sales for the week from January 26 – February 1, 2008:

Single Family Homes –
24 Homes Sold

Condos/Lofts/Co-ops’s –
17 Homes Sold

TIC’s –
6 Homes Sold