Divisadero isn’t the only place in San Francisco getting a makeover.

Noriega Street was recently repaved and these little “traffic calming” medians were installed.  Sadly, they sat around naked and plantless for a few months.

But when I recently spoke to Carmen Chu, the Sunset District’s supervisor, she had mentioned that plants were their way.

I happened to be driving by today and caught the median greening IN ACTION! And in fact, most of Noriega Street’s medians are already finished and at the rate these SF employees are moving, I think there’s a good chance they’ll all be done today.

There’s nothing like watching the City you love get improved, even if it’s a few square feet at a time.

As I do every month (albeit sometimes rather late), I ran the latest San Francisco real estate sales figures from the month of September for you. Here’s the data for September, raw and unfiltered, just how you like it.

This month, Single family volume is down from August, but median price is UP.  Condo sales however have shot significantly up in volume, but median price slipped.

Interesting to note that multiple offers are BACK and list price to ask price ratio is up.  This is MORE a sign of marketing, but it means that there are enough buyers out there to drive prices UP.  As far as the market goes, that’s great!!!  As far as being a buyer goes, not so much.  If prices continue this upward trend, then the bottom has passed us (my guess is in July) and you better buy something quick if you want to take advantage of relatively low prices and historically low interest rates.

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 August 1, 2009 through August 31, 2009:

Single Family Homes

• 179 Homes Sold
• Median Sale Price was $750,000
• Minimum Sale Price was $115,000
• Maximum Sale Price was $7,995,000
• Median Selling Price was 103% of asking price
• Median Days on Market was 40
• Median Selling Price for homes that sold within 30 days was 104% of asking price

Condominiums, Lofts & Co-ops

• 195 Homes Sold
• Median Sale Price was $680,000
• Minimum Sale Price was $260,000
• Maximum Sale Price was $7,250,000
• Median Selling Price was 98% of asking price
• Median Days on Market was 60
• Median Selling Price for homes that sold within 30 days was 99% of asking price

TIC’s

• 27 Homes Sold
• Median Sale Price was $560,000
• Minimum Sale Price was $375,000
• Maximum Sale Price was $830,000
• Median Selling Price was 99% of asking price
• Median Days on Market was 89
• Median Selling Price for homes that sold within 30 days was 100% of asking price

An update to It’s About Seal Life 2009 from the organizer:

Surf Addict Presents three-time world champion surfer-turned-musician Tom Curren to perform at “It’s About Sea Life Benefit 2” After-Party, on November 20^th, 2009, at the Hard Rock Café Fisherman’s Wharf.  Access to the After-Party will be limited to those purchasing tickets to the main event, to take place at the Aquarium Of The Bay.

Tom Curren turned to music after a legendary surfing career that included taking the World Championship Title in 1985, 1986, and 1990, and influencing an entire generation of surfers worldwide. A renowned name in the surfing community, Curren now combines his art with his surfing roots, performing at major surfing events with his folksy-bluesy-minimalist sound.

“It’s About Sea life Benefit 2” proceeds will benefit humanitarian, environmental and marine conservation organizations Surfaid International, Save the Waves Coalition, Surfrider Foundation and The Marine Mammal Center.

Additional information can be found at  www.itsaboutsealife.org, www.surfaddict.com, and  www.tomcurren.com.

Buy your tickets NOW; we expect to sell out FAST ~ or make a donation.

See you there!

Aloha,

Milton Fiala, Jr.

SurfAddict Founder & CEO

Last year, I got to be part of the It’s About Sea Life Benefit, an awesome event that my friend, neighbor and client, Milton Fiala of SurfAddict somehow magically pulled together.

The event was so awesome last year, that rather than just sponsoring the event, I decided to join in as an It’s About Sea Life Benefit partner!

And I’m not the only one that thinks that the It’s About Sea Life Benefit will be the bomb this year.

Other partners include FuelTV, Barefoot Wine, the Hilton at SF’s Fisherman’s Wharf, New Belgium Brewing Company, SF’s Hardrock Cafe, Daniel Castro, the Bay Club, ASR and Marc B.

This year’s event benefits SurfAid International, Save the Waves Coalition, Surfrider Foundation and The Marine Mammal Center.

More on the event from the press release:

IT’S ABOUT SEA LIFE BENEFIT & PADDLE-OUT 2

PRESENTED BY SURF ADDICT, IN SAN FRANCISCO, CA

PROMOTING SEA LIFE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

EVENT DATE – Friday, November 20th, 2009 from 7:30pm-12am

EVENT LOCATION – Aquarium of the Bay

AFTER-PARTY LOCATION – Hard Rock Cafe at Fisherman’s Wharf from 12am-2am

The benefit will take place in San Francisco – at the Aquarium of the Bay – in the evening of Friday, November 20th, 2009, from 7:30pm – 12am. Attendees will be able to visit the Aquarium tanks/tunnels during the event. Cocktail Reception kicks off at 7:30pm. Live Auction begins at 9:00pm. Silent Auction bids end by 9:00pm. Music and dancing follows.

Celebrity guests, artists, designers and pro-surfers are expected to attend. Daniel Castro Band www.danielcastro.com and Marc B. will www.marcbmusic.com will perform at the Aquarium of the Bay.

After-Party at the Hard Rock Café, at Fisherman’s Wharf, from 12:00am – 2:00am ~ Live Music by “Surprise” Surf-Celebrity & Musician.

Paddle-Out – Saturday, November 21st, 2009.
In the morning of November 21st, at 9:30am, local surfers, ocean conservationists, animal & life lovers will perform a Ceremonial Paddle-Out, led by Rochelle Ballard, Pro-Surfer & Yoga Instructor (“Surf Into Yoga” DVD), at Crissy Field East Beach/Parking Lot. This will be an ocean and land ritual to offer prayers for all ocean creatures and sea-life protection.

The morning Paddle-Out Ceremony will be followed by an opportunity to speak to sea life protection and environmental non-profit organization representatives about their causes and quest to preserve the ocean and sea life. Paddle-out will be free and open to the public.

Yoga-Session – Sunday, November 22nd, 2009.
On Sunday, November 22nd, a Yoga Session will be led by Rochelle Ballard, at the San Francisco Bay Club. RSVP required and $15.00 suggested donation will be reverted back to IASL’s 2009 Fund to be distributed to beneficiaries. Rochelle Ballard’s new “Surf Into Yoga” DVD’s, www.surfintoyoga.com, will be available for sale and proceeds donated back to the cause.

Additional info and tickets available at www.itsaboutsealife.org and www.brownpapertickets.com

Check Out Last Year’s Event Video and Photos.

IASL’s 2009 already confirmed partners and sponsors are Fuel TV, New Belgium Brewery, Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, Hard Rock Café Fisherman’s Wharf, Hilton San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco Bay Club, Dragon Alliance, Luba Muzichenko (Zephyr Real Estate), Wise Surfboards, Jed Noll Surfboards, Jeff Clark Surfboards, Alex Martins Surfboard Repair, Daniel Castro Band, Marc B.’s Band, Giant Reef Limo, Noriega Produce, Rip Curl, Golden Gateway Swim & Tennis Club, Dr. Ana Amaya (D.D.S., M.S.), Vans Off The Wall, Sam Henderson Photography (Benefit), Charlie Zabielskis Photography (Paddle-Out), OCSC Sailing, Fish Restaurant, Thinknicity, Total Performance Health, Golden Gate Cycles, Frank Lew (State Farm), Robert Harris (artist), Ian Ross (artist) and K9 Intel, amongst others yet to be confirmed.

Stay tuned for updates on new Partners, Sponsors and the Auction list!!!

Contact: Milton Fiala, Jr.
Tel: (415) 948 5889
Email: mfiala@surfaddict.com
www.itsaboutsealife.org
www.surfaddict.com

In San Francisco, living green isn’t just an option, you’re pretty much going to be tarred and feathered if you DON’T think about your carbon footprint on a daily basis and do something proactive about it.  And frankly, tarring and feathering is exactly what you deserve if you can’t make a little change to positively impact our amazing City, and our fragile planet.

Fortunately for you, you can avoid the whole tar and feather process with a few clicks of a mouse… or at least that’s where it starts.

Here’s a few sites that will help you to live life a little greener.

RECYCLE

You’ve made a commitment to a greener lifestyle.  But somewhere deep in your closet you still have all these toxic and hazardous items just waiting to be disposed of, if you only knew where to go!  Never fear dear blog reader! You can visit SF Recycling’s Hazardous Waste page, and while you’re there, you can go ahead and order your green compost bin for San Francisco’s new mandatory composting program.

GET PAID FOR YOUR E-WASTE

OK, so you won’t get paid for ALL of your E-waste (remember, what you can’t get paid for, you can dump safely at the SF Recycling’s Hazardous Waste center.) If you’ve got an old collection of cell phones, laptops, desktops, computer monitors and other electronic gadgets, www.Gazelle.com will actually PAY you, YES! Pay YOU! for your used electronics.  Good for your pocket, good for the world.

LEARN ABOUT THE IMPACT OF FOOD, TOYS AND MORE

Do you ever look at your shampoo bottle and wonder just how socially responsible it is?  You better if you’re a San Franciscan! (Lest I remind you that you WILL be tarred and feathered!) Well, you can check out www.GoodGuide.com to get information on over 70,000 food, toys, personal care, & household products to see just what kind of an impact the products you use are having on our environment, from the San Francisco sewage system to the ozone in general. AND find alternatives that ARE good for you and for the environment in general!

BUY LOCAL PRODUCE

We all know that eating locally is good for you, but we don’t always know where to go to get local products.  If you don’t have the route to your SF neighborhood’s farmer’s market memorized by heart, along with days and hours of operation, you can find the closest ones by going to www.LocalHarvest.org.  From farmer’s markets to personal beekeeping services, you WILL find what you need to eat local.

LEAVE A SMALLER FOOTPRINT

I’ve hit on a few ideas here that can get you started on a low impact lifestyle, but there’s always more you can do.  www.LowImpactLiving.com tells you how.  According to their site:

At Low Impact Living, we want to help you lower the environmental impact of your home and your daily life. To do that, we help you find the best green products, practices and service providers to help you achieve your environmental goals. And we will also help you understand the environmental benefits and economic trade-offs of your choices. Our primary goal is to make the path from inspiration to implementation as short and as smooth as possible. Only by taking action will we collectively reduce the damage to our planet and ecosystems.

LUBA’S SAN FRANCISCO REAL ESTATE BLOG

OK  – I’m cheating and throwing in a bit of self-promotion here, but it’s my blog and I’ll do what I want!   For a limited time, I’ll be providing FREE, yes FREE, reusable canvas grocery bags for San Francisco residents.  To keep MY carbon footprint low, I won’t be mailing them, packaging them or whatnot.  They’re available for local pick-up or delivery – limit 2 per San Francisco household while supplies last.  The first 30 people also get a free reusable water bottle!

Want YOUR free canvas grocery bags (and potentially free water bottle if you act fast)??? Email me at luba@zephyrsf.com.  And don’t worry about your information – you won’t be signed up for any annoying SPAM or mailing lists – unless you want to!

Have a green day, San Francisco!

OH! And P.S – if you have more green resources for SF residents, drop a note in the comments or email me!

This has got to be one of my favorite houses to walk past down on the Great Highway… always reminds me of the Rolling Stone’s song “Wild Horses.”

Too bad my cameraphone doesn’t have a wide angle lens to capture all of the artwork.

Do you have any shots of unique San Francisco images?

Maybe even some, like this one that you’d never see if you were just driving by?

Send them on over and I’ll post your secret San Francisco photos too.

The latest text message from ALERT SF:

Localized flooding throughout the City.  Avoid driving through deep water.  Report flooded areas to 3-1-1.

Drive safe folks – for that matter, make sure you walk safe too…

So, this here little San Francisco real estate blog has been around for almost three years.  It’s hard to believe, but it’s true.  When I started this whole blogging gig, there were only a few other SF Realtors doing it.

But today, there are lots of SF real estate blogs out there in the blogosphere.  And frankly, most of them (at least the ones I’ve run across) are pretty damn good.

Most are written by local real estate agents (or their assistants and associates) with just a few exceptions.

With so many real estate blogs here in the City now, how do you know which one is right for you?

Well, the great news is that you don’t have to just pick one.  In fact, the great part about all of the other Realtor’s blogs is that you have a WEALTH of information all with the click of a mouse!!!

And they’re all so different!

• Some blogs have short posts, others have long posts.
• Some blogs are light hearted and funny, others are serious.
• Some blogs focus on statistics, others focus on stories.
• Some blogs have daily posts, others are less frequent.

So where can you find them all?

Right here.

Here are some of the real estate blogs in San Francisco that I read.

• Clients in the Know
• Condocontessa
• Curbed SF
• Fog City Guide
• Inside San Francisco Real Estate
• Inside SF Real Estate
• JonTaylorSF Blog
• Misha’s Musings
• SFLiving
• SFResidence Blog
• The Front Steps
• San Francisco Schtuff
• SF House Prices
• SF New Developments
• sf real estate buzz
• SFHotlist
• Socketsite
• Solid
• The San Francisco Real Estate Blog

All of these blogs offer something for San Francisco residents pondering buying or selling real estate, or just curious about the whole subject.  And like the people that write them, they’re all different.

If you have any that you think should be added to the list, or if you have a SF real estate blog that I’ve missed, let me know.  I’m happy to add more resources.

In my humble opinion, our business needs to be more transparent, and all of these blogs are doing their part to make it just a little bit more so.

Are you looking to buy a house in San Francisco?  Or maybe you’re pondering selling that little SF condominium or TIC?

Whether buying a house, condo or TIC, investment property,etc. or looking to sell any of the above in the City, you want TOOLS!

I’m not talking hammers, table saws and drills – I’m talking about tools that provide you with HONEST and UNBIASED information about the San Francisco Real Estate Market!

So – you want to know what kind of tools you can get your hands on?

The City Update(TM) – San Francisco’s Friendliest Real Estate Newsletter

The City Update(TM) is a little SF real estate newsletter delivered straight to your inbox (almost) every Friday.  It has ALL sorts of awesome features including:

• San Francisco Market Reports from the Altos Research folks
• All of the NEW San Francisco real estate listings from the last 30 days
• All of the SOLD San Francisco real estate listings from the last 30 days
• Links to SF Open Houses, SF Foreclosure Listings, and more
• SF Property “Pocket Listings” that I hear about (properties that AREN’T available to the general public!)

You can SIGN UP HERE or you can check out the site (just keep in mind that frankly, the site sucks – but I created it myself and since my HTML skills are LACKING, I’m just happy I got THAT far with it!)

SF Real Estate Market Updates

If you just can’t get enough San Francsco real estate market updates between this blog and The City Update(TM), you now have one more option when it comes to getting the latest deets on what the market is doing.

Again, brought to you by the Altos Research folks, you can narrow down your reports by zip code or property type AND you can sign up for as few or as many zip codes as you like (you just have to reenter your info for each new zip code/property type).

Go ahead, get your SF real estate data fix on!  You can SIGN UP HERE.

100% Complete Access to the San Francisco MLS

Know everything that’s on the San Francisco market in real time.  Just like a REALTOR, you’ll get access to ALL of the listings in the MLS.

Unlike other Real Estate search sites, Zephyr MLS Direct gives you the most complete, accurate and up-to-date listing information available, which lets you find properties as soon as they hit the market.

It also lets you save your searches and new listings that match your criteria emailed to you as soon as they hit the market!  And you can save your favorite properties, watch them go into escrow, and if they’re in your “favorites” folder, you can even see the price they sold for (which we all know is super secret data.)  You also get notified of any changes that occur to the property listings that match your criteria AND Friday Open House reports.  Cool or what?

You’ll have to give up some personal info, and “agree” to work with me as your REALTOR (it’s a technicality that the MLS requires), but I NEVER EVER EVER hold you to it.  To really build a client/agent relationship, we have to meet in person to decide if we’re a good fit to help you achieve your real estate goals.  And you’ll have to CONTACT ME to make it happen.  WHY?  Because I’m just not into stalking and I’m easy to find.

Want your own MLS access? You can SIGN UP HERE.

So, go ahead, get your SF real estate information fix on! Sign up for one, two or all three of the San Francisco real estate tools above!

And if you think you’d like me to represent you in the sale or purchase of a property, call me at 415–307–1392 or shoot me an email.  I’m happy to schedule a free consultation with you to see if we’d work well together.

Oh, and as a reminder, should you sign up for any of the tools above, as always, your info will not be sold, rented, shared, abused, danced on, or in any other way misused. Just thought you’d like to know.

Tags: SF+MLS, San+Francisco+MLS, San+Francisco+Realtor, SF+Realtor, San+Francisco+Real+Estate, SF+Real+Estate, SF+Market+Data, San+Francisco+Market+Data, San+Francisco+Real+Estate+Newsletter, SF+Real+Estate+Newsletter, San+Francisco+Realtor+Newsletter, SF+Realtor+Newsletter

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:

San Francisco Home Sales Down, Prices Up in September

Sales of single-family, re-sale homes dropped 39.2% last month compared to August. Home sales were up 0.6% year-over-year. This is the third month in a row home sales have been higher than the year before. Year-to-date, home sales are down 3.5%.

Condo sales, on the other hand, were up 4.8% month-over-month, and up 37.3% compared to September 2008. Year-to-date, condo sales are off 12.4%.

The median price gained 20% from August, but was down 4.1% year-over-year. The average price rose 17.2% month-over-month, but was off 11.3% year-over-yeaer.

The median price for loft/condos in San Francisco rose 2.8% from August, but was down 7.1% year-over-year. The average price gained 3.3% month-over-month, but was off 3.9% compared to September 2008.

Read on for full details…

I got stuck parking a litle further from my Zephyr Real Estate office than usual today.  But I guess it was one of those serendipitous sorts of things.

I’ve been trying to go “green” just like everyone else is (or should be) doing.  So I was pretty excited to stumble on green11.

Located at 3980 24th St at Noe, green11 has all sorts of organic beauty products AND biodegradable cleaning supplies.

Big whoop, right?  Even Target sells those, right???

Well, green11 lets you bring in your OWN container, that’s right, ANY container and they fill it up for you from their big bottles full of organic and biodegrable goodness.  So that Tide detergent bottle you have?  Bring it on down, fill it up with some eco-friendly detergent, feel good about being green and then go home and do some laundry. 

My favorite part???

Their “business cards” are scraps of brown paper bags that have been cut down and their business info is stamped with a rubber stamp. 

Anyhow – it’s just one more EASY way that you can reduce your footprint on our precious planet.