San Francisco Real Estate – Spring Market Outlook from Zephyr Real Estate

In case you’re a regular reader here at the blog, you probably have noticed the ridiculous lack of steady posts over the last several weeks.  Things in the SF real estate market have been anything but slow, and Zephyr has the scoop:

It’s true that after several months of decent home sales, we saw a dip in January. It’s also true that a slow down at this time of year is typical for San Francisco. People have other things on their minds (holidays, lousy weather, etc.) and will normally wait until early Spring to re-focus on selling or buying real estate.

At last, it appears that we have returned to the market normalcy that existed prior to the boom of 2003 through 2006. Every indication is that we have turned a corner with the market statistics and that home sales have at least stabilized, if not begun to rebound.  We have everything going for us; mortgage interest rates, great home prices and the ever resilient San Francisco real estate market.

They say that the numbers don’t lie. Comparing the last year’s three month period of November 1st through January 31st to this year’s we have some pretty good results. Last year, 761 sales city-wide, this year 1182 sales. Also, last year’s median sale price for the same time frame was $685,000, while this year’s median was $719,000 (these numbers included SFDs, Condos and 2-4 unit buildings).

Not too shabby!

The numbers for each neighborhood can differ tremendously from the City-wide data. As they say, our neighborhood sales vary like our micro-climates!

The real test of market recovery will be the numbers that we see for the coming three months, so stay tuned!

 

I’ll say that’s a pretty good indicator that the San Francisco housing market is picking up speed.  If you have questions about the market, give me a shout at 415-307-1392 or email me at luba@zephyrsf.com!  I’m always happy to talk real estate!

Please, Won’t You Be My Neighbor! SF Ocean View Flats for Sale!

Ocean Beach Living!

It’s always a beautiful day in my neighborhood.  If you read the blog regulary, you know I live here on Great Highway in the Outer Sunset. 

You’ll also know that I LOVE my neighborhood.  Even on a crappy day like today, with the wind blowing and the rain pouring, I can sit in the comfort of my very own house and watch the Pacific Ocean waves land on Ocean Beach. 

It’s a different vibe over on this side of San Francisco.  There’s an amazing community feel, and the local businesses are fantastic.  Whether we’re talking about the Riptide Bar or Noriega Produce or Java Beach or The Pizza Place, you’d be hard pressed to find another group of business owners in the City that care more about their neighborhood than these folks do.

And, we also have amazing neighbors.  People actually care about the neighborhood and they get involved.  And with Carmen Chu making herself available to the community to both hear our concerns and respond to them (yes, she listens AND acts on what she hears!  Crazy, right?) the hood just gets better and better.

So, I’m thrilled to announce that you’ll have an opportunity to be my neighbor.  We won’t be living next door to each other, but when you live on Great Highway, all of your nighbors feel close, even if they’re a few blocks away.  And better yet, your neighbors become your friends!

I won’t give you the whole spoiler about the listing because I think to REALLY appreciate it, you need to see it for yourself.  But the website, www.2458-2460GreatHwy.com will give you a little tease as to what living at the beach can be like.  Besides the ocean views and daily access to sunsets over the horizon, and your own ginormous landscaped yard perfect for parties (complete with bonfire pit!), you get an enclosed outdoor shower (the folks at Socketsite should appreciate that!) where you can get down to your birthday suit and not be afraid of neighbor’s prying eyes.

The Enclosed Outdoor Shower!

Check out the website (www.2458-2460GreatHwy.com) or give me a call at 415-307-1392 for more info. 

And, “Won’t you please, please won’t you, please…….. Please won’t you be my neighbor???  Hello Neighbor!”

A Castle in SF’s Ingleside – Complete with a Drawbridge!

December 2009 San Francisco Housing Sales Data is Here!

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:

Median Price for Homes Up Year-over-Year

The median price of single-family, re-sale homes in San Francisco saw prices up, year-over-year, for the third month in a row. The median price was up 6.6% compared to last December.

Sales of single-family, re-sale homes rose 2.7% last month compared to November, and were up 46.6% year-over-year. That’s the sixth month in a row year-over-year sales have been higher than the year before. For the year, home sales were up 4.3%. See the Annual Report for full details on 2009.

We expect sales to be strong through the Spring selling season because of the extension, and expansion, of the first-time home buyers tax credit of $8,000 for buying a principal residence. First-time buyer is a buyer who has not owned a principal residence in the three-year period prior to the purchase. There are some income limits. For full information, see: http://federalhousingtaxcredit.com.

In addition, the tax credit was expanded to include move-up buyers. The tax credit for move-up buyers is $6,500.  A move-up buyer is a person who has owned and resided in the same home for at least five consecutive years of the eight years prior to the purchase date. Again, for full info, see the web site cited above.

P.S. The tax credit expires April 30th. You need to have a signed contract by then and close the sale within 60 days to qualify for the credit.

Condo/loft sales were up 5.8% month-over-month, and up 64.2% compared to December 2008. This is the fifth month in a row condo/loft sales have been up year-over-year. For the year, condo/loft sales were down 6.4%.

The median price for lofts/condos in San Francisco gained 5.2% from November, but was up 7.6% year-over-year. This is the first the median price has been higher than the year before since last August 2008.

Read on for full details.

Noe Valley Starter Homes – $5!

If only Santa could really bring us real estate deals like these in San Francisco!

(Seen at The Garage Store on Sanchez Street at 24th.)

Da’ Jungle in Da’ Noe Valley

I swear one of these days I will start carrying around a real camera with me, though I can’t say my photos will come out any better!

I see this house all the time when I drive down Church Street to my office in Noe Valley – but never manage to find a minute to stop.

But, I decided today would be different.

My favorite parts of the artwork? The cheetah that looks like he wants to eat me and the sloth that just makes me sleepy.

Feel free to email me any of your unique San Francisco photos. I’m happy to share them with the readers because this blog isn’t JUST about SF real estate, it’s ALL about San Francisco.

Noriega Street Medians Getting a Facelift

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.

Wild Horses in the Outer Sunset

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.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme

Seen driving by Ocean Beach – no company name on the truck, but enough marketing tidbits to make me want to knock down the door to see what’s inside!

Does anyone know what kind of goodies might be inside??? Just spices? Goodies made with spices? I need to know!!!

Drop a note in the comments if you know the secret!

San Francisco Weekend in Progress

Like the paint job on this building, this SF weekend is in progress!

I’ve already managed to do some property showings this weekend, and there will be mre to come this afternoon.

Tomorrow, a day usually reserved for open houses (did you really think I was going to say “rest?”) I’ll be working on compiling some property evaluations – seems with the real estate market picking up in SF, more people are thinking about selling.

But I’ve also miraculously managed to reserve a little time this weekend for a bit of fun. I’ll be going to an informal reunion with the kids I spent most of my childhood years. I went to St. Thomas Apostle out in the Richmond District, and the 8th grade class of 1991 will be getting together to catch up on almost 2 decades of lost time. It should be fun!

And then, once I’m done juggling work, and squeezing in a little fun, I’ll catch up on some blog posts. I’ll give you some San Francisco real estate data, post some real estate stories from the trenches, catch you up on my trip to Design Above All at One Rincon and more.

Oh, and you’ll also get a post explaining why I’ve been working so much, and why you’ll be seeing more random blog posts like this one that just give you a glimpse into the daily life of a Realtor, including what I see and what I do.

Have a great weekend! Hope it’s progressing beautifully so far!