10/27/09

I love, love, love this listing



Yeah, I know. Real agents love all their listings. (We really do.) But one look at this Ironworks live-work loft and you'll find yourself besotted as well.

The location, layout and amenities are incredible, but it's the parking for two cars that just might make you weep. Two cars!

This is #24, an end unit on the top floor of the Ironworks complex at 1221 Harrison Street in SoMa. It has the biggest floor plan (1,676 sq. ft) and the best views.
(And parking for two cars!)


Check our website for all the features and photos.

10/4/09

Reporter wins for real estate reporting

The Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists will hold its annual awards shindig in November.

Among the 2009 winners is Zoe Corneli, a reporter at KALW public radio in San Francisco, who nabbed the "Outstanding Emerging Journalist" award for her series on foreclosure scams. Her reporting sparked an investigation by the state Department of Real Estate.

Nice work!

10/1/09

Do the math. Better yet, allow me...

The days of 100% financing with no documentation are gone, but with upgraded FHA loan guidelines buyers can put as little as 3.5% down and obtain a conservative 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

In the nine-county San Francisco Bay area, the FHA loan limit is $729,750. Put 3.5% down, and this translates into a $756,217 home purchase price. With 10% down, it translates to an $810,833 purchase price.

You might not get a Pacific Heights mansion, but you could certainly get a Cole Valley condo.

Feel like house hunting? Me, too! Email me or call 415/602-9056 to get started.

9/28/09

The slump gets a bump?

"The worst housing slump since the Great Depression may be drawing to a close as first-time buyers rush to take advantage of tax credits before a November deadline."

So says reporter Bob Willis on Bloomberg.com. Buyers who want that $8,000 tax credit are seeing reduced prices on new houses because builders must compete with a glut of foreclosures. The median price of a new house fell 9.5%. Sales of new homes in August hit a one-year high.

Read the whole story at Bloomberg.com.

8/20/09

An expert weighs in

Wharton real estate professor Peter D. Linneman shared his thoughts about the real estate market in an August 19, 2009 edition of Knowledge@Wharton.

6/24/09

Living the tweet life in San Francisco

The City and County of San Francisco established the 311 line to provide an easy-to-remember telephone number that connects residents, businesses, and visitors to customer service representatives ready to help with information and service requests.

But telephoning is so last century.

Now you can reach the same
customer service reps 24/7 via Twitter from your computer or SMS-enabled cell phone.

Get details on the program or skim the SF311 Twitter page first.

4/13/09

Gorgeous Queen Anne Victorian

My colleagues at Vision Real Estate have the listing for this amazing Queen Anne Victorian at 710 Broderick Street. For photos, the floorplan, schedule of showings, and more, check the property website.

4/12/09

Are you prepared?

When the Girl Scouts coined the motto "be prepared," were they thinking much beyond a possible Thin Mints shortage?

On the other hand, the 72hours.org website has all the bases covered: earthquakes, floods, fires, biohazards, zombie attacks. Okay, maybe not that last thing, but you get the idea.

Being on your own in a disaster won't be fun, but getting your home, car, and office ready for the worst is absolutely essential, and 72hours.org spells out what to do to stay sane in during an emergency. Be prepared.

4/10/09

Bay Area leads the U.S. in dropping rents

According to this story in the San Francisco Examiner, the nation's biggest drops in residential rent have occurred in the Bay Area. Locally, rents have dropped most in the Marina, Russian Hill and Telegraph Hill neighborhoods.

4/9/09

Help me help him help me

Here's how I figure it: If I help San Francisco resident Mike Stearns get a job, he and his wife Robin may soon be in a position to buy a house, or maybe trade up to a bigger house.

For that, they are going to need a real estate agent. Granted, they don't know me, but a blog entry is not such a bad way to say "howdy."

So visit (seriously) MyHusbandNeedsAJob.com and check out
Mike's education and training. He has the right degree from Georgetown, and has worked on both coasts—and in China.

Spread the word. Help me help him…help me. I can't wait to put those two crazy kids into just the right home.

4/2/09

Interior designers show off at Showcase

The 2009 San Francisco Decorator Showcase kicks off on April 25 and runs through Memorial Day weekend.

Designed by noted architect Nathaniel Blaisdell, the formal four-story Georgian home was built in 1910 for George L. Payne, owner of Payne’s Bolt Works.
The address is 2830 Pacific Avenue (between Divisadero and Broderick).

Your $30 ticket gives you guilt-free looky-loo privileges and supports San Francisco University High School’s financial aid program. Tickets are available at the door.


For complete details, visit the Showcase website.

3/31/09

On your mark, get ready...wait

Residential builders are gearing up for new projects in the Dogpatch, Rincon Hills and South of Market.

The few projects mentioned in this San Francisco Business Times article would create more than 600 units, but no one's breaking out the hammers and nails just yet.
The number of active residential listings in San Francisco is 24% higher than a year ago.

Still, developers getting their ducks in a row is not a bad sign.

3/23/09

How low can they go?

This article by Luke Mullins for U.S. News & World Report spells out the seven things to know about the incredible shrinking mortage rates. There's something so tidy and concrete about a numbered list.

Mullins also wrote this article on home buyer tax credits.

3/17/09

Barbie's (life-size) Dream House

In honor of Barbie's milestone birthday (the big 5-0), designer Jonathan Adler created her Dream House in Malibu. Apartment Therapy covered it, as did a least one Los Angeles Times blogger.

So…when does Ken get his
man cave?

3/13/09

DIY for the times




In a perfect world (or even a normal economy), you choose an experienced real estate agent when you decide to sell your home.

But the authors of "How to Sell a House When It's Worth Less Than the Mortgage" know there is nothing normal about a market in which tens of thousands of homeowners are "underwater." That is, their home is worth less than what they owe.

In fact, a Pew Research Center survey found that 20% of all homeowners believe they if they would have to sell their home right now, it would sell for less than they owe. Read the complete survey results here.

3/11/09

The San Francisco Dream House

On the market for $2,389,000 in September 2008, and to reduced to $2,280,000 in November, the new duplex property at 1240 5th Avenue in San Francisco was withdrawn without a sale.

Still, someone is going be very happy living there. Imagine forking over a mere $150 for a raffle ticket and winning a brand spanking new custom house with a guest cottage.


Sigh.

What? Oh, sorry. I was just daydreaming about having my morning coffee in my private courtyard before returning to the main house to call all my friends (and maybe a few strangers) to brag about my four-car garage.


The drawing will be held on July 25, 2009. Raffle proceeds benefit the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
Details and photos are here.

3/9/09

A live/work/pray property?

The former Golden Gate Lutheran Church is on the market for just under $10 million.

The 17,000 square foot Gothic Revival-style building has been completely rehabbed to add a modern kitchen, three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, and an open main floor (the original nave) with miles of glossy wood flooring. (That's a lot of Swiffering.)


Here's the SFGate story. I'll be watching to see how the next owner uses this "home."

3/4/09

Those three little words…

The people who say a picture's worth a thousand words haven't met San Francisco photographer Peter Bruce.

His photographs speak volumes, but his subjects summarize their feelings in just three words.

Visit his photo blog and see for yourself.

2/27/09

Only in San Francisco

Only in San Francisco, the website for tourists, is pretty handy for locals as well.

Their calendar page lets you search by date range, type of event and/or neighborhood. Most of the calendar listings have links to the event websites, so complete details are just a click away.


2/25/09

The very, very local news

Want to know what's happening in your neighborhood?

EveryBlock/SF can tell you about everything from restaurant inspections to crime reports to building permits.

Just enter your address or zip code, and get the very, very local news.