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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.