Inside San Francisco Real Estate

Trends, tips & insights on San Francisco Real Estate

Archive for December, 2008

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Best Holiday Deals for Houses

Posted by insidesfre on December 4, 2008

Where will you find the best deals between now and New Year’s Eve?

I ran a report on the number of single-family homes currently on the market in San Francisco, and came up with a whopping 604. But in which parts of the city will you most likely be able to capitalize on an abundance of inventory?

It helps to break things down by neighborhood:

1. Richmond/Sunset:
Number Available: 120
Median List Price: $899,450
Average Days on Market: 57
Note: The Central Richmond, Golden Gate Heights, and the Outer Parkside/Sunset areas are rife with single-family home inventory.

2. Ingleside/Forest Hill/Miraloma Park
Number Available: 123
Median List Price: $850,000
Average Days on Market: 72
Note: Check out some open houses in the Ingleside neighborhoods, which include Ingleside, Ingleside Terrace, and Ingleside Heights. The bulk of available homes lies there.

3. Noe/Eureka/Cole Valleys
Number Available: 83
Median List Price: $1.5M
Average Days on Market: 66
Note: Inventory is more limited here, and price points much higher. But Noe, Eureka and Cole Valleys actually have a higher ratio of available homes to qualified buyers.

4. Hayes Valley, Lower Pacific Heights
Number Available: 14
Median List Price: $1,857,000
Average Days on Market: 55
Note: Generally a low-turnover area, homes in these areas are usually larger Victorians that fetch well over $1.5M. Even so, half of these homes have had price reductions since they’ve come on the market.

5. Pacific Heights/Russian Hill
Number Available: 43
Median List Price: $2.8M
Average Days on Market: 132
Note: Simply put, the luxury single-family home market is hurting a bit right now. These two neighborhoods pretty much hold 95% of the inventory in the area. Judging by the days on market average, Pac Heights and Russian Hill sellers are probably hungering for offers.

6. Mission/Bernal Heights/Potrero Hill
Number Available: 48
Median List Price: $799,000
Average Days on Market: 64
Note: Bernal is the hands-down king of inventory in this region, with 34 homes available.

7. Excelsior/Outer Mission/Bayview
Number Available: 172
Median List Price: $550,000
Average Days on Market: 97
Note: The epicenter of the short sale/foreclosure market in San Francisco, these neighborhoods have a ton of inventory that’s been sitting for a while. Though the Excelsior district has the most single-family homes available, not far behind are Portola, Mission Terrace, Silver Terrace, and Visitacion Valley.

Posted in Good Deals, Market Snapshots | Tagged: | Leave a Comment »

A Touch of England in Mission Dolores

Posted by insidesfre on December 4, 2008

I stopped in to see how things are panning out at Chelsea Park, the development in Mission Dolores on 19th Street, between Guerrero and Dolores. It’s a somewhat suburban-type development, more like something you’d see in southern California. Walking around the courtyard, I felt like I was in a Universal Studio set for a movie set in a tidy English village.

But if you’re looking for a townhouse, or a basic one- to three-bedroom condo, Chelsea Park’s developer is ready to make a deal. There are two one-bedroom units in the $600,000s, and a couple 2+ or 3-bedroom townhomes listed at $900,000. I’m betting the prices could go lower. There are currently eight residents living in the complex, and 14 units are in escrow.

The parking garage features stacked parking, which involves automatic lifts. But if the alternative is having no parking in this neighborhood, stacked is better than nothing.

On the downside, the units feel a bit cramped, and don’t have a ton of light. But the finishes are quite nice, and the location is central to everything you’d want in Mission Dolores. The park is half a block away, and who can argue with having Tartine around the block? You can beat the crowds and get on line early for your baguette.

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The Hippie House for $1,950,000

Posted by insidesfre on December 3, 2008

I stopped at 908 Steiner in Alamo Square on my broker tour today. The property was built for a family in 1888 and ultimately became a halfway house in the postwar years—giving way to a hippie enclave in the ’60s and ’70s. The current owners have preserved murals and original artwork from the hippie years, visible in some of the three-story Victorian’s many rooms.

But alas, here we are heading into 2009, and times have changed. Buyers aren’t necessarily looking for a preserved hippie house featuring wall-to-wall ornate carpet and wallpaper on every surface. They also don’t really like small bathrooms with multiple shelves showcasing various Barbie dolls. At the right price, well, maybe. But at $1,950,000, these trappings begin to feel like a liability for the seller. Paired with no garage, this hippie Victorian may be on the market for a while.

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The Perfect Real Estate Storm in SF

Posted by insidesfre on December 1, 2008

I received about five different emails from various mortgage brokers last week, informing me that interest rates have fallen below six percent. This is apparently due to the Federal Reserve and Federal Home Loan Banks announcing that they’d purchase up to $600 billion in mortgage-backed securities.

What we’re seeing is a perfect storm for buyers in San Francisco—softened home prices; motivated sellers due to the time of year; less qualified buyers with whom to compete, and of course, low interest rates.

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