Uncategorized

322-324 24th Avenue

Asking $1,199,000

Description
Located just off California Street near the prestigious Lake District of San Francisco, these two units have been carefully remodeled with high-end, quality touches. These include hardwood floors, high ceilings, gorgeous moldings and detailing, newer double-paned windows and a skylight. Each unit boasts two bedrooms, a spacious marble bath, a formal living room with fireplace, formal dining room and a remodeled large eat-in kitchen. On the garage level, there is a sunny unwarranted guest suite, a large laundry area with storage and entry to a beautifully deep and lush rear yard and patio. Both units WILL BE delivered vacant. This is an excellent opportunity to live in a treasured San Franciscan architectural beauty, with two vacant units which have huge potential for condo conversion and/or gracious living!

SF Real Estate Inside Scoop: New, Reduced, and Pocket Listings

Upcoming listings:
$2,595,000 // Buena Vista Park // BR/BA: 3/ 2.5 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Edwardian w/downtown views. Classic floorplan with wonderful flow. Updated kitchen*Forming dining with fireplace*Breakfast nook overlooking garden* Crazy cool city view master suite w/ terrace and “tub room”

$1,950,000 //St Francis Wood // BR/BA: 4/3 PKG: 2 Brief Description: Romantic Villa Style home features broad terraces & balconies, abundant windows, French doors & charming original character. This home is situated on a beautifully landscaped wide corner lot offering privacy & clear views to the Pacific Ocean. Amenities include: a lg. master suite w/ fireplace, lovely sunroom, a grand sunken LR w/ beamed ceiling, formal DR, an updated kitchen w/butler’s pantry & sep breakfast rm. The lower level has a laundry room, storage space w/a wine closet. FIRST OPEN Sunday, July 25

$1,850,000 // Lower Pac Hts // BR/BA: 4/3 PKG: 0 Brief Description: Grand Scale Queen Anne Tower Victorian Condo with 2 levels and 3700 sq.ft of luxurious living space. Rare and special, the property is in great condition and has 7 bay windows, gorgeous hardwood, great light and incredible period detail in every room. 3 fireplaces, turret/tower, double Parlor w/adjacent study, plus a comfortable family room off the kitchen/butlers and leased parking. Must see! FIRST OPEN Sunday, July 18

$899,000//Glen Park //BR/BA: 2/2 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Listing agreement now on file. Coming to MLS 7/15. Will preview to Paragon agents this week. Fabulous opportunity. Everything repainted, restained, new roof, electrics, plumbing, bolted foundation. Excellent buy in Glen Park Property

679,000// Bernal Heights // BR/BA: 3/1 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Extra special Bernal home with plenty of room for family and friends! Beautifully updated kitchen directly adjacent to living/dining room. Views from bedrooms

$479,000 //Duboce Triangle //BR/BA: 1/1 PKG: 0 Leased Brief Description: Great entry level opportunity in the desirable Duboce Triangle neighborhood. A delightful Condo w/classic Edwardian details and recent updates. South-facing w/great light, hardwood flrs, updated kitchen/bath & great period detail. You can’t beat The Lower Haight – pet friendly parks, MUNI Metro lines, freeway access and hip hangouts make this neighborhood one you’ll never tire of exploring. Leased parking

Pocket Listings:
$879,000 // Noe Valley // BR/BA: 3/2 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Giant Downtown Views. 1500+ square feet on two levels. Built in 1987 and well-maintained in original condition. Owners plan to remodel and sell but would rather sell without doing the work. Great deal, location and floor plan for the right person who wants space they can shape.

$599,000 // Financial District //BR/BA: 1/1 PKG: 0 Brief Description: Lovely one bedroom on 7th floor of the Historic Royal Bldg with leased Parking

Price Reduction:
$985,000 Old Price: $1,200,000 // Forest Knoll// BR/BA: 4/3 PKG: 4 Brief Comments: HUGE home — well-cared for — beautiful setting — excellent Clarendon school district — expansion capabilities within foot of bldg — a deal for someone!

$615,000 Old Price:$649,000 //Lower Pacific Heights // 2420 Geary Blvd #C BR/BA: 2/2 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Gorgeous top floor flat in 3-unit building with modern open kitchen, high-ceiling living/dining room and city views! Beautiful hardwood floors and ample closet space. Private storage room, shared bonus room down and shared garden.

SF Real Estate Inside Scoop: New, Reduced, and Pocket Listings

Upcoming listings:

$899,000 // Glen Park //confidential address  BR/BA: 2/2  PKG: 1 Brief Description: Perfect Victorian home in Glen Park, great closets, large upgraded kitchen, tiered garden with amazing deck. Tranquil and great location.  Can show now!

$799,000 //Outer Parkside// BR/BA: 3/2 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Beautifully remodeled 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with Ocean views. A wonderful bright and large sunroom addition with a lap pool opens up to the lush and verdant garden.  

$795,000 //Lower Pacific Heights //BR/BA: 2/1  PKG: 0 Brief Lovely 2 bedroom condo with a third room used as an office, but could easily be used as a third bedroom.  Open floor plan, period details throughout, in-unit W&D, deeded patio off kitchen, storage, leased parking and steps to Fillmore Street! Will not be in the MLS until Aug or Sep.

$739,000 //Miraloma // BR/BA: 2/1PKG: 1 Brief Description:  Beautifully remodeled kitchen, hardwood floors, wood-burning fireplace, expansion potential, great part of the block - you do not look out onto another property, will be coming on 3rd week of July

$659,000 // Marina // BR/BA: 1/1 PKG: 1 Brief Description: Spacious and bright top floor unit. Close to everything that this fabulous neighborhood has to offer. FIRST OPEN Sunday 7/11/10 from 2-4pm

Pocket Listings:

$689,000 // Mission Dolores //BR/BA: 2/1 PKG: 1 Brief Description:  Townhome in small development of 9, compact but great layout and accommodation for the price, communal garden, great for young family or starter home.   Can show now!

$TBD // Nob Hill //BR/BA: 1/1 PKG: 0 Brief Description: 737s.f Condo in Full Service Bldg.   

Back-on-Market Listing:

$649,000 // Mission Bay // BR/BA: 1/1 PKG: 1   Brief Description: One bedroom Mission Bay Condo plus Den

Price Reduction:

$1,250,000 Old Price: $1,395,000 // SOMA //BR/BA: 2/2 PKG: 2 Brief Comments:  FAB price on one of the largest and best lofts in SOMA

Home of the Week: It Doesn't Get Any Greener Than This!

I was wowwed! LEED Certified Platinum construction meticulously designed by Handel Architects. The development is called NOVE and it contains nine homes, each with outdoor space, direct connect parking (not a common garage), bright white modern finishes, private outdoor spaces and views and lots of bright sunlight.

My favorite features were the shiny orange epoxy garage floors and the completely real looking artificial grass in the “backyards.” That and the fact the solar panels are cleverly integrated into the curved roof design to catch more of that south sun.

These 3 and 4 bedroom homes are all designed on two levels and are well located on Guerrero between 21st and 22nd (where the Palm Broker used to be). Just the right place for a low-carbon footprint pedestrian lifestyle. Bargain priced at between 1.1MM and 1.6MM, but they seem to be going fast. the two top corner townhomes are already sold.

Please let me know if you want to take a look!

Taking Good Care of Your Credit Score

Susan Reber of Mission Hills Mortgage Bankers provided this great list of suggestions and I thought I would pass it along.  Susan can be reached at sreber@mhmb.com.

Most home buyers know little about the whole credit scoring process. Borrowers often find themselves at a loss when trying to find ways to upgrade their credit history. While credit repair is necessary for some, it’s not the only way to increase your credit score. Even if you have stellar credit, you can enhance your score through these steps:

 Evenly distribute your credit card debt to change the ratio of debt to available credit. Let’s say you have a credit score of 665. If you have debt on only one card, and four additional credit cards with zero balances, evenly distributing the debt of the first card could move you closer to that ideal bracket. 

• Keep your existing zero balance accounts open and active; not doing this means you lose the benefits of a long-term credit history and increase your ratio of debt-to-available credit. The bottom line is don’t close those old accounts! 
• Keep credit inquiries to a minimum. Each inquiry into your credit history can impact your score anywhere from 2-50 points. When it comes to mortgage and auto loans, even though you’re only looking for one loan, multiple lenders may request your credit report. To compensate for this, the score counts multiple auto or mortgage inquiries in any 14-day period as just one inquiry, so try and stay within that time frame. 

 

 Remember, credit scores don’t change overnight; get the ball rolling at least three months prior to applying for home financing. 

Thanks Susan!

Update on "Decline from the Peak"

We have a lot to be thankful for in San Francisco. We have largely survived this real estate downturn without the enormous declines we are seeing on the news. However, they have been significant. Anyone in the market today on the seller side certainly can tell you that.

I thought it was a good time to check in and update the article from earlier this year “How Much Have San Francisco Home Values Declined Since their Peak?” Thankfully, many neighborhoods have not had a change since April, when values were even lower than in February, and some have even climbed a percent or two.

Below is an analysis of San Francisco neighborhoods comparing Average Dollar per Square Foot ($/sqft) at what is estimated to be peak value, to the average for sales occurring 10/15/08 – 4/1/09 (the market period right after the 9/15/08 financial markets meltdown), and then to the average for more recent sales occurring 5/1/09 – 10/30/09 (as home sales volume – and financial markets – surged again).

Different areas reached peak values at different times – in 2006, 2007 or 2008 – and the asterisked notes denote the estimated peak value period that pertains. The price ranges of the sales included were chosen to be in a standard range of value for the area and property type specified – thus attempting to eliminate both the ultra high end and the ultra low end, which often distort averages.

Dollar per square foot is based upon the home’s interior living space and does not include garages, unfinished attics and basements, rooms built without permit, or exterior spaces. These figures are usually derived from appraisals, tax records or condo maps, but are sometimes unreliable (especially for older homes) or unreported altogether. There are often surprisingly wide variations of value within neighborhoods, and averages may be distorted by one or two sales substantially higher or lower than the norm. They may also be distorted by confidential sales, which are not uncommon at the upper end of the market. (For confidential sales, the list price, and not the sales price, is used for the calculation.)

Key to Estimated Peak-Value Period for the Chart Below:
*             Peak values estimated to have been reached 1/1/06 – 6/30/06
**           Peak values estimated to have been reached 1/1/07 – 6/30/07
***        Peak values estimated to have been reached 1/1/08 – 6/30/08

Changes in Average Dollar per Square Foot Values
for Selected San Francisco Neighborhoods & Property Types

Averages are generalities and cannot account for the varieties in location, condition and amenities found in SF homes. Averages may be affected by unusual events or short-term trends, and do not necessarily reflect values for specific properties.  Average dollar per square foot values fluctuate even in a stable price market as they are impacted by individual sales, and changes of less than 3-4% should probably be ignored. All data from sources deemed reliable, but not guaranteed and may contain errors and omissions. Sales not reported to MLS – such as many new condo-development sales – are not included in this analysis.

Put on your Poker Face … Or Join me way up in the sky!

A couple of things happening in the next few weeks I wanted to mention.

First, Paragon is having a client appreciation event – and I wish Icould take each and every one of you – at the Millennium Tower.  This is the shining 60 story tower at 301 Mission with the new Michael Minna restaurant RN74 on the ground floor.  Way up in clouds on the 50th floor, there is a newly unveiled decorator showcase and we are having a party there on November 12!  Please let me know right away if you’d like to join me there!

Second, as many of you know, I am a big fan of San Francisco’s public schools and my son, Elvis, goes to Claire Lilienthal.  We are having our 2nd annual Texas Holdem Tournement – and yours truly is one of the sponsors!  So if you like kids and you like Poker (no, there won’t be any kids at the event), come and gamble the night away!  Tickets are $100 in advance and prizes include $3500 worth in value of American Express Gift Cards, Dinners at great restaurants such as Perbacco and Harris’ Steak House, health club memberships, and much, much more!  See evite for details by clicking here.

Home of the Week: Modernist with a Four Bridge View

When I read “four bridge view,” I had to stop and count them… I suppose on a really clear day you must be able to see just a hint of the Dunbarton, which would make five.

In addition to unique, sweeping views, 116 Sugerloaf in Tiburon has a really cool floating fireplace, view bubble with hanging see-thru chairs, an amazing open, indoor/outdoor living design. It was designed by architects Scheidegger & Tobias with construction completed in 2004 by the current owners. A link to the previous listing can be seen here (the pictures are just so fab – kudos to the photographer!). Shown by appointment only – let me know if you or someone you know can’t resist.

House of the Week: Think Pink!

Those of you who have known me a while will remember my obsession with a particular pink farm house on the eastern slope of Twin Peaks back in 2001. I spent several months scheming how I was going to get my hands on it and eventually wrote an offer to buy it for $875,000 without most of the adjacent and very valuable land. The owner eventually rejected my offer, and moved in herself, but I had the pleasure of imagining it could be mine for about 3 weeks and dreamed every night about what it would be like to wake up with the sun streaming in and views of Mt. Diablo and the bay from our bedroom.

I take it as a sign of personal growth that I can now present this fabulous property as my Home of the Week without too many pangs. It will be open this Sunday from 2 to 4 and I highly recommend you make viewing this wonderful estate property a part of your afternoon. For the MLS listing, click here.

Cine al Fresco

I am a huge fan of free public activies in general – just seeing all my fellow San Franciscans out enjoying our community gives me a thrill. And nothing is more fun than free movies in the park – a picnic dinner under the stars and snuggling those you love under a blanket while you watch a favorite movie. . . it’s like a modern urban campfire.

At least two organizations offer movies in San Francisco every summer: The San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation (http://www.sfneighborhoodtheater.org/) and Dolores Park Move Night (http://www.DoloresParkMovie.org). Both are non-profits and could use your support. Last year there was a third organization, Alamo Square Movie Night that seems to be no longer functioning. Stefan and I attended several and think it’s perhaps because it was a tad too chilly for anyone but die-hards like us. )

You can generally count on my family planning to attend, so if you ever want to join us, just let me know. Here’s what I know about the schedules:

SF Neighborhood Theatuer Foundation Movies:

Saturday, 6/20, Dolores Park, GOLDFINGER (1964)
Saturday, 7/11, Union Square, MANHATTAN (1979)
Saturday, 8/1, Dolores Park, PRETTY IN PINK (1986)
Saturday, 8/22, Union Square, ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
Saturday, 9/19, Dolores Park, THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
Saturday, 10/3, Wash. Sq. Park, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (2008)

Dolores Park Movie Night:

Thursday, July 9, at 8:30 P.M. – Annie Hall (1977)
Thursday, August 13, at 8:30 P.M. – TBD. They are open to suggestions. See the Web site.
Thursday, September 10, at 8:00 P.M. – TBD. They are open to suggestions. See the Web site.
Thursday, October 8, 7:00 P.M. – TBD. They are open to suggestions. See the Web site.