On Vacation Will Return July 7th. Happy 4th Of July Everyone!
June 26, 2009 – 7:02 am | by thefrontsteps
Tags: vacation
| Posted in » If You’re Gonna Relocate To San Francisco, Now You Know A “Best” Blog To Help You
June 26, 2009 – 5:34 am | by thefrontstepsMuch to our surprise, we popped up on Relocation.com as one of the “Best Real Estate Blogs In San Francisco”.
We love a good review and you know we’re sharing it with you, so tell your friends:
The Front Steps from Alex Clark [that's me!] is a great guide to San Francisco real estate, including market observations, interesting tidbits on the city itself, nice photography and a snarky style that makes for interesting reading.
This is definitely not your typical real estate agent blog – and we can be thankful for that [Amen!].
Sometimes agents can take the blog thing a little too seriously and never dare show a little leg when writing. Clark has no problem with that. His walkabout category is a particularly fun and insightful read.
Lively comments section as well. It’s the kind of blog I’d read just to see what’s going on San Francisco real estate wise, even if I wasn’t moving there.
We’ll take it! And we thank relocation.com for the kind words. We do tend to be a bit snarky, but at least now I can tell my mom it’s paying off!
-Press release about the best San Francisco real estate blogs too
-Yahoo Finance PR page
Tags: About, best real estate blog, best san francisco real estate blog, best-of
Factoring Weather When Buying A Home In San Francisco Is Anything But Simple
June 25, 2009 – 8:43 am | by thefrontsteps
We get these kind of inquiries all the time, and it’s certainly something up for debate, as we all have our own comfort levels as to what is considered warm or “nice”. Heck, Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction lives in Sunny warm L.A., but by following his Twitter feed, you’d think he’s better suited for living in foggy Outer Sunset of San Francisco. So a reader brings up the question and maybe this time we’ll get some definitive answers as to just how different one district’s weather is from the other. (We’re going to ask for a little link help from our friends at Curbed Sf and SFist to help spread the word.):
I’m looking to buy and comparing districts, everyone says : Mission and Noe are much warmer, get more sun,…
Is there a good resource that shows sun-hours and temperature (average/per month) like this below would, but by district:
Climate in San Francisco CountyIt would be quite interesting to many buyers I think!
Thanks
J
Our answer, take a look at the San Francisco Districts Map (as it pertains to real estate). Take a ruler, draw a straight line from District 7a (Marina) to district 3J (Oceanview). Anything to the left (west), cold(er) and windy most of the year. Anything to the right (east), warm(er) and windy most of the year.
Simple as that?
We’re thinking there should be a lot more little red lines running all over this map, but the simpleton in us said to do it this way…
[Update: So I had a little extra time on my hands while child #2 napped. Basic, rudimentary mockup here:
Yellow circles are generally where it is warmer. Arrows indicate wind. The larger the arrow, the stronger the wind. The white line down the middle is generally the fog line.]
Tags: Ask Us, san francisco, weather
theFrontSteps Goes Tweet!
June 23, 2009 – 9:02 am | by thefrontsteps
I’ve done the sfnewsletter, and this here blog for years now, and believe me when I say I love(d) every minute of it. They are both, quite simply, an incredible drain on time. So…I’m spending more time on my Twitter page talking about things…among them San Francisco real estate (of course). If I could figure out how to get my Sold Properties Reports to populate on Twitter, that would be a great thing! (Techies?)
I invite you to check it out, and be patient while I get through this busy spell and hopefully will resume blogging San Francisco Real Estate in the not so distant future, or move on to the next great thing to keep you informed on our market.
Oh…and we’re building a new site for all of you Realtors out there. Make sure you subscribe to receive our posts via email, so you don’t miss the launch of that technology, and a chance to DO MORE DEALS!
Tweet! Tweet!
Tags: san francisco, San Francisco Real Estate, theFrontSteps, Twitter
The Actual Retail Price Is….!
June 17, 2009 – 1:07 pm | by thefrontsteps“I’d like to bid $1, Bob”….crowd goes wild, contestant jumps around uncontrollably, Bob Barker raises pencil thin mic to his mouth, opens envelope turning to contestants with gray haired enthusiasm proclaiming, “The actual retail price for these lovely San Francisco multi-family buildings is…..” Ding, ding, ding, ding!
Go ahead, make your bid, just don’t go over.
Price Chopping “Curbed SF” Style
June 16, 2009 – 11:29 am | by thefrontstepsSorry dear friends over at Curbed SF, but we’re using your line. We have to, because what better way to announce prices are getting chopped on some of our listings?
The first to chop is 2185 Bush #307:
We started out at $899,000 (now $869,000), interest was high, but the market has spoken. It’s time for a change, and what better way to change than drop the price $30,000 on this awesome top floor condo in the best location. Tell your friends!
–
Second to go is 200 Townsend #47:
We just chopped $20,000 (now $659,000) off the price and that would certainly pay for a few beers at a Giants game. (You could stumble there, this unit is so close.) Top floor, soaring ceilings, bright, 2 bathrooms, modern kitchen, hip and urban. Tell your friends!
For those of you that simply love to say, “I toldja so.” Have at it. Your day is here.
-2185 Bush #307 [MLS]
-200 Townsend #47 [MLS]
Tags: condo, condos, price chopping, price reductions, San Francisco Real Estate
Millennium Tower Goes Rental (San Francisco Real Estate Is Mental)
June 16, 2009 – 10:55 am | by thefrontstepsDrive before you buy…
From the street:
We bring the deets:
Tags: Millennium Tower, san francisco
Video Friday: In Honor Of Our French And Australian Readers
June 12, 2009 – 3:57 pm | by thefrontstepsSomething funny to take you into the weekend
Summer Of Living, A Letter From The Editor
June 10, 2009 – 9:59 am | by thefrontstepsIt’s officially Summer (for elementary schoolers), and as I’m a father of one such child and another pre pre-schooler (no typo), that means my time just vaporized more than it already had. As a result, focus is on family, fun, and selling real estate. Posting on the site will be lighter than normal, but every now and then I’ll certainly get a wild hair and post a ton. Keep coming back, tell your friends, submit tips, and better yet sign up for email delivery of theFrontSteps, so you don’t miss a thing when we do get around to posting new content. You can also check that Twitter thing I recently got going.
If you’re a writer and have something to say about San Francisco, San Francisco Real Estate, or just real estate, feel free to drop us a line (thefrontsteps@gmail.com), and we’d be happy to see what you’ve got, and post your content to our site. Same goes if you have a question about real estate, or need agent representation for buying/selling a home in San Francisco.
As always, thanks for reading and thanks for telling your friends.
Alex (the editor)
Comment Du Jour: SOMA Gets Dissed
June 8, 2009 – 8:36 am | by thefrontsteps
From “anon” on our recent post, “Battle Royale: San Francisco’s Infinity Tower Versus Some Peninsula Townhouse”:
SOMA would the be last place I’d buy in SF. It lacks any sort of SF feel, there is no personality nor night-life.
We don’t live down there, so can’t speak to daily life in the area, but we gotta ask…you SOMA folks gonna take that!?
[Update: In case you don't read comments or care to add insight, this is what you're missing:
This is probably from some [person] that rents in the Marina with his loose Armani Xchange Jeans on and a tight Ed Hardy T Shirt that tries to be hip and parties at Medjool on Saturdays, giving high fives to stangers at the club. . Is this a correct, assumption?
We’ll go ahead and throw an LOL in for that one! Don’t know about the assumption and don’t know the original commenter. Generally we shy away from, and don’t agree with, personal attacks, but since you don’t know each other either, we thought it a funny, stereotypical generalization about residents of the Marina. You Marina peeps gonna take that!?]
Tags: comment du jour, comments, san francisco, San Francisco Real Estate, SOMA
Realtor Hate: Let It Out And Animate
June 8, 2009 – 8:10 am | by thefrontstepsWe’ve been down this road before, but technology has given voice and animation to the haters, so here we are again. This sent via email to our inbox.
-Why Are Realtors So Arrogant And Such Assholes [theFrontSteps]
Tags: videos
It’s Friday…Time For A Stupid Video
June 5, 2009 – 7:49 am | by thefrontstepsbut one that will make you laugh:
Tags: videos
The Devil Could Care (Getting Subliminal On Selling)
June 4, 2009 – 8:46 am | by thefrontstepsWonder why this one is not selling…maybe it has something to do with the address: 666 36th Ave, reduced to $940,000 from $995,000, but that’s beside the point.
Don’t even ask the homeowners. (Kidding, but fun nonetheless.)
-666 36th Ave [MLS]
Tags: real estate, san francisco
But I Just Had To Have Them Both!
June 4, 2009 – 8:35 am | by thefrontstepsA reader tipped us off to a recent Yahoo Shopping Article and thought you’d like to share in the findings:
Steam Shower
“I just had to have a steam shower. My whole bathroom was torn up to install the pipes and the fittings, the glass door needed to be sealed in a certain way, the ceiling specially painted to resist mold. Unfortunately, I never have time for the spa day I fantasized about. I don’t even take long showers. I’ve used it maybe two times. If you divide the amount I spent by two, I probably could have purchased a small interest in Bliss Spas.” — Richard MishaanCommercial-Grade Stove
“When I moved into my home six years ago, I was sure I needed a commercial-grade stove in the kitchen. I had visions of dinner parties and guests gathering around for a home-cooked meal. I neglected to consider one important point — I don’t cook. I have yet to turn the stove on.” — Nate Berkus
Or, in the case of 469 Clipper, which appears to have finally found a buyer at the current $765,000 asking price (sold July of last year for $1,020,000), you could get the steam shower and the commercial grade stove all in one…no extra charge! That is, if you just have to have them both.
Tags: Clipper, showers, steam shower, theFrontSteps
Reasons We Live Here #15: Iconic Architecture
June 4, 2009 – 8:08 am | by thefrontstepsThere are many reasons WE live here in San Francisco, and certainly many reasons YOU live here, so feel free to share with us. We captured this photo just yesterday evening on walkabout in North Beach, and thought, “damn that’s cool!”
Just another reason we live here…great (iconic) architecture old and new all around us.
Tags: Architecture, iconic architecture, North Beach, san francisco, theFrontSteps, Walkabout
