theFrontSteps – San Francisco

Perhaps you’ve been wondering about new developments in San Francisco, and perhaps it’s the only type of property you’ll buy (with good reason). Rejoice, there is a new development in San Francisco’s Dogpatch area that has opened its doors, and is available for immediate purchase, Millwheel South. Choose from one, two, and three bedroom floor plans on one of four floors with prices starting in the $500,000s. From the looks of their website and the amount of “SOLD” stamps all over it, you might want to get in sooner than later.

As always, I’m happy to get you in to negotiate price and terms. Something tells me they aren’t going to budge much on the price, but you can always negotiate a little something extra. I always do.

Top 10 California Home Buyer Surnames:

Excellent and relevant data C.A.R! I’m gonna go get me a mailing list of Nguyens, Lees, and Chens, and sell me some houses!

The complete report is below (in PowerPoint). Have a ball with the data. I did.

Buyers be warned. Instead of being asked for proof of funds, agents are going to start asking you for your “first and surname” LOL!

-California Home Buyer and Seller Profile Report (PowerPoint)

I just wanted to drop a quick little note for all of you buyers and sellers out there, mostly buyers.

If you are looking for property in Cole Valley, Union Square, Lone Mountain, Outer Parkside (most call it the Sunset), Russian Hill, Pacific Heights, Nob Hill, or St. Francis Wood, I know of properties that are not on MLS, not on PocketListings.net, not on Redfin, not on Trulia, not on Zillow, and likely not on your radar, and they are for sale.

I can help you get access to any of these homes, but you need to contact me, and you need to be unrepresented when you do so.

Sellers, if you’re on the fence about selling, I know of several buyers looking for property in Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, Union Square, Cole Valley, and many other parts of the city.

All it takes is a simple email or phone call and we might be able to put something together.

Not sure if you want to work with me? Have a look at some of these testimonials, and take a gander at some recent sales (on the bottom of the linked page).

I can help, and I’m a nice guy…I swear.

A little something I started about eight years ago…give you what you want…access to the most recent sales in your area without all the sales pitch and pressure to sell that usually comes along with contacting a real estate agent.

To actually get to the sortable data tables, either click the image above, or follow this link. To get these reports delivered to your inbox every other week, drop me a line and I’ll add you to the list.

I had all kinds of good blog posts about real estate planned for today, including all kinds of stats and numbers, a few off market opportunities, and even a funny story about multiple offers. Instead, let’s take a moment to remember one of the best minds music has seen in my lifetime. Adam Yauch (MCA), of the Beastie Boys, has passed. He was truly a good guy. I had the pleasure of snowboarding with him a few times, and the satisfaction of watching him try to hit on the girl that was hitting on me (always nice to one up a rock star). I’ll never forget the booming sound system in his beater Subaru either. R.I.P. Yaucher. You will be missed.

Life is short…live it. When your card is pulled, that’s it.

You all remember the great listing I had at 333 Grant Avenue, and I’m sure many of you are wondering how it played out, so let me enlighten you.

To begin, we had a considerable amount of interest (web traffic, phone calls, texts and emails) generated from the blog post I did even before the property hit MLS (something I offer ALL of my clients, and definitely not something you can get with other agents in San Francisco). Had I not been pushing to get this property to MLS for the sake of creating a new comp in the building (previous ones were not very good), we would have likely sold the property “off market”.

A couple days after the announcement here on theFrontSteps, we went to MLS. I put it in the system on a Friday and the phone started ringing. That weekend there were over 10 showings, and requests to “wait until at least the end of the week” before accepting an offer. We had a Tuesday Broker Tour (I was late getting there and agents were lined up (with clients) at the front door). I showed the property several times that afternoon, and the next morning, and was told by a colleague that they’d like to give us an offer right away. I called all interested parties and it looked like multiple offers were coming our way. Not wanting to lose the property, one buyer stepped up, offered $20,000 over asking, made it cash, didn’t want the leased parking, and sealed the deal. There were a couple bumps in the road along the way (like every transaction), but thankfully the other agent was a professional and we got the property sold.

As a result of that quick sale at 333, some other sellers are kicking around the idea of listing their units, and there are multiple buyers that I have on speed dial should that opportunity arise…on or off market.

I keep saying, it’s a good time to sell if you’ve been on the fence, and this is a perfect example why. The previous unit in the building that sold took ages to secure a solid offer, we did it in four days.

I have been relatively silent on the blogging front, but that doesn’t mean I’m not out there working it. If you are on the fence about selling and would like to get a considerable amount of exposure beyond what any other San Francisco agent can offer you for your property, give me a shout (alexclark@gmail.com), and I’ll come show you my spiel.

-333 Grant Avenue #501, Simply Union Square, Simply A Shopper’s Paradise, Simply $620,000 [and sold for $649,000] [theFrontSteps]
-“You know me, I’m on the three, three, three….”[Bondi Hipsters-theFrontSteps]

(Editor’s Note: The following is reprinted from the Real Estate Bulletin, spring 2012 issue, published by the California Department of Real Estate.)

“The California Real Estate Law (Business and Professions Code §10000, et seq.) does not prohibit the sharing of commissions. Before going further, it must be understood that this section and its analysis only covers the California Real Estate Law. Other laws, such as the Federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (known as RESPA) must also be considered by licensees.

From a technical point-of-view, the agent/client relationship, and the right to commissions therefrom, belong to the broker. Nevertheless, it is recognized that real estate agents may work together and decide to share or split a commission.

A licensee may share or split his or her commission with another person or entity provided that person or entity has not performed any acts for which a real estate license is required. The Real Estate Law prohibits the payment of compensation to unlicensed persons who are performing acts requiring a license on behalf of another or others.

For example, a licensee may give a share of the licensee’s commission to a buyer, as an incentive to a prospective buyer, assuming the incentive payment is not a violation of some other provision of law. Where an unlicensed person is acting as a principal in a transaction (i.e., seller or buyer), that person is not “acting on behalf of another or others” (licensed activity) and the prohibition described above would not apply.

If licensed acts were performed, a commission can be shared only if the person was a licensed real estate broker or salesperson acting within the scope of his or her license.

Even though a licensed salesperson may share his or her commission, as discussed above, the salesperson’s employing broker must actually direct and control the manner and payment of a salesperson’s share of the earned commission to ensure compliance with B&P §10137.

Pre-supposing that the broker has authorized escrow to directly pay a commission to the salesperson, the commission can be paid to the salesperson out of escrow.

Depending on the circumstances, there may be a disclosure requirement if such payment is a material fact to a party to the transaction.

Lastly, B&P §10137 allows “a licensed real estate broker to pay a commission to a broker of another State”. This refers to another State in the United States of America. It does not refer to a foreign country. However, there is no prohibition in the Real Estate Law against a real estate broker, licensed in the State of California, paying money to a foreign individual or company (which may or may not be a licensed real estate broker in their respective countries), as long as the payment of money is not for acts which require a real estate license in the State of California.”

Got it?

Now that I’m no longer a “young punk”, but apparently a “real estate professional”, you’d think my tastes in music have changed to something perhaps a bit more refined, or maybe a bit more conservative. Quite the contrary. The Vandalss have long been one of my favorite bands, and every year, right about May 1st, this is my favorite song.

How can you not love The Vandals? How can you not rock this on your birthday!? How can you not turn the dial to 11…

It’s true, I’m the founder of PocketListings.net, and I want everybody to use it. But it’s also true, if you’re an agent in San Francisco, and you’re not using it, you’re missing out. Have a look at this email that just came my way as a result of a Buyer Need post I did on PocketListings.net.

Hi Alex,

My wife and I are looking to relocate to Marin, and are currently deciding on whether or not to sell our flat (or rent it out and rent in Marin). I noticed on your pocket listing, http://pocketlistings.net/pl/662, that you had some clients that are looking for a place in our neighborhood, and I wanted to find out if perhaps they would be interested in our place?

We have a ~1914 sq foot condo (it is a 2 unit bldg with 3 floors, we have the top 2) with a huge 2 car garage w/storage, 2 fantastic roof decks, a backyard and is on a quiet cul-de-sac near USF. It is a 3 br (with an additional office that is bedroom sized but lacks a closet, currently used as a nursery) 2ba unit, with an updated kitchen and bathrooms (we just did the bathrooms in june ’11). It has been a great family home, we have 3 kids, and we have absolutely loved living there. The address is [removed].

I have not decided if we want to sell, hence why I think a pocket listing inquiry makes sense, but I would certainly entertain interested parties. I think there are some pictures still online at Zillow, but if not I can get you some further details. Thanks Alex,

-[Potential Seller]

This is awesome on many levels. For one, my vision of a network where buyers, sellers, AND agents can get together and shore opportunity is slowly coming to fruition, but also because not only is this a chance for my buyers to get a property that may be a match, it’s also a chance for this seller to “quietly” sell their home, and a chance for me to potentially get a listing.

It’s a new way to think about our industry, and I know it will take more time. Slowly but surely other agents will realize that just like email newsletter and blogs were considered unneccesary, this PocketListings.net thing is for real, and it is an opportunity no agent should pass up.

Existing home sales nationally were down in March but continue to outpace year-ago levels, while inventory tightened and home prices are showing further signs of stabilizing, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, declined 2.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.48 million in March from an upwardly revised 4.60 million in February, but are 5.2 percent above the 4.26 million-unit pace in March 2011.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the recovery is in the process of settling into a higher level of home sales. “The recovery is happening though not at a breakout pace, but we have seen nine consecutive months of year-over-year sales increases,” he said. “Existing-home sales are moving up and down in a fairly narrow range that is well above the level of activity during the first half of last year. With job growth, low interest rates, bargain home prices and an improving economy, the pent-up demand is coming to market and we expect housing to be notably better this year.”

Total housing inventory at the end of March declined 1.3 percent to 2.37 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 6.3-month supply at the current sales pace, the same as in February. Listed inventory is 21.8 percent below a year ago and well below the record of 4.04 million in July 2007.

“We were expecting a seasonal increase in home listings, but a lack of inventory has suddenly become an issue in several markets with not enough homes for sale in relation to buyer interest,” Yun said. “Home sales could be held back because of supply factors and not by demand—we’re already seeing this in the Western states and in South Florida.”