Month: September 2008

Stats & Numbers: Single Family Homes 8/07 vs. 8/08

From the SFAR Advantage Online: NUMBER OF UNITS is the equivalent of number of sales/transactions. For condominiums, each unit is treated as a sale. For 2- to 4-unit buildings, the “building” is treated as a sale. NUMBER SOLD is the number of properties in the market segment that closed escrow during the month. NUMBER FOR … Continue reading Stats & Numbers: Single Family Homes 8/07 vs. 8/08

Lembis Unloading Properties, Buyers Quickly Snatching Them Up

Had you been reading theFrontSteps for a while, you’d already have known the Lembis were hinting at unloading some property, but we don’t even scratch the surface of the kind of excellent real estate information that is available in the San Francisco Business Times. (As always, we HIGHLY suggest a subscription should you want to … Continue reading Lembis Unloading Properties, Buyers Quickly Snatching Them Up

Taking Over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Some Clarification

If you’ve been wondering what all of this Government takeover of Fannie and Freddie means, you’re hardly alone, so we just went ahead and copied what we just read to give you some different perspectives of what is being said in the real estate world. We take zero credit for this, it all came from … Continue reading Taking Over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Some Clarification

Earthquake Reality in San Francisco

As I sit here at the playground in the heart of Cole Valley, I’m looking at the homes around me (within eyesight) from a different perspective, that of how many were built after 1906. From what I can see…all of them! What strikes me is the thought of that photo in a previous post which … Continue reading Earthquake Reality in San Francisco

San Francisco Single Family Home “Real Estate Market Cycles”

This chart was sent via email (anonymously), but we’ll go ahead and give credit to where we think they found the info, and, of course, share with you: Interesting…

Eichler Under $700,000 with a Pool?

No, this is not a paid post. Yes, we subscribe to many, many, many newsletters and industry publications. Yes, some get more play than others, but what do you expect…some are simply better. So let us know ([email protected]) if there is something we should be reading that we’re not. And how could you pass up … Continue reading Eichler Under $700,000 with a Pool?

An “Apple” in Noe Valley?

An interesting property was pointed out to me today. I hadn’t noticed it because I don’t have any clients in this range unfortunately. It’s weird that I didn’t notice it anyway because I actually lived at the place for a period of time. That’s a whole ‘nother story. It’s 4545 25th street. Purchased in February … Continue reading An “Apple” in Noe Valley?

It’s the LAND stupid!

I just had a nice little conversation with my neighbor who knows a thing or two about the financial world, grew up in San Francisco, had parents that grew up in San Francisco, is ultra conservative with most things, but extremely bullish about the San Francisco real estate market. He’s seen, and been a part … Continue reading It’s the LAND stupid!

Reader Reports: “U.S. Plans Takeover of Fannie and Freddie”

From “D.L.” via The New York Times. We went ahead and pulled some quotes. The entire article is definitely worth a read, and we hope to hear some discussion. On the streets we’ve already heard both the good and the bad, but what do you think? WASHINGTON — Senior officials from the Bush administration and … Continue reading Reader Reports: “U.S. Plans Takeover of Fannie and Freddie”

Is the Infinity Condo SF Built on Bedrock?

We get all kinds of good search words driving traffic to theFrontSteps, but “MonsterTruck” still leads the pack for consistency. Recently we had quite a few people find the site searching “Bedrock SF” and more specifically “Is the Infinity condo sf built on bedrock”? For exact details, we’d suggest you contact the folks at the … Continue reading Is the Infinity Condo SF Built on Bedrock?

Department of Building Inspection increases fees for 3R (Report of Residential Building Record) to $160

If you think we come up with this legal mumbo jumbo reporting on our time, you’re nuts. This taken from the SFAR Advantage Online: The Department of Building Inspection is increasing the fee for 3R reports from $50 to $160. The increase is part of a comprehensive adjustment of permit and inspection fees designed to … Continue reading Department of Building Inspection increases fees for 3R (Report of Residential Building Record) to $160

SeeClickFix: A new community website to report and get stuff done

It seems we’re on the receiving end of quite a few press releases these days. Some get shuffled to the trash, and others sit in the inbox with a little red tag screaming “post idea!” and eventually make it to the pages of theFrontSteps for a little promo. If you haven’t seen this site (SeeClickFix.com) … Continue reading SeeClickFix: A new community website to report and get stuff done

Tour de San Francisco (real estate) gets a new stage…Corona Heights!

I don’t believe it myself, but I finally got out, then sat down and wrote another stage of my Tour de San Francicsco (real estate), and boy was it fun! The stage this week is Corona Heights. Check it out. I was also finally able to do a proper sfnewsletter (I’ll publish that around 10 … Continue reading Tour de San Francisco (real estate) gets a new stage…Corona Heights!

Casa Cielo is a done deal…with an asterisk (3690 21st Street)

They asked $3,745,000 and they got….? We’ll just never know. It’s another one of those deals that closed with an asterisk (meaning sales price not disclosed). Something tells us it was close to that. It only spent 8 days on the market. – In case you’re wondering what’s all the fuss, here are the marketing … Continue reading Casa Cielo is a done deal…with an asterisk (3690 21st Street)