Predictions for ’09 Reveal There Are No Experts


So, one hell of an ugly year is coming to a close. As usual, this event cues panels of “leaders” in various fields to opine about the coming 365 days. What will become of Tom and Katie? Will Cher remove another rib? Will the Celtics top the NBA again? These days the doings of celebrities … Continue reading Predictions for ’09 Reveal There Are No Experts

SF Cool Lifestyle for Sale. Condo also Included!


Condo complexes aren’t really selling condos these days. Instead, they sell a feeling, an image of the lifestyle that would too become yours if you buy in. And by “buy in” I mean in both senses, because first you’d have to buy that owning a condo at, say, the Hayes, would make you instantly urban-chic-hip; … Continue reading SF Cool Lifestyle for Sale. Condo also Included!

The Scoop: Seven Arden Estates Have Risen from the Earth


Some time ago, I noted the construction in West Portal and asked around the Front Steps for the scoop. Those folks on the steps always know a lot, and more importantly, they like to argue. We had ideas that the construction would yield five- no, six- no, seven- no,  eight homes. They were to be made of … Continue reading The Scoop: Seven Arden Estates Have Risen from the Earth

Road to Real Estate Recovery


When I was working at C__________, my boss was a big coke-head. As a result, the atmosphere was, to understate, lax. Everyone drank and ate copiously (never paying for it), sat down and/or danced randomly in the middle of the restaurant, swore, and slept with one another. All of the aforementioned took place during open-for-business … Continue reading Road to Real Estate Recovery

If Cops Can’t Make You Safer, Maybe Pizza Can


Many of us have been strolling down a pleasant street, enjoying the twilight settling over Victorian facades in our charming city– only to turn a corner and suddenly feel in need of a Tazer. San Francisco is a changeling: Even in the same zip code, we can experience radically different neighborhoods, each with unique, and … Continue reading If Cops Can’t Make You Safer, Maybe Pizza Can

Vultures, Commence Your Circling


  Well, all, few and far between are homes we can look at and positively say: That’d be a good investment. Yet here is one, that frankly, given the size and location, has to be just that. The downside– yes, sorry, these days there simply has to be one- is that this could be a … Continue reading Vultures, Commence Your Circling

Obama Wants to Jump in on the Real Estate Crisis. Which Way should He Jump?


You might have already read Alex Clark’s article on the Bush plan to help homeowners, named optimistically “Hope for Homeowners.” Commenters on that post were less optimistic. Seems a lot of lenders won’t touch the program, though that might be because the program itself is new and everyone is so gun-shy right now. That leaves … Continue reading Obama Wants to Jump in on the Real Estate Crisis. Which Way should He Jump?

Reduction Redux, in which I pick up the Gauntlet


When I posted Reduction Ad Nauseum,  I really just wanted a read on how the educated real estate populace explains and/or reacts to listings that have suffered not one, not two, but three or more price cuts. Still, one commenter Noe Guy said: “Interesting observations but I wouldn’t put too much stock in them. First, you      … Continue reading Reduction Redux, in which I pick up the Gauntlet

Reduction, Ad Nauseum


I’m not a Realtor, so I’ll tell something I’m more qualified to comment on: buyers’ perspectives. For instance, I can tell you how buyers looks at a property that’s been reduced more than twice. We feel sorry for them. They’re like awkward teenage boys at their first dance, pretending to be terribly busy with their shoe laces … Continue reading Reduction, Ad Nauseum

In the Spirit of Halloween and Election Season, Scary Technology that “Outs” Your Neighbors


Prop 8 is not one that encourages sedate emotion. People are either vehemently for it, or they are just as vehemently against it. The debate between the two camps, heated as it is, often erupts into full out fighting, which we all know from our rhetoric classes is actually the opposite effect civilized, fair debate … Continue reading In the Spirit of Halloween and Election Season, Scary Technology that “Outs” Your Neighbors