When it comes to San Francisco’s building boom, the proposed high-rise at One Oak Street has long looked like the one that got away. Now there are finally signs of life again for this towering question mark, as the developer behind the would-be edifice is seeking permission to increase its scope by roughly 50 percent. … Continue reading Four Years Later, Where Is the One Oak Tower?
Category: Neighborhoods
Multi-Chromatic Excelsior House Offers Solace From White Interiors
It’s high time we talk about color. Take the example of 964 Avalon Avenue, a two bed, one bath Excelsior house circa 1950 that’s just listed for $899,000. Realtor Jim Beitzel calls it “super cute,” which of course could mean a lot of things, but one of the first that stands out is that the interior … Continue reading Multi-Chromatic Excelsior House Offers Solace From White Interiors
Plum 1885 Victorian Asks $3.2 Million
Ah summer, when a San Francisco homebuyer’s fancy turns to–what else?–Victorians. And if anyone is fancy enough to have $3.2 million burning a hole in their pocket, that’s the asking price for 249 Fair Oaks, a gorgeous tiered white wedding cake of a “grand Victorian” with three beds and two and a half baths on … Continue reading Plum 1885 Victorian Asks $3.2 Million
Store Finally Approved For Scandal-Plagued Hayes Valley Condo Development
There’s a new grocery store slated for Hayes Valley in the next couple of years, and in pretty much any other city that would be the end of the story. But in San Francisco, this decision represents the finale to years of political infighting, housing wars, and community struggle that overlapped with the city’s most … Continue reading Store Finally Approved For Scandal-Plagued Hayes Valley Condo Development
The Front Steps Guide To San Francisco Victorians
Although there are many beautiful and historic styles of homes for sale across San Francisco, the word “Victorian” is so ubiquitous with the city’s image that some homebuyers are scarcely interested in anything less. But although we all know a Vic when we see one, defining them can be deceptively tricky–especially since even the most … Continue reading The Front Steps Guide To San Francisco Victorians
The Anxious Homebuyer’s Guide To San Francisco Earthquakes
Last week we got an email from some potential San Francisco homebuyers fretting about–what else?–the risks of living in a major fault zone and the danger posed by certain neighborhoods and certain kinds of homes in the event of a major earthquake. Along with the cost of living, this is probably the number one thing … Continue reading The Anxious Homebuyer’s Guide To San Francisco Earthquakes
SOLD | Sunset District | Off Market
When the real estate market in San Francisco, especially San Francisco’s Sunset District, is as crazy as it is, you gotta know where to find opportunity and know when to strike, and strike quickly. Happy to report yet another off market find for my buyers, and successful close of a long and painful lender process. … Continue reading SOLD | Sunset District | Off Market
Parkside Storybook Prize Asks $1.6 Million
If you think about it, housing security seems to be a serious motivator in fairy tales. Happy endings often involve other kinds of gains for plucky folkloric heroes, of course: true love, personal liberty, extremely liquid cash resources, etc. But it’s hard not to notice that retiring to a castle or at the very least … Continue reading Parkside Storybook Prize Asks $1.6 Million
Where SF’s Least Expensive Homes Sold
Previously, we explored which San Francisco neighborhoods bounced back highest and hardest this year with a look at the highest median sale prices for single-family homes last spring, the period when SF was emerging from the pandemic and getting an idea what the new lay of the land is. But not everyone is seeking the … Continue reading Where SF’s Least Expensive Homes Sold
Where SF’s Most Expensive Homes Sold When the Pandemic Ended
Even when the COVID-19 pandemic was beating down SF’s housing and rental markets last year, demand for single-family homes in the city still stayed surprisingly robust most quarters–such is the premium that buyers and sellers alike place on real, full-fledged SF houses at even the worst of times. Now that the city is largely back … Continue reading Where SF’s Most Expensive Homes Sold When the Pandemic Ended
These Are the Worst Beaches In the Bay Area
For generations, the dream of owning a home in California has included access to beautiful Pacific beaches, and along the Peninsula particularly people cast their dreamy gaze into the surf and imagine that one day all this will be theirs. But not every day at the beach is, well, a day at the beach; it … Continue reading These Are the Worst Beaches In the Bay Area
Potrero Hill’s Great Patriotic Land Rush (that didn’t work out)
Sunday marks California’s 170th Fourth of July since becoming a state in September of 1850–which means it’s also been that long since the great Potrero Hill land rush scheme, a strange historical boondoggle that tried to leverage California statehood into real estate riches. As anyone who ever visited knows, Potrero Hill, Dogpatch, and parts of … Continue reading Potrero Hill’s Great Patriotic Land Rush (that didn’t work out)
Midcentury Gem On Huge Sea Cliff Lot Asks $2.2 million
San Francisco’s remote and exclusive Sea Cliff neighborhood holds a special fascination for some housing aficionados, one that’s only partly owing to the multi-million dollar homes that people this liminal zone between the city and the sea. Certainly the neighborhood has a lot to offer in terms of big-ticket, multi-room mansion properties to marvel at, … Continue reading Midcentury Gem On Huge Sea Cliff Lot Asks $2.2 million
How San Francisco Screwed Up Van Ness Avenue
“What’s going on with Van Ness Avenue?” is such a commonplace San Francisco question that no less than a civil grand jury formed to find out why the traffic-snarling roadwork on that corridor seems to have lasted forever. A civil grand jury is a special body of SF citizens charged with auditing city government. Outcomes … Continue reading How San Francisco Screwed Up Van Ness Avenue
Total Teardown In Mission Asks $428K
Here’s an imponderable riddle for housing watchers to consider: How much would you pay for nothing at all? This is not an exercise in Zen enlightenment, but rather a potentially real question for anyone browsing the listing for 1180 Florida Street, as this single-family property in the Mission near the corner of 24th Street was … Continue reading Total Teardown In Mission Asks $428K
“Queen of the Fillmore’s” Scott Street Mansion asks $7.85 Million
Just a stone’s throw away from Alamo Square’s Painted Ladies (not that it’s advisable to throw stones around such prized assets…), an enormous early 20th century house with a profoundly classy Edwardian exterior at 711 Scott Street just listed, asking an equally high-class $7.85 million. The ad promises six beds, eight baths, and nearly 7,000 … Continue reading “Queen of the Fillmore’s” Scott Street Mansion asks $7.85 Million