Right now, the real estate market can be tres confusing. Frankly, I am confused too! Many houses continue to fly off of the shelves, while others sit around…not selling. What is the deal?

In markets like ours, there is a wide variation of both inventory (housing stock) and marketing (presentation/staging and exposure of home to the public by agent).

Some houses are priced to bring in the crowds and presented to get those crowds to pull the trigger, i.e. write an offer to purchase.

Other houses are priced at the top of the value range (or higher) and do not show their best. While you may love Mr. Winkles more than you love your own children (C’mon, you know who you are!), many homebuyers will not appreciate how your home has been decorated as a shrine to the little pup.

Staging is CRUCIAL, especially right now. No, you do not need to hire a professional (though it will greatly help and most likely end up saving you time and money) but you do need to do some staging. I have written posts about how to set up your home for sale and I can give so much more specific advice in this arena but alas, I digress.

The real topic is Bernal Heights and what your Bernal Heights home is worth today. Or, for you home buyers, what does it cost to own in Bernal Heights? Property owners click here to find out specifically what your home is worth.

The reason I digressed into staging is that Bernal Heights is one of the best neighborhoods in which to see the vast variation of pricing, presentation and marketing in today’s San Francisco real estate market.

Want to see competitively priced, perfectly staged and appropriately exposed homes that sell over the asking price due to the 7 offers the sellers received?

Or would you rather see the over-priced house on lockbox with the entire extended family still in residence (along with their 30 years of bric-a-brac)?

Uncle Manny will happily show you around and by that I mean, follow you around the ENTIRE time you are viewing the house. Where’s their Realtor, you ask? Good question. Most likely, he is at his office which is located somewhere far, far away like Daly City!

Yup, we’ve got a lot of each plus many other variations on the theme. So, when you look at the attached data, keep in mind this variation….

Enjoy and let me know if you have questions!

Click here to see Bernal Heights homes for sale NOW and homes that have sold in the past 90 days. DOM means Days on Market, i.e. how long it took the home to sell.

bernal-heights-home-values

As you know, Forbes recently listed San Francisco’s Sunset District as over-priced. Of course, they were using a Price to Earnings ratio as their gauge. In my opinion, single family home values in this neighborhood should not be evaluated through this lens.

Certainly, there are rentals in the area but mainly, this is a steady, reliable residential neighborhood. Yet, it is important to differentiate within the Sunset. The Inner Sunset, Central Sunset and Outer Sunset all have micro-markets as do the Parkside and Outer Parkside districts.

Generally speaking, this area is consistently in demand. Single family homes in San Francisco are a limited stock. Plus, the Sunset has easy commuter access via car or MUNI, Golden Gate Park’s wonders, great restaurants and stores, and of course, the Ocean….among other quality of life benefits.

It must be said that if you want clear skies and warm days, the Sunset may not be for you! Being someone who complains EVERY summer about how freaking cold, windy and depressing it is here even in the “fogfree-ish” zones like the Mission, Bernal Heights and Potrero Hill, I have to say that if you want real warmth, move to Palm Springs!

So, what is the market like in San Francisco’s Sunset District? Since a question about 3 bedroom homes in the Central Sunset was recently posed on Trulia, I thought I would give you some facts for fun.

Below is a chart of 3 Bedroom Single Family Homes in the Central Sunset. The list includes homes currently for sale, homes that are in escrow (Act.Cont and Pending), and homes that sold within the past 6 months.

Curious about another ‘hood? Let me know and I’m happy to post the results. So go-ahead and geek out on the stats. Just be sure to keep in mind that SF home values can vary A LOT depending on the specific house, block, and even if it’s vacant or comes with tenants. As with all stats, your critical eye is a good thing….

Sunset Home Values Report Here

Okay, so if you pay any attention to the mass media, you’d probably think the entire world is collapsing. Am I right? To be candid, even I think like Chicken Little when I look at my SEP-IRA statements each recent month…

So, how is the San Francisco real estate market doing? Well, not to sound like the cheery optimists so ridiculed in the non-Realtor blogosphere but yes, San Francisco real estate is doing just fine. No, it’s not party like it’s 2004 but the market is stable, steady and with a remarkably low supply of inventory compared to demand. There are deals out there, especially in the loft/condo/TIC market but ask anyone who has owned their home for 5 years or more and they are likely to be very happy with their investment.

Bottom line: the time is right to be buying, particularly for San Francisco first time buyers & investors who qualify and move up buyers who have owned their property for say 4-5+years.

Most of our listings continue to sell quickly and with multiple offers so present and price it right and you will do just fine. Again, we are lucky to live and own in San Francisco.

The San Francisco Association of Realtors has improved and repacked their weekly statistics. In other effort to supply y’all with insider information (no, not the kind Martha unjustly went to jail for), I will continue to publish the stats here.

Mind you, in person I am hardly the smiley, perky type but when it comes to home ownership, I could practically be a Dallas Cowgirl! Really, I’m just channeling Ms. Orman but that’s another story.

My philosophy was and is that you should buy what you can afford as soon as you can afford it. Don’t worry so much about what is happening in the macro-economy.

Worry about your own situation. Do you have a good job? Savings? Good credit? Could you benefit from the tax savings and pride of ownership that comes with your own little slice of San Francisco?

Enough already, you say. Show me the money. Here you go. I hope all you analytic types will enjoy! (Following the chart is a list of related terms to help understand the data.)

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 SALE is the number of active properties on the market for one day or more during the month.

MEDIAN PRICE (SOLD) reflects the “middle” price point of a group of properties that have successfully closed escrow on a monthly basis, i.e. half sold for more and half sold for less than the median price. Tracking the movement of median prices over time provides a good indicator of the direction market forces are moving.

If the percentage change is positive between the two periods then there is upward pressure on prices in that market segment. If the percentage change is negative between the two periods then there is downward pressure on prices in that market segment.

AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET (DOM) reflects how long it has been taking (on average) to draw an offer on a reasonably priced property exposed to the market. The AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET is defined as: The average number of days it took all of the properties that went under contract during the period to accept a first position offer.

MONTH’S SUPPLY OF INVENTORY (MSI) is a measure of how long it would take, in months, to sell the existing inventory at the current sales rate for the specific neighborhood and property type. The MONTH’S SUPPLY OF INVENTORY is defined as: The number of active properties on the market for one day or more during the month, less the number of properties that have been withdrawn or expired, divided by the number of properties that have gone under contract during the month.

Hey San Francisco home buyers, you can still buy a home with 10% down payment.

You should be gainfully employed with great credit, savings and a down payment but you do not need 20% down. There is a lot of misinformation out there, causing many successful young professionals who know they should own and want to buy when the market’s at the bottom but think there are no more loans for them.

There are great loans for you, I swear it!

For example, right now I am helping a women buy her first San Francisco home. She has owned real estate where she used to live in the Midwest but has been renting here in San Francisco, paying a lot of money each month with no tax incentive and no return on her investment.

She is very successful and makes good money. She also has good retirement savings. Yet, she gives Uncle Sam way too much of her paycheck! She’s now preapproved for really secure & safe financing and is ready to go get a deal on a condo in the Castro!

Here are this week’s rates for San Francisco purchases:

Brought to us by Monica Di Perna of Guarantee Mortgage. Call her directly if you want more details or want to verify the numbers.

If you have a really fabulous San Francisco property, like a luxury condo near the museums and restaurants or a perfect home in Russian Hill with views to die for, you might be able to turn your real estate into a fractional property. Fractional real estate sells for 1-2.5 times a regular sale and it gives you the option of keeping a part of your property.

Say you are ready to retire to the Wine Country but want to have a place in San Francisco during Opera Season (or heck, Giants season for that matter)…how about selling a part and keeping a part? Continue to reap the benefits of San Francisco’s phenomenal property appreciation, while cashing out so you can buy your dream home in the country.

Just a thought…

Want to own a piece of San Francisco or Napa or Paris or Tuscany…but only just a piece? Then, fractional real estate ownership may be for you.

There is a great real estate brokerage called Global Quarters based out of Sonoma County, California that caters exclusively to the exclusive community of fractional real estate ownership.

According to the Broker/Owner Paula Gold-Nocella, the average owner of a second home uses their property approximately 17-21 days a year and with the cost of purchase, mortgage, maitenance, taxes and insurance, the total cost of ownership can be very steep considering the useage!

Paula says, “In any market fractional sales make sense financially…With fractional ownership you only purchase what you need according to what you will use, and you have deeded ownership. You stand to gain from the appreciation of your asset (the second home), all for a fraction of the cost of whole ownership.”

You may be thinking, “This sounds like a timeshare.”

The biggest difference between a time share and fractional real estate ownership is that with the fractional ownership, you OWN the real estate. Real estate is a solid, long-term investment. With a timeshare, you do not capitalize on your long-term ownership of the property. With fractionals, you do.

Other differences between Fractionals and Timeshares:

• Fractional = You own the real estate. Timeshare = You do not own the real property.
• Fractional = 4-12 Co-owners v. 500-600 co-owners in a timeshare
• Fractional = You have control and decision-making. You work with your small group of partners. Timeshare = Well, if you have ever owned one, you know there is very little power to improve things.
• Fractional = Potential for Long-Term Profit and an Appreciating Asset to pass down to your heirs

Personally, I think this is a very exciting real estate trend. Many of us aspire to own property all over the world and for some of us, it is a reality. Yet, do you really want 100% of the responsibility and ownership of the property? Maybe it does make sense to have a few co-owners to share the luxury home with so you can fully utilize your investment…

I’ll go back to what Paula has to say because it sums it up perfectly!

“Three things are changing where and how Americans buy real estate: retiring baby boomers, inherited wealth and technology.” - Paula Gold-Nocella

Just for fun, here are a couple of the properties that yours truly would love most. (Hey Daddy Warbucks, feel free to send a check!)

The Ranch on Soda Rock Sonoma County, California

7 rue Malher, Paris 4th Arrondissement Paris, France in the Marais

The Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences, San Francisco because why not? I love San Francisco and I LOVE the Ritz. You can trade your room for any Ritz anywhere. Yum.

And of course, pretty much anything in Italy!

First American Title is helping us in defining each neighborhood in the city.  As a homebuyer where do you want to live?  Here is a brief overview into the “High Tech” areas in the city by the bay.

SoMa (South of Market) was the hippest place to have an office, loft, bar or restaurant during the dot-com heyday.  When the bubble burst most of those “built to flip” companies and the restaurants that catered to them evaporated.  The good news is that the businesses of all types now filling the voids left by the bust appear to be solid companies with staying power.   Even the housing has gotten more real.

Read the rest of this entry »

Our esteemed President has signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 into law. Since I know you can read about the details of this law ad nauseum, I will simply summarize what this means for San Francisco home owners and home buyers.

FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits have been permanently increased. For us in San Francisco, we should have the highest loan limits, or $625,500.

This means that more home buyers will qualify for government-backed mortgages and with lower down payments.

For example, I recently helped a couple purchase a really cute single family home in the Ingleside area of San Francisco. They were able to purchase a home with 5% down payment, using a FHA home loan program.

The loans are safe, secure, with long-term fixed rates and allow 1st time home buyers to take advantage of this more even local market.

Keep in mind that this change does not go into effect until AFTER the short-term plan expires. Right now, the loan limit is actually higher. It’s $729,750 but this will expire on December 31, 2008.

If you want to take advantage of the higher conforming loan limits, DO IT NOW! A conforming loan limit of $729,750 will get you into a really nice home in San Francisco. The deals are out there and the savvy will take advantage of the timing.

We now know, 2-3 years later, that the top of the market was in 2005. We are near or at the bottom and won’t know for sure until it’s long gone.

Seize the day.

*Blogger’s note: I used to watch Dead Poet’s Society every summer just before the start of the new school year to get inspired. Yes, I know this both dates and embarrasses me. Oh well!