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SAN FRANCISCO, May 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – Barbagelata Real Estate, a San Francisco-based family owned firm since 1952, announces that accomplished San Francisco real estate agent Vivian Lee , has joined their real estate brokerage after a short hiatus.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130509/PH10416 ) 

Lee previously worked at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in San Francisco from 2002-2007. She was recognized as one of the company’s top producers during her tenure with the company.  She represents both buyers and sellers of residential (luxury homes, single-family homes, condominiums, tenancies-in-common) and investment properties (2-4 units, multiple unit buildings) in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“Barbagelata Real Estate is honored to have Vivian join our firm,” said Paul Barbagelata , broker and owner of Barbagelata Real Estate. “Vivian is dynamic and results-driven and has a talent for fierce negotiation, open communication, smart strategy and thinking outside the box. Her commitment to her clients’ best interests, her unparalleled market knowledge, and her high standards of excellence and integrity match perfectly with Barbagelata’s standards of elite performance.”

Lee brings a unique advantage to her clients, with her background and expertise in digital marketing. She worked as an online marketing manager for an e-marketing firm where she managed search engine marketing, pay-per-click advertising, social media marketing, and budget management and planning for small to mid-sized web clients.  Prior to that, Vivian worked as a senior marketing associate for a marketing promotions company where she formulated creative concepts, managed program financials, and developed marketing proposals for clients in the consumer packaged goods industry.

“I look forward to being affiliated with Barbagelata Real Estate, a name that has deep roots in the San Francisco community. I was attracted to their entrepreneurial spirit and the fact that they have been an early adopter of technology,” said Lee. “As the real estate industry becomes increasingly digital and mobile, my goal is to give home buyers and sellers the tools and strategies that offer the best home buying and selling experience,” said Lee upon joining Barbagelata Real Estate.

As a native San Franciscan, Vivian is passionate about San Francisco and considers herself a local expert, writing San Francisco neighborhood round-ups on her blog, Vivian Lee – Real Estate and the City (http://www.vivianleesf.com/).  She graduated from the University of San Francisco in 1996 and has a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing. When Vivian is not working, she enjoys outdoor activities and creative projects with her six-year-old son, hot yoga, following local blogs and listening to music.

About Barbagelata Real Estate

The Barbagelata name has been imprinted on the city of San Francisco for over 140 years. Founded in 1952 by John Barbagelata , the firm continues to be one of the leading real estate agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area and ranks among the top 25 real estate firms by the San Francisco Business Times. Barbagelata’s team of 40 agents represent clients globally while maintaining local expertise, providing customers with a five star customer experience by using the latest tools and technologies in the industry.  They are also a proud member of Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate and the website LuxuryRealEstate.com, a global collection of the finest luxury real estate brokers in the world. Offices are located at 45 West Portal Avenue and 2381 Chestnut Street in San Francisco. Call (415) 566-1112 to speak with a real estate specialist today! For more information, visit: www.RealEstateSF.com

Media Contact:
Kelly Krueger
Krueger PR (for Barbagelata Real Estate)
415-235-5031
Email

This press release was issued through eReleases® Press Release Distribution. For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com. 

SOURCE Barbagelata Real Estate

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Article source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/native-san-franciscan-realtor-vivian-lee-joins-barbagelata-real-estate-206740471.html

“People at this income level,” Paster said before the auction that wasn’t, “always have money.”

That maxim proved true when it came to luxury properties in the Bay Area last year. Technology executives paying discounts on listed prices were active buyers in 2012, as the growth of social-media and Internet firms including Twitter and Yammer created a wave of millionaires.

Some older homes on the market had sat unsold for years before finding buyers, said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage of Northern California. But by the final week of 2012, there were at least 13 publicly recorded transactions for more than $10 million in exclusive San Francisco neighborhoods such as Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights and Sea Cliff, according to DataQuick, a research firm.

That’s up from six sales last year and a dozen in 2007, the previous high mark. The numbers don’t include deals in expensive areas outside the city, such as Belvedere, Tiburon, Atherton or Palo Alto.

“Over a long listing period, it’s hard to say what will happen, because obviously the market is constantly changing,” Turley said. “The success of tech and social media means people are looking very generally at San Francisco and the Silicon Valley as places to live because these businesses are sourced here. It’s highest on their radar.”

Initial public offerings in 2012 by Bay Area companies raised a record $17.5 billion in public equities markets, including sales by Facebook, Yelp and Workday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The total is more than double the $8.3 billion reached in 1999, the height of the dot-com boom.

This year’s Bay Area IPOs generated $9.4 billion in cash for selling shareholders. Other investors have been able to generate money before initial stock sales through the rise of secondary-share markets such as SharesPost.

Yammer founder

Yammer founder David Sacks, who sold the social-media company to Microsoft in June for $1.2 billion, later bought an unfinished home in Pacific Heights that had been listed for $38.5 million. The transfer tax indicated a $20 million sale.

Sacks’ new residence, built in the style of a French chateau, was last purchased by Peter Sperling, incoming chairman of Apollo Group Inc., who paid $32 million in 2002, said David Barrett of listing brokerage Warwick Properties Group.

“It’s built to be the finest residence in San Francisco, from limestone quarried in France and with the same glaziers who worked on the Eiffel Tower renovation,” Barrett said.

In December, Jay Paul, the San Francisco developer of 6 million square feet of Silicon Valley offices, including Google’s four-building complex in Sunnyvale, completed a purchase in the same neighborhood, said a person with knowledge of the transaction. The house sold for $28.25 million, said Dona Crowder of TRI Coldwell Banker, a co-listing broker on the home. She declined to comment on the buyer.

Seller deals

The deal was at a 48 percent discount from the asking price in 2007, around the time U.S. housing prices peaked. The seller had most recently sought $34 million, Crowder said.

Paul didn’t return a telephone message seeking comment.

In some cases, luxury discounts this past year in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley are a reflection of aged homes built decades ago that needed extensive renovations, Crowder said. Sellers were also motivated by the prospect of higher capital gains taxes in 2013, she said. Her listing on Broadway in Pacific Heights received higher bids in the past, including one earlier in 2012, which were rejected by the seller, she said.

“The generations are turning over in this neighborhood,” Crowder said in a phone interview. “If it were understood back then that record prices were being offered, it would have been wise to sell” in 2007.

Dorsey, Benioff

Jack Dorsey, a Twitter co-founder, paid $9.9 million in February for a “humble” two-bedroom house in Sea Cliff that had been listed for $12.5 million, said Olivia Hsu Decker, owner of Tiburon’s Decker Bullock Sotheby’s International Realty and Dorsey’s agent on the deal. Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff bought a nearby house in 2009, Decker said.

The Sea Cliff neighborhood is named for its location high above the Pacific Ocean, just west of the Golden Gate. In May, Dorsey, who is known to take public buses to work, tweeted a quote from the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, “I need the sea because it teaches me,” Decker said.

Other multimillion-dollar home buyers of 2012 included Mark Pincus, founder of online game maker Zynga. He purchased a Pacific Heights house in July for $16 million after a $500,000 price cut, said Decker, who represented him in the past and also was the listing agent for the Belvedere home.

Rising prices

The region’s broader housing market is also showing strong demand, bolstered by the addition of 32,400 new jobs in the San Francisco metropolitan area in the year through November. House and condominium prices in the nine-county Bay Area in November rose almost 21 percent from a year earlier to a median $438,000, the highest since August 2008, according to DataQuick of San Diego. Sales jumped almost 16 percent.

Dan Levy is a Bloomberg writer. E-mail: dlevy13@bloomberg.net

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Luxury-Bay-Area-homes-selling-briskly-4160241.php

We’re in Silicon Valley, the Mecca for innovation and entrepreneurship. The weather can’t be beat and the opportunities are flowing.

The demand for Peninsula real estate is at an all-time high, while the number of housing options continues to shrink.

These are just some of the factors that have resulted in Coldwell Banker’s annual Home Listing Report ranking 10 cities in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties as part of the top 20 most expensive markets in the country.

“The success of many of our native tech companies has shined a spotlight on Silicon Valley and our real estate market in the San Francisco Bay Area,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in the San Francisco Bay Area, in a written statement.

Ranking at #1? Los Altos/Los Altos Hills. Following behind: #3 Saratoga, #4 Menlo Park, #5 Palo Alto, #6 Los Gatos, #10 San Carlos, #12 Cupertino, #15 Belmont, and #20 Redwood City.

For the average listing price of a 4-BR, 2 BA home in these cities, check out this article. 

Cities’ staffs have seen large numbers of housing development proposals, such as Google’s housing project in Mountain View and the Cargill Saltworks Development in Redwood City.

And as more and more tech companies begin to sprout up and down the Peninsula, employees will want to live closer to their workplaces. Is increasing the prices of homes the answer to the skyrocketing demand for real estate?  

Tell us in the comments why homes in the area are worth their price tags. Or if they’re simply overpriced. 

Article source: http://losaltos.patch.com/articles/is-real-estate-on-the-peninsula-too-expensive-poll

This year, Los Altos/Los Altos Hills, at an average price of $1,706,688, is the most expensive market in the country when it comes to how much house your dollar will buy, according to Coldwell Banker’s annual Home Listing Report.

And Belmont isnt far behind, ranking 15 on the list with an average listing price for a four-bedroom, two-bath home priced at $1,098,777.

In fact, of the nation’s top five most expensive markets, four are on the lower Peninsula and Santa Clara County, and all are in California. Besides Los Altos, they include Saratoga ($1,582,434), Menlo Park ($1,506,909), and Palo Alto ($1,495,364). Newport Beach, in the No. 2 position ($1,658,000), was the only market outside of the Bay Area in the top five.

Coldwell Banker attributes Los Altos’ ranking to the confluence of tech and desirable locations. Google, Apple, Facebook and Stanford University are all located within 15 minutes of Los Altos, Coldwell Banker observed. And, so are the other top-five cities Saratoga, Menlo Park and Palo Alto.

And Los Altos Hills is the town that brought you the $100 million home, purchased by Russian tech investor Yuri Milner in 2011. 

“The success of many of our native tech companies has shined a spotlight on Silicon Valley and our real estate market in the San Francisco Bay Area,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in the San Francisco Bay Area, in a written statement.

In fact, among the top 20 most expensive markets in the country, ten of them are on the Peninsula or in Santa Clara Valley. They include the additional cities (in order of price) of Los Gatos, San Carlos, Cupertino, San Francisco and Redwood City.

High demand, low inventory, desirability and population projections all figure into the prices, Turley said.

Conversely, the most affordable was in Redford, Michigan, where the average a four-bedroom, two bath house cost $60,490—or 28 times less than the same house in Los Altos.

Coldwell Banker lists both the top 20 most affordable and the most expensive in the chart below.

For a state-by-state ranking, see this Coldwell Banker link.

Don’t be left out of the conversation taking place in Belmont–Sign up for our daily newsletter|Like Belmont|Patch on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Start your ?own blog

Article source: http://belmont-ca.patch.com/articles/belmont-one-the-most-expensive-real-estate-markets-in-country

This year, Los Altos/Los Altos Hills, at an average price of $1,706,688, is the most expensive market in the country when it comes to how much house your dollar will buy, according to Coldwell Banker’s annual Home Listing Report.

By contrast, for an average of $60,490 a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home can be found in Redford, Mich., which is just outside of Detroit. It’s a isting price difference of more than $1.6 million.

Cupertino is 9th in California and 12th in the nation with an average price of $1,151,145 for a similar sized home. It sits just above San Francisco with an average of $1,132,086.

In fact, of the nation’s top five most expensive markets, four are on the lower Peninsula and Santa Clara County, and all are in California. Besides Los Altos, they include Saratoga ($1,582,434), Menlo Park ($1,506,909), and Palo Alto ($1,495,364). Newport Beach, in the No. 2 position ($1,658,000), was the only market outside of the Bay Area in the top five.

Coldwell Banker attributes Los Altos’ ranking to the confluence of tech and desirable locations. Google, Apple, Facebook and Stanford University are all located within 15 minutes of Los Altos, Coldwell Banker observed. And, so are the other top-five cities Saratoga, Menlo Park and Palo Alto.

And Los Altos Hills is the town that brought you the $100 million home, purchased by Russian tech investor Yuri Milner in 2011. 

“The success of many of our native tech companies has shined a spotlight on Silicon Valley and our real estate market in the San Francisco Bay Area,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in the San Francisco Bay Area, in a written statement.

In fact, among the top 20 most expensive markets in the country, 10 of them are on the Peninsula or in Santa Clara Valley. They include the additional cities (in order of price) of Los Gatos, San Carlos, Cupertino, San Francisco and Redwood City.

High demand, low inventory, desirability and population projections all figure into the prices, Turley said.

Conversely, the most affordable was in Redford, Michigan, where the average a four-bedroom, two bath house cost $60,490—or 28 times less than the same house in Los Altos.

Coldwell Banker lists both the top 20 most affordable and the most expensive in the chart below.

For a state-by-state ranking, see this Coldwell Banker link.

Article source: http://cupertino.patch.com/articles/los-altos-the-most-expensive-market-in-country-a35fc8e0

The 2012 report compares the average home listing price of more than 72,000 four-bedroom, two-bathroom properties listed on coldwellbanker.com between January and June 2012. The average home price in Vienna area came in at $668,317.

Arlington topped the list with an average price of $678,486. Behind it was Alexandria at $587,716, according to the report. The least-expensive market in the state was in Danville, with an average home price of $153,957.

Nationally, the most expensive state-level market was Hawaii, with an average home price of $742,551, followed by Massachusetts and California. The least expensive statewide home market averages were Nebraska, Iowa and Georgia.

Nationally, the most expensive market was Los Altos, Calif., where the average price listing of a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home was $1.7 million. The report noted the Los Altos market is within 15 minutes of Google, Apple, Facebook and Stanford University, highlighting the success of the technology industry.

“The success of many of our native tech companies has shined a spotlight on Silicon Valley and our real estate market in the San Francisco Bay Area,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in the San Francisco Bay Area, in a press statement. “Listing prices in our market are a product of ongoing high demand, projected population growth and the low inventory levels of homes in what is one of the most desirable locations to live.”

The most affordable market this year is Redford, Mich., where a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home is listed at $60,490.

Read the full report here.

Article source: http://vienna.patch.com/articles/report-vienna-second-most-expensive-home-market-in-state

PARSIPPANY, N.J.

November 28, 2012
5:43am

•  The difference between Silicon Valley and the Central Valley

•  “A product of ongoing high demand, projected population growth and the low inventory levels”

What’s the difference between living in Los Altos in Silicon Valley and Delhi in the Central Valley?

Just $1,583,834.

That’s the difference in the median prices of homes in the two cities that are just 112 miles apart, according to a new report Wednesday from Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, which is listing the media prices it has found in 2,500 markets.

Several of the nation’s most expensive real estate markets are in Northern California, it says. Google, Apple, Facebook and Stanford University are all located within 15 minutes of this year’s most expensive market, Los Altos, where the average listing price of a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home is $1,706,688.

“The success of many of our native tech companies has shined a spotlight on Silicon Valley and our real estate market in the San Francisco Bay Area,” says Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in the San Francisco Bay Area. “Listing prices in our market are a product of ongoing high demand, projected population growth and the low inventory levels of homes in what is one of the most desirable locations to live.”

Lowest median in the Central Valley is in Delhi in Stanislaus County where the money that fell off the table in Los Altos might buy a four-bedroom, two-bath home: $122,854.

In contrast, the most affordable market this year is Redford, Mich., where a similar home, four-bedrooms, two-bathrooms, is listed at $60,490 — a listing price difference of more than $1.6 million from Los Altos. In fact, says the report, 28 homes could be purchased in Redford for the price of a similar home in Los Altos.

Overall, the report found the average listing price of a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in the U.S. to be $292,152. Affordability remains strong in many markets across the country as 36 percent of the markets analyzed by the report had an average home listing price of less than $200,000 for four-bedroom, two-bathroom homes.

The five most expensive markets are all in California, with four in the San Francisco Bay Area. Los Altos tops the list, followed by Newport Beach ($1,658,000), Saratoga ($1,582,434), Menlo Park ($1,506,909) and Palo Alto ($1,495,364). But even with these high priced markets, California was not the most expensive state. The average listing price of a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in California ($431,625) is less than both Hawaii ($742,551) and Massachusetts ($489,063).

Article source: http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=22378

The number of homes for sale in April hit a 6.6-month supply, down from 9.1 months a year ago, the National Association of Realtors says. A six-month supply is considered a healthy market.

• MORE: Number of homes for sale in 50 top markets and change from a year ago

Some markets have fallen below that. Last month, nine of 18 leading markets tracked by real estate brokerage Redfin had less than a three-month supply. That means it would have taken three months to sell all of the listed homes at April’s sales pace.

Those markets included the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, Denver and Washington, D.C. A year ago, only Phoenix had such a low inventory, Redfin’s data show.

“Multiple offers are definitely the norm,” says Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage for the San Francisco Bay Area. At one point this month, 80% of the properties that his agents were working to buy or sell had multiple offers, Turley says.

Unlike the days during the housing bubble, house shoppers are more likely to go to the sidelines after making three or four offers, he says.

“We’re seeing a significant number of people step back from multiple bids,” says Glenn Kelman, Redfin CEO. “They say, ‘I’m not going to make the mistake people made in 2006.’ “

Compared with a year ago, supplies are tighter in every price category in 47 of 50 top U.S. markets, according to real estate website Zillow. Leaner supplies of lower-price homes are especially evident in some markets.

In Phoenix, San Francisco and Las Vegas, the number of lower-price homes for sale has dropped 64%, 53% and 50%, respectively, in the past year, Zillow’s analysis found. That’s a bigger drop than what’s occurred for higher-price homes in those markets, Zillow’s data show.

Tight inventories will push up prices, encouraging more people to list homes, Zillow economist Stan Humphries says.

Plenty are waiting. “Every Realtor knows divorced couples living in the same house because they’re waiting for higher prices,” says Remax Realtor Kathie Shandro in Denver.

Many people lack enough home equity to buy again, CoreLogic economist Mark Fleming says. CoreLogic says 45% of mortgage holders have less than 20% home equity.

Fewer foreclosed homes are also coming to market, Fleming says. Plus, lower-priced homes are attractive to investors, who’re turning them into rentals, Fleming says.

Article source: http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/story/2012-05-24/Housing-becomes-sellers-market/55194106/1

“This position expands J. Rockcliff’s abilities to reach out to our customers in a proactive manner,” says Jeff Sposito, founder and president of J. Rockcliff REALTORS®. “I have known Dennis for more than three decades and cannot think of a more qualified REALTOR®, to fill the position of regional sales manager. He brings a legendary portfolio of both real estate and management skills to the table, as well as a deep knowledge of the Contra Costa markets. It is a pleasure to have the opportunity to work with a respected friend, and I look forward to congratulating him on his success in this position.”

A Bay Area native, Simkin began his real estate career in 1974 with Valley Realty which later became Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. After an award winning decade and having assumed the management the company’s top office in Northern California, Simkin became president and owner of Blackhawk Properties. In 1990, Simkin founded United California Brokers (UCB) and served as president until the company became Sotheby’s International Real Estate in 2007.

For more information, visit www.Rockcliff.com.

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Article source: http://rismedia.com/?p=66711

The initiative will market Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage listings here at home on a global basis through a combination of print and online advertising, targeted direct marketing, and other outreach efforts.

Additionally, the program will leverage Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC’s extensive network of offices and sales associates throughout the Far East to find qualified buyers of local properties.

Homeowners in Asia have become the fastest-growing segment of offshore buyers for U.S. homes, according to recent industry figures. Buyers in China alone now represent 9 percent of the $41 billion spent annually by international buyers, according to the National Association of Realtors – nearly double the total just three years ago.

Chinese buyers now trail only Canadians as the top buyers of U.S. properties. India is tied with Mexico for third at 7 percent. For offshore buyers, California remains one of the top locations in the nation, according to NAR’s study.

“For a variety of reasons, buyers in Asia are increasingly looking to the U.S. in general and California and the Bay Area in particular when it comes to real estate investments,” said Anne Treacy Johnson, regional vice president of marketing for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.

Affluent Chinese residents are facing increasing limitations from their government on purchasing real estate as China battles inflation and what the government and many investors fear might be a real estate bubble. Properties in the U.S., even in more expensive Silicon Valley communities, are considered relatively cheap compared to escalating property values in China.

“Given the strong international demand for our properties, it’s critical to reach Asian buyers with a very targeted and strategic marketing program in their home countries,” Johnson said. “Our goal is to put Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage listings in front of the widest possible audience of affluent buyers from Asia.”

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage will be marketing the properties with extensive advertising in a host of influential global publications, including the Wall Street Journal Asian edition, Unique Homes magazine, Millionaire Asia, and Previews International Homes Estates.

The program also gives agents the opportunity to showcase their properties on leading international websites, including ListGlobally.com, EastWestLuxuryEstates.com, the Wall Street Journal’s online Chinese edition and Caimeiju, one of China’s top websites specializing in luxury properties in America. In all, listings will be exposed to more than 15 million buyers worldwide on more than 550 highly trafficked websites.

Additionally, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage has launched its own “micro site” for international buyers of high-end California homes called CBPCalifornia.com. The site will be used when consumers in China, Russia and the Middle East search for California listings using their native search engine — Baidu, (the Chinese version of Google), Yande (the Russian version of Google), and Google UAE.

The company will complement the Internet and print advertising efforts with a direct marketing program overseas that is designed to reach more than 100,000 affluent individuals in the Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage will also leverage one of the largest networks of agents worldwide as part of the program. “One of the biggest tools we will be using is our global network of 86,000 sales associates in 3,200 offices in 49 countries around the globe,” Johnson said. “This incomparable network of real estate professionals will support our marketing efforts on the ground in each of these countries and give our listings a truly global reach in order to attract the right buyers for our properties.”

For more information about the new international marketing program, please contact Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s marketing department at 925.275.3085.

About Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is the largest residential real estate brokerage in Northern California and serves the markets from Monterey to Tahoe and nearly every market in between. The company has 62 office locations and more than 3,600 sales associates throughout Northern California. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is part of NRT LLC, the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage company. NRT has 750 offices and 45,000 sales associates operating in more than 35 major metropolitan areas. A subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, NRT operates Realogy’s company-owned real estate brokerage offices. For more information please visit www.CaliforniaMoves.com or call 925.275.3085. DRE # 00313415.

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Article source: http://www.pr.com/press-release/381725