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San Francisco median home price hits plateau?

Fri, 30 Aug 2013 06:19:28 +0000

After soaring to the sky like Icarus, the San Francisco median price for sold homes has finally fallen. Not as dramatically as Icarus fell, mind you– more like a gentle downward current pushing that price point from $915K (for both condos and single-family homes) in May of this year, down to $870K in June and then slightly up from there to $879K in July, staying fairly flat into August.

Meanwhile, a perusal of the MLS for San Francisco homes listed within close range of the current median of $879K reveals a market still rather over-heated. For instance, this unit on Ashbury is 2 beds, 2 baths, 1,300 square feet, listing at $899K. It is a recent conversion to a condo, and includes a shared yard, 1-car parking and extra storage. Still, that’s almost $700 per square foot.

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For luxury high-rise condos, we have this example in the SoMa Grand building, a 1,031-square-foot 2-bed/2-bath that includes use of community features like a lounge, gym, courtyard and spa. Listing at $895K, this one also comes with an HOA of $678 per month.

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Crazier still, but perhaps down to its location, is this listing on Homestead in coveted Noe Valley, a single-family home. No interior shots yet, as the house is still marked “coming soon,” the listing does reveal that it’s only 708 square feet. And the price, $949K, would make it $1,340 per each of those squares.

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As Paragon Real Estate Group explains:

Monthly median prices are often subject to fluctuation without great meaningfulness, but after the big, definitive jump early in the year, the median sales price has been within a 4-5% spread for five months, including a drop from an April-May spike. The idea of a plateau contradicts the recent Case-Shiller Index reports of continuing increases, but

1) the C-S Index is about 3-5 months behind current realities

2) San Francisco is only a tiny part of the 5-county SF Metro Area Index

3) The city itself has strongly outperformed C-S Index since the turnaround began – having appreciated so much faster than other places, we may be due a flattening of appreciation before other areas. And, of course, this also may be true for different SF neighborhoods which began their rebounds at different times and have accelerated at different speeds – some may be plateauing while others are still appreciating.

Other factors to consider in this slight cooling of what’s been a red-hot market: seasonality, higher-interest rates, and buyer burn-out due to low inventory, or buyers becoming more willing to push back against high prices. “We may have reached a plateau or bumped into a ceiling of what buyers are willing to pay, thus transitioning into a somewhat different market from spring’s overheated frenzy,” hypothesizes Paragon. But of course, time will tell.

What Should We Expect for Fall?

Chime in, readers: what should be next for San Francisco home prices? Have we hit the ceiling yet, or will Icarus fly still closer to the sun?

Bumped our head on the ceiling? Data via Paragon Real Estate Group. http://www.paragon-re.com/Market_Updates/

Anna Marie Erwert writes from both the renter and new buyer perspective, having (finally) achieved both statuses. She focuses on national real estate trends, specializing in the San Francisco Bay Area and Pacific Northwest. Follow Anna on Twitter: @AnnaMarieErwert

Article source: http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2013/08/29/san-francisco-median-home-price-hits-plateau/

Three most expensive homes on the San Francisco MLS

Tue, 16 Jul 2013 21:18:43 +0000

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Winning the award for 3rd most pricey home on the San Francisco MLS is the Jackson Street abode you see above, nearly 9,000 square feet with 6 beds and 6.5 baths. Readers should note the home’s listing price, $17.5 million, breaks down to asking $1,984 per square foot. Not that this would scare luxury buyers in San Francisco; the home itself went pending just six days after it listed, according to Redfin property records. We don’t know yet what it will actually sell for, but we doubt it’s much less than what the sellers ask given the alacrity of the transaction.

Coming in 2nd is this palatial affair hulking over Washington St.

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This property is so big, it has two MLS listing pages, one for the main house and one for the guest house. Neoclassical outside and over-the-top on the inside, the home offers almost 18,000 square feet, 8 beds, 7 baths, and the aforementioned guest house at an additional 2,600 square feet. All this, plus a corner lot Presidio Heights location, set this home at an astonishing $21 million. Not so astonishing anymore, maybe, not after Yammer founder David Sacks paid $20 million for the not even finished 2845 Broadway. However, no one has rushed to snap up this one, hot luxury market or not. The home listed for $25M in May of 2012 and was reduced in March to $21M.

Coming in 1st is this home, lined up with traditional billionaire mansions on Broadway, but looking quite different from its peers.

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We can only thus far see plans for the interior and multiple floors, but the exterior rendering is remarkable, as is the view, and the price. Asking $28,950M, 2712 Broadway is officially the most expensive home listed on the SF public MLS. It offers 6 beds, 6 baths in 11,607 square feet, which calculates to $2,494 per square foot. Too pricey even for that stretch of street? Time will tell.

Buyers want, and can afford, high-end

Meanwhile, luxury properties enjoy a continued popularity in 2013. Paragon Real Estate Group shows this in a recent 2nd quarter report:

Going up! Demand for pricey homes going up, and prices with it. Courtesy Paragon Real Estate Group

How high is too high?

When, and at what price, will buyers balk? Or is the appetite for luxury in San Francisco insatiable?

Article source: http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2013/07/16/three-most-expensive-homes-on-the-san-francisco-mls/

America’s Cup sends rentals into the stratosphere

Fri, 12 Jul 2013 08:52:36 +0000

Would you pay $18K a month to rent this place, because it has a view of the Bay and thus the race action?

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The home, perched atop Clarendon Heights, is one of many being marketed as a temporary rental specifically suited for fans of America’s Cup, and is actually the least expensive example we’ll offer today. Per its write up through Trulia, this is a 3 bed, 2 bath, “available June 15th through August 15th.” For the weekly rental price of $5,000, up to 12 people could share the home, which includes “sweeping views of the Ocean, Golden Gate Bridge, North and East Bay” plus two-car garage, patio, and utility costs (as long as they don’t exceed $250 a month, which if 12 people actually stay there, is possible).

$18K a month is a bargain, going by this next example:

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A relatively unremarkable loft-style condo of 2 beds, 2 baths, this 2,300 square foot unit is advertised as follows: “Available July-Sept 2013. Sleeping 6 comfortably, look no further for a conveniently located place to stay for the upcoming America’s Cup races.” The views aren’t featured (we can’t tell if there is one) but the fact that it’s walkable to the Embarcadero is. For that, you’ll pay $25K a month (that includes utilities and cable, plus one car parking).

Moving still higher on the monthly rent, we land at this home somewhere on Francisco Street with a view of the action from its roof deck.

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With 6 beds and 4.5 baths and a Marina District address, this condo asks $30K a month. Advertising on Trulia promises: “the master suite features a private deck, and there is a rooftop deck with extensive views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz… and full view of the Americas Cup Events this summer.”

Is America’s Cup fever really this hot?

Can homes close to, or with a view of, the fabled race really command prices like these? The comments await.

Article source: http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2013/07/11/americas-cup-sends-rentals-into-the-stratosphere/

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San Francisco median home price hits plateau?

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Three most expensive homes on the San Francisco MLS

America’s Cup sends rentals into the stratosphere