Paragon Real Estate Group® first brokerage in San Francisco to provide Clarus touchCMA™ to its REALTORS®

Paragon has always been a company that is light on its feet, highly responsive to new ideas and opportunities, and now the time has come to take big steps in virtually every facet of our business to take us to the next level – Paragon CEO Bob Dadurka.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) September 26, 2013

“Since we opened our doors in 2004, we’ve been gratified by being able to build Paragon into one of the most successful brokerages in San Francisco. 2013 is shaping up to be our best year ever – with total sales up 20 percent and luxury home sales up a whopping 82 percent, we should go well beyond a billion dollars in sales – and our agents now have one of the highest averages sales per agent figures in the country. San Francisco has always been a very competitive market, the price point is very high and our clients are extremely sophisticated financially and technologically and in what they expect from the professionals who serve their needs. Paragon has always been a company that is light on its feet, highly responsive to new ideas and opportunities, and now the time has come to take big steps in virtually every facet of our business to take us to the next level,” Paragon CEO Bob Dadurka.

These steps include spinning off their investment real estate division, already one of the biggest players in that market segment, into the separate Paragon Commercial Brokerage in beautiful new offices at 1700 California. Another big piece of the plan is the centralization of Paragon’s residential brokerage operations in the 4-story building they purchased and completely renovated at 1400 Van Ness. This will then be followed by the opening of new, mobile-oriented, hub offices in other areas of the city such as the luxury home market of Pacific Heights-Marina, Potrero Hill, South Beach-SoMa and the Hayes Valley-Noe Valley area. Paragon is also actively growing the number of agents working in Marin, Napa and Sonoma, where their business is growing quickly. According to Paragon Managing Broker, Sally Stull, “The way people do business is rapidly changing and the way our agents serve our clients is changing. Big old-style offices with desks and phones are much less important; cutting edge technology that improves client communications, property marketing and the delivery of highest quality market analytics is what helps our clients most and what they want. So we are moving resources from an older business model to this more dynamic and more mobile model. We are extremely excited about the large investments we’re making in improved technology and more streamlined operations right now. This will be a huge win-win for Paragon and for our customers.”

Paragon has been investing particularly heavily in new marketing technologies. Paragon’s Director of Brand and Digital Marketing Lisa M. Norman highlighted a few of the biggest initiatives: “Marketing is one of the core products a real estate brokerage offers its clients and Paragon has always invested heavily in stand-out marketing across the multiple media platforms. But now we’re taking a quantum leap in digital and mobile marketing. Both our website and new online resource, ParaScopeSF, offer comprehensive information about living in the Bay Area and its complex real estate market. We’re the first brokerage in San Francisco to offer touchCMA, a highly sophisticated iPad-based presentation and market analysis tool, to all our agents and clients. Paragon has moved to a new, mobile marketing platform, Imprev, that allows marketing staff and agents to create incredible materials from wherever they are in less time than ever. As our footprint in the luxury home market grows by leaps and bounds, we are designing new programs and developing new partnerships to meet the special needs of that market segment. And finally, within the realm of traditional marketing, Paragon is redesigning and upgrading all its print marketing materials to a standard currently unmatched in San Francisco real estate sales.”

About the Company:

Paragon’s main residential office is at 1400 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco and its Commercial Brokerage at 1700 California Street. Paragon can be found online at paragon-re.com and ParaScopeSF.com.

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Article source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/real-estate/San-Francisco/prweb11166036.htm

A total of 9,339 new and resale houses and condos changed hands in the nine-county Bay Area in July – up 13.3 percent from July 2012, said DataQuick, a San Diego real estate research firm. The median paid was $562,000, a 33.5 percent increase from the same time last year.

Pent-up buyer demand, an improving regional economy and low interest rates have propelled home prices upward for many months. But a dearth of homes for sale meant the number being sold fell on a year-over-year basis every month since January. That trajectory reversed course in July.

“It was a really strong month,” said Andrew LePage, a DataQuick analyst.

Rising inventory shows the real estate market regaining equilibrium.

“Sellers want to jump on the train by putting their properties on the market, which levels supply and demand,” said Tanja Beck, an agent with Zephyr Real Estate in San Francisco.

Fewer bids

More inventory, as well as rising interest rates, should soon rein in the sharp price increases. Although bidding wars still occur, many agents say multiple offers now are measured in smaller numbers – perhaps three bids instead of a dozen.

While San Francisco is the nation’s most competitive market, with 80.5 percent of successful home buyers facing other bids, multiple offers in the city dropped nearly 10 percent from June to July, according to a report from real estate firm Redfin.

Nationwide, fewer bidding wars “points toward the strong sellers’ market beginning to shift toward more balance, giving frustrated home buyers a bit of relief,” Redfin said.

Distress sales are down sharply, another sign of a return to normal. Foreclosure resales were under 5 percent of the total – their lowest level since August 2007, before the credit crunch hit. In February 2009, foreclosure resales were 52 percent of the market, DataQuick said. Their historic monthly average in the Bay Area is about 10 percent of sales.

Short sales – properties sold for less than is owed on the mortgage – were 10 percent of July resales, down from 23.7 percent a year earlier.

Fewer distress sales also mean that people who sell their homes are likely to turn around and buy another property, creating a positive upward spiral.

“There was a time when more than half the sales were the lender pocketing money (in a foreclosure resale) so they just ended there,” LePage said. “Now a greater and greater percentage are traditional sellers, who will move up and buy from someone who themselves will move up.”

Upward mobility

Jessica and Josh Rowe exemplify that move-up buyer. The couple, along with their toddler and two French bulldogs, wants to move from San Francisco to the South Bay to live closer to their jobs. They listed their condo in Haight-Ashbury, a three-bedroom remodeled Victorian, at $949,000. It’s likely to go for well above asking price.

“To go from being sellers to being buyers, your confidence gets crazy-hacked,” said Jessica Rowe. “As a seller, you’re on top of the world, you make all this money – but as a buyer you can’t afford to get (something comparable) to what you just sold.”

The Haight condo itself illustrates the market turnaround. When the Rowes bought it three years ago – near the market’s bottom – the previous owners were on the brink of foreclosure. After unsuccessfully listing it at $799,000 for a month, they slashed the price to $755,000, which is what the Rowes paid.

The Bay Area’s median price is now 15.5 percent off the $665,000 peak it reached in summer 2007, LePage said. During the downturn, its nadir was $290,000 in March 2009.

The median represents the middle value of homes sold, meaning half sold for more and half for less. DataQuick said about three-quarters of the median’s increase stems from rising home values, the remainder from a shift in market mix.

More high-end homes and fewer inexpensive ones sold in July. Just over half (51 percent) of sales had mortgages above the old jumbo limit of $417,000, compared with 38.6 percent a year earlier and the low point of 17.1 percent in January 2009.

Federal Housing Administration loans, mostly used by first-time buyers, were 10.6 percent of purchase mortgages in July, down from 16 percent a year earlier. First-time home buyers consistently report getting squeezed out by investors and others paying all cash.

All-cash sales continued to be a strong force, accounting for 24 percent of July purchases, DataQuick said. In February, they peaked at 32.3 percent of sales.

Absentee buyers, who are mainly investors, snapped up 20.9 percent of Bay Area homes in July. Their market share also peaked in February, at 28.7 percent.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Bay-Area-home-prices-sales-climb-in-July-4736589.php

Mill Valley, CA (PRWEB) May 26, 2012

James Wavro of the San Francisco property management and leasing firm J.Wavro Associates was recently featured in a Wall Street Journal article that covered the lucrative San Francisco rental market, where he explains how competition is driving rental prices sky high.

In the article, Wavro suggests part of the reason the rental market is so competitive in San Francisco is that home prices are so high that rental rates are still much cheaper than mortgage payments. He also says traditional supply and demand economics are in play, as the current boom in the technology sector keeps adding hundreds to thousands of new workers to the Bay Area every year.

This comes as no surprise to people living in San Francisco, as many residents willingly pay the price to rent a property in such a technology-fueled, innovative city. “It’s a competitive market for a reason and the people who live here know they’re paying for a location and lifestyle that are unlike any other city,” explained Wavro.

Trulia’s Winter 2012 Rent vs. Buy Index that was released in March shows just how true this rings. Trulia looked at rental prices and prices of equivalent homes across 100 metro areas, and found that it’s still smarter to rent than buy in only two of those cities, Honolulu and San Francisco.

“We have a long way to go up in rents before we achieve parity with the cost of housing,” Wavro told the Wall Street Journal.

J.Wavro has over a decade of experience finding the best rental properties in San Francisco. The latest available apartments, town-homes and houses for rent in the area can be found at www.jwavro.com.

“It’s a battle for apartments around here, but we have the biggest selection of rental properties in the area and we’ve helped a ton of people get leases.”

For more information about San Francisco property rentals, available apartments for rent, or any of J.Wavro Associates services, call (415) 675-8804 or visit jwavro.com.

About J.Wavro Associates

J.Wavro Associates is a group of licensed real estate professionals specializing in rental property leasing and executive relocation in the San Francisco Bay Area. They specialize in helping to lease rental properties, and have an extensive corporate and private network that allows them to consistently attract suitable tenants. Their Bay Area executive relocation specialists offer rental assistance to people looking to move to the Bay Area or locals looking for a new home. The real estate professionals of J.Wavro Associates can provide a wealth of knowledge on a particular neighborhood or neighborhoods of interest to clients. They will also identify specific properties that fit the client’s exact needs and budget. As part of their executive relocation service, J.Wavro Associates will arrange appointments, provide property tours and assist in lease negotiations.

J.Wavro Associates employs more than 20 licensed real estate professionals who specialize in rental property leasing and executive relocation service in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their leasing services help property owners enjoy the profit from their rental investments without any of the hassle. Their relocation specialists save renters time and money by quickly finding the right apartment to fit their needs.

J.Wavro Associates serves the City of San Francisco and other Bay Area locations including the South Bay and Marin.

For more information about J.Wavro Associates, call them at (415) 675-8804 or visit them on the web at jwavro-sf.com.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebrental-properties/san-francisco/prweb9538626.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/05/26/prweb9538626.DTL

Walnut Creek, CA (PRWEB) February 24, 2012

Stokley Properties Inc., a Bay Area property management company that handles properties in Concord, San Ramon, Brentwood, Martinez and Oakland, offers advice for landlords and property owners. The rental market is still hot; however, some landlords are still making the mistake of pricing their properties too high and at a price that is not warranted.

Many owners are not experienced property managers. They believe that because the market is hot, they can get the price they want for their property, regardless of its condition. This is absolutely not true. Clients who are well off will pay top dollar but only when the property deserves the price. Many property owners may only own one rental property and have not had the opportunity to truly understand the dynamics of the property management industry.

Prospective renters must be aware that rental is a highly competitive market. They need to be prepared.

Stokley Properties has been offering expertise and valuable advice to tenants and property managers throughout the East Bay since 1989. It is more than just a property management firm. It also specializes in investment properties throughout the East Bay and Northern California. Stokley will offer sound investment advice to assist investors in achieving real estate goals. Whether the client is looking to buy or sell an investment, Stokley Properties will lend its expertise to maximize a client’s investment value.

“It’s not easy to find the right property management company. Most companies lack the true dedication and attention to detail it takes to achieve success with the properties, the tenants and the landlords. But, Stokley Properties is different. From the first phone call to the follow-up, property prep and ultimate securing of an appropriate tenant, Joe Stokley and team take care of business from A to Z,” Debbie Rossetto of Legacy Real Estate Associates said.

For more information about Stokley Properties Inc., call 925-658-1415, or visit the company on the web at www.stokleypropertieseastbay.net and www.stokleyproperties.net. Stokley Properties Inc. is located at 1630 North Main St., Suite 54, in Walnut Creek.

About Stokley Properties Inc.

Stokley Properties Inc. is a licensed property management company and California real estate brokerage firm. It provides property management services in Contra Costa and Alameda counties in the San Francisco East Bay Area.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebproperty-management/bay-area/prweb9224566.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/02/24/prweb9224566.DTL

Sunol, CA (PRWEB) September 08, 2011

It’s well known that the housing market has taken a beating over the past few years, and although it’s improving in the Bay Area, to many people trying to sell a home, it doesn’t feel like it’s improving very quickly. In such a competitive market, homeowners are looking for affordable ways to distinguish their property and attract buyers. Western Star Nursery, a Sacramento and Bay Area wholesale nursery, offers simple and affordable suggestions for landscaping and garden improvements that can quickly add value to a home.

The recently released numbers for the SP Case-Shiller Index showed that San Francisco home sales were up 0.4%-a small increase from the month before, but 14.6% above the 2009 low. Still, home sales are 32.8% below their 2006 peak, and many homes have been on the market for months without attracting interest. As the market traditionally picks up going into the fall, homeowners would be wise to add some touches to the yard now to give their property extra appeal.

“Since the home market continues to stagger, and many homes are still just sitting on the market, why not give your home/property that edge against all others? Upgrade your landscaping with colorful perennials, and you can add real value to a home,” suggests Sally Painter, owner of the Bay Area and Sacramento landscape supply wholesaler. Western Star suggests a few perennials that are in bloom now, and will give the property an extra burst of color year after year.

Mexican daisies (Erigeron karvinskianus) are sunny flowers that usually come in white, pink or lavender with a yellow center. They are a great addition to a yard, as they are drought-tolerant, flower year-round, and attract butterflies. They enjoy sunny areas and need good drainage, so they are ideal for rock gardens or in hanging pots.

Lantanas, sometimes known as shrub verbenas, are a tropical plant with aromatic leaves and flowers that often have multiple colors in each bloom-typically red, orange and yellow or blue and white. They attract bees, butterflies and birds. They are excellent for creating a border or as a foundation hedge.

Sedums are a colorful and hardy succulent, often seen in whites, yellows, deep pinks and reds. They are drought-resistant and deer-proof. They make a lovely border or groundcover.

Ipomoeas, commonly known as “morning glories,” are terrific climbing plants, perfect for winding up a porch or trellis. Their petals unwrap into full bloom in the early morning, and tend to close up again within a few hours. They are an easy way to create shade on a sunny wall, lowering the costs of cooling and heating the house.

“Just by adding some simple landscaping improvements to your yard, you can give the home an inviting touch that will get buyers through your door,” says Sally.

For more ideas on Bay Area and Sacramento landscape design that will add value to a home, or any of Western Star Nursery’s products or services, call them at (925) 862-2411 (East Bay) or (209) 744-2552 (South Sacramento), view them on the web at western-star-nursery.com, or visit one of their locations in Sunol or Galt.

About Western Star Nursery

Western Star Nursery is a wholesale nursery in Sacramento and the Bay Area serving landscaping contractors, developers, and commercial nurseries. Founded in 1996 by Robert and Sally Painter, Western Star Nursery has earned a reputation for growing high-quality products and offering superior service. From the most commonly used ornamental varieties to unusual phormiums, they stock a large and diversified selection of 1 gallon through 36″ box trees and shrubs on over 100 acres. They also offer an efficient brokerage service and contract growing. The Western Star staff, many of whom have been with the company since its start, bring with them many years of nursery and customer service experience. Western Star features will-call, delivery and shipping services.

Western Star Nursery has locations in Sunol and Galt, and provides landscape design services and landscape supply to the Bay Area, Sacramento, and northern California. They offer delivery service throughout California and Nevada.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prweblandscape-supply/bay-area/prweb8777866.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/09/08/prweb8777866.DTL