San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) March 30, 2012

The first development on our radar is Millwheel South, the first of a two phase construction project to begin this Spring. Located at Indiana and 23rd Street, Millwheel South (and its counterpart Millwheel North, scheduled to open in 2013) offers incredible convenience to commuters with access to the 3rd street MUNI rail line, the 280 and 101 freeways, and local Dogpatch mainstays like Piccino Café, Kitchenette, and The Sandwich Shop (highly recommended). Phase 1 will offer buyers 32 new 1200-1500 square foot units that should be priced between $500-800k. Millwheel South’s sales office just opened, so call us today for more info.

Next on the list is the buzz worthy Homes on Espirit Park development. These Dogpatch homes feature over 25 different floor plans with large 1 and 2 bedroom flats and town-homes. With city, water, and park views, these luxurious condos will feature amenities like large patios, landscaped courtyards, a fitness center, theatre room, and all buildings are dog-friendly. Prices will likely be in the $600,000-$1.1m range, meaning options are available for all interested parties.

1029 Natoma is the third proposed new development in 2012. Building on the success of 1028 Natoma, located right across the street, this development will fill a long empty lot with 4 new residential units. With condos priced at around $800k, these convenient homes would make a perfect fit for San Franciscan urbanites looking for short commute times and neighborhood convenience. More info to come soon on this exciting new development.

Our resident One Hawthorne superstar, Todd Montgomery, offered some key insights into buying in the new construction market. “We are standing at an interesting crossroads at the moment – with more buyers in the SOMA and South Beach markets than ever and a limited supply, a new game is being played this year, and it looks like the sellers are holding all the cards. With the current state of the the market, buyers must look to re-shift their strategy to find something more priced to market and most importantly, something they are happy with.” One Hawthorne, one of the city’s last new construction projects is now 82% sold with the upper floors being released to buyers this season. The continuing interest in new construction, spurred on by the rebounding tech sector in San Francisco’s downtown, is a very positive sign of growth for the city, so expect more big announcements of new developments in the months to come.

Contact Climb Real Estate today for more information on these and other new construction projects in San Francisco.

About Climb Real Estate Group: Climb Real Estate Group is a full-service general real estate brokerage with an emphasis on the purchase, sale, rental and marketing of select residential new developments, commercial and premier resale properties. We specialize in condos, high rises, lofts and homes in South Beach, SOMA, South Beach, Mission Bay, Rincon Hill, Potrero Hill and Central Waterfront. Our focus is on urban-style properties, specializing in new construction, historic loft conversions, live/work spaces, Victorian flats, modern condominiums, and stylish single-family homes. We also have exclusive access to Off-Market Listings, Foreclosures and Developer Specials.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/3/prweb9349170.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/03/30/prweb9349170.DTL

Taking those flaws into consideration, Realtor Bernard Katzmann listed it for $1.1 million at the inauspicious sales time of Thanksgiving. Then he watched in amazement as 22 offers came in – many for all cash – and it ended up selling for $1.54 million.

“Lots of tech companies were represented” among the bidders, he said. “I heard that many buyers want to get in now before Facebook goes public (and spawns scores of new millionaires), which is pushing demand.”

In a still-moribund real estate market, Noe Valley stands out as a neighborhood buoyed by positive fiscal forces.

All the money flowing into tech firms, and all the tech jobs being created in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, have been a boon for Noe Valley because of its fortuitous location for Peninsula, South Bay and downtown commutes, along with its walkable, small-town feel, family-friendly vibe (it’s called “stroller valley”), and charming, albeit pricey, Victorians.

“It’s like a little village within the city,” said Sally Smith, co-publisher and editor of the Noe Valley Voice, the monthly neighborhood newspaper. “It has that community feeling that everybody wants.”

“Noe Valley is a favorite neighborhood for techies because it’s so close to 101 and 280,” said Tim Gullicksen, an agent with Zephyr Real Estate. “It’s a pain to live on the north side of San Francisco because they have to get all the way through town to get to the freeways.”

Tech firms’ buses a plus

The private bus routes sponsored by tech firms are a draw, said Zephyr agent Danielle Lazier. “We see a lot of first-time buyers from tech companies who still want to have a city lifestyle; they don’t want to live in the suburbs, but they work down south. What I notice is when people from Google, Apple, Yahoo and Genentech come in for a first meeting, we literally draw a line in the city because of the commute. Noe Valley is at the top of the list, then Bernal, Mission, Dolores, Cole Valley.”

The numbers tell the story. The median sales price in San Francisco has tumbled to $653,000, down 22 percent from its 2007 peak of $840,000, according to real estate information service Dataquick. That’s a far less dramatic slide than most other California cities. But in ZIP code 94114, which includes Noe Valley and the Castro, the median sales price for single-family homes now stands at $1.332 million, only 5 percent below its 2007 peak of $1.406 million. The median condo price is $820,000, down 8.5 percent from its 2007 peak of $896,000.

“It’s not completely bulletproof, but it’s more stable than other areas,” Lazier said. “Not everything sells over asking price the way it used to.”

Noe isn’t the only San Francisco neighborhood whose cachet has insulated it from the real estate downturn. ZIP codes 94117 (Haight-Ashbury/Cole Valley) and 94123 (Marina/Cow Hollow), for instance, have seen even less pricing impact.

Tight inventory is one factor that keeps Noe Valley prices up. Last year, 163 existing single-family homes, 143 existing condos and 10 new residences changed hands in the ZIP code, Dataquick reported.

Location, location, location

“Noe Valley has several things going for it,” said Jed Kolko, chief economist at real estate site Trulia.com. “Being closer to the Silicon Valley commute than other desirable parts of the city is a big plus. It’s also convenient to downtown. And it’s a neighborhood where there’s not a lot of new construction to relieve price pressure as more people go after pretty much the same number of homes.”

Brendan Collins, owner of Collins Construction, buys “fixer” houses, remodels and expands them, and then sells them. Noe Valley, where the older Victorians and Edwardians are modest in size because they were built for working-class families, is particularly fertile ground because it is such a desirable neighborhood for families, he said.

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/19/BUIS1N7MM8.DTL&type=business

“You know how normally you have a desert, and in the desert you have a little oasis?” said Matt Henry, president of the Belle Haven Neighborhood Association. “With us, it’s just the exact opposite. We’re here in Silicon Valley, which is absolutely wonderful. But we’re the little small desert in the middle of something great.” Now, Facebook, the world’s largest social network, is moving in to the neighborhood.

Facebook has grown to more than 750 million active users and is on the verge of an initial public offering projected to value the company at $100 billion. After outgrowing its Palo Alto headquarters, the company is moving to Belle Haven, where it is creating a campus large enough to accommodate nearly 10,000 employees. The move is to be completed by the end of the year.

Residents of Belle Haven and its neighbor East Palo Alto, which is also entrenched in an urban malaise, hope Facebook’s arrival signals their long-awaited integration into the Silicon Valley economy. They picture the company’s wealth and dynamism spreading across the freeways, bringing better housing, services and schools.

“The table is being set for some really great things to happen,” said Charley Scandlyn, executive director of the Ravenswood Education Foundation, which aims to bring East Palo Alto schools up to the same standards as those in neighboring communities.

“The whole Facebook mission is about connecting people,” Mr. Scandlyn said. “Sometimes our kids in East Palo Alto don’t feel like they get to be a part of the good dreams in the world. Here is Facebook, that actually gets to live out its mission in its own neighborhood.”

It may not be that easy. Across the Bay Area, cities continue to hope that tech companies will provide the spark for a renaissance in low-income communities. Earlier this year, for example, San Francisco granted Twitter a six-year tax holiday to lure the company to the blighted mid-Market district.

But there is no conclusive evidence that the presence of a technology company can turn a neighborhood or a city around. Google’s hometown, Mountain View, still struggles to pay its bills and is threatening to lay off employees, despite the presence of several tech companies, including Google, with a combined value of well over $200 billion. Belle Haven’s hopeful uncertainty underscores the growing disconnect between a technology boom fueled by the explosive growth of social media companies and the continuing struggles of the communities in which those companies are located.

According to economists and public officials, the divide is related to the nature of the tech economy, much of which takes place in cyberspace, removed from the world of cash registers, low-income jobs and sales taxes. Companies like Google and Facebook pay property taxes, but cities draw little direct economic benefit from their core businesses. Their highly skilled, highly educated employees commute to lavish, insular campuses where most of their needs are met.

“A social networking company doesn’t have as much revenue-generating material,” said David Johnson, Menlo Park’s business development manager.

Still, Mr. Johnson said he was pleased to have found a company to fill the vacated one-million-square-foot property once occupied by Sun Microsystems.

“How can you not be excited about Facebook coming to town — it’s a potential game changer for that whole part of town,” Mr. Johnson said. “They are showing all indications of being a great corporate neighbor.”

Menlo Park officials said that as Facebook expanded, the city would have leverage to negotiate additional compensation. The site is currently zoned for 3,600 employees. Once Facebook outgrows that number, “the city will be looking for something in exchange,” said Justin Murphy, Menlo Park’s development manager.

In its recent approval of a hotel project, the city agreed to alter zoning requirements in exchange for a guarantee that the developer would spend $1.25 million on capital improvements and lock in the amount of revenue the city would receive from a hotel transient tax.

hadsrobinson@gmail.com

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/12/us/12bcfacebook.html