According to the San Mateo Association of Realtors, in January of 2012 there were 1,172 single family homes on market in San Mateo County as compared to January of 2013 there were only 545. This shows that the market has significantly shifted from a buyers market towards a sellers market including a jump in average sales price of 20% for San Mateo County.

“For the past several months I have experienced buyers confronted with multiple offers resulting in homes selling for substantially over listing price.” says Teixeira. “I really feel that the strength of silicon valley and the increase in jobs growth and stability is what we’re seeing reflected in the boost in the mid-peninsula housing market.”

This trend is shown nationally in the SP/Case Shiller composite index’s numbers of their metropolitan survey of 20 cities that show the largest improvement in residential home prices in December since July of 2006 as well as a significant and moral boosting increase in consumer confidence.

For additional information about the Bay Area real estate or San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula real estate and relocation, call Mary Ann Teixeira at (650) 241-0318, or visit her website at http://www.maryannt.com.

About Mary Ann Teixeira

Mary Ann Teixeira is a licensed REALTOR with McGuire Real Estate in Burlingame, California who specializes in relocation services, homes for sale and luxury homes.  She is a seasoned buyer’s agent who serves the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula communities of Atherton, Burlingame, Cupertino, Hillsborough, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Jose, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Woodside.

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“You folks will continue to outperform the U.S. economy and all of California,” predicts Wells Fargo’s chief economist, John Silvia.

Of course, prognosticators can be wrong. Many had predicted the state’s unemployment rate, for example, would continue in double digits through 2013. In fact, unemployment dipped below 10 percent last month for the first time in four years and continued to fall even further in the Bay Area. And job growth numbers were led by industries such as transportation, construction and leisure and hospitality, rather than high tech, which has almost single-handedly powered the local economy.

Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, said: “2013 will be the year the recovery becomes real to many more people, not just for those in the tech sector. I don’t see that abating.”

Neither does Jon Haveman, chief economist at the business-oriented Bay Area Council. “It’s a dynamic time. There’s an intense march to occupy vacant space in San Francisco. Silicon Valley and the mid-Peninsula are very hot, and there’s a real uptick in the East Bay.”

Cascade of construction

The evidence is not hard to find. A phalanx of construction cranes from Rincon Hill to upper Market Street. At Mission and Fremont streets, Los Angeles’ Kilroy Realty Trust is building a 27-story tower for Salesforce.com. Kilroy is building 560,000 square feet of space in Sunnyvale for LinkedIn, one of a slew of new projects in Silicon Valley. In the East Bay, work begins in 2013 on the $1 billion transformation of the old Oakland Army Base into a regional shipping and logistics center.

Much of the development and its economic effects continue to be driven by the tech sector, of course. According to a recent Bay Area Council analysis, every new tech job creates four jobs in other areas. “Tech has terrific spillovers,” Haveman said.

It’s also transforming the skyline of San Francisco. By December 2013, New York’s Tishman Speyer Properties will have completed construction of a 10-story, 286,000-square-foot office building on what was a vacant parking lot at Howard and First streets. The first new office building in San Francisco since 2007, the Foundry Square development is designed to meet “tech tenant demands and needs perfectly,” the managing director of Tishman Speyer’s San Francisco office e-mailed real estate brokers this year.

Along with a partner, JPMorgan Chase Asset Management, Tishman Speyer is looking to break ground next year on a 26-story, 450,000-square-foot office building one block away at 222 Second St. A block south, construction begins early in the new year on two condo complex towers, of 38 and 43 stories, at 201 Folsom St.

“The market is very strong,” said Jeffrey Heller, president of Heller Manus Architects, which did design work on 201 Folsom. Another Heller Manus project, a 54-story office and residential tower at 181 Fremont St., in the Transbay Transit Center development area, got the go-ahead from the Planning Commission last month.

“It’s going to be a pretty heady year,” said Alan Mark, whose San Francisco firm specializes in condominium research and consultancy. “Multiple offers will be even more intense as the economy continues to recover,” he said, referring to the comparative scarcity in the residential real estate market.

Micro-apartments coming

Apart from the 4,200 new, mostly rental units coming on the San Francisco market beginning in 2013, the first batch of 220-square-foot micro-apartments could begin construction as early as the spring, said Patrick Kennedy, whose company, Panoramic Interests in Berkeley, is building the 11-story, 160-unit complex at Ninth and Mission streets, half a block from Twitter’s Market Street headquarters.

“I’d like to build 10,000 of these in San Francisco,” said Kennedy, who recently completed work on a four-story, 23-unit building of rentals occupying 285 square feet, slightly larger than micro-apartments, in an alley off gritty Sixth Street. They start leasing in January.

“They’re ideal for single creatives, and they help the wider economy. A small, cheaper apartment encourages them to spend more time and money outside,” he said.

Revitalizing Mid-Market

These and other real estate developments, primarily in the South of Market and Mid-Market areas of San Francisco, “are laying the groundwork for the retail trend that will take center stage in San Francisco over the next couple of years – the revitalization of the long-blighted area of Market Street between 6th and 9th streets,” according to a 2013 forecast to be released next month by Cassidy Turley, a commercial real estate consultancy.

The report notes that San Francisco already has the lowest shopping center vacancy rate (4 percent) in the country, and it is likely to fall further in 2013. With the number of new retail openings in the East Bay – for example, the Paragon Outlet center in Livermore last month, and Target’s plans to open a 140,000-square-foot store in Alameda in October – the area also ranks “within the top 10 U.S. markets for retail development,” the report says.

“Many retailers who typically look first to Manhattan for flagship locations are increasingly skipping the Big Apple and looking to the West Coast instead,” the report stated.

Lots of tourists and business travelers will also be looking to these environs. Apart from a “few small holes,” the refurbished Moscone Center is fully booked for 2013, and if 2012 was a record for visitors to the Bay Area, 2013 is shaping up even better, said Joe D’Alessandro, president of San Francisco Travel.

Then there are specific attractions, from the lights on the new Bay Bridge to the opening of the redesigned Exploratorium at Pier 15, the World Baseball Classic at ATT Park and, of course, the America’s Cup. Expect more visitors from Europe and Asia with new nonstops from Shanghai, Paris, Copenhagen and Taipei, Taiwan, to San Francisco International Airport, bringing 2,000 more passengers in daily.

“San Francisco is going to be a place to be in 2013,” D’Alessandro said. “So long as the economy holds.”

Yes, there is the “fiscal cliff,” which, as of the weekend, the country seemed more likely to topple over. A Bay Area Council survey last week found the majority of 400 senior executives and economic development officials thought that investment and hiring was already slowing because of fears of tax increases and spending cuts.

Looking to Washington

More immediately, 400,000 Californians will lose unemployment benefits next month if a deal isn’t reached by Dec. 31, according to the state Employment Development Department.

“It’s not like all of a sudden the economy will plunge into recession. And Washington has time to fix things before it gets serious,” Haveman said. “All the same, Armageddon is a possibility.

“The Bay Area, with all its economic energy, won’t be hit as bad as the rest of the nation, but growth will slow dramatically.”

Andrew S. Ross is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. E-mail: bottomline@sfchronicle.com Blog: www.sfgate.com/ columns/bottomline Twitter: @andrewsross Facebook: sfg.ly/doACKM

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/business/bottomline/article/Bay-Area-economy-looking-bright-for-2013-4142769.php

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Presidio Bank (OTCBB: PDOB), a Bay Area business bank, today announced
that it has hired long-time Palo Alto banker, Katie Seedman, as Senior
Vice President/Relationship Manager in the Mid-Peninsula Regional Office.

“We look forward to having Katie on the Presidio Bank
team. Her professionalism and dedication to exceptional customer service
aligns perfectly with our corporate culture.”

Most recently, Katie Seedman worked as Senior Vice President and Private
Banker for Borel Private Bank and Trust Company. Prior to that, while at
Greater Bay Bank she worked with Steve Heitel, Presidio Bank’s President
CEO, and Clay Jones, Presidio Bank’s Mid-Peninsula Market President.
In addition, she has experience at University Bank Trust Company and
Bank of America.

“Katie is well-known for her warm and engaging personality. She goes
above and beyond to serve her clients, making their banking experience
easy,” Clay Jones stated.

In addition to over 30 years of banking experience, Katie Seedman is a
well-rounded individual with roots in the local community. She earned a
B.A. in Political Science from San Jose State University and raised her
family in the Palo Alto area. She is an avid athlete who enjoys running,
playing soccer, and bicycling. Recently, she placed second in the US
Masters Track Field event for the 100M Dash. Katie is also committed
to the community and an active board member of the Rotary Club of Palo
Alto.

Clay Jones added, “We look forward to having Katie on the Presidio Bank
team. Her professionalism and dedication to exceptional customer service
aligns perfectly with our corporate culture.”

About Presidio Bank

Presidio Bank provides business banking services to small and mid-size
businesses, including professional service firms, real estate developers
and investors, and not-for-profit organizations, and to their owners who
desire personalized, responsive service with access to local decision
makers. Presidio Bank offers clients the resources of a large bank
combined with the personalized services of a neighborhood bank. Presidio
Bank is headquartered in San Francisco, California and currently
operates four banking offices in San Francisco, Walnut Creek, San Rafael
and Palo Alto. More information is available at www.presidiobank.com.
Presidio Bank is a member of FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that
involve risk and uncertainties. These statements are identifiable by use
of the words “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “plan,”
“estimate,” “project,” or similar expressions. The risks and
uncertainties that may affect the operations, performance, development,
growth projections and results of Presidio Bank’s business include, but
are not limited to, the growth of the economy, interest rate movements,
timely development by Presidio Bank of technology enhancements for its
products and operating systems, the impact of competitive products,
services and pricing, client-based requirements, Congressional
legislation, changes in regulatory or generally accepted accounting
principles and similar matters. Readers are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements which are subject to influence by
the named risk factors and unanticipated future events. Actual results,
accordingly, may differ materially from management expectations.

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Article source: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110729006201/en/Dedicated-Experienced-Banker-Joins-Presidio-Bank