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Mission Bay: Where once tumbleweeds tumbled and defunct buildings moldered, a thriving community has emerged, one that’s been developing over the past decade and a half. And part of it is Bosa’s Madrone at Mission Bay, a condo complex that broke SF records for the rapidity with which it sold out.

Composed of two 16-story towers and a total of 329 units, these condos, according to a recent press release from The Mark Company, are 100% spoken for.  Despite facing a still recovering economy, The Madrone closed on more than 200 residences by the building’s completion in August 2012. In August, its grand opening month, a total of 97 units closed, making it San Francisco’s fastest selling property (previously, the most units closing escrow in a month was 50 for a single development).

Luxury condos back in demand

San Francisco’s appetite for luxury condos has been reawakened of late, but the dearth of inventory makes satisfaction of that hunger hard to come by.  In March of this year, the number of available condos on the MLS was down 32.9% year-over-year, while the median sold price was up 31.6%. The Madrone met the needs of well paid tech, education, and science employees looking for for waterfront 1, 2, and 3 bedroom units with swanky amenities. But the record sell-out of every single condo in the complex is  still a striking accomplishment given the price point here: Property records for a sold 2-bedroom unit show a sale price of $1,818,750; and a 3-bed for $1,995,000.

Evolution of a neighborhood

Mission Bay covers 303 acres of land between the San Francisco Bay and Interstate-280.  The San Francisco Board of Supervisors established the Mission Bay North and South Redevelopment Project Areas in November 1998, successfully planning the building of the University of California, San Francisco research campus, a state-of-the art UCSF hospital complex, housing and services, all steps away from ATT Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants.

San Francisco, already so dense and tiny, offers few chances for the emergence of a new neighborhood. We asked Alan P. Mark of the Mark Company what he expects next for the area, given this large induction of new, well-monied residents.

There will be a couple of thousand renters moving into Mission Bay within the next couple of years as a number of rental buildings are being delivered. Retail services typically follow. My forecast would be that there will be a mixture of more well known entities and entrepreneurial retailers.

What do  you think, readers? We have our established Haight-Ashbury, our Marina, our Pac Heights, each with their identity and unique vibe.  Given these latest developments, what will be the flavor and feeling of Mission Bay?

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, and writes for SFGate and CurbedSF. Follow Anna on Twitter: @AnnaMarieErwert

Article source: http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2013/04/19/the-madrone-mission-bay-sold-out-in-record-time/

The plan – still more of an idea backed by a handful of studies – would continue the transformation of a once-gritty area by creating a new neighborhood full of residences, offices, shops and restaurants, hotels, and entertainment establishments. But opening the area to development would mean major changes to the city’s transportation system and could affect plans for high-speed rail and for extending and electrifying Caltrain.

In addition to demolishing I-280 from 16th Street north and replacing it with an Embarcadero-style boulevard much like the Octavia Boulevard replacement of the Central Freeway, the plan envisions:

– Shrinking – and perhaps eventually eliminating – the Caltrain yard at Fourth and King streets.

– Eliminating the need for deep underpasses beneath a future high-speed rail line, one at 16th Street and one at what will one day be the Mission Bay Boulevard crossing.

— Possibly rerouting the long-planned, but still unfunded, Caltrain extension to the Transbay Transit Center, which would also carry high-speed trains when they arrive in the next decade.

Together, the 20-acre Caltrain rail yard and the massive concrete I-280 structure and right-of-way create a wall that isolates the growing Mission Bay neighborhood from downtown, and is an outmoded and inefficient use of what has become prime real estate, San Francisco officials argue.

‘Something really smart’

“We can do something really smart here,” said Gillian Gillett, Mayor Ed Lee’s transportation policy director and author of a six-page letter that lays out the city’s vision to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area’s transportation planning and financing agency.

But not everyone is on board. Caltrain officials are concerned that the city’s plans could stall or even stop plans to electrify the commuter railroad, a decades-long effort that moved close to reality only last summer when the state Legislature and the California High-Speed Rail Authority made it part of the new “blended” high-speed train project that will share the tracks, and gave it $700 million.

“We understand it’s a good thing to do, but we are concerned about the implications if we change” the rail yard, said Marian Lee, director of Caltrain’s modernization project.

High-speed trains are not likely to reach the Peninsula until 2026 at the earliest, but Caltrain wants its rails electrified by 2019. With electric power and lighter trains that can start and stop faster, Caltrain could add service, cut fuel costs and reduce emissions produced by its diesel locomotives. Electrification is a key part of the business plan for the financially struggling rail line.

The trouble is that Caltrain is in the midst of revising an environmental impact report for the electrification project. San Francisco officials want that update to include the possible downsizing or elimination of the Fourth and King rail yards. Caltrain officials fear that expanding the study, especially if it requires development of new train storage areas, would mire the project in red tape and possibly endanger the state funding.

“There is an urgency for Caltrain to get electrification in place with expediency,” said Jayme Ackemann, a Caltrain spokeswoman. “With electrification we significantly reduce our operating costs.”

Shrinking the rail yard could increase Caltrain’s operating costs if it needs to store trains farther from the Fourth and King station and bring them downtown to start service every morning, Ackemann said.

Working together

Caltrain and San Francisco have been squabbling over the environmental report and rail yard plans for months, but agreed recently to work together on a study to determine if there’s a simple way to include the city’s rail yard visions without slowing electrification. The study is expected to take about eight months.

“I think we’ve landed on a way of dealing with this that won’t slow the process,” Caltrain’s Lee said. “At the end of the study, we should have a good idea of all the trade-offs.”

Those trade-offs could include money from the development of the Caltrain yard, which might be used to help pay for the connection to the Transbay Transit Center. And if I-280 and the rail yard were to disappear, it could clear the way for a more direct, quicker and possibly cheaper route to the Transbay center.

“This is a golden opportunity,” said Supervisor Scott Wiener, who represents San Francisco on the regional transportation commission. “The rail yard served its purpose for many years, but it’s no longer the best use for that land.”

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Razing-I-280-stub-only-part-of-vision-4227940.php

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San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) October 29, 2012

Real Estate Marketing Insider offered its expert opinion about a new trend of modern high-rise investment by young tech professionals in San Francisco, stating it was great news for the real estate market as the number of high-price and high-demand properties available in the city would increase exponentially as a result.

The New York Times stated that the tech industry’s San Francisco base of operations is in the South of Market area of the city; it has been there for decades, but the newest generation of young professionals in that industry have been investing in high-rise condo living, a real estate option that simply wasn’t present in San Francisco until recently. Now there are downtown glass-and-steel real estate site design condos available downtown for prices for substantially less than some New York housing options.

These downtown high-rise condos include The Montgomery, Millennium Tower, Four Seasons, and One Hawthorne. The areas outside of South of Market, like the financial district and Mission Bay have their own offerings, like Madrone, the St. Regis, and the recently-filled Infinity. The residents of these condos, while primarily employed by local tech companies like Google, Twitter, and Zynga, come from many different walks of life. They include real estate professionals, venture capitalists and even celebrities like former San Francisco 49er Joe Montana and chef Michael Mina, both residents in Millennium Tower.

The newer neighborhoods of South Beach, Mission Bay and Rincon Hill have much more relaxed zoning regulations than older neighborhoods like Golden Gate Heights or Fisherman’s Wharf, enabling investors to construct more ambitious, luxurious properties. Millennium Tower, the city’s tallest residential building at 645 feet, is a harbinger of things to come as more developers tap into these prospective markets.

The single biggest motivator for the purchases of these high-rise properties, above and beyond desire for luxury and convenient living, is the tight rental market in San Francisco. These downtown properties offer a rare chance for city living that rental does not, and other benefits, like proximity to on-ramps and train stations that ease the commute to Silicon Valley, make these sales an easy decision for young tech professionals.

The Real Estate Marketing Insider released a statement regarding the New York Times’ report that high-rise condo living in San Francisco has exploded in popularity among young tech professionals in the city. The newer neighborhoods like South of Market and Mission Bay have seen an influx of new high-rises in the last five years, and the properties contained therein are selling well among techies, as well as other wealthy Bay Area professionals.

About Real Estate Marketing Insider:
Real Estate Marketing Insider is an online journal providing hot news, trend analysis and marketing tips to real estate professionals. REMI is based out of La Jolla, CA.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/san-francisco-high-rise/steel-glass/prweb10067686.htm

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Article source: http://www.equities.com/news/news-headline-story?dt=2012-10-29&val=643723&d=1&cat=headline

Meanwhile, a separate report showed the number of underwater homes in the nine Bay Area counties slowly subsiding as values rise.

“It is starting to come back, there is no question,” Ting said. “San Francisco remains probably the strongest real estate market in the state.”

Throughout the housing downturn, San Francisco was a Teflon-coated county compared with the rest of California, with more moderate declines in real estate values than elsewhere. It was the only county in California that never saw its overall tax roll shrink during the downturn. For the 2012-13 tax year, the assessed values in San Francisco grew 4.17 percent, or $6 billion.

Commercial properties led the growth surge, particularly in emerging areas for biotech and technology firms: Mission Bay, the South of Market portion of the Financial District, and the Inner Mission.

“Even during this very challenging recession, we’re seeing (strength in) those markets driven by industries like life science, biotech and health care as well as tech companies,” Ting said.

Under Proposition 13, properties are reassessed by more than the annual 2 percent limit when they change hands, undergo significant renovation or are newly built. All three factors were at play in the surge in values in areas such as SoMa and Mission Bay.

Residential recovery

On the residential side, the recovery is more checkered, with weak areas particularly in the southeast and western parts of town.

Proposition 8, passed in 1978, lets assessments temporarily drop to match lower property values. Around the city, 15,811 properties got such reductions this year, averaging $175,980 in reduced value per home.

Ironically, Mission Bay, South Beach and South of Market – home to lots of new condos – were among the residential areas with the most Prop. 8 reductions, despite their boom on the commercial side.

“That whole cluster was heavily impacted and had the biggest overall declines in roll value,” Ting said. “They had a significant amount of new building, which created a bit of temporary oversupply.”

Lower-income areas, such as Bayview and Excelsior, continue to struggle.

“Those generally have been the softest real estate markets over the past couple of years,” Ting said. “They are entry points for the first-time home buyers. They were the first to show softness and the last to show strength.”

Meanwhile, perennially popular – and pricey – neighborhoods such as Pacific Heights, Noe Valley and Russian Hill saw assessed values rising.

“Areas that traditionally have been in high demand remain fairly strong,” Ting said.

Overall, Ting said, “I feel our recessionary recovery is U-shaped. We’ve definitely stabilized. It doesn’t feel like it’s jumping back in a sharp V shape the way it did in 2004 or 2005.”

Frothy market

Assessments look at property values as of Jan. 1, so this year’s exceptionally frothy real estate market is not yet factored in. But a report from real estate service Zillow showed that rising home values decreased the percentage of underwater properties between the first quarter and second quarter.

“It’s good news that negative equity is dropping, but we expect the overall recovery to be fairly slow,” said Stan Humphries, Zillow chief economist. “We are now mostly at bottom in most markets.”

Alameda and Contra Costa counties – two of the hardest-hit areas locally – saw significant changes in negative equity, which went from 33.8 percent of mortgaged homes in Alameda to 30.9, and from 42.8 percent in Contra Costa to 40.1.

“Besides a very healthy appreciation in home values, the high pace of foreclosure activity is also pushing negative equity down” in those counties, Humphries said.

That’s because once underwater homes are repossessed by banks and resold at lower prices, the new owners start out with equity through their down payments.

San Francisco stands out for having a relatively small pool of underwater homes.

“The big driver is that home values there are down just over 12 percent from their peak,” Humphries said. “That’s a very modest decline, which leads to a very low rate of negative equity.”

By comparison, Alameda values are down 37 percent from peak, Contra Costa almost 51 percent and Solano County almost 60 percent, he said.

Negative equity slowly subsides

The percentage of underwater homes, with mortgages larger than the value, decreased in every Bay Area county between the first and second quarters of this year.

Source: Zillow.com

Where home prices are rising

These neighborhoods saw the biggest increase in total assessments, which look at the values of all properties as of Jan. 1.

Source: San Francisco Assessor’s Office

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

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/SF-property-values-rebounding-3814168.php

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) January 06, 2012

Climb Real Estate Group, a San Francisco home sales office, one of the leading independent real estate brokerages, knows that, as a company, they can only go as far as their talented real estate agents can take them. Many of their agents performed very well in 2011 and, as 2012 dawns, they wanted to announce the top producing real estate agents for Climb Real Estate Group over the previous 12 months.

The honor of #1 Companywide Top Producer for 2011 is Mark Choey. During his time with the company, Choey has been a consistent top producer and his stellar effort over the past year earned him the top honor. He had impressive sales at The Infinity, Millennium Towers, and Madrone.

Sales Director Marcus Lee also had a great year and finished as the #2 Companywide Top Producer with Dirk Kinley rounding out the top three for the Companywide Top Producers. Both Marcus and Dirk Kinley provided an impressive roster of city-wide sales in from a diversity of locations including Soma, South Beach and Mission Bay to Forest Hills and Presidio Heights.

Climb Real Estate Group also wishes to recognize the other leading sales producers of 2011, including Kristen Stuecher, Brian Anderson, Gertrude Villanueva, Kevin Gueco, Joshua Lawrence, Matt Finley, Tiffany Combs, and Jessie Lee.

“The market had many complexities and uncertainties in 2011, yet our agents displayed incredible dedication and tenacity and achieved success,” said Tiffany Combs, Managing Broker of Climb Real Estate. “Because of their hard work, integrity and commitment to service, Climb Real Estate Group continues to rank as the number one Soma/South Beach real estate general brokerage.”

With 2011 in the books, Climb Real Estate Group is looking forward to 2012 where many forecasts point to a healthier real estate market. For buyers, sellers and investors in the San Francisco area looking for the real estate opportunities including new home sales, luxury properties, new construction, and bank foreclosures, and short sale opportunities, look to Climb Real Estate Group.

For more information on Climb Real Estate Group, call 415-431-8888 or visit them online at www.climbsf.com. Climb Real Estate Group is located in San Francisco’s Design District at 251 Rhode Island #105 in San Francisco.

About Climb Real Estate Group

Climb Real Estate Group is a San Francisco-based real estate company specializing on luxury homes and property sales. They focus on urban-style properties, specializing on new construction, historic loft conversions, live/work spaces, Victorian flats, modern condominiums, and stylish single-family home sales.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebluxury-homes/san-francisco/prweb9083409.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/01/06/prweb9083409.DTL

Gov. Jerry Brown pointed to city redevelopment agencies as cash-wasting bureaucracies when he took office in January, and he signed a pair of bills last summer that allow them two options: Go away completely or rely much more heavily on financing from local governments.

The California Redevelopment Association and other groups sued the state in July over the bills, calling them a violation of the 2010 voter-approved Proposition 22, which prevents the state from “raiding” local coffers to make up for its mounting debt.

Redevelopment Commissioner Rick Swig said the best-case scenario might actually be the Supreme Court upholding the state’s ability to eliminate the agencies.

“If the judge overrides them, the governor is going to find a more punitive way to get rid of redevelopment,” Swig said, adding that the agency simply needs closure on the turmoil. “We’re ready to go. We’ve been ready to go.”

The San Francisco Redevelopment Agency’s interim executive director, Tiffany Bohee, echoed that sentiment.

“We are anxious to get resolution and get back to business,” Bohee said.

She added that improvements in the real estate market suggest more promise for private investment in three major projects — Hunters Point, Treasure Island and Mission Bay,  the latter of which already has the massive new Salesforce.com headquarters moving forward.

In any case, the Redevelopment Agency and Mayor Ed Lee say they are prepared to move forward on keeping the agency alive, starting with a first-year commitment of $14.5 million in local funds. Lee said some of that money would come from The City’s general fund — which pays for basic services such as streets — plus another funding mechanism that’s yet to be announced.

“We already have a plan in place to present,” Lee said, referring to the need for Board of Supervisors approval on the agency’s funding future.

Although the agency has been executing work that was under contract before the state bills passed, it has been forbidden for months from starting new projects. The agency’s budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year amounts to $110 million.

dschreiber@sfexaminer.com

Article source: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/12/san-francisco-revitalization-money-hands-judges

Edie Narrido is a real estate professional who has a pulse on the Bay Area real estate market. She has sold multitude of homes in several of San Francisco’s premier residential communities including SOMA Grand, Heritage on Fillmore, Odeon, Symphony Towers, and The Ellington.

Ray Poole arrived in San Francisco after a successful real estate career in Atlanta. He was prominent during the escalating construction boom of that city. After successfully marketing and selling five new construction communities throughout San Francisco, his sales record totals more than 500 homes including Shipley Square, Park Terrace, and Symphony Towers.

With over 25 years of selling new communities in the Bay Area, Ana Rubke has a deep knowledge of the neighborhoods in and around South Beach and Mission Bay. She is an experienced negotiator who thoroughly researches homes so that she can give her clients realistic assessments of their homes’ value.

“We’re extremely excited to have some very senior agent talent which adds depth and experience to our team,” says Tiffany Comb, Managing Broker at Climb Real Estate Group.

For more information on Climb Real Estate Group, call (415) 431-8888 or visit them online at www.climbsf.com. Climb Real Estate Group is located at 251 Rhode Island #105 San Francisco, CA 94103.

About Climb Real Estate Group

Climb Real Estate Group is a San Francisco-based real estate company specializing on luxury homes. They focus on urban-style properties, specializing on new construction, historic loft conversions, live/work spaces, Victorian flats, modern condominiums, and stylish single-family home sales.

Since January 2007, Climb Real Estate has been a leading property sales group. Buyers and sellers enjoy access to the strengths of one of San Francisco’s most prominent brokers providing: unparalleled marketing services, access to developer specials and new development projects, and experienced broker support.

Article source: http://sf.blockshopper.com/news/story/286983-Climb_Real_Estate_Group_Announces_Agent_Growth_and_Expansion

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) November 09, 2011

San Francisco’s homes sales general brokerage, Climb Real Estate Group, is expanding with new agent associates creating real estate jobs and success in the South of Market areas. Three seasoned real estate agents, Edie Narrido, Ray Poole and Ana Rubke, have joined Climb’s roster of new agents.

Edie Narrido is a real estate professional who has a pulse on the Bay Area real estate market. She has sold multitude of homes in several of San Francisco’s premier residential communities including SOMA Grand, Heritage on Fillmore, Odeon, Symphony Towers, and The Ellington.

Ray Poole arrived in San Francisco after a successful real estate career in Atlanta. He was prominent during the escalating construction boom of that city. After successfully marketing and selling five new construction communities throughout San Francisco, his sales record totals more than 500 homes including Shipley Square, Park Terrace, and Symphony Towers.

With over 25 years of selling new communities in the Bay Area, Ana Rubke has a deep knowledge of the neighborhoods in and around South Beach and Mission Bay. She is an experienced negotiator who thoroughly researches homes so that she can give her clients realistic assessments of their homes’ value.

“We’re extremely excited to have some very senior agent talent which adds depth and experience to our team,” says Tiffany Comb, Managing Broker at Climb Real Estate Group.

For more information on Climb Real Estate Group, call (415) 431-8888 or visit them online at www.climbsf.com. Climb Real Estate Group is located at 251 Rhode Island #105 San Francisco, CA 94103.

About Climb Real Estate Group

Climb Real Estate Group is a San Francisco-based real estate company specializing on luxury homes. They focus on urban-style properties, specializing on new construction, historic loft conversions, live/work spaces, Victorian flats, modern condominiums, and stylish single-family home sales.

Since January 2007, Climb Real Estate has been a leading property sales group. Buyers and sellers enjoy access to the strengths of one of San Francisco’s most prominent brokers providing: unparalleled marketing services, access to developer specials and new development projects, and experienced broker support.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebhome-sales/san-francisco/prweb8949322.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/11/09/prweb8949322.DTL