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San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu has admonished WB Coyle, a prominent real estate broker from district. 

Article source: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/San-Francisco-Real-Estate-Broker-Not-Welcome-in-City-215887761.html

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San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu has admonished WB Coyle, a prominent real estate broker from district. 

Article source: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/San-Francisco-Real-Estate-Broker-Not-Welcome-in-City-215887761.html

Well what do you know! After writing on TechCrunch for the past year about how Silicon Valley’s Gatsbyesque wealth couldn’t find much real estate to buy, Bay Area inventory is up. Bidding wars are down. And rising rates are squeezing buyers who have to borrow money. Below is Redfin’s quarterly rundown of what’s happening in Silicon Valley real estate.

Bidding wars are less intense. Bidding wars are still common, with Redfin agents facing competition on 95 percent of all homes in May 2013, the highest of any of the 21 markets Redfin serves. For example, Redfin Silicon Valley agent Brad Le reports that this nice-enough $2 million Cupertino listing got 12 offers, and likely went under contract in June for well above $2.4 million. But fewer bidders are competing. Since Redfin publishes competitive dynamics for every offer our agents write, we measure the average number of competitors in a bidding war, which has declined from a peak of 16.3 in January to 7.8 in May. As agents, we know that demand is waning not because buyers no longer want a home but because they’ve despaired of ever being able to get one. About one in four of our Bay Area homebuyers have told us at some point in the last three months that they’re taking a break from their search out of sheer frustration.

Also-rans are left behind. The decrease in competition hasn’t changed the pricing of the most sought-after properties. But occasionally, close also-rans languish. Redfin Silicon Valley agent Mia Simon noticed that two nearly identical Mountain View homes, one slightly better looking, sold at the same time last week: The beauty queen sold for $200,000 over asking, drawing all the attention away from its neighbor, which got only one offer and sold for $150,000 less than comparable properties in the area.

Flash sales. The fact that homes are still selling very quickly may reflect a fundamental change in consumer behavior rather than simply a hot market; the median days on market for Bay Area homes that sold in May was 12 days; last year at this time it was 18. Mobile instant alerts triggered by the debut of new listings have been behind this trend, with 302 listings in May going under contract in less than 24 hours. Some of our buyers don’t even like to go into a Costco for too long if it will block the cell signal they need to get instant alerts. This has also put pressure on real estate websites to get inventory quickly. On average, brokerage sites like APR.com, ZephyrSF.com, and Redfin.com get new listings days earlier than national portals; the reason is that the brokerage sites employ real estate agents with complete, direct access to the Bay Area’s four local Multiple Listing Services.

More homes for sale. Higher prices, and perhaps the fear that higher interest rates could dampen demand later, have at last drawn would-be sellers into the market. Bay Area inventory began the year down 59 percent from 2012, but has now improved to the point that it’s only 28 percent down from this time last year; by year-end we expect 2013 inventory to be up year-over-year for the first time since 2011. Redfin’s own Bay Area listing business has increased more than 100 percent over last year. In 2013, real estate’s spring may come in summer, and summer may come in fall. Sales volume will increase, and price increases may lose steam.

More new construction coming in the East Bay and in San Francisco: Builders are often slow to respond to inventory crunches, in part because it takes time to finish projects, in part to drive profits from a run-up in demand. This is why we’ve seen line-ups, lotteries and camp-outs among buyers competing to get units as they’re released by builders. But four new projects are releasing units this summer in San Francisco, where the total number of homes has barely budged since World War II: 300 Ivy in Hayes Valley, One Rincon Hill Phase Two near the Bay Bridge, The Icon in the Mission, and Linea-built projects in the Mission like Nove.

More inside jobs: We hear more reports of pocket listings, where the listing agent sells the home to one of his own clients or to one of his partner’s clients, without offering the property to the broader market. The actual data suggests that this is common only for homes priced above $5 million. Few sellers at lower prices would ever bypass the larger market, which can draw in enough buyers to spark a bidding war. But there are other types of inside jobs. “Some Redfin clients are trying to get creative,” reports Landon Nash, Redfin San Francisco agent. “I just closed one deal with a client who asked his landlord to sell, and I have another two — which may or may not close — in the works.”

Interest-rate anxiety: With interest rates increasing since May 1, and sharply since May 22, Bay Area homebuyers have felt more pressure to buy a home soon. On June 4, interest rates exceeded 4 percent for the first time in a year. “You know how analytical we can be in the Bay Area,” said Redfin agent Brad Le. “Some of my clients know down to the dollar how much more their mortgage is per month with the current rates, and others already stretching to afford a home have been priced out by the rate increase. The buyers who remain are even more motivated to find something.”

Buyers are withdrawing money from retirement accounts to compete with more cash in bidding wars. In the past week, three different Bay Area buyers did this, despite the penalties associated with withdrawals from 401(k) accounts. Bay Area sellers continue to have a strong preference for cash buyers, to avoid a second price negotiation if an appraisal comes in low from the buyer’s lender. Buyers are also getting help from their parents. Just last month, Redfin clients living in a one-bedroom San Francisco apartment with two small children needed extra dough to avoid being priced out of the Oakland Hills market, so the parents — who were already tired of staying in hotels during visits from the East Coast — just became a party to the purchase. Virtually every Redfin agent in the Bay Area has a story about this.

Surprisingly, fewer for-sale-by-owner listings: Of the Bay Area sales closed in May, 89 percent had been listed by an agent. By comparison, 85 percent of May 2012 sales were agent-listed. Usually, when the market makes it easier to sell a home, more sellers try to do it themselves. But the Bay Area is in such a frenzy that people here are hiring an agent in even greater numbers to play the game to perfection, and to get top dollar. Of course, as real estate agents ourselves, Redfin benefits from a decline in for-sale-by-owner sales. Nonetheless, Redfin’s website is the only one I know of that shows both all the agent-listed homes for sale as well as for-sale-by-owner listings.

A decline in commissions offered to buyers’ agents, from 2.65 percent for Bay Area listings that debuted in May 2012, to 2.56 percent in May 2013. Sellers have been emboldened by the market to offer the buyer’s agent less, with no fear of steering.

A still-exclusive club: Booms usually bring an increase in the number of agents. Not in the Bay Area. In May 2012, 6,008 Bay Area agents represented homebuyers on 9,456 transactions. By May 2013, 5,540 Bay Area agents represented buyers on 8,295 transactions. Because the market here has been inventory-gated, 2013 sales actually declined 12.3 percent, whereas the number of active agents declined 7.8 percent.

What does it all mean? The Bay Area real estate market is getting back to its own version of normal, which still isn’t that normal at all.

• REDFIN

Redfin is an online real estate company that provides real estate search and brokerage services. Redfin uses an interesting combination of online real estate search and access to live agents. They employ their agents so they can better control customer satisfaction; traditional brokerage firms license their name to independent agents. Redfin claims to save homebuyers on average $7,500 by reimbursing roughly 1/2 of the buy-side real estate fee directly on closing. Redfin also pays bonuses to agents when they…

? Learn more

Article source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/06/15/silicon-valley-real-estate-update-the-craziest-market-in-the-u-s-just-got-a-little-less-crazy/

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A prominent San Francisco real estate broker could lose his license after the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit uncovered what his investors call a decade of deception.   The broker attracted more than a dozen investors to false promises of profit from prime real estate in a historic San Francisco neighborhood.  

Article source: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/WB-Coyle-208367411.html

The impact of Super Storm Sandy is less apparent further south on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.

“It’s a great time to buy, it’s a bad time to sell is what I tell people,” said James Wedgeworth, who has been selling real estate on the island for over a decade. “There is a light at the end of the tunnel.”The rental market on Hilton Head, which largely caters to the golfing set, has remained strong throughout the recession, likely because so few people wanted to buy. Confidence is slowly returning here, but prices are not.

“It hasn’t really started going up, but at least it’s not going down. We had seven straight years of prices going down. That’s no fun,” added Wedgeworth.

(Read More: Financing a Vacation Home)

Vacation home sales rose 10 percent nationally in 2012, according to the National Association of Realtors, but as with all things real estate, location is key. Prices are just stabilizing in South Carolina, but in the tiny towns of eastern Long Island, New York, better known as the Hamptons, home prices are roaring back and rentals are fully booked for the season.

“We’ve seen bidding wars in the four to five million dollar range as well as in the overall market,” said Laura Nigro, a real estate broker in Bridgehampton. “It’s so much better than when the 2008, 2009 economy shrank and people were very much afraid to invest in anything.

Article source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100751056

McGuire Real Estate Welcomes Lisa Vukovic to Its Marina Office

SAN FRANCISCO, CA–(Marketwired – May 7, 2013) – McGuire Real Estate is proud to welcome San Francisco real estate professional, Lisa Vukovic, to its flagship Marina Office, located at 2001 Lombard Street.

Lisa grew up around real estate — her mother is a successful real estate broker in Northern California and her father is a general contractor in the Midwest — giving her a unique knowledge base that her clients can benefit from. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.S. in Biology and also has a certification in Social Media Marketing from the University of San Francisco.

Lisa’s previous career in pharmaceutical sales taught her how to have a competitive edge led to her becoming a Top Producing Sales Professional with companies like Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer and Fidelis Diagnostics. With 15 years of sales experience, she’s no stranger to competitive market analysis, customer retention, and business development — as well as exploring every nook and cranny of the city! In 2009, Lisa received the “GM Award: For Outstanding Performance” and the 2007 “Performance Frontier Award: For Cultivating Key Opinion Leaders” in the academic and hospital settings at UCSF, Stanford and CPMC.

Lisa is a longtime homeowner and resident of San Francisco’s Nob Hill neighborhood. You can find Lisa on Twitter @LisaVukovic and Facebook at facebook.com/LisaVukovicMcguireRealEstate. Follow her weekly blog at LisaVRealty.com.

ABOUT MCGUIRE REAL ESTATE

McGuire Real Estate has been an integral part of the real estate scene in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 90 years. A mid-sized, regional boutique, McGuire specializes in luxury real estate but applies the highest standards of service to properties in every price range, and to every client. Its customer first philosophy and local focus has proved to be a winning formula for this Bay Area real estate leader. McGuire’s affiliation with Luxury Portfolio successfully connects its clients and agents to a worldwide marketplace. McGuire operates three offices in San Francisco, one in Marin County, one in Burlingame serving the Peninsula, and one in Berkeley serving the East Bay.

To learn more about McGuire Real Estate, contact us at clientcare@mcguire.com, 1-800-4-RESULTS or visit mcguire.com.

Contact:

Kate Stephenson

PR Social Media Specialist

McGuire Real Estate

(415) 351.4672

Email Contact

Article source: http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130507-914777.html

McGuire Real Estate Welcomes Lisa Vukovic to Its Marina Office

SAN FRANCISCO, CA–(Marketwired – May 7, 2013) – McGuire Real Estate is proud to welcome San Francisco real estate professional, Lisa Vukovic, to its flagship Marina Office, located at 2001 Lombard Street.

Lisa grew up around real estate — her mother is a successful real estate broker in Northern California and her father is a general contractor in the Midwest — giving her a unique knowledge base that her clients can benefit from. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.S. in Biology and also has a certification in Social Media Marketing from the University of San Francisco.

Lisa’s previous career in pharmaceutical sales taught her how to have a competitive edge led to her becoming a Top Producing Sales Professional with companies like Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer and Fidelis Diagnostics. With 15 years of sales experience, she’s no stranger to competitive market analysis, customer retention, and business development — as well as exploring every nook and cranny of the city! In 2009, Lisa received the “GM Award: For Outstanding Performance” and the 2007 “Performance Frontier Award: For Cultivating Key Opinion Leaders” in the academic and hospital settings at UCSF, Stanford and CPMC.

Lisa is a longtime homeowner and resident of San Francisco’s Nob Hill neighborhood. You can find Lisa on Twitter @LisaVukovic and Facebook at facebook.com/LisaVukovicMcguireRealEstate. Follow her weekly blog at LisaVRealty.com.

ABOUT MCGUIRE REAL ESTATE

McGuire Real Estate has been an integral part of the real estate scene in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 90 years. A mid-sized, regional boutique, McGuire specializes in luxury real estate but applies the highest standards of service to properties in every price range, and to every client. Its customer first philosophy and local focus has proved to be a winning formula for this Bay Area real estate leader. McGuire’s affiliation with Luxury Portfolio successfully connects its clients and agents to a worldwide marketplace. McGuire operates three offices in San Francisco, one in Marin County, one in Burlingame serving the Peninsula, and one in Berkeley serving the East Bay.

To learn more about McGuire Real Estate, contact us at clientcare@mcguire.com, 1-800-4-RESULTS or visit mcguire.com.

Contact:

Kate Stephenson

PR Social Media Specialist

McGuire Real Estate

(415) 351.4672

Email Contact

Article source: http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130507-914777.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Patrick Ferdon is a second generation San Franciscan and has been a local real estate broker for almost 30 years, representing buyers/sellers in almost every neighborhood across the city, and specializing in home, condominium, and investment property sales. Prior to joining McGuire, he owned and operated his own real estate company Montel Associates for 18 years. Patrick currently serves on the California Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors and served three terms on the San Francisco Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors. An active and dedicated member of the local community and schools, he currently serves on the St. Vincent de Paul Church Parish Council, is Director of the St. Vincent de Paul Men’s Club, as well as a longtime member of the Olympic Club.

Marie Ferdon, Patrick’s wife, is also a native of San Francisco’s Cow Hollow neighborhood; she, Patrick, and their four sons all reside in her family’s original home. It’s that very sense of a close-knit community which sparked her interest in real estate more than 10 years ago. Before that, Marie established Relocation Remedy, Inc., a corporate relocation company that provided services to an eclectic mix of renters and buyers from the technology, banking, and consulting industries.

Bronwyn Brunner grew up in the San Francisco neighborhood of Jordan Park, attending Notre Dame des Victoires and Convent of the Sacred Heart. From there she went on to continue her studies at University of Colorado at Boulder, Gonzaga University in Florence, Italy and finally, San Francisco State. Bronwyn began her career in the travel industry, owning and managing Norcal Tours from 1989-2000. She acquired her real estate sales license in 2005 and joined Montel Associates, where she was a sales associate for seven years before coming to McGuire Real Estate. Bronwyn is an active member of the Saint Vincent de Paul School Board, Saint Vincent de Paul Parents’ Guild President, PlumpJack Wine Spirit business partner, San Francisco Symphony Volunteer, Bash Broadway Alumni Sacred Heart Board Member, and UCSF Give Breast Cancer the Boot.

ABOUT MCGUIRE REAL ESTATE
McGuire Real Estate has been an integral part of the real estate scene in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 90 years. A mid-sized, regional boutique, McGuire specializes in luxury real estate but applies the highest standards of service to properties in every price range, and to every client. Its customer first philosophy and local focus has proved to be a winning formula for this Bay Area real estate leader. McGuire’s affiliation with Luxury Portfolio successfully connects its clients and agents to a worldwide marketplace. McGuire operates three offices in San Francisco, one in Marin County, one in Burlingame serving the Peninsula, and one in Berkeley serving the East Bay.

To learn more about McGuire Real Estate, contact us at clientcare@mcguire.com, 1-800-4-RESULTS or visit mcguire.com.

Article source: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/mcguire-real-estate-welcomes-patrick-ferdon-marie-ferdon-bronwyn-brunner-its-marina-1762274.htm