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“We have chosen to work with Sereno for a variety of reasons, most notably its belief in the independent brokerage and its subsequent ability to better serve its clients and community.” Bob Bredel, partner at Dwell.

LOS GATOS, Calif. (PRWEB)
March 25, 2021

Sereno is pleased to announce they have joined forces with San Carlos based real estate brokerage, Dwell Realtors, led by partners Laura Bertolacci, Bob Bredel, Tatum Clarke, Joyce Romeo, Alana Corso, and their team of highly regarded agents. Dwell has been ranked number one in residential sales in San Carlos since 2015. The firm closed nearly 500M in sales over the last 12 months.

“This unification allows us to further our quest for a better client experience and expand our community reach while providing the same exceptional service clients have come to expect from Dwell,” said partner, Laura Bertolacci.

For Sereno, this is the fourth addition in less than 10 months and brings the firm to 575 experienced agents producing $6B in annual sales and furthers its goal to advance the cause and impact of the independent brokerage.

Partner Alana Coros noted, “The heart and soul of Dwell Realtors was built upon collaboration, client advocacy and community so it is amazing to unify with a company like Sereno that shares our same ethos and core mission to continue to elevate the client and agent experience.”

Dwell opened its doors in January 2015 as a completely independent brokerage and was built from scratch by a group of high-producing agents. They have ranked the #1 office every year since 2015 in total listings sold, total buyer transaction, and total gross sales volume for San Carlos sales.

“There’s a natural synergy that has occurred between these two companies and I couldn’t be more excited for our agents, clients, and our community to experience it,” said partner Tatum Clarke.

In 2019, Dwell also became the #1 office for gross sales volume for Redwood City properties.

“I am thrilled that we are able to join forces with a company that embodies the same core values that we built our company on 7 years ago. This is truly a win-win for our company, our agents and our clients,” remarked Dwell partner, Joyce Romeo.

This expansion reflects Sereno’s commitment to advancing the spirit of the independent brokerage to best serve agents, clients, and communities. This latest move follows the firm’s intentional growth into the East Bay area through its acquisition of J. Rockcliff Realtors (now branded as Sereno,) the Lake Tahoe region with the Granger Group, and the Sierra Foothills with the Margaretich Group. Sereno is Northern California’s largest, locally owned, and operated independently branded residential real estate company.

“Words cannot begin to express how honored and inspired we are to unite with the esteemed Dwell Realtors. We remain convinced that professional and caring Realtors provide the most comprehensive service to the clients they serve. Sereno intends to invest further into this reality for many years to come,” said Chris Trapani, co-founder and CEO of Sereno.

To learn more about Dwell, please visit 662 Laurel St, Ste A, San Carlos, CA 94070 or dwellagents.com.

About Sereno

Founded in 2006, Sereno is the largest, locally owned and operated, independent real estate company in Northern California with 14 offices and 575 agents in Silicon Valley, the SF peninsula, Santa Cruz, the East Bay, Lake Tahoe, and Sierra Foothills producing $6 Billion in annual sales volume. Sereno is ranked among the top 5 in the nation for both per agent productivity and highest average sales price. The company offers a highly curated support platform and provides agents with concierge services to strengthen client relationships, as well as world-class technology for well-executed transactions. Its agent-driven Sereno 1% For Good Charitable Foundation is changing lives in local communities, and to date, generated over $3.5 million in charitable donations given to 246 local organizations.

To learn more, visit sereno.com.

Article source: https://www.prweb.com/releases/sereno_san_francisco_bay_areas_leading_independent_real_estate_firm_unites_with_dwell_realtors/prweb17811882.htm

More than 700 San Francisco janitors walked off the job Wednesday for a three-day strike over what they said are unfair labor practices following eight months of failed contract negotiations.

The janitors, represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 87, held two separate rallies, one outside the Salesforce Tower and another outside 101 California Street.

According to the union, the workers have been seeking a contract ensuring fair pay, seniority rights, ventilation systems that run nightly as janitors work, and workplace safety protections like sexual assault safeguards, since August.

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The workers are employed by contractors like AMB Industries and Able Services across some 600 buildings throughout the city, including at office spaces leased by big tech companies like Google, Facebook and Salesforce.

The walkoff coincides with the first day this year offices in the city were allowed to reopen at limited capacity under state health orders, which union officials said further highlights the urgent need for a new contract.

The workers are also demanding that 3,000 other janitors and cleaners who have been laid off since the start of the pandemic be rehired.

“We feel like we’re the bottom the barrel, like we don’t matter. We’re the ones who have putting ourselves and our families in jeopardy,” said James Johnson, a janitor at 1 Market Plaza for 41 years.

“It feels like with this negotiation they just don’t care about us and I’ve been though many and they haven’t been like this. I feel like the companies are taking advantage of the pandemic and taking away everything we’ve earned,” Johnson said. “Nobody wants to go on strike, but they pretty much forced us to do this.”

Since the onset of the pandemic, the union said 26 San Francisco janitors have died from COVID-19.

“We’re still picking up trash without masks or hand sanitizer. The companies give us 1-2 masks every 2-3 months and expect us to ration it out,” janitor Ramiro Rodriguez said in a statement. “And while I’m struggling to cover my expenses because my hours have been cut, employers don’t want to cover increased costs to our health insurance! It’s unacceptable, especially in the middle of a pandemic.”

City leaders including District Attorney Chesa Boudin and Supervisors Ahsha Safai and Matt Haney joined the rally outside the Salesforce Tower to show support for the workers.

“San Francisco janitors enjoy one of the highest wage rates for janitors in the country, in addition to receiving pension benefits and a robust, fully-paid health insurance plan for workers and their families,” The San Francisco Maintenance Contractors Association, a group representing the janitorial companies, said in a statement.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, member companies have spent nearly $1.5 million on gloves, masks, goggles, hand sanitizer, disinfectants, Tyvek suits and other COVID-19 related protective items for our workers,” association officials said. “We will continue to follow local and national guidelines — including the San Francisco Healthy Buildings Ordinance — to ensure our employees remain safe during the pandemic. The San Francisco Maintenance Contractors Association is committed to working with SEIU Local 87 to negotiate an agreement that is fair to employees and our clients alike.”

Article source: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/hundreds-of-sf-janitors-rally-for-safer-working-conditions/2501526/

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Article source: https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/wave-of-eichler-homes-for-sale-make-a-splash-in-s-f-bay-area/

Biotech growth in the 750,000-square-foot property, branded as the Exchange, has helped boost its value to lofty heights. Owner Kilroy Realty is in contract to sell the building for $1.08 billion this month, the second-largest sale of a single property in San Francisco history.

The biotech sector is hungry for lab space and offices, in contrast to tech companies that are giving up their workplaces, in a positive sign for a Bay Area economy in turmoil. Life science is classified as an essential business and many tasks require in-person work, fueling the demand for real estate.

BridgeBio’s lease was signed in October and confirmed by the company this week. Occupancy began in February. The company will have space for 358 employees. BridgeBio has around 400 total employees. The company focuses on rare genetic diseases and operates a portfolio of subsidiaries that research drugs.

Dropbox appears to be taking a loss on its subleases to both BridgeBio and Vir.

BridgeBio signed a five-year sublease with minimum rent of $11.2 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

That comes out to $42 per square foot annually, less than what Dropbox is paying in its original lease for the building, according to corporate filings. Vir is paying $47.44 per square foot in base rent with 3% annual escalations.

Dropbox’s 2017 lease requires rent payments of $848.3 million over 15 years, with starting annual rent of $62 per square foot that escalates to $93.78 at the end of the lease.

“We do not expect to recover the full value of our lease obligations,” said Tim Regan, Dropbox chief financial officer, on a February earnings call. The company reported a loss of $398 million in the fourth quarter related to its shift to remote work and subleasing its real estate. That could rise by another $50 million this year, Regan said.

Dropbox’s lease is subject to additional costs including taxes, insurance and maintenance, according to corporate filings. BridgeBio and Vir’s subleases are structured in the same way, known as a triple net lease, according to a person with knowledge of the deals.

In January, Dropbox had 315 layoffs, or 11% of its workforce, to streamline its teams, including consolidating product development, technology and market teams. Olivia Nottebohm, Dropbox chief operating officer, also left the company.

“Last spring I made a commitment to all of you to preserve job security through 2020, and it was important to me that we honored that promise,” CEO Drew Houston said in a public memo to employees. “But looking ahead at 2021 and beyond, it’s clear that we need to make changes in order to create a healthy and thriving business for the future.”

BridgeBio also leases 3,900 square feet at its Palo Alto headquarters, a 10,000-square-foot office and 10,500-square-foot office in San Francisco, and a 20,000-square-foot Montreal facility.

Tech and biotech companies are increasingly becoming neighbors.

Earlier this month, medical genetics company Invitae leased around 40,000 square feet of lab and office space at 444 De Haro St. in Potrero Hill, about a half-mile west of the Exchange.

The building is also the headquarters of fast-growing messaging software company Discord.

Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf

Last week, a Chronicle analysis looked at another region in-state that has become popular for Bay Area residents looking to move out and buy elsewhere: Sacramento. In our look at homes under $1 million in San Francisco and Sacramento, a theme emerged: not a lot of inventory, lots of interested buyers and a highly competitive market.

In Seattle, real estate angents say they see a similar trend, though perhaps not as extreme. With droves of people moving into the Emerald City and a reduced inventory as homeowners in the region stay put, homes are flying off the shelves. Zillow data shows January home prices were up 13% from the previous year, and inventory down 25.5%.

Here are two homes, one in San Francisco and one in Seattle, with similar prices. Both have been popular listings, and their differences demonstrate why Seattle might look so appealing to those Californians looking to move on.

A quirky Victorian with a huge lot — but on a busy street

908 Potrero Ave.

List price: $1,187,500

Size: 2,192 square feet

Price per square foot: $542

Amenities: Spacious yard, legal one-bedroom in-law with solid tenant, triple parlor

Just steps away from the bustling 24th Street corridor, this Potrero/Mission home is a quirky Victorian single-family home with many historical details still intact: pocket doors, 10-foot ceilings, and a triple parlor on top of its three full bedrooms.

At the $1.2 million price point, it’s “affordable” for San Francisco, said Vanguard Properties listing agent Kilby Stenkamp, and the owner spent a lot of money to revamp the home.

“We actually at one point were going to do an e-blast to East Bay buyers priced out of the San Francisco market, saying ‘This home is for you,’” Stenkamp said.

But the home, built in 1907, has also been priced with a few things in mind. For one, the home is on a busy street, Potrero Avenue. It’s across the street from San Francisco General Hospital, which means the street can get noisy. And although the house is a single-family home — which are not common at this price point — it doesn’t have a garage. Another detail is important: it comes with a legal one-bedroom “in-law” unit that is occupied with a tenant paying $1,800 a month.

Stenkamp said that while the presence of a tenant and opportunity for rental income was attractive to some buyers, it was a deal breaker for some who wanted a property delivered vacant. But they’ve already had quite a few viewings and have received two offers.

Most other properties at the $1.2 million price point are getting bid up over the asking price, said Stenkamp. Even though there is significantly more inventory at this price point than under $1 million, the competition in San Francisco is still steep, especially for a house with as much space as this one.

But there’s San Francisco space … and then there’s Seattle space.

Five-bedroom Craftsman called the Castle, with skylights galore

2740 38th Ave. S.W.

List price: $1,095,000

Size: 3,510 square feet

Price per square foot: $312

Amenities: Driveway parking, detached garage, unfinished basement, yard

This house — on a quiet street in West Seattle — was originally priced higher. Homesmart listing agent Monica Tracey said she lowered the list price to $1.095 million to get it under the $1.1 million mark, which led to a “flurry of activity,” adding that she got an offer the same day she made the price reduction.

The five-bedroom, two-bathroom Craftsman is a bit of a famous one in the neighborhood, nicknamed “The Castle” for its noticeable exterior stonework in the front. It’s older by Seattle standards, having been built in 1911, which gives it an original feel.

Many of its details — like the molding, lighting, and doorknobs — are part of its traditional charm, she said. The house is also on a very quiet street, and the neighborhood is known for good schools and a community feel.

“This particular street has second and third generations living on it,” said Tracey. “Sometimes the grandkids will come and buy the house back.”

Though the home would need some work, its upside is that it has a lot of space, complete with a large yard, an unfinished basement space and even a recreational room that has two basketball hoops.

And much of the house has been redone. That includes the kitchen, which was made into an open “hosting” space, and one of the bathrooms, where a hall closet was refitted, quite creatively, into a unique shower.

“You could probably find a smaller house (at the same price point) … that’s fully updated with a view,” said Tracey. “But the interest in this house is that big unfinished basement, which adds another thousand square footage of potential.”

Annie Vainshtein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avainshtein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @annievain