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Northeast Dominates This Year’s Hottest Housing Markets in U.S.

The region has half of the country’s 10 fastest-moving markets, realtor.com finds. Read More

BY THE NUMBERS

TRENDING TODAY

LISTING OF THE DAY

A Mountaintop Retreat in Southern California

On a hilltop above the eclectic Topanga community west of L.A., this residence is a modern retreat in a natural setting. Read More

SMART HOMES

Apps to Help With Homeschooling

These educational apps will prove to be a boon for any homeschool curriculum. Read More

NEWS BITES

Demand for San Francisco Slumped in July

Demand for homes in California’s Bay Area was weakest in San Francisco in July and strongest in the North Bay as buyers—spending more time working from home—seek more space. The median price paid for an existing, single-family home across the Bay Area rose to $1.05 million in July, matching the record high set in May 2018, up 10.5% from last July. Prices rose the most in Marin and Contra Costa counties, up 23% and 18.9%, respectively. They rose least in San Francisco, ticking up 4.1% from last year. San Francisco Chronicle

One Direction Star Cuts Price of Los Angeles Mansion

Former One Direction star Louis Tomlinson has cut the price of his Los Angeles mansion to $6.75 million. The new ask, a discount from the $6.9 million he was originally asking, is setting the boyband star up for a loss—he bought the 4,000-square-foot spread in 2016 for $7.3 million. It has a wine cellar, a home cinema and an infinity pool. Daily Mail

Canadian Real Estate Market Booming

Canada’s real estate market hit new highs in July with a record number of 62,355 resale homes sold and average prices jumping 14% from the same time last year. July is not usually a busy time for the market, but with sales put on hold earlier this year by the coronavirus, selling activity is now returning with enthusiasm. CBC

Outdoor Space is Top Priority for British Buyers

Gardens are now top priority for U.K. home buyers, according to personal finance comparison website finder.com. Outdoor space is the most important factor for one in three potential buyers in the country after spending increased time at home due to coronavirus lockdowns. The size of the home and access to parking were the next most essential features. Propertywire

AROUND NEWS CORP

This $22 Million San Francisco Listing Brings The Home Office to New Heights [The Wall Street Journal]

Simon Jenkins on the Genius of the Georgian Terraced House [The Times of London]

Got Garden Pests? Here’s How To Kick Those Unwanted Guests to the Curb [realtor.com]

Covid’s Unforeseen Housing Market Legacy [news.com.au]

Article source: https://www.mansionglobal.com/articles/mansion-global-daily-the-hottest-housing-markets-in-the-u-s-demand-for-san-francisco-slumps-and-more-142055

San Francisco’s Pier 30-32, once the site of a proposed Golden State Warriors arena, would be redeveloped with an audacious mixed-use project that would include a floating public swimming pool and more than 850 housing units, according to a proposal that city staff recommends go forward.

Developers Strada Partners and Trammell Crow beat out two other developers as the preferred option in a Port of San Francisco competition for both the piers and the 3.2-acre lot across the street known as Seawall Lot 330.

Previous development proposals on the 13-acre site died amid fierce fights. The Warrior’s proposed arena plans fell apart due to opposition. Talks with George Lucas to put his cultural museum there went nowhere. A developer was picked in 2000 to build a cruise terminal, hotel and housing on part of the site, but the plans sank. Other proposals have also drowned. The site sat vacant since the structures on it were destroyed in a fire in 1984, but the city opened a 200-bed homeless shelter there last year, which caused a neighborhood uproar and a lawsuit.

The port sounded the call for proposals in February, before the pandemic hit and many real estate projects stalled amid the economic fallout. Building is always challenging along the waterfront, where height limits and uses are tightly regulated and where activists scrutinize every project and approvals, which are required from multiple agencies, can take many years.

The other two proposals for the sites would have had far less housing. One, from prolific builder Tishman Speyer, called for 459 units while a third, from Vornado, would have 360 units.

The Strada proposal would including investing $369 million into waterfront infrastructure as well as provide approximately $325 million in lease payments over many years. The investment in critical infrastructure includes strengthening the seawall, developing new, seismically sound piers as well as the deep draft berth, all of which will provide critical resiliency and sea level rise protection along the waterfront, while also offering first-in-kind recreation opportunities in the bay.

This isn’t the first time a developer has floated the idea of a bobbing pool in the bay. In 2006, a recreation company proposed a similar idea for Piers 27-31, where Shorenstein Properties wanted to build office space.

The current piers would be demolished and replaced with a pair of finger piers and “simple shed buildings.” Between the two piers would be a floating swimming pool and bay recreation area that would allow people to swim and kayak in between and around the piers.

“Our project is designed to succeed where others have failed by basing our proposal on established precedent, a pragmatic design that embraces a ‘less is more’ ethos, and public trust consistent attractions not seen elsewhere around the Bay,” states Strada in its proposal.

The sheds on the piers would include 376,000 gross square feet of office space and about 3 acres of the pier’s 7.2 acres would be publicly accessible open space. A quarter of the homes would be affordable.

The port commission is expected to hear the proposals at Tuesday’s meeting.

Supervisor Matt Haney said he’s “excited that there is finally a long term plan for that site and one that includes much needed housing and recreation space. This is a dense and growing neighborhood that needs both those things.”

Haney said that the proposal also assuages neighborhood concerns that the current use — a navigation center for homeless folks — would be permanent.

“When we were having the conversation about the navigation center I made it clear that it would be temporary and that there would be a long-term development for that site. I’m happy to see that come to fruition.”

Strada and Trammell Crow couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen

Article source: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Bold-SF-waterfront-proposal-on-controversial-15544444.php

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  A home situated on a cliff overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

  A home situated on a cliff overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

  
  Photo: David Woo/Corbis Via Getty Images
  

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A home situated on a cliff overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

A home situated on a cliff overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

Photo: David Woo/Corbis Via Getty Images

Leslie DeLuca has been a real estate agent in Monterey County for 20 years. She was born and raised in the county, and her dad was in real estate as well so she thought she’d seen every fluctuation of the market.

But the combination of low interest rates, high demand and insufficient inventory was something she hadn’t seen before.

The number of pending sales in the county was up 26% in June and July 2020 versus the same period in 2019, according to Redfin, and the percentage of properties that went off the market within two weeks was up 23% in June and July in 2020 versus 2019.

DeLuca said she had just sold a house in Carmel-by-the-Sea the week we spoke and it received nine offers over asking — that many offers and homes selling for over the asking price aren’t common in the area. “What I’m finding is in all price points, I’m having multiple offers and people are bidding over asking price,” DeLuca, an agent with Compass, said. “That happens in Silicon Valley, sure, but it really doesn’t happen here.”

She said buyers have also been willing to shorten their contingency period and “pay for things they normally wouldn’t.” Most of her buyers are from the Bay Area and Los Angeles, and they’re looking for larger space for their family.

“No one has ever spent this much time at home before,” DeLuca said. “People have realized what they really want. Home has become a lot more important to people.”

Jess Canning, a realtor with Canning Properties Group and Sotheby’s International Realty, said the demand is so high that the need for home inspectors has been more than they’re able to keep up with. “Because this surge of demand came so quickly, we are coming with no reports and inspections; we don’t have enough inspectors to deal with that all,” Canning said. “We’re trying to bring on new inventory as quickly as possible but we’re playing catch up.”

Active listings were down an average of 19% from May to July 2020 compared to 2019, according to Redfin.

“It has definitely been an unexpected journey this year,” Canning said. “We were expecting an increase in inventory, and we’ve experienced the exact opposite. Right now, we’d have between 90 to 95 active listings normally. We have about 45 now. That’s almost 50% less than what’s normal.”

Canning also said there have been shifts in what buyers are looking for in a home. “Previously, in 2019, we saw a shift to smaller homes and smaller footprints. That has completely flipped on its head this year,” Canning said. “There’s a huge demand for home offices and more square footage.”

She’s even noticed more buyers interested in more traditionally designed homes, as opposed to modern style. She said she thinks people know they’ll be spending more time at home and thus are craving more defined rooms rather than big open floor plans.

There’s also been an increased interest in family compounds.

“The fundamental question is, is this a temporary shift that’s COVID related or is this a migration that will change the face of the peninsula?” Canning said. “Only time will tell.”

Tessa McLean is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her at tessa.mclean@sfgate.com or follow her on Twitter @mcleantessa.

Article source: https://www.sfgate.com/living-in-sf/article/Monterey-county-real-estate-booming-15528516.php

The Bay Area housing market has managed to hit new highs, and new lows, both in the same week. It has become less expensive to rent here, but also more expensive to buy.

For the first time in six years, the average one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco can be yours for less than $3,000 a month.

“They offered me a very good, like 30% discount,” said tech entrepreneur Dominick Malzone.

Local

Malzone’s landlord was desperate enough to offer a deep discount, but it wasn’t enough. He runs a tech startup and moved to Las Vegas anyway, saying he can do business anywhere.

“We can certainly have people working remotely, have most of those benefits of being in SF without actually being there,” said Malzone. “With benefits of more reasonable living costs and things like this.” 

Bay Area housing tracker Zumper says the price drop is a combination of tech workers being mobile, and the recession.

“Affordability has become much more important now,” said Chen. “It is both tech workers deciding to leave and people getting priced out of the city.”

The one surprise in all this is housing prices. They’re still high, because fewer people are putting houses on the market. San Jose’s average is now close to $1.1 million. 

San Jose was just named the most competitive city in the nation when it comes to buying a home, Lending Tree says for two reasons: one, high credit scores, two, putting down an average 25% down payment. That’s between $250 and $275 thousand dollars as a down payment.

Article source: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/making-it-in-the-bay/bay-area-housing-markets-hits-new-highs-new-lows-in-the-same-week/2356855/

Year-over-year, one and two-bedroom rentals are down 14.1% and 15% respectively.

“After a two month period over summer where San Francisco’s rent price drops hit a plateau, we’ve seen another acceleration in the decrease in prices,” Zumper CEO Anthemos Georgiades said. “In the Bay Area metro report, 27 of the 31 cities had negative rent price changes, with the most expensive markets experiencing the most drastic declines.”

While San Francisco rents plummet, some surrounding areas are seeing rents increase. Livermore rent continued to be the fastest-growing, up 9.7% since this time last year. Vallejo saw rent climb 4.3%, while Concord rent increased 3.4%.

ApartmentList saw more modest drops in pricing in its most recent rental report, finding that San Francisco rents declined 1.5% in August, and have decreased by 5.6% in comparison to the same time last year.

The company also looked at migration trends in Q3 and found that 35.6% of those looking for a place to live in San Francisco are searching from outside the metro, compared to 47.2% at this time last year. For those apartment hunters looking to move away from San Francisco, ApartmentList found that San Jose is the most popular destination. Los Angeles and San Diego came in second and third, respectively.

Despite much speculation of a Bay Area exodus, ApartmentList found that the percentage of renters who are currently living in the San Francisco metro and looking to move elsewhere has remained largely stable, increasing only very slightly from 31.6 percent at this time last year to the current rate of 32.1 percent. The demand for Bay Area apartments falling, it seems, is due to the fact that the region is simply attracting fewer new residents from elsewhere, as opposed to seeing existing renters leaving the area.

ApartmentList puts median rents in San Francisco at $2,353 for a one-bedroom apartment and $2,956 for a two-bedroom. While that two-bedroom median looks low, let’s never forget it’s still far above the national average of $1,195.

“It is clear that we have not tested the floor yet,” Georgiades said. “That will only come when the state-wide eviction moratorium expires. Whereas we at Zumper do not think we’ll see anything as dramatic as San Francisco’s rents halving, we are already down 20% from peak a year ago, so this story is not over yet.”

Tessa McLean is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her at tessa.mclean@sfgate.com or follow her on Twitter @mcleantessa.