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Article source: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/San-Francisco-real-estate-groups-sue-city-over-15377029.php

As a region bedeviled by long commutes and reliant on mass transit, the Bay Area may be among the quickest markets to take to suburban offices.

Over the last decade, the region has seen its share of super-commuters — people with commutes of 90 minutes or more in each direction — surge, with San Francisco and Contra Costa County experiencing jumps between 2009 and 2017 of 110% and 102%, respectively, according to a study by Apartment List.

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, mass transit challenges present an even more pressing issue for companies and their workforces.

Before the public health crisis, hundreds of thousands of local workers relied on Bay Area Rapid Transit and municipal transit systems like the San Francisco Municipal Railway every day. On an average pre-pandemic weekday, over 400,000 trips were taken on BART, according to its February monthly ridership report, which took place before shelter-in-place orders took effect. 

Now, with flexible-work arrangements likely to become more common and pandemic-induced challenges to surmount, a shift to the suburbs could be in order for more companies, according to some developers. 

“I see a lot of demand coming into the suburbs,” LBG Real Estate Cos. Managing Partner Leslie Lundin said. 

Most of LBG’s properties are shopping centers and other retail. But as part of the real estate company’s massive mixed-use redevelopment of a long-struggling Richmond mall, it has plans for a large office component that Lundin said has a better outlook now than it did at the beginning of the year.

Overall plans for the project, which is called Hilltop by the Bay, call for thousands of residential units, a revamped retail lineup and up to 800K SF of offices. About 325K SF of the latter would come combined from buildings formerly occupied by a JCPenney store and a Sears location and be ready for tenants in the short term, Lundin said.

“Especially now, in a post-COVID world, we’re seeing an increased demand for office, and, potentially, for life sciences uses as well,” Lundin said. “To the extent that we had additional demand, we are looking at potentially converting portions of the rest of the mall as well.”

Existing suburban office owners like Sunset Development Co., which owns Bishop Ranch in San Ramon, may also take a look at building new inventory once the economy stabilizes.

Shelter-in-place orders appear to have accelerated a shift toward mixes of on-site and off-site work becoming more common, and suburban office locations are a potentially better fit for part-time office workforces, Sunset Development Co. President and CEO Alex Mehran Jr. said.

“Clearly, there’s a role for suburban office campuses to take in helping companies solve their real estate strategy,” Mehran said. “For a long time, we’ve felt like the all-the-eggs-in-one-basket strategy that’s employed by a lot of bigger companies these days is not the best thing from a workforce happiness perspective.”

Home to the headquarters of companies like Chevron Corp. and 24 Hour Fitness and large satellite offices for companies like Rodan + Fields, Bishop Ranch only recently overtook peak rental levels it reached in the 1990s, according to Mehran.

He said he thinks rent growth will continue toward levels justifying newer suburban office product as companies opt for more distributed workforces.

“Today’s customer loves fresh product,” Mehran said. “The customers of the Bay Area really want the systems and the look and feel of a brand-new office building. Certainly, there’s an opportunity to build new product once rents stabilize in this crisis and grow a little more.”

Likewise, LBG also sees a clear market opportunity once more Bay Area companies have the economic certainty to start making leasing decisions, according to Lundin.

“From what we’re seeing, anybody that was in the city and is trying to figure out how to accommodate their employees that are in the East Bay is a potential target at this point,” she said. “It’s really opened it up.”

Article source: https://www.bisnow.com/san-francisco/news/office/east-bay-office-sector-sees-room-for-growth-post-pandemic-104644

San Francisco’s reign as the tech capital of the Bay Area suddenly looks in doubt.

For the past decade, San Francisco has outshined Silicon Valley in attracting new technology firms, entrepreneurs and younger employees, who tend to prefer the city’s lifestyle and attractions to the suburbs.

Now, that trend shows signs of reversing. Office…

Article source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-tech-firms-rethink-san-francisco-silicon-valley-stands-to-gain-11592308801

It’s no secret that Bay Area living is expensive, so much so that many people are leaving or coming up with some very creative solutions. If you’ve ever searched for a new apartment online, you’ve undoubtedly come across a place where the images make your jaw drop at the photos and price – and NOT in a good way. Welcome to the series we’re calling, “Guess how much this rents for in San Francisco.”

If you’ve strolled around Cole Valley, you know the Tiger house. Now, you could live in it.

Article source: https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/slideshow/SF-Tiger-house-guess-the-rent-204496.php

San Francisco’s real estate industry witnessed a drastic bounce-back in activity in May, but the damage from coronavirus is still apparent, according to a report Friday from Compass.

The number of listings going into contract fell to below 30 during the last week of March, following the city’s shelter-in-place order that was announced on March 16.

More: English Manor House Once Belonging to Famed Photographer Cecil Beaton Asks £4 Million

During the last week of May, the number of contracts signed totaled almost 90, a similar tally to the weeks before the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the U.S., when roughly 100 contracts were being signed weekly, data from the estate agency shows.

Despite the improvement, activity in May still remained well below last year, Patrick Carlisle, chief market analyst for the San Francisco Bay Area at Compass, wrote in the report.

“Still, with the easing of shelter in place, as well as the market learning to adjust to new circumstances, it is expected the recovery will continue to surge closer to normal,” Mr. Carlisle wrote. “In fact, based on the strength of buyer demand, some analysts believe the coming months may be busier than in 2019, as sales activity that would have occurred in spring gets pushed into the summer instead.”

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Median sales prices for both houses and condos dropped in San Francisco in May, down 4.2% and 15.3%, respectively, from April.

Those figures are based on a low volume of closed sales in the month, which dropped about 60% year-over-year, the report said.

“Because sales are a lagging indicator, May sales and sales prices mostly reflect the huge impact of Covid-19 on the San Francisco market in late March and April,” according to Mr. Carlisle.

Though still under lockdown measures, restrictions have eased in San Francisco and real estate activity continued because it’s considered an essential business in the city.

Real estate inspectors, appraisers, and photographers have been able to continue working, and while city guidance states that agents may only show homes to potential residents over video, it further stipulates that when a virtual showing is not possible, a single agent may show a home in person to a maximum of two people from the same household, so long as the home is unoccupied.

Article source: https://www.mansionglobal.com/articles/san-franciscos-market-hurt-by-coronavirus-begins-to-bounce-back-216601