homesmillbrae.com

A: The immediate effect is it may take more time and money to get projects through the city for new developments which is already a cumbersome and expensive process at best.. Those costs, unfortunately, will be passed through to the consumer. The longer term effects are the importance for everyone involved to accept they share culpability and to devise a solid plan to prevent this type of catastrophic event from happening again. We need a balance between cost-effective and sound construction methods to maintain viable commercial and residential structures.

Developers and contractors need to be held to the highest standard of design and construction. City employees from the Planning Department to on-site inspectors must be accountable for their review process. It is critical that they oversee all aspects of approval of the project through to its completion. In the past, developers and architects typically thought only in terms of their own ventures and didn’t necessarily anticipate the impact their project would have on surrounding areas.

The Millenium Tower issues have changed that forever as we acknowledge the importance of a holistic approach to overall community development. City powers-that-be must adopt a more global view of development and the impact one project can have on an area and community. Everyone involved in further development of San Francisco and other Bay Area communities must realize and accept the importance of their roles in keeping our communities safe to maintain the integrity of its structures and the confidence of its citizens.

Jill Gumina, Hill Co. Real Estate, (415) 265-1717, jkgumina@gmail.com.

A: The biggest impact from the Millennium controversy will be an increase from the public in due diligence of construction methods, existing conditions and seismic safety in high-rise buildings. Buyers, rightly so, will ask more questions about safety methods implemented by developers in land fill areas such as this.

Not every building is built the same, however. According to an article published in 2006 by Carl Nolte, condos at One Rincon incorporated structural concepts that had never been tried before. For example, there’s steel “hands” at the core of the building with concrete poured on steel. Building added V-shaped devices also in steel and reinforced concrete to prevent buckling. They took it a step further; on top of the building are two water tanks holding about 100,000 gallons. Due to high winds in the area, tanks are supposed to counter the sway of the building.

Not surprisingly, 181 Fremont, the latest offering in high-end residential condos, is heavily promoting their safety measurements.

They recently released the following, which can also be found on their website; “The building features the deepest caissons of any residential tower in the city, burrowing 260 feet into the bedrock. The structural engineers at Arup had to think outside of the box, literally. They devised an ingenious high strength steel exoskeleton structural system that behaves like a giant shock absorber whenever there is seismic activity underfoot. A series of viscous dampers allow for a completely elastic superstructure, with plumbing and electrical lines given enough flexibility to move without disruption.”

What transpired at the Millennium Towers will arm buyers with the right questions to ask developers and their sales team as they consider a high-rise lifestyle. And this is always a good thing.

Par Hanji, Paragon Real Estate Group, (415) 307-5110, phanji@paragon-re.com.

A: The upscale residential building, Millennium Tower in downtown San Francisco, has been in the media regularly for the past several months. The latest news is that it has tilted two and half more inches in just the first half of this year, according to new monitoring data. The high-rise has sunk 17 inches at its lowest point as reported by NBC on July 18, 2017. This specific condominium project has elevated awareness among potential buyers around the importance of structural design and ensuring foundations are bedrock-solid. Buyers and investors in new high-rise projects would be wise to have an expert investigate the structural integrity of a prospective building’s design and location, as well as have specific points to discuss and document with a seller. Buyers want to make sure they do not find themselves in the situation Millennium Tower owners are now dealing with. With the ongoing legal actions regarding the settling issues of the Millennium Tower, there have been a few units on the market. I anticipate sales of units in the building will be challenging until the issues are resolved.

Meghan Duffy, McGuire Real Estate, (415)652-0677, mduffy@mcguire.com.

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Sound-Off-Millennium-Tower-s-affect-on-Bay-11655727.php

Homes under $500,000 are becoming an endangered species in the Bay Area.

The region’s sales of single-family homes in that price range fell 17 percent in June from the same time a year ago simply because there are so few to be had.

At the same time — despite the fact that the housing supply is at historically low levels — the overall number of Bay Area homes sold actually increased. That’s largely because job growth continues to fuel demand for homes among buyers who wield substantial incomes, many of whom are employed by Apple, Google and other tech companies.

Across the region, June sales grew 9.0 percent year-over-year for homes over $500,000, according to the CoreLogic real estate information service. That more than compensated for the sales drop-off among the fewer available homes at the low end.

What does all this mean and why does it matter?

It means more and more homeowners must move to the outer reaches of what is liberally defined as the Bay Area — Tracy, Stockton, Vallejo — to buy something affordable while commuting long distances back to job centers in San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Oakland. That, in turn, has worsened traffic headaches on major roads and freeways.

More broadly, it means the region is in danger of losing a workforce it cannot function without: teachers, office workers, service industry workers.

“The economy doesn’t run on people earning over $150,000 a year,” said Sereno agent Roxy Laufer, who recently watched two of her clients, both teachers, consider a move to San Diego because they feel priced out of the Bay Area.

Based in the South Bay, Laufer expressed excitement over the robustness of the market, but wondered about the long-term impact of rising prices: “If we are driving out the people who do necessary work, what is going to happen?”

In Santa Clara County, listings are about 35 percent below where they were a year ago, and inventory already was thin then. Yet, according to many agents and brokers, aggressive bidding and multiple offers are the norm this summer. One property in San Jose’s Cory neighborhood recently drew 34 bids and sold for the increasingly common “over asking” — above the listing price.

In the East Bay, according to an analysis by the Bay East Realtors Association, the first six months of the year showed fewer homes available, but more sales and higher prices compared to the first six months of 2016. In central Contra Costa County, which includes Walnut Creek, inventory dropped 9.0 percent while sales rose 10 percent and prices increased 7.0 percent.

A report from CoreLogic reiterated that single-family home sales rose across the region in June, despite the tightening inventory. On a month-to-month basis, some of the jumps were sharp: 9.9 percent for the region as a whole; 14.0 percent for Alameda County; 18.9 percent for Contra Costa County. The rise in Santa Clara County was more moderate, up 4.8 percent from May.

The increased activity suggests the region is “quickly burning through its supply of homes for sale,” said Andrew LePage, research analyst for CoreLogic. With inventory down, buyers seem to be moving through what is available at a faster clip.

Of the eight counties covered by CoreLogic’s report, only one posted a median sale price below $500,000: Solano County, where the median sat at $400,000 in June.

No wonder Vallejo — Solano County’s port town, once famous for crime and gangs — has been reborn as a hot market for real estate. In fact, it has become the hottest market in the country, according to realtor.com.

There are relative bargains to be had there. But, one would bet, not for long.

Article source: http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/30/bay-area-housing-sales-plunge-for-homes-under-500000/

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) — The Bay Area’s real estate affordability crisis has officially reached biblical proportions.

The city of Palo Alto is cracking down on churches that are trying to cut costs by subletting their space.

The clock is ticking for one church, which has been told all its tenants have to get out in a few weeks, or face severe fines.

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The First Baptist Church has been on the same street corner in Palo Alto, serving the poor and needy, for 125 years.

But after a brief, informal meeting with city code enforcement officers earlier this year, Pastor Rick Mixon suddenly got a sternly worded letter from the city, telling him he must cease all non-religious activities, and that his tenants, which include a music school, a psychologist, and the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, to get out by August 17 or face severe fines.

Mixon said, “In order to operate here, to keep it looking good, looking nice in a nice neighborhood, we need to rent the space. It represents about a third of our budget right now.”

For years, the church has rented the space on the second floor to music classes, choirs, dance clubs, and hosted dinners and weddings.

The problem is that the neighborhood is only zoned for residential use.

The city received many complaints about traffic and double parking, and decided all the tenants violated zoning laws.

Mixon said the definition of church has changed over time, and that it’s no longer what just happens on Sunday mornings.

What’s more, the church will lose about $120,000 from its budget and will likely have to shut down.

Mixon said, “So it’s a different understanding of church in 2017. So there’s this bigger issue the city has to come to grips with. Otherwise they’re going to be putting every church in Palo Alto out of business.”

One of the tenants getting kicked out is therapist Jill Cooper, who among other things, counsels teenagers struggling with thoughts of suicide.

She pays about $1,400 a month for her office, which is well under market, and helps keep her care affordable.

Cooper says she got six weeks’ notice to vacate, and tried to get an extension with the city’s lead code enforcement officer, saying the real estate market was brutal.

Cooper said, “And Mr. Stephens said he understood and he was sorry, but he could not grant me an extension. That was basically it.”

Chuck Fulanovich has lived across the street for 39 years, and admits there are some parking and traffic issues, but he wants the church to work it out with the city.

Fulanovich said, “I don’t know if the city and church officials talked about the situation and what could happen in the future, but it’s never too late to sit down and talk about things.”

The city said in a statement, “Our goal is to balance neighborhood concerns with our zoning laws, and to find a solution that works for everybody. We are asking the Church to apply for appropriate permits where possible, and to help relocate those activities that aren’t allowed in residential neighborhoods.”

The church says it will fight the order.

Article source: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/07/27/palo-alto-neighborhood-churches/

A: The immediate effect is it may take more time and money to get projects through the city for new developments which is already a cumbersome and expensive process at best.. Those costs, unfortunately, will be passed through to the consumer. The longer term effects are the importance for everyone involved to accept they share culpability and to devise a solid plan to prevent this type of catastrophic event from happening again. We need a balance between cost-effective and sound construction methods to maintain viable commercial and residential structures.

Developers and contractors need to be held to the highest standard of design and construction. City employees from the Planning Department to on-site inspectors must be accountable for their review process. It is critical that they oversee all aspects of approval of the project through to its completion. In the past, developers and architects typically thought only in terms of their own ventures and didn’t necessarily anticipate the impact their project would have on surrounding areas.

The Millenium Tower issues have changed that forever as we acknowledge the importance of a holistic approach to overall community development. City powers-that-be must adopt a more global view of development and the impact one project can have on an area and community. Everyone involved in further development of San Francisco and other Bay Area communities must realize and accept the importance of their roles in keeping our communities safe to maintain the integrity of its structures and the confidence of its citizens.

Jill Gumina, Hill Co. Real Estate, (415) 265-1717, jkgumina@gmail.com.

A: The biggest impact from the Millennium controversy will be an increase from the public in due diligence of construction methods, existing conditions and seismic safety in high-rise buildings. Buyers, rightly so, will ask more questions about safety methods implemented by developers in land fill areas such as this.

Not every building is built the same, however. According to an article published in 2006 by Carl Nolte, condos at One Rincon incorporated structural concepts that had never been tried before. For example, there’s steel “hands” at the core of the building with concrete poured on steel. Building added V-shaped devices also in steel and reinforced concrete to prevent buckling. They took it a step further; on top of the building are two water tanks holding about 100,000 gallons. Due to high winds in the area, tanks are supposed to counter the sway of the building.

Not surprisingly, 181 Fremont, the latest offering in high-end residential condos, is heavily promoting their safety measurements.

They recently released the following, which can also be found on their website; “The building features the deepest caissons of any residential tower in the city, burrowing 260 feet into the bedrock. The structural engineers at Arup had to think outside of the box, literally. They devised an ingenious high strength steel exoskeleton structural system that behaves like a giant shock absorber whenever there is seismic activity underfoot. A series of viscous dampers allow for a completely elastic superstructure, with plumbing and electrical lines given enough flexibility to move without disruption.”

What transpired at the Millennium Towers will arm buyers with the right questions to ask developers and their sales team as they consider a high-rise lifestyle. And this is always a good thing.

Par Hanji, Paragon Real Estate Group, (415) 307-5110, phanji@paragon-re.com.

A: The upscale residential building, Millennium Tower in downtown San Francisco, has been in the media regularly for the past several months. The latest news is that it has tilted two and half more inches in just the first half of this year, according to new monitoring data. The high-rise has sunk 17 inches at its lowest point as reported by NBC on July 18, 2017. This specific condominium project has elevated awareness among potential buyers around the importance of structural design and ensuring foundations are bedrock-solid. Buyers and investors in new high-rise projects would be wise to have an expert investigate the structural integrity of a prospective building’s design and location, as well as have specific points to discuss and document with a seller. Buyers want to make sure they do not find themselves in the situation Millennium Tower owners are now dealing with. With the ongoing legal actions regarding the settling issues of the Millennium Tower, there have been a few units on the market. I anticipate sales of units in the building will be challenging until the issues are resolved.

Meghan Duffy, McGuire Real Estate, (415)652-0677, mduffy@mcguire.com.

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Sound-Off-Millennium-Tower-s-affect-on-Bay-11655727.php

Bay Area home prices have continued their stratospheric surge, as the low housing supply combined with intense demand last month to further heat up the market.

The real estate business usually cools off in the summer, but this market is proving to be a pressure cooker. The median price of a single-family home in the region was $779,000, up 9.7 percent from a year earlier, the CoreLogic real estate information service reported Wednesday.

Prices in the eight counties for which June data were available have risen for 63 straight months. The median price hasn’t fallen since March 2012, and some homeowners are cashing out and leaving the region while buyers battle over scant offerings — and occasionally find a deal.

Alameda and Sonoma counties set new median price records in June of $838,000 and $612,000, respectively, while Santa Clara matched its previous peak of $1,100,000.

“In 27 years, I’ve never seen such sustained demand and appetite by buyers,” said Chris Trapani, CEO and founder of the Sereno Group. “To see prices escalating at this point in the summer is remarkable, in my view.”

Even with inventory sinking to historic lows, sales were up. They rose 3.0 percent across the region on a year-over-year basis. In Santa Clara County, they rose 7.3 percent, while Alameda County was up 7.1 percent and Contra Costa County rose 4.7 percent.

(CoreLogic’s June report does not include San Mateo County due to a glitch with data collection there.)

The increased activity suggests that the region is “quickly burning through its supply of homes for sale,” said Andrew LePage, research analyst for CoreLogic. “Inventory is down, so you’re just going through it at a faster pace.”

He noted that new home construction continues to lag — sales of new single-family homes, condos and townhomes were 35.6 percent below their June average of the last 30 years. If overall inventory levels tighten further in the months ahead, he said, “We then could see sales decline year-over-year — and not for any lack of demand, but for a lack of available homes.”

Given the competition, bids over the asking price are common, although agent Alex Seroff, of DeLeon Realty in Palo Alto, said the pricing strategy needs to be right to attract aggressive offers.

A home with a fair market value of $1.7 million or $1.8 million typically will list at $1.5 million, he said: “I need to get that level of excitement — from a lot of people making a lot of offers — to get the highest price, so I can leverage those offers against each other.”

The strategy worked out for his clients Jamie and Brooke Turner.

The Bay Area natives bought their 2,000-square-foot home in Mountain View’s Sylvan Park neighborhood for $960,000 in 2010.

Looking at Silicon Valley’s congested traffic and steadily rising prices, Jamie, a computer engineer, and Brooke, an ex-teacher who stays home with their three children, decided to sell and leave the area. They listed the home in May for $1.5 million, received 21 offers within a week and sold it for more than $1.9 million, earning nearly $1 million profit on their original purchase.

“It’s definitely a seller’s market,” Jamie said.

They closed the deal in June and moved this month to the Seattle area, where Jamie’s company has an office — and where the family’s new $2.3 million home covers 7,000 square feet on five acres.

In the East Bay, agent William Doerlich has watched as clients chase affordability to Vallejo in Solano County. Buyers are looking for a decent price and architecturally distinguished houses that “are unique, that have a certain feel. You can get that in Berkeley and Oakland, too. But you’ve got it in Vallejo at half the price point.”

His clients Henrique Bagulho and Katherine Du Tiel, professional photographers living in San Francisco, decided to look for an investment property in Vallejo. They stumbled onto a 1924 prairie-style cottage with a view of the Napa hills and decided they wanted to live in it.

The cottage listed for $379,900, drew four offers, and Bagulho and Du Tiel won out, bidding $410,500. They moved in earlier this month.

“Most people seem to think we’re nuts to move to Vallejo,” said Bagulho, “but San Francisco has become too desirable and lost a little bit of its charm. So we’ll probably be doubling our money” — they are about to sell their 1,500-square-foot home in San Francisco’s Miraloma Park — “and we’ll be living in nice quiet Vallejo, less of a hipster city. I like it. I will be able to bike to Napa.”

Sometimes a deal is found close to home, including in downtown and central San Jose, areas that haven’t always been magnets for buyers. “But with so little inventory, people are forced to be less picky,” said Sereno agent Roxy Laufer.

Her client Joy Osborne, a tech manager in Santa Clara, was ready to leave her Los Gatos condo after 11 years: “I didn’t have an outdoor space, and the laundry was downstairs. I was ready to be an adult again after too many years.”

Through the spring, Osborne, who grew up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, was outbid on five homes in the South Bay. Then she came across a tiny yellow house with a bright red door and blue-green steps. Near San Jose’s Japantown, it listed for $665,000 and Osborne — one of eight bidders — got it for $702,000, with15 percent down.

Her new house is “like a beautiful little flower in the heart of the city,” she said. “The backyard is splendid, and it’s got fruit for days. It’s got grapefruit and lemon and peach and apricot, and I feel like I’m walking into my grandparents’ farm. I feel like, ‘Wow, this is special.’”

Article source: http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/26/bay-area-real-estate-home-prices-leap-to-yet-another-record-high/