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Top 10 cities for dogs

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:11:06 +0000

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Methodology

Estately measured the quality of dog living in each metropolis with a little science, a little meteorology, and some basic canine love. “We scoured the country, factoring in weather, Walk Score, yard size, dog activities, Meetup groups, and the availability of dog sitters onRover.com. After a lot of debate we settled on these 17 urban dog paradises.”

More on the top 10 picks

1. Portland, OR

The Rose City boasts 33 dog parks, “the most per capita of any large city in the United States.” Dogs can also enjoy 19 pet massage therapists while owners enjoy a personal social network for dog lovers. Together they can drink and dine at Tin Shed Garden Café(with a dog and person menu) the Kibbles-N-Bits breakfast at Lucky Labrador Brew Pub or dog snack plate at the Pied Cow. And, according to Estately’s real estate listings, the average lot size is a spacious 8,283 square feet. Plenty of room for yards and bounding four legged family members.

2. San Diego

Sunny days in the surf: what dog wouldn’t be in heaven? This city also offers and dining on dog-friendly patios. San Diego also hosts the National Dog Party Day, the Surf Dog Surf-A-Thon and “is moving to ban the sale of pets bred in commercial breeding facilities.

3. Seattle, WA

In a tribute to fairness, Estately (based in Seattle) puts the Emerald City in 3rd place. Yes, it rains a lot, but like SF, Seattle still hosts more dogs than children in its limits. And, “unlike in many other cities, dogs are welcome on Seattle’s bus lines, ferries, light rail, and even local seaplanes.” Owners and pets alike enjoy 32 different Meetup groups for dog lovers, as well as dog-friendly businesses like BARK! espresso, and Scraps Dog Bakery.

4. Austin, TX

For the dog who loves good food like Bow-Wow Chow, a food truck specifically for dogs, and discovering bands at South by Southwest, Austin offers 11 dog parks, lots of water for cavorting, pet boutiques, health food stores for Fido, and more than 35 pet photographers. “Austin is home to Kramer the Austin Famous Rock Dog, the Easter Pet Parade Costume Contest, the Austin Dog Fair, and many more dog celebrations.

5. San Francisco, CA

San Francisco has 27 dog parks, the third most of any city in the U.S. with 27, and Walk Score has it ranked second nationally for walkability for ambling with your pet. Perhaps the destination is the beach, or a dog-friendly bar like The Stray Bar, a restaurant with welcoming patio, or one of our dog-friendly gyms .

6. Albuquerque, NM

Albuquerque boasts 33,000 acres of public parks, “about a 1/4 acre for every dog, cat and bird!” Not a lot of rain here, so plenty of chances be outdoors too.The Mayor’s Dog Ball is held annually to raise money in support of a spaying and neutering program.

7. Tucson, AZ

Sunny up to 350 days of the year, this city rarely rains out dog walks. Tucson offers lots of doggy patios for drinks and chow together, and hosts an annual Pitbulooza in honor of National Pit Bull Awareness Day. Part of the city’s tourism propaganda includes this tidbit: “The pampered pooch can even enjoy a spa treatment or shopping spree at one of numerous pet boutiques.”

8. Boston, MA

Despite having few off-leash dog parks, Boston is a leafy green city on a river and harbor, so lots of doggy fun can be had. “Boston is home to the first subway built in America and dogs are allowed to ride it during off-peak hours. Additionally, there are cruises of Boston Harbor that include time for dogs to play pirate and explore an uninhabited island.” Owners and pets alike enjoy the Liberty Hotel hosts a weekly “Yappier Hour,” a happy hour with food and drinks for both people and their four-legged friends.”

According to this Block Avenue article, Boston neighborhoods with high numbers of pet dogs can be a sign of high home ownership.

9. Phoenix, AZ

Phoenix is home to many retirees with time to spend with their canine companions. According to Estately’s real estate listings, the average lot size is a spacious 8,977 square feet (plenty of room for pets) and this is warm, dry climate for dig life outdoors as well. Cool side note: The Arizona Diamondbacks let you to take your dog out to the ballgame with their annual Bark in the Park event.

10. Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis is a pooch-positive culture, with dog-friendly restaurants, parks and hiking trails.” The downside is harsh winters can leave dogs trapped inside for long stretches, but when the sun is out there are fun activities like the Canine Carnival, various breed-specific Meetups, and Beer With Your Buddy—the opportunity to drink a brew at the pub while your four-legged pal socializes.”

Article source: http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2013/05/17/top-10-cities-for-dogs/

Matterport’s 3-D Scanner Faces Marketing Challenge

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 21:20:18 +0000

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The FINANCIAL — Matterport, a Y Combinator graduate that just raised $5.6 million in
Series A funding to produce a scanner that makes 3D models of interior
spaces more cheaply and much more quickly than before, has a novel
technology opening new possibilities in real estate, remodeling and
construction.

But it also has a classic problem–convincing potential buyers that a new type of product is worth both the money and changing the way they usually do business.

“This is an answer in search of a problem,” said Willy Shih, professor at Harvard Business School specializing in manufacturing and product development. Shih looked at Matterport briefly, at the request of a reporter, and said that he is in general very positive on the technology’s potential, but that the company will need to quickly find customers that will be testing the product and help the company refine it, something that Matterport has already started doing with prototypes.

Matt Bell, the company’s co-founder and chief executive, said that Matterport’s initial customers would be real-estate photographers. “This is the next tool that they will need to have,” he said of the product, which will cost about as much as a good DSLR camera.

But San Francisco Bay Area real-estate photographer Bryce Greenfield, who was told about the technology by a reporter, said, “I don’t think I am interested.” For him, an investment of this kind would only be warranted if real estate agents really started demanding the service, and he’s skeptical of that.

As The Wall Street Journal said, video, for example, never took off even in high-end real estate listings, even though some people thought that the visual capabilities of video reels would be effective marketing tools. “Most agents are very tight with their purse strings,” said Greenfield. He said real-estate marketing has been pretty static for a while, with photographs accompanying listings.

Matterport’s technology is different from video, because it offers precise measurements, and soon enough, the company plans to also offer interactivity, so that besides a virtual walk through a space, one will be able to add and remove objects. The company hopes to first make money by selling the scanners, and then to also lock in monthly subscriptions from users for its service of creating the 3D models and hosting them online.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based Matterport’s scanner incorporates the same sensors used in Microsoft ’s Kinect platform, which runs on the XBox to visualize users’ movements. The device, which is controlled via an Apple iPad, takes several 3D scans of an interior space that are sent to Matterport. The company uses its software algorithms to process all the information and stitch together a full 3D model of the space in minutes.

Matterport will rely on resellers, as well as companies like recently launched Floored that will buy the scanners and create sales channels on their own.

Bell said that the company doesn’t have to sell a huge number of scanners to turn a profit. In a few years, he hopes that the hardware part of the business will go away completely, he said. At that time, he hopes that 3D sensor technology will become small and cheap enough to be incorporated into smartphones and tablets, so the question of an upfront investment will go away, and the company will become a purely software and services provider.

Article source: http://finchannel.com/Main_News/B_Schools/124704_Matterport%E2%80%99s_3-D_Scanner_Faces_Marketing_Challenge/

Craigslist begins embedding maps in real estate listings

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 08:49:57 +0000

A map at the bottom of a Craigslist ad shows the location of a “spacious” townhouse in San Francisco’s South of Market district.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Steven Musil/CNET)

Not long after Craigslist cut off a mapping app that tapped its housing data, the popular online bulletin board has quietly begun embedding maps in certain real estate listings.

The maps, which appear on housing ads in the San Francisco Bay Area and Portland, Ore., harness data from OpenStreetMap, a service that offers free maps of the world compiled and edited by volunteers.

The new feature emerges a little more than a month after Craigslist sued PadMapper, an apartment listings aggregator that collects listings from Craigslist and other services and displays them on a Google map. Craigslist, which has become a popular portal for apartment ads, sued PadMapper and the data harvester it uses — 3taps — on copyright infringement grounds.

The battle began in June when Craigslist sent PadMapper a cease-and-desist letter that claimed the app violated its terms of use, which prohibit “copying, aggregation, display, distribution, performance, or derivative use of Craigslist or any content posted on Craigslist.”

For a short while PadMapper took Craigslist data off its site, but then earlier this month, it said it would resume using the data after it discovered a workaround PadMapper creator Eric DeMenthon described as “somewhat dickish” but “legally kosher.”

The solution was provided by 3taps, which created an API that harvests data from Craigslist postings by “indirect means,” meaning they aren’t subject to the Internet bulletin board’s terms of use.

Craigslist responded with a lawsuit filed in San Francisco’s federal court, accusing the two companies of “unlawfully and unabashedly mass-harvesting and redistributing postings entrusted by Craigslist users to their local Craigslist sites.”

CNET has contacted Craigslist for comment and will update this report when we learn more.

Article source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57501390-93/craigslist-begins-embedding-maps-in-real-estate-listings/

San Francisco Real Estate Company The Beverley Group …

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 20:07:06 +0000

Sunny Thiara of The Beverley Group is proud to announce the Pratt accomplishment.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) June 23, 2012

Sunny Thiara of The Beverley Group, a company that offers real estate services throughout San Leandro, Danville, Dublin and Pleasanton, seeks to find anyone’s dream home and sell houses quickly. Most importantly, he does it all and works hard for all of his clients. This is exemplified in Thiara’s relationship with Pratt, a Cisco accountant.

“He came to me with three requests: to sell his parents’ house, find investment property for him and help him with a great deal on his mortgage,” Thiara said. “I accomplished all three within two weeks.”

The Beverley Group offers a boutique environment for those looking to purchase, sell or handle luxury real estate, bulk sales, short sales and listings. It also handles all aspects of real estate, but primarily focuses on providing clients with representation and consultation as they conduct their real estate transactions.

The real estate company’s top performing agents make every effort to understand the client’s real estate needs, whether it’s to handle the short sale process on different properties, locate properties that have strong returns or offer real estate advice on the value of specific properties. As a company that provides boutique-type treatment, its experience and advice is at anyone’s disposal.

For more information about The Beverley Group’s Bay Area luxury homes, real estate listings or services, call 925-478-3456 or view the real estate company on the Web at http://www.beverleygrp.com. The Beverley Group is located at 1201 Fourth St. in San Francisco.

About The Beverley Group Real Estate Services

The Beverley Group provides boutique real estate representation to businesses and individuals in the Bay Area. It offers client consultation on a variety of real estate matters, from short sales, bulk home sales, luxury real estate properties and more. The Beverley Group serves the areas of San Leandro, Danville, Dublin, Pleasanton, Alamo, Tiburon and Sausalito.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebluxury-homes/bay-area/prweb9634035.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/San-Francisco-Real-Estate-Company-The-Beverley-3657362.php

High-end Housing Market Sold More and More Luxury Homes

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 02:20:50 +0000

Luxury homes in the million-dollar housing market in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California is gaining more strength in the month of February compared to January, and last year, according to a provider of real estate listings in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, Ventura, and other California cities and counties — Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.

Inline with the increasing sales of luxury homes, residential real estate market in Maui, Hawaii is also shows new signs of development as demand for luxury homes and other high end properties are increasing. Real estate professionals in Maui are said to record soaring sales for luxury homes with serious offers and quick escrows.

In Santa Clara County in Silicon Valley, about 100-plus luxury homes are sold above $1 million for the month of February. There were only 98 luxury homes sold in January 2011.

Median price are also up by about 4.5 percent for the luxury homes to $1,356,000. Sales for $2 million residential homes were also up from 10 sales in January to about 18 selling transactions in February.

But, the prices and sales of luxury homes were slightly lower compared to the same period a year ago, while the median price for February this year is about 1.2 percent than February 2010.

Figures are from Multiple Listing Service in Santa Clara County last month.

According to the president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Rick Turley, there are more luxury home buyer activity and interest since January this year in many housing markets, especially in Silicon Valley, but buyers of luxury homes are still cautious.

Article source: http://pptymag.com/high-end-housing-market-sold-more-and-more-luxury-homes/3794/