Just Sold: Gorgeous Portola Home

Just Sold: Gorgeous Portola Home

My client just purchased a beautifully remodeled, three-bedroom/two-bath home at 224 Bowdoin (pronounced “Bo-den”) in the up-and-coming Portola neighborhood.

The 1940s-era home has wonderful period detail and more than 1700 square feet of space. Big windows in the living room look out to The Bay and hills beyond, and there’s a formal dining room as well as a large, eat-in kitchen.

There are all sorts of cool features, like solar panels on the roof and a dual-zone heating and air conditioning system. The bedrooms are spacious and the master downstairs has a sitting area, full bath, laundry area and direct access to the charming yard.

224 Bowdoin closed for $1,380,000. Special shout out to our lender, Patrick Skovran at Boston Private, as well as Chris Matthews at Old Republic Title. Cheers to listing agents Pam Dubier and Susanne Alexander for being great to work with.

What’s Selling Now: New Construction Condos

It can be mind numbing trying to track sales of the more than 1,000 new construction condos currently on the market. After all, there are more than 17 projects actively selling units in a variety of neighborhoods, and sales offices play things close to the vest. You’ll find a limited number of units listed on real estate Web sites; pricing is typically not public and changes continuously based on the most recent sales.

So if you’re drawn to brand new condos, where do you begin to look? With the help of my company, Zephyr Real Estate, I pulled together the vital deets on some of my favorite projects. Note: I am not on the sales teams for any of these projects, but can represent you independently. This means I can get you started with a loan preapproval and walk you through the contract and the entire process—looking out for your best interests.

So check out what’s on tap, and give me a shout if you’d like to explore your options within any of these projects:

201 Folsom (Lumina)
Neighborhood: South Beach

The Homes: 656 condos that are selling quickly
The Perks: Club lounge, private dining room, rooftop terrace, concierge, business center, children’s and game rooms, music practice room, pool, fitness center, spa, pet grooming station, screening room and market
What’s Left: Fewer than 300 units, project is 85% sold and they are now on their last release in Building B. Corner units are in short supply.
The Prices: 1BRs: $1,000,000-$1,700,000; 2BRs: $1,500,000-$3,000,000; 3BRs: $3,100,000+; penthouses: $8,000,000+
Buy If: You are looking for a luxury building with A+ amenities and views
Developer Tishman Speyer Continue Reading

One-Bedroom Houses Command $1M+ Prices

One-Bedroom Houses Command $1M+ Prices

One-bedroom houses may have their limitations, but they represent opportunity to many San Francisco buyers. We’ve seen eight single-family homes sell for well north of $1,000,000 in 2017, and the buyers for these properties seem to fall into two camps: contractors looking for development projects, and owner occupiers who’d rather spend their money on a house than a condo—and can do their own remodel in the future.

Take 830 Rhode Island (photo, above), for example. The one-bedroom, 936-square foot Potrero Hill Victorian hit the market for $1,149,000 and was purchased by a developer for all cash. The sale closed for $1,475,000 last week. At least three other contractor buyers also made offers on Rhode Island, as well. Continue Reading

The Seller Has Accepted Your Offer—Now What?!

Most San Francisco buyers are focused on competing for properties. What’s equally important is that you have a firm understanding of what happens once you’re in contract to purchase your home.

The first week to ten days after “ratification” (seller accepting your offer) are essentially a juggling act. Here are the five things you should be prepared to do: Continue Reading

State of the TIC Market: August 2017

The tenancy-in-common (TIC) market remains strong in popular neighborhoods like Noe Valley and Russian Hill, especially if that TIC is in a two-unit building.

Buyers haven’t shied away from purchasing TIC interests, despite limitations related to 2013 legislation that significantly reduced the number of properties allowed to condo convert. Many TIC owners have resigned themselves to the reality that they hold title to “permanent” TICs.

TICs in two-unit buildings aren’t affected by that legislation if each unit is 100% owner occupied. In that case, both owners can pursue “fast track” condo conversion. Continue Reading

What You Risk When You Waive Contingencies

Inventory hasn’t kept up with buyer demand for a while now in San Francisco. That’s led to very competitive offer situations and high sale prices. Most multiple-offer situations end up with a handful of buyers waiving all contingencies (e.g., conditions of the sale) in order to make their offer as attractive as possible to the seller.

But do all buyers realize what’s at stake when they waive all contingencies? Sometimes I’m not so sure. Continue Reading

What You Can Buy in July: 21 Days & Counting

The dog days of summer are here. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing on the market in San Francisco. In fact, this is a great time to score a deal, while many buyers are on vacation.

I combed through all the properties that have been on the market for 21 days or more, and have selected my picks for very cool homes that are absolutely worth a look. Continue Reading

How Easy Is It To Add a Garage in San Francisco?

I’m asked this question all the time when my clients who need parking consider a house that doesn’t have a garage. There are many older homes in San Francisco—and a Planning Department that likes to retain the historical character of these buildings. Garages usually don’t fit into the period detail thing.

The answer is that you typically won’t be able to get a definitive answer on a garage permit before you submit an offer. But you can get an informal answer that may help guide your decisionmaking. Continue Reading

Condo Market Still Flat at the 2017 Midpoint

If you’re searching for a home to buy, you may have noticed that there’s plenty of inventory in the condo market. While almost every single-family home that comes on the market slams into contract within a week or two with multiple offers, that isn’t really the case with condos. Many are selling for at or even below asking, and buyers aren’t typically paying 20% or more above the list price.

There are 341 condos available at the moment, with an average price-per-square-foot list price of $1,140. But interestingly, more than half of these units have been on the market for 21 days or more. (By San Francisco real estate standards, that amount of time hints at a property that’s sitting on the market.) Continue Reading

What You Could’ve Bought: Houses For Under The List Price

The selling pattern in San Francisco continues to be list low, sell for more. However, it doesn’t always work out that way for some sellers. Properties that sell for under asking typically have spent a good chunk of time on the market, and are often in the multi-million dollar price range. But that’s not always the case. Here are a few examples of homes that didn’t have a fast path to a signed contract:

148 16th Avenue
Lake Street
List Price: $4,250,000
Sale Price: $3,775,000
Days on Market (DOM): 37

Buyers are seeing the most discounts in the luxury market, and 148 16th Avenue was no exception. The home was extensively renovated in 2006, and had a nice open floor plan on the main level. Big master suite, and large yard. There was also a detached rear cottage. The property came on the market at $4,250,000 but the sellers cut the price to $3,825,000 and a buyer came in a week later. Continue Reading

Today’s Buyers Love “Done” Homes

The real estate market is booming, and many potential home sellers are wondering if it might make sense to do some remodeling for sale purposes. The answer? Yes. A little sprucing up can go a long way with today’s buyers—and maximize your selling price. Continue Reading

Massive Overbids from Luxury Buyers Continue

Massive Overbids from Luxury Buyers Continue

I first blogged about the huge overbids I was seeing in the luxury market back in May.

Well, that trend continued throughout the second quarter, with multiple high-end buyers throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars over the list price at happy sellers.

One of my favorites was that small house (photo, left) at 1238 Stanyan in Cole Valley. Renovated in 1969, the modest four-bedroom home had views and was on a deep lot—code for development potential. Stanyan was listed for $2,750,000. But the buyers were feeling extra generous and the sale closed for $4,000,000 in May. Continue Reading

Another 5-Star Yelp Review From Happy Home Buyers!

My clients closed escrow in May on a great condo in the Lake district, but I wasn’t actually able to hand over keys until the seller rentback period ended in June. (This is when buyers let sellers remain in the property for up to 30 days after close of escrow so the sellers can sort out where they’re moving to next.)

Everything worked out well, and my clients are now happily living in their condo. They kindly wrote a Yelp review for me, too! (Click to enlarge)

Thanks, Paul and Eleanor!

If you’ve hit a wall looking at properties online and slogging around to open houses, get serious and get in touch with me (ebermingham@zephyrsf.com | 415.823.4656). I’ll be happy to talk with you anytime about what you can afford and the strategy we can use to get you there.

Single-Family Home Market Heats Up in Q2 2017

San Francisco house buyers battled it out for much of the second quarter as prices ticked up in our sellers’ market.

The average price of a single-family home jumped by four percent over the previous quarter, with an average citywide price of $1,832,323. Sales reflected the continued list-low, sell-for-more pattern, and many buyers didn’t hesitate to throw hundreds of thousands of dollars over the list price to win their home. Continue Reading

Time For A Blogger Break

This Realtor-blogger is taking some time off for the summer. I’ll be back the first week of July!

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to sharing my insights, tips and advice with you after I return.

Get in touch:

Eileen Bermingham

Zephyr Real Estate

415.823.4656

ebermingham@zephyrsf.com

BRE# 01352627

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