You are here: Home / Archives for Market News

Two-Unit Buildings Abound in SF

April 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I’m often asked about the availability of two-unit buildings (a.k.a. “duplexes”) in San Francisco. The idea of residing in one unit and renting out the other is a popular one—if the cash flow works out.

A quick look at the market reveals that there are 147 two-unit properties available right now. They range in price from $394,000 for a fully tenant-occupied, bank-owned building in Bayview; $1.1M for a Noe Valley duplex with a tenant in the lower unit; and $4,250,000 for a vacant property featuring 4BR/3.5BA up and 2BR/2BA down in the Buena Vista Park area.

Here’s the lowdown on these types of properties. Vacant two-unit buildings will likely be priced well above what a single owner will want to pay (i.e., cash flow won’t make sense if you’re renting the other unit out). This is because such properties are targeted at TIC buyers who want to owner occupy both units.

If you’re considering a two-unit building in which both units are tenant occupied, it’s important to recognize that owner move-in evictions are limited to one unit per building.

There are many variations on these types of homes, so knowing the facts before you even take time to look at a building is key.

Filed Under: Market News Tagged With: , , ,

Condo Prices Hold Steady

April 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Condo sales volumes were minimal in comparison to past first quarters, but again, prices held up. Areas such as Potrero Hill were given a boost by new construction buildings aimed at first-time home buyers. Once again, the mid-market selling range was king. Here’s a look at how some neighborhoods fared that cater to condo buyers:

Inner Richmond
# Sold: 1
Avge Price: $899,000

Inner Sunset
# Sold: 2
Avge Price: $750,000

Noe Valley
# Sold: 14
Avge Price: $794,071

Eureka Valley
# Sold: 7
Avge Price: $747,286

Mission Dolores
# Sold: 7
Avge Price: $787,143

Duboce Triangle
# Sold: 6
Avge Price: $862,333

The Haight
# Sold: 2
Avge Price: $835,000

Cole Valley
# Sold: 1
Avge Price: $760,000

Hayes Valley
# Sold: 1
Avge Price: $840,000

North Panhandle
# Sold: 6
Avge Price: $717,833

Pacific Heights
# Sold: 7
Avge Price: $763,667

Lower Pacific Heights
# Sold: 5
Avge Price: $669,200

Potrero Hill
# Sold: 13
Avge Price: $505,558

*South of Market
# Sold: 14
Avge Price: $693,343

*South Beach
# Sold: 17
Avge Price: $869,781

*Mission Bay
# Sold: 5
Avge Price: $611,700

*Limited to data provided in MLS; does not include data from sales offices in new development properties.

Filed Under: Market News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Checking Out Q1 House Averages

April 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

With volumes and prices down, the first quarter of the year opened with a whimper. Buyers were reluctant to make purchase decisions, and sellers held back from putting their homes on the market.

Most neighborhood averages were below $1M. That just supports my theory that the most popular price range continues to be $400,000-$900,000. Here’s a look at how single-family homes fared in a variety of neighborhoods:

Inner Richmond
# Sold: 2
Avge Price: $860,000

Inner Sunset
# Sold: 4
Avge Price: $793,200

Parkside
# Sold: 11
Avge Price: $719,000

Ingleside/I. Heights
# Sold: 14
Avge Price: $445,279

Miraloma Park
# Sold: 8
Avge Price: $831,375

Sunnyside
# Sold: 9
Avge Price: $684,333

Noe Valley
# Sold: 19
Avge Price: $1,291,605

Glen Park
# Sold: 8
Avge Price: $941,625

Corona Heights
# Sold: 2
Avge Price: $1,145,000

Pacific Heights
# Sold: 3
Avge Price: $3,524,500

The Mission
# Sold: 2
Avge Price: $592,625

Bernal Heights
# Sold: 11
Avge Price: $710,455

Potrero Hill
# Sold: 6
Avge Price: $952,333

The Excelsior
# Sold: 18
Avge Price: $529,411

Stop in tomorrow for a look at condo averages!

Filed Under: Bernal/Excelsior, Glen Park, Haight/NoPa, Hayes Valley, Ingleside/Lakeside, Market News, Miraloma Park, Mission, Noe/Eureka Valley, Potrero/Dogpatch, Richmond/Lake, Sunset/Parkside Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

SF Market Down, But Not Out

March 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The first quarter of 2009 is winding to a close, and it’s time to check out how well San Francisco is positioned heading into April.

A quick look at what properties are pending is an excellent indicator of market health. As of March 18th, a total of 165 single-family homes were pending, along with 94 condos and 26 TICs.

To put things into perspective, 200 single-family homes sold in April 2008, as well as 191 condos and 45 TICs. So we’ll be unexpectedly down in volume this year if all the currently pending sales close in April. But sales are on track to happen nonetheless, which is good news.

Average list prices for everything in contract? $702,049 for houses; $744,899 for condos; and $625,923 for TICs—proving once again that the mid-market price range of $400,000-$900,000 is the sweet spot for San Francisco real estate right now.

Filed Under: Market News Tagged With:

Seeking “Spot” Condos for FHA Loans

February 27, 2009 By 1 Comment

FHA loans are about the only ones out there these days that will let buyers put down less than 20%. In some cases, it’s possible to put down a minimum of five percent. The loan limit is soon to be $729,750.

But that’s for single-family homes, and condos within approved buildings. I wrote a previous post outlining some of these FHA-approved buildings. If you don’t see your building of interest on that list, all might not be lost.

In some cases, the FHA will approve a “spot” condo—i.e., one condo in the building—for a loan. All the condo information needs to be submitted with the loan approval application. The catch? There can only be one “spot” condo in the building. If another unit already has an FHA loan in place, you’ll be out of luck.

Filed Under: Home Buyer Tips, Market News

Estates Market: Down, But Not Out

February 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Though the price range from $400,000 to $900,000 has been busy this year, the luxury home market has been much slower. But it’s not a completely dead market segment.

In the first six weeks of the year, eight single-family homes for $1.5M or higher sold in San Francisco. Interestingly, the homes were spread out across neighborhoods that included The Haight, Noe Valley, Eureka Valley, Lower Pacific Heights, The Marina, and Pacific Heights.

A good indication of how the market will fare over the next month is via the number of pending listings. To date, there are six single-family homes pending in this price range, all priced at $1,775,000 or above.

On the condo front, 43 listings sold at $1.5M or higher, predominantly in the north end of town. Four listings are pending.

What credit is available to buyers in this price range? According to my colleague at First Republic, the bank can offer loan amounts between $1.1-$2M. It has a 7/1 ARM @ 5.35%, 0% points, 1% 3 year pre-payment penalty, and a 10/1 ARM @ 5.50%, 0% points, 1% 3 year pre-payment penalty. Minimum down payment is 25%. This quote is for a purchase of a primary residence, and assumes an existing banking relationship with First Republic.

Filed Under: Market News, Noe/Eureka Valley Tagged With:

Take Your Pick of Luxury Properties

February 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

With 68 single-family homes and 37 condos listed at $2M or more, the San Francisco luxury market has a lot to offer. Unfortunately, there’s a limited number of individuals who can afford an average of $5,332,763 for a house, or $3,407,770 for a condo.

On the house front, neighborhoods rich in luxury properties are the usual suspects—the Marina, Pacific and Presidio Heights, Lake District, Russian Hill in the north end, and Noe Valley and St. Francis Wood on the south side of town. Most expensive properties in this category continue to be 2845 Broadway at $65M, on the market for 1069 days, and 2901 Broadway at $48M, on the market for $48M.

Luxury condo listings are dominated by the Four Seasons, St. Regis, and Ritz-Carlton. The most expensive condo listing? 2006 Washington #4 at Octavia, a 5BR/5.5BA unit with two-car parking priced at $15M and on the market for 127 days.

Filed Under: Market News Tagged With:

Condo Prices Adjust in New Year

February 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The past month’s sales figures for citywide condos are an open window to the general state of the condo market in San Francisco. Of the 39 condos sold, 33 sold for less than the asking price. (These figures do not include new development sales, which are not published in the MLS)

However, the average sale price of $822,453 was nothing to sneeze at, though it does seem like condos are taking longer to sell. They averaged 87 days on market. Additionally, all but seven of the condos sold were under the $1M price point.

Filed Under: Market News Tagged With:

First-Time Home Buyers Snap Up Deals

January 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

The past month’s sales figures are an excellent indicator of how the market is doing for single-family homes. Here are a few quick updates:

Total Houses Sold: 59

Number Sold Under Asking Price: 36

Number Sold At Asking: 4

Number Sold Above Asking: 19

Average Sale Price: $747,231

Though sales were scattered across many neighborhoods, a bulk were centered on the Bayview/Excelsior/Visitacion Valley/Portola/Silver Terrace areas, which had an average sales price of $488,270.

Only nine single-family homes sold for above $1M. I’m thinking there are quite a lot of first-time buyers out there using the market to their advantage.

Filed Under: Market News Tagged With:

Withdrawn Listings Will Fuel Buyers' Market

January 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sellers withdrew a significant amount of listings in December. This is important because it means, well, that these homes didn’t sell, and that their owners will likely try again in early 2009.

Add those properties to the ones intended to go on the market for the first time, and you potentially have an oversupply of homes. There simply are not enough qualified or motivated buyers out there right now, and that will probably be the case through most of 2009.

There were 151 single-family homes withdrawn from the market last month—a very large number. And a whopping 216 condos and 91 TIC interests were also withdrawn. The fallout? Sellers will hopefully get the message that they will have to price their properties based on realistic comparative sales–most notably, sales that closed in November and December. Buyers, take note: You’ll find less “what-are-they-smoking?!” listing situations and more value this year.

Filed Under: Market News Tagged With:

SF Market: Fresh Start for '09

January 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Welcome to 2009! This year, I’m expecting a bit more of the same real estate market activity that happened in late 2008. Sellers need to be cognizant of the reality that there are simply less qualified buyers out there, and that in most areas of San Francisco, it’s a buyers’ market.

I’ve been busy over the past year doing a lot of negotiating for my buyer clients, from requesting credits based on inspection findings to assisting them in counter offer scenarios. In all instances, I believed my clients were getting a good deal. So I’ve enjoyed working with buyers; this work has given me keen insight on their mindset, which will come in handy when I work with sellers in 2009.

Heading into the new year, it’ll be important for buyers and sellers to pay attention to sales figures from November and December. That’s because sales activity will reflect the post-stock market crash activity, as well as the fallout from the various major financial institution collapses.

So here’s a look at how sales volumes and averages fared between December 2007 and 2008. As I expected, both the quantities and prices were down last month across the board.

A total of 124 single-family homes sold this past December, with an average selling price of $877,158. This represented a significant drop from December 2007, when 167 houses sold at an average of $1,203,292. So yes, everyone, prices have come down in San Francisco in what is arguably known as the most desirable property type.

Condos in December 2008 didn’t do much better. A total of 86 such properties sold at an average price of $730,283; back in Decmeber 2007, 137 condos sold for an average of $877,158.

And finally, tenancy-in-common sales were down, with only 28 TICs selling this past December, compared to 63 selling the previous December. Average prices, however, were not that different: $672,869 in 2007, and $626,690 in 2008.

Stay tuned this week for a look at average values on a neighborhood basis.

Filed Under: Market News Tagged With:

Ken Rosen: Not All Doom & Gloom

December 17, 2008 By 1 Comment

I attended a luncheon yesterday at which economist Ken Rosen spoke. Surprisingly, he was pretty positive about San Francisco real estate. Of course, by “positive,” I mean he stated that we’ll probably be seeing a challenging market through 2009, but that things will start recovering in 2010.

His message? View real estate in San Francisco like you would a long-term investment. If you are planning to purchase property and retain it for five to ten years, Rosen thinks that now is a good time to get into the market. Compared to the rest of the country, he believe San Francisco is doing pretty well due to the stronger job market. It seems that the tech world is doing us a lot of good.

Filed Under: Market News Tagged With: ,

SF Estate Homes Chop Prices

December 9, 2008 By Leave a Comment

The high-end housing market in San Francisco is seeing plenty of sellers hoping for holiday gifts in the form of a purchase contract. To that end, sellers are conceding a bit on their original prices. Between October and the first week in December, a total of 59 homes above the $1.5M price point saw price reductions in their list prices.

On the condo front, 35 units originally priced at $1.5M or above have seen prices drop since October. (This data is courtesy of my Pacific Union Estates division statistics, discussed during our twice monthly Estates meetings.)

This is really a rather startling amount of price reductions. Heads up: December is the time to take advantage of the market and interest rates. Particularly if you are looking for an estate home in San Francisco, the stars are aligned for you to get a good deal.

Filed Under: Market News Tagged With:

Holiday Bargains Abound for Condos

December 8, 2008 By Leave a Comment

In my ongoing quest to provide information on deals to prospective buyers, I wanted to take a look at citywide condo inventory–currently offering 660 units listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

Here’s where you’ll find the best bargains in the condo segment of the residential market in San Francisco during your holiday season:

1. SoMa/South Beach/Mission Bay
Number Available: 220
Median List Price: $707,500
Average Days on Market: 85
Note: These neighborhoods have the highest condo inventory in the city. The numbers above are based on units listed in the MLS; this largely doesn’t include the hundreds or probably thousands of units available in all the new-construction developments such as the Infinity, One Rincon, Esprit Park, etc. The sales offices for these developments typically don’t post their inventories on the MLS. All the neighborhoods above, as well as the Central Waterfront, have equal numbers of units available, and have the distinction of providing the softest market for buyers right now.

2. Richmond/Sunset
Number Available: 35
Median List Price: $745,000
Average Days on Market: 78
Note: The western neighborhoods in the city are dominated by single-family homes. However, with 35 condos available that have sat on the market for an average of almost three months, this is one of the places to consider for a deal. Leading the pack is the Inner/Central Richmond.

3. Noe/Eureka/Cole Valleys
Number Available: 63
Median List Price: $799,000
Average Days on Market: 68
Note: Noe and Eureka Valleys have the most inventory, but Mission Dolores has had a bump up lately due to the Chelsea Park development’s unit sales (many of which are available, but not even listed on the Multiple Listing Service).

4. Hayes Valley, Lower Pacific Heights
Number Available: 44
Median List Price: $727,000
Average Days on Market: 76
Note: Check out Lower Pacific Heights and Western Addition, which have the most units on the market.

5. Russian & Nob Hills/Pacific Heights/Van Ness Corridor/Financial District
Number Available: 173
Median List Price: $949,000
Average Days on Market: 68
Note: Pacific Heights leads the way, with 40 condos on the market. But the Van Ness corridor has many offerings. If you’re looking for luxury condos, the Financial District is the place to consider, as the Four Seasons has quite a few units available.

6. Mission/Bernal Heights/Potrero Hill
Number Available: 54
Median List Price: $609,000
Average Days on Market: 53
Note: Potrero Hill and the Mission hold all the inventory here.

7. Excelsior/Outer Mission/Bayview
Number Available: 172
Median List Price: $550,000
Average Days on Market: 97
Note: The epicenter of the short sale/foreclosure market in San Francisco, these neighborhoods have a ton of inventory that’s been sitting for a while. Though the Excelsior district has the most single-family homes available, not far behind are Portola, Mission Terrace, Silver Terrace, and Visitacion Valley.

Filed Under: Good Deals, Market News Tagged With: ,

Best Holiday Deals for Houses

December 4, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Where will you find the best deals between now and New Year’s Eve?

I ran a report on the number of single-family homes currently on the market in San Francisco, and came up with a whopping 604. But in which parts of the city will you most likely be able to capitalize on an abundance of inventory?

It helps to break things down by neighborhood:

1. Richmond/Sunset:
Number Available: 120
Median List Price: $899,450
Average Days on Market: 57
Note: The Central Richmond, Golden Gate Heights, and the Outer Parkside/Sunset areas are rife with single-family home inventory.

2. Ingleside/Forest Hill/Miraloma Park
Number Available: 123
Median List Price: $850,000
Average Days on Market: 72
Note: Check out some open houses in the Ingleside neighborhoods, which include Ingleside, Ingleside Terrace, and Ingleside Heights. The bulk of available homes lies there.

3. Noe/Eureka/Cole Valleys
Number Available: 83
Median List Price: $1.5M
Average Days on Market: 66
Note: Inventory is more limited here, and price points much higher. But Noe, Eureka and Cole Valleys actually have a higher ratio of available homes to qualified buyers.

4. Hayes Valley, Lower Pacific Heights
Number Available: 14
Median List Price: $1,857,000
Average Days on Market: 55
Note: Generally a low-turnover area, homes in these areas are usually larger Victorians that fetch well over $1.5M. Even so, half of these homes have had price reductions since they’ve come on the market.

5. Pacific Heights/Russian Hill
Number Available: 43
Median List Price: $2.8M
Average Days on Market: 132
Note: Simply put, the luxury single-family home market is hurting a bit right now. These two neighborhoods pretty much hold 95% of the inventory in the area. Judging by the days on market average, Pac Heights and Russian Hill sellers are probably hungering for offers.

6. Mission/Bernal Heights/Potrero Hill
Number Available: 48
Median List Price: $799,000
Average Days on Market: 64
Note: Bernal is the hands-down king of inventory in this region, with 34 homes available.

7. Excelsior/Outer Mission/Bayview
Number Available: 172
Median List Price: $550,000
Average Days on Market: 97
Note: The epicenter of the short sale/foreclosure market in San Francisco, these neighborhoods have a ton of inventory that’s been sitting for a while. Though the Excelsior district has the most single-family homes available, not far behind are Portola, Mission Terrace, Silver Terrace, and Visitacion Valley.

Filed Under: Forest Hill, Good Deals, Ingleside/Lakeside, Market News Tagged With: