Category Archives: Richmond/Lake

Be A Strategic Buyer in a Tight Inventory Market

It’s easy to put your home search on auto pilot, looking constantly at online search sites for the latest new listing. But if you’re seeking a single-family home in San Francisco, it will become quickly obvious that there’s a low inventory of houses—and you have to do more than just wait for new listings.

Home buyer tip: Don’t bypass existing listings that may be spending more time on the market than their owners would like. These homes could be opportunities for buyers to avoid overbidding and competitive offer situations. If a house has been on the market for 30 days or more, it means that seller will likely not be seeing crazy overbidding and multiple offers. And there may also be room to negotiate a lower price. Continue Reading

Welcome To The 2020 Holiday Home Stretch

2020 has been a year like no other, but I’m willing to bet that motivated buyers and sellers will follow their usual holiday season activity pattern. Buyers will aggressively write offers and try to negotiate, and sellers will be more willing to negotiate so they can wrap up their sale before year end.

There’s a healthy amount of houses, condos and TICs on the market that all stand a chance of having to return in 2021. Here’s a quick look at each category:
Single-Family Homes
Number available: 345
Median list price: $1,890,000
Avge days on market (DOM): 59
Where the inventory is: Parkside/Sunset, Ingleside, Sunnyside, Noe/Eureka Valleys, Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow, Bernal Heights, Mission, Bayview, Visitacion Valley.
Worth noting: There are far fewer houses than condos sitting on the market, with about 40% listed for up to $1.5M. That means buyers can expect to pay $2M+ for most of the homes on the market. Continue Reading

SF House Market Meets Corona Challenge

SF House Market Meets Corona Challenge

Corona may be surging again, but the virus certainly hasn’t obliterated the San Francisco single-family home market. Despite limitations on showing property (no open houses or broker tours!) and many people reportedly fleeing San Francisco for more far-flung locations, our house market remained strong and steady over the past six weeks.

The average price for the 382 houses sold was $2,022,151 (October 1-November 13), with a median price of $1,650,000. The average overbid citywide was five percent. However, 50 homes changed hands for 20% or more over the list price, proving that even a pandemic can’t seem to break our eternal list-low, sell-for-more pattern in San Francisco. Continue Reading

Just Listed: 517 8th Avenue

Just Listed: 517 8th Avenue

I’m proud to announce the launch of my new four-bedroom, three-bath Inner Richmond Victorian listing at 517 8th Avenue. This is the perfect home for corona times, because it has space for working and schooling from home, exercising, enjoying the garden and entertaining.

Spanning three levels, 517 8th Avenue has lovely architectural details throughout. The living and dining areas are open to each other and lead to a large kitchen with direct access to the garden. All three bedrooms/two bathrooms are on the upper level, along with a family room with skylight. And there are two more rooms on the ground level that you can use for exercising, a rec room or guest quarters. One-car garage, storage and space outside for a second car.

If you know the Inner Richmond, then you know this is a fantastic location near Golden Gate Park. The de Young, Academy of Sciences, Conservatory of Flowers and and Botanical Gardens are easily accessed at the 8th and Fulton entrance (which is currently closed to traffic, and a terrific place to start your walk, run or bike ride in the park). Clement Street retail, restaurants and bars are also only a few blocks away.

List price for 517 8th Avenue is $2,595,000.

Visit our Web site here, which includes a full photo gallery, 3D virtual tour and floor plan.

Contact me if you’d like to schedule a showing at 415.823.4656 | eileen@insidesfre.com

SF Single-Family Homes Not Immune To Price Reductions

Houses in San Francisco are always in demand among buyers. And this property type has stood its ground during our current recession—in fact, the average price of a house from June 1 – August 15th has increased by 6.7% to $2,141,356 in comparison to the same time in 2019.

But single-family home sellers are no strangers to the dreaded price reduction decision. Some homes come on the market with high prices in comparison to their comparable sales; it’s no secret that there’s a tendency for homeowners to believe their house is superior for one reason or another.

I took a look at all the houses that sold from June 1 through August 15th and discovered that 17% sold after having at least one price reduction. Continue Reading

Challenged Condo Market Still Sees Overbidding

Challenged Condo Market Still Sees Overbidding

It’s no secret that the San Francisco condo market has plenty of inventory right now, especially in large buildings in South Beach, SoMa, and Mission Bay. But I’m still seeing some condos close for above the list price.

Buyers continue to pay top dollar for remodeled condos with classic architectural styles, and which also include parking and in-unit laundry. Location is key, of course. Two-bedroom units in the Inner/Central Richmond, Inner Sunset, Lake district, and Cole/Noe/Eureka Valleys were most commonly sold for over the list price in July. Continue Reading

Preview: SF Homes Coming Soon

Inventory is slimmer this Spring, but there are plenty of homes coming soon with owners who may be open to selling before officially going on the market.

I’ve rounded up a few of my picks below. Give me a shout at eileen@insidesfre.com | 415.823.4656 if you’d like more details or would be interested in seeing any of these homes in person:

439 16th Avenue
Central Richmond
3BR/3BA, 1 pkg
$1,900,000

439 16th Avenue is a gracious home with lovely period detailing like box beam ceilings. The upper level has three bedrooms and full bath, and the spacious master has two large closets. There’s a one-car garage, storage, and unwarranted one-bedroom inlaw. Large, flat, fenced yard. (Listing courtesy of Compass) Continue Reading

Cash Sales in San Francisco Drop in 2019

San Francisco real estate sees its share of cash buyers, but they’re not popping up as frequently as they used to. For the past several years, cash buyers have represented a quarter of all single-family and condo sales.

However, the percentage has dropped to 16.5% for houses and 14.6% for condos in 2019.

Having the ability to pay all cash certainly gives you an advantage as a buyer. You’ll likely get a call back in a multiple-offer situation if your offer isn’t the highest. But being able to pay in all cash typically doesn’t exempt you from having to overbid like everyone else.

Here’s how things have shaken out in 2019: Continue Reading

What You Could’ve Bought: For Under List Price

Properties in San Francisco generally sell for more than their asking prices. But there were some recent sales that bucked this trend—particularly ones involving homes in the $2M+ range.

Keep your eye on the market as we move toward the Fall. We’ll be getting an inventory boost right after Labor Day, and those “leftover” summer homes may turn out to be great buys.

In the meantime, here are a few homes that recently sold for under their list price:

1325 Lake Street
Lake Street
List Price: $3,000,000
Sale Price: $2,275,000
First Listed: Sept 2017

A large, traditional home in need of a facelift, 1325 Lake was first listed last Fall for $3M, and the price gradually went down from there. The house has a great location near Mountain Lake Park and Laurel Village. This is a good example of a property with good bones that current or future owners can take to the next level, it just took a bit of time to find the right buyer—at a price that will allow for solid renovations. [Listing courtesy of Compass] Continue Reading

Central Richmond’s Alexandria Condos Selling at Brisk Pace

Central Richmond’s Alexandria Condos Selling at Brisk Pace

Buyers are quickly snapping up condos at new development The Alexandria in the Central Richmond. With half of the 43 units already in contract based on hard hat tours of the still under-construction building, The Alexandria will likely be sold out within the next few weeks.

I took a tour of the project this week, and was quite impressed with the building. The old Alexandra theatre sits on the corner of Geary and 18th Avenue, but the actual condo building occupies the lot behind the theatre on 18th Avenue. So it’s surprisingly quiet with respect to Geary traffic.

The four-story building has one- and one plus den bedrooms, along with two- and three bedroom units (some with dens and balconies). Air conditioning is a standard feature here, as is one parking space per unit. Continue Reading

SF Condo Prices Up, Noe Leads the Overbids in Q1 2018

San Francisco condo prices were up three percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2018, with an average citywide condo price of $1.3M and price-per-square foot of $1,100.

The usual array of well-established, popular neighborhoods like Hayes Valley, Eureka Valley, Mission Dolores, NoPa and Russian Hill commanded the largest overbids. But it was Noe Valley that attracted the steepest and most frequent overbidding. Continue Reading

What You Can Buy: Condos with Deeded Gardens

Finding a condo in San Francisco with a private, exclusive-use garden is not all that common. After all, who wouldn’t want a yard of their own for grilling, dining, kids and dogs?

Four terrific condos with deeded gardens just hit the market, and I’m anticipating they’ll sell quickly. Check them out on the open house circuit this weekend, and start thinking about where you’ll be planting the raised vegetable beds:

2447 Vallejo
Pacific Heights
2BR/1BA, 1314 sq ft. 1 pkg
HOA dues: $475/month
List price: $1,649,000

2447 Vallejo is located on a flat, tree-lined street in a six-unit building. The living room has French doors that open on to the stairs that lead to the large, south-facing garden and patio. The unit itself has an open floor plan, in-unit laundry, deeded storage and garage parking. (Listing courtesy of Sotheby’s International Realty) Continue Reading

What You Could’ve Bought for Below The List Price

Yes, most San Francisco homes sell for more than their list price. But not always, especially when there are some challenges involved. Busy locations? Poor overall presentation? Those factors end up thwarting sellers every time. Here are three properties that didn’t slam into contract for way over the list price:

688 Clipper
Noe Valley
List Price: $2,250,000
Sale Price: $2,150,000
Days on Market (DOM): 128

688 Clipper technically shouldn’t be here, as it was originally listed for below $2M. The story is that the property came on the market in August 2017 for $1,999,999, and the sellers raised the price to $2.3M twenty days later. No buyers came along, so they reduced the price to $2,275,000 and received an offer shortly thereafter. That fell out of contract, and the price then slid further to $2,250,000. Challenges here were a very vertical floor plan, a location on a trafficked street that’s more Diamond Heights than Noe Valley, and a lack of staging that other properties at this price point often have. Continue Reading

SF Condo Market Mixed in 2017

The San Francisco condo market was not quite as jubilant as its single-family home counterpart in 2017. Yes, there were the random instances of 25%+ overbids, and an eight percent, year-over-year increase in the average condo price. But we basically saw a repeat of 2016, with prices flatlining.

The average citywide price of a condo in the fourth quarter of 2017 was approximately $1.3M—up from $1,210,000 in Q4 2016. We also saw the average price-per-square foot end up at $1,052, which was a four percent increase year over year. 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

Contact Eileen for Real Estate Help

Eileen Bermingham

Corcoran Global Living

415.823.4656

eileen@insidesfre.com

DRE# 01352627

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