Category Archives: SoMa/South Beach

Great Time To Buy a BMR Condo

Great Time To Buy a BMR Condo

It’s an opportune moment to purchase a below-market rate (BMR) condo, as competition is slim and inventory available.

The San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development offers first-time home buyers a below-marke trate (BMR) condo program that spans a variety of neighborhoods. The benefit? Pay a mortgage instead of rent, and build a bit of equity.

The program has strict eligibility requirements, and typically involves a lottery for each available condo. However, the SF population exodus over the past year has narrowed down the BMR buyer pool. So there’s a number of “First Come, First Served” listings for which you can apply once approved. Continue Reading

Budget for HOA Dues During Loan Preapproval

You’re thinking about buying a condo in San Francisco, and the first thing on your checklist is loan preapproval. Along with mortgage payments and property taxes, your lender tells you that you need a rough idea of how much your homeowners association dues (HOA) will be. But you don’t know what you’ll be buying, so how are you supposed to know how much the dues will be? Continue Reading

Short-Term, Furnished Rentals Good Seller Pit Stops

I’ve met recently with a number of homeowners who are considering selling their properties, but don’t know where they’ll be able to buy next. Though they know they’ll do extremely well in the current market with the sale of their property, they’re nervous about competing with buyers to purchase their next place.

Here’s a suggestion that will work for these potential sellers: Rent a short-term, furnished rental. There are actually quite a number of these available at any given time, in all parts of The Bay Area. (Short-term, unfurnished rentals are more of a challenge to find, given that many landlords prefer longer-term apartment leases.) Continue Reading

Holiday Home Stretch Condo Inventory at Peak

I started blogging several years ago about what I call “the holiday home stretch”—the time right after Thanksgiving through Dec 31st.

2020’s holiday home stretch is finding condo inventory at possibly the highest level ever, with 930 condos currently available. Compare that number to what was on the market in the same timeframe in 2014 (81), 2015 (241), 2016 (411), 2018 (417) and 2019 (388). We are literally swimming in condos in the city. Continue Reading

Here’s Where You Can Negotiate the Best Price on a 2BR Condo

Looking to get a good price on a two-bedroom San Francisco condo? Check out a few of the 360 two-bedroom units currently on the market in San Francisco in buildings with ten or more units. These properties have been on the market for an average of 56 days, and I’m betting their owners would love to get offers from qualified buyers.

It helps to know where to look for the best deals. The neighborhoods where these condo buildings are located are Diamond Heights, Mission Dolores, Hayes Valley, Pacific Heights, Downtown/Financial District, Nob Hill, Van Ness/Civic Center, Mission, Mission Bay, SoMa/Yerba Buena, South Beach and Dogpatch/Central Waterfront. Continue Reading

Will “Ferry Building Gray” Be The Next Color Trend?

Will “Ferry Building Gray” Be The Next Color Trend?

The first section of the Ferry Building has been unveiled, and we can now see the new custom color created specifically for the building, as reported recently by The San Francisco Business Times.

You may have noticed that they’ve been working on the Ferry Building, as it’s going through a two-year restoration project. Hudson Pacific Properties, which owns the Ferry Building, developed the new exterior color with Sherman-Williams and the Port of San Francisco, reports the Business Times. The new color is Ferry Building Gray, and it aims to be closer to the Colusa sandstone that covered the building when it debuted in 1898 (see photo above, by Douglas Fruehling for the Business Times). Continue Reading

What You Can Buy: With Outdoor Space

The shelter in place has done its part to help many prospective buyers realize that they want outdoor space in their next home. The thought of having a garden or a big deck sounds extremely appealing right now.

I’ve rounded up some homes that have lovely exclusive-use outdoor space. Give me a shout at eileen@insidesfre.com | 415.823.4656 if you’d like to see any of these in person:

375 Moncada
Ingleside Terrace
5BR/3BA, 2 pkg
$2,495,000


375 Moncada is a big Mediterranean-style house with a landscaped front yard and sprawling rear garden. The kitchens and baths could use updating, but the home is certainly in move-in condition. And when Stonestown Galleria opens again, you’ll be in walking distance. (Photos courtesy of Keller Williams Realty) Continue Reading

Coronavirus Isn’t Stopping Overbidding in San Francisco

Coronavirus Isn’t Stopping Overbidding in San Francisco

Limited inventory during the shelter in place (SIP) market seems to be motivating many buyers to overbid on properties—particularly when it comes to single-family homes.

Of the 186 houses sold from March 17th-May 5th, approximately 70% closed for above list price. Clusters of homes in the Outer Mission, Bernal Heights, Miraloma Park, Outer Parkside and Central Sunset saw overbids of well above twenty percent. 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

Be Prepared To Pay a Premium for Property With Private Pool

Buyers dreaming of having their own private pool in San Francisco can expect to pay top dollar.

Though we get a fair amount of fog, our climate has warmed significantly over the past several years. That means we’re getting more warm days that may end up being perfect for a swim. If you’re into pools, buying a house with one makes a lot more sense these days.

There are a number of large condo buildings that have common area pools. Most of them are in Diamond Heights, in the Van Ness/downtown area, Mission Bay and South Beach.

Pools in single-family homes, however, are rare. For example, of the 4,400 houses that have sold since January 2018, only eight had pools. And those homes sold in the range of $2,200,000-$9,150,000. Continue Reading

The 5 Best Neighborhoods for NY Transplants

I moved to San Francisco from New York twenty years ago, and frequently work with many New Yorkers who have relocated here. New York is definitely a world of its own, and I must admit that I was a bit worried when I moved to San Francisco; in my mind, I’d have to drive everywhere, and things wouldn’t be as central. After all, San Francisco’s layout is different in that downtown feels like Manhattan, but everywhere else seems like outer borough neighborhoods strung together—at least, at first. It takes some time to realize that many San Francisco areas are little New Yorks unto themselves. Continue Reading

Just Listed: South Beach Studio with Patio and Parking

Just Listed: South Beach Studio with Patio and Parking

I’ve just listed a gorgeously remodeled studio which has three things most South Beach studios don’t have—a private patio, a parking space (with an electric car charger!) and reasonable monthly HOA dues of $502.76.

I helped my client buy 88 Townsend #123 back in 2010. She loved the location at 2nd and Townsend, a block from the Giants’ ballpark. She loved the unit’s floor plan, and it was easy to see how you’d create dining, living and sleeping spaces. Since then, she’s thoroughly and smartly upgraded the unit in every way. Continue Reading

Do San Francisco Properties Have Air Conditioning?

I remember hosting an open house circa 2003 in Noe Valley and meeting two buyers from San Diego. Their first question was whether the property had air conditioning. I smiled and told them that we didn’t typically need air conditioning in San Francisco due to the The Bay’s natural cooling system.

Flash forward to 2019, and that question doesn’t seem so humorous anymore. Climate change has definitely altered things. My updated answer: Though older houses and small condo buildings don’t often have central air, many large, newer construction buildings do—especially in Mission Bay, South Beach, South of Market/Yerba Buena, Financial District, the Mission and Hayes Valley. Continue Reading

Which Neighborhoods Have the Best Weather?

If you’re new to San Francisco, you may be learning that our city has a variety of microclimates. One minute you can be driving around with the top down, sweating, and the next you’re turning on the seat warmers. If you’re considering purchasing a home here and are particularly weather sensitive, it’s important to know which neighborhoods tend to have the most favorable climates.

Of course, San Francisco has citywide fog and wind no matter where you go. But some areas have longer periods of time during a given day when the sun shines and the wind is at a minimum. So here’s a quick rundown: 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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