We successfullyrepresented clients in the multiple offer purchase of the house at 476 Lombard on Telegraph Hill.  Our clients are new residents of San Francisco moving here from Basel, Switzerland for a job transfer and it is fitting that they bought a 1920’s home on Telegraph Hill from heirs of the original owner. That’s right this is the first time this home has sold since it was originally built!

476 Lombard on Telegraph Hill, San Francisco

Let’s all give the new buyers a big San Francisco welcome! And best wishes for their ownership to last almost 80 years too.

All the Best,

Lance

This week I attended the Inman Real Estate Technology Conference here in San Francisco. Things have already shifted since attending their earlier conference this past January. Technology as it applies to real estate and every other application is going ‘local’. By that I mean, its becoming ‘location’ based as technology now will deliver to the user location specific information and communicate back to other users based on one’s location. It’s the old real estate rule of ‘location, location, location’ and is being intertwined as a key component in a way not seen before. This is great news for real estate since it is the ultimate  in ‘location’ .

I would sum up the conference in two words, ‘hyper-local conversation’.The new buzz word I’m seeing in everything from food to fashion and beyond is the term ‘hyper-local’. It is replacing the previous buzz word of ‘global’ but in many ways they’re becoming integrated into one another as the hyper-local goes global due to broad appeal. Small local bicycle makers and coffee makers and restaurants begat such a following that they grow into multiple location based businesses in far flung cities around the globe.

This same ‘hyper-local’ awareness is impacting real estate as individuals move to new cities and neighborhoods. The technologies I’m most excited about create a means for the consumer to obtain information over their phone just by having their phone read a bar code on a sign or flyer or through holding their camera up as though to take a photo of the house when layers of information come onto the screen. Other technologies will allow unrelated individuals to begin conversations on topics of interest (i.e. real estate) due to their proximity to one another.

It’s a brave new world and we’re committed here to integrating these new technologies as we strive to become innovators. We’ll be posting updates here along with other neighborhood specific information so let us know what most interests you among them by posting a comment.

All the Best,

Lance

The 4th of Julyweekend is full of parties and gatherings and this year was no execption. I count myself lucky to spend a great deal of time at my home in Sonoma and with that we have had a constant ebb of friends from different affiliations who’ve visited us then made the plunge to purchase a home here. It has become a regular event to attend 4th of July by the pool of our friends, Scott and Dawn, from Noe Valley whose daughter is a classmate of our daughter. These parties like all Bay Area parties become full of ‘real estate talk’ and discussion and this year was no different. I do believe it highlights another difference between San Franciscans and ‘the rest of the country’ in that even throughout all the ups and downs in real estate we’re still ‘real estate centric’.

This real estate focus is due to an number of reasons but I believe the limited availability and heightened pricing push it to the forefront. I’ve also recently returned from visiting family in West Texas and there prices have stayed the same for decades. West Texas real estate just plods along and folks don’t have a comparable awareness. San Franciscans are keenly aware of the market and as I described to one acquaintance at the pool party they’re like ‘cats on the prowl’ whether or not they’re planning to do anything ‘now’ they’re still out on the prowl.

Topics that hit the top of the real estate talk list were current appraisal practices and the fall-out from them, neighborhood valuation differnces and coporate relocation recommendations.  These very specific topics brought out everyone’s opinions and experiences and were not only lively but fun to hear. If you have some specific incidents you’d like to share drop me a line and I’ll put them up here for conversation.

All the Best for a Great Week…..Lance