I recently attended the Luxury Marketing Council of San Francisco’s event hosted by Gaul Searson showroom in the Design Center. There the Harrison Group presented their Annual Survey of Affluence and Wealth in America and summarized highlights from their recently published book, The New Elite…Inside the Minds of the Truly Wealthy.
It was an extremely informative presentation which I captured some of for your viewing. I hope you enjoy it.
418 Liberty Street, San Francisco
The house at 418 Liberty in the desirable Dolores Heights neighborhood hit the market at $2,395,000 and really needs a full interior remodel but due to the desirability of the location, views, overall size and relatively good condition, it garnered 5 offers (4 were all cash, I was told).
Noe Valley’s location, weather and overall desirability continue to push it to the top of the City’s list for home buyers. The buyers I’m encountering in the $2million+ price range are comprised of a majority of folks from out of the area. I would say North side families head the list followed by folks moving into San Francisco for the first time or returning.
If you’re not familiar with Noe Valley, check it out on Nabewise. com or better yet spend an afternoon along 24th Street or at one of the local parks. And if you’d like some first hand information, give me a call.
All the Best,
Lance
415-793-6140
I polled all attendees to my open house today and the results are continuing to run fairly consistently: print advertising appears dead. I did have one person in two weeks say they saw the newspaper ad but the largest numbers are coming in with their agents or told by their agents (30%); online ads (25%); signs (25%); neighbors (10%) and then those invited by me (10%).
This continually speaks to how the public receives and uses information and where sellers should make sure they’re present. The old school history in me pulls me toward print but even when you pick up one of the free-bees like ‘The Real Estate Times of San Francisco’ it’s a ghost of what it was in its hey-day.
So the next time you’re searching for real estate, I know you’ll start ‘on-line’….just like me.
All the Best,
Lance
415-793-6140
I recently met with a young couple who called on one of my listings. I met them one evening to show the house and heard their situation. They were out to look at ‘everything’ and were ‘on their own’ without an agent relying on what they could locate on the internet. They stated that their motivation was driven by the fact that the wife’s sister had bought a house in Marin for $800,000 below asking by representing herself and they wanted the same great ‘deal’.
465 Hoffman
My immediate thought regarding her sister’s great deal was that she actually paid ‘market’ rate or above but ‘thought’ she got a great deal. Let’s look at the facts as presented. If the house her sister had bought had been on the market for months and hadn’t sold and then the sister made what she ‘thought’ was a low ball offer and the seller took it – then the house actually sold for market. In many instances, several I know of here in San Francisco, specific homes that have been listed have dropped their respective prices by that much or more before they sold. If her sister bought it ‘off market’ she may actually have paid a couple hundred thousand more than the $1million off that should have occurred because it wasn’t market tested. 465 Hoffman in Noe Valley started out last year at $3.9million and was only lowered to $3million this month when it finally sold. Anyone who had made an offer while it was ‘off market’ over the Christmas holidays, let’s say at $3.4million, would have thought they’d made the ‘deal’ of a lifetime but actually paid $400,000 too much.
Secondly, the belief that you’ll get a better deal as a buyer by working with the listing agent runs counter to the actual mechanics of the transaction. Without your own ‘representation’, the seller will more than likely – in my 20 years of experience – take the same price that they would even if you had your own agent ( because remember the seller is tied to the sales price the majority of the time) and pocket the increase due to any reduced commission with the listing agent. The buyer has just lost their best resource, their own representative in the transaction. Would you do your own surgery? No, you’d rely on an expert with countless hours of experience, history in the field and connections within the industry. These are the intangibles that buyers often discount but can gain hugely from with the right agent (these provide good measuring sticks when looking for an agent of your own).
Just yesterday (see the previous) posting, I had called on the 15th Avenue house for my clients. The listing agent said that they had received 5 offers and were in counter and were going to make a decision the next day. I said that the house was still in play and I wanted to show my buyers that evening so they would be able to make an offer should they decide to move forward. Because I have experience with the listing agent, she agreed and understood that I was being an aggressive advocate for my buyers. She gave me some limited information on the situation however in discussing it with my business partner, Dan Marshall, we discovered he had been in conversation with an agent that was one of the five offers so then I had the complete picture for my buyers and now knew the counter price which was right on the nose for what I had told my buyers my best guess was at price, $900,000. This is an example of what a buyer can gain from the ‘intangibles’ of an experienced agent with countless hours of experience and connections within the industry.
418 Liberty, San Francisco
While the buyers were touring my listing describing how they were on their own and relying on whatever they could come up with on Google and wanted to see everything, these thoughts of connections and representation where going through my head. They had no idea – because they didn’t have their own tied in representative – that at that very moment a new listing was being launched within the neighborhood at an evening reception at 418 Liberty because it hadn’t formally been listed. 418 Liberty priced at $2.395million went into contract in less than a week so chances are they didn’t see it. Again, they lost out on knowing all the nuances of a neighborhood or area that don’t show up on the internet.
In closing, my best advice is to make sure you’ve accurately measured ‘the deal’ and make sure you have the best representation.
‘Til Next Time,
Lance
415-793-6140
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSemV5HOz0E]
The iconic San Francisco neighborhood at the very, very top of Clarendon Heights built in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s with street names like St. Germain Avenue, Mt. Spring Avenue and Palo Alto Avenue with panoramic bridge-to-bridge views and made famous in the 1962 film, Experiment in Terror, one of the first ’stalker’ films staring Lee Remick who’s character lived at 100 St. Germain Avenue will soon have a number of new listings hit the market practically all at once.
50 Palo Alto Avenue, San Francisco, California
My source tells me that both houses at #20 and #30 Palo Alto will be coming on the market as well as two other homes in the neighborhood. And the price range of the homes will be between $2.8million to over $4million. The most recent sales were two homes that sold in December. #50 Palo Alto was remodeled and asked $1.75mil and sold for over $1.87mil. And a custom 1950’s home belonging to the former owner of Hearth Real Estate on Castro Street was asking $1.595mil and sold for $1.7mil.
166 Palo Alto Avenue, San Francisco, California
The new prices are a far cry from those ‘bargins’. And with such an increase in supply, we’ll see what the overall effect will be. Is it just a Spring market increase or are some residents needing to ‘readjust their financial position’ in light of the ‘new reality’? Only time will tell. But, I’ll keep you posted.
All the Best,
Lance
415-793-6140
The Living Room of 622 27th Street
Sunday I was holding my listing at 622 27th Street open between 1pm and 4pm while a steady rain covered the City and the attendance was brisk…to my surprise. This home is listed at $2.229million and is a gorgeous example of contemporary architecture with downtown views. In fact, every Sunday for the last 6 that I’ve been open have all be very well attended. Today with attendance high despite the rain I was convinced I was seeing a strong market in action.
The Kitchen at 70 Valley Street
My business partner, Dan Marshall, was at our new listing at 70 Valley Street, a newly completed townhouse listed at $1.25million. He reported high attendance as well. He also told me he spoke to a woman who said she was looking for a home between $1.5million and $2million and that she couldn’t find anything. That price point has become the real sweet spot in Noe Valley/Eureka Valley and throughout most of the popular South-Central neighborhoods. Multiple offers are entering our real estate jargon again more and more regularly.
Today, Sunday, I conducted a poll of attendees on how they found my open house. The largest percentage, 40%, came in off of the signs I had placed in the neighborhood. The next highest number, 25%, were from the internet. So the two least expensive means of advertising brought in the highest number of attendees. As for quality of attendees, I’m sure the internet will be the winner. We have one of those circling the property at the moment so we’ll see how it ends up. I’ll keep you posted.
All the Best,
Lance
415-793-6140
1100 Union Street, San Francisco
The big news this weeks is the ever shrinking inventory level for the City. I had read that the 21st Century will be the ‘Urban Century’ and that may very well pull us out of any economic deficiencies much earlier than other areas. Unit 400 at 1100 Union, the posh coop on Russian Hill, went into contract last night for what I was told was $1,995,000 – just shy of asking price.
70 Valley Street, San Francisco
There have been a number of homes in District 5 (Noe Valley, et. al.) in the $2mil range that have gone under contract in the past week and more buyers are circling. My listing at 70 Valley Street, the newly completed Noe Valley townhouse was swamped with lookers last Sunday and on Brokers’ Tour, is being shown as I type this and I’ve been told there is another party close to writing a contract.
We received a contract on our listing at 366 Sanchez which will be presented tonight.
1793 Sanchez, San Francisco
And, we have a new listing at 1793 Sanchez coming on the market next Tuesday. It is a Victorian home with legal one-bedroom apartment for $1,250,000.
We have a chic Russian Hill coop with views of Alcatraz pocket listing. And, we have a couple of single family homes which will be coming on the market soon in Noe Valley.
Call me if you’re considering making a change. I just spoke with a client today who is planning to take advantage of the low inventory situation and sell. And we’re working with another who is making the decision to rent. There’s lots of movement out there so make sure you’re armed with all the information prior to making a decision.
All the Best,
Lance
415-793-6140
1188 Lombard
An exciting week in Bagdad-by-the-Bay, I toured the Mediterranean Villa at 1188 Lombard which is nice but the owners’ art collection is fantastic. And, I thought it extremely interesting that he/she is moving into the Millenium Tower on Mission Street from this ‘oh-so’ upscale address on Russian Hill. Looks like they’re moving to where the ‘action is’. Good for them and good for the City.
1896 Pacific Penthouse Suite
I went through the penthouse 1 bedroom condo at 1896 Pacific asking $4,495,000 and was a bit confused by the floor plan but expect this one to go to someone as a peit-a-terre. It has great decks and views and would be a great party pad but I’m not so sure about that price tag. It’s a ’spec’ for a local stager. Only time will tell on the pricing.
465 Hoffman
Over in Noe Valley, the second house in less than a week priced at $3million plus has gone under contract. That just continues to show you the strength of the market on the South side of the City. This is also the area that is projected to have the biggest appreciation going forward from the reading I’ve been doing. Location, location, location which is attached to all those jobs down the peninsula and in the fast growing pharmaceutical circle around the UCSF Medical Research campus. Looks to me like the energetic center of the City is really shifting this time……if those hob-nobbers on the Northern Hills are leaving for the Southland with a Mission Street address you know something is different.
245 Randall
The lower end of the spectrum is moving too….245 Randall asking $799,000 had 7 confirmed offers on Tuesday afternoon. Woo hoo!
That’s a short re-cap.
All the Best,
Lance
919 Sanchez, San Francisco
A smaller remodeled Noe Valley Victorian within walking distance of 24th Street and priced just under $1million…received 5 offers this past Thursday. I was told the price “did not break $1.1million.
The market is clearly responding to well priced properties in good locations. This property had been remodeled and was limited with only one bathroom but overall it is a free-standing single family home in a great neighborhood and the market responded.
Drop me a comment or a question here or at my email, lfulford@apr.com.
All the Best,
Lance
41 Cumberland, San Francisco
“Shocked” is the response I had … to learning that a newly completed and expanded home asking $3,395,000 received an offer yesterday..why? you may ask…because it is located on Cumberland between Dolores and Guerrero. Granted it is large…with some nice finishes but I believed it was $1mil over priced. If you strictly go by square footage cost…which in the case of a newly remodeled home with no architectural integrity and no view I don’t believe is necessarily a wrong way of approaching it (I was a commercial appraiser’s assistant during my corporate real estate analyst days)…the house comes out at close to $900/sq ft. Well, if it closes it’ll be great for the seller and great for the neighborhood….just goes to show you that those strong tech earnings are making their way back into the economy. I’ll keep you posted as I hear more on this one.
All the Best,
Lance
