San Francisco Real Estate Properties

Marina neighbors know and?tourist’s books show that there is an?island on the Lagoon at the Palace of Fine Arts.?

Yet, it is worth knowing what the coveted 2000 block of Jefferson has been touting for decades…and that is, there is another island in the Marina District of San Francisco.

Over the years, these neighbors have shared and accumulated?documentation showing that they are living on top of an?”ancient island” that was mapped as early as?1789,? just off of?”Wash Woman Cove”.

These neighbors know the “ancient island” as “Strawberry Island” surrounded by an estuary to the West and South West and the Bay to the North and North East?extending over portions of 10 blocks in the?Marina.?

The National Geologic Map Data Base for the Marina also shows “Strawberry Island” as “Qb” made up of coarse gravel and large cobble stones.

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This little bit of Marina trival is worth?knowing, if you live on “Strawberry Island”.

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It is May… and finally at last, the?”jumbo conforming” loans (up to $729,750) are now available and ironically just as?the new?appraisal rules (for lending) come into play this month.?

On the Northside of San Francisco the median asking price for Condos?is now $1,095,000 and for Homes, it is now?$3,495,000.

For stellar buyers that have been eyeing?prime located Condos and/or Homes in “done” condition?on the Northside of San Francisco, they are?now able to take full advantage of? a “jumbo conforming” loan (up to) $729,750 at an?attractive rate below 5% that the Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac “conforming” loans (up to $417,000)?have been touting?for some time now this year.

Under Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac guidelines on the Northside of San Francisco:

29 Condos out of 179 Condos on the market have asking prices of $556,000 or less. Buyers for these 29 Condos are able to take full advantage of the lowest interest rates with 25% down payment and the “conforming” loan amount of $417,000.

An additional 52 Condos out of 179 Condos on the market have asking prices between $556,000 and $973,000.? Buyers for these 52 Condos are?able to take?full advantage of the lowest interest rates with 25% down payment and the?”jumbo conforming” loan of $719,750.

There is only one home out of 64 homes on the market is?asking price below $912,000 for Buyers to?take full advantage of the lowest interest rates with 20% down payment using the “jumbo conforming” loan amount of $719,750.

With the new appraisal rules, appraisers will be an “arms-distance” from the lender and a “done” condition will be a Seller’s best defense in getting an accepted offer closed.

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San Francisco’s tide is changing,?the sky is clearing, and spring is in the air. It’s time to quit?stretching…and getting ready to get ready.? It’s?time to get off the mark…

Listen to this video?(below) to understand that multiple buyers in San Francisco are?no longer waiting to?get ready?and now are taking action.?

Real Estate Rebound Video from CBS5.com

Only one lucky Buyer bought each of these homes…leaving all these other Buyers still wanting to buy and ready to buy.

With this upsurge of 1st time Buyers’ demand in San Francisco, now is the time to do your homework,?get qualified, and be ready to?get what you want.

The tide is changing in San Francisco, the sun is coming out, spring is in the air…get going!

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Let’s put?waiting?at the fence?and affordability in perspective.

Historically speaking the affordability standard?has never?changed over the years for 1st time Buyers.?

What did change is those Buyers with no money (that bought in recent years) had a short time view on a long term investment.

Affordability?has always been reflected in?a comfortable monthly mortgage payment with?an initial cash investment into the property (i.e. down payment) and the peace of mind of?an interest rate?that is within one’s means now and for?the long term.

Today’s 1st time Buyers have a lot more going for them by getting off the fence?with lower interest rates, the federal government paying them to buy before 12/01/09 with a $8,000 tax credit,?and affordable prices.??

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So far this year…1st time Buyers looking at Open Houses on the Northside of San Francisco may be finding the 1+ Bedroom condo market below $700,000 a bit complex…

…even if you do the numbers?to check out price per square feet, days on the market/when properties came on the? market, original price?/current price, built date, …etc. etc. etc.??

This is not an ordinary market on the Northside of San Francisco. And Buyers that are really seriously looking to buy and do not have an agent yet…need an “experienced” agent?early on.

At my Open Houses now, I have set up an easel to show 1st time Buyers the opportunities they are not recognizing for themselves.

Cutting through the numbers on a spreadsheet and visiting open houses is worth the time in recognizing this rare moment in time for 1st time Buyers on the Northside of San Francisco.

Yet,?there are actually 3 markets for one bedroom condos on?the North side of the city…

… and without recognizing these 3 markets, one will not to?see the “real values” of buying in?the one bedroom condo market?on the Northside of San Francisco.

Market One – New construction with & without parking located on the edges of the Northside of San Francisco.?

Market Two – Condos without parking or with only leased parking available are generally considered the lower end of the market.

Market Three- Condos with parking (deeded) that is included in the price of the condo?tend to have the highest resale value of all three markets.

Recognizing the?”real value” of?each of these one bedroom markets is important and more important is, “What do you want that you don’t have now?”

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At my last two Sunday?Open Houses?in Pacific Heights (East)…

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…the weather has been overcast or rainy and yet Buyers are out there looking and they are not just coming in from?my open house?signs scattered along the four neighborhood commerical areas.

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Buyers?are wondering?whether to wait or to buy now.?

And I have had to ask…waiting for what?

Waiting for a bargain? vs. finding a home on the North side of the city?now???

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Waiting for where?the market?bottoms out vs.?investing in?”Location, Location, Location” in?our great city?

Note that property values are holding their own – see circled neighborhood?areas on map above and below.

Waiting for prices to rise vs. finding the value of a home now?

Waiting for multiple offers again vs. writing an offer without the competition now?

Waiting for the interest rates to rise?vs. getting tax deductions now??

Waiting until it is too late to meet the deadline?to use the?1st time Buyer’s stimulus tax credit package vs. taking advantage of?this $8,000 one-time incentive now?

When is waiting better, if you can get what you want now?

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“How long has this place been on the market?”…is by far the most asked question at an Open House.

When, in fact, the real question is?related to price and condition questions:

1.?? “How much time do I have to get my offer together?”

2.?? “Why is this property still available?”

3.?? “What is?wrong with this property?”

In today’s market, the how long is “long” is now more a statement of?today’s economy and less about “price”, in “move-in” or “brand-new” condition, and/or it’s “a fixer”.

“Long” has to do?more with most people won’t take the risk in getting?what they want.?

With the risks of today’s?economy, come the opportunities of?cheap interest rates,?affordable prices, more pristine properties,? Federal and California State 1st time Buyer incentives, and less competition from other Buyers.

The real question is “How ‘long’ will it take for?Buyers to?realize that the opportunities?of?owning a home?in San Francisco are here and they are able to get what they want today ?”

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If ?”to be smart” means?staying put,?playing it safe, and waiting to see and do?what “everyone” else is doing…than smart?they are.

And if? “to be smart” is to be “everyone” that won’t do what it takes to get what they want until “everyone else” is?getting it….than again smart they are.

The?”smart” time to buy?would be?when there are historically low interest rates?coupled with a Buyers’ market in San Francisco…and “everyone”? thought?that will never happen in their life time.

The opportunity to?own apart of?San Francisco is right here and now for those that are “just smart”!?

Follow the signs…

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That?is a good question…even for locals. This is an area that has been described in tourist books as?Nob Hill, yet anyone in the know…knows this area is not “Nob Hill”.

For those that know the answer to “Where? is “Pacific Heights (East)”, ?it is also the answer to “Where is the essence of San Francisco’s ‘city living’, ‘a walkable neighborhood’ and ‘places to hang out in’?”…

The newly named “Pacific Heights (East)” neighborhood runs?West to East from?Van Ness to Larkin and?North to South from Broadway to California between Polk Street’s Neighborhood Commerical Area.

Come by and see for yourself…you will want to live here!

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In San Francisco, if a 2 unit building is being sold as 2?”vacant” units with no?past tenant issues?- the highest possible price for a Seller is to sell to?two owner-occupier Tenant-In-Common (TIC) Buyers with both TIC Buyers looking for the upside potential of condo converting the property after one year of?owner-occupier TIC ownership.??

As a Seller’s agent, I would?market the property 3 ways to attract 2-TIC Buyers, investors, and owner-occupiers with an income producing unit:

1. Two separate TIC units with two distinct “for sale” prices for each of the 2-units in the building.
2. One?2 unit building with combined for sale prices of the 2-TIC units in the building.

What gets tricky is how a Seller’s agent reports the sale prices accurately?on the MLS at the close of escrow???without reporting all three sales prices (i.e. the 2 TIC sale prices and the one 2-unit building).?

Many times, I see with the San Francisco MLS, seller????s agents reporting that their 2-unit property was withdrawn from the MLS and the 2-TICs are reported as sold on the MLS with two sales prices.?

And then, many of these?online public websites show the property????s sales price from the public records as a 2 unit building sold while other websites will show that there were 2 sales at on the property, yet not differentiating whether these two sales were?condos or TICs sales.

Thus a 2-unit vs. the TIC?market analysis both become rather complicated to determine whether a property is over or under valued to the for the unlearned, the novice, or misinformed.

The treat is understanding the value of buying?a 2 unit building and the upside potential of buying in this market.

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