Category: Neighborhoods

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San Francisco’s Hottest Neighborhoods: Not Where You Might Think

Noe Valley? Bernal Heights?  Those are so yesterday.  Maybe you’re thinking Bayview/Hunter’s Point as people search out more affordable housing at the city’s edges.

Well, you’re right about the edge but wrong about the direction.  Based on our recent analyses, San Francisco’s “hottest” neighborhoods are also some of its foggiest: go west to the Sunset and its more southerly counterpart, Parkside.

Now admittedly, together these comprise a lot of smaller neighborhoods.  Many would object to, say, the Inner Sunset with its vibrant retail scene centered on 9th Ave and Irving, being lumped in with the quieter environs of the Outer Sunset.  Fair enough:  our analysis is really of MLS Districts, rather than individual neighborhoods, but it’s no less telling for that. Continue reading “San Francisco’s Hottest Neighborhoods: Not Where You Might Think”

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Special Report: Noe Valley Homes

NoeValleyMore High Priced Homes Than Any Other Neighborhood

While its homes may not generally be as grand as those of Pacific and Presidio Height or St. Francis Woods, no neighborhood in the city comes close to matching the number of $2 – $4 million sales that occur in Noe Valley and its environs. Admittedly, part of the reason is that the Noe Valley and surrounds is large geographically compared to those other neighborhoods, so you’d expect there simply to be more sales. But, as any one who has tried to buy a home in Noe Valley will tell you, homes here are expensive – period.
Continue reading “Special Report: Noe Valley Homes”

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West Portal, Quiet, and Happy To Be Unnoticed

Photos and content regarding retail activities in West Portal have been generously provided by LostinSF.com, the only French-American insider’s guide to San Francisco and the Bay Area. The French version of this article can be found here.

 

Named after the western entrance to a transit tunnel completed a century ago, the quiet neighborhood of West Portal is proud of having been overlooked by much of the frenzied redevelopment going on in many other parts of San Francisco. No big white Google or Apple buses prowl the streets here.  You want bars filled with 20 somethings ordering $12 cocktails and artisan beers?  Head downhill to the warmer climes of the Mission.  Here, in the foggy western shadow of San Continue reading “West Portal, Quiet, and Happy To Be Unnoticed”

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That’s Bernal with an “A”.

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I’ve been making the case recently that SF’s enormous run-up in prices has caused formerly overlooked or “B” neighborhoods to suddenly become the latest battlegrounds in the bidding wars. The reasons’s simple: with more and more people priced out of their first choice neighborhoods, they are increasingly moving on to their second and even third or fourth choices.

Bernal Heights has always had its charms — fine weather, great views, and pretty good freeway access, depending on where you are. But, with its wicked-narrow streets and generally modest housing stock, it’s often been seen as the poor cousin to Noe Valley or even Potrero Hill.

Not any more, apparently. According to this recent article at SFGATE, Bernal Heights was just picked as THE hottest neighborhood in THE COUNTRY, according to Redfin, the national real estate brokerage company. They based their findings on such metrics as how often their users saved Bernal Heights homes to their “favorites” list, how often the area was searched, etc. That sort of attention has resulted in a median sales price increase of 38.2%, according to Redfin. Our own numbers come in at a more believable 20.3% change for the average home price.

Bernal Heights

Still, there’s no doubt that Bernal Heights has finally “arrived” as a neighborhood.

So from now on, spell Bernal with an “A.”

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Fiesta On the Hill – October 20, 2013

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Fiesta on the Hill is a community based, high-profile and energetic Festival with an attendance of over 20,000 friends and neighbors from San Francisco’s Bernal Heights area, neighboring communities and the greater Bay Area. The event is in its 25th year and continues to grow and enhance the ethnic, cultural and economic diversity of the Bernal Heights District of San Francisco and surrounding neighborhoods.

Presented by the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center, an organization devoted to community action, equity and justice in the Bernal Heights area, the 25th annual Fiesta is an alcohol free event that emphasizes the importance of well being to the vitality of the neighborhood. The event includes a petting zoo, pony rides, a pumpkin patch, non-profit booths, live music on two stages, great food and a great sense of healthy, inclusive community.

Sunday, October 20, 2013 from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM PST
Cortland Avenue from Bocana Avenue to Folsom Street, Bernal Heights, San Francisco
No admission fee

For more information go to www.sresproductions.com/fiestaonthehill.html

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Heat Map of Changes since 2006-2008 Peak Values

Heat Map of San Francisco Median Home Price Changes

Percentage Changes since 2006-2008 Peak of Market
Range from 25% Below to 25% Above Previous Peak Values

August 2013 Market Report

1

This heat map compares 2013 2nd quarter or 1st half median home sales prices – for houses, condos, co-ops and TICs combined – with those at the peak value time prior to the recent market recovery. Previous peak value times vary by neighborhood: typically, the least affluent neighborhoods hit peak prices in 2006 and also fell the most, percentage-wise, during the crash, falling 25% to 50%. These neighborhoods were most affected by the subprime and distressed-property sales crises. The mid-affluent neighborhoods peaked in 2007, and usually declined in value in the 20% to 25% range. And the most affluent areas reached peak values last, in the first half of 2008 prior to the September 2008 crash: Their fall in value ranged approximately 15% to 20% from 2008 peak to 2010-2011 nadir.

Generally speaking, when the market began to turn around in late 2011/early 2012, the last neighborhoods to fall were the first to recover, followed by the mid-affluent and then the less affluent areas. This link goes to our full report and an explanation of the analysis:
Heat Map Report

2All-Cash Home Sales
All-cash buyers come in three main categories: the first group consists of investors buying foreclosed-upon properties, often during trust-deed auctions on the “courthouse steps.” The Blackrock Group alone has purchased over 20,000 distressed homes across the country, which they usually fix up and rent out. Other investors buy, fix up and re-sell, or just buy, wait and flip (as the market recovers). The second category of all-cash buyers consists of people who always purchase their homes without financing: These often very affluent buyers have always been around to one extent or another. And the last category of all-cash buyers are those who prefer to finance their home purchases but have enough cash available to buy without financing: In the hope of winning in a competitive bidding situation, they make all-cash offers in order to appeal to sellers. This link goes to our full report:
All-Cash Buyers

3Homes With and Without Parking
The vast majority of San Francisco home sales include at least one on-site parking space in the sale, and 80% – 90% of buyers put parking on their must-have list when searching for a new home. That doesn’t mean that a home without parking cannot sell at a good price, but it does mean that on average it will take somewhat longer to sell, as well as selling at a lesser price than a comparable home with parking. It’s difficult to calculate the exact value differential between homes with and without on-site parking for a number of reasons. This link goes to our full report:
The Value of Parking

4Renting vs. Buying in San Francisco
We’ve updated two analyses regarding the financials of renting vs. buying in San Francisco. This is the first part of our calculations regarding 2-bedroom units, comparing the median condo sales price with the average apartment asking rent. (We also did one for 3-bedroom houses.) These calculations depend to a large degree on one’s financial assumptions and projections. For our complete analysis:
Rent vs. Buy – 2-Bedroom

5Largest SF Home Sales YTD
Looking at SF home sales reported to MLS by July 31, this chart shows the largest sales by neighborhood for properties selling for $3,500,000 or more. This link goes to our chart on sales below $3.5m:
Largest Home Sales, Chart 2

 
 
6Victorian & Edwardian Architecture in San Francisco
In case you missed our recent article using information and photos by SF architect James Dixon, here is a fascinating timeline and this link goes to the complete, well-illustrated article on the different Victorian and Edwardian architectural home styles prevalent in the city:
Victorian-Edwardian Architecture

 
 
7San Francisco Transportation Report
We recently stumbled across the annual report of the city’s Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) and charted some of its most interesting facts. This chart illustrates the (staggering) number of citations issued by violation, and this link goes to all 5 of our charts:
SF MTA Report