Avram Goldman, President and COO of Coldwell Banker, San Francisco Bay Area said in his latest weekly report:

“The market for the week of Nov. 6th-12th is like the title of Richie Havens’ first album—’Mixed Bag’.

“Open home activity has slowed in about half of our areas and still active in the other half. San Francisco and San Mateo counties are still seeing numerous multiple offer transactions with few exceptions—only Half Moon Bay, Palo Alto Midtown and Woodside did not have multiple offers. In San Francisco Lakeside office, of the 16 closed escrows—10 went over full price, 2 at full price and 4 went under list price. This is more the exception rather than the rule for the Bay Area, but it does show that San Francisco is the strongest of our market areas.

“On the Monterey Peninsula the most affordable areas of Seaside and Marina are the slowest. This is also true of a many markets in the East Bay and Sonoma county. Inventories in these price ranges are larger than in the others.

“We are seeing more bottom feeders—-those buyers that are going in well under asking price and hoping for a desperate seller. This is potentially a very positive sign. In past correcting markets this usually indicates that we are in the bottom of the trough.

“Price reductions are eliciting offers. In some cases when a seller reduces to market price, they are receiving multiple offers. Patience is a key for sellers. It is taking longer to garner an offer. Once there is an offer it is taking time to negotiate between buyer and seller. This is indicative of a balanced market, the kind of market harkening back to 1996 and 1997.

“We are observing the market gearing down as we approach the holidays. There is one consistent trend we have been noticing for several weeks and that is shrinking inventories. This trend is Bay Area wide. Fewer listings are coming on the market and a number of sellers who do not have an immediate motivation for selling are taking their homes off the market. This will have a positive impact on the supply/demand ratio over time. If this direction continues, it will create a greater sense of urgency among buyers. That is why now is an advantageous time for buyers—lowest interest rates in the last 10 months, good supply of inventory to choose from and the ability to negotiate with sellers.

“Here are the numbers for the week: 3 offices reported increasing inventories, 10 steady and 18 decreasing—- 5 offices showed increasing sales activity, 15 steady and 11 decreasing.

“Have a wonderful and warm Thanksgiving. We have so much to be grateful for.”

- Avram Goldman

* For an e-mail alert when this report is updated, send a note to info@SFResidence.com with “weekly market report” in the subject line.

Bernal Heights as described on the SFGate neighborhood guide:

“Many San Franciscans never travel to Bernal Heights, located as it is at the southern edge of the Mission valley, served by only a few city bus lines and perched atop a steep hill, to boot. Those who do wander up the incline may be surprised by this quaint urban village that seems forgotten by time. The main shopping strip of Cortland Avenue is populated by small markets, cafés, fruit stands and barber shops, and the residential streets are a cluster of diminutive bungalows and community gardens. However, Bernal Heights bears the influence of city sophistication, with trendy boutiques and innovative restaurants scattered among its homely storefronts. Newcomers may also be startled by the mostly unheralded views that unfold at their feet, especially on the northern side of the hill.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Other highlights on this page include:

• Getting there
• Sights and Culture
• Shopping
• Restaurants
• Nightlife

For more information on other neighborhoods and street maps visit our website.

- Mick Orton

Previous Neighborhoods:

Previous Neighborhoods

A reader asks:

Is it possible to convert a 2 unit building into a single family? Related question: What about a 2 unit condominium?

Our reply:

It is very difficult to convert a 2 unit building into a single family. San Francisco politics is predisposed to tenants and not reducing the housing stock by any means. However, if the property was once a single family home and no tenants were displaced you might have a chance at the conversion. I would definitely consult with a lawyer who specializes in Planning and Building department issues. By paying for a consultation you could at least get an idea if your situation is feasible and if it is worth the time and effort necessary when you try to do any changes in occupancy in San Francisco.

If the building is 2 flats over a basement and garage, another possibility is to convert the top two floors into a single family and put the 2nd unit in the basement (or area behind the garage). Of course you have to be careful of the size of the units. The City does not always allow you to replace a 2 bedroom unit with a studio apartment. The 2nd unit usually needs to be a similar size to the previously existing unit.

I had a 2 unit building in Noe Valley, one unit on each floor and a garage underneath. I demolished that property and built a 2 story “house” in the place of the 2 apartments, then made the 2nd unit a large studio with a kitchen and bath downstairs that could also be used with the 2 story unit if the new owner wanted to do so. The buyer is using it as a single family with the studio as a family room. The architect was very good about the design so that it could be used either way.

If you want to see pictures of that property go to our website and look at sold properties– the address is 946-948 Elizabeth Street.

If the property is a condominium I would guess that your chances are even less to get it officially designated as a single family. What some people do is use the property as a single family (convert the kitchen into a wet bar or just have an extra kitchen) but retain the 2 unit status so that when they sell it the option for separate units is still possible, thus making it more desirable.

- Janis Stone

Every year it is a good idea to do a home inspection for leaks, cracks and other blemishes that could cause you problems down the road. Here is a PDF checklist you can use to help you do the job.

To save to your hard drive, right click on this link and choose “Save Target as”. We hope you will find it useful. It may also be found on our website on the Service Links page.

- Janis Stone

A reader asks:

We are thinking about doing a remodel on our vintage home. In reality the whole place needs to be updated, but we have heard some things are better to remodel, especially when considering resale value. We probably won’t sell for a few years, so where is the best place to spend our money to give us the greatest value?

Our reply:

Please refer to our July 15 article.

- Janis Stone

The Marina as described on the SFResidence neighborhood guide:

“Marina – Cow Hollow In the 1800′s vegetable gardens and dairy farms in Cow Hollow feed the citizens of the then perceived remote city near by, San Francisco. Close by was the underwater soon to be land filled district that housed the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition. A magnificent structure, the Palace of Fine Arts, designed by Bernard Maybeck stands today. Filled with many Mediterranean-style flats and apartments, the once sleepy commercial street Chestnut St. is now the busy commercial thoroughfare on which many small restaurants, old deli’s, upscale retail stores such as Pottery Barn preside. The Marina greens give way to kite flying, volleyball games, endless dog walkers, a nest where many of the privileged can dock their sailboats at the St. Francis Yacht Club and breathtaking views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin County.”

The San Francisco Chronicle describes The Marina as, “The story of San Francisco’s Marina District is the story of land and water repeatedly and dramatically altered by nature and by human development.

“Eight thousand years ago, American Indians lived on the dunes and near the tidal marshlands that today are the sites of apartment buildings, luxurious homes and some of the city’s trendiest shops and restaurants. When the Spanish arrived here in 1776 and established the Presidio — on the Marina’s western border — the marshlands looked pretty much the same as they would over a century later, in 1906, when the city of San Francisco was shaken and then burned by its first devastating earthquake and the resulting fire.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Other highlights on this page include:

• Sights and Culture
• Shopping
• Restaurants
• Nightlife

For more information on other neighborhoods and street maps visit our website.

- Mick Orton

Previous Neighborhoods:

Previous Neighborhoods

Our office at TRI Coldwell Banker at 1699 Van Ness in San Francisco is one of the premier offices in the City. We have some of the top agents selling real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a result, our office posts some impressive numbers.

Once again the new listings are few. Most of the pending sales come from our agents representing buyers. It will be interesting to see what the sales figures look like in 2 weeks when meetings resume after Thanksgiving. We should begin to see the holiday slowdown.

11/15/06

• 4 new listings (average listing price $1,659,500)
• 11 ratified sales (pending) (average ratified price $1,461,727 )
• 10 closed sales (sold) (average closed price $1,196,450)
• 0 reduced

- Mick Orton

A reader asks:

I have heard of a TIC Trap. What is this and how can I avoid it?

Our reply:

One form of a TIC trap would be the inability to get out of a property when you need to sell. Unless you are able to provide financing it is very difficult to take advantage of any appreciation that might have occurred during your ownership.

Take an example where there is one master loan on the property and interest rates have gone up. This may make it too expensive to refinance in order to accommodate the new buyer. Most TIC agreements provide that you, the seller who needs to do the refinance, must pay for all of the costs of that refinance. At the same time you must also ensure that the monthly payments of the other TIC owners will not go up.

If interest rates are higher than they were at the time the original loan was made, it may not be financially feaseable to refinance. In that case you are stuck with a lower loan to value ratio and needs to find a buyer with more cash. Another option might be to carry the financing, however, in this case you would not be able to get your money out of the property.

Another trap is to depend on your ability to convert to condominiums in a reasonable amount of time. In today’s market it takes 10+ years to qualify and be selected for the condo lottery (as an average) in San Francisco. Unless you are exceedingly lucky and are selected in the first few years, it takes 3 years of owner occupancy, then getting into the lottery where it takes 5+ years to be guaranteed selection, then another year to go through the conversion process.

I think these are going to be major problems with TIC’s as the financial markets change.

- Janis Stone

Once again it is a case of the inmates running the asylum as most of San Francisco voters, who are renters, passed the ironically named Proposition H (not Preparation H) which will require property owners to pay outrageously high expenses to “eligible tenants” for no-fault evictions. Is it any surprise that more and more property owners are going out of the rental business? It is our opinion that tenants are only hurting themselves in the long run as the supply of good rental units continue to disappear from the market.

Section 37.9C of the Rent Ordinance is set forth in the paragraphs below:

• Each eligible tenant receiving a covered no-fault eviction notice shall receive $4,500, $2,250 of which shall be paid at the time of the service of the notice to quit, and $2,250 of which shall be paid when the unit is vacated. In no case, however, shall the landlord be obligated under this Section 37.9C (e) (1) to provide more than $13,500 in relocation expenses to all eligible tenants in the same unit.
• In addition, each eligible tenant who is 60 years of age or older or who is disabled within the meaning of Section 12955.3 of the California Government Code, and each household with at least one eligible tenant and at least one child under the age of 18 years, shall be entitled to receive an additional payment of $3,000, $1,500 of which shall be paid within 15 calendar days of the landlord’s receipt of notice from the eligible tenant of entitlement to the relocation payment, along with supporting evidence, and $1,500 of which shall be paid when the eligible tenant vacates the unit. Within 30 days after notification to the landlord of a claim of entitlement to additional relocation expenses because of disability, age, or having children in the household, the landlord shall give written notice to the Rent Board of the claim for additional relocation assistance and whether or not the landlord disputes the claim.
• Commencing March 1, 2007, the relocation expenses, including the maximum relocation expenses per unit, shall increase annually, rounded to the nearest dollar, at the rate of increase in the “rent of primary residence” expenditure category of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose Region for the preceding calendar year, as that data is made available by the United States Department of Labor and published by the Board.

- Mick Orton

Foster Weeks does a weekly mortgage update.
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“The market has improved over the past week after the big drop from the fall out of the revised Jobs Reports, however is running into technical overhead resistance – meaning that it is more likely that rates in the short term are more likely to go up than down.

“This week is loaded with several hi impact economic reports, so stay tuned and we’ll see where this goes.

“Take 3 minutes to read the details of how this affects the Housing Market – knowledge is power!

“FOR MOST FOLKS, NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS…BUT FOR THE MEDIA, GOOD NEWS IS NOT NEWS AT ALL. – Gloria Borger Isn’t that the truth – and aside from election news, much of this week contained little to no economic news or reports for Traders to chew on. This indeed turned out to be good news for Bonds and home loan rates, which improved over the course of the week, although very slightly.

“A few interesting notes from the week on housing and home loan rates…First, the old ‘Maestro’ himself, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan was in the news, saying the current economic downturn was ‘likely temporary.’ Greenspan also noted the worst of the housing market slump is likely past us. During a Q&A session at the annual Charles Schwab Impact conference in Washington DC, Big Al stated ‘The economy is obviously going through a significant slowing period, which as best I can tell is more than likely temporary. And while the housing market is not out of the woods yet, the current slump may not worsen.’ A little cryptic in his trademark style…but if he’s right, this could point to a good buying opportunity for homes right now.

“Additionally, rumors circulated about some change in direction of China’s massive holdings of foreign exchange reserves – which are mainly ours, in the form of Mortgage Bonds. Remember that their huge appetite for our Bonds has helped keep Bond prices high and home loan rates low. It sounds as if China is looking to diversify the country’s foreign-exchange reserves and is considering ‘various options’, such as trading in some of their hoard of US Dollar-based Bonds – again, such as Mortgage Bonds – in exchange for other foreign currencies and gold. If China is in the process of cashing in some of their Bond holdings, this could pressure Bond pricing lower in time, resulting in higher home loan rates… read on.

- Foster Weeks