We at Coldwell Banker in Northern California have a great story to share with our friends, family and clients about our partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

Over the past 10 years that we have supported Habitat for Humanity, we have raised $1.9 million, helped build 95 homes, volunteered more than 41,000 hours of labor to home construction projects and most importantly, brought so many local families and homes together.

Today, we are launching our 11th annual Habitat for Humanity Raffle. The theme of this year’s campaign is Building Hope for Humanity, because we are truly helping to build hope for deserving families in our community through our work with Habitat for Humanity.

Your challenge this year is to personally raise $100 for Habitat for Humanity. And to help you do that, we are once again offering FREE Habitat for Humanity note cards (available through your Office Administrator or Habitat Champion) that you can send to your friends, family and clients letting them know about our raffle and the work you are doing on behalf of Habitat for Humanity. If you use the note card, be sure to purchase the associated $2 raffle ticket and enclose the stub within the card so your acquaintances can see that you’ve given them the opportunity to win a host of prizes, including the grand prize of $5,000 generously donated by Princeton Capital.

There are a variety of materials now available in the Habitat Hub on myREcafe.com > Marketing > Charities > Habitat for Humanity to help you in your fundraising efforts, including:

2009 fundraiser website – include the link on your personal website, Facebook page or Twitter account to help spread the word about your charitable efforts
Prospecting flyer
Virtual postcard
“How to Get Involved” flyer
Raffle prize list and mini raffle prize list for note cards
And much more!

In addition, we are mixing things up this year with our plans for a Coldwell Banker Blitz Build Week September 21-25. During this week, I and Coldwell Banker Agents, Managers, staff and Support Center employees throughout Northern California will be participating in a local Habitat for Humanity build. It’s going to be a huge event and a lot of fun, and I look forward to building alongside you so get your work boots ready!

We at Coldwell Banker in Northern California are proud of our partnership with Habitat for Humanity and in today’s economy; our continued support of Habitat for Humanity sends a great message to our friends and the public about the character, integrity and compassion of our company

Rick Turley
President

SFResidence is the place to go if you have a question about San Francisco. We have a comprehensive collection of market reports for the San Francisco real estate market, including weekly morgtage, weekly market, weekly TRI Coldwell Banker office and monthly market reports. We also have a monthly newsletter to which you can subscribe! We LOVE talking about ourselves and the market.

If you are looking for information about San Francisco neighborhoods, you will find it on our site, complete with maps and descriptions. And at the bottom of each page are links to school information.

If you live in San Francisco and are looking for interesting things to do, you will find it on our site in the Things to Do area.

We have a San Francisco Multiple Listing Service link on our website so you can search for your own property using any criterion you want.

So why would you go anywhere else to look for information on San Francisco??? Use our search feature to find what you are looking for on our website or our blog!

- Mick Orton
Marketing Director

Lone Mountain as described on the SFResidence neighborhood guide taken from Wikipedia:

“Lone Mountain is… the area immediately surrounding the University of San Francisco campus, to the south of Laurel Heights. It is bordered by Geary Boulevard to the north, Arguello Boulevard to the west, Masonic Avenue to the east, and Fulton Street to the south. Lone Mountain is one of San Francisco’s historic hills. The neighborhood rests on the former location of the Odd Fellows Cemetery, Masonic Cemetery, and Greek Orthodox Cemetery. Graves in these cemeteries, along with most graves in San Francisco, were moved to Colma by the 1940s. Lone Mountain is also home to the Angelo J. Rossi Playground and Rossi Pool at Arguello Boulevard and Anza Street.”For more information on other neighborhoods and street maps visit our website.

- Janis Stone

Previous Neighborhoods

We received an alert from one of our fellow Realtors about a sudden rise in attacks in the Marina. Here are some simple suggestions from the police:

• Do not fight back – they are very dangerous. Pepperspray, etc…is not very helpful in these cases because it could anger them enough to use their weapons.
• Report anything suspicious immediately. Do not go out alone at night. Do not wear flashy clothing, jewelry or brand name clothing.
• Call our neighborhood supervisor Aliota-Pier at 554-7752 and request more police patrols.

What happened to this once safe area? We are told that supervisor Aliota has lent our neighborhood patrol to the Western Addition. A final word of advice; avoid the Walgreens at Divisadero and Lombard at night. Please be safe. 

- Mick Orton

After being a realtor in San Francisco for 32 years I can almost always predict if a particular property is going to appeal to a wide number of buyers, as has happened to Noe Valley. It takes experience in San Francisco real estate to understand the nuances of our market. To a person who does not analyze our market every day it can be confusing. If I were to use a comparative market analysis, I could almost always tell why one sat unsold and others obtained multiple offers.

It is a matter of those factors: timing, market conditions, marketing techniques and how the house is presented. If there are several homes at the same price point with the same amenities then you might not receive as many offers or if the market is slow you might not get offers right away. There is also a big difference in the quality of the marketing by different agents. I cannot predict how fast a house will sell because our market can change very fast. If the interest rates change or if the stock market takes a big correction or if we have an earthquake then all of the predictions can be wrong. However, if no major event happens then preparing the house and marketing it to all of the potential buyer pools is the best way to receive the best price.

An experienced realtor is your best tool since they are in the market every day and can counsel you on changing market conditions and buyer feedback so your expectations are in line with reality.

- Janis Stone

Spring has been hot (market-wise, not weather-wise) and it looks like summer will be even hotter. I can not stress to you how the absence of inventory can cause double-digit appreciation when the few listings we do have sell, and it often creates multiple offer situations.

Every week (tomorrow) on this blog I post the statistics of our TRI Coldwell Banker office on Van Ness which boasts the market share of residential real estate sales for San Francisco. If you are a regular reader, you will see that our pending sales far outpace the number of listings. So even if our agents don’t have the listing, chances are one of us represented the buyer! And in this sellers’ market it takes an experienced Realtor to negotiate the best price for her clients.

A new listing I had in Laurel Heights was marketed for 8 days, received several offers and sold well in excess of the asking price of $1,495,000. The sellers received advice from staging expert, Arthur McLaughlin, and hired him to stage their condo using mostly their own furnishings. We had 2 open houses broker’s tours and then looked at multiple offers. If you have a property you would like to sell, I can advise you on the best way to prepare it for market so you receive the top value. I represented them as buyers in 2001 and when they sold this year, they received close to 10% annual appreciation on their condo. San Francisco real estate is a GREAT INVESTMENT!

- Janis Stone

Cole Valley as described on the SFResidence neighborhood guide:

…while partly in the Haight-Ashbury and part in the Parnassus neighborhoods, Cole Valley has a character all its own.

SFGate says:

…bordered on the west by Stanyan Street and the Sutro Forest, on the south by Tank Hill and on the east by Clayton Street. Residents are largely families and young professionals, though there is no trace of the snootiness that has affected other parts of the city. Most of the businesses in Cole Valley are of the mom-and-pop variety, in lieu of chain stores or franchises, and shop owners are outwardly supportive of each other. Read more here.

Other features include:

• Sights and Culture
• Food and Drink
• Shopping
• Nightlife

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

- Janis Stone

Previous Neighborhoods

Union Square as described on the SFResidence neighborhood guide:

“Union Square, one of San Francisco’s main retail and cultural centers, also refers to the actual park bordered by Geary, Powell, Post and Stockton streets. Set aside as a park in 1850 and named before the start of the Civil War as a tribute to the frequent demonstrations in support of the Union troop, the park got a major renovation and restoration in 2002.”

SFGate says, “For those who come to SF to shop, this is where to start.” Read more here.

Other features include:

• Best time to go
• Sights and Culture
• Galleries
• Restaurants
• Shopping
• Nightlife

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

- Janis Stone

Previous Neighborhoods

The Outer Sunset/West Portal as described on the SFResidence neighborhood guide:

“The Outer, Central & Inner Sunset operates like a city within a city with its tidy streets, excellent schools, and family owned businesses. The fogginess of this district hasn’t discouraged the 40,000 students, young professionals, and middle-class families from nesting and/or embracing this quiet and mellow suburb.”

SFGate says, “Although this southwestern corner of the city is often ignored in guidebooks, you’ll find there’s lots to explore including a neighborhood caught in a ’50s time warp and dozens of multi-ethnic businesses.” Read more here.

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

- Mick Orton

Previous Neighborhoods

The Inner Richmond as described on the SFResidence neighborhood guide:

“Stroll along the Inner Mission’s wide avenues and you’ll be struck by the profusion of taquerias, pupuserias, produce markets, Salvadoran bakeries, salon de bellezas (beauty salons), auto-repair shops and check-cashing centers that post rates for wiring money to Guatemala and Nicaragua — all evidence of the Central American and Mexican families that have been settling the Mission en masse since the 1950s.”

SFGate says, “Traditionally the Latino quarter of SF, the Mission is home to artists and families, and offers a lively nightlife scene.” Read more here.

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

- Mick Orton

Previous Neighborhoods