Danielle Lazier

The American Dream is taking a Disco-Nap but she ain’t dead yet!

Yes, the economy crashed. Yes, your home’s value is down. Yes, things kind of stink right now and have for while.

Yet, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The economy will slowly recover and so will the value of San Francisco real estate. In fact, even now, many listings for sale in San Francisco receive multiple offers from ready, willing, and able home buyers. Just last week a Bernal Heights home for sale north of Cortland Avenue received 3 offers and is in contract over the asking price. Why? Because San Francisco has more housing demand than supply. Even in the worst economy in decades, San Francisco real estate trudges on and out-performs almost any other real estate market in the country.

A lot of housing bears quote the Case Shiller Home Price Index to support their claim that we should all abandon the American Dream and just rent. (Wait, wouldn’t the landlord be living the dream, then? Someone’s gotta own it. But, I digress…) So, when I came across this NYTimes Op-Ed on the intrinsic positive values of home ownership, A Dream House After All, by none other than Karl E. Case, the co-creator of the Index, I had to rejoice and of course, post about it!

Mr. Case, writes,

But for people with a more realistic version of the American dream, buying a house now can make a lot of sense…You live in the house and so it provides you with a real flow of valuable services. You can deduct the interest you pay on the mortgage. Interest rates are about as low as they can get. And, don’t forget, home prices are down by 30 percent on average from the peak…

This financial crisis has made us all too aware that we live in a Catch-22 world: the performance of the housing market drives the economy, and the performance of the economy drives the housing market.

But housing has perhaps never been a better bargain, and sooner or later buyers will regain faith, inventories will shrink to reasonable levels, prices will rise and we’ll even start building again. The American dream is not dead — it’s just taking a well-deserved rest.

I know we’re not supposed to “sell” on a real estate blog about San Francisco real estate but I just can’t help myself on this one.

If you have a good job that you like, have some money in the bank, and think you may stay in San Francisco for the next 5+ years, you really need to consider buying a home.  Rock-bottom real estate prices (relative for San Francisco – a world-class city), rock-bottom mortgage interest rates, and a recent uptick in fear in the media = the best housing affordability San Francisco has seen in a long, long time. This is the time for San Francisco first time buyers and those who already own a starter home and are looking to trade-up.

Will you get a 3 bedroom single family home for $500,0o0? No. But will you get the $1,500,000 home for $1,300,000? Yes. And the $900,000 condo for $775,000? Yes. This is a time for “value-conscious” home buyers.

Search ALL San Francisco homes for sale. More accurate than Zillow, Trulia, RedFin, etc.

Tags: case shiller, case-shiller home price index, home ownership

New Listing – 2442 Great Highway: Outer Parkside San Francisco Pacific Ocean View 4-Unit Building For Sale

New Listing – 2442 Great Highway: Outer Parkside San Francisco Pacific Ocean View 4-Unit Building For Sale. Asking $1,199,000.

SFHotlist is proud to announce our latest San Francisco real estate listing for sale: 2442 Great Highway.

Listed by Zephyr Real Estate, Tanya Dzhibrailova and Danielle Lazier, 2442 Great Highway is a well-maintained 4-unit building for sale in San Francisco’s Outer Parkside neighborhood. Actually, this is as beach-front as it gets in SF with stunning ocean views! Perfect for an owner-user (someone who wants to live in the building and subsidize their mortgage with tenants; top floor ocean view unit will be delivered vacant) or investor (4, 2 bedroom units of equal size plus 4-car garage)….

Rental information and more details can be found on the listing detail page for 2442 Great Highway @ DanielleLazier.com.

Tags: 2442 great highway, Featured Properties, New Listing

Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema Festival 2010

Ugh ! My apologies ! I am so late with this post and two days of the 7th Annual Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema festival have already passed ! How did this happen ? If I hadn’t been walking down Cortland last night (on my way home from a lovely meal at the Liberty Cafe wine bar), it is possible that I would have missed this year’s festival entirely.  I thank my craving for pizza and Barbera for putting me right in the middle of last night’s “Film Crawl On Cortland”. Now I can pass along information about this awesome event to you.

I had a fabulous time  last year at Opening Night when a friend and I caught the screening of The Owls Of Bernal Hill.  The outdoor screening had moved indoors due to bad weather but that didn’t dampen the impact of the documentary nor anyone’s spirits that evening!  The film was emotional and moving and watching it among my fellow Bernalites was a very cool experience.

Check out the rest of the Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema Schedule – we still have Saturday, Sunday and October 4th to watch wonderful films by local filmmakers, meet our neighbors, explore our neighborhood spaces and just have a grand ol’ time.  All of the screenings are FREE, did I mention that yet ? FREE !

As they write on their website:

Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema™ presents the seventh annual season with free screenings of Bernal Heights and local filmmakers’ works in neighborhood parks and open spaces to increase the exposure and recognition of local artists, to heighten appreciation by neighborhood and citywide residents and to bring community together for the enjoyment of our parks and neighborhood resources.

Tags: bernal heights outdoor cinema

Weekly Update: Zephyr Real Estate New Listings For Sale in San Francisco

Want to know what’s new on the market?  Well check out our new listing first: 2442 Great Highway Outer Parkside SF Income Property For Sale 94116.

Then check out this week’s list of new Zephyr Real Estate listings for sale in San Francisco.

Other resources:

• Search the entire San Francisco MLS.
• Get Market Tracker for SF real estate market stats and neighborhood information.
• Have a question or need some help buying or selling a home in San Francisco

Tags: Zephyr Real Estate

Home Values in West Portal and Forest Hill San Francisco Real Estate

Here is this month’s real estate update on new listings and sold properties in West Portal and Forest Hill San Francisco Real Estate.

West Portal

• Number of Listings: 4
• Average List Price: $1,125,707
• Average Days on Market: 69
• Number of Sold: 19
• Average Sold Price: $1,177,447

Forest Hill

Number of Listings: 2

Average List Price: $1,334,761

Average Days on Market: 36

Number of Sold: 9

Average Sold Price: $1,377,111

Make sure to see our new Forest Hill Listing at 280 Dorantes Avenue!

Want to know how much your San Francisco property is worth? Just send us a request.

Make sure to look back here for all the hottest real estate news and updates in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Tags: Forest Hill, West Portal

New Listing! Forest Hill Single Family Home for Sale – San Francisco, CA 94116

We are excited to present our latest San Francisco home for sale: 280 Dorantes Avenue Forest Hill San Francisco Single Family Home & Fixer-Upper.

As you’ll see on the property website, I’ve likened this Forest Hill San Francisco Fixer Upper to a Hollywood starlet who is just a little past her prime but ready to regain the spotlight. And, oh yes, she is ready is shine!

Open Sunday 2-4pm. Questions about this property or need help buying the right home in San Francisco for you? Contact Team SFHotlist. 

280 Dorantes Ave Property photos, description, and more.

Tags: Featured Properties, Forest Hill, Forest Hill Listings, new listings

Weekly Update: Zephyr Real Estate New Listings For Sale in San Francisco

Want to know what’s new on the market? 

Well, first check out OUR new Forest Hill single-family home for sale, open this weekend!  Then check out this week’s list of new Zephyr Real Estate listings for sale in San Francisco.

Other resources:

• Search the entire San Francisco MLS.
• Get Market Tracker for SF real estate market stats and neighborhood information.
• Have a question or need some help buying or selling a home in San Francisco?

Tags: Zephyr New Listings

New Listing! Soma Condo Loft For Sale – San Francisco, CA 94103

New Listing from Danielle Lazier, SFHotlist, and Zephyr Real Estate! South of Market San Francisco Loft For Sale: 83 Lafayette Street Unit 4

We’re very excited to present this uber-cool SoMa loft for sale. 83 Lafayette St #4 (where is that?) is a hip 1 bedroom loft with laundry, natual light, open floor plan, parking, storage and a sunny, shared roof deck with VIEWS.

Enjoy easy access to SoMa, the Mission, Market Street, the Van Ness Corridor and Downtown San Francisco. Walk, bike, Muni, or drive to the latest Soma dining hot spots like Citizen’s Band and Bar Agricole. And at $399,000, this is a smokin’ hot deal.

More info, showing times, and photos can be found on the 83 Lafayette St Soma Loft For Sale Website. Open Sunday, August 15th 2-4 pm.

Tags: 83 lafayette, Featured Listings, Featured Properties, loft

Weekly Update: Zephyr Real Estate New Listings For Sale in San Francisco

Want to know what’s new on the market?

Check out this week’s list of new Zephyr Real Estate listings for sale in San Francisco.

Other resources:

• Search the entire San Francisco MLS.
• Get Market Tracker for SF real estate market stats and neighborhood information.
• Have a question or need some help buying or selling a home in San Francisco?

Tags: Zephyr Real Estate

Green Living for Homeowners

Everything now a days is “green” friendly.  Even SFHotlist is green (have you received our fun SFHotlist reusable bag?).  Here are some great resources for finding out how you can live green and some green living tips for homeowners.

FYPower.org/Flex your power: Enter a zip code and search for local rebates, energy audits, etc.

Cheers.org/California Home Energy Efficiency Rating Services: Rates and certifies home builders on energy-efficient construction

Green.CAR.org/California Association or Realtors: Has information for homeowners, Realtors and the general public on how to green their living spaces

EasyEcoBlog.com: Blog posts with tips that are doable with minimal effort

NARI.org/National Association of the Remodeling Industry: Facts about green remodeling

EnergyStar.gov: Offers guidelines for energy audits and management, green construction and rebates

Tags: Green Living

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