Danielle Lazier

Archive for the 'Home Selling' Category

Hupt two three four…Can Your Walk Score Increase Your Property Value?

What is a walk score?   Washington Post wrote, ”Walkscore.com ranks communities nationwide (and soon, globally) based on how many businesses, parks, theaters, schools and other common destinations are within walking distance of any given starting point.”

Being in San Francisco most properties have a high walk score.  We have been showing our listing’s own walk score as a marketing point.  It almost seems obvious that a higher walk score can add value to your property.  Wall Street Journal just wrote an article about this.  Check it out and look to the right to find your neighborhood’s own walk score.

FAQ: Considering Selling a Home in San Francisco? What Factors Will Affect Your Home Sale?

Q: We own a home in San Francisco and are considering selling it. What are the most important factors to consider as we make our decision to sell?

A: This question is about control. Who controls what in real estate? There are many factors, both global and local, that will affect your results when it is time to sell your San Francisco home, whether it’s a Bernal Heights single family house or a Mission Dolores condominium.

Here is our Cheat Sheet to the 6 most important components that will affect your results (both sales price and time on the market) when it comes time to sell your home. I hope you find it helpful. Buzz us if you have questions!

• Location, as in where your property is located.

  • Are you on a quiet block or a loud thoroughfare? Are you convenient to public transit and local restaurants & shops? Or, must you drive everywhere? Do you have a view or a pleasant outlook? Or, do you look out onto a parking lot or into another unit? You can the drift.
  • This item is FIXED. Neither you, nor I, can control the location of your property. It is where it is.

• Financing, as in what financing will be available for the home buyer.

  • Depending on the economy, interest rates may be high, low, or in-between. Financing guidelines may be loose or strict. It may be very hard for a home buyer to qualify for a home loan or it could be easy. How much down payment will be required of the buyer? Is the property a single family home, a condo, or a TIC?
  • There are many issues to consider. While we are not mortgage specialists, we make it a point to stay current on financing conditions. We want to know what types of home loans are available and what it takes to qualify.
  • Current financing options has a direct impact on your home sale but, you guessed it, this item is also FIXED.

• Property Condition, as in what shape is your home in?

  • A real estate professional will advise you on the condition of your property. We take the time to help our home seller clients decide what is important and what would be a waste of money when it comes to fixing up your property for sale. Generally speaking, you want your home to show as well as possible because it will mean that you will sell your property for more money in less time.
    • Some combination of cosmetic repairs, wood floor refinishing, painting, garden clean-up, and staging (both clearing clutter and furniture staging) are often on the to-do list.
  • The property’s condition is controlled by THE SELLER and property owner. We’ll give you our best advice based on what works in the marketplace to drive up the sales price but, ultimately, it is your home and your decision.

• Market Exposure, as in getting the right offer to the right people at the right time.

  • Real estate marketing is about targeted exposure. What’s most important about marketing a home for sale is promoting your home’s listing to serious, qualified home buyers and the local San Francisco real estate agents who work with them. Although we do want some degree of broad exposure because we don’t know who will be that right buyer, we want to pin-point our efforts to create buzz amongst the folks who are most likely to buy and qualified to make the purchase at a price that will be acceptable to you as the seller. Marketing a home for sale in San Francisco is an art and will be specific depending on location, say Noe Valley real estate or Pacific Heights.
  • Aha, finally, something controlled by yours truly! Yes, in real estate, proper marketing and exposure is controlled by THE AGENT.

• List Price

  • Choosing a correct list price from the start of marketing a home is crucial and will have a direct impact on your net proceeds or walk-away money. Correct pricing requires your real estate consultant to have savvy market knowledge. We will consider relevant properties (your home’s competition) and how many real buyers exist for a type of home like yours. We also want to consider the other items on this list: location, financing, condition, and exposure. How much home preparation and staging you agree plays an important role in choosing a list price.
  • Alas, as much as I wish I could say that the agent controls the list price, it is actually controlled by THE SELLER. We’ll do our best to help you choose a smart list price, but it is your house and your decision.
  • CAUTION: Please do not choose your agent based on the list price they promise you. This is called “buying the listing” and is a totally ineffective way to sell your home. Typically, the agent who promises you the moon is, as fellow Texan Laurie Moore-Moore would say, “All hat and no cattle.” This leads me to the final factor affecting your San Francisco real estate sale….

• Final Sales Price

  • Real estate is a capitalist market and is governed by the Law of Supply and Demand. Ergo, the final sales price is controlled by the Market. The Market speaks through THE BUYER and it is THE BUYER who controls the sales price of your home. Of course, there is a lot that a trained real estate professional and a cooperative home seller can do to positively affect the sales price (and your net proceeds which is more important) but we don’t control it.

Tags: control, Factors affecting the sale, Home Selling, selling a home

Luxury Home Sales Bounce Back (especially in the San Francisco Luxury Home Market) – WSJ.com

Luxury Home Sales Bounce Back – WSJ.com…especially in the San Francisco luxury home real estate market.

“After a near-disastrous 2009, the luxury market appears to be making a comeback, driven by growing buyer confidence, improved financing conditions and more-realistic seller pricing.

Despite the housing downturn, attractively priced homes in some of the nation’s most coveted neighborhoods are selling, sometimes fast and sometimes with multiple offers.

Nationwide, sales of homes selling for $2 million to $5 million in the first quarter totaled 2,461, up 32% from a year before, says CoreLogic.”

Recently, a gorgeous 4 Bedroom home in San Francisco’s family-friendly Noe Valley neighborhood (San Francisco, CA 94114), listed for about $1,700,000. Within a week, the Seller had received 4 offers, 2 of which were “All-Cash” and with no contingencies!

In San Francisco, if a home is priced right for today’s market and in a desirable neighborhood, it will sell. This is just not the depressed market that you read about… That’s good news for Sellers, especially those who have owned their homes for a while and/or have other savings and are looking to trade-up.

Buyers, don’t despair. Prices remain significantly down from the peak. Yes, you may have competition and need to write an over-asking offer BUT you are competing at a price point 10-20% off of peak prices. And with today’s LOW mortgage interest rates, real estate in San Francisco remains a killer deal.

Tags: luxury, Luxury Real Estate Market, san francisco luxury homes

San Francisco Real Estate – Is it smart to trade up to a nicer or bigger or ideally-located home in a buyer’s market?

San Francisco Real Estate Conundrum: Is it smart to trade up to a nicer or bigger or ideally-located home in a buyer’s market?

Under many circumstances, it is smart to trade up in a buyer’s market. How can this statement be true? Let’s look at an example.

Example:  Let’s follow two San Francisco properties from peak to trough of a SF real estate market cycle.

• Home #1 – The starter home: Inner Mission 1 Bedroom Loft Condo
• Home #2 – The desired trade-up home: Noe Valley 2+ Bedroom Single Family Home

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Buyer's Market, trading up

Seller Closing Costs: How to Calculate San Francisco Real Estate Sale Transfer Tax

If you are selling a home in San Francisco, you’ll encounter 2 major closing costs: sales commission and transfer tax. Transfer tax is the tax a City and County charges for the sale or transfer of real estate. Although technically negotiable, most often, as the Seller, you’ll pay this closing cost through the close of escrow. (One exception is the first sales of new construction when the Buyer typically pays the transfer tax.)

The amount of transfer tax varies by City and County. For example, in San Francisco, the transfer tax is as follows:

• For homes priced $250,000 to $1,000,000, the tax is $6.80/$1000 (of sales price).
• For homes worth $1-5 million, the tax is $7.50/$1000 (of sales price).
• For homes worth $5 million or more, it is $15/$1000 (of sales price).

As you can see, this is a hefty hunk of change and a major source of revenue for the City of San Francisco. One would think that given the current financial crisis, the Board of Supervisors would do all they can to encourage real estate sales rather than their current agenda of the opposite! But that, my friends, is another story.

For more info, click here for a chart of how to calculate Real Estate Transfer Tax by California City and County.

Tags: closing costs, seller closing costs, transfer tax

New Listing: 414 Lawton St @ 10th Ave Inner Sunset Duplex – Location, Space, & Options!

Here is our newest featured property: 414 Lawton St. @ 10th Ave.  in the Inner Sunset in San Francisco.

• Unit A – Lower – $544,500
• Unit B – Upper – $554,500

Showing Schedule:

• Open House – Sundays from 2-4pm
• Broker’s Tour (all welcome) Tuesday March 16th 1-2:30pm
• Broker’s Tour (all welcome) Tuesday March 23rd 1:30-3pm

Want to buy a home in Inner Sunset? Email us to get started.

Thinking of selling your home and want a Realtor with skill and experience but without the “typical agent” drama and ego? Oh, c’mon. We know you do.

Find out what your Inner Sunset home is worth in today’s market or email us for some help.

How’s the market doing? Recent Inner Sunset Real Estate Market Data here.

Tags: 414 Lawton St., Inner Sunset Duplex, Inner Sunset TIC

Update – Bernal Heights Real Estate In Demand (under certain conditions)

Bernal Heights Real Estate is back in demand – not that it ever really wasn’t. Okay, the reality of today’s market (and the market of years to come?) is “survival of the fittest”. (Happy Birthday, Darwin!)

Not all homes for sale in Bernal Heights (or most SF neighborhoods) will sell. In my world, we think about it this way. Are you “Just Listed” or actually selling your home?

Funny but not really. There is a lot of time, money, and emotional energy involved in properly preparing and marketing a home for sale. This is time, money and energy for the Realtor but also for the home seller. If you’re not serious about selling, don’t put yourself through the heartache.

But if you are serious about selling your home in Bernal Heights, I’ve got some good news for you. Our last listing, 3686 Folsom Street – an attractive Mid-Century Single Family Home – received 2 strong offers within the first 2 weeks on market. About 67 serious home buyers attended the first open house in January. (The market is even better now.) We helped our clients properly prepare their home for sale and provided an affordable, reliable fix-up crew. Hiring the right agent can make all of the difference. *

Fun Facts on the Bernal Heights Real Estate Market:

• 69 Bernal Heights single family homes sold during the past 6 months
  • On average, it took just under 2 months to sell a home and the final sales price was 100.44% of the original list price. (Price it right from the start.)
  • The median sales price was $770,000.
  • The highest sales price in Bernal Heights was $1,295,000 for a 3 bedroom, 3 bath home on Moultrie Street.
  • The lowest sales price was $150,000 for a 4 bedroom, 2 bath home on Rutledge Street. WHAT? Yes, this was an anomaly and not a usual type of home. London Bridge is falling down.
• 14 homes did not sell within the past 3 months (expired or withdrawn)

Local home values Bernal Heights Free Report.

* Tip: Instead of interviewing 5-10 agents (which can take a lot of time), why not meet with 1 or 2 reputable Bernal Heights agents and then talk to their past clients? It’s a much more accurate and efficient way to find out if what we promise is truly what we deliver…

Tags: Bernal Heights Real Estate

The Economist says the worst of America’s real estate downturn is over and you’ve been thinking of selling your San Francisco home, what to do now?

January 2nd’s The Economist notes,

“House prices are still far above their fair value in many countries – though no longer in America.”

Of course, the article does warn that “a further downward leg is possible since past housing busts have pushed priced below their fair value…” but those of us in the San Francisco real estate market have seen time and again that SF is the last to go down and the first to go up (or, at least, amongst the last and first.)

So what if you own a home in, say, Bernal Heights or Mission Dolores and you’ve been thinking of selling your home for a little while now?

You’ve been waiting for some signs of market stabilization but are growing anxious because you really could use some more space. Or, perhaps, you want to move out of San Francisco to new pastures. Well, most agree that the worst is probably over  yet no one I’ve heard of expects home prices to appreciate anytime soon. If you’re waiting for your value to go back to where it was in 2005, you may be waiting a long time.

The truth is that no one rings a bell when the downturn is over. We must look for subtle clues and take a leap of faith. Complex real estate markets like ours today offer superb opportunities for those wanting to sell their current home and buy another one. It’s “against the herd” thinking but it’s tried and true.

For example, say home prices are down 20% off the peak in Bernal Heights or another SF neighborhood.

If you’re home was worth $900,000 at the peak of the market, it’s now worth $720,000. This is a loss of $180,000 BUT the home you want to buy in Noe Valley was worth $1,400,000 at the peak. This same house is now worth $1,120,000 which is a decline of $280,000.

Essentially, if you sell your home and upgrade in a down market, you’ll SAVE money. In this example, it is $100,000 in savings. Plus, you’ll be leveraging yourself into a nicer home that has more potential to appreciate in the future. Add in today’s interest rates and the improved quality of life you’ll have for your family and this starts to look pretty good, right? (It goes without saying that this scenario will not work for everyone. You’ll need to have stable employment and equity to qualify for the home purchase.)

If you want to move out of San Francisco, you’ll probably be in even better shape. The San Francisco market has declined much less than most of the country. Last year, I helped clients sell their Bernal Heights listing and relocate to Merced where the market has declined much more than here in the Bay Area. When you look at both sides of the transaction, they did very well.

Alright, enough already. I do want to sell my San Francisco house in Bernal Heights or Mission Dolores or maybe even Inner Sunset this year and buy a new one in another neighborhood. If I want to sell a home and buy another one, what should I do now to prepare?

Glad you asked! You should read this post about the time line of buying and selling a home.

I want to sell my current San Francisco home and buy another one either here in SF or in another area. How does this work? Is there a way to time it so I am not “in-between” homes? How do I know how much I can afford in my next home?

Question: I want to sell my current San Francisco home and buy another one either here in SF or in another area. How does this work? What is a good time line for buying and selling? Is there a way to time it so I am not “in-between” homes? How do I know how much I can afford in my next home?

Answer: Whether you want to sell your home right away or just sometime in the next year, there are some simple things which, when done ahead of time, will increase your chances of getting the highest return on your investment.

Here are the 5 main steps involved in selling a home and buying a new one.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: buy and sell a home, time line of buying and selling

New Listing! Bernal Heights Mid-Century Single Family Home For Sale

Coming soon! Bernal Heights Home For Sale. Asking $785,000.

Bernal Heights, San Francisco is a fabulously friendly, diverse, family-friendly, dog-friendly, open-minded neighborhood. As a local Realtor, I know the area is not only an enjoyable place to live, but also a stable real estate investment. Bernal Hill, Cortland Avenue, Moki’s Sushi, Sandbox Bakery, Holly Park, fitBernalfit, Piqueo’s, Bernal Yoga, Good Life Grocery, Wild Side West, Stray Bar, Vino Rosso Wine Bar, Vega Ristorante, family-friendly, dog-friendly, progressive and modern too…

Coming soon in January, we’re pleased to announce a brand-new listing for sale, 3686 Folsom Street. This Mid-Century single family home is located North of Cortland Avenue and walking distance to Cortland Avenue and the Hill.

Here’s a sneak preview of 3686 Folsom Street, Bernal Heights Listing.

• Single Family Home
• Convenient, Desirable Location North of Cortland Avenue
• 2 Bedrooms, 1 Bath
• Eat-in Kitchen, Combo Dining/Living Room with Fireplace
• Extra room and 1/2 bath off garage
• Hardwood Floors
• Spacious Garage
• Mature Garden in Rear
• Mid-Century Glamour. Mr. Draper would be pleased. *

Want to buy a home in Bernal Heights? Email us to get started.

Thinking of selling your home and want a Realtor with skill and experience but without the “typical agent” drama and ego? Oh, c’mon. We know you do. Find out what your Bernal Heights home is worth in today’s market or email us for some help.

How’s the market doing? Recent Bernal Heights Real Estate Market Data here.

* Learn more about Bernal Heights architecture.

Tags: 3686 Folsom St, bernal heights, Folsom