DoorsOfYourLife.com

Home Prices Post the Biggest Increase in 7 years

Doors Of Your Life — Wed, 08 May 2013 21:47:22 +0000

Home prices posted their biggest annual increase in seven years in March, according to analytics firm CoreLogic.

Home prices jumped 10.5 percent year over year in March compared to a year earlier, and rose 1.9 percent from February, marking the 13th consecutive monthly increase, according to the CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI). Excluding distressed sales, prices leaped 10.7 percent year over year and 2.4 percent on a monthly basis, the HPI found.

“Much of the price increases we are seeing are the result of rising demand among investors and homebuyers for a still-limited supply of homes for sale,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic.

CoreLogic expects home prices including distressed sales to increase by 9.6 percent on an annual basis and 1.3 percent month over month in April. Excluding distressed sales, the predicted April price increase rises significantly: those prices should jump 12 percent from a year before and 2.7 percent month over month, according to the CoreLogic Pending HPI. Source: CoreLogic

- See more at: http://www.inman.com/wire/home-prices-post-biggest-annual-increase-in-7-years

Rich Foreign Buyers may see NYC Luxury Market as Bargain

Doors Of Your Life — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:00:49 +0000

New York commands some of the highest prices in the world for its real estate, but is a relative bargain compared to other alpha cities when it comes to upfront costs, the Wall Street Journal reported.

A new report seen by the Journal compares the cost of buying and selling a $15.26 million property in four top cities – New York, London, Hong Kong and Singapore. Wealthy international buyers have pushed prices for luxury properties up in all four cities, but the cost of purchasing and the amount paid in taxes varies widely.

In Hong Kong, for example, an overseas buyer will pay nearly 25 percent of the $15.26 million purchase price, about $3.75 million, in fees and taxes. Meanwhile in New York, a buyer would pay only $217,890 in fees and taxes for a similarly-priced apartment, the report – created by real estate brokerage Savills, Deutsche Bank and London-based developer Candy & Candy – shows.

Read article here: http://therealdeal.com/blog/2013/04/26/top-drawer-foreign-buyers-may-see-nyc-luxury-real-estate-as-a-bargain/

The Grove on Chestnut Street in the Marina is closing

Doors Of Your Life — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:00:27 +0000

Since 1999, The Grove restaurant, with its warm, woodsy interior and comfort food, has marketed itself as “San Francisco’s living room.” Its customers, who have a habit of lingering for hours, seem to agree.

The Grove acquired such a following over the past decade that its owners have opened three more locations around the city. But they recently announced that they’ll be closing the Chestnut Street location because of untenable rents — driven up, in large part, because of the well-paid techies who chow down on its huevos rancheros every day.

This year, the landlords raised the annual rent to $246,816, or roughly $20,000 a month, for the 1,500 square foot ground floor space. That is 50 percent higher than what The Grove’s owners paid five years ago. They said the only way they could possibly keep pace would be to drastically raise prices.

The Grove’s owners are looking for alternative locations in more affordable neighborhoods — if those still exist. But back on Chestnut Street last Friday morning, most of their patrons seemed oblivious to the impending closure.

S.F. names 2013 Year of the Child (despite having so few of them)

Doors Of Your Life — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:07:24 +0000

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is famous for passing legislation that sounds sweeping and significant, but really does nothing. Tuesday’s example was a unanimous vote proclaiming 2013 the Year of the Child in San Francisco. It seemed a bit ironic considering San Francisco is plagued by family flight and counts just 13.5 percent of its residents as younger than 18, the smallest percentage of children of any city in the country, according to the 2010 census.

1099 23rd Street #16

Doors Of Your Life — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 05:28:40 +0000

In Escrow

Sophisticated Dog Patch Loft/Condominium

Gorgeous light filled and spacious tri-level VIEW loft on the TOP FLOOR in great Dog Patch location! This lovely condominium features a main level with open floorplan – spacious kitchen, with adjacent dining area and oversized living room. Soaring ceilings, skylights and wall of windows with views to the downtown San Francisco skyline! This home is flooded with natural light. Updated kitchen with stainless steel appliances, granite counters, maple cabinets and slate tile floor. A gas fireplace in the living room and a powder room complete this level. Upstairs is a mezzanine lofted bedroom with a full bath and large closets. On the lowest level is the incredibly large master suite with a gas fireplace, a spacious laundry room, and great closets and storage spaces. One car deeded parking, on site fitness center and common roof deck. Easy access to 101/280 as well as to MUNI light rail and CalTrain make this a great location to commute south or to Downtown. Very Walk-Able (per walkscore.com) with new shops, restaurants and amenities coming to the neighborhood all the time. 1099 23rd Street is a well run building and Homeowners Association with excellent building reserves.

Spacious and Light Filled VIEW Loft
Top Floor Unit
Great Dog Patch Location
1725 sq ft (per tax records)
Multiple Skylights
1 Car Deeded Parking
HOA Dues – $617 per month

Offered at $879,000

www.dogpatchloft.com

615 Belvedere Street

Doors Of Your Life — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 05:00:26 +0000

In Escrow

Contemporary Cole Valley Condo

Key Features of 615 Belvedere:

Full Floor Condo in Best Cole Valley Location
Spacious Living Room with Fireplace
Dining Room with Retro Wet-Bar
Kitchen with Lots of Possibilities
Master Bedroom Suite
Second Bedroom with Walk-out Deck
Legal 2 Bedrooms / 1 Bathroom on lower level
(total of 4 Beds and 3 Baths!!)
1 Car Tandem Parking
Abundance of Storage
Shared Yard
2 Unit Building
Built in 1915 (per tax records)
HOA Dues: $230 per month
Converted to Condos: 2008 (per 3R Report)
~1700 sq ft (per condo map)

Offered at $1,099,000

www.615belvedere.com

New Emploratorium Opens Tomorrow on Embarcadero

Doors Of Your Life — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:39:25 +0000

The NEW Exploratorium, the internationally famed museum of science, art and human perception, opens its doors tomorrow – 4/17 – on Pier 15 on the Embarcadero. Be sure to check it out.

Read about the new exploratorium here: http://www.exploratorium.edu/visit

Holiday Ice-Skating!

Upcoming Developments in SF Waiting to Break Ground

Doors Of Your Life — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 10:00:18 +0000

Remember when we were in a recession and no development projects were seeing the light of day? Yeah, well, apparently the clouds have lifted, because the city’s been cranking out Environmental Reviews over at the Planning Department. Some of these have been approved and some haven’t, but all are in the early stages of development and haven’t broken ground yet. All of which means we won’t actually see them complete for years to come. SOMA and Market-Octavia seem to be the hottest spots for upcoming new projects. This list is by no means comprehensive.

Check out the list/map here: http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2013/03/27/upcoming_developments_waiting_to_break_ground_now_with_updates.php

Top 2 Luxury Real Estate Markets in US – Hollywood and Aspen!

Doors Of Your Life — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:13:31 +0000

High end property sales are climbing – along with the country’s housing market – and Aspen is once again at the top of the luxury sales mountain.

Coldwell Banker’s recent Luxury Market Report ranks Aspen second – behind Beverly Hills – for 2012 sales greater than $5 million and $10 million. Aspen’s 81611 saw 48 sales over $5 million in 2012, compared to 82 in the Beverly Hills’ 90210. Aspen had 16 sales over $10 million in 2012, compared to 21 for the tony 90210.

Millennium Tower in San Francisco is a $750M sellout

Doors Of Your Life — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:50:18 +0000

Five years and $750 million later, the West Coast’s most luxurious condo project is sold out.

Millennium Tower, a glassy slate-blue 60-story highrise at 301 Mission St., closed the last of its 419 units, the company said. Despite selling through the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression, the tower generated $750 million in sales, a 25 percent return on cost for the $600 million development. The units averaged $1.8 million, with penthouses selling for as much as $9.8 million, or $1,970 a square foot for a 5,000-square-foot pad.

The condo tower was the tallest and most expensive residential highrise … sf business times april 5, 2013 J. K. Dineen