Kathy Streib, in her December challenge, has asked us to share a special holiday memory, and the posts are pouring in. I've read a few of them and am blown away by how heartfelt the memories are. Next week I'll be reading more of them. I have lots of memories of Christmas, both past and present: the year we almost didn't have a tree (happy ending: we rushed to a tree lot on Christmas Eve, to find it had just closed up; the owner let us children pick any tree we wanted--and it was big and beautiful!); the year I opened all my gifts the day before, then re-wrapped them the best I could and pretended to be surprised (moral of the story: I learned that waiting for the right time was its own reward) the year my little daughter bit into a glass ornament (happy ending-no problems!)  the 22-yea... 12/10/2017

Just like catchy blog titles or ad headlines, clever license plates are also a lot of fun.These two plates are on cars in a condo garage in San Francisco. I don't know the owner of "4TUITUS" but I like his car and think the plate is quite apt.Now, this second plate, "NO SHMPU" leaves one with no doubt about this guy's hair style! He's one of the nicest guys around, and each time I see his plate I smile.Hope this bit of whimsy has you smiling. Have you seen some other great plates in San Francisco? Please share!  11/28/2017

I've enjoyed writing these Thankful posts this week leading up to Thanksgiving Day; the words flow as does the thankfulness. Today I'm very aware of how much I enjoy living in San Francisco and how thankful I am for the many wonderful things here that bring joy and ease to my life.This morning was the day all the time Rachael Kendall spent planning and organizing a birthday party for her sister at the Academy of Sciences came to fruition. We had a wonderful time with lots of fun, and VIP treatment at many of the popular exhibits like the Rain Forest, the earthquake shake table, and a show at the Planetarium. The girls were happy, we adults were too. We came home exhausted in the best possible way.This evening my husband headed across town to the home of one of the members of the San Fra... 11/19/2017

 Single Family Home Prices Soar Again The median sales price for single family homes reached a new high again in October, climbing to almost $1.6 million. This is up about $275,000 over September, and up almost 14% compared to October of last year. Condos and lofts also spiked to $1.18 million, up over last month as well as this month last year, though not quite reaching the $1.2 million median price seen in August. With few new single homes being built in the City and continued high demand, buyers are vying for the homes that do come on the market. Not suprisingly, the districts that saw the largest leaps in median sales price for a single family home were mostly in areas where there is a high concentration of them. Leading the pack was District 2, which includes the Sunset, Golden Gat... 11/15/2017

The first thing my husband and I noticed about our condo when we were looking for our San Francisco home was the view. Then all the other attributes of this complex came into play; they were right for us, but it was the view that sold us.I start most mornings sitting in the living room, coffee in hand, focusing on gratefulness. I watch night slowly give way to day, see the ships glide into and out of San Francisco Bay, look at Mt. Tamalpais, Angel Island and Tiburon, or enjoy the fog on the bay or enveloping the neighborhood.We watch the afternoon sun shining on Russian Hill, making it look more magical than ever, and glorious sunsets.When the recent fires were raging in Sonoma and Napa counties, the view was ominous for days, but when the westerly winds finally kicked back in, the view... 11/15/2017

AffordabilityThat word rings in the ears of anyone purchasing a home in San Francisco. The affordability index measures the percentage of families who can afford a median-priced, single-family home in San Francisco. Of the 6 Bay Area counties, San Francisco’s index of 12% is the lowest. Shockingly, with 20% down a buyer needs an income of $290,630 to qualify for the loan. AppreciationDespite the already low affordability index, appreciation continues. Median Sales Price (MSP) of single-family homes is up 7.03% since quarter 3 of 2016. Increasing demand puts pressure on dwindling supply: new listings of single-family homes have dropped 22.42% since quarter 3 of 2012. These listings are on the market for 14 days; they sell for an average of 115.4% of list price, near the city’s all-time h... 11/02/2017

Real Life People Photo Contest Miscellaneous Steve Crowe Birthday 2015by Silicon Valley REALTOR Michelle Carr CroweHere is a great photo of my beloved husband Steve Crowe enjoying a birthday surprise at his favorite restaurant, Chiarrusco Espetus in San Francisco. I love his loving look and the candlelight reflected in his glasses. He's looking forward to that rare desert, being a diabetic.This is an entry for the 2017 ActiveRain Photo Contest in the Real Life People Miscellaneous category.Thanks for reading "Real Life People Photo Contest Miscellaneous Steve Crowe Birthday 2015". 10/29/2017

The third quarter ended with median sales prices up compared to September 2016. Both single family homes and condo/ lofts were up about 10% year-over-year. Interestingly, September had the lowest median sales price in the quarter. This is because in real estate any given month's sales are actually a reflection of transactions that were negotiated the previous month (assuming a 28-40 day escrow period). So September sale prices show what was occurring in August, traditionally one of the slower months of the year. What we can typically look forwad to in September is a lift in inventory as the Fall selling season begins. This year did see a slight uptick in homes put on the market, but not nearly as much as last year, and it was not enough to satiate the enormous demand. Active single fami... 10/29/2017

Join, Renew San Francisco Botanical Garden in Oct., Get 2 Months Freeby Silicon Valley REALTOR Michelle Carr CroweEnjoy nature by becoming a member or renewing a membership at the San Francisco Botanical Garden in October and get 14 months of access for the price of 12 months.This 55-acre treasure has been a park since 1940 and boasts over 8,500 different plants from all over the world.Located within Golden Gate Park, the address for the San Francisco Botanical Garden is 1199 9th Ave., San Francisco, Calif. It has two gates-the North Gate and Friend Gate. A membership starts at $70 and includes admission for the member plus one guests per visit.For those who can't yet afford a full membership, daily adult admission is $8 per person, with discounts for children and seniors. There are eve... 10/20/2017

Foreigners Have Been Waiting for a Loan Like This California has both a dynamic and desirable real estate market and in the recent years we've seen an influx of foreign buyers.  Despite the headlines such as, "Chinese Billionaires Snapping Up San Francisco Real Estate with All Cash Offers 150% Over Asking...," I can attest that not every foreign buyer is able to purchase real estate with a Louis Vuitton suitcase bursting full of hard currency.  In fact, many of them seek mortgage financing for any number of valid reasons and when they do, we are often able to help.   Foreign nationals are citizens of another country.  They have their primary residence abroad and their employment is usually headquartered in that nation.  In order to travel to the US they will need a valid passport and, s... 10/19/2017

One of the things that gets harder for some of us to do when you get past 65 is stand for a long time at a rock-and-roll show. It's not the hearing, like you might think, even though I see lots of people wearing ear plugs. Somehow, that seems defeatist to me. Like wearing a diaper during sex. Gloves to type.But in order to avoid standing and to be relatively assured of a seat, even if it's not front-and-center like I can get at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento, you've pretty much got to pay for VIP these days. Which is what my husband did when he bought tickets for the show in San Francisco at The Fillmore last weekend. You can read more and see more photographs in my personal blog today at the following link, especially about an (obscure to me) Minneapolis band: Afghan Whigs Concert at ... 10/18/2017

Many of the blogs originally published on Active Rain by fellow agents are enlightening and informative, especially when highlighting local attractions or destinations. For example, Myrl Jeffcoat often writes about places to visit within a day trip from her home in Rancho Cordova, because she's no stranger to jumping into her car and hitting the road. Same thing with San Franciscan Lottie Kendall, who posted a blog a while back about the Flower Piano experience annually held in July at a place I had not visted in Golden Gate Park. While this Sacramento Realtor and her husband were a few months late for the Flower Piano last weekend, we nevertheless discovered a magical place we can visit again and again from Sacramento and probably never see it all. You can see all the photographs -- an... 10/17/2017

One of the surprising differences between Los Angeles, where we are visiting next month, and San Francisco, where we often go from Sacramento a few times every year, are the restaurants. The last time I looked, there are not any 3-star Michelin restaurants in Los Angeles. There might not be any 1-star, come to think about it.But San Francisco is loaded with top-rated restaurants. I had been trying to choose between Quince and Saison for our trip last weekend. Quince made it easy for me. They were booked for a private event the evening of October 13th. You can read more in my personal blog and see all of the photographs today at this link: Tasting Menu at Michelin 3-Star Saison in San Francisco. 10/16/2017

Hello and Happy September!Once again, August was all about inventory....or lack of it... How Low Can We Go?August saw the lowest levels so far this year in new inventory, active listings, and months supply of inventory (MSI). For buyers, one welcome statistic that also decreased was the median sales price for a single family home, althought it was only $20,000 less than last month. Active Listings: The number of active single family homes was down over 30% compared to August of last year. Condo/ loft listings dropped more than 25%. This is the lowest amount of active inventory we've seen since December, 2016.New Listings: Like active listings, the number of new listings coming to market in August was down double digits. New single family home listings were down 18% while condo/ loft new... 09/17/2017

Robert Swetz is predicting a mega earthquake in California in 1 to 2 years  Robert Swetz is predicting a major earthquake for California in 1 to 2 years   Nobody likes hearing bad news but California's better start thinking more about the BIG one. Sure everyone has been talking about the Big one for many years, but with all the other natural disasters going on around the world ... something is shaking around the corner.   Robert Swetz is sorry to say that Californian's have had it too good with average homes in the Bay Area at approx. $1,000,000 dollars. And parts of Los Angeles with very similar prices.     I have been asked many times from the company I'm working for in Silicon Valley if I want to work in downtown San Francisco on some very tall buildings and I keep telling them NO ... 09/16/2017

Friday evening I had an appointment to show property in Belmont, CA. Since it was a Friday evening, I invited my husband to be my driver, so we could enjoy a "date night" afterward at a Peninsula restaurant that he especially enjoys, The Fish Market in San Mateo.Sometimes plans change due to circumstances, and change ours did. The traffic mid-Peninsula was so outrageous at 7:00 PM, we couldn't drive to our restaurant of choice, did a U-turn and headed back up the hill to Interstate-280 to return us to San Francisco.Instead of bemoaning our fate, we stopped at the Old Clam House in San Francisco, located in the industrial area of the city just north of Candlestick Point, and had our second dinner there.What a fun, down-to-earth place, full of character! The walls are packed with old-San ... 08/26/2017

Nestled along the western slope of Twin Peaks is Midtown Terrace, an enclave of single family homes built in the 1950’s. The Midtown Terrace Homeowner’s Association, consisting of about 800 single family homes, was created in 1957. The neighborhood features mid-century homes arranged in rows on terraced streets that take advantage of the beautiful views, and is surrounded by greenbelts, forests, reservoirs, and open space. As one of only a few “planned communities” in San Francisco, there are no shops, businesses, or commercial streets. However, these are easily accessible in nearby Mira Loma, West Portal, and Diamond Heights.  Midtown Terrace is a wonderful place to call home for families, couples and professionals. In addition to many hiking trails, it has a recently updated playgroun... 08/22/2017

It's Active Rain's autumn Meet-Up season, and San Francisco is the place for the greater Bay Area and northern California Meet-Up.Date: Thursday, September 14Time: 1:00 PM -- no host lunch -- work in the AM, relax in the PMPlace: Gott's Roadside Cafe at The Ferry Building Why you want to come: September in San Francisco is awesome (chilly "Fogust" is over) - it's likely we'll be eating outdoors along the beautiful Embarcadero The historic Ferry Building is a treasure of upscale little shops and kiosks--get a jump start on your holiday gift buying -- arrive early and explore; stay later and do some shopping You can leave the car at home! Forget the traffic jams! Take the ferry from the north and east bay direct to the Ferry Building; take BART to the Embarcadero Station; take CalTrain fr... 08/19/2017

8 years ago my husband and I bought our future home, a condo in San Francisco, right in the heart of everything, where we could go almost everywhere we wanted on a daily basis by foot, or by public transit if need be. The only drawback: no space in which to have a tiny garden.8 years ago I put my name on the waiting list for a garden plot at Fort Mason Community Garden, a nice 20-minute walk from our condo.6 years ago we moved into our condo, and our new lifestyle. 6 months ago--after a 7-1/2 year wait--my name made it to the top of the list, and I had my plot of ground, to plant as I saw fit!I have many gorgeous examples of what people have planted in their 5' x 20' plots. (Like the dahlias shown above, San Francisco's city flower I'm told, or the roses, below.) Many of my initial thou... 08/16/2017

Where's the Inventory??It's great to be home after a nice vacation in hot, humid New York. I'm not sure I've ever missed our cool, foggy summer so much!We're now deep into the summer selling months, which in San Francisco is typically light on inventory, and this year is certainly not deviating from that history. This year seems even more anemic than years past and in fact, looking back through the past 10 years I couldn't find another July with less new inventory or even overall active inventory on the market.    So where are all of the sellers?? One reason there are fewer sellers is that homeowners are staying in their homes longer. According to a recent KCM blog article I was reading, up until 2008 the average homeowner stayed in their home on average 6 years before selling. After th... 08/16/2017