What does one do when the power goes out in San Francisco? Fortunately, today's massive outage (about 90,000 people without power at the peak of the outage) occurred on a beautiful, warm spring day. It was a day perfect for leaving the dark computer and heading out for a City walk.Extra care had to be used crossing roads, like busy Van Ness Avenue and Columbus Street, but fortunately all drivers on the road at the time were being careful and observant.My walk today took me across nearby Russian Hill, through Chinatown, into North Beach and up Telegraph Hill. My destination: tiny Jack Early Park where I ate a picnic, oohed and aahed at the view as I always do, and read my book for a while.Leaving the park, I headed down toward Fisherman's Wharf, and along Bay Street to Fort Mason to wate... 04/21/2017

One of the benefits of living where I do in San Francisco is that every Tuesday evening I can grab my yoga mat and walk to the top of Nob Hill, to Grace Cathedral, and join the 600-700 yogis who practice there each week.One man I see most weeks is Charles Weinbar. In a wheelchair, he is an inspiration to anyone who might think, "I'm not in shape" or "I'm too old and stiff" or "I'm not as strong/lithe/limber as the 30-somethings who make up the majority of the attendees." Watch his story as told to AARP, get inspired about what the human spirit can achieve, and join me in being thankful for Reverend Jude Harmon, yoga teacher Darrin Main, and the wonderful experience they provide the community week after week.If you are living your San Francisco dream, why not come to Grace Cathedral for ... 04/14/2017

 The first quarter of 2017 has officially ended. The San Francisco the real estate market stayed relatively flat for the quarter, which is not surprising given the insane weather we've experienced, and that Q1 is typically rather tame coming out of the holiday season. On March 15, the Fed raised its rate, which caused most lenders to raise interest rates in advance. So far, this does not seem to be a big deterrent to home buyers. Rates continue to remain at historic lows.Click Here for the 200 Year Historical Rates On 30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Chart  Wishing you and yours a very Happy Passover and Easter!! Median Sales Price: The median sales price for single family homes ended March at $1,350,000, up slightly from February and down only minimally (.2%) compared to March of last year.... 04/13/2017

Casablanca....Humphrey Bogart....Ingrid Bergman....As Time Goes ByJust seeing the names conjures up one of my favorite stories from the 1940s, one that is as timely today as it was back in 1942 when the movie was first released. Casablanca!Now you have a chance to watch the entire film while the renown San Francisco Symphony plays the musical score. Davies Symphony Hall provides the perfect setting for a special evening, but tickets are going fast. Order tickets and get more information here.When: Friday June 2, 2017 and Saturday June 3, 2017 - each showing is at 8:00 PMWhere: Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Avenue at the Civic Center, San FranciscoWhen you are Living your San Francisco Dream, it's easy to take advantage of opportunities like this one, Casablanca and the San Francisc... 04/13/2017

Quick San Francisco housing update...The continued rise in prices for single family homes corresponds directly with the decline in inventory over the past six years, which puts some pressure on the market. Charts for condos tell a slightly different story considering the inventory has remained relatively steady. Prices have held steady on most 2-3 bedroom condos with the largest rise (fluctuation) in 1 bedroom units.  Those sales evened out the overall median price thus keeping that market at a level place for now.    Closer to Home recent sales citywide     3383 Pacific AvenueSan Francisco $11,995,000 7BR / 8BA Sold  $10,225,000   1554 Shafter AvenueSan Francisco $799,000 4BR / 2BA Sold at $875,000   3 Mercato CourtSan Francisco $2,199,000 4BR / 3BA Sold at $2,175,000       1688 Pine S... 03/20/2017

Yesterday, in honor of St. Patrick's Day...and because we could, and because the sun was shining... we enjoyed eating lunch at the Fort Mason Community Garden, where I'm having fun with my long-awaited garden plot. The ceanothus (the large bushes in the picture, with blue blossoms - a California native plant) is at the height of its glory; calla lilies are blooming in abundance as are various types of poppies, iris and tulips. Chard glistens in many beds.Many unknown (to me) flowers are blooming. Maybe some of you can tell me what the pretty light blue star shaped flowers  in the video are; I'd love to know.  03/18/2017

Friday, March 10, 2017 Glass & Metal Specialists Receive Contractors License in California 3-10-2017   Glass & Metal Specialists Receive Contractors License in California 3-10-2017   Well it's official Glass & Metal Specialists finally get a contractors license in the State of California. Robert Swetz received several calls today and some text messages including one from the Better Business Bureau congratulating GMS on their contractors license.     Robert Swetz and his business partner were going to first get licensed in the State of Nevada, but commercial building has been so slow in Las Vegas Nevada that we decided to get licensed in the State of California instead. What a great decision we made getting licensed in California vs Nevada because California is booming with construction ... 03/10/2017

The San Francisco real estate market continues to hum along in 2107. In February, single family homes saw an increase year-on-year in both median sales price and the median percent of list price received on homes that sold. The condo and loft market picture wasn’t quite as strong, with median sales prices and percent of list price received down slightly year-on-year.  Overall though, there continues to be a dearth of inventory on the market with both market segments seeing a decrease in month’s supply of inventory in February 2017 when compared to February 2016. It continues to be a seller’s market overall and particularly in the single-family home segment. On the bright side for buyers, interest rates continue to be low. Expect them to increase as the year progresses. Check out the cha... 03/08/2017

Check out my latest video! Call me to set up your Napa tour. Wine included. Enjoy!https://youtu.be/f6R7ioPPjmw#LiveYourDreamAlready #NatashaSellsNapa   03/07/2017

 Here are the upcoming Film Festivals in San Francisco for 2017...March- Ocean Film Festival / oceanfilmfest.org / at the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason / Mar 9-12- CAAMFest / caamfest.com  / Mar 9-19- Scary Cow Film Festival / scarycow.com / Mar 4th @2:00pm Castro Theater- Disposable Film Festival /  disposablefilm.com /  Mar 30th @8:00pm Castro TheaterApril- Food and Farm Film Festival / footandfarmfilms.com / Roxie theater / April 1st 7-11pm- SF International Film Festival / sffs.org / April 5-19- SF Green Film Festival /  greenfilmfest.org / Castro, Roxie, and other venues tbd / April 20-26May- Crossroads / sfcinematheque.org / Victoria TheaterJune- San Francisco Silent Film Festival / silentfilm.org /  June 1-4 / Castro Theater- SF DocFest / sfindie.com / Roxie Theater- San Francisco... 03/01/2017

Sunday, February 26, 2017 Chinese Investors Continue to Increase Home Values Across the World     Chinese Investors Continue to Increase Home Values Across the World   Robert Vegas Bob Swetz has been putting his feelers out around the world trying to find out "WHY" home prices across the world continue to increase. Vegas Bob doesn't mean to pick on the Chinese but multi-millionaire's & billionaire's from China continue to purchase homes around the world in major cities.  I just found out from my tax man in Las Vegas that was born & raised in Australia that the Chinese continue to purchase homes in Sidney Australia and have their children go to schools in Sidney. The main problem is the average home in Sidney because of this is now going for around $2,000,000 dollars ... WTF?      Anothe... 02/26/2017

We Californians truly enjoy our outdoor lifestyle. Staying indoors is contrary to many of our wishes. When rains come hard, accompanied with high winds, it's only prudent to hunker down and stay off the roads, out of harm's way. But when the rain stops.....ah, that's when we remember once again what a glorious place we have to call home.Today dawned clear, the first in many days, so my husband (who works at home on Wednesdays) and I took advantage of the opportunity for a long lunch. We borrowed Tanner who loves these adventures as much as we do, and off we went to explore and enjoy some of my favorite trails in The Presidio in San Francisco.Our trek today started at Inspiration Point, a scant 10-minute drive from our home. From there we walked across the upper reaches of the parkland, ... 02/22/2017

Yesterday afternoon I stepped out of the day-to-day business of real estate and attended the 2017 Realtor Summit, sponsored by Union Bank and presented by AREAA San Francisco-Peninsula. My thanks to both Union Bank and AREAA (Asian Real Estate Association of America) for providing a great educational event.The Omni Hotel in the heart of the financial district of San Francisco was a wonderful venue, both for the meeting itself and the networking mixer with food and beverages which followed, courtesy of Union Bank. The program featured two main speakers. First, William Jansen, Attorney at Law and President of Broker Risk Management shared advice on how to avoid real estate pitfalls and gave us some legal updates. Then Oscar Wei, Senior Economist for the California Association of Realtors ... 02/16/2017

For the latest sales information on all publicly listed properties in San Francisco, and the surrounding Bay Area communities, click on the 'recent sales' link below.  You can also refine your search by City, neighborhood, address, or MLS number.  If you want to narrow your search to just the City of San Francisco, for example, then type in San Francisco in the 'search by' section and click: update search. If you're interested in searching the latest listings and active (available) properties, click on the 'newest listings' link below, and follow the same format.     Closer to Home  recent sales citywide     340 Cumberland StreetSan Francisco $2,995,000 2BR / 2BA Sold at $2,975,000   3294 Clay StreetSan Francisco $1,349,000 2BR / 2BA Sold at $1,495,000   3345 21st StreetSan Francisco $1... 02/07/2017

Gardening in San Francisco will be a pleasure for me, and I'm looking forward to being part of the community at the Fort Mason Community Garden.Yesterday I shared pictures of the two garden plots that were available for me. Did I choose the sunny plot or the shady one?Most of you who guessed chose the sunny plot. That would definitely have been my choice except that it was full of oxalis, a very difficult to eradicate weed that plagues many of our California gardens. I knew that plot would demand more time and energy than I have to devote to it, so .... I chose the shady plot.It already has some plants growing that I'll keep ... narcissus, helleborus, oregano and rosemary. Also some yet-to-be-identified plants. Can you spot the rosemary and oregano in the picture? They seasoned last nig... 02/05/2017

You might have read about my excitement at finally getting notice that, after over 7 years on a waiting list, a garden plot at the Fort Mason Community Garden had finally become available for me.This afternoon was the time arranged for me to meet the membership volunteer, pay my fees, get an orientation around the area (I had no idea there was a club house area) and....choose my garden plot.Two plots were available. Each plot is roughly 5' x 20' in size. One is in pretty much full sun, which in San Francisco could be a real benefit. The other is quite shady, with one end facing south and a side facing east so potentially receiving sun much of the morning; most of the plot is shaded by a good-sized pepper tree.Pictures of the two plots are below. My question to you: which plot did I choo... 02/04/2017

Two days ago I received an email which read:"Hi Lottie,Your wait seems to be over! There are a couple plots available at Ft. Mason Community Garden!Please contact me and we'll talk about the procedure and schedule a time to meet.If you are no longer interested, please let me know."After 7 long years of waiting, I finally had moved to the top of the waiting list for a garden plot at the Fort Mason Community Garden! I was elated!And then the doubts began to creep in: when will I find the time to plant and care for my garden? what do I want to plant? I don't remember much from my gardening day What if it's too much trouble, more than it's worth? After those initial doubts, though, I now find myself excited, thinking thoughts like: a Meyer lemon tree, flowers to beautify my home, probably s... 02/02/2017

Wednesday, February 1, 2017 Be Careful When purchasing a Home in Certain Cities across the Untited States   Be Careful When Purchasing a Home in Certain Cities across the United States ... For anyone interested in purchasing a home around the Bay Area in northern California, parts of Los Angeles, Manhattan, Miami, Seattle, Portland, San Diego, just to name a few because you are paying too much money. The housing market in many major cities across the United States is way over inflated now, and has been for the last couple years.  Take a close look at prices right now and take notes of the type of home you interested in purchasing for example: City, # of Bedrooms, # of Bathrooms and so forth and of course the price. If the home your interested in is going for $500,000 and coming this spr... 02/01/2017

It's no secret that San Francisco has faced a tremendous housing shortage in the last few years. As a result, many new condominium projects have been built recently and are recently completed or nearly completed.Many of these are in the South of Market area, near AT&T Park or Mission Bay. However, other in-fill projects have gone up along or near the Van Ness corridor, and that's our report for today.Looking only at units with condominium ownership, excluding BMRs (below market rate) TIC (tenancy-in-common) or stock co-ops here's what our multiple listing showed for this area as of 3 days ago:17 Active listings currently for sale. These range from a resale studio of approximately 470 square feet price at $460,000 to a new penthouse with 2 bedroom, 2.5 baths, about 1485 sq.ft. listed at ... 01/30/2017

San Francisco has faced a tremendous housing shortage in the last 4 or 5 years, with rapidly increasing prices. As a result of the high demand, a number of new condominium projects have recently come on line, with many being completed in 2016.The bulk of these are in SOMA (South of Mission Area, near the financial district and the Bay Bridge) with many others near AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, and rapidly developing Mission Bay.However, other project have gone up in more established neighborhoods like Pacific Heights and the Van Ness Corridor.One of the large new developments in lower Pacific Heights, just off Van Ness is The Rockwell. This complex consists of two towers, each 13 stories high, offering a total of 260 residences. The first move-ins in this luxury developme... 01/28/2017