A couple of months ago I was working with sellers to prepare their condominium on the Great Highway in San Francisco for sale. (You can read about it here.) They offered to sell it to their tenant, and as it turned out, the tenant's friend purchased it. It was a smooth transaction, and the sale recorded in July.Nice for the tenant; no need to disrupt life and move. Nice for the out-of-the-area sellers; a quick sale at a very good price with a minimum of effort needed on their part.This sale occurred without putting the property on our multiple listing service, something I usually advise against doing. It's important for sellers to know the benefits of using the MLS. Listing property with a local MLS exposes a seller's property to all real estate agents and brokers, and their potential b... 08/07/2019

Top 10 Tips for Buying a Home in the San Francisco Bay Area Buying a home in the highly competitive San Francisco Bay Area real estate market is a daunting task for nearly everyone. Tales of heartache abound --- “everything goes for over asking price,” “we don’t stand a chance against all-cash offers,” “everything we want is out of our price range,” etc. If you only listened to the naysayers, you might not even set foot in the arena.  As a lender who has observed the home purchase market, specifically over the last decade (2009 to 2019), I wanted to share my Top 10 tips for succeeding with your goal of home ownership. No doubt about it, it’s a worthy one despite all the challenges.  I'm confident this advice will help you too:  Get financially prepared. Before entering the housing marke... 07/31/2019

 We're half way through 2019 and the San Francisco real estate market is heating up again. Median sales prices soared in June, reaching new highs. Expect the summer months to slow slightly before the market takes off again for the Fall selling season. Happy Summer! Median Sales Price:After a pretty lackluster first quarter, where home sale prices fell compared to the 4th quarer of 2018, there was a palpable shift as we headed into the Spring months of April and May. Those results are finally coming to light as home prices soared to a new high for June, a reflection of sales of properties that went on the market and into contract in April and May. Single family home prices shot up to over $1.7 Million, more than 8% higher than the same month last year. Condos and lofts prices grew 11% ye... 07/29/2019

National Ice Cream Day is Sunday, July 21, 2019Summer in San Francisco, where the fog is our natural air conditioner. It rolls in most afternoons, and slides out beyond the Golden Gate mid-morning, leaving cool, sunny days for us to enjoy walking, running, working, playing. While some neighborhoods (think Outer Sunset) have more fog than others, it never hampers our days, and we're used to layering up, peeling layers off as the day dictates. We aren't suffering in the heat wave that is affecting much of the country this weekend, but ice cream is always enjoyed, here as well as elsewhere. Here are a few spots in The City where you might go to indulge in this cool treat. (Cover Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash)Swensen's Ice Cream - located on Hyde Street in Russian Hill, at the corner of ... 07/20/2019

Did you know? Nearly every San Franciscan lives within a 10-minute walk to a park, per a study by The Trust for Public Land. They go on to report: 100% of the population served by city parks ("served" = within a 10-minute walk) 19.6% of the city is covered by park land 1.3 acres is the median park size $318.39 amount per capita spent on parks Per their study of 100 largest cities in the country: San Francisco ranks in the 96th percentile in dog parks 75th percentile in park bathrooms 71st percentile in basketball hoops 56th percentile in recreation and senior centers 52nd percentile in playgrounds 36th percentile for splashpads (no surprise here with our temperate climate!) As a San Franciscan who loves to hike and explore, I know first-hand many of our city's parks. Some are very small... 07/18/2019

As the colorful month of June draws to a close, what could be more appropriate than to focus on all the rainbow colors seen around The City.We see the rainbow hues in shop windows, like the shoes store in the Fillmore District, on the wall at Batch! (where Russian Hill meets Nob Hill) and in mosaics in Noe Valley. Rainbow colors are spotted on staircases, from staircases and inside museums.Automobiles are not exempt from the beauty of rainbow colors, nor is City Hall, a spectacular rainbow sight to greet patrons leaving the symphonyNight or day, rainbow colors brighten the month of June, bringing smiles to faces and joy to hearts of San Franciscans and visitors alike.  06/28/2019

Celebrate the Japanese cultural heritage of Japantown at the Japan Day Festival. Experience an afternoon of Japanese cultural arts and music (drums, harp, dance, poetry, calligraphy, origami and more) in both outdoor and indoor venues. Outdoors, on the Peace Plaza stage near the pagoda enjoy music, poetry, dance.When: Sunday June 30, 2019Time:  12:30PM - 4:00/4:30PMCost:   FREE for all agesWhere: At the Peace Plaza and surrounding businesses in Japantown, San Francisco 06/25/2019

Billionaire Jack Dorsey, 42, has paid $21M for a Sea Cliff house next to one he bought in 2012 for $10M         The chief executive officer of Twitter is doubling down on an exclusive clifftop neighborhood in San Francisco.   Billionaire Jack Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter and Square, a credit card payment service, forked out $21 million for a house next to one he has owned for seven years, according to Mansion Global. Dorsey paid $10 million in 2012 for his first mid-century two-bedroom house in San Francisco’s Sea Cliff neighborhood.   Dorsey, 42, reportedly bought his new two-story house next door in November. According to property records, the Twitter CEO’s newly acquired house has five bedrooms and three bathrooms.   The seller, Hin Land Investment, had purchased the house in 1997 ... 06/25/2019

While exploring San Francisco, especially on foot, one has the opportunity to really focus on small things, like the color red. Once you start to focus, you see red everywhere.Sometimes it's hard to miss, like the red dress of the White Crane Troop of musicians welcoming in Chinese New Year, or the brilliant red of the mini free library and bench in front of a residence in Presidio Heights.You will find red on all sorts of transportation options, and they are many in San Francisco, both people-powered and motorized.Nature makes a showing in red, and even our wonderful, eclectic houses sport red trim and festoons of red on store fronts.Today my focus is on the power color, red. What red have you spotted today?  06/21/2019

As some of you know I love walking throughout the neighborhoods of San Francisco. When on foot, walking between property showings or previews, to appointments or on errands, I have the luxury of a few minutes of time to enjoy some of the sights along the way.Today I am focusing on the color purple (and thinking of our colleagues Sally K. & David L. Hanson and their love of purple.)We see soft purple skies at twilight over AT&T Park (go Giants!) matched by the soft purple of fragrant lavender gracing Lafayette Park.Bold purple can be spotted on houses, apartment buildings and cars, too! Even the cabbages at the Heart of the City Farmer's Market gleam purple.  Just when ones eye needs a relief from the deep, bright purples, here's a lovely brick city street near the Sutro Forest, with the... 06/14/2019

Exploring San Francisco, it's hard not to spot accents of orange. You'll find orange in the natural world; in a sunset at Ocean Beach, above, or in gardens throughout the city, like the poppies at Fort Mason Community Garden and the other flowers brightening Holly Hill Park on a cloudy day.Orange accents buildings, both large like this condo building in the Hayes Valley and small like the entry to tiny Cafe La Mediterranee on Fillmore Street.In San Francisco, you'll find orange inside buildings, on art walls in North Beach cafes and on art pieces at the Asian Art Museum.Finally, how can we end a post about orange without mentioning Halloween and jack o'lanterns! 06/07/2019

As I walk around San Francisco this spring, I've been more aware of all the colors I see in the neighborhoods more than many other times. I've shared some yellow photos, then pink and green.When the skies cleared on Wednesday and Thursday, I was struck by BLUE - brilliant blue, soft blue, navy blue, ocean blue.Some years, when the Blue Angels perform over San Francisco Bay in October, the skies really are as blue as in the picture.You'll spot blue houses around town, like this one on Jackson Street in Pacific Heights.Or this darker blue Edwardian house not far away, with the blue car in frontPublic art can be blue, too, like this heart and the free little library on Jackson Street.Finally, with water on 3 sides of The City, plenty of blue of varying shades is seen in the ocean or here, ... 05/24/2019

The Lenders, The Dreamers and Me Immigration, as a topic, has been in the news a lot lately. Without weighing in politically, at least overtly, this is a matter close to my heart as it's not hard for me to forget that my grandparents fit the classic Ellis Island mold that shaped the lives of countless Italian-Americans.  A couple of years ago, I was honored to write a piece for our industry's M Report, and in it, I tried to imagine what it was like for my immigrant grandfather to obtain his first mortgage here in the United States.  Just conjuring his experience shed new light on my own value proposition and how I might better serve some of the most financially vulnerable, as they take a huge step towards realizing a big part of the American Dream, home ownership. By now, most of us hav... 05/21/2019

This San Francisco Realtor is vacationing in the east coast at present, and reveling in all the green I see, in Manhattan and New Jersey, and now in Maryland and Virginia. It is May and we're seeing green everywhere.While the green in San Francisco isn't so much woods like the picture above (Tryon Park, Manhattan, near the MetCloisters) plenty of green greets one as we walk around San Francisco, like this pathway in Lafayette Park in Pacific Heights.Or these pictures below, in the San Francisco Botanical Garden, a patio of a Pacific Heights house, San Francisco City Hall, and at the St. Francis Yacht club.          05/14/2019

Last week I shared various pictures I took that showcased Glimpses of yellow as I walked in San Francisco. Later I shared information about a one-night trip we took to the Sonoma County coast. That little get-away completely refreshed me and re-charged my batteries and left me----ahem---in the PINK.So today, here are some glimpses of PINK spotted in and around San Francisco.The cover picture shows delicate PINK cherry blossoms in Golden Gate Park.(Pink house with roses, in Pacific Heights, San Francisco)( a PINK mansion near the Lyon Street Steps, San Francisco)(PINK cloud at dawn, looking north from San Francisco to Marin County)(Grand Staircase at Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco - PINK!)(Bright PINK sign along Polk Street, San Francisco)(a PINK Victorian house in San Francisco)I'm... 05/03/2019

Many people have heard that the distinct neighborhoods of San Francisco provide much of the charm of The City. For a REALTOR like me who loves to walk, I catch glimpses that often would pass by someone riding in Uber, Lyft, or driving themselves.Recently I have been struck by the beautiful colors I see as I walk to and from appointments, as I walk to my office, bank, shopping errands, and as I walk for the sheer joy of walking.Perhaps it's because we've had a couple of unseasonably warm spring days this week, but today I'm thinking YELLOW!(Corvette spotted on Jackson near Van Ness Avenue) (Roses blooming in April, Fort Mason Community Garden) (Gracious Queen Anne Victorian on Gough Street, near Lafayette Park)   (tiled stairs at a private residence on Broderick Street) 04/26/2019

Come join Tom Parke, sales manager at Mason-McDuffie, Lottie Kendall, Realtor at Compass, and Rachael Kendall, team associate, as we demystify the buying process and answer fundamental questions like: how do I know if I'm qualified to buy anything? what's a credit score and how do I know if mine is good? how much down payment must I have? rents are sky-high in San Francisco; is it possible for me to buy a place of my own? These are typical questions we are often asked, the Buyer Information Night makes it easy to learn and ask questions in a friendly, no-pressure environment. Stop by on your way home from work. Enjoy some pre-dinner appetizers and beverages. Enter the raffle for a gift basket or two. Meet your neighbors. Start giving thought to how you might invest in your future. Ask t... 04/24/2019

The 2019 line-up for the ever popular Stern Grove Festival has been announced. Thanks to the generosity of Rosalie Stern, who purchased the grove in 1931 and gave it to the City to honor her late husband, Sigmund Stern, the public has been enjoying music since 1938.Every Sunday afternoon, at 2:00PM, beginning Sunday, June 16 through August 18, treat yourself to a FREE outdoor concert, and enjoy these 2019 performances:June 16     Digable Planets, Bang DataJune 23     Los Van Van, Banda Sin NombreJune 30     Galactic, Baby & the LuviesJuly 7        San Francisco SymphonyJuly 14      Mitski, Madeline KenneyJuly 21      Toots and the Maytals, Lee Fields and the ExpressionsJuly 28      San Francisco BalletAugust 4   The Psychedelic Furs, JamesAugust 11  Pink Martini, Barrio ManoucheAugust 1... 04/18/2019

To better help my clients, I see a lot of properties every week, many in San Francisco. There always seems to be one or two special places and capture my interest and would provide great living for my clients. Yesterday evening I took a look at an opportunity in a building I really like, The Landmark. Perched on a hillside on Russian Hill, adjacent to the lovely Ina Coolbrith Park, The Landmark has 60 condominium units stepping down the hill from Taylor to Mason street, on the staircase that is Vallejo Street (block too steep for cars!) and next to Broadway.  What an amazing opportunity to live so close to Chinatown, North Beach and the Financial District. Walk to work in the Financial District. Enjoy dining al fresco on Columbus Avenue in the heart of North Beach. Saunter over to City ... 04/12/2019

The San Francisco City Chorus has been working hard, preparing a treat for us! Who: San Francisco City Chorus, a community group of about 30 singersWhat: Spring Concert, with pieces by Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn and Alexander GretchaninovWhere: Old First Presbyterian Church, 1751 Sacramento Street (corner of Van Ness Avenue), San Francisco 94109When: Saturday, May 4, 2019 at 3:00 PMWhy: To provide us a joyful, peaceful respite in the midst of our busy days If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, please come and join us. I think you'll be glad you did.San Francisco City Chorus ...where the City sings   04/10/2019