There is a new PBS series airing and its timing couldn't be better. Blueprint America takes an in-depth look at our countries crumbling transit and infrastructure and what's being done to drag our fossil fuel gorging culture into the 21st century. Far from your typical didactic PBS fare, this series explores our checkered transit history (tearing out urban streetcar systems in favor of cars and highways) and current efforts to jump start high-speed rail projects around the country. We hear so much about "transit orientated development" but it doesn't have much resonance unless your a city planner or property developer. This show will change that and show how efficiency and prosperity can go hand in hand.
If you live Downtown, your already transit orientated by nature of being in a city. What's exciting in San Francisco is that construction on our high-speed rail line will begin soon with the impending demolition of the TransBay Terminal. Once clear, the site will be excavated for construction of the "train box" that will sit below the eventual TransBay Tower.
While I'm geeking out on planning things, I should also tell you about an organization called America 2050. From their website:
"A national initiative to meet the infrastructure, economic development and environmental challenges of the nation as we prepare to add about 130 million additional Americans by the year 2050."
By 2035, two million of those Americans will be living in the Bay Area. The Downtown skyline may fill in faster than we thought.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Inventory & Anticipation Rise as the Market Starts to Come Alive in 2010
I wrote a few week ago about how the real estate market is typically slow up until the Superbowl and then it takes off. Bearing this out is an almost 30% rise in listings since the beginning of the year. A lot of factors will have an impact on the health of the market and its impossible to estimate what that is until we start to see some measurable sales volume.
Some of these factors include the extended and expanded home buyer tax credits, low interest rates, low overall inventory and potential short sales and foreclosures. The most important factor in my opinion? Confidence. How do you feel about your job security? How about the government ? Are things in general getting better, worse or staying the same? The answers to these questions can help people determine if the time is right for them to buy or sell.
There are also those times when none of them can. Someone once told me that the easiest way to make God laugh was to make plans. Sometimes life makes the most carefully laid plans obsolete and this can be positive, negative, or a bit of both. Not just for mere mortals like us, but for the real estate market, too.
I'm confident there won't be too much laughter from above this year.
Some of these factors include the extended and expanded home buyer tax credits, low interest rates, low overall inventory and potential short sales and foreclosures. The most important factor in my opinion? Confidence. How do you feel about your job security? How about the government ? Are things in general getting better, worse or staying the same? The answers to these questions can help people determine if the time is right for them to buy or sell.
There are also those times when none of them can. Someone once told me that the easiest way to make God laugh was to make plans. Sometimes life makes the most carefully laid plans obsolete and this can be positive, negative, or a bit of both. Not just for mere mortals like us, but for the real estate market, too.
I'm confident there won't be too much laughter from above this year.
Monday, January 25, 2010
San Francisco Can Learn Something From Los Angeles.
This past weekend I went to LA to celebrate my college roommates 40th birthday. He works in the entertainment industry and has quite the outsize personality. The entire weekend consisted of glamorous brunches, shows and dinners at classic Los Angeles locales like The Polo Lounge and newer hot spots like L.A. Live and Voyeur (don't ask).
I had heard about L.A. Live a few years ago when a former colleague was selling condominiums at The Ritz Carlton Residences there, but had never seen it in person. Our Leopard Limo (another LA invention) hurtled toward Downtown and as we pulled up to the main entrance on Olympic Boulevard I was completely floored. Adjacent to Staples Center, L.A. Live is a combination of crass commercialism and performing arts spaces rendered in Blade Runner style. It's the southern California version of Times Square with all the giant neon and LED lighting that one would expect.
It was mobbed, too. Old and young, Angeleno and tourist, black tie and open fly. This was the place to be.
One wonders what it would be like to have a fantastic new 21st century entertainment complex like that here in San Francisco. The truth is that it can't be done. With most vacant land Downtown already spoken for and a stunningly complex and developer unfriendly planning process, we will have to settle for... The Metreon.
Thankfully, we have the views, the bridges, the hills and the bay to console us. I had a great time down south and when I drove over The Bay Bridge back into my favorite city in the world a smile crept over my face. I was home.
I had heard about L.A. Live a few years ago when a former colleague was selling condominiums at The Ritz Carlton Residences there, but had never seen it in person. Our Leopard Limo (another LA invention) hurtled toward Downtown and as we pulled up to the main entrance on Olympic Boulevard I was completely floored. Adjacent to Staples Center, L.A. Live is a combination of crass commercialism and performing arts spaces rendered in Blade Runner style. It's the southern California version of Times Square with all the giant neon and LED lighting that one would expect.
It was mobbed, too. Old and young, Angeleno and tourist, black tie and open fly. This was the place to be.
One wonders what it would be like to have a fantastic new 21st century entertainment complex like that here in San Francisco. The truth is that it can't be done. With most vacant land Downtown already spoken for and a stunningly complex and developer unfriendly planning process, we will have to settle for... The Metreon.
Thankfully, we have the views, the bridges, the hills and the bay to console us. I had a great time down south and when I drove over The Bay Bridge back into my favorite city in the world a smile crept over my face. I was home.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
One Hawthorne Sales Center Now Open!
I'll admit that I may be jumping the gun a bit, but its exciting for a real estate geek like myself to lay hands on the 24 different floor plans available at the newly opened One Hawthorne sales center. That's pretty much all you can do at this point, anyway. The building won't be ready for hard hat tours for another three weeks and brochures, virtual reality tours and all the usual sales center accessories have yet to arrive.
What you will find are a delightful sales team, some of whom you will recognize from The Infinity a few blocks east. Since walking through a home is the best way to judge its merits, we will have to make do with what the team is sharing right now about the 165 condominiums. The 24 different layouts range from junior 1-bedrooms through 3-bedroom penthouses and I was pleasantly surprised by the large-ish, well-designed units offering plenty of closets and windows.
Pricing has not been established so we can't judge the relative value, but a few things to keep in mind are that parking is available with about 75% of the homes and that it is valet only. The first phase to hit the market in February will be on the 2nd though 8th floors only of the 25 story tower. A strategy surely meant to determine value on the upper floors but more likely to stymie buyers that want views and light.
This will be the last new tower Downtown for quite some time, so the One Hawthorne team is pretty much guaranteed a lot of traffic to the sales center. Whether or not that traffic results in raining deposit checks remains to be seen but it looks promising.
For expert guidance on this and all other Downtown developments you know who to call.
What you will find are a delightful sales team, some of whom you will recognize from The Infinity a few blocks east. Since walking through a home is the best way to judge its merits, we will have to make do with what the team is sharing right now about the 165 condominiums. The 24 different layouts range from junior 1-bedrooms through 3-bedroom penthouses and I was pleasantly surprised by the large-ish, well-designed units offering plenty of closets and windows.
Pricing has not been established so we can't judge the relative value, but a few things to keep in mind are that parking is available with about 75% of the homes and that it is valet only. The first phase to hit the market in February will be on the 2nd though 8th floors only of the 25 story tower. A strategy surely meant to determine value on the upper floors but more likely to stymie buyers that want views and light.
This will be the last new tower Downtown for quite some time, so the One Hawthorne team is pretty much guaranteed a lot of traffic to the sales center. Whether or not that traffic results in raining deposit checks remains to be seen but it looks promising.
For expert guidance on this and all other Downtown developments you know who to call.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
What's Up? New Developments at New Developments
January is typically a slow month in real estate. People are busy working on their resolutions (or breaking them). Once the Superbowl has been played, business starts to pick up with homes hitting the MLS and buyers starting to write offers.
Some new developments have gotten a jump on activity for early 2010 and made some fun and/or interesting changes. Lets take a look...
829 Folsom: You say Goodbye and I say Hello.
Sotheby's New Marketing Group has handed over the sales and marketing reigns to The Polaris Group as of the new year.
Since opening in mid-2009 few of these Folsom Street condominiums have gone into contract, perhaps the new blood (and new pricing) will be just the trick. Pay them a visit and say "Hi" to the new team; maybe they will show you one of the killer Penthouses.
Hang out with some hot models at BLU.
Not those kind of models. Although that wouldn't hurt. Anyway, these 16th floor beauties showcase the stunning finishes and views available at what one wag had dubbed "The Millennium Junior". The A plan is especially sweet with no units adjacent and views on three sides. The Ladies of BLU await you (that would be the lovely sales team).
She's a Brick House: Union unveils the brick and timber building!
They call it Union North. It's the "old" portion of Union's new construction/historic rehab combo and you are now allowed to tour and perhaps buy. One of only two developments currently marketing (Esprit Park being the other) that gives you that elusive and desirable combination of new systems and finishes with the beauty and character of vintage brick and timber. Bonus points for the cool neighborhood already stocked with shops, bars and restaurants.
Do you have colleagues, friends or family searching for a San Francisco condominium? Your referrals have been greatly appreciated and I look forward to exceeding expectations again in 2010.
Some new developments have gotten a jump on activity for early 2010 and made some fun and/or interesting changes. Lets take a look...
829 Folsom: You say Goodbye and I say Hello.
Sotheby's New Marketing Group has handed over the sales and marketing reigns to The Polaris Group as of the new year.
Since opening in mid-2009 few of these Folsom Street condominiums have gone into contract, perhaps the new blood (and new pricing) will be just the trick. Pay them a visit and say "Hi" to the new team; maybe they will show you one of the killer Penthouses.
Hang out with some hot models at BLU.
Not those kind of models. Although that wouldn't hurt. Anyway, these 16th floor beauties showcase the stunning finishes and views available at what one wag had dubbed "The Millennium Junior". The A plan is especially sweet with no units adjacent and views on three sides. The Ladies of BLU await you (that would be the lovely sales team).
She's a Brick House: Union unveils the brick and timber building!
They call it Union North. It's the "old" portion of Union's new construction/historic rehab combo and you are now allowed to tour and perhaps buy. One of only two developments currently marketing (Esprit Park being the other) that gives you that elusive and desirable combination of new systems and finishes with the beauty and character of vintage brick and timber. Bonus points for the cool neighborhood already stocked with shops, bars and restaurants.
Do you have colleagues, friends or family searching for a San Francisco condominium? Your referrals have been greatly appreciated and I look forward to exceeding expectations again in 2010.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Worlds Tallest Building Opens For Business: Welcome to The Burj Khalifa.
Yesterday marked the official grand opening of the worlds tallest building in Dubai, the Burj Khalifa. Originally named The Burj Dubai ('Dubai Tower' in Arabic); construction started on September 21, 2004 and was completed October 1, 2009.
"So what?" one may ask. "Dubai has been building high rises like crazy for years". While that is true, I'll let the facts and figures for the highest man-made structure in the world speak for themselves:
Height: 2,684 feet. 1,000 feet taller than the next highest building, Taipei 101 completed in 2004.
Floors: 160.
Cost: $1.5 billion USD or $9 million USD per floor.
Elevators: 57.
Capacity: 25,000 people.
Usable square footage: 5.67 million.
Residential units: 1,044.
Residential square footage: 1.85 million.
Office square footage: 300,000.
How many appliances? Miele manufactured 7,650 for the residential units.
How many toilets and bidets? Duravit made 4,000 for the building.
Observation Deck? Highest in the world on the 124th floor.
So for now, The Burj Khalifa wins the age old "Whose is bigger?" contest.
The unanswered question is how are the condo closings going? With the sales office claiming to have sold 95% of the 1,044 units within eight hours of hitting the market back in 2006, it will be interesting to see how many of these contracts close amid economic uncertainty both in Dubai and abroad. Prices per square foot are reported to have topped out at $2600 USD.
Monday, December 21, 2009
A Toast...
To my colleagues, clients and friends:
Thank you for indulging me each week when I pick up my virtual pen. I hope you find it entertaining, informative, sometimes zen.
I am grateful for life's blessings and my ability to share and send. In a small way, we learn, we laugh, we mend.
2009 is almost gone, the first decade of the new century at end. Now the wiser, lets welcome 2010!
Cheers!
Thank you for indulging me each week when I pick up my virtual pen. I hope you find it entertaining, informative, sometimes zen.
I am grateful for life's blessings and my ability to share and send. In a small way, we learn, we laugh, we mend.
2009 is almost gone, the first decade of the new century at end. Now the wiser, lets welcome 2010!
Cheers!
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