Along the hill’s crest are the streets of Jackson, Pacific, and Broadway which provide San Francisco’s most scenic views. In particular, the section of Broadway Street extending from Divisadero to Lyon Street is known as the “Gold Coast.” These prime plots of real estate became the setting for many of San Francisco’s classic homes, including a lumber magnate’s mansion designed by well-known San Francisco architect James Miller in 1910.

Five years after the home was built, architects of the famous 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition said: “the finest point of observation is at the corner of Divisadero Street and Broadway.” Those views then and now are admired by visitors, residents and is a prized backdrop for photographers.

Today, Miller’s architecture is preserved in the residence at 2701 Broadway. Its views are as breathtaking as in 1915 and still inspire one’s imagination to wind back the clock arms of history to a time when San Francisco was reborn into its modern grace that endures today.

Many years before James Miller designed the residence and the world’s fair took shape, the British writer James Bryce who made frequent visits to the United States captured the essence of San Francisco and its alluring coastline in his book American Commonwealth. “Few cities in the world can vie with San Francisco either in the beauty or in the natural advantages of her situation; indeed there are only two places in Europe— Constantinople and Gibraltar—that combine an equally perfect landscape with what may be called an equally imperial position.”

San Francisco’s reputation as a foggy, windblown city that can chill one to the bone is only part of the City’s story. There are many micro-climates like sunny banana belts or cool wooded paths winding through parks — most often a brisk five minute walk apart. It is part of what gives San Francisco its surprise, dimension and inspiration.

So too goes the neighborhoods of San Francisco. Each has its own micro-brewed climates, each has its unique personalities and histories connected to the past and each deserves to be explored.

Take, for example, Crissy Field in the Marina. On a quiet concrete wall, a plaque near the St. Francis Yacht Club commemorates Lincoln Beachey’s daring feats and acrobatic marvels that impressed millions of spectators. He was San Francisco’s most famous aviator and tragically died while performing a loop to loop maneuver in a new experimental plane during the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition.

Beachey was born in the Fillmore district of San Francisco and spent his youth and lifetime around machinery. At thirteen years old, he ran his own bicycle shop and by 15 years of age he was repairing motorcycles and small engines. Two years later, Beachey began his flying career as a dirigible pilot in Thomas Scott Baldwin’s balloon troupe, making his first dirigible flight in 1905 at the age of 17. He then built his own dirigible, and as a publicity stunt flew it around the Washington Monument and landed it on the lawn of the White House.

Beachey’s stunts impressed large crowds across the country. On June 27, 1911, Beachy took off into a drizzle of mist and spray and flew over Niagra’s lower falls, just clearing the rapids by 20 feet near “Honeymoon Bridge.” In Chicago, he raced a train and let his wheels touch the top of the moving train as it passed underneath.

At the height of his career, Beachey earned more money in a single day of touring with his aircraft than the average American could earn in a year. But some of his most impressive stunts earned him a reputation among the public.

San Francisco is a vibrant city of neighborhoods, climates and histories. Discovering a piece of San Francisco’s history brings you in more intimate connection with your home and the memories that enrich it. Like the writer, William Saroyan said, “San Francisco itself is art, above all literary art. Every block is a short story, every hill a novel. Every home a poem.”

National statistics have little relevance to local markets like San Francisco because there are many variables to be considered. For example, recent SF market research data indicates for the first time in 14 months of challenging conditions, the San Francisco real estate market has begun to show signs of recovery. The chart below points out that in January of 2009, the monthly average sales price declined 38% from January 2008. Since then, prices have appreciated 12%. Indicators suggest that we bottomed out in January 2009.

The market has remained steady since spring of 2009 with competitive bidding in specific sub-markets and price ranges. Recent data compiled also reinforces the point that competition is on the rise. In the last quarter of 2009, properties sold closer to original list price at -2.3% while days on market continued to decline to 68 days.

What does this mean for new and existing homeowners and investors in San Francisco?

As the market heats up, it’s important to have a realistic understanding your home purchasing, investing or selling objectives and the price range. The practical bullet-proof advice is to remember the “value of real estate comes down to the value of the land,” as pointed out in a recent talk by SF real estate analyst and expert Carole Rodoni.

Looking ahead, the bottom-line advice for those contemplating investment opportunities in today’s real estate market is to understand the risks. And risks like opportunities will always be a part of the landscape, whether it’s a rising or falling market. We are all looking to what the economy will bring in 2010. I’ll keep you posted and keep filling in some of the gaps between the market data and the view from the street. Regards, Gael

Home sales nationwide are now up nearly 36 percent from their bottom in January, in data released recently. At the current sales pace, there is only a 7-month supply of homes on the market and in some areas there are bidding wars. Please visit the KPIX 5 link here to view a recent segment in which I talk about the real estate market in San Francisco.



Big unemployment numbers and job losses still loom, but there is optimism about the economic outlook.  But it’s clear there’s a lot of recovery ahead and questions persist about the health of battered industrial sectors and real estate.

When it comes to the San Francisco real estate market, national trends don’t always hold true because of the unique market dynamics. Plenty has changed with mortgage loans and how banks look at today’s home buyers. How to make sense of it all?

Enter long time SF real estate expert, consultant and investor Carol Rodoni. Carol will help explain some of the latest stats, trends and how they are impacting the San Francisco market. She’ll also provide some insight and perspective on the outlook for the next year.

Here are a few things she’ll discuss this week. There is $650 billion invested in commercial real estate and these notes will come due in the next 6 months. As for the big picture, there is a return to value. And the lender is the new player taking the place of the buyer who used to be king of the hill.

Come and hear Carol Rodoni speak about the economy at my event this Wednesday, November 4th at Momo’s in SF from 6-8 p.m. RSVP by calling me at 415-309-9094.

One alternative is to turn to water thrifty plants that are reliable, easy to grow and even possess outstanding qualities like color fragrance and stunning looks.

Sound impossible?

University of California at Davis just recently noted that 100 drought engineered plants, called the “Arboretum All-Stars, would soon be making it to a nursery near you.

The plants were developed in the past several years by experts at the UC Davis Arboretum and now are being mass-produced for widespread sales. Many of these plants are California natives, providing food and habitat for wildlife and beneficial insects and most of them thrived in the arboretum

What gives with the name arboretum all stars?

UC Davis’ arboretum is a 100-acre public teaching garden on campus that promotes sustainable gardening practices and environmentally friendly garden plants. To gain the all-star designation, the plants have to pass a rigorous battery of tests.

The majority of these select plants thrive in the arboretum with infrequent, deep irrigation — only once every two weeks during the dry season.

A list of retail nurseries currently selling Arboretum All-Stars in the Bay Area, Sacramento region and Davis is available online at this UC Davis URL. UC Davis said that nurseries throughout California will eventually be offering the All-Stars, so stay tuned to the website for future updates.

Expert economists and financial wizards are busy trying to read the tea leaves of the market – but the bottom line is we won’t know until the market starts moving up.

There has been recent evidence over the past few weeks of an uptick in the market. That’s based on an increase in bookings for building and pest inspections and more properties being ratified.

It’s important to remember that the long view in property ownership is based on the value of the land. Holding property for several years is still a strong and proven strategy for creating equity and wealth.

At a recent private event for clients, I had Carol Rodoni, seasoned realtor and president of Bamboo Consulting, speak about the current conditions of the market and the outlook pointing out that this is the first time in the market when interest rates and home prices are moving downward.

Ms. Rodoni spoke about the conditions of the market and whether this is the right time to buy and what are the most important factors to evaluate if you’re planning on selling your home or investment property.

In her talk, she outlined the investment idea of the power of zero, in which real estate appreciation over years comes in a succession of $5,000 to $50,000 to $500,000.

Is this the right time to buy? Based on the fact that it’s hard to determine when the market has reached its bottom there is strong evidence that there’s some recent movement in the market.

As the market trends become more pronounced, I’ll make sure to keep you informed of the shifts and what they mean to you and your most important investment: your home.

The six-o’clock news story was reported by Emmy Award-winning political editor Hank Plant. He stated in his story that the upsurge in sales was driven by several factors, including historically low interest rates, more rational asking prices, the availability of credit and the effects of pent-up demand.

The real estate sales data was collected by Terradatum, a company which provides the National Association of Realtor with reports for publication in REALTOR® Advantage Online.

In today’s market climate when most of the news is dire, this report points to the early blogs I’ve posted about San Francisco’s real estate market being unique and resilient.

That push to lower energy costs can be accomplished with two basic strategies. One is energy efficiency and the other is by installing solar or wind powered renewables.

If you’re wondering whether the costs of installing solar panels on your home is too much for your budget, there’s a good online resource to check out. The solar installer Sungevity has a web site that provides home owners with some basic estimates for placing solar panels on their rooftop.

Visit the site, and enter your home address and the website kicks back a free estimate on the basic costs. The site also provides a primer on solar energy and how these systems work. You will have to turn down the volume on your computer speakers so the video pitch by a Sungevity sales person doesn’t drive you to the roof of your home.