Location: San Francisco
03/01/2008
Not even Mark Twain’s brilliant wit succeeded in tarnishing the gleaming image of San Francisco. Sure, Twain accurately informed his readers, and those on down the centuries, that a summer spent in that fair city was the coldest winter he’d ever experienced, thanks to the punishing Pacific fog. Nevertheless, San Francisco retains a singular position in the minds of foreign and domestic visitors alike as a magical Xanadu blessed with a beautiful bay, a vibrant metropolis and stunning natural surroundings.Not surprisingly, elected officials have worked hard to keep the city in harmony with nature. This has placed San Francisco on the leading edge of urban green movements nationally. Under the current leadership of maverick mayor Gavin Newsom, the city is busy converting all its municipal vehicles to run on biofuel, has banned the use of non-compostable plastic bags and is discontinuing the practice of buying bottled water in favor of on-site filters.
"These sorts of efforts are simply part of our history—the Sierra Club was founded here in the 1800s," says Mark Westlund, spokesman for the city’s environmental department. "We are currently the most aggressive city in the country when it comes to ensuring that both commercial and residential projects meet strict green standards."
If all this talk—from sailboats plying crystalline waters to civic leaders pushing responsible building—makes you want to lose your heart in San Francisco, this could be a good time dip a toe into what is traditionally a daunting real estate whirlpool. Bear in mind that locals have a saying: The market never drops, it stair-steps, with some stairs proving wider than others. This appears to be one of those wide-step times, when prices remain stable and some homes stay on the market longer.
For starters, if you’re not hell-bent on landing in the heart of the city, a number of bedroom communities with easy access to San Francisco are worth a look. To the north, the Marin County towns of Sausalito and Tiburon recall Italy’s Amalfi Coast with their epic water views. To the east, the stately Piedmont enclave cozies up to its funkier cousin, Berkeley. And to the south, retreats such as Woodside and Atherton are home to Google-istas and their tech-savvy kin.
But if only San Francisco will do, take dead aim at some of its more legendary neighborhoods, including the Marina (especially hip with singles and new families), Nob Hill (when you want to feel like a 19th-century railroad kingpin) and Pacific Heights (if nothing but mansions will suffice). Just make sure your checkbook is wide open and you’re quick with a pen.
"Homes priced between $3 million and $4.5 million in San Francisco’s more desirable neighborhoods will sell within a week," says Sotheby’s International Realty agent Gloria Smith, a 20-year veteran of the city’s soaring real estate scene. "People always say the market is peaking here, but it simply never does."
Smith says a good rule of thumb for shoppers is $1,000 per square foot for houses that will need some work (often tallying seven-figures), while $2,000 per square foot will secure a dwelling that has already been renovated and might even offer spectacular views of the bay.
A couple of key factors help keep prices high: limited supply and access to private schools. "They’re simply never going to build any more homes in these neighborhoods," says Smith, who adds that growing families are increasingly opting to stay in the city as opposed to crossing the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin. "When those families decide to stay, they all want to be near great schools, and that makes those homes even more sought after."Often, that duel pits local against local, says Richard Sax, a 30-year Bay Area real estate veteran, currently with Pacific Union/Christie’s Great Estates. "A large number of folks on the market are longtime San Francisco residents who might now be empty nesters and are looking to finally get the house of their dreams," he says. "They tend to know precisely what houses are truly worth what prices. They tend to be more cautious."
Sax also agrees that this could be a good time to look at the San Francisco market: "It’s a romantic place where everyone wants to be, and it’s also a place where you can’t exactly add more housing. What you see is what’s available. So you know your investment is lasting."
San Francisco may be synonymous with romance, but it’s also often mentioned in the same sentence as the dreaded E-word: earthquake. Famously, parts of the Marina District—built on fill—pancaked during the 1989 quake, as did some of the city’s freeways. But there’s a silver lining. That experience served to tighten San Francisco’s already stringent building codes; any home that has undergone a recent renovation meets some of the strictest standards in the business (a bit of a consolation to those concerned about Mother Nature impacting their newest investment).
In the end, as any Bay Area denizen will tell you, there’s no use trying to
predict the unpredictable. Instead, what most San Franciscans focus on—to the
point of obsession—is the good life. Sure, they work, but that’s just a way to
generate funds to indulge in great wine in nearby Napa, a hike in the Sierra
Nevada, a speedboat outing on Lake Tahoe, a mountain biking escape outside
Orinda or...well, the list, incredibly, goes on.
Facts & Stats
How Sweet it Is
The lap of luxury doesn’t get any cozier than a single-family
residence perched atop Pacific Heights that was built in 1912 for sugar baron
Adolph Spreckels. What do you get for $25 million? A Neoclassical mansion that
meets tough seismic standards, while preserving the wood-bathed charm of an era
long gone. It features six fireplaces, five bedrooms and bathrooms, a media room
with its own dining and cooking areas and, in a nod to a 1912 pastime, a sewing
room. There are also massive private gardens and views to kill for—from the
Golden Gate Bridge to Russian Hill. Contact Sotheby’s International Realty San
Francisco Brokerage, 415.296.2239, www.sothebysrealty.com
On the Waterfront
If watching regattas is your thing, but buying a sailboat isn’t
where your budget is at, condominiums in the Marina District—where rooftops
often double as resident gathering spots for everything from sailing events to
Blue Angels fly-bys—are the way to go. Typical of what’s available is a $1.8
million, three-bedroom, three-bath unit with a large den and fireplace for those
chilly, foggy nights (the sound of the bay’s omni-present foghorn is free).
Meant for well-heeled singles or starter families, this offering is about
average in both price and space for an apartment in the Marina, a neigh-borhood
where standalone homes fetch $4 million or more. In the past six months, 13
homes in the Marina have sold for an average of $3.29 million, spending around
27 days on the market, at a cost of about $1,051 per square foot. Another Marina
condo currently on the market is priced at $1.7 million. Contact Pacific
Union/Christie’s Great Estates, 415.345.3752,
www.christiesgreatestates.com
Keeping it Green
If you’re interested in creating your dream home in San Francisco and have
green practices in mind, get the low-down on everything from the area’s building
codes to names of top builders at Berkeley-based Build It Green: 510.845.0472,
www.builditgreen.org