San Francisco Lofts and Condos offer stylish and elegant settings in a city that is renowned for its rich culture and abundant professional opportunities.

San Francisco generally has a very limited inventory of homes available for sale. Add to that the desire of so many people to live and own property in this beautiful city, and you have an equation for strong property values. Although land is limited and we are not seeing a large number of single family homes being built in San Francisco, we are having a surge in development of new construction condos and TIC interests. According to some projections there will be very few new construction developments by 2010.

As of Sunday, June 22, 2008, there are 655 lofts and condos on the San Francisco MLS, up from 545 in March of 2008 (Tics and stock coops were excluded and this search was in Districts 1-9 only.

Number of units sold / date /average price

197 / May 2008 / $961,978

66 / Jan 2008 / $829,530

138 / Sept 2007 / $833,052

170 / Sept 2006 / $796,075

180 / Jan 2006 / $791,688

126 / Jan 2005 / $756,454

137 / Jan 2004 / $616,144

(Regarding TIC interests: When you purchase a TIC in San Francisco, you are usually purchasing a percentage of an apartment building, with the right to occupy, rent, sell or will your interest. Financing for tic interests is different than in a condo purchase. There are many details to consider, so if you want to know more about considering a tic purchase, please contact me directly. I can be reached on my cell at 415-269-3825. For a primer on TIC properties you can visit http://www.andysirkin.com or http://www.g3mh.com)

As of Sunday, June 22, 2008, the SF MLS shows 197 TIC interests actively for sale in Districts 1-9 only, up from 186 in March of 2008.

Number of units sold / date / average price

52 / May 2008 / $659,779

35 / Jan 2008 / $684,657

53 / Sept 2007 / $659,945

44 / Jan 2007 / $680,386

57 / Sept 2006 / $645,382

39 / Jan 2006 / $654,949

45 / Sept 2005 / $639,975

35 / Jan 2005 / $602,114

17 / Jan 2004 / $596,529

Neighborhoods like Noe Valley, The Sunset, The Richmond, Pacific Heights, Potrero Hill, Sea Cliff, Glen Park, Bernal Heights and St. Francis Wood are where you will find single family homes to be the predominant property type. There are many other wonderful neighborhoods in which to buy a single family home, and prices vary widely. According to MLS data, as of June 22, 2008, there are 394 single family home sales in districts 1-9 (compared with 253 in January 2008) (district 10 excluded due to excessive number for comparison purposes), with an average price of 1,878,387 and an average of 55 days on the market. Compare to January: $1,090,000 and 46 days on the market and November 2007: $1,654,940 average price and 48 days on the market).

The resale condo market reaches into many neighborhoods and includes condos that are over 100 years old to newer homes. As of June 22, 2008, the SFMLS shows 111 condos listed for sale in SOMA and South Beach areas with an average price of $900,247 and an average of 55 days on the market. Please keep in mind this includes some new construction units but not the majority of new construction. Some statistics claim that 80% of new construction is not listed on the MLS.

Focus on South Beach and SOMA:
In May 2008 there were 23 (listed) condos (only) sold in bothe SOMA and South Beach combined, with an average price of $996,783 and an average of 74 days on the market.
SOMA average price for the 48 condos listed as of June 22, 2008 is $789,936 versus $985,650 for the 62 condos listed in South Beach.

Loft sales are often the most limited in volume in terms of the property types listed on this site. As of June 22, 2008, there are 73 lofts listed for sale in Districts 1-9, versus 51 in January of 2008 (per SFMLS). Of the available lofts on the MLS, the average price is $809,357, versus $760,469 average price in January of 2008.

Development of our downtown San Francisco (including South Beach, SOMA and Mission Bay neighborhoods) is set to include more parks and more efficient transportation to support commuters without increasing pollution. This has a direct impact on the local San Francisco condo and loft market. San Francisco residents have always been concerned with decreasing our contribution to global warming/greenhouse gasses and there has been a great push to create LEED certified buildings and reduce the number of cars downtown.

According to SocketSite.com, as of 7/18/07, 46% of inventory is not listed on the mls and 80% of condo inventory is not listed. In addition, 2,000 condos may be coming to market in the first half of 2008 and more than 1,600 future condos are either under construction or may soon be under construction.

For new construction, if you want to use a buyer's agent, please contact me before you visit the sales office. Once you go register on your own, you can't use a buyer's agent to help you. An agent familiar with new construction purchases (as well as other types of purchases) can help guide you through the process and help you distinguish:

• costs specific to new construction purchases


• contract issues


• lender issues


• rental issues


• pet restrictions


• resale issues

Most new construction units are not listed on the MLS. If you are interested in one of the new projects in San Francisco, you will need somebody who is plugged in to new development, which I am. I can help you compare units by showing you the most properties.

Please contact me today to discuss your search. Cameron's cell 415-269-3825, email cbamberger@ubayp.com

The Palms, 555 4th Street in SOMA This is a high-amenity
building in an area with great restaurants. Also a super commuter location.

SF Blu Will open their sales office this month. This building will be mostly 2 bedroom units starting in the $700Ks, but will also feature some 3 bedroom penthouse units that will have some outdoor space. The location is great.

The Soma Grand is selling available1-beds, 1 beds + den and 2 beds. Prices for the 1 bed plus den start at approx $565,000, but to encourage buyers to go sans auto, they offer a discount of $55,000 if you elect to purchase without the right to a valet spot. This is another high-amenity, high-concept building that will certainly appeal to many.

Luxury Condos in San Francisco

If you are looking for a luxury condo with hotel-style amenities, there are 3 stand-out buildings in the Downtown/SOMA area:

The Millennium offers hotel-style amenities to their residents only and is currently selling new units. Roughly $700K-1.5 for the lower units, 2m-4m for the "mid" units and above $4m for the highest homes.

The St. Regis is a popular choice with its stylish bar, excellent restaurant (Ame), lovely swimming pool and relaxing spa services.

Also: The Four Seasons

In addition:

The Infinity offers lots of amenities, including a gym and swimming pool. There is no hotel affiliation here though.

The fabulous Watermark is located close to the Embarcadero and has a more private feel due to its location and low number of total units.

Whether one works in downtown San Francisco, or commutes to or from work in the South Bay, many prefer to buy a San Francisco Loft or San Francisco Condo so that they can be close to the many landmarks and events the City offers.

A few of the many great amenities that make San Francisco real estate so attractive
are:

Union Square, Fisherman's Wharf, Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate Bridge, Alamo Square and the "Painted Ladies", Golden Gate Park, Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco Giants baseball games, San Francisco Opera and Symphony, Fabulous restaurants such as the Financial District's Aqua and SOMA's Ame, UC Hasting's College of Law, The Academy of Art University and San Francisco Art Institute, American Conservatory Theater, UCSF School of Medicine, The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, plus plenty of shopping, including Barneys,
Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom and a wide selection of boutiques.

With all the different amenities and neighborhoods to choose from within San Francisco, you need a local real estate expert to help find the right neighborhood and property for you. This website is aimed at helping you become familiar with what the different offerings are within each neighborhood and property type/sub-market, but please contact me today for more information or with any questions or requests.
The best way to reach me is on my cell 415-269-3825, or by cbamberger@ubayp.com.

If you are looking for a "deal", you may want to consider new construction. There are ways to subsidize your payments for the first couple of years that is specific to a new construction purchase. Or you could consider the East Bay: lots of wonderful neighborhoods and a number of great properties at aggressive prices. In general, a buyer can get more for their money in the East Bay than in San Francisco. Still,
many people really would prefer to stay in San Francisco. Please contact me if you need help finding your new home. Cameron Bamberger
415-269-3825.