Greetings All, “When you’re 20, you care what everyone thinks, when you’re 40 you stop caring what everyone thinks, when you’re 60, you realize no one was ever thinking about you in the first place.” This quote was attributed to Winston Churchill for some reason, but it turns out he never said it. I don’t know who did, but they were spot on. Is this a modern concern? Or has it remained constant since the beginning of Man? I’ve got money on the latter. Human nature being what it is, whether in the backs or forefronts of our minds, there are some comparisons being made. If the playing fields were always even, there’d be little reason for conflict, resentment, dissatisfaction, depression. In the real estate business, we are confronted with “haves and have nots”, everyday. Living and working in one of the richest markets in the country, it continues to astound me how much wealth resides in the Bay Area. One minute we’re with clients who can pay millions of dollars for a home in cash, and the next, on our way past numerous homeless encampments, we’re meeting with clients who are scraping together every last dime for a starter one bedroom condo. From a daily blog I read called “Daily Stoic”, “It’s easy not to feel blessed. We look readily for what we don’t have rather than what we do. We see people who are taller, who look better, who have more and feel deprived. Why couldn’t I have been born rich? Why couldn’t my company have gotten that contract? Why can’t I play in the NFL? But, of course, as we are feeling sorry for ourselves, we’re not noticing that the people who were born rich, who did get the contract, who are in the NFL, are focusing on what they don’t have, too. Why is Dad never around? Why couldn’t I get paid more? Why didn’t I make the Pro Bowl?” What a miserable way to live. And how unnecessary! Today, you need to stop and look at what you have, not at what you lack. Count where you have been lucky, look at what has gone your way. Consider how many people who would kill to be where you are, to have been given the life that you have. You are blessed. Don’t forget it. Don’t be unhappy.” That’s where my mind was, today. Regardless of where you happen to be, on the front end, middle or back end of life, I think it’s wise to not only focus on simple gratitudes, but to stop comparing. (That means YOU too, Derek, lol.) Till next month – Stay healthy, safe and sane. Derek & Natalie and Geneva |
by Patrick Carlisle, Market Analyst for Compass Bay Area Q1 is typically a slow quarter, its sales and sales prices mostly reflecting activity during the mid-winter holiday “doldrums”, as the market gradually wakes up in the new year. But business went crazy this past winter — sales peaked for the year in Q4 — and first quarter activity was far higher than Q1 2020. Interest rates, though still extremely low by historical standards, have climbed 20% since their all-time low in January. Click the above image or here for to view the entire report. Tell us what you think! We’d love to hear from you. |
New Listings | Just Sold | Announcement |
This lovely couple came to us from a referral from recent past clients, friends of theirs. After a full-on search all over Pacific and Presidio Heights, in an increasingly competitive market, they found their place to call home. Congrats to the Narulas, and all best wishes for a big and wonderful 2021! |
DID YOU KNOW? The Newly rich are an important demographic real estate marketing circles: So what are they finding desirable these days? In San Francisco, newly rich techies are migrating from modern “white box” apartments in the neighborhood of SoMa to traditional prewar “trophy homes” in more established areas such as Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Pacific Heights and Sea Cliff. They seem to be excited by historic mansions with elaborate moldings and architecture…..In Manhattan, one of the most successful new developments on the Upper East Side is THE BENSON (marketed by Alexa Lambert of COMPASS) that boasts traditional leaning architecture by Robert A.M. Stern who is also responsible for the record-shattering pricing achieved at 220 Central Park South, the most expensive condo in the US. DID YOU KNOW? Commodities prices are soaring and impacting the cost of building homes: Prices for granite, insulation, concrete blocks, and common brick have all pushed to records in 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s producer-price index. Drywall and ceramic tiles are short of records but have also climbed. Oil, lumber is up dramatically as the economy rebounds and massive savings and cheap money, and stimulus money are put towards buying and renovating homes….Building supply chains were not geared for this massive recovery and OPEC cut back oil production in 2020…oil is in paint and plastics and LOTS of other stuff we use to build. This will impact the price of all new homes including rentals DID YOU KNOW? Fran Flanagan from COMPASS Brentwood CA shared this interesting perspective on how far we have come as Women’s History Month draws to a close. Let’s take a moment to celebrate how far women have come in terms of purchasing and leasing real estate. Fran was only 22 when she obtained her real estate license in 1972. Her first deals representing buyers were unbelievable…truly: * Lenders would not accept a woman’s salary to qualify for a loan. * The income of married women counted only as 50% of what they actually earned. * One lender actually asked for a letter from a woman’s doctor, confirming that she was “on birth control,” to qualify her salary at all. * If a woman signed a lease, her husband, brother, father, or son had to co-sign. * Women had no separate credit at all. * In 1974, the Federal Credit Act was passed. No lender could deny equal credit to any person because of their sex or marital status. A woman could buy a property on her own, obtain a credit card on her own, and qualify for a loan on her own. This was only 47 years ago. With one change in one law, the world of real estate changed forever. |
| Benchmark Mortgage Rate Inches DownHaving ticked up 53 basis points, or 0.53 percentage points, from an all-time low of 2.65 percent in early January, the average rate for a benchmark 30-year mortgage inched down 5 basis points over the past week to 3.13 percent and is still 20 basis points below its mark at the same time last year. |
Starting Friday, April 9, over 140 restaurants throughout the city will participate in San Francisco Restaurant Week — including eateries in the Tenderloin’s highly anticipated new La Cocina Municipal Marketplace, which opens Monday. | |
| The Draft Plans and New Timing for Temporary Terminal Site The draft plans for the redevelopment of the southern third of the shuttered Temporary Terminal Site, a nearly 43,000-square-foot block bounded by a future extension … have been drafted by Mercy Housing and the Chinatown Community Development Center… |
Candlelight Concerts Enjoy a host of concerts illuminated by candlelight and performed by live musicians in some of the most iconic venues in SF Bay Area. | |
Aiming to prove that middle-aged dogs can learn new tricks, here’s a quick look at how we’ve adjusted to our current landscape for our selling clients. (Woof!) |
Visualizing your Upgrade: Curious to know how Compass can transform a listing and improve its sale price? Compass Lens uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to visualize the potential of your space! See exactly the difference working with us can make. | |
| Virtual Property Presentations: Sticking with what we’ve always done, we’ll provide Professional Photography & Videography, including Matterport 3D home tours, and a dedicated property website which includes all of this within the site. |
Video Creator: We’re able to make quick (10 seconds or less) videos of our listings with essential details to our social feeds. | |
| Create a virtual open house experience using standard video from our phone: We can record a Home Tour – more informal than a professional video, we’ll walk the property and show it as we would in a traditional open house, pointing out all of the features, opening closets and cabinets, send to prospective buyers and their agents, and be available for questions. |
Facetime or Zoom conferencing in the property: As above but on a live feed that is mutually scheduled with prospective buyers and their agents. Offers a personal experience and 1:1 questions are answered. | |
| Dynamic Digital Brochures: Home features will come to life inside this dynamic, digital brochure while creating an immersive experience for even the most discerning of buyers. Pages will turn and videos will play while allowing us to capture real-time data and actionable insights from potential buyers. |
Mobile Listing Ads: We’ll run geo-targeted mobile ad campaigns to reach buyers in the right place, at the right time. Now more than ever, buyers and sellers are spending most (if not all) of their time at home. We’ll create a geofence around the neighborhoods where you’d like your ads to be seen. These ads will appear in mobile apps and will re-target viewers on their desktops and laptops. | |
All of this is designed to bring proper exposure to our wonderful listings, and encourage eager buyers to make safe, virtual visits before making safe, in-person visits. |
Since Compass launched in 2012, we’ve been simplifying the real estate process one community at a time. Today, we have more than 250+ offices extending from coast to coast. |
Please let us know if you or a friend/colleague needs a fantastic agent in an area other than San Francisco. Through our network we can make the connections and introductions and help to find a perfect fit. If you like what you have received, we encourage you to share it with your friends and follow us on Facebook & Instagram. |
© Compass 2021 ¦ All Rights Reserved by Compass ¦ Made in NYC Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California operating under multiple entities. License Numbers 01991628, 1527235, 1527365, 1356742, 1443761, 1997075, 1935359, 1961027, 1842987, 1869607, 1866771, 1527205, 1079009, 1272467. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but has not been verified. Changes in price, condition, sale or withdrawal may be made without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footage are approximate. Equal Housing Opportunity. |
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