GREEN REALTOR NEWS | Vol. 18
Market Update | News | Photo Contest
It took a little while, but Emily Wilson correctly identified the amazing vista at Grandview Park in San Francisco. Emily is an avid urban hiker and recently completed the full San Francisco Crosstown Trail, where she discovered the park (known as Turtle Hill to locals) tucked away at Noriega and 14th Avenue. The trail is the amazing result of over 10 years of work by committed local volunteers who had a vision to create a hiking trail cutting all the way across 17 miles of San Francisco, connecting neighborhoods, open spaces and local trails. Starting at Candlestick Park State Recreation Area, it travels diagonally across the city, winding up at Lands End. You can do the whole thing in a day or check out the website to see how you can do it in manageable 2 - 3 mile sections. Sign up now for Crosstober 2022, where guided hikes take you through adjacent neighborhoods to discover more hidden gems.
Scroll to the bottom to see if you can identify the location of our September photo. As always, our photo contest winner receives a $25 gift card to a local green business Good Earth Natural Foods.
Market Update
The big question everyone is asking as we enter the fall market is - are we headed to a housing recession? And the answer is: it depends on who you ask. On a national level, housing prices increased astronomically from 2020 - 2022, with the average price per square foot increasing by 54%. The reason for this was extreme demand brought on by lifestyle changes caused by the pandemic, combined with a big drop in inventory. Prices climbed exponentially until finally peaking in June of 2022. Rising interest rates have slowed the pace of sales and the number of active listings has increased since its all-time low in February of 2022. However, current inventory is still 44% below the pre-pandemic levels of July 2019. The market still favors sellers, though it feels like a switch given how heavily the things have been stacked against buyers for the last several years. In San Francisco, single family home prices are starting to climb again, after drops in June and July. Condo prices are still dropping as rising interest rates impact affordability.
The Months Supply of Inventory (MSI) quantifies the supply/demand relationship by measuring how many months it would take for all current homes listed on the market to sell at the current rate of sales. An MSI lower than three favors sellers, while higher than three favors buyers. The MSI for San Francisco condos is at three, down from a peak of 5.3 in January of 2022, while single family homes have an MSI of 1.5 - still a strong sellers market. Marin has a similar story, with prices down from the peak in April, 2022 but starting to slowly climb again as we move into our fall selling season. Inventory remains a big issue, with a 30% decrease in the number of sales reflecting a decrease in the number of homes available. Still, Marin remains firmly a sellers market, with an MSI of 2.2 for condos and 1.2 for single family houses.
Just Sold!
47 Loring Avenue, Mill Valley for $1,350,000
After many months of searching for just the right mid-century modern fixer that would keep them in their beloved Mill Valley community, my clients were over the moon when they beat out 10 other offers on the house of their dreams. The quintessential diamond in the rough, this gem is in solid shape with many original features just begging to be polished up. The large, mostly flat lot is in a great location, right between the many features of downtown Mill Valley and the up and coming Tam Junction area, with quick access to both San Francisco and the coast. Stay tuned for what is sure to be an amazing renovation.
Coming Soon!
324 Foerster Avenue, San Francisco
We are getting close to the finish line on an extensive renovation/upgrade project to prepare a fantastic 3 bedroom/2.5 bath home in the desirable Sunnyside neighborhood of San Francisco. Just a stone's throw away from the highly regarded Sunnyside Elementary School, this updated home features multiple flexible living spaces and an enormous backyard with raised planter beds, low-maintenance turf, and a prolific apple tree. Check out our work in progress! Keep your eyes out for a special edition of the Green Realtor News in mid-October when we will be ready to hit the market. Curious to hear more? Call me for the details!
We’ve been busy around here! San Rafael PorchFest provided a great opportunity to introduce the 100th Birthday Project to the neighborhood with a newly designed logo. The goal of the project is to encourage sustainability and environmental stewardship by demonstrating how older homes can be incrementally upgraded to meet modern green standards. Many local houses are of a similar vintage, so the project is getting a lot of attention. It helps that a lot of trucks have been around lately. After a few setbacks, the solar is finally installed and the permit was signed off by the city of San Rafael. Now we’re in the final stage of getting our “permission to operate” approved by PG&E. By next month I hope to report that our meter is running backwards - meaning we’re generating enough power to sell some back to the grid.
The day after PorchFest the team from Building Efficiency arrived to start the air sealing and insulation phase. Using a gigantic vacuum, they removed all the existing attic insulation and sealed the air gaps between the attic and the living space. Next, they installed a whole house fan, designed to draw in cooler evening air and exhaust warm air to quickly cool down the house after warm days.
They also drilled holes in all the exterior-facing walls and injected them with blown-in cellulose insulation made from recycled paper. Not only a sustainable product, loose-fill cellulose is highly effective at getting into all the nooks and crannies and creating a high R value. Something I wasn’t expecting is how it changed the sound inside the house. Not only did it dampen sound from the outside, but it changed the way things sound on the inside. Not gonna lie - it was pretty disruptive for a few days, but I can’t wait to see what it’s like when the weather gets hot again!
September Photo Contest
Green Realtor News’ Artist-in-Residence, Esther Vermeer, is a Mill Valley resident with a background in branding and graphic design. Originally from the Netherlands, she moved with her family to Montreal, Canada for a while, and came to the Bay Area 14 years ago, where she has since established herself in the world of interior design. She loves to journey around California and discover the lush natural beauty the state has to offer. You can reach her at esther@prevalentprojects.com.
If you know the location email me at lucinda@lucindaotto.com. The first person with a correct guess wins a $25 gift card to Good Earth Natural Foods!
I hope you enjoyed the Green Realtor News! If you know anyone buying or selling, or if you are curious to hear more about the market, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d love to help you or your friends make moves. As one of my happy clients loves to say:
Everyone Needs A Lucinda!
