Eileen Bermingham's Blog

Preview: 299 Valencia in The Mission

Posted On: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 - 6:00am
Tags: 299 Valencia

I took a tour of the new 36-unit development at <a href="http://www.299valencia.com/">299 Valencia </a>in the Mission yesterday. The units are built out, but many aren't quite finished and construction continues. However, it was easy to get a sense for the space, outlooks and overall potential appeal of the project.

First, the lay of the land: 299 Valencia has one- and two-bedroom condos with a variety of floor plans. The

"Manipulative Pricing" Returns to SF Market

Posted On: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 - 6:00am
Tags: 1219 Cole

It started in the latter half of 2011: Well-appointed, "value-priced" properties came on the market, and quickly went into contract. Also making a steady reappearance were <a href="http://www.insidesfre.com/sf-market-sees-return-of-extreme-multiple-offers/">multiple-offer</a> scenarios, particularly in neighborhoods like Noe Valley and other tech employee

You're Invited: Home-Buying Workshop for the Tech Community

Posted On: Thursday, April 12, 2012 - 6:00am

If you’re in the tech industry and are considering purchasing a home in a central San Francisco neighborhood that offers proximity to tech shuttles, freeways, restaurants and cafes, please attend my upcoming San Francisco Home Buyer Workshop for the Tech Community.

We’ll cover all the basics to get you started, like where you should start with financing, neighborhoods you shouldn’t miss, and how you can compete in the current market. My colleague, Guarantee

First Quarter of 2012 Ushers in Busy Spring Season

Posted On: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 - 6:00am
Topics: Buyers and Sellers

Momentum seems to be steadily building as we enter the Spring real estate season. Though volume for single-family houses was down in comparison to the last quarter of 2011, condo and TIC sales remained steady---as did prices.

For example, a total of 514 single-family homes sold in the past quarter at an average of $963,337 (down slightly from the average $970,872 price in Q4 2011). And 504 condos sold at an average of $748,622, along with only 66 TICs (average of

Short Sales Require Committed Buyers

Posted On: Friday, April 6, 2012 - 6:00am
Topics: Buyers and Sellers

It's unfortunately been fairly common over the past couple years to encounter properties being offered as short sales. In a nutshell, a short sale simply means that the seller owes more on the property than it's worth. Not only is the owner going to come up short on what's owed on one or two loans, but he or she will also not be able to cover selling costs such as broker commissions, city and county transfer tax, and various reports typically paid for by the seller and provided

Should I Remodel My Kitchen Before I Sell?

Posted On: Monday, March 26, 2012 - 6:00am
Topics: Buyers and Sellers

Three potential sellers have asked me this question in the past month, so I thought it would be a good time to let everyone know where I stand when it comes to remodeling in order to sell your home.

You can certainly command more money when you're selling if you have a remodeled kitchen. Buyers come through the property and don't knock money off the list price for the new kitchen they "need" to do. But that's only if they like the remodeling you've done.

And

Luxury Market Revels in Cash Sales

Posted On: Friday, March 23, 2012 - 1:30pm

It's no secret that the trend in sought-after neighborhoods like Noe Valley is for buyers to pay cash for a home---and that doesn't mean getting a discount, either.

The latest bidding war occurred for a renovated Victorian at 1566 Sanchez. The 5BR/4BA home had LEED Platinum certification and was listed for $2,395,000. Within a week, the seller had received five offers and the home is reportedly in contract for roughly $2.8M in an all-cash transaction that's expected to close any

Buyers Kick Into Gear, SF Homes Slam Into Contract

Posted On: Monday, February 27, 2012 - 6:00am
Topics: Buyers and Sellers

It's been an unusually busy start to 2012 for San Francisco real estate. I haven't seen this active a market in the January-February timeframe in a few years, and many other agents with whom I've talked agree.

There are currently 183 single-family homes, 243 condos, 33 TICs and 53 two- to four-unit buildings in contract. Many well-priced properties are being snapped up within a few days or a week's time. This means that when I head to a home that's listed on the Tuesday

SF Market Sees Return of Multiple Offers

Posted On: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - 6:00am
Topics: Buyers and Sellers

The two-unit building above at 208-210 Caselli in Eureka Valley is the latest property in San Francisco target by a multitude of serious buyers in San Francisco. Vacant and featuring two 3BR/2BA units with wood-burning fireplaces, open floor plans and hardwood floors (plus two separate garages), Caselli was listed for $1,399,000 on February 9th. The sellers received 14 offers all over the asking price yesterday (on a holiday, no less).

And Caselli is not the only example of a

Bright Future for TIC Lending in San Francisco

Posted On: Monday, February 13, 2012 - 3:25pm

I was invited to a TIC Roundtable last Friday sponsored by Sterling Bank and Trust. The officers and lender reps were in attendance, as was TIC attorney Lyssa Paul. We had an interesting Q&A about Sterling's goals in the TIC lending arena, as well as identified a few trends in the TIC market---all while

Eileen Bermingham

Eileen specializes in representing buyers and sellers of single-family homes, condominiums, TICs and multi-unit buildings in San Francisco.
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