Price per square footIs Montclair a Hidden Value Gem?If young families want to buy homes where schools are good, there is a reasonably hip downtown nearby and getting into San Francisco isn’t impossible, then Montclair should be at the top of everyone’s list. But it doesn’t seem to be. Most people haven’t even heard of it. Montclair elementary is a top ranked school [...] San Francisco’s 5 Most Expensive CondosThey say the US real estate market sucks. They say housing is in for more pain. Not everyone is listening. Here are the top 5 highest priced San Francisco condo sales thus far in 2011, as measured by price per square foot. 765 Market St., #27A Sold for $7,200,000 or $2,170/sqft on May 10, 2011. [...] Cirios Trends – March 2011In this month’s Cirios Trends March 2011 Edition: State of the Markets: March 9, 2011 Will expensive oil torpedo real estate? Feature: A Primer on San Francisco Public Schools Making sense of the city’s wacky Lottery system. Redwood City: Best. Climate. Ever. (Also, a nice place to live) Diverse town offers insight into the future [...] Redwood City: Best. Climate. Ever. (Also, a nice place to live.)This post first appeared in: Cirios Trends – March 2011 Redwood City’s official slogan, “Climate Best by Government Test,” is no joke: At the turn of the 20th century, the US Government found Redwood City to be at the center of one of the world’s three best climates (the others being the Canary Islands and [...] Location, Location, Location: Let The Data Be Your FriendThis post first appeared in: Cirios Trends – Special Edition: The Year Ahead What could be the oldest adage in all of real estate has never been more true: Location, location, location. According to the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, a widely watched gauge of home prices in major metropolitan areas around the country, only four [...] Bay Area Home Prices: Up, Down and Sideways in 2010This post first appeared in: Cirios Trends – Special Edition: 2010 Real Estate Roundup This month, rather than looking at an individual zip code to spotlight a particular aspect of Bay Area real estate trends, we looked at the Bay Area as a whole (well, 5 counties worth: Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, Alameda [...] APPENDIX: Charts, Charts, ChartsThis post first appeared in: Cirios Trends – Special Edition: 2010 Real Estate Roundup For those of you fortunate enough to have attended the Cirios Holiday Party this year, you may have noticed a host of charts and graphs posted around the room. Those graphs, representing real estate markets from around the Bay Area, have [...] East vs. West: Daly City vs. HaywardThis post first appeared in: Cirios Trends – Special Edition: East vs. West Hayward and Daly City can both be considered entry level markets. Raw prices are dramatically different, but then again so are income levels, crime and demographics. Notably, from 1997-2007, homes in Daly City sold for around $100/sqft more than those in Hayward. [...] East vs. West: San Mateo vs. San RamonThis post first appeared in: Cirios Trends – Special Edition: East vs. West Despite having a median household income almost 50% higher, San Ramon home prices are 40% below those of San Mateo. Think proximity to jobs doesn’t matter? San Mateo is located smack in between San Francisco and the northern tip of Silicon Valley. [...] East vs. West: Millbrae vs. PiedmontThis post first appeared in: Cirios Trends – Special Edition: East vs. West Topographically, Millbrae and Piedmont could not be more different. Most of Millbrae consists of relatively flat, suburban neighborhoods with a few homes scattered amongst the hills. Piedmont on the other hand is an exclusive suburban enclave nestled in the Oakland hills. Population [...] East vs. West: Where to Buy?This post first appeared in: Cirios Trends – Special Edition: East vs. West So, what to make of all this number crunching? First, let’s point out a few notable pieces of data from the chart below. 1) Hayward is the only city of the six where prices are actually down since 2000. This shows the [...] Zip Code Spotlight – Millbrae (94030)This post first appeared in the September edition of: Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities This month’s zip code spotlight falls on 94030, Millbrae, CA. A mid-peninsula locale providing a happy medium between ease of city access and warmer, quieter climes of the lower peninsula, Millbrae has excellent schools and is an all-around [...] Talking Charts – Sentiment RulesThis post first appeared in the September edition of: Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities One of the chief challenges in trying to be experts in home price trends is that you are constantly challenged. So, one of the most common questions we receive is “how can you predict what direction housing prices [...] Cirios Trends – August 2010In this month’s Cirios Trends Special Edition: Finding Real Estate Opportunities, check out: The State of the Markets – August 4, 2010 Demographics drive property values. Feature: The Storied History of Hunters Point Abandoned Naval Shipyard poised for dramatic development. Around the Bay: Local News Bites Goings on that move markets. Zip Code Spotlight – [...] The State of the Markets – 8/4/10This post first appeared in the June edition of: Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities Humans, as a species, are lousy fortunetellers. A few intrepid visionaries aside, most people simply cannot grasp what the world will look like in 20, 10 or even five years. And for good reason. Trying to envision the [...] Feature: The Storied History of Hunters PointThis post first appeared in the June edition of: Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities Over the past several years, precious few shovels have broken ground in San Francisco. The credit crisis and economic slump have caused developers and investors to pull back, as builders have focused on surviving, rather than thriving. But [...] Zip Code Spotlight – Bay View/Hunters Point (94124)This post first appeared in the June edition of: Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities This month’s zip code spotlight falls on 94124, the Bay View/Hunters Point area of Southeast San Francisco. This area is well known as the most dangerous part of the city, but as we discuss elsewhere in this issue, [...] Cirios Opportunities – Adding Value: A Garage in SFThis post first appeared in the June edition of: Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities Here at Cirios, we like to believe that every house should be viewed as an investment. From purchasing your first home to acquiring rental property, buyers should always factor in the value of the home based on current [...] Talking Charts – Divergence ContinuesThis post first appeared in the June edition of: Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities The concept that current housing data is masking true market activity is slowly gaining mindshare. Of course, readers of Cirios Trends will recall that this is a concept we have been pushing for months, even if the mainstream [...] Cirios Trends Special Edition: Mid-Year Review – Will Housing Slide Again?In this month’s Cirios Trends Special Edition: Mid-Year Review – Will Housing Slide Again?, check out: The State of the Markets – Will Housing Slide Again? Prices are falling, should you care? Why Are Home Prices Falling Again? The answer may surprise you. Is Housing Policy Working? Running the numbers on foreclosure prevention. Picking Winners [...] Zip Code Spotlight – East Palo Alto – 94303This post first appeared in the June edition of: Cirios Trends: Finding Real Estate Opportunities. This month’s spotlight falls on East Palo Alto, CA, perhaps one of the Bay Area’s most interesting pockets of real estate and an excellent illustration of the effect of housing boom and bust on marginal areas. Surrounded by islands of [...] Talking Charts – Who’s Back on Track?This post first appeared in the June edition of: Cirios Trends: Finding Real Estate Opportunities. If there is a theme we at Cirios harp on more than any other, it’s that just because a particular city or neighborhood is considered “more desirable” than another, that does not mean by extension it’s also a better place [...] Around the Bay: Local News BitesThis post first appeared in the May edition of: Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities. Silicon Valley Defies California Gloom (Silicon Valley Business Journal) Even though consumer confidence in California has fallen to a historic low, Silicon Valley residents remain some of the country’s more optimistic folks. California’s Index of Consumer Sentiment registered [...] Zip Code Spotlight – Los Gatos – 95032This post first appeared in the May edition of: Cirios Trends: In Search of Real Estate Opportunities. This month’s zip code spotlight falls on a decidedly high end area of the San Francisco Peninsula – Los Gatos. Lot Gatos is a suburb to the southwest of San Jose, known for large, secluded lots at the [...] |