Zephyr SOMA/SoBe Blog

Lenders still give S.F Condos a green light

In the last few weeks, there has been uncertainty in the mortgage market.

For those of you who are thinking about purchasing a condominium in a new building in San Francisco, I recommend reading J.T. Dineen's column in the most recent San Francisco Business Times, "Lenders still give San Francisco condos a green light."

In the article,Richard Caldwell, chief lending officer and executive vice president at Pacific Western National Bank said, ..."there are a number of markets that are not over-supplied and have persistent demand and San Francisco is one of them and Seattle is another."

Sean Keighran, president of the Residential Home Builders Association said, "the credit crunch will put more pressure on the buyers, especially in the high-end properties like One Rincon Hill or the Infinity, where buyers put 3 to 5 percent down, but have not closed on their properties."  "How many of those people are going to move forward with those transactions?  If you can't afford Rincon Hill, there are plenty of other things you can buy."

Again, I suggest you take  a look at the article.

Sam Vitkoski

SoMa Specialist

Only the prices will make you SFBLU!

New to the market SFBLU

The sales center is slated to open the first week of November and reservations are going to go fast.

The building located @ 2nd and Folsom will begin occupancy around June 08'. 108 units total,6 units per floor on 2-19 and 6 three level penthouses will occupy the final three floors. Square footage ranges from 950-1250 and the views look spectacular.

Pricing is expected to start in the high $700's and the penthouses are expected to fetch $3M and up!

How BLU are you?

What's this?

This just in~

There are now 4 units at Radiance available through the MLS. Previously all marketing of these units had been, "In House". 2 of these units have been on for 47 Days; the other 2 just came on today.

With all of the internal marketing and non recording of new construction units, it's always a little hard to see how they are actually selling. With the release of these via the MLS it looks as though BOSA may, "need a little help from their friends........." (think Joe Crocker)

That having been said, the prices range from $985,800 to $1.4M. All are 2/2 units and within 100 sq ft. in size and are on different floors.

I wonder how long before we start seeing resales in these yet to be finished buildings?

Come One Come All........

The latest list of Featured Homes available from The Hayes and Arterra are the following. The Buyer will receive 2 years of free HOA's. Not bad if you like the units they're offering, but remember, they are offering these units for a reason.

The Hayes- Units include 617 (floor plan B), 425 (floor plan E), 413 (floor plan A1), 423 (floor plan A3), 222 (floor plan V).

Artery- Units include 803 (floor plan D opt 2), 704 (floor plan J opt 2), 621 (floor plan U), 710 (floor plan A opt 3), 1313 (floor plan H)

The ball is in your court!

Article - Live/Work Lofts - San Francisco Chronicle

There are many lofts available for purchase in SoMa.  For those interested in a brief history of "live/work" lofts in San Francisco, I recommend an article written by Lili Weigert which appeared in a past edition of the San Francisco Chronicle.  The article's title is "Lofts Defy Tradition"  Included with the articleis a sidebar in which she writes about Stanley Saitowitz' views on loft living.  Saitowitz was the architect for the 855 Folsom building.

In the article, the writer traced the history of live/work lofts in the city from the passage of an ordinance in 1988 allowing live/work conversions in industrially zoned neighborhoods to the passage of another ordinance in 1999 establishing a 12 - month moratorium on new live/work developments.  The moratorium was made permanent in 2000 by the city.  The writer also quotes long time live/work loft residents and city officials about their views on the changes in loft living since 1988. 

Sam Vitkoski

SoMa Specialist

And 140 South Van Ness goes to court...

Thinking of buying or selling at 140 South Van Ness? A lawsuit between the HOA and the developer was filed at the end of July, so it is now a building that has to answer "yes" to the pending litigation question. And whats it all about? In a nutshell, from what I understand, the developer didn't install systems from the roof that would allow the windows to be washed...

Court filings can be found here. (requires a TIF viewer to read, and it appears there was a mistake in scanning it, as a page or two is missing from the middle of the filing).

As of this (8/9/07) morning, there were 2 active listings (#1141 & #1024), 1 active contingent (#340), and 1 pending (#521). How will it all shake out? Stay tuned!

199 New Montgomery Update

On June 12th, I posted a blog, "Are we in New York City?" in which I talked about current and future residential buildings on New Montgomery Street.  Included in the blog was information on units currently on the market at 199 New Montgomery (1 one bedroom and 1 two bedroom) and information on 5 two bedroom units which sold between December 06 and May 31, 2007.

During the last two months, the one bedroom has been withdrawn from the market and the price has been reduced on the two bedroom from $885,000 to $875,000.  There have been other sales since the last post.  A one bedroom (787 sq ft) located on the 11th floor sold for $680,000, a one bedroom located on the 2nd floor sold for $620,000 (788 sq ft) and a one bedroom also located on the 2nd floor (793 sq ft) and listed for $599,000 is pending (in contract with contingencies removed).  The sale is the first resale for all three units.

On August 6th, a two bedroom two bath unit (1,148 sq ft) located on the 16th floor (Penthouse) was listed for $1,490,000 (approximately $1,298 per sq ft). 

Check back for further information on the residential buildings located on New Montgomery Street.

Sam Vitkoski

SoMa Specialist

The ever-changing SF skyline

By now the new construction downtown and South of Market has already made an indelible mark on the San Francisco skyline. From the first tower of the Infinity, to One Rincon, to the Intercontinental Hotel, to Soma Grand and the new Federal Building, the new faces on the block have definitely changed the look of things.

But now comes the entrants for the new design of the Transbay Terminal. Ranging in height from 1,200 feet to 1,375 feet, they would dwarf the Transamerica Pyramid, which stands a mere 853 feet high.

The city is a long, long way from approving a tower of this height, but if it happens, it'll be nearly as tall as -- or even taller than -- the Empire State Building (1,250 feet). Current zoning allows for buildings to reach 550 feet. As a point of reference, One Rincon is going to top out at 605 feet.

Feeling opinionated? Check out the designs on SFGate.com, and vote in their poll for your favorite. And stay tuned to ZephyrSOMA.com for updates as this project progresses.

Transbay Tower possibilities

Yesterday was the public unveiling of the Transbay tower design possibilities.

SF Gate has a good article, and the folks at socketsite have plenty as well.

It will be interesting to see how the process plays out. Everybody in San Francisco has an opinion when it comes to our skyline and our downtown buildings, so I have a feeling that whatever is eventually built will look a lot different after all of the community interest groups, politicians, and bureaucrats get their hands on it.

All of the proposed towers are huge - about twice the height of the new 1 Rincon Hill building.

Here's the official website, and public comment is welcome until September 17. So, pick your favorite, write early, and write often!

And since you asked, I like the wind turbine on the Richard Rogers|Forest City|MacFarlane team entry, but everything else about it makes me go yuck!

Both the Skidmore Owings and Merrill and Rockefeller Group Development team and the Pelli Clark Pelli Architects and Hines entries look pretty amazing. I'm not sure which one I like more, there is something about the clean lines of the Pelli Clark obelisk shape that I really like, but the SOM entry seems really daring and creative without being over-the-top!

Interest rate buydowns in the 'hood

Well, it's been a crazy few days in the mortgage market. San Francisco may not have been directly impacted by the subprime disaster, but the collateral damage (tighter underwriting guidelines, higher rates) is impacting everyone.

That said, it isn't all gloom and doom in SOMA these days.

170 Off 3rd has just announced a 5.625% interest rate buy-down on all of their 2 and 2+ bedroom condos. It's fixed for 7 years - you must enter contract during the month of August.

And the sales office over at The Palms continues to offer their interest rate buy-down to 5 year fixed rate of 3.875% on 1 bedroom units.

Happy shopping! (and hey, in the interest of safe shopping, tag a SOMA specialist, or at the very least, your favorite Realtor, to represent you in any of these buildings).