Zephyr SOMA/SoBe Blog

Meet Stanley!

Team up with your agent and head over to 1234 Howard next Tuesday, September 25, from 2:30 to 4:00pm to meet Stanley Saitowitz, the award winning architect who has been receiving plenty of attention for hist latest building.

219, 229 and 239 Brannan

The residential buildings located at 219, 229 and 239 Brannan were completed in 2000, 2001 and 2002 respectively.  Over the past several years, there have been many resales in the three buildings.  Many of the units in each of the buildings have great views.

For buyers interested in "high rise" living in South Beach, it appears that the current time is a good time to take a look at the units available in these three buildings.  There are seven units available in 219 Brannan, three in 229 Brannan and two (one penthouse) in 239 Brannan.

Of the seven units available at 219 Brannan, four have come onto the market in September and two came onto the market in August.  One unit, with great views, has been on the market since April.  Eight units have sold since January 1.

There are three units on the market at 229 Brannan.  One unit, with great views, came onto the market last week.  The other two units have been on the market for 45 days and 105 days.  Eight units have also sold in this building since January 1st.  Two of them have sold since January 1st.  Sales appear slower in 229 compared to 219. 

Two units are on the market in 239 Brannan including a penthouse.  They have been on the market for 50 and 74 days.  Seven units have sold this year including a three bedroom unit ($1,780,000).  It appears that only two 3-bedroom units have sold in the three buildings this year.  Five of the seven units which sold in the building were on the market for more than 50 days.  No units have sold in the building sine June.

There are a wide variety of units available in these three buildings.  Many have magnificent views.  The greatest amount of sales activity is in the 219 Brannan building.

Check back for further updates on the building.

Sam Vitkoski

SoMa Specialist

Fire Sale Financing at The Hayes

Worried about getting the right loan for your new place? Afraid interest rates are going to go through the roof? Rest assured our friends over at The Hayes don't want that happening to you. The Mark Company has put together loans for qualified buyers at a rate of 5.5% on a 5/1 ARM. Read the following,

Announcing a Limited-Time Special Financing Offer at The Hayes - 5.500% Interest Rate on a Five Year Fixed Loan*

The perfect time you've been waiting for to buy your new home at The Hayes has arrived. Now, for a limited time only, take advantage of special financing on five-year fixed loans for new homes at Hayes Valley's most exciting new community. This exclusive financing offer makes it easier than ever to own a new home at The Hayes, with a permanent interest rate buy-down of 5.500% on a 5/1ARM interest-only loan.* Call or visit the sales center for details.

Or you can call your local SOMA Specialist and have them talk to you about your options. Granted Hayes Valley isn't SOMA but, with the creeping up Market St. of new construction, SOMA feels so much closer than ever.

New SoMa Loft Listings

In a recent post, my colleague, Britton Jackson, wrote about the condominiums located at 1234 Howard Street and cited an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about the project .  Check it out:  1234 Howard.  I agree with Britton the architectural style is very interesting.

On the Tuesday brokers' tour, I toured two very large (over 4,000 sq ft) lofts which I thought were very cool. One is located at 357 Tehama #3 and the other is located at 1097 Howard #308.  These two properties would be good properties to see and compare to the properties on the San Francisco Living:  Home Tours Weekend.

Sam Vitkoski

SoMa Specialist

1234 Howard

When I toured 1234 Howard a couple of weeks ago, a few things stuck in my mind:

• Very cool, very sleek design that will appeal to some, but not to people who like walls.
• Where do you put the toilet paper when you turn the shower on in the second bathroom? (It's a bit like an uber-modern version of a bathroom on a boat -- sink on one side, toilet on the other and a showerhead overhead in the middle.)
• And if you buy the studio that faces Howard Street, be ready to soap up in public: the floor-to-ceiling glass shower gives the 1200 block of Howard a front-row seat while you bathe. OK, so the developer said he's going to frost the glass, but right now, it's clear. Quite the conversation starter.

It'll be on the homes tour this weekend, and it's featured prominently in a story on SFGate.com. Look closely at the photo of the facade -- you can see the exhibitionist's dream shower in the middle section of the building, first level of living space, left corner of the room.

199 New Montgomery Update

On August 13th, I posted comments about the units available at 199 New Montgomery.  At that time two units (#502 and #1610) were on the market and unit #206, listed for $599,000 was pending.

Today, Units 502 and 1610 remain on the market (110 days and 36 days respectively).  Unit 206 closed at $575,000 on August 13th and unit 1008 was listed for $689,000 on August 22nd.

In my next blog, I plan to take a look at recent sales in another premier building located in SoMa/South Beach.

Sam Vitkoski

SoMa Specialist

And I really want to press that button...

Out on tour today, my last vist of the day was to unit #19F at the WaterMark.  On the way up in the elevator, I noticed a button that said "Seismic" - and I'll admit I was a bit tempted to push it.

I've seen similar buttons on newer elevators in larger buildings recently. Can anyone tell me what it does? I would assume it doesn't relay information about an earthquake, because if an elevator passenger notices an earthquake, I'd be pretty sure someone else already has as well.

Does it perform some special operation? Like trying to open doors at the nearest floor instead of attempting a return to the ground floor? Does it activate the elevator earthquake survival kit?

Any tips are greatly appreciated!

Get the 3-1-1 in SOMA and citywide

A commercial on the radio the other day informed me that my new Yellow Pages will be delivered any day now. And that really, really bugs me. I know, I know, it's probably silly to be bugged by the annual delivery of the brick otherwise known as the Yellow Pages, but as one who tries to reduce, reuse and recycle (and drive my hybrid) I think it's a huge waste of paper.

"But how do you find the number for the pizza delivery guy/house painter/dog groomer?" wailed a friend when I told her that the YP gets filed in the blue recycling bin the day it appears. One word: Google.

But when it's time to find the number for the San Francisco tax assessor, the building department, the non-emergency line for the police, or what to do when a skunk has its head stuck somewhere, dial 311. Yep, there's one central number for every city-related question you might have. There's an entertaining piece in the Chronicle about the service today.

The next time you're heading to SOMA or South Beach to visit the Farmer's Market, take in a ball game or just stroll on the Embarcadero, give 311 a call to find out the best MUNI route to take. 

2 cool new SOMA/SoBe listings

Inventory is picking up. When I logged on to the MLS this morning, there were 65 new listings in the last 24 hours, 6 of which were in SOMA or South Beach. Which is good, since inventory has been a little disapointing as of late (no surprise with the holiday weekend).

Two of interest. First is a new listing at the Yerba Buena lofts. It should be some tough competition for the other lofts currently on the market in the building, given it's price.

Second is a condo at the St. Regis building. It's got great views from the 24th floor, and all the amenities you would expect. But honestly folks, for 2.8 million, can't you throw a parking spot in? But the again, what's $225/month for parking?

And the front-runner is.....

Anyone ready for a 1,200-foot high office tower in San Francisco? The front-runner has been named for the Transbay Terminal design -- the proposal submitted by Pelli Clarke Pelli architects and the design firm Hines.

The Transbay Joint Powers Authority will vote on September 20 to pick the winner. Check out all the designs submitted here.