HAS A PRICE ADJUSTMENT BEGUN?
In the latest San Francisco market report from Paragon Real Estate, median sales prices for the third quarter of 2015 dipped, falling from $1,210,000 to $1,155,000. Paragon notes that “it’s not unusual for median prices to drop in the third quarter, which happened this year as well. This has less to do with fair market value than with the fact that the market for higher priced homes slows down much more than that of the general market in summer.”
POSSIBLE REPRIEVE FOR CITY RETAIL SPACE
After years of hearing about favorite (and some not-so-favorite) shops and restaurants being forced to shutter or move due to suddenly jacked-up rents, help might be on the way.
At midyear, vac-ancy for retail real estate in the city was a very low 3.4 percent, reports Cassidy Turley. “This remains one of the tightest markets in the United States in terms of available space and one of the most sought-after by retailer,” the real estate firm reports.
Cassidy Turley also notes, however, that development of new space might help tip the balance a bit more in the direction of renters. “An increasing development pipeline should bring some relief to space users looking to land in the San Francisco metro. New development is at its highest level in more than two decades,” the company reports.
WE’RE NUMBER ONE
The median rent for a one-bedroom unit in San Francisco is $3,620, which places it in the number-one spot on Zumper.com‘s chart of the priciest rental markets in the country. It even beats New York City, where a similar unit goes for $3,230.
An even more surprising number is the $5,000 median rent for two-bedroom units in San Francisco. Zumper says rents here are up 13.1 percent over the past year.
CHARMED, I’M SURE
In a report in the San Francisco Business Times, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg expected “to ‘wow’ these schmucks” when he negotiated with a property owner near his Palo Alto home, according to a judge’s ruling that included the quote from an e-mail exchange.
