San Francisco Real Estate: Escrow Out Loud

In today’s episode of Escrow Out Loud, our San Francisco Real Estate podcast, we uncover the answer to the last neighborhood riddle and continue the game with new clues!

[00:21] Last round’s answer: Russian Hill.

[00:50] Clue 1: The two best known features of this neighborhood are called Eureka and Noe, the two summits in the neighborhood for those seeking great views of the city.

[01:22] Clue 2: There is also a lesser know summit in the neighborhood called, Christmas Tree Point.

[01:50] Clue 3: This neighborhood contains the geographic center of the city.

[02:09] Clue 4: It’s also home to the Sutro Tower.

[03:08] Clue 5: One of the most defining characteristics of this neighborhood is fog.

[04:06] Clue 6: There is an endangered species that calls this neighborhood home, the Mission Blue Butterfly.

[05:22] Clue 7: The Mission Blue Butterfly’s habitat, and other sections of the summits, have been deemed a natural area and are protected by the Natural Areas Program of the SF Recreation and Parks department.

[05:55] Clue 8: Located in this neighborhood, the city also invested in the Summit Reservoir that holds 14 million gallons of drinking water, also used by the firefighters.

[06:53] Clue 9: The Neighborhood Improvement Association has discouraged business permits in the neighborhood but there are plenty of places to eat and shop along its edges.

[07:19] Clue 10: This neighborhood is North of Diamond Heights, South of Cole Valley, West of The Castro and East of Forest Hill.

As always, tune in next time, when we reveal the answer to this week’s neighborhood!

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode leave us a review on your favorite platform, tell your friends and don’t forget to join us again next week!

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In today’s episode of Escrow Out Loud, our San Francisco Real Estate podcast, we uncover the answer to the last neighborhood riddle and continue the game with new clues!

[00:21] Last round’s answer: Ingleside Terraces.

[00:50] Clue 1: This is one of the original seven hills of San Francisco.

[00:58] Clue 2: You probably heard of a particular street in this neighborhood, that actually began as a straight cobble stone street. But, it is not so straight anymore!

[01:16] Clue 3: It has long had the title of having the steepest street in San Francisco.

[02:02] Clue 4: There are a few well known parks in this neighborhood. One with spectacular views of The Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and Sausalito.

[02:25] Clue 5: Another park in the neighborhood is named after a poet and librarian who became a revered member of the SF literary community, Ina Coolbrith.

[02:50] Clue 6: Sometimes described as a haven for artists, this neighborhood has strong ties to the literary community. There are four historical districts within its borders and both Jack London and Mark Twain lived there.

[03:09] Clue 7: While you are there you can visit the SF Art Institute where you can see Diego Rivera’s murals.

[03:42] Clue 8: There are great food and boutique options in this neighborhood. Examples include the Cheese Plus, the original Swensen's Ice Cream Shop, great nightlife and more.

[04:19] Clue 9: It is on the North-East side of the city; with North Point St bordering the Northern end, Columbus Ave on the East, Van Ness Ave on the West and Broadway on the South.

[04:40] Clue 10: This neighborhood got its name after a cemetery where people were buried on behalf of a particular foreign country.

As always, tune in next time, when we reveal the answer to this week’s neighborhood!

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode leave us a review on your favorite platform, tell your friends and don’t forget to join us again next week!

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In today’s episode of Escrow Out Loud, our San Francisco Real Estate podcast, we give the answer to long-awaited question, what was the neighborhood from round 4 of the Neighborhood Guessing Game? We also play round 6!

[00:22] Last round’s answer: Nopa, right across the street from the Panhandle.

[01:15] Clue 1: This neighborhood is famous for its sundial, which at the time of its dedication in 1913 was the largest in the whole country.

[01:48] Clue 2: It has a lot of pride and its own newspaper called, The Sundial.

[02:27] Clue 3: The Pacific Coast Jockey Club opened a racetrack there in 1895 and the original racetrack loop is a current road in this neighborhood.

[03:20] Clue 4: The neighborhood became one of eight master plan residents parks in San Francisco officially opening in 1913.

[04:01] Clue 5: The first person moved into the neighborhood in June of 1912.

[04:38] Clue 6: The first non-caucasian, Cecil Poole, moved into the neighborhood in 1957.

[05:21] Clue 7: The neighborhood CCNRs said that the original homes had to cost at least $3,500 to construct and only single-family homes were allowed.

[06:04] Clue 8: To get to this neighborhood you could take the Municipal Railway K line which runs along Ocean Ave towards West Portal or you could head down toward Glen Park or Balboa Park stations and city college. Junipero Serra Blvd offers easy access to the peninsula.

[06:41] Clue 9: A realtor would say this neighborhood is D4 west of Twin Peaks. On the north side of this neighborhood lies Ocean Ave, on the south side Holloway Ave, Junipero Serra Blvd on the west and Ashton Ave on the east.

[07:06] Clue 10: There are large pillars with the neighborhood name there and there is a pretty large mall not to far away.

As always, tune in next time, when we reveal the answer to this week’s neighborhood!

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode leave us a review on your favorite platform, tell your friends and don’t forget to join us again next week!

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In today’s episode of our San Francisco Real Estate podcast, we’re talking about a new building that popped up on 2100 Market St.

[00:22] So there is a new building that popped up at the site of a former restaurant on the corner of Market, Church and 14th. From housing a market, a restaurant and then a vacant lot, this site went through a lot of different iterations before becoming what it is today.

[01:33] In 2016 the building was going to be home to 60 rental apartments. However, in 2019 we noticed activity in the units. What is going on? It appears 52 units will be taken over by a company called Sonder which will use the units for short-term, furnished rentals of 30+ days. Is this really where the gap in San Francisco housing supply that needs filling is, or is it just good business?

[05:48] By looking at all the feedback, it is clear to see that the majority of people are not happy about the use of the new building for this purpose. We venture at why this might be.

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In today’s episode of Escrow Out Loud, our San Francisco Real Estate podcast, we’re playing round five of the Neighborhood Guessing Game! Controversy surrounds this neighborhood name. Where did it come from and why? And how do you properly capitalize it? Listen in! We also reveal the neighborhood from the previous round.

[00:22] Last round’s answer: Polk Gulch, the original gay neighborhood in San Francisco.

[00:49] Clue 1: A restaurant just outside the border of this neighborhood, popularized the name of it.

[01:12] Clue 2: This neighborhood was first established under a different name in 1855 and it encompassed roughly 500 sq blocks.

[01:45] Clue 3: On two sides it borders parks but there is not a single park within the boundaries of this neighborhood.

[02:11] Clue 4: The eastern border of this neighborhood is the Divisadero Street which is full of boutiques, restaurants, vintage shops etc.

[02:43] Clue 5: The neighborhoods western border opens right up into the parts of the USF campus.

[02:55] Clue 6: Some say that the name for this neighborhood was created during the gentrification of the neighborhood. Another theory is that the new name was created by the Neighborhood Association.

[04:00] Clue 7: While there are no parks in this neighborhood, it is home to a large hospital that fills two city blocks.

[04:22] Clue 8: In this neighborhood you can also buy sweets from the Meter Maid Chariot.

[05:11] Clue 9: You can also get another tasty San Francisco frozen treat (that tourists from all over the globe come to sample) in this neighborhood.

[05:36] Clue 10: It is also a great neighborhood to cycle in as it is fairly flat!

[06:17] Bonus Clue: An issue that is somewhat controversial is: how many letters in the abbreviation for this neighborhood should be capitalized? Britton says two.

As always, tune in next week, when we reveal the answer to this week’s neighborhood!

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode leave us a review on your favorite platform, tell your friends and don’t forget to join us again next week!

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In today’s episode of Escrow Out Loud, our San Francisco Real Estate podcast, we’re back with another round of the Neighborhood Guessing Game and reveal the neighborhood from the previous round.

[00:37] Episode 80's neighborhood answer: Dogpatch

[00:52] Clue 1: In celebration of Pride month, we stay on theme and for this round choose the original SF gay neighborhood (No, it’s not The Castro).

[01:32] Clue 2: In 1962, the nation's first gay business association was founded in this neighborhood.

[02:05] Clue 3: The first official Pride parade in SF kicked off from this neighborhood in 1972 with 50,000 people in attendance.

[03:21] Clue 4: Besides gay bars and Pride parades, this neighborhood is home to a restaurant inside of an antique railcar, featured in the Bogart classic Dark Passage.

[03:23] Clue 5: To get to this neighborhood, approaching from the south you can walk a few blocks north-west from the Civic Center Station through the Tenderloin, or take the California street cable car to Van Ness.

[03:49] Clue 6: It has its own central commercial strip with a wide selection of independent shops and restaurants, home to Matt’s favorite French restaurant in the city.

[05:13] Clue 7: Due to gentrification, there have been some notable closures of well known LGBT establishments over the last few years.

[06:40] Clue 8: Concerned citizens from this neighborhood founded an organization that provides comprehensive housing, healthcare, employment, and education services to homeless youth from ages 12 to 24.

[07:26] Clue 9: It is sometimes described as a “microhood”. With just over 12,000 people within its borders, it also covers a relatively small area.

[08:23] Clue 10: This neighborhood’s name consists of only two words. The first is for the major neighborhood street named after our eleventh president and the second word comes from the fact that it runs over an old stream bed at the bottom of a sloped valley.

Tune in next week, when we reveal the answer to this weeks neighborhood!

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode leave us a review on your favorite platform, tell your friends and don’t forget to join us again next week!

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In today’s episode of Escrow Out Loud, our San Francisco Real Estate podcast, we look at what the SF real estate market was like in May 2019.

[00:26] What trends should buyers be aware of in the condo and single family home markets? The numbers show that under a million dollars, condos are really the only available option, barring virtually uninhabitable single family homes. What about higher price ranges?

[02:58] We also see a continuation of a trend we’ve been talking about for a while. Number of sales year over year is down 10% for condos and 16% for single families, due to a very constricted supply.

[03:27] Prices for condos are down around 2-4% while single families are up 4-7%. The size of the market above the 1.5 million price point is a lot smaller than we might expect. Matt shares his thoughts on why we are seeing this in the market, by doing a bit of math around the income levels necessary to purchase a $1.5M home in SF.

[06:34] In future podcasts it will be interesting to compare a quarter or half a year with last year’s numbers and see if the same trends apply.

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode leave us a review on your favorite platform, tell your friends and don’t forget to join us again next week!

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Last week we played round two of guess the neighborhood. In today’s episode of Escrow Out Loud, our San Francisco Real Estate podcast, we reveal the answer and keep the game going with round 3 (If you missed previous two rounds have a listen to our two most recent episodes).

[00:43] The answer to episode 79's neighborhood is: San Francisco MLS District 2F, otherwise known as the Inner Sunset.

And on to another San Francisco neighborhood!

[01:18] Clue 1: The 57 giant steel and concrete sections that make up the 3.8 mile transbay tube for the BART system were fabricated in this neighborhood.

[01:56] Clue 2: There is a historic area within the boundaries of this neighborhood due to the large number of pre-1906 Victorians that survived the great quake and fire of 1906.

[02:42] Clue 3: In this neighborhood you can be in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan without leaving San Francisco.

[03:21] Clue 4: One of the city’s top 5 largest redevelopment projects is underway in this neighborhood.

[03:52] Clue 5: A popular park is named for a once iconic San Francisco clothing company (Esprit), that is no longer headquartered in the city, within the boundaries of this neighborhood.

[04:31] Clue 6: Until the next one opens, the city's most recently added light rail line runs through this neighborhood.

[05:10] Clue 7: This neighborhood has miles of bay-front park and trails and it is known for sunny weather and warm temperatures.

[05:28] Clue 8: Ship building and repair thrived in this neighborhood for over 150 years; repair still continues.

[06:10] Clue 9: Legend has it that the name for this neighborhood comes from stray animals eating discarded remnants from an old neighborhood slaughterhouse.

[06:32] Clue 10: The city’s oldest public school building (dating back to 1895) as well as the headquarters for the Hell’s Angels Bikers Club are in this neighborhood.

Tune in next week, when we reveal the answer to this weeks neighborhood!

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode leave us a review on your favorite platform, tell your friends and don’t forget to join us again next week!

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Last week we had some clues to help us figure out a neighborhood. In today’s episode of Escrow Out Loud, our San Francisco Real Estate podcast, we reveal the answer and play round two. With a whole new set of clues how quickly can you guess the neighborhood this time?

[00:47] The mystery neighborhood from last week’s episode, Are You Smarter Than a Realtor, Neighborhood #1, is…Pacific Heights.

[01:20] Clue 1: One of the oldest bars in San Francisco, The Little Shamrock, is in this week's neighborhood.

[02:01] Clue 2: Some say you can find the best Chinese chicken wings in the city in this neighborhood at the San Tung Chinese Restaurant.

[02:28] Clue 3: This is a neighborhood without a single park within its boundaries.

[02:46] Clue 4: However, it is a very park-adjacent neighborhood, including: Golden Gate Park, Grandview Park and J.P. Murphy Playground.

[03:18] Clue 5: When exploring this neighborhood you can easily have a seat in public, as the Public Bench Project started here.

[04:15] Clue 6: A well known worker-owned bakery cooperative, Arizmendi, opened their first location in San Francisco in this neighborhood.

[04:43] Clue 7: This neighborhood used to have a very famous video rental store – today it is a book store!

[05:26] Clue 8: World class scientific discoveries and trend-setting public health policy research comes from the institution, which also happens to be this neighborhood’s biggest employer – UCSF.

[06:00] Clue 9: If you are going to the Japanese Tea Garden, the Conservatory of Flowers, the de Young Museum, the California Academy of Sciences or the Bison Paddock, from this neighborhood, leave your car at home as walking will get you there quicker!

[06:45] Clue 10: The most heavily used light rail line in the city serves this neighborhood.

[07:11] And finally: Within the bounds of this neighborhood you will find, Alice Fong Yu School, the very first Chinese immersion public school in the country.

Tune in next week for the reveal!

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode leave us a review on your favorite platform, tell your friends and don’t forget to join us again next week!

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As our listeners are probably aware by now, we love different San Francisco neighborhoods. In this episode of Escrow Out Loud, our San Francisco Real Estate podcast, we play a little game. Matt will give us 10(+1) hints to see if we can guess which San Francisco neighborhood he is thinking of today.

[00:45] Clue 1: Donald Trump Jr’s current girlfriend and former Fox News personality once lived in this neighborhood with our current state governor.

[01:18] Clue 2: It contains a park which was once a rock quarry but was turned into a park by John McLaren (also designed the Golden Gate Park).

[01:44] Clue 3: Another park in this neighborhood was once home to the first astronomical observatory on the west coast?

[02:15] Clue 4: In this neighborhood we have the most expensive stock cooperative home to ever sell in San Francisco, but not the most expensive condo.

[02:30] Clue 5: In this neighborhood Alma Spreckels once built a massive mansion across from the park. How massive? The current owner once had street parking permits for 26 cars.

[03:25] Clue 6: This is a very expensive neighborhood. In fact so far, six single family homes have sold for a total of $80 million and 12 condos have sold for a total of $24 million. The math equals expensive.

[03:59] Clue 7: More than five properties in the neighborhood have sold for more than 20 million dollars and it is home to four of the most expensive sales in San Francisco in the last two months.

[04:19] Clue 8: I wouldn't be lyin' if I said the view from the top of these stairs was spectacular.

[04:34] Clue 9: Mrs Doubtfire has her home in this neighborhood!

[05:01] Clue 10: Other notable residents’ job descriptions include oil heirs/heiresses, Fortune 100 software CEO’s, and titans of finance. Extra hint: Billionaires’ row is not marketing hyperbole here, it's a factual statement.

Do you know what neighborhood we are talking about? Tune in to next week’s episode for an answer.

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode leave us a review on your favorite platform, tell your friends and don’t forget to join us again next week!

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