1. Everything is expensive.
2. And prices are continuing to rise — like by 76% in the past four years.
3. Most properties sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the asking price.
Noe Valley fixer sells for $2.8M, nearly $1M over asking http://t.co/xS75pNjZvE
If you're new to property in SF, then the first thing you should know is that asking prices are extremely misleading. Don't get excited about that single-family home in Bernal Heights listed for $699K. There will probably be a hundred people at the open house, and the winning offer will likely be almost double the asking price. This tactic of underpricing is practically commonplace in San Francisco, and homes listed too close to their actual value don't get nearly as much foot traffic.
The only way to determine if a property is in your budget is to look at comparable sales and the average price per square foot in the neighborhood, then add a few more thousand for recent increases in property values.
4. Leaving SF proper won’t provide much relief.
5. Hope you're ready to put down a hefty down payment!
6. Just like everywhere else, putting in an offer is no guarantee.
7. Proximity to tech shuttles is the new holy grail of SF real estate.
8. Off-market listings are almost always overpriced.
Funnily enough, off-market listings seem to be treated with the exact opposite pricing strategy of those that appear on the MLS. These properties are usually marketed toward the über-wealthy and typically start with a price above the actual value. Since there's no documentation of the price, it's an approach where you see if you can get your dream price, then, if not, list with an aggressive under-budget price point.
9. Properties always have offer deadlines, and winning offers become ratified within hours.
Agents usually assign offer deadlines just a few days after the home hits the MLS, and their sellers typically select a winning offer and go into contract within just a few hours. If you miss the offer deadline, even by just a few minutes, then you could miss out on the property. In SF real estate, transactions happen very quickly, and it's not uncommon for buyers to include seven-day close windows in their offers.
10. If a house has been on THIS market for more than two weeks, then there’s possibly something wrong with it.
When your listing is on the market for more than a week, update your description #epicfail #sfrealestate #funny
Since most listings have a sale pending within a matter of days, being on the market for multiple weeks is a huge red flag. It usually either means that the home is overpriced or that there's something seriously wrong with the property.
11. Agents are busy and frequently run late.
Adventures in #sfrealestate, note the time stamps for what was a scheduled 5:15 open house
On multiple occasions we had to wait a good 20 minutes for agents to show up at scheduled viewings. The industry is active, and good agents are busy. But they have the keys, so you pretty much have no choice but to smile and wait.
12. Parking at open houses is always a mess.
13. A death on the premises definitely won’t scare off any potential buyers.
14. All cash always wins.
"All cash" means that the buyers have the entire value of the property sitting in their bank accounts ready to go, which unfortunately isn't a rarity in San Francisco. Cash offers are SUPER desirable to sellers because there's no possibility that a mortgage won't fund, and all cash offers usually have significantly shorter closing windows.
Before going into contract for our home in Ingleside, my partner and I were the runner-up offer on another nearby property. We later found out that the winning offer had been less than ours, but was all cash. The seller chose to make $10,000 less in profit just to work with an all cash buyer.
15. Inspections are often waived.
16. Sellers don’t give a fuck about your life story.
17. Multigenerational families bid aggressively for properties with in-law units.
18. You’re also competing with absentee owners.
19. Employment verification can be a pain in the ass.
