I have a number of listings--including 145 Caperton Ave. and 33 Pacific Ave. in Piedmont--hitting the market this month and next. More on those very soon. Meanwhile, I advised clients as they bought or sold nearly $15 million in real estate last year (excluding our own purchase), and have advised clients on nearly $7 million in purchases in the past three months, including one that the managing broker at Highland Partners called ''by far, the most complex of my 25-year career.'' (And buyers, sellers, and brokers are all still talking to each other!)
Your confidence and referrals have been a huge part of that market expansion.
I'm still doing all my own award-winning marketing work and transaction negotiations. Mary Parise continues to make sure my clients and I stay on top of our paperwork, as she has for a few years. My trusted colleagues--staging professionals, painters, and handypersons--will continue to compete for my sellers' business as we prep for market. And I'm still bringing coffee to the high school parent club meetings, and supporting our community's strong schools, excellent arts venues, and safety net.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Energy Upgrade California
I think I've written about Energy Upgrade California before. Now that we've moved into our new house (312 Pacific Avenue in Piedmont--yes, Konrad now has a view....), I'm scheduled for a whole-house analysis next week. Will report on it shortly afterward.
My colleague from the Clinton Administration, Lori Bamberger, ran a roundtable at Berkeley recently on strategies to increase the uptake of energy efficiency around the home purchase and sale moment, and I rep'ed the realtor community. My big issue has been the cost of these ''whole house'' blower analyses. How do I convince a buyer to pay more for an energy analysis than for a conventional home inspection?
Solar City intuited my concern, and appropriately knocked the price for the evaluation down from the $800 everyone else charges to $295. At the end of the day, we'll make more thoughtful and strategic energy efficiency investments based on the insights, and will get some state rebates as well (you need the blower evaluation in order to get the rebates, which are not income-eligible).
Meanwhile, we've been installing occupancy- and vacancy-sensors around the house and a dusk-to-9pm switch on the front door lights.
Stop by anytime to check it out--
My colleague from the Clinton Administration, Lori Bamberger, ran a roundtable at Berkeley recently on strategies to increase the uptake of energy efficiency around the home purchase and sale moment, and I rep'ed the realtor community. My big issue has been the cost of these ''whole house'' blower analyses. How do I convince a buyer to pay more for an energy analysis than for a conventional home inspection?
Solar City intuited my concern, and appropriately knocked the price for the evaluation down from the $800 everyone else charges to $295. At the end of the day, we'll make more thoughtful and strategic energy efficiency investments based on the insights, and will get some state rebates as well (you need the blower evaluation in order to get the rebates, which are not income-eligible).
Meanwhile, we've been installing occupancy- and vacancy-sensors around the house and a dusk-to-9pm switch on the front door lights.
Stop by anytime to check it out--
The Go-To Site on Piedmont
Check out and then bookmark the Piedmont Portal! Developed by the schools and school-support community (with specific thanks to my neighbors Holly Hanke and departing school board member and former president June Monach, together with new school board member Andrea Swenson and high school parent club prez Mary Ireland). June says:
The goal of the site is multifold:
*Raise awareness of important district funding issues, especially parcel tax information and how state funding works
*Educate parents and community members about our collective purpose -- how we all work together to support our schools and sense of community
*Highlight events and activities related to fundraising efforts in town via a shared calendar
*Share news items related to schools that are of interest to all
*Streamline fundraising across all groups by making online donations easy
*Feature photos of students and community members supporting our collective purpose
*Eventually host a secure, online version of the Student Directory
But the content is juicy--everything from discussions of capping AP classes to thoughts on the future of the transitional kindergarten class to tickets for the high school's production of Bye Bye Birdie, to links to the Center for the Arts. And that's just in the first week!
The goal of the site is multifold:
*Raise awareness of important district funding issues, especially parcel tax information and how state funding works
*Educate parents and community members about our collective purpose -- how we all work together to support our schools and sense of community
*Highlight events and activities related to fundraising efforts in town via a shared calendar
*Share news items related to schools that are of interest to all
*Streamline fundraising across all groups by making online donations easy
*Feature photos of students and community members supporting our collective purpose
*Eventually host a secure, online version of the Student Directory
But the content is juicy--everything from discussions of capping AP classes to thoughts on the future of the transitional kindergarten class to tickets for the high school's production of Bye Bye Birdie, to links to the Center for the Arts. And that's just in the first week!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Case-Shiller Index
While the press releases today on the Case-Shiller update (for November) were generally negative, San Francisco's data were more complex--those homes costing over $585,000 at acquisition (the top 1/3 of the regional market) dropped 1% between October and November, and only 1.9% year over year according to Socket Site's quick and deep analysis. The New York Times's wonderful interactive graph was just updated; see it here. Note that I was doing a bit of research on a Berkeley and a Piedmont home today, and Zillow reports that home prices in both areas have seen a tick upward.
Relatedly, Decluttering
If you're vaguely thinking about selling your home but haven't yet picked up the phone to call me, it's OK--you can take a few first steps by looking at my colleague Nina Johnson's newest blog posts on decluttering. This home organizing whiz can also work by your side to power through 20 years of accumulated belongings, as I know from personal experience. Get her regular postings by subscribing.
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