Posts Tagged ‘home sales’

Wine: Constellation launches 4-megawatt solar project

September 24th, 2010 by Katy Dinner

By Jeff Quackenbush, Business Journal Staff Reporter

Also: ‘Sunburned’ grapes spur market; Frazier Winery files Chapter 11; Tapp expanding

Constellation Wines U.S., one of the world’s largest wine companies and operator of several North Coast wineries, last week unveiled a solar-electricity project at four California wineries — includingClos du Bois and Ravenswood– expected to be one of the largest such projects for the wine industry when completed by the end of this year.

The multimillion-dollar project will include 17,000 solar panels producing a total of 3.95 megawatts of direct-current power, according to Greg Fowler, senior vice president of operations.  It is estimated to provide all the annual power needs for Estancia in Monterey County and Ravenswood in Sonoma, 75 percent of consumption at Clos du Bois in Geyserville and 60 percent of the Gonzalez winery in the city by the same name. The Gonzalez project was completed last year.

The project was paid for in part via federal and state incentives. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides a 30 percent tax incentive for solar projects this year. The California Solar Initiative provides significant energy rate incentives for solar energy projects through Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Read More (via North Bay Business Journal)

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Water Wisdom for Real Estate and the Built Environment

September 24th, 2010 by Katy Dinner

By Leslie Guevarra

When access to water seems cheap and easy, why should companies cut or closely monitor consumption in their buildings?

Confronting misconceptions about water availability and offering information about solutions that are available now and in development were the key subjects of “Water in Real Estate — Resilient Operations for Thirsty Times,” a recent webinar presented by the Artemis Project. The San Francisco-based consulting firm focuses on helping companies thrive in a water-challenged world.

“Historically, real estate people have always known that water is a live or die situation,” said Laura Shenkar, founder and principal of the Artemis Project.

For developers, lack of water and water permits can kill a project. For property owners, “it takes a very, very small leak to cause very, very big problems,” including structural damage, mold and building system failure, said Shenkar, who moderated the presentation.

But what’s well known to builders and portfolio managers typically is little known or unheeded by companies and property owners, according to webinar panelists…Read More (via Greenbiz)

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Real Estate Agents Use Twitter to Connect with Clients

September 23rd, 2010 by Katy Dinner

It seems everyone is using Twitter these days. Since 2007, the social networking website has allowed people to publish bite-sized updates to keep their “followers” informed.

And now, it seems the real estate industry is all aflutter with Twitter. The number of real estate agents using Twitter has risen sharply over the last couple of years. Today, nearly half of all real estate websites have the ubiquitous “follow me on Twitter” button.

We asked the folks at Twitter if they knew how many real estate agents were using the service. Unfortunately, they were unable to compile data based on such specifics. But they did say that many businesses are embracing Twitter as a communication tool. An email from their communications team said: “As an open information network, Twitter makes it easy for people to reach a wide audience. As such, we’re seeing people use it for a variety of business purposes, including real estate.”

So how are real estate agents using Twitter to reach their audience? We asked a few agents (and Twitter users) this question, and here is what they had to say.

Bill Williams, an agent from San Francisco, has been using Twitter for about two years. He said the extra online exposure helps him attract clients: “On more than a few occasions, either a buyer or a seller has indicated they found me on the web and that I seemed like someone they’d like to work with.” Read More (via U.S. Housing News)

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Most expensive housing markets

September 23rd, 2010 by Katy Dinner

Santa Rosa is among the nation’s most expensive real estate markets, according to a new study of Coldwell Banker listings.

The city ranked in the top quarter at 64th out of 296 markets, based on average listing prices this year of four-bedroom, two-bathroom homes. The average listing price here was $476,162, according to the report.

Newport Beach led the list with an average listing price of approximately $1.83 million. By contrast, Detroit was dubbed the nation’s most-affordable market, with an average four-bedroom home listed for $68,007.

Along with Newport Beach, five other California communities made the top 10: Palo Alto (second); San Francisco (fourth); La Jolla (fifth); Pasadena (eighth) and Santa Barbara (10th)…Read More (via Press Democrat)

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Jerry Garcia’s Calif. home for sale for $4 million

September 22nd, 2010 by Katy Dinner

NICASIO, Calif. — Would-be home buyers now have a chance to taste the high life, Grateful Dead-style: Jerry Garcia’s house is for sale.

The 11-acre estate in rural Marin County, north of San Francisco, was the bandleader’s last home before he died of a heart attack in 1995 at age 53.

The sellers are asking just shy of $4 million for the 7,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style home and surrounding grounds…Read More (via AP/SF Gate)

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The party might not be over, but it’s slowing down: San Francisco price reductions for August and September

September 21st, 2010 by Katy Dinner

On the 15th of this month, real estate information hub Trulia.com released its price reduction information for both the first half of September and all of August. The findings are interesting because finally, we see San Francisco getting in line with the rest of the nation. To draw on perhaps tired meteorological metaphor, in the past, SF has largely seemed impervious to the brunt of the national real estate hurricane; these data indicate we too are in for stormy weather…Read More (via SF Gate)

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LEED Certified Forest City Opens This Week in SF’s Presidio

September 20th, 2010 by Katy Dinner

On September 25th, the first LEED Certified neighborhood in San Francisco will open in the Presidio National Park. The project’s crowning piece is a former public hospital that has been transformed into a 154-apartment building, and the neighborhood also includes townhomes and duplexes that maintain a cozy relationship with some neighboring trees. We recently had a chance to see this incredible project firsthand as part of San Francisco’s Arch + City festival – read on for an exclusive look!

Read More

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10 Unique, One-of-a-Kind Homes

September 18th, 2010 by Katy Dinner

By: Diane Tuman, Zillow Content Manager | September 3, 2010

If you consider yourself a non-conformist, or one who shuns traditional ways of doing things, then here is a perfect lineup of nontraditional homes that should fit your spirit perfectly. Take your pick from a church, an old firehouse, an earthship home, a geodesic home, a floating home, and even a decommissioned missile site. Plus, some of these homes are for sale!

10 One-of-a-Kind Places to Call Home:

1. Old Firehouse – 117 Broad St, San Francisco, CA 94112 (above)
Status: For Sale — $975,000

San Francisco’s Firehouse 33 was in the business of fighting fires from 1896 to 1974. Up until 1921, it had two horses, a steamer, a Dalmatian and a rotating crew of firefighters. When bigger fire engines were built in the 1970s, Firehouse 33’s doors could not accommodate the wider girth and so, the original Firehouse 33 became obsolete and a new Firehouse 33 was built around the corner. An entrepreneurial couple bought this firehouse and turned it into a home/business — the “San Francisco Fire Engine Tours & Adventures” business. It has two beds, two baths and 4,000 sq ft of space, plus interesting amenities such as the original redwood lockers the firemen used, lots of closet space, a garage that can fit six cars (and a firetruck, if you had one) and of course, a fire pole!
> See more photos of the firehouse

> See San Francisco homes for sale
> See San Francisco home values

2. Old Church — 601 Dolores St, San Francisco, CA 94110 (above)
Status: For Sale – $7,490,000

Yes, here we are in San Francisco again (surprised?) where we find a fabulously restored Gothic Revival home that was formerly a church. At 17,000 sq ft, it is said to be one of the largest single family homes in San Francisco. The living room features a soaring, coffered, hand-painted ceiling with seven enormous chandeliers, stained glass windows (naturally) and arched windows looking out to Dolores Park. Climb to the tower meditation room and deck for a 360-degree view of the city.
> See more photos of the church

> See more Mission District homes for sale
> See Mission District home values

See more homes here.

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10 Ideas For Home Improvement in Today’s Economy

September 17th, 2010 by Katy Dinner

Did you know that San Francisco is the 3rd wealthiest city in America? Life in San Francisco never goes out of style: great climate, top-rated schools, vibrant neighborhoods, easy commuting and stable property values. Clearly, you made the right decision to live here.

Your home can help you capitalize on such a smart decision. It is one of your largest investments and it should work hard for you. You worked hard to buy your home in San Francisco. Is your home paying you back?

Why should you spend any money on your home now? In today’s economy you can maximize the amount of work for your money. You can also increase your ROI, increase your tax deductions, and increase your daily quality of life.

There are ways your home can help you save money now and pay you back in the future. This is the time for opportunity.

People are spending more time at home. It is fiscally wise and family-friendly. They are assessing each room and each yard, improving what they have. Some families have outgrown their homes and cannot or do not want to move. Here are ten ideas that show how your investment can be maintained, customized and improved at any budget, including free…Read More.

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Real Estate Outlook: Consumer Confidence

September 17th, 2010 by Katy Dinner

After a few weeks in August where the economic and housing outlooks have been a little sobering – even grim – the numbers at the beginning of September are looking increasingly positive.

Take consumer confidence. We all know how important that is for economic activity and future housing sales. Well, the latest survey from the University of Michigan came in with a one point jump in overall confidence, after months of declines.

That may sound modest, and it is, but after so many bad headlines about the economy, it’s a step in the right direction.

And indeed, the latest Commerce Department study finds that consumer spending is on the upswing, and just registered the biggest pickup in four months.

Meanwhile, there was surprisingly strong news from the industrial manufacturing front, which is a key factor for future employment growth: The Institute for Supply Management reported a one point gain in its manufacturing index for the latest month – which was enough of a shock to doom-and-gloom analysts on Wall Street that the stock market soared on the news.

On the housing front there were even more encouraging numbers:

  1. Pending home sales , which had been sliding since the phase-out of the tax credits last spring, rose by 5.2 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors.
  2. Also, the Standard and Poor’s /Case-Shiller index reported that home prices in the top 20 metropolitan areas gained 4.2 percent year over year. Prices were up in 15 of the 20, including some big gains in California and elsewhere.

San Francisco prices rose by 14 percent for the year, San Diego by 11 percent. Minneapolis prices jumped 11 percent and Washington DC houses were up by 7 percent…Read More.

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