Weekend Events and the Weekly Real Estate Update

There’s a lot to do this weekend. The 2017 SF Chinatown Autumn Moon Festival takes place on Grant Avenue on Saturday and Sunday from 11AM to 6PM both days. On Saturday night, two outdoor movies are being shown; Wreck-It Ralf on the Balboa Park Lawn in Balboa Park, and The Iron Giant at the Civil War Parade Ground in the Presidio. The 82nd Annual Blessing of the Fishing Fleet takes place this Saturday and Sunday, with activities planned for both days. And finally, the  Bridge to Bridge Run — named “America’s most beautiful run” by Sports Illustrated — happens on Sunday morning at 8AM.

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On the “Homes for Sale in San Francisco” front, here’s our report for this week, 9/24/17 – 9/30/17

A Shortage of Single Family Homes and Price Increases

Business Columnist Kathleen Pender with the Chronicle wrote a column last Sunday that looks at the Bay Area real estate market. She quotes CoreLogic, and reports that the median price paid for a Bay Area home in August posted its biggest year-over-year gain in 19 months, rising 11.6 percent to $742,000.

The median price dropped 3 percent from the month before, but as she points out prices typically dip between July and August, by an average of 1.6 percent over the past few decades. The figures she quotes include new and existing single-family homes and condos in the nine-county Bay Area.

In San Francisco, she says that the hottest part of the market continues to be single family homes in more affordable neighborhoods such as the Sunset, Richmond and Bernal Heights neighborhoods.

She goes on to say that only eight to 10 brand new homes come on the market each year in the City, and that includes homes that were torn down and rebuilt. In fact, single family home inventory has been static for about 50 or 60 years, while over the same period tens of thousands of condos have been built.

New Mural in San Francisco

A new mural has been created on Hemlock Alley. According to the Marina Times, six local artists were asked to interpret the theme, “San Francisco – Its History and Its Diversity.” The result is a 140 foot mural that pays tribute to the culture of the City.

The mural is located on Hemlock, just off Van Ness, between between Polk and Larkin Streets.

These photos give you a sense of some of what you’ll see in the six-panel mural.

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Outdoor Movie Night at Two Different Locations!

Take your pick. There are two outdoor movies being shown this Saturday night in the City — one at Balboa Park, and one in the Presidio. Both are family friendly films.

Wreck-It Ralf will be shown on the Balboa Park Lawn, beginning at dusk.

Organizers say ride Muni or BART; bring a blanket or sit on the grass; bring a picnic or snack on some free popcorn (donated by The Dark Horse Inn)!

The Iron Giant will be shown at the Civil War Parade Ground in the Presidio, beginning around 7PM.

Film in the Fog organizers say grab a blanket and come to the Presidio’s 15th annual outdoor movie night. Before the screening you’ll find free popcorn, cartoon shorts, and food for purchase from Off the Grid.

San Francisco’s Best Place for Pizza

Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer includes just one pizza place on his list of the top 100 restaurants in the Bay Area. His favorite? Del Popolo, which he says represents the quintessential Top 100 restaurant — a place that consistently brings more to the table than expected.

Bauer says Del Popolo’s pizza has a “puffy, blistered crust, held in check with a thin, crisp layer that quickly gives way to the steamy interior. The eight toppings are also a big draw whether it’s the traditional Margherita ($13); a more inventive combination with summer peppers, beef salami, roasted onions, pecorino cheese and parsley ($18); or salami with crushed tomatoes, mozzarella, peppers, onion and a hefty dose of chile ($18).”

The restaurant’s interior is striking, and the service is professional and has a fine-dining quality. But what really sets the restaurant apart, according to Bauer, are the small plates, which offer a nice selection of delectable dishes — all well conceived and perfectly executed.

To read the entire column, click here.

Or you can always skip the column, and just head directly to the restaurant!

Del Popolo 855 Bush Street, San Francisco, 415.589.7940 www.delpopolosf.com

Team Snapshots

It’s a big week in sports around here. The baseball season mercifully comes to an end for our San Francisco Giants on Saturday; our 0-3 49ers take on the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday; and our defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors open up their preseason with a game against the Denver Nuggets at home on Saturday evening.

Yup. We saved the best for last.

The 49ers, while without a win so far, have stirred some renewed hope this season thanks to new, young, offensive minded head coach Kyle Shanahan, and savvy, well respected former player and now general manager John Lynch. It won’t take much to improve on last year, so it will be interesting to see how things progress.

As for the Giants — tough to say. Last season they had the best record in baseball right up to the All-Star break. Since then, they’ve had the worst record in baseball. We’ll have to see what the off-season brings, but it certainly appears there are a number of holes to fill on the roster. However, sports writer Kevin Lynch thinks there are reasons to be somewhat optimistic about next year, and if you’d like to see what leads him to this conclusion, click here.

Weekend Events and the Weekly Real Estate Update

The largest used book sale on the West Coast continues this Saturday and Sunday at Fort Mason, with books, audio books, CDs, and DVDs all selling for $3 or less at the 53rd Annual Big Book Sale. SF Music Day  takes place on Sunday, with 35 ensembles and 155 musicians performing on four stages between noon and 7:45 PM at the ornate and wonderful San Francisco War Memorial Veterans Building. Admission is free! And finally, the 7th Annual Marina Family Festival also takes place on Sunday, from 11 AM to 6 PM on the Marina Green.

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On the “Homes for Sale in San Francisco” front, here’s our report for this week, 9/17/17 – 9/23/17

The World’s Most Valuable Asset Class — Real Estate

HSBC just released a report, distributed at a recent conference, which looks at real estate worldwide.

Global real estate is a more valuable asset class than all stocks, shares and bonds combined. Residential property had a combined value of $168.5 trillion in 2016, and high quality commercial property had a combined value of $32.3 trillion. The value of all gold ever mined throughout history pales in comparison at only $6.5 trillion.

In advanced economies, real estate is a big part of personal and household wealth. As more people grow wealthier in new and emerging economies across the globe, they seek to buy real estate as an investment.

The report profiles 12 global cities, and here’s what it has to say about San Francisco — largely a familiar story to those of us who live here:

“San Francisco is attracting large numbers of young professionals, tech entrepreneurs and other creative people. It has seen an increasing number of successful people migrating out of Silicon Valley in search of an urban, rather than suburban, lifestyle. People from all over the world choose to make San Francisco their home.”

“A small city, just 46 square miles in size, its compactness and walkability is central to its appeal, but that also means that new housing delivery is restricted by a very limited supply of land. Hayes Valley, the Mission District, Mid-Market and SoMa have seen an influx of tech firms, pushing up commercial rents and in turn demand for residential property.”

“Of all the world-class US cities, San Francisco has experienced the highest growth since 2008.”

Museum of Ice Cream Now Open Through February 2018

With much fanfare, the Museum of Ice Cream opened this past weekend. It’s the hottest ticket in town since Hamilton. Tickets originally sold out within hours, and the pop-up the museum has since extended its stay through February 2018.

Located in the stately 108 year old landmark building at 1 Grant Avenue, this whimsical and Instagram-friendly museum has already received rave reviews. It’s bigger, and completely different than earlier iterations in L.A. and New York.

What’s all the fuss about? Take a look at this KPIX 5 video and you’ll understand.

Free Performances in the SF War Memorial Veterans Building

This Sunday is SF Music Day, and at the ornate and wonderful San Francisco War Memorial Veterans Building you’ll find 35 ensembles and 155 musicians performing on four stages between noon and 7:45 PM. What’s more, it’s all free!

This is one of the Bay Area’s top free music festivals, and it’s now in its 10th year. According to organizers,  SF Music Day celebrates the diverse and dynamic music of our region, from string quartets to jazz combos, traditional chamber groups to new music pioneers, musicians dedicated to exploring the traditional Western canon to those steeped in the sounds of India, Latin America and the Philippines. 

Fresh young talent shares the stage with seasoned veterans, as SF Music Day presents a kaleidoscopic vision of Bay Area music making. And as if that’s not enough, local food truck vendors will be parked outside the hall all day.

For more information, click here.

Long-Awaited Eight Tables Opens Tonight, Breaking New Ground

As we understand it, Eight Tables opens tonight, following two years of construction and preparation.  The restaurant brings a whole new concept to the City, based on an elite style of dining in China.

This is how Ellen Fort, with sf.eater.com, describes Eight Tables in the context of San Francisco’s current dining scene:

“Years after cementing itself as the birthplace of California cuisine, San Francisco has now become known as the “Land of the Tasting Menu.” The perfect storm of tech affluence, international travelers, and ambitious chefs has resulted in some of the country’s best dining experiences (and most Michelin stars). Now, there’s a new contender in town: Eight Tables by George Chen, the fine-dining apex of Chinese food and retail emporium China Live.”

“The menu is one of the city’s most expensive, clocking in at $225 for food, with an optional $125 wine pairing in tow. It’s also one of the most ambitious of its kind to open in recent memory, based on its construction bill (and lead time of over two years) alone. It’s also singular in its cuisine, which is shifan tsui, or “private chateau cuisine,” an elite style of residential dining in cities of China. There aren’t many Chinese restaurants operating at this level in San Francisco; unlike Mister Jiu’s, the upscale, one Michelin-starred restaurant down the street, it is focused only on serving prix fixe menus to small groups of diners each night, literally offering eight tables of varying size for reservation only.”

To see photos and read the entire review, click here.

Eight Tables  China Live, 644 Broadway, 415.788.8788

San Francisco’s Latest Census Report

Sf.curbed.com just posted a piece that summarizes the results revealed in San Francisco’s latest census. The American Community Survey (ACS) provides an estimate on the latest population, income, and demographic makeup of San Francisco.

Unlike the full census, released only every 10 years, the ACS provides a yearly look at the changing makeup of American cities, although it is generally less precise. Bottom line? In 2016 San Francisco got bigger, richer, younger, and more crowded.

The City’s overall population grew to 870,877. That’s up from the 864,816 estimate the year before. Notably, this 6,000-person bloom is far less than the 11,000-13,000 we’ve seen in recent years.

Median household income is now $103,801/year. Yes, that’s a lot. Last year it was less than $92,100. The number of people living below the poverty line dropped from 12.3 to 10.1 percent.

The City’s median age is 38 years old. That’s down from 38.3 last year and 38.5 at the beginning of the decade. Perhaps surprisingly, the CIA World Factbook estimates that the general U.S. median is almost precisely this same number.

To read the entire sf.curbed.com piece, click here.