Greetings All,
Welcome to the Second half of 2020! The first half has been a mixture of frightening, maddening, saddening, uplifting… certainly unlike anything a great majority of us can ever recall experiencing. COVID-19, social unrest, equity market tumbles and rises, massive unemployment… it’s as if the first half of this year has been a divine test, measuring our resolve.
In the face of all that’s transpired, we do have cause for optimism. Though the reality is we’re in the middle of the battle, not the end, and that this is more a marathon than a sprint, I personally believe we’ll look back at this time with gratitude. We’re learning so much. We’re growing. And we’re becoming much, much more aware. Turning that awareness into positive action is key, and not allowing passivity to dull the lessons with time.
We must be equally committed to the safety and good health of ourselves and others, and towards equal justice for our aggrieved Black brothers and sisters as we complete this marathon. Let’s live each day with great care, empathy and compassion for our fellow human beings.
I believe 2020 is living up to its name: clear, perfect vision, the kind we all need to build a better future for all.
Derek & Natalie and Geneva
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by Patrick Carlisle, Market Analyst for Compass Bay Area
Despite the ongoing health and economic crisis precipitated by COVID-19, the SF real estate market made a large recovery from the steep declines in March and April. The SF median house price hit a new monthly high in June ($1,800,000), and high-end houses, in particular, have seen very strong demand – this applies to virtually every market in the Bay Area. More affluent buyers – the demographic least affected by COVID-19, unemployment, and also having the greatest financial resources – have been jumping back into the market to a greater degree than other segments.
The condo market has been weaker than the house market, as measured by both supply and demand metrics and median sales price. It may be that prospective condo buyers – often younger and less affluent than house owners – have been more affected by the huge jump in unemployment.
The first chart below illustrates the big rebound in buyer demand, as the number of listings accepting offers in June 2020 rose slightly higher on a year-over-year basis. Of course, closed-sales volume – a lagging indicator – was hammered in Q2 by shelter in place.
Click the above image or here for to view the entire report.
Tell us what you think! We’d love to hear from you.
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New Listings | Just Sold | Announcement
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DID YOU KNOW? During the last week of May, the number of contracts signed in San Francisco totaled almost 90, a similar tally to the weeks before the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the U.S., when roughly 100 contracts were being signed weekly.
DID YOU KNOW? Many Americans have spent weeks locked down at home more focused than ever on their living spaces, conscious of what they like and don’t like. Designers are getting busy! Many people want to start projects now because they have the time, they’ve been thinking about getting these things done, and the only thing they can’t do is travel. Key takeaways?
* Everything should be practically perfect, with a greater focus on more useful concepts, rather than just pretty pictures.
* Instead of a beautiful marble bathroom, it’s more storage solutions and closets.
* An additional double pantry to store food fueled after going to the grocery store just every 2 weeks.
* Materials will change with an emphasis on antimicrobials: Porcelanosa’s Krion is a man-made alternative to stone that’s hard-wearing and stays clean. A pricier upgrade is copper, an all-natural germ-fighting surface.
* How to sanitize outside air as it’s sucked into an AC system using infrared light?
* What about a “sanitizing sieve” intended for the entry to a large home or apartment complex, maybe like a stone circle, which mists water like you’d find on the street in Las Vegas and as you walk through, it sanitizes?
* Expect a heightened emphasis on the outdoors, especially outdoor spaces that act as additional living rooms year-round.
* Look for a rise in living walls, or vertical gardens, that will bring the outdoors inside.
* The desire for a Vegetable/herb garden is growing, a combination of needing to go to the grocery store less often, and how everyone found themselves cooking, even people who usually had a chef.
* The Utility room is the new luxury, including double laundry rooms.
* Double dishwashers in kitchens to streamline cleaning plates and flatware as people ate at home more.
* In condo’s expect touch-free elevators or ones with antibacterial, anti-scratch surfaces and industrial-grade air filters like those from Kone.
* Onsite gyms may be supplemented with private spaces in each apartment that come with a pre-installed Mirror fitness system.
* The amount of space allocated to rentable offices in any apartment tower will increase. Rentable micro-offices you can lease within a condo, could feel like you’re leaving your apartment but still have an office within your building.
DID YOU KNOW? Since 2015 the average rates on 30-year fixed jumbo loans have been lower than the average rates on 30-year conforming loans. Since February, that has reversed, with average rates for a 30-year jumbo at 3.73%, compared with 3.52% for conforming loans. Average rates on jumbo loans have been so low for the past several years partly because lenders view jumbos as lower risk. But that is another thing turned upside down by the Covid-19 crisis. As of June 16, 11.8% of jumbo loans were in forbearance, compared with 8.7% of all mortgages, according to Black Knight. In April, conforming 30-year mortgage rates averaged 3.4%, while jumbos averaged 3.7%. That gap narrowed in early June, to 3.3% for conforming loans and 3.5% for jumbos. Several of the large bank lenders say that stricter lending standards will be loosened as the economic picture improves, but that it is too soon to say when.
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Supporting Our Communities
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From a personal letter from our CEO Robert Reffkin
Inviting Compass agents & agents around the country to join the 15% Pledge to support Black professionals
There are 2M real estate agents in the US and every year they drive at least $15 billion dollars of business to a wide variety of local vendors: photographers, contractors, painters, landscapers, stagers, movers, attorneys and more. If agents across the industry spent 15% of their real estate vendor spend to Black professionals, those professionals would earn more than $2 billion per year from real-estate agents alone. That’s enough revenue to create opportunity for countless Black entrepreneurs and empower many Black communities — and it’s something that’s both completely possible and completely in our control.
So we’re inviting Compass agents — and all agents across the industry — to join the 15% Pledge, which reads: “Moving forward, I will work to allocate 15% of my real estate vendor spend to Black professionals — from photographers to videographers to attorneys to contractors to stagers to all the small businesses I source and refer to my clients.”
Click on the image above or here for Robert’s talk on CBNBC
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Natalie no longer gets to see her favorite Soul Cycle instructor, Kamelle Mills each week, but we can still support his wonderful non-profit organization and encourage others to do the same.
Whether it’s creative outlets, workshops, scholarships or performances, PROFOUNDations supports LGBTQIA+ Youth of Color in the Greater Bay Area.
Click here to Check it out!
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Aiming to prove that middle-aged dogs can learn new tricks, here’s a quick look at how we’ve adjusted to our current landscape for our selling clients. (Woof!)
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Visualizing your Upgrade:
Curious to know how Compass can transform a listing and improve its sale price?
Compass Lens uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to visualize the potential of your space! See exactly the difference working with us can make.
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Virtual Property Presentations:
Sticking with what we’ve always done, we’ll provide Professional Photography & Videography, including Matterport 3D home tours, and a dedicated property website which includes all of this within the site.
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Video Creator:
We’re able to make quick (10 seconds or less) videos of our listings with essential details to our social feeds.
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Create a virtual open house experience using standard video from our phone:
We can record a Home Tour – more informal than a professional video, we’ll walk the property and show it as we would in a traditional open house, pointing out all of the features, opening closets and cabinets, send to prospective buyers and their agents, and be available for questions.
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Facetime or Zoom conferencing in the property:
As above but on a live feed that is mutually scheduled with prospective buyers and their agents. Offers a personal experience and 1:1 questions are answered.
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Dynamic Digital Brochures:
Home features will come to life inside this dynamic, digital brochure while creating an immersive experience for even the most discerning of buyers. Pages will turn and videos will play while allowing us to capture real-time data and actionable insights from potential buyers.
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Mobile Listing Ads:
We’ll run geo-targeted mobile ad campaigns to reach buyers in the right place, at the right time. Now more than ever, buyers and sellers are spending most (if not all) of their time at home. We’ll create a geofence around the neighborhoods where you’d like your ads to be seen. These ads will appear in mobile apps and will re-target viewers on their desktops and laptops.
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All of this is designed to bring proper exposure to our wonderful listings, and encourage eager buyers to make safe, virtual visits before making safe, in-person visits.
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Since Compass launched in 2012, we’ve been simplifying the real estate process one community at a time. Today, we have more than 250+ offices extending from coast to coast.
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Please let us know if you or a friend/colleague needs a fantastic agent in an area other than San Francisco. Through our network we can make the connections and introductions and help to find a perfect fit.
If you like what you have received, we encourage you to share it with your friends and follow us on Facebook & Instagram.
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