Do you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, are planning to sell your home in the near future, and are wondering what some of the costs are that you may be responsible for when selling your property?
Are you planning on buying a home in the San Francisco Bay Area, and are wondering who pays what when it comes to your title and escrow costs and city and county transfer tax amounts?  Well, wonder no more.  The following is a quick guide to closing costs for title and escrow and city and county transfer taxes.  You can estimate the amount that you are going to pay if you have a ballpark figure of what the property you are buying or selling is worth.

Find Your San Francisco Home’s Value

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Have you ever thought about getting out of your current home and upgrading?  I don’t mean heading out to the lonely, desolate, outskirts of the Bay Area where you can get a great, great deal…tempting, I know, but for us San Francisco residents who will absolutely never leave the city unless we get dragged out of here, this is for you.

The Current San Francisco Real Estate Market

Right now, the San Francisco real estate market is pretty stable, so to speak.  This past week, 16 single family homes sold for over asking price, 7 sold for below asking price, and zero sold for the asking price.  Also, this past week, 6 condominiums sold for over asking price, 12 sold for below asking price, and 4 sold for the asking price.

So why would you want to sell your home right now if you don’t have a good chance of getting 30 offers or so like people were getting in the height of the market a few years ago.  Well, for starters, don’t you want to be the buyer who is putting the only offer on the house of your dreams?  I am sure that it would be the ideal situation for you to not be competing with several other buyers and having to offer around 100-200k over asking price, right.  Well, now is a great time to sell your home only if you are upgrading, and obviously, if you have to sell for some other reason.  I would not suggest selling your home if you are going to downsize or move into something less expensive than what your current home can sell for right now.

Why Sell My San Francisco Property Now?

Let’s say properties are down 10%, hypothetically speaking, from last year.  You can sell your property for $720,000, and it was worth $800,000 last year.  Why would I sell my property now if it is down 10%, you ask.  Well, let’s say you have been wanting to upgrade to a property that was $1,000,000 last year, has now gone down 10%, and is now worth $900,000.  Well, if you sell your property today for $720,000, and upgrade to a better property that you buy at $1,000,000, you’ve won the game.  The $100,000 savings that you receive from buying your dream home today versus last year exceeds the $80,000 loss that you take on selling your home today versus last year.  This only applies if you are upgrading.  The question is:  Why would you wait for the market to go up to sell your home, and move up?  The other homes out there are going to get more expensive if your home does, too.  You will be spending more and your property taxes will only be higher.  Not to mention, where oh where will the interest rates be when the market turns?

What is my San Francisco Home Worth Today?

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In the month of August, there were four single family homes, thirteen condos, one TIC, and one stock coop that sold in Pacific Heights. This data is directly pulled from the San Francisco Multiple Listing Service. The following are the statistics for the averages of the sold properties for the month of August in Pacific Heights:

The following is the Average DOM (Days on Market) Breakdown and Average % of List Price received on Solds by market time.

If you have any questions regarding a particular property, or would like more information pertaining to your specific information, feel free to contact me. If you are in the market to purchase a property in Pacific Heights, you can search the SF MLS here. Note that Pacific Heights is District 7B. If you currently are a Pacific Heights homeowner, and would like to find your homes value, click here.

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Your house is still sitting on the market for one reason and one reason only. Price!

Any property will sell at the right price.

“But I need $____. I cannot sell below that price.”

I’m really sorry to break the news to you, but that is too bad. Unfortunately, the buyers do not care, and will not pay a premium because you need the money. Put yourself in the buyers shoes. If there were two houses that were exactly the same, and one was cheaper than the other, which one would you put an offer on? It’s that simple. It comes down to the numbers. Your home can have a number of problems, but it will sell at the right price. You have to take into account the condition, the area, the upgrades, check out the comparables, and price your property at a price that will attract several buyers. If you absolutely cannot go below a price that your home is not selling at, then take your home off of the market. You will save yourself a lot of time and hassle.

The Dangers of Overpricing a Property (more…)

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Staging a home that has been listed for sale can be the wisest decision that you can make as a seller. Not only will staging make the house more inviting, but it will also sell for a higher purchase price. According to a study by StagedHomes.com, homes that are staged sold for 6.9% more than homes that were not staged. They also stayed on the market half of the time of non-staged homes.

Whenever a buyer walks into a property they may potentially purchase (more…)

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