Stage 8, Golden Gate Heights

A sample of what you miss by not receiving sfnewsletter delivered to you:

Welcome to sfnewsletter, a fast, fun, and fresh look at the San Francisco real estate market. In this issue, we have:

-New, Sold, and Open House listings

-Market Update with graphs and our 2-cents

-Stage 8 of our Tour de SF--Golden Gate Heights

-Stalefish--2 bed on 120 days

-Comparison Shopping--Olympia, WA

-SFhotspots--Grandview Park

-Thoughts--Always Real, Always Random

As always, feedback is welcomed and encouraged, so please don't hesitate to contact us. We hope you enjoy sfnewsletter and find its information useful.

*Unless stated otherwise, all content of sfnewsletter is written by sfnewsletter and not necessarily the person sending this to you.


Stage 8

Having had two weeks of rest, today we continue with stage 8 of Le Tour de San Francisco. The TDSF is our version of the great cycling race, where we tour through our nano-markets around town. This week we look at District 2A...Golden Gate Heights. We'll finish after 86 stages with district 10K...Bayview Heights. If you have anything you want to say about your neighborhood, we want to hear it. For past stages, contact your sfnewsletter provider. So....

Where the heck is Golden Gate Heights (GGH)? If you're driving south on 19th Ave from Golden Gate Park, look to your left. You'll see a big hill with a bald head (dirt) and a few hairs (trees) sticking out. That is Grandview Park and it has what else...grand views. Then you'll see the hill continues and there are many homes clinging desperately to its slopes with stilts and Lord knows what other marvels of engineering. Those hills and those homes "up there" are essentially GGH. If there were one thing that all the homes in this area might have in common, it would be views...big views in all directions. Views of the ocean, the bridge, the bay, the park, and downtown. The area feels very isolated, quiet, and can be very windy on the west side of the hill. GGH is extremely hilly and has many little streets (Aloha, Cragmont, Oriole, Radio) that might remind you of the hills of an Italian or French village, complete with massive retaining walls supporting switch back tight turns up/down the hills. Steep, and tiny alleyways are abundant, and stairways that rival the Lyon St. steps abound (think Moraga Steps). Go explore! Tip: Go between 1-3pm on a Tuesday, or 2-4pm on a Sunday, and get in to see some homes while you're there.

the listings

the stats

Stalefish

What is a Stalefish? A property that has been on the market 100+ days. Keeping with our Tour, we found a Stalefish in Golden Gate Heights at 601 Pacheco that is just begging for an offer. It is a 2 bed, 1.5 bath, 1380 square foot home with 2 car parking, asking a mere $1,079,000 that has sat 120 days on the market. Look at the picture. Doesn't look like your "typical" San Francisco home, does it? Looks more like something you'd see in the suburbs of Marin county.

Comparison Shopping

Why not see what $1,079,000 gets you in Olympia, WA? Well for $11,000 more ($1,090,000), you can have an extra 2500 square feet, 2 more bedrooms, 2 1/2 more baths, 2.1 more acres, a main residence, apartment, and detached cottage. Oh...and we forgot to mention Views! Have a look.

SFhotspots

Grandview Park, in Golden Gate Heights, is a 140 Million year old rock that provides breathtaking (literally) views and should be explored at least once while you live here, or visit here. You can get to the top by climbing either side of the Moraga Steps. Go on a clear day. If you go in the fog, you'll see nothing. Plan on huffing and puffing on your way up.