Coworking Spaces in San Francisco Competing With Big Amenities

San Francisco’s coworking scene is undergoing a makeover as competition heats up between companies vying for the coworking market. Coworking is when workers from different companies work independently in a shared workplace. In San Francisco’s booming office market, coworking space takes up 2.5 percent of office real estate, but that is still big profits for companies offering the coworking places. They’re now in a battle of amenities to attract in new tenants or woo others away.

The biggest coworking company in the Bay Area is WeWork with 880,946 square feet of comfortable, ergonomic, well-conceived work space, plus the ever growing number of fetching amenities. Next in size is the Port Workspaces, with 118,000 square feet.

What kind of amenities are these coworking companies now integrating into their environment offerings. Well, there includes on site child care, a Mother’s room, sleep nooks, podcast booth (broadcast your own show), upscale club room, bocce ball court, and Port Workspaces offers a 30-foot slide down through a turquoise industrial style tube—for those quick descents we often need.

Making Laundry Sexy Again

How Laundry Rooms soothe and restore

It was the first room to the right just inside the front door. She walked in and twirled around like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. Visions of fitted sheets and t-shirts stacked like flattened origami danced in her head as she gazed at the folding table, while the side by side stainless Bosch gleamed in reflected light of the halogens above.

“You had me at the laundry room,” she told me later. 

It was the first time I realized how emotional people can get about laundry. Maybe I was behind the curve because San Francisco’s smaller homes generally don’t allow for the luxury of laundry rooms. Instead, we settle for a closet in the hall that can take a stacked unit or space among the storage shelves by the back door of the kitchen.  Lately, however, urban remodeling projects and new construction is honoring this special need for order and control and trying to address it with rooms, or at least a bit of extra space to sort and fold them. 

The following links are designed to soothe and inspire those who enjoy the Zen of a good wash and fold experience.

This first link from Houzz shows off design schemes bathed in grays, blues and greens. Depending on the shade, you will either feel neat and nautical, or utterly engaged in the Zen of it all.

These next two links offer more practical advice and images for small laundry spaces and rooms. My favorite ideas are the orange barn doors hiding the laundry “closet” in House Beautiful Small Laundry Room Ideas, and the drawer hiding the pull-out ironing board from a post with small space laundry ideas from MorningChores.com.

Finally, those of you who understand the transcendent power of  proper folding might enjoy watching the famed Marie Kondo demonstrating the folding technique that took the country by storm a few years ago with the advent of her best selling book “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.”

SFRealEstateBuzz Makes Some News

Our most recent sale, referenced above was a modest bungalow in the Outer Sunset. It went for a lot more than asking because it was in a highly sought after neighborhood with a heavy beach vibe, had a stunning back yard, and offered lots of potential down with a set of fully developed architectural plans to add a kitchen, bath, family room and bedroom.

We got some press play  with this one– due to the record-breaking price  and some clever marketing.  Listed for $999,000, it closed for $1,605,000.

Robots Working in Restaurants in the Bay Area

Robots are part of the SF Bay Area food scene. Not the foodie scene. But definitely the food scene. Check out a scene on Telegraph Ave in Berkeley recently where a DoorDash robot at two feet tall was rolling the iconic street on its way to its next delivery, and it was so normal nobody much noticed. Robots being involved in our food in San Francisco has been around for a couple of years, and its growing, even though the robot technology is not that popular among the public. OpenTable did a recent survey of diners, with a whopping 70% against robots and automation in the restaurant and food service world. A report from McKinsey Global Institute states that the restaurant and hospitality sector in the U.S. is the fourth most automatable.

So, locally, we’re seeing robots delivering meals, robot arms dolling out coffee, and lunch bowls being made by robots (at Eatsa). And on the ever-changing hamburger front, over at 680 Folsom St. there’s Creator’s which features a total robot prepared burger — from slicing and toasting the buns to grinding and cooking the burgers themselves and tossing on orders condiments. All for $6. The robot burger is so popular as a novelty that you have to buy a ticket online to go get yours, and they’re booked into the future.

Four Charts About San Francisco Luxury Home Sales

The second quarter of 2018 saw the highest quarterly number of SF homes selling for $2 million and above –  probably because quality family homes in good neighborhoods easily sell in the $2-2.5M category.

If we limit our view to higher-priced sales of $3m+, Q2 2018 is just a handful of transactions ahead of the Q2 2017 with a total of 97.

What’s the best time of year to sell a luxury home?

We often say there is no bad time of year to sell in San Francisco UNLESS you are in the luxury market. That’s  because rich people (and their agents!) like to travel in the summer and over the school holidays.

This next chart works with homes of $3M and above.  For the last few years, luxury house  closings have peaked in October, reflecting a busy September buying season.

Just Listed: 1500 Diamond Street

Your back bedroom opens onto a flowering garden, while at the front a sky lit kitchen and open floor plan take in a shimmering downtown skyline. Head up to the yard with your coffee and your eye will rest on a further sweep of view. If you need to get downtown, the bus stop is right across the street. On your way back, make sure to stop at Castro or 24^th Street so you can meet friends for dinner. Afterwards, you can walk the meal off on the climb back home. When you have guests from out of town, they can settle in to the bedroom suite down with its own side entrance so they can come and go as they please. At the end of the day, they’ll join you upstairs in the home that will never let you forget how lucky you are to live there.

Please visit: SFDiamondInTheSky.com

SOLD: 2347 16th Ave

Sold for $1,625,000READ MORE

SF’s November Ballot Includes Tax For Large Companies to Help Homeless

San Francisco’s City Election committee recently approved a ballot measure up for vote in November 2018 that will address the city’s homeless situation with a tax on the city’s largest companies. The proposal is found in Article 28, brought to the election committee by Our City, Our Homes, and is dubbed, “Homelessness Gross Receipts Tax Ordinance.”

Led by Our City, Our Homes, a coalition of nonprofits, homeless advocacy groups and community groups put together 28,761 signatures for the ballet measure. The plan will raise $300 million from a 0.5 percent gross receipts tax on businesses that bring in $50 million a year in revenue (about 1,000 businesses in the city). The $300 M would double the city’s yearly homeless budget.

Estimates are that the funding from the tax could house 4,000 homeless people, and pay for 1,000 more shelter beds over five years. It would also fund legal assistance, rent subsidies and mental health services.

So far, the SF Chamber of Commerce says it will mostly likely come out against the measure.

Props and Shout-Outs This Week

Our business is built on referrals from old clients and fellow agents outside San Francisco.  This week’s hat tips go out to Colleen Larkin of Thornwall Properties, Julie Cuellas at Red Oak Realty, Heidi Abramson of West End Properties and Caldecott Properties’ Andy Read.

And thank you to everyone who continues to think of us for friends and family. We couldn’t put food on the table (and take you out to nice dinners, or send you chocolates and plants) without your help.  Plus you are loads of fun to talk to– as is anyone who reads and likes my blog or newsletters.

So don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to talk about San Francisco real estate. And remember, there’s no such thing as a “stupid real estate question.”

New Hotel in SoMa Touting Top Chef, Rooftop Bar

San Francisco has its share of panoramic rooftop views along with mixologist drinks, and it doesn’t hurt to add another one at the soon-to-open Virgin Hotel with 194 rooms in SoMa, at 250 Fourth Street. Called The Rooftop Bar, it looks like a fun place to check out. However, the real news here is that the hotel’s Common Club restaurant is bringing in chef Adrian Garcia to craft and produce a menu with global food poetics.

A Virgin Hotels article about Garcia’s fare speaks of hyper-local California ingredients used in wide-ranging shared eats. Garcia came to SF in 2012, having won plaudits down in San Diego at the award winning Addison. After coming to SF he honed his skills at Benu and Quince Restaurant, each with 3 Michelin stars.

A nightly free happy hour is one of the guest perks, plus exclusive dining options at the Commons Club. Virgin Hotel is already taking booking for dates starting November 15th.