Second Wave

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On the Market: Pacific Heights Mansion Lists for $30M, is San Francisco's Second Most Expensive Home for Sale

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Monday, November 26, 2012, by Sally Kuchar Over the Thanksgiving break, the Wall Street Journal got word of a $30M Pacific Heights property hitting the market. Located at 2724 Pacific Avenue, the four-level, 7-bedroom home is currently owned by by Doug Engmann, who is a former chairman of the Pacific Stock Exchange. The 13,500 square foot abode (you read that right) sits on a lot totaling 26,000 square feet, making it one of San Francisco's largest private residential parcels. Engmann purchased the property in 1983 and restored it.

Engmann says he'll miss entertaining at the gigantic manse, which can "easily accommodate 500 guests and a band for a reception or 100 friends at an Easter-egg hunt." Fun fact: the home played host to the 1984 Decorator's Showcase. Property highlights include (everything) a gorgeous solarium that has a koi pond, and a "formal sunken garden that the family used as a volleyball court when their children were young." The carriage house also doubles as a game room and a gazebo.
· Santa Monica Compound Lists for $18.8 Million (last item) [WSJ]
· PACIFIC HEIGHTS MANSION FOR $30 MILLION [SF LUXE]
· 2724 Pacific [Steve Gothelf]

2724 Pacific Avenue, San Francisco, CA

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Second Avenue Subway’s Impact On Rents

Posted by Jonathan J. Miller -Thursday, February 23, 2012, 5:49 PM
1 Comment

In one of the greatest column names ever devised during the illustrious history of the New York Times known as “The Appraisal” [wink], Elizabeth Harris, pens “Amid a Subway Project’s Dust and Noise, No Complaints About the Rent” about the war zone that is Second Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I was on vacation when this was published earlier this week and I was forbidden to bring my laptop.

I was approached to try to take a stab at measuring the impact of the Second Avenue subway construction on the local housing market. Listen to the blasting.

Sales transactions move too slowly to capture the neighborhood impact since this is a relatively recent event of the past few years. So I looked at rents since they are smaller and more nimble.

Methodology
I divided a portion of the Upper East Side neighborhood into three zones (East 64th Street to East 96th Street) as follows:

The blocks to the east and west of Second Avenue (Third Avenue to First Avenue)The blocks to the west of Third Avenue (to Fifth Avenue)The blocks to the east of First Avenue (to East River)

I analyzed all the properties collected during our production of the The Elliman Report: Manhattan Rentals that actually rented in 2010 and 2011 and compared them. In a rental housing market that is seeing sharp gains in rents in the past year, I thought it would be interesting to see if there was a material difference in direction between the subway “zone” and everywhere else. I was only looking at “face” rents (the rent paid before deducting concessions) because I have more of that data.

And there was a difference.
In fact, the subway zone showed a 1.7% decline in median rent year-over-year, a 3.2% increase to the west and a 2% increase to the east. And the number of rentals in the subway zone increased 9% while the areas to the west and east fell 5.1% and increased 2% respectively over the same period suggesting that increased affordability may be attracting tenants.

Construction was supposed to be completed by 2016, but now it looks like 2018 or longer.

A gigundo transfer station…
[Courtesy: NYT]

…and trucks carrying explosives [Turn your head to left when viewing photo]…
[Courtesy: NYT]

While I was on vacation, I was contacted by Eyewitness News to discuss my numbers on camera but that wasn’t possible – although the online story includes no mention of the source of the results, the video did provide proper credit.

Thoughts
As time moves closer to completion some buyers may benefit from upside given how unpleasant some blocks are right now. The construction will likely provide downward pressure on housing prices in the near term but those along the zone will likely catch-up and perhaps even benefit from the transportation upgrade.

As a general rule, neighborhood property values tend to be higher in the west and lower in the east. It’s also possible that the price midpoint may shift further to the east than it is now once construction is completed.

Location specifics aside, additional subway access to and from the neighborhood should prove to be a tremendous asset to property owners in that area over the long run.

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CurbedWire: HGTV Magazine's Second Issue; Foreclosure Stats

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Thursday, January 12, 2012, by Sarah Firshein

The Feb/March cover of HGTV Magazine

NATIONAL—The second test issue of HGTV Magazine hits stands Jan. 17; in it, a story about the family who lives in the pristine white house featured in the 1991 Steve Martin comedy Father of the Bride. Apparently tourists flock to the Pasadena, Calif., Colonial so much that the owner consciously tries to keep it looking sharp. “I feel guilty on trash day,” she says. [CurbedWire Inbox]

NATIONAL—According to new data released by RealityTrac, the 10 states faring the worst in terms of number of foreclosed properties are: Ohio, Utah, Delaware, Illinois, Georgia, Florida, Arizona, Michigan, California, and Nevada, where 1 in 177 homes is foreclosed. [Business Insider]

LONDON—UK architecture and urbanism nonprofit The Architecture Foundation is playing around with the way "sound is used to transform the physical environment, creating a temporary, invisible, yet penetrating architecture." The installation, entitled "Olduvai Theory," will take place for only one night: "on the day statistically noted to be the most depressing of the year, ‘Blue Monday.'" Oh, architecture and urbanism nonprofits. [The Architecture Foundation]

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Celebrity Real Estate: Alonzo Mourning Retires the Second "No. 33" of His Lifetime

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Friday, September 30, 2011, by Sarah Firshein

Retired Miami Heat No. 33 Alonzo Mourning has listed No. 33 Arvida Parkway, his Florida estate, for $14.5M, reports the Wall Street Journal today. Sited on three-quarters of an acre of waterfront, the manse has eight bedrooms and 8.5 bathrooms over 13,000 square feet, plus a pool and outdoor kitchen on the grounds. The sometimes helpful, sometimes not "Zo" bought the place for $12.75M in 2005, shortly after it was built.

· Miami Heat's Alonzo Mourning Lists His Coral Gables Home [WSJ]
· 33 Arvida Pw, Coral Gables, Fla [Florida Moves]

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Buying Power: Happening right this second: the first...

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Tuesday, May 24, 2011, by Sarah Firshein

? Back to top

? Previous: Treme Star Wendell Pierce Makes a Plea For Modernism

? Next: Heidi Klum Decorates!

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Cityscapes: New York's Second City Relishes Ruins of the Rust Belt

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Thursday, March 3, 2011, by Rob Bear

Welcome to CityScapes, a column in which we explore some of the nation's oft-overlooked cities and towns: their local history and real estate offerings. Have a suggestion? Do let us know.

Photo: The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation

In 1906, Frank Lloyd Wright was commissioned to design an office building for the Larkin Soap company in Buffalo, N.Y. At the time, Buffalo was a growing industrial city, fueled by the Erie Canal, iron and steel, and the transport of grain from Midwest farms to Eastern urban markets, and Larkin was a successful mail-order concern. Wright produced a monolith of a building for Larkin (above) that exemplified the company's—and the city's—rising fortunes. Forty-five years later, the Larkin Building was torn down to make way for a truck stop. By 1990, the population of Buffalo had shrunk below 1900 levels, a startling decline for a city just across the state from NYC, whose population more than doubled in the same period. But for fans of architecture, there are certain upsides to a receding economy.

THE BACKSTORY:

Photos: Buffalo Architecture
So how did Buffalo architecture buffs benefit from their city's industrial decline? Well, for one, they missed out on much of the building boom of the latter half of the 20th century, meaning classic buildings like the dazzling Guaranty Building by Louis Sullivan (above) weren't knocked down and replaced with a mediocre modern office tower. And the same inadvertent preservation holds true for similarly impressive works of the mid century, like Eliel and Eero Saarinen's Kleinhans Music Hall (below), which is an elegant mixture of Eliel's Arts & Crafts style and his son's modern sensibilities, completed in 1940. That's not to say that economic decline was the sole factor in the preservation of these historic structures and others like them. Concerned Buffalo citizens have had a hand in active preservation efforts since the beloved Larkin building was reduced to a pile of rubble. Architects have also taken an interest, and Chicago architect David Steele has published a book of some of Buffalo's greatest architectural marvels, now available online. In October, the National Trust for Historic Preservation will hold its annual conference in the city. Photos: Buffalo Architecture

WHAT'S ON THE MARKET NOW:

? This 8,700-square-foot 1910 stone mansion is just the right relic of Buffalo's past. Set on a half acre, the home boasts a wood-paneled study, very formal living and dining rooms, eight bedrooms, and a marble foyer with sweeping staircase and wrought-iron balustrade. This all rings in at $1.5M, making it one of Buffalo's most expensive listings.

? For the apartment dweller, this well-preserved pre-war apartment building—set on storied Delaware Avenue—offers up 2,500 square feet of 1920s living for just $579K. Complete with a private elevator landing, this apartment mixes highs—a renovated kitchen and classic detailing—and lows—the ill-conceived drop ceiling in the living room.

? In the Buffalo suburb of Amherst, $399K buys a five-bedroom home on 1.2 acres with a "French country facade" and a "contemporary colonial" layout. While we can't attest to the accuracy of those architectural claims, we would say this seems like a deal for a slice of bucolic semi-suburbia circa 1935. There's even a swimming pool for when all that lake-effect snow finally melts.
· Buffalo Buildings book [official site]
· National Preservation Conference 2011 [official site]
· 50 Tudor Place [Realtor.com]
· 925 Delaware Avenue [Realtor.com]
· 590 Le Brun Road, Amherst [Realtor.com]

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Globe Trotting: Starchitect-Designed Ceiling Collapses For the Second Time

× Like us and you'll find top breaking news in your Facebook newsfeed. Sign up for our daily email newsletter and get top stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Wednesday, April 20, 2011, by Sarah Firshein

For the second time since its 2008 completion, the ceiling in the Daniel Libeskind-designed Westside Shopping Center, in Bern, Switzerland, has collapsed over the pool area. A couple of people, one pulled bleeding from the wreckage of gypsum board and insulation, have been hospitalized and are reportedly doing well. Libeskind's rep says the architect “would wait until the outcome of the investigation to comment.”

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