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San Francisco Development News

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#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
San Francisco Development News



Knapsack Hike 04 by Tom Hilton, on Flickr


===================================================================================================

I decided to carry this thread over from SkyscraperPage.com to give everyone a rundown of San Francisco's projects. Enjoy! :)

San Francisco Now:



Recently Completed

JP Morgan Chase Building

function: office
height: 433'
floors: 31
architect: Cesar Pelli Architects
completion: 2002

Rendering:




The Paramount

function: residential
height: 420'
floors: 43
architect: Elkus/ Manfredi Architects
completion: 2002

Rendering:





Four Seasons Hotel and Residences

function: residential, hotel
height: 398'
floors: 40
architect: Gary Edward Handel & Associates
completion: 2001

Rendering:




199 Fremont

function: office
height: 364'
floors: 27
architect: Kaplan McLaughlin Diaz
completion: 2000

Rendering:





101 Second

function: office
height: 354'
floors: 26
architect: Craig Hartman of SOM
completion: 2000

Renderings:





55 Second

function: office
height: 330'
floors: 25
architect: Heller Manus Architects
completion: 2002

Renderings:




150 California

function: office
height: 330'
floors: 23
architect: HOK
completion: 2000

Rendering:




W Hotel

function: hotel
height: 315'
floors: 31
architect: Hornsberger & Worstell
completion: 1999

Rendering:




Two Folsom (Gap Inc. Headquarters)

function: office
height: 275'
floors: 15
architect: Robert A.M. Stern
completion: 2000

Rendering:




Bridgeview Towers

function: residential
height: 250'
floors: 26
architect: HKS Inc.
completion: 2002

Rendering:




The Metropolitan I and The Metropolitan II

function: residential
height: 250' and 200'
floors: 27 and 22
architect: Heller-Manus Architects
completion: 2004

Renderings:



Avalon at Mission Bay I

function: residential
height: 160'
floors: 16
architect: Fisher Friedman Architects
completed: 2003

Images:




250 King Street also known as The Beacon

function: residential
height: ~160'
floors: 16
architect: SOM
completion: 2003

Rendering:


************************************************
Under Construction

St. Regis Museum Tower

function: residential, hotel, museum/ cultural institution
height: 484'
floors: 42
architect: SOM
completion: 2005

Renderings:




New Federal Building

function: office
height: 234'
floors: 18
architect: Thom Mayne and Morphosis
completion: 2005

Rendering:



Bryant Street Seawall I and II aka The Watermark

function: residential
height: 220'/ 135'
floors: 22/ 13
architect: Moore Ruble Yudell
completion: 2005

Rendering:



Avalon at Mission Bay II

function: residential
height: 160'
floors: 16
architect: GGLO architects
completion: 2007


UCSF Mission Bay Student Housing

function: residential
height: 155'
floors: 15
architect: SOM (?)
completion: 2005

Rendering:



199 New Montgomery

function: residential
height: 150'
floors: 16
architect: Heller Manus Architects
completion: 2005

Renderings:


*********************************************************************
Approved

These are the projects that are mostly likely to be constructed in the next few years.

301 Mission Street

function: residential, hotel
height: 625'
floors: 58
architect: Gary Handel + Associates
completion: 2007

Renderings:





555 Mission Street

function: office
height: 482'
floors: 34
architect: Heller-Manus Architects
completion: 2007/2008

Rendering:


*On hold due to high vacancy in Downtown San Francisco. Currently seeking anchor tenant. Barclays Global Investors has recently been listed as a possible tenant.


201 Folsom and 300 Spear Streets

function: residential
height: podium- 80'; 2 400' towers and 2 350' towers
floors: 40, 40, 35, 35
architect: Heller Manus Architects and Arquitectonica
completion: 2007-2009

Renderings:



* 300 Spear, which has been redesigned by the architecture firm, Arquitectonica, will be the first of the two projects to be built. As of April 2005, work has begun on the site.


InterContinental Hotel

function: hotel
height: 320'
floors: 31
architect: Patri Merker Architects
completion: 2007

Rendering:


(The rendering does not do the project justice!)

* The developer has lined up the financing for the project, and it should begin construction soon.


10th and Market

function: office, residential
height: the 14 story tower will rise to 150'; the 21 story tower will rise to 200'; and the 24 story tower will rise to 345'
floors: 3 separate towers rising to 24, 21, and 14 stories
architect: SOM
completion: 2006/2007

Rendering:
Poor rendering of the base of the 320' tower:



14 story tower:



* Office portion may be dropped, if city decides to purchase an existing building.


524 Howard Street

function: office
height: 310'
floors: 23
architect: Heller Manus and Robert Frank Architects
completion: ?

Renderings:


* 524 Howard is on hold as a result of the high office vacancy rate in downtown San Francisco. If entitlements are pulled, another project could move foward. Site is zoned for 450'- 400' (which means >500' with a crown and setbacks).


Exchange Place (350 Bush Street)

function: office
height: 250'
floors: 19
architect: Heller Manus
completion: 2007(?)

Rendering:



* Project is on hold. Project sponsor is currently looking for an anchor tenant. The current structures have been demolished on the site.


1146-1160 Mission Street

function: residential
height: 235'
floors: 24
architect: AGI Capital
completion: ?

Renderings:


* Project was approved by the Board of Supervisors on February 10, 2004.


48 Tahama Street

function: office/ residential
height: 216'
floors: 20
architect: Komorous-Towey Architects
completion: ?

Renderings:


* Approved September 2001.


325 Fremont Street

function: residential
height: 200'
floors: 20
architect: Baum Thornley Architects
completion: ?

Renderings:

available at http://www.btarchitects.com/indexf.html


Bovet Place

function: residential, retail
height: 200'
floors: 17
architect: Donald Macdonald Architects
completion: ?



*Project was approved in 2001, but no work has been done. In all likelyhood, entitlements have been (or will be) pulled and another project can move into site.

**************************************************************

Proposed

Harbor Village Resort

function: residential, commercial, open space
height: 3 towers: 650'
floors: 61 each
architect: ?
completion: ?

Renderings:

none

One Rincon Hill:

function: residential
height: 550' and 465'
floors: ?
architect: Solomon Cordwell Buenz & Associates
completion: 2007 (?)

Renderings:





45 Lansing Street

function: residential
height: 400'
floors: ?
architect: ?
completion: ?


340-350 Fremont Street

function: residential
height: 400'
floors: ?
architect: ?
completion: ?


399 Fremont

function: residential
height: 350'
floors: 37 (5 below grade parking levels)
architect: ?
completion: ?

Renderings: none


375 Fremont

function: residential
height: 350'
floors: 33
architect: Beverly Prior Architects
completion: ?

Renderings: none

* This tower may be eliminated under the plan being proposed by the Planning Department (see bottom of post). Unfortunately, this tower would sit too close to other towers on Rincon Hill.


535 Mission Street

function: residential
height: ?
floors: 30
architect: ?
completion: ?

Renderings: none

* This tower is a replacement for an office proposal made in the 1990s.


690 Market Street
renovation

function: residential, hotel
height: 312'
floors: 24
architect: ?
completion: 2006

Renderings:




1177 Market I, II, III, IV, and V

function: residential, retail
height: 240' - 120'
floors: 24 - 12
architect: Arquitectonica
completion: ?

Renderings:




*Project is being redesigned by Arquitectonica.


631 Folsom Street

function: residential
height: ~200'
floors: 21
architect: ?
completion: 2007 (?)

Renderings:





Pavilion Mixed Use Project

function: hotel (conference), residential, retail
height: residential portion ~200'
floors: ?
architect: Michael Willis Architects
completion: 2007-2008

Rendering:




********************************************************

Never Built

The Hemisphere

function: residential
height: 475'
floors: 51
architect: Heller Manus Architects
completion: n/a

Rendering:



* Project was cancelled. The Board of Supervisors voted on September 28, 2004 to use their powers of eminent domain to take the parcel that the Hemisphere would have occupied. The parcel is apart of the ROW for the new Transbay Terminal.


Bloomingdale's Hotel

function: hotel
height: 400'
floors: 31
architect: Hornberger + Worstell
completion: n/a

Renderings:




535 Mission Street

function: office
height: ?
floors: 24
architect: HOK
completion: n/a

Renderings:


* Project was dropped after office market was flooded with excess space. Developer is now seeking to build a 30 story, 251 unit residential tower on the site.


Sofitel Hotel

function: hotel
height: 320' (?)
floors: ~30
architect: SOM
completion: n/a

Rendering:



* Project was dropped after the economy soured. Another 500 room hotel project is being proposed for the same site, but the design will be different.

Sofitel Hotel- Other Proposal in Design Competition

function: hotel
height: ?
floors: 33
completion: n/a
architect: Hornberger + Worstell

Renderings:




* Proposal lost to SOM's Sofitel Hotel proposal.


************************************************************************
In addition to all these proposed projects, San Francisco is also developing plans for its first two high-rise residential neighborhoods, the Transbay Terminal and Rincon Hill. One tower in the Transbay Plan may include a new tallest for San Francisco!

Where the two project sites are located:



Rincon Hill:



Transbay Terminal:





If built as planned:




Other Notable Projects

Westfield San Francisco Center

status: under construction
function: retail, office
height: ?
floors: 8 (above ground); 1 (underground)
architect: (?) developer: Forest City/ Westfield
completion: 2006

Renderings:





James R. Herman International Cruise Terminal and Bryant Street Park

status: under construction
function: residential, retail, open space, office, maritime (cruise terminal)
height: n/a
floors: n/a
architect: SOM
completion: Bryant Street Seawall Condo Tower: 2005; Bryant Street Pier: 2006; Cruise Terminal: 2008

Renderings:





* Facts on the new terminal:
-Terminal: 100,000 square feet
-Public Open Space: 215,000 square feet (more than 35 percent of the total site area), includes public plazas, waterfront walkways and terraces
-Retail: 180,000 square feet, including a grocery store, restaurants, a multi-screen cinema and other neighborhood-serving retail
-Office: 360,000 square feet
-Parking: 425 spaces
-Two berths: a 1,000 foot berth and an approximately 825 foot berth

de Young Museum

status: under construction
function: museum, cultural
height: tower portion: 144'
floors: n/a
architect: Herzog & de Meuron
completion: 2005

Renderings:




* As a result of its copper skin, the museum's exterior will eventually turn from its brownish reflective hue to a green to match the surrounding park.


The California Academy of Science

status: under construction
function: museum, cultural, educational
height: n/a
floors: n/a
architect: Renzo Piano
completion: 2008
cost: $370 million

Renderings:





* The Academy of Sciences is located across the concourse from the de Young museum (above).


Jewish Museum San Francisco

status: under construction (foundation is currently being laid)
function: cultural, museum
height: n/a
floors: n/a
architect: Daniel Libeskind
completion: Fall 2007

Old Renderings:





New Rendering:




Transbay Terminal

status: approved
function: retail, transportation
height: ~80'
floors: 4 (above ground) and 1 (below ground)
architect: n/a
completion: 2011
cost: $2 billion+

Conceptual Renderings:




* Project will link all of the major Bay Area transit providers in one location in downtown San Francisco. In addition, project will also feature an underground extension of the Caltrain commuter rail line as well as future high speed rail service to Los Angeles.

If you want to add more, please do!
 
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77
#27 ·
seapug said:
yeah the whole problem with malls is that they took up tons of space and huge parking lots that took up even more space. this has neither of those. south center in tukwila is 1.3 million square feet on one level. this is 1.5 million square feet on 8 levels. yeah i'm kinda surprised that 1.5 million square feet would be the bay areas largest mall. after the expansion southcenter will have 1.85 million square feet. i wish seattle would have a giant shopping center like that downtown in some cool old 8 floor building
According to this source, it will only be 1.7 million

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/207643_southcenter13.html

That's still a very respectable size. I'd have thought a metro area of The Bay Area's size (over 7 million) would have larger malls, but I guess not.
 
#28 ·
It's great to read this article and all your comments. I have been trying to follow the project from the Westfield website, but even the limited images and information in the newspaper article have been a great help.

I for one, am against suburban malls, particularly those of the North American kind (many single-level, with huge single-level parking lots surrounding the centre). This centre however is, as mentioned by many posters, a different kind of mall. One of the great things it does, especially considering it is the largest in the Bay area, is that it focuses shopping on the San Francisco central area. It may indeed have an effect on Union Square and surrounding streets (almost certainly will in the short-term after opening), and that would be a shame. However the impact of this development should be to increaqse the size of the central area shopping market, more customers, more spending etc.

And fantastic that there is no new parking!!! Hope that doesn't scare too many people away, although I expect in SF that should be a minor factor.

Cheers
 
#30 ·
Affordable SF...underwater!

And yet still more expensive than above water level elsewhere!
_______________
Cheap Bay Area land: Are underwater lots worth anything?

By Tamara Grippi
Staff Writer
The listing on the Web site LandAuction.com was intriguing: a parcel made up of 20 mapped lots in the Salt Marsh and Tide Lands Subdivision, near Candlestick Park, would be up for auction.

"This property may be underwater," the listing states. "What could you do with these lots, we don't know. Investigate the possibilities."

While it may sound surprising that anyone would pay money for highly regulated, submerged land, those watery lots did sell during a May 22 auction, according to auction officials.

What may be more surprising is that many more parcels of underwater property exist in the San Francisco Bay — dating back to 1868 to 1876, when the state of California sanctioned the idea of future subdivisions in the Bay and actually sold off submerged lots, according to Bill Morrison, legislative liaison for the State Lands Commission.

"I'm sure at the time, members of the Legislature were saying, ‘Hey, we have land to develop,'" Morrison said.

Submerged land falls into the extreme end of the "distressed property" category — a group that may include land deemed contaminated, environmentally sensitive or facing extreme physical constraints.

Who is willing to take a chance buying such land, even if it does come cheap? As property values increase to ever higher levels, more people are willing to consider it.

"The areas that have been contaminated are expensive to clean up, but the price of property is so high, especially in the urban areas, that it becomes economically justifiable," said Morrison & Foerster Attorney Ned Washburn, who handles land-use issues.

Submerged properties are a different story. Current federal, state and local regulations make it highly unlikely a project filling in a portion of the Bay would ever be allowed. And a 1980 court decision, deeming underwater lots not yet filled subject to the public trust, seems to have settled the matter for good.

Perhaps owners of underwater land could apply to build a pier or to set up oyster beds, Washburn said. But there are not many other options, he said.

"If you own property under water, forget it," said land-use Attorney Mike McCracken of McCracken, Byers and Haesloop in San Mateo. "People may say, ‘I own 300 acres in the Bay.' That's worth probably a cup of coffee at Starbuck's."

In cases of land contamination or even physical constraints, savvy investors may be able to turn a profit, McCracken said.

"If a property is otherwise worth $1 million but because it's distressed, someone can pick it up for $400,000, they might assess it and say if I buy it for $400,000, it will cost me $150,000 to cure it," he said.

But between buying low and selling high, "things more likely have to be done," that could involve consulting with engineers, lawyers or contractors, said Niel Hildebrand with Century 21 Alliance.

Owners looking to unload a problem property must disclose the problems to the seller — a sensitive issue.

"How do you disclose something that allows the buyer to see there may be a potential benefit to owning it?" asked John Wong, president of the San Francisco Association of Realtors.

For some properties, it's difficult to imagine any benefit to owning it.

Among the listings at LandAuction.com are properties that may lack road access.

Though officials at LandAuction declined to be interviewed for this story, Todd Gladis, vice president of compliance at the firm, suggested in an e-mail there may be value to buying discounted land:

"Each of the properties listed for auction is unique in its own way and may hold different interest to different potential bidders," he wrote.
 
#37 ·
Google bids to cover San Francisco

Google bids to cover San Francisco

Saturday, October 1, 2005 Posted at 8:33 PM EDT

Associated Press

San Francisco — Google Inc. wants to connect all of San Francisco to the Internet with a free wireless service, creating a springboard for the on-line search engine leader to leap into the telecommunications industry.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company filed an application late Friday to provide wireless, or WiFi, service that would enable anyone in San Francisco to connect to the Internet.

Google submitted its 100-page bid in response to a request from Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is looking for a company to finance a free wireless network to lower the financial barriers to Internet access in his city.

More than a dozen other bidders are competing with Google.

If Google is picked for the San Francisco project, it would provide a testing ground for a national WiFi service — something that many industry observers believe the company is pondering as a way to ensure people can connect to its search engine any time, from just about anywhere.

"It makes sense for Google," said Chris Winfield, who runs a search engine marketing firm, 10e20. "They say their mission is to organize the world's information, so the logical next step is to provide the access to it."

Google spokesman Nate Tyler said Saturday that the company doesn't have any plans to offer a WiFi service outside the San Francisco Bay area.

"Unwiring San Francisco is a way for Google to support our local Bay Area community," Tyler said. "It is also an opportunity to make San Francisco a test-ground for new location-based applications and services that enable people to find relevant information exactly when and where they need it."

Google has been quietly experimenting with WiFi service in a few connection spots around the Bay Area and New York during the past few months. In another sign of its interest in Internet access, Google recently bought an undisclosed stake in a Maryland startup, the Current Communications Group, which is trying to provide high-speed connections through power lines.

If it wants, Google has both the financial clout and the incentive to get into WiFi. What remains unclear is whether the company has the telecommunications expertise to build and maintain a WiFi service.

The company has nearly $7.1-billion in cash, having just raised $4.17 billion in stock offering completed last month. That stock sale prompted several industry analysts to conclude Google might be preparing to build its own high-speed Internet network.

Offering free WiFi service could pay off for Google if the greater access gives the company more opportunities to field search requests and ultimately serve up more advertising — the vehicle that provides virtually all of its profits.

Building its own wireless Internet network connection also would help Google save money by reducing the fees that it pays to the telecommunications middlemen that provide a bridge between the company's data centres and Internet service providers whenever Web surfers make a search request.

Any free Internet access service would threaten to siphon revenue from subscription Internet service providers like SBC Communications Inc. and Comcast Corp. that have invested heavily in high-speed connections that depend on phone lines and cable modems.

A Google WiFi service also could divert traffic from many popular Web sites, including Yahoo, MSN and AOL, if it's set up to automatically make Google's home page the first stopping point.
 
#42 ·
Whose Homepage said:
ParraMan, there's a BART station right at the front door, plus buses, a tram etc.

Also, right behind the project is the excellent Fifth & Mission garage.

Well...maybe they will keep the Bart station at the old Emporieum Site. You just get off Bart and go up to the first level of the Subway under Market and walk into the basement. It is that way in the SF CEnter.

No one should confuse this project with a suburban mall. It will not subtract from Union Square but will inhance it...bringing more people into the city center. Maybe it will kill off the mall in W. San Francisco.
 
#43 ·
Hello people. I'm around the San Francisco Centre at least 3 times a week. I've had a chance to tour the expansion. The expansion will do nothing but good for the area including Union Square. I don't think it will detract at all from the traffic in Union Square. It should not detract from the street scene as others here have said. The project will solidify the link between Union Square and Yerba Buena Gardens. The walkway connecting Market Street to Yerba Buena Gardens between the Four Seasons and the Marriot has just opened. That to me is step one in unifying the two areas together. Step two is opening the Centre expansion. Once that's done you'll basically have one big district combining the convention center and supporting hotels, great museums (some of which are still under construction), and Union Square. Thinking long term, mid market will be getting a major overhaul which will include new housing. Rincon Hill developments not to far away have begun construction. Basically there will be more people living in the area which should keep things lively. I've got pictures of some of the developments in the area. If you all like I can post those here sometime soon.
 
#45 ·
Sorry to be so long in replying, but re BART, trams etc, that is what I had expected- good public transport links directly into the centre. As you have all said, this development is indeed something which is only good for the urbanity of central SF, and adds to its many charms as a true urban centre.

I still do expect over the short term though, up to one year after (re)opening, a lot of tenant movement and as such changed trading patterns around the area. After a couple of years this will have sorted it out and the city centre area will be the better for it all.

Great to hear about the surounding developments too, really is an exciting place!

Cheers
 
#48 ·
YIKES-"Average" Luxury Home Price in SF Bay Area nears $3 Million-LA($2.2M) SD($2.0M)

California Luxury Home Values Increase In 2005
Double-Digit Gains For The Year

February 22, 2006

Luxury home values rose to all-time highs in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco in 2005 on the strength of double-digit gains, but appreciation slowed significantly in the fourth quarter, according to the First Republic Prestige Home Index™ by First Republic Bank, one of California's leading providers of full-service banking, investment management, and trust services.

The Index, which has tracked luxury homes since 1985, found:

Los Angeles values rose 0.7% from the third quarter of 2005 to the fourth quarter of 2005 and rose 16% for the year. The average luxury home in Los Angeles is now a record $2.29 million, up $316,000 from a year ago.
San Diego values rose 0.7% from the third quarter of 2005 to the fourth quarter of 2005 and were up 13.3% for the year. The average luxury home in San Diego is now a record $2.09 million, up $245,000 from a year ago.
San Francisco Bay Area values rose 1% from the third quarter of 2005 to the fourth quarter of 2005 and gained 13.2% for the year. The average luxury home in San Francisco is now a record $2.88 million, up $336,000 from a year ago.

"In 2005, luxury home values in California appreciated at double-digit rates, although the momentum clearly slowed in the second half of the year," said Katherine August-deWilde, Chief Operating Officer of First Republic Bank. "Continuing demand and limited inventory in some markets may result in increased luxury home prices in 2006, but at a very modest level compared to the past two years. In markets where inventories spike, values will be impacted."

First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC) produces the Prestige Home Index each quarter with Fiserv CSW Inc., a leading provider of automated property valuation services and home price metrics to U.S. financial institutions. Historical results of the Index are accessible at www.firstrepublic.com.

Los Angeles Area Values
In Los Angeles, the 16% increase in 2005 followed a gain of 27.7% in 2004, 14.9% in 2003, 3.6 % in 2002, 9.4% in 2001 and 8.3% in 2000. Since December 2002, the average luxury home in Los Angeles has increased more than $945,000 to almost $2.3 million.

Agents said that the market is off to a robust start in 2006 after a slow fourth quarter. "We are in a different market in early 2006 than we were at the end of 2005," said David Offer of Prudential California Realty in Brentwood. "There are multiple offers on appealing and competitively priced properties. That's in contrast to the last quarter of 2005, when even good properties that were well-priced were sitting."

Offer said the market is being propelled by a lack of inventory and a large pool of buyers who stayed out of the market toward the end of the year. "From what I'm seeing in the first 45 days of 2006, the market is as strong as it ever has been at this point in the year. We're on course to see 10% or higher appreciation in 2006."

In Orange County, the market is showing strength in early 2006 after trailing off in 2005. "We're off to a good start in 2006," said Ken Bowen of RE/Max Real Estate Services in Rancho Santa Margarita. "There is a lot of activity, with many buyers and limited inventory. Bowen expects values to rise 10% to 12% in 2006, with most of that appreciation in the first half of the year.

In the Santa Barbara area, the market remains solid. "I see continued stability, strength and depth in the market," said Randy Solakian of Coldwell Banker Previews in Montecito. "I don't see a lot of volatility." Solakian expects a 10% to 12% appreciation in 2006.

San Diego Area Values
In San Diego, the 13.3% increase in 2005 followed a gain of 16.4% in 2004, 8.7% in 2003, 3.3% in 2002, 14.1% in 2001 and a record 17.6% in 2000. Since December 2002, the average luxury home in San Diego has increased more than $630,000 to almost $2.1 million.

Agents said the market has regained some of its momentum after a very quiet December. "The market is changing month to month," said Benny Landman of Coldwell Banker in Del Mar. "December was absolutely dead and January picked up. It's still a seller's market, but it's slower."

Agent Earl Houston of Prudential California Realty in Carlsbad said 2006 is likely to be very solid, but was surprised with the lack of activity in the fourth quarter. "For the first time in many years, Thanksgiving to New Year's was very slow, but we now have a very healthy, normal market." Houston said it is taking 60 to 90 days to sell a house now, instead of several weeks, which was common in the first half of 2005.

San Francisco Bay Area Values
In San Francisco, the 13.2% increase in 2005 followed a gain of 13.7% in 2004, 0.3% in 2003, 3.6% in 2002 and a decline of 7.1% in 2001. Since December 2002, the average luxury home in San Francisco has increased more than $651,000 to almost $2.9 million.

The San Francisco market is also off to strong start after a slow fourth quarter. "I think 2006 is going to be a very strong year – it has definitely started out that way," said Janet Feinberg Schindler of Sotheby's International Realty in San Francisco. "There are lots of buyers and inventory is truly low." A lack of properties has also produced a growing number of private sales at top dollar before they come to market. "As buyers and agents scramble for inventory, we may see more quiet sales," Schindler said.

Val Steele, an agent with Coldwell Banker in San Francisco, said 2006 has started modestly. "I think it will be a late spring market," Steele said. "We're not going to see much until after President's Day. The market has been slow, but only because of a lack of inventory." In 2006, Steele also said she expects more activity at the high end of the luxury market, which she said is undervalued.

In the East Bay, D.J. Grubb of The Grubb Company in Oakland said the market is realigning after a strong 2005, but he sees growth for 2006. "The market isn't going through an identity crisis and I don't think there is a bubble, but we are seeing a healthy correction. What is surprising is all the money in the marketplace. There are a lot of all-cash offers or those with minimal financing."

About The First Republic Prestige Home Index
The First Republic Prestige Home Index™ is the first statistical model of its kind customized to measure changes in homes valued at more than $1 million in key California urban markets. Some common features of luxury homes in the Index: 3,000 to 6,000 square feet, three to six bedrooms, and three to six bathrooms. San Francisco Bay Area properties include a cross-section of luxury homes in Alamo, Atherton, Belvedere, Danville, Healdsburg, Hillsborough, Lafayette, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Mill Valley, Moraga, Orinda, Palo Alto, Piedmont, Portola Valley, Ross, St. Helena, San Francisco, Saratoga, Sonoma, Tiburon and Woodside. Properties in Los Angeles represent a cross-section of luxury homes in Arcadia, Beverly Hills, Calabasas, La Cañada Flintridge, Encino, Los Angeles, Malibu, Marina del Rey, North Hollywood, Pacific Palisades, Pasadena, Playa del Rey, Santa Monica, Studio City and the West Los Angeles enclaves of Bel Air, Brentwood and Westwood. San Diego properties represent a cross-section of luxury homes in Carlsbad, Coronado, Del Mar, Encinitas, La Jolla, La Mesa, Poway, Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego and Solana Beach. In producing the Index, Fiserv CSW Inc. draws upon its economic database and years of experience in tracking single-family home values; collects and cross-checks data from multiple sources; achieves a weighted balance of validation elements such as repeat sales, comparable sales, and physical home characteristics; and combines this with First Republic's extensive local market knowledge.

About First Republic Bank
First Republic Bank is a NYSE-traded private bank and wealth management firm. The Bank and its subsidiaries specialize in providing personalized, relationship-based wealth management services, including private banking, private business banking, investment management, trust, brokerage and real estate lending. As of December 31, 2005, the Bank and its subsidiaries had total Bank assets and other managed assets of $27.6 billion. First Republic Bank provides access to its services online and through preferred banking offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Las Vegas, Connecticut, Boston and New York City. More information is available on the Bank's website at www.firstrepublic.com.

Contact:
Greg Berardi
Blue Marlin Partners
(415) 239-7826
greg@bluemarlinpartners.com

http://firstrepublic.com/lend/residential/prestigeindex/index.html
 
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All the best, Cali Cities..
 
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