7 Gorgeous Post-Storm Hikes in Marin County

Breath taking vista from the Coastal Trail above Muir Beach. (Photography by Sarah Hawthorne)

According to our iPhones, San Francisco is supposed to get a brief reprieve from the rain this week, and temperatures may even get into the high 60s. Treat yourself to a little sunshine after the storm on one of these gorgeous Marin hikes. Champagne optional, but recommended. 

The Coastal Trail

The Coastal Trail from Tennessee Valley to Muir Beach (or vice versa) boasts some of the most spectacular views of both the Pacific Ocean and the Marin Headlands. The trail winds around the top of dramatic cliffs (filling you with the urge to quote Titanic) and dips down so you can hear the roaring ocean below. Keep your eyes peeled for majestic hawks circling above your head.

Muir Woods 

The famous Muir Woods National Monument is one of the last remaining old-growth redwood forests in the Bay Area. Enjoy the giant coastal redwoods trees in all their glory with a beautiful walk along one of the many trails that winds around the valley. Avoid the crowds by parking on Panoramic Highway opposite the Mountain Home Inn and hike your way down into the valley floor via the Ocean View or Lost Trail from the Panoramic Trail. Or park on the ocean side of Panoramic Highway, precisely where it meets the famous Dipsea Trail, and hike the Dipsea down to the official park entrance.

Seven Sisters

Sitting pretty atop Mt. Tam State Park is one of the most beautiful stretches of road you will ever see. When the fog burns off, you can see all the way to Bolinas and Stinson Beach. Take a scenic drive, a vigorous bike ride, or a peaceful hike in the spot where pretty much every car commercial ever was filmed. 

Stinson Beach

Prefer your views with a little less effort? Park your car at Stinson Beach and walk along the shoreline with your toes in the sand. Arrive first thing in the morning to beat the crowds and embrace the gentle sunshine of the early hours. The rolling hills of Marin make for a scenic backdrop as you watch seals and even dolphins play in the water around you. Relax at the Parkside Café afterwards for a refreshing drink and bite to eat. 

East Peak 

Pack your lunch and refreshments, sit for a while, and soak up the impressive 360-degree views East Peak has to offer. Feel free to take plenty of photos — its worth showing off to your Instagram followers.

Hawk Hill

Want to see the San Francisco skyline at its best? Take a short drive from the city up Hawk Hill and enjoy stunning views of the Marin headlands, Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay, and the City. By day, Hawk Hill is a great place to watch ships sail under the GGB. By night, there is an amazing display of city lights and the illuminated bridge, perfect for ending a romantic date with someone special (don't forget the bubbles!).

Muir Overlook 

Muir Overlook is a lovely little spot perched above Muir Beach just off Hwy 1. The bluff showcases stunning coastal views for miles in both directions. Pack a picnic to make this little outing extra special. On your way back to San Francisco, stop by the Pelican Inn for a taste of the English Countryside in this quaint little pub.

Article and images sourced from http://www.7x7.com/marin/7-gorgeous-post-storm-hikes-marin-county

Catch a Show at One of These Quirky Indie Music Joints

The SoMa building that houses the restaurant Citizen's Band, at 1192 Folsom, is also home to the upstairs club F8, where drum-and-base fans catch one of the city's best weekly shows. (Courtesy of F8)

The Bay Area is home to some seriously iconic music venues: the Greek, the Fillmore, Golden Gate Park. But sometimes the best shows go down in the most unexpected places. Here are seven unique music joints with stories all their own.

F8
While 1192 Folsom may be best known for the culinary accomplishments of resident restaurant Citizen’s Band, as well as the club’s arty gatherings and monthly Quick Draw event, F8 also plays host to top-notch music. Legit DJs regularly spin on the club’s custom sound system upstairs. Go for Housepitality on Wednesdays and Stamina Sundays, one the city's best drum and bass shows.  //  1192 Folsom St (SoMa), feightsf.com


(Courtesy of The Lost Church)
The Lost Church
Tucked inside an angular building designed by famed SF artist David Ireland, The Lost Church has a storied artistic past. Once home to the Capp Street Project—an experimental installation space and artist residence through the 1980s and '90s—The Lost Church, now owned by Brett and Elizabeth Cline, is a one-of-a-kind multimedia venue and production facility for art, sound, and video recording.  //  65 Capp St. (Mission), thelostchurch.com

924 Gilman Street
An East Bay institution, the 924 Gilman Street project was founded in 1986 as a safe space for bands to play and interact with the community without the limitations of conventional shows. Historically a punk venue, it spawned bands like Green Day, Operation Ivy, Rancid and The Offspring during the '90s punk revival. Nowadays, the Alternative Music Foundation is a volunteer-run, nonprofit that maintains Gilman’s DIY ethics and—an increasing rarity among music clubs—still welcomes all ages so long as all participants are drug- and alcohol-free.  //  924 Gilman St (Berkeley), 924gilman.org


(Courtesy of Palace Theater Oakland)
Palace Theater
Constructed as a vaudevillian theater in 1923, the Palace was converted into a movie house in the 1930s and later became the home of a Baptist church in the 1950s. Now, thanks to proprietor Lucid Dream Lounge, an experimental group interested in interactive theater, the Palace has returned to its roots as an entertainment hall. Inside, the original balcony provides a bird’s eye view of the action, whether it’s music, theater, film or a community fashion show. LDL is gradually restoring the place to its original grandeur.  //  1445 23rd Ave. (Oakland), palacetheateroakland.com


(Courtesy of Era)
Era Art Bar & Lounge
This gorgeous lounge in Oakland has a distinctly elegant feel. Downstairs you’ll find a 35-foot vaulted and hand-plastered ceiling and an equally long steel-and-concrete bar. Upstairs, vintage leather seating, a mix of modern and antique furniture, and a handblown glass chandelier set the scene for contemporary art exhibits and boutique cocktails. Era offers a wide variety of live music, from hip hop to Latin to Caribbean and beyond.  //  19 Grand Ave. (Oakland), oaklandera.com


(Courtesy of HopMonk)
The Abbey
While beer aficionados will be famiiar with Hopmonk Tavern's tasty home brews, the spot's music venue, The Abbey, is bringing an eclectic mix of tunes to Sonoma County—from reggae and world beats to some of the biggest names in the West Coast electronic music scene. Sit outside in the luminsescent beer garden or head inside for acts as disparate as Leon Russel and The Floozies.  // 230 Petaluma Ave. (Sebastopol), hopmonk.com

Article and images sourced from http://www.7x7.com/culture/catch-show-one-these-quirky-indie-music-joints

San Francisco One of World’s Hottest Luxury Real Estate Markets in 2014

After astounding growth in 2013, luxury property sales returned to more normal levels in San Francisco last year, although the region still ranks as one of the top-performing high-end real estate markets in the world.

In its 2015 Luxury Defined report, Christie’s International Real Estate gave San Francisco the second-highest score – 54 of a possible 100 – on its Luxury Thermometer metric, which tracks growth and demand at the top end of the global market. CIRE uses four factors to gauge a region’s luxury temperature, including annual sales growth and fewest average days on market.

In 2014, sales of $1 million homes in San Francsico grew by 19 percent on an annual basis, down from a whopping 62 percent in 2013. Pacific Union CEO Mark A. McLaughlin told CIRE that the slowdown was predictable and that the region’s high-performance economy will continue to drive growth in luxury home sales.

“The Bay Area is still experiencing a perfect storm of hot market conditions, exceptional job growth, excellent income levels, and limited supply,” McLaughlin said.

Because housing inventory in the Bay Area remains constrained, high-end homes in San Francisco leave the market quickly. According to the report, luxury homes in our region sold in an average of 71 days as of December 2014, eight days faster than a year ago and second only to Toronto.

And though San Francisco remains a pricey place to purchase a luxury property, it is still relatively affordable by global – and even national – standards. CIRE says the entry point for a luxury home in San Francisco is $3 million, compared with $5 million in New York, $6 million in London, and $8 million in Los Angeles.

Luxury buyers can also get more home for their money in the Bay Area than they can in other top international destinations, says the report, which compares listings from around the globe. For $5 million, a homebuyer in San Francisco could purchase a four-bedroom, 4,800-square-foot, single-family home with Golden Gate Bridge views. In London, $5 million buys a two-bedroom, 1,300-square-foot flat, while in New York, that money fetches a three-bedroom, 1,865-square-foot condominium on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Last year saw an uptick of so-called “trophy home” transactions, CIRE says, with global sales of $100-million-plus homes reaching an all-time high. According to the report, five such homes around the world sold in 2014, and there have been 13 $100-million-plus sales since 2010.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, two of those 13 trophy sales happened in Silicon Valley, where mind-bogglingly expensive real estate is almost a given. In 2011, a single-family home in Los Altos Hills found a buyer for $100 million, while a home in Woodside sold for $117.5 million the following year.

(Photo: Flickr/Allan Ferguson)

Article and image sourced from http://blog.pacificunion.com/san-francisco-one-of-worlds-hottest-luxury-real-estate-markets-in-2014/

Economy Drives Explosive Home Sales Growth in the Bay Area in March

Home sales in the Bay Area shot up by almost 60 percent from February to March while prices increased in all nine counties, thanks in large part to our region’s vigorous economy.

The California Association of Realtors’ March home sales and price report says that single-family home sales increased by 56 percent across the Bay Area from February, with six local counties posting monthly gains in excess of 50 percent. Month-over-month sales volume upticks ranged from 90.6 percent in Alameda County to 28.9 percent in Solano County. Across the region, home sales were up 9.9 percent from March 2014.

Statewide, home sales increased 6.3 percent month over month and 7.3 percent from one year ago. According to CAR President Chris Kutzkey, California’s strong economy and job growth are helping fuel demand for real estate.

“The housing market is picking up momentum and continuing its upward trend as economic conditions improved throughout the state,” Kutzkey said in a statement accompanying the report.

In the Bay Area, March’s median sales price rose to $809,200, up 9.3 percent from February and nearly identical to the gain observed statewide. All nine counties reported month-over-month price growth in March, ranging from 10.4 percent in San Francisco County to 1.9 percent in Santa Clara County. Home prices were up year over year in all local counties except for Napa.

As in February, CAR says that Bay Area counties had the five highest median sales prices in California, with San Mateo County in the No. 1 position at $1,300,000. San Francisco was the state’s second most expensive county, at $1,275,000, followed by Marin County ($1,085,230), Santa Clara County ($932,100), and Contra Costa County ($784,950).

According to CAR, the Bay Area is the only metro region in the state where the average buyer paid a premium to secure a home in March – 105.9 percent of original price. The main reason: tight supply conditions, which worsened across the region from February, with the months’ supply of inventory (MSI) dropping to 2.4.

Four Bay Area counties had the lowest MSI in the state, and all but one had a smaller supply than the 3.8 recoded statewide. San Mateo and San Francisco counties tied for slimmest supply at 1.6, followed by Santa Clara County at 1.9 and Alameda at 2.0. Perhaps not surprisingly, three of those counties saw the quickest sales pace in California, with the average home selling in 17.7 days in Santa Clara, 17.9 days in San Mateo, and 20.7 days in San Francisco.

(Photo: Flickr/Woodleywonderworks)

San Francisco Shows Highest Annual Home Price Gain For Second Straight Month

The San Francisco metro area has once again put up the largest annual home price gain in the U.S., according to the most recent numbers from a prominent real estate index.

The latest S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which run two months behind, say that single-family home prices in the San Francisco area increased by 9.3 percent in December, the most of any of the 20 major U.S. metro areas included in the report. San Francisco returned to the top of the Case-Shiller index for the first time in 18 months in November, when prices rose by 8.9 percent year over year.

As was the case in the two preceding months, home prices in San Francisco grew at about double the national rate in December. Case-Shiller’s numbers put the U.S. annual rate of home price appreciation at 4.6 percent in the final month of 2014.

Although existing home price growth and sales across the country are at their normal levels, David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said that he believes the housing recovery is “faltering,” a by-product of sluggish construction and new-home-sales activity.

“Before the current business cycle, any time housing starts were at their current level of about one million at annual rates, the economy was in a recession,” Blitzer said. “The softness in housing is despite favorable conditions elsewhere in the economy: strong job growth, a declining unemployment rate, continued low interest rates, and positive consumer confidence.”

According to MLS data, the median single-family home price increased year over year in every one of Pacific Union’s Bay Area regions except the Mid-Peninsula subregion, which saw a slight decline. Home prices topped the $1 million mark in our Contra Costa County, Marin County, Mid-Peninsula, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley regions as 2014 came to a close.

The chart below provides more information on annual Bay Area home price changes. Also, be sure to check out Pacific Union’s fourth-quarter 2014 real estate report for more in-depth sales data and information on how we define our regions.

(Image: Flickr/Bhautikjoshi)

Article and images sourced from http://blog.pacunion.com/san-francisco-area-leads-us-home-price-growth-second-straight-month/

Bay Area Home Sales Volume Plummets in January

Home sales declined by double-digit percentages in all nine Bay Area counties in the first month of 2015, the result of limited affordability, according a just-released report from the California Association of Realtors.

The organization’s January homes sales report says that single-family home sales across the nine-county region dropped by 37.1 percent from December to January, nearly 10 times the rate of decrease in California, where sales were down by 3.9 percent from the preceding month. January sales volume in the Bay Area was down 14.7 percent on an annual basis.

In a statement accompanying the report, CAR President Chris Kutzkey attributed the sales drop-off in the Bay Area to intense demand and inventory shortages, which have driven up prices and decreased affordability. According to the organization’s fourth-quarter Housing Affordability Index, about one in five Bay Area residents meets the minimum-income requirements to purchase a home, the lowest in the state.

Month-over-month sales volume declines ranged from 48.2 percent in San Francisco to 19.5 percent in Napa County. Home sales were also down in all nine counties year over year, from 31.7 percent in San Mateo County to 1.8 percent in Contra Costa County.

The drop in sales contributed to increased home availability in the Bay Area, with the regional months’ supply of inventory rising from 1.7 in December to 3.1 in January. Housing supply was up in all nine counties from the previous month, although CAR cautions that the Bay Area “continued to be hamstrung by tight inventory.” Leslie Appleton-Young, the organization’s vice president and chief economist, noted that active listings in the Bay Area were down by more than 5 percent from last January even as they rose by near double-digit percentages statewide.

The median sales price for a single-family home in the nine-county region was $669,590 in January, a month-over-month decline of 6.8 percent. Home prices fell in six of nine Bay Area counties from December to January and grew only slightly in the other three.

Even so, Bay Area counties claim the top five spots as California’s most expensive places to purchase a home – just as they did in CAR’s December home sales report — led by San Mateo County, with a median price of $1,012,500. Marin County was No. 2, with a median sales price of $982,140, followed by San Francisco ($892,860), Santa Clara ($815,000), and Contra Costa ($723,960) counties.

The report says that the Bay Area was the only region in the state where the average home seller could expect to take in about 100 percent of original asking price. According to previous CAR monthly home sales reports, Bay Area home sellers received about half a percentage point more the original price in both November and December.


(Photo: Flickr/marc farladeau)


Article and Photo(s) sourced from:  http://blog.pacunion.com/bay-area-home-sales-volume-plummets-in-january/