San Francisco Homeowners Spend Big on Kitchen Remodels

The average U.S. major large kitchen remodeling job costs $42,000. In San Francisco, renovating a large kitchen costs $70,000, the highest in the country. About nine in 10 homeowners who remodel their kitchens replace countertops and appliances, and nearly as many go for a style change. Last fall, a survey found that San Francisco homeowners spend the most money in the U.S. when remodeling their...

Where Are Bay Area Homes Selling the Fastest?

Conventional wisdom holds that real estate activity slows around the holidays, but the Bay Area’s exceptionally tight inventory conditions may have motivated buyers to pound the pavement harder than usual in the final month of 2017. According to December MLS data, single-family homes in the Bay Area regions in which Pacific Union operates sold in an average of 46 days, nine days faster than they...

California’s Luxury Home Market Was Red-Hot in 2017

The median price for a U.S. home grew at a faster rate than prices in the luxury segment last year. Marin County was one of 12 U.S. luxury housing markets to post double-digit percent annual appreciation. San Mateo, Marin, San Francisco, and Santa Clara counties are among the nation’s 10 most expensive luxury residential real estate markets. Although demand for luxury homes slowed a bit...

Real Estate Roundup: Peace of Mind Is the Biggest Benefit of Smart-Home Technologies

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. SMART-HOME GIFTS HELP AMERICANS TUNE IN TO THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES Homeowners frequently adopt smart-home devices after receiving them as gifts, and an overwhelming majority say that it enhances their sense of well-being. Those are two key findings from a new survey by Scripps Networks Interactive, in which 93 percent of...

What to Do When an Earthquake Strikes? Drop, Cover, and Hold On.

There’s nothing like an earthquake in the middle of the night to make you jump out of bed. Once you realize that nothing is damaged and everyone is safe, you then start to reassess your emergency-preparedness plans. Thursday’s 4.4 temblor in Berkeley was another reminder that earthquakes are a fact of life in California. So what should you do during those scary moments when a...

California, Bay Area Home Price Growth Continues to Outpace U.S. Rate

Home prices in the San Francisco metropolitan area and California grew by a respective 8.9 percent and 8.0 percent in November on an annual basis. California home prices are projected to increase by 8.4 percent year over year by November 2018, compared with a forecast of 4.2 percent appreciation nationwide. Affordability is not projected to improve in the coming year barring a significant uptick in...

Pacific Union Rebrands a Trio of Los Angeles Brokerages

Pacific Union is proud to announce that we have launched our brand in the greater Los Angeles region, making us the No. 1 independent residential real estate brokerage in the state and the ultimate California real estate company. The move unites 900 real estate professionals from John Aaroe Group, Partners Trust, and Gibson International under the Pacific Union name. Our firm now has more than...

Real Estate Roundup: Bay Area Home Prices Again Reach New All-Time High

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. SANTA CLARA COUNTY POSTS BIG YEAR-OVER-YEAR HOME PRICE GAIN IN NOVEMBER Bay Area home prices rose for the 68th consecutive month on an annual basis in November, as the region’s inventory woes continued, particularly at more affordable price points. Citing CoreLogic data, The Mercury News reports that the median sales...

Pacific Union Wishes You a Happy New Year 2018

All of your friends at Pacific Union would like to wish you a very happy new year. Whether you welcomed in 2018 with a night on the town or simply spent a relaxing evening at home, we hope that the coming year brings you nothing but the best. And if you have a new year’s real estate resolution, we wish you much success in achieving...