New Ban on Permanently Installed Wooden Utility Ladders

Wooden fixed utility ladders are now illegal in San Francisco. These ladders were commonly added to buildings constructed in the City during the 1930's and earlier. They were never part of a building's fire escape system; but they often were installed as a 'convenience' to building owners who wanted roof access without bringing a portable ladder to the site.

These ladders are now prohibited on residential buildings and must be removed with a proper building permit (click here for ordinance text).

General Contractors Inspection Service [GCIS]

Ordinance Amending the SF Housing Code [SFGov.org]

Revised: Peak Values vs Current SF prices - Single Family Homes

Below, median and average sales prices and average dollars per square foot are given for the last 6 months of sales, and then the percentage change is calculated as compared to the first half of 2007. To get a sense of changes in value, it’s often best to come at the subject from a variety of ways, and then compare. To make it more complicated, sometimes the analyses seem to point to different conclusions – which one must compare, juggle and balance as best one can. Sometimes the results are simply abnormal due to unusual events that occurred within one of the comparison periods.
In the charts below, current values are based upon sales occurring after 10/12/08, reported through 4/10/09.

Peak values: Generally, the first half of 2007, before the subprime crisis started to break big time, is considered to be the home-value peak for the city – and that is the period used for comparison below. But some of areas of the city actually peaked in 2006, while others – generally the most affluent neighborhoods – peaked in the first half of 2008. For those areas that peaked earlier or later, the declines from peak values are higher than shown below.

All House Sales of Every Size
Note: District sales statistics, in particular, are generalities since neighborhoods of differing values are averaged together.

4 Bedroom Houses

3 Bedroom Houses

2 Bedroom Houses

The above statistics probably understate the decline in values as of today, for three reasons:

1. In a declining market, sales data – which typically shows up 30 to 45 days after acceptance of offers – will always be a step behind current activity, i.e. offers being accepted right now. Also, this analysis averages sales for the entire 6 month period – and it is generally accepted that the market has declined somewhat since mid-October.

2. The market has shifted to smaller, less expensive homes. All things being equal, a smaller home will have a higher dollar per square foot value than a larger one, therefore skewing current values higher than they ought to be in an apples-to-apples comparison. (This applies particularly to the analyses of homes “of all sizes.”)

3. In a sellers’ market, virtually everything sells, but in a buyers’ market, typically just the best homes sell – best appearing, best condition, overall best value as perceived by a willing and able buyer. Thus statistics for the current period apply to “best-value homes” while those for 2007 apply to homes of a much wider range of quality. This also skews the apples-to-apples comparison.

Definitions:
Dollar per Square Foot is based upon the home’s interior living space and does not include garages, unfinished attics and basements, rooms built without permit, or exterior spaces (though all those can add value to a home). These figures are usually derived from appraisals or tax records, but are sometimes unreliable (especially for older homes) or unreported altogether. All things being equal a house will sell for a higher dollar per square foot than a condo, a condo higher than a TIC, and a TIC higher than a multi-unit building. All things being equal, a smaller home will sell for a higher $/sqft than a larger one. There are often surprisingly wide variations of value within neighborhoods and averages may be distorted by one or two sales substantially higher or lower than the norm. Location, condition, amenities, parking, views, lot size & outdoor space all affect $/sq.ft. In SF, the highest numbers—over $1500/sqft—are typically achieved by relatively small penthouse condos, with staggering views, in very prestigious buildings.

Median Sales Price is that price at which half the properties sold for more and half for less. It may be affected by unusual events or by changes in buying trends. Median prices do not necessarily reflect the value or changes in value for any particular home.

Average Sales Price is the total dollar volume of sales divided by the number of sales. Especially when sales quantities are small, averages can be easily distorted by one or two sales abnormally higher or lower than common for an area.

Peak Value Vs Current SF Value Feb 2009 [SFHomeBlog]