🌳Discover San Francisco's Coolest New Parks
Driving the news: San Francisco is experiencing a wave of new park developments amid significant city transformations. Here are some of them:
Yerba Buena Island: A 72-acre network featuring parks, trails, and beachfront spaces. One of the highlights is Panorama Park with 360° views.
Presidio Tunnel Tops: A 14-acre park with stunning scenery, a children’s playground, and the IL Parco Café.
Crane Cove Park: A 7-acre waterfront park with beach access, green spaces, and proximity to Chase Center.
China Basin Park: A 5-acre waterfront park with stadium seating, dog run, and food truck spaces.
Francisco Park: A 4.5-acre park with tiered spaces, community garden, and playground.
If you want to know more about San Francisco’s new parks,
Why it matters: These parks enhance urban living, offering beautiful, accessible spaces for SF’s residents and visitors. A majority of them are built alongside new mixed-use communities breathing new life in underserved areas.
The bottom line: San Francisco’s new parks are transforming the City, providing much-needed green spaces amid urban development.
🫣 Sneak Peek: Larkspur Library's $16M Transformation
Driving the news: The preliminary design for the new $16 million Larkspur Library is set to be unveiled this fall, marking a significant milestone in a project years in the making.
Details: The design review application will be presented to the Planning Commission by Alten Construction and Noll & Tam Architects.
The 6,845-square-foot library’s new features will include a 2,500-square-foot community space, outdoor patio, parking lot, and landscaping.
Why it matters: This new library will replace the current facility at City Hall, enhancing community resources and providing a modern space for public use.
The big picture: The project is backed by $5 million in donations from the Commons Foundation, a $1 million state-targeted grant, and a $5.2 million state library grant. Additional funding from The City Council allocated an extra $4.7 million from the general fund reserve, boosting the budget to cover more improvements. Total costs are estimated at $16 million, covering the library, community space, meeting room, site work, and furnishings. A $613,000 contingency is included.
Between the lines: Larkspur’s increased general fund revenue, largely due to the Bon Air Bridge replacement project, has allowed the city to build a significant cash reserve, enabling funding for the library project.
What’s next: Construction is planned to begin by the end of the year, with specific requirements like the driveway needing completion to secure state grant funding.
The bottom line: The new Larkspur Library is on track to be a state-of-the-art community hub, with flexible spaces and enhanced outdoor areas.
Completion is tentatively scheduled for early 2026.
🎥 Is San Francisco BETTER or WORSE in 2024? The Truth About Living Here Now
San Francisco has definitely transformed since the pandemic, but for better or for worse? Discover which places were impacted and what has become better than ever before.
💸 Is Refinancing in the Bay Area Finally Making a Comeback?
Driving the news: Elevated interest rates have significantly impacted mortgage refinancing activity across the U.S., with the Bay Area experiencing the most dramatic declines.
Details:
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Historic lows: In Q3 of last year, refinancing activity in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metros hit their lowest points since 2000, plummeting by -96.9% and -97.4% respectively from their peak in 2003.
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Interest rate trends: For over 20 years, new mortgage interest rates in these metros were lower than existing ones. This trend reversed in 2022, with new rates jumping by over 100%.
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Current rates: As of Q2 2024, new mortgage rates averaged approximately 7% in San Francisco and in San Jose, significantly higher than the average existing rate of outstanding mortgages of approximately 3.5%.
Why it matters: The sharp rise in interest rates has led to a major decrease in both refinancing and purchasing activities, which has had a ripple effect on the local economy.
The big picture: Nationally, the average gap between new and existing mortgage rates is 3.24%, compared to 3.61% in San Francisco and 3.68% in San Jose. Now, refinancing activity is showing signs of recovery, with San Francisco seeing a 7.8% increase since last quarter and San Jose experiencing a 21.6% rise.
Between the lines: The "lock-in effect," where higher interest rates keep homeowners from selling and refinancing, continues to limit housing inventory, contributing to the affordability crisis.
What’s next: While residential listings are up 8% annually, inventory remains low, and the lock-in effect is expected to persist. Economists anticipate a gradual increase in inventory, but not a significant change in the housing market dynamics.
The bottom line: The Bay Area is beginning to see a slight uptick in refinancing activity after years of decline, but high interest rates and limited inventory continue to pose challenges for homeowners and prospective buyers.
Reach out if you want a better understanding of local market dynamics in San Francisco or Marin County.
📊 Local Market Trends
Inventory curves have flattened across San Francisco and Marin County. After several weeks of steadily falling inventory, inventory curves have right-sized and are beginning to trend in the opposite direction. While we’re seeing slight increases, the rate of increase is minimal, and does not indicate any weakening in demand dynamics.
The proportion of homes in San Francisco reducing prices also remains consistent with last year, but unlike in earlier months of the year, is trending at above pandemic levels. The gap between current price reductions and pandemic price reduction levels is larger in Marin, with approximately 8% more homes reducing prices compared to last year at this time. This is a potential sign of weakening demand at current price points and interest rates. I’ll continue to monitor weekly trends and keep you updated.
