We all see different things in different objects.  Data though – data is supposed to be cold hard facts.  You’re not supposed to be able to twist data around for your perverted pleasure.

So.  The other day, I made mention of a Forbes article which points to over-inflated property values in the Outer Sunset district. 

And today, I read the news from the National Association of Realtors.  The article is aimed at REALTORS – NOT at the general public. 

Their take on the SAME data that Forbes provided?

That the Outer Sunset is a Neighborhood Where the Bubble Hasn’t Burst!

Pardon my French but WTF?

Two completely different viewpoints taken from the EXACT same data.

The article from REALTOR.org reads:

In a report for Forbes.com, Hotpads.com, an aggregator of rental listings, produced a price-to-earnings spread for each ZIP code in the country’s 40 largest cities by comparing rental costs with buying costs for similar properties, based on number of bedrooms, location, and price per square foot.

A price-to-earnings ratio, or P/E, expresses how much a buyer has to pay for each dollar of return. Buyers in high P/E neighborhoods pay a huge premium to live in the area relative to how much it costs to rent a similar property there.

A high P/E can simply mean a neighborhood is overpriced, but it can also indicate where buyers have gambled that the area will ultimately appreciate further, turning an overpaying buyer into a smart investor.

I added the emphasis – because this is where I get thrown for a loop.

So?  Which is it?   

Well – I’m not sure.  Frankly, even I’m confused. 

And each party has different motives. 

There’s no denying that bad news sells.  Is Forbes manipulating the data?

And there’s no denying that if consumer confidence falls further, real estate prices will continue to fall.  So it the National Association of Realtors trying to spin Forbes article to make things look more peachy-keen?

My verdict?  It’s a combination of both.  And neither.  The real answer is that NO ONE HAS THE ANSWER. 

If you need to buy a home, and plan to stay AT LEAST 5–7 years, then chill out.  You’ll be allright.  Prices will appreciate enough to make up for any market slowdown that’s going on now. 

But if you are looking to buy for the short term – then stop and back away from the mortgage.  I can’t think of one good reason to buy unless you like throwing away your hard earned money. 

Want more answers?  Contact me.  I’ll try to walk you through it.  But as you can clearly see – no one has a crystal ball, and even data doesn’t give us enough insight for us to draw any real conclusions.

Carmen Chu’s office rocks.  Oh wait, did I say I’m not endorsing any candidates?  I did.  And while Carman doesn’t have my official endorsement, I’ve been impressed by a lot of things she’s done. 

Her level of interaction with the community is awesome and she has embraced technology in ways that other candidates haven’t, including emailing her community newsletter to her constituents.  

And now - I’ve got one more reason to be impressed:

FREE tickets from Supervisor Carmen Chu’s Office to the de Young Museum on Sunday, July 27th.

If you are interested in participating in this free museum day and live in District 4 (Sunset), please contact Supervisor Carmen Chu’s Office and the first 200 to respond will receive free admission to the de Young.
Please wait for confirmation from our office and further details on how to claim your tickets.

TICKETS WILL NOT BE MAILED TO PEOPLE - THEY MUST BE PICKED UP ON THE FREE MUSEUM DAY - JULY 27 between 10:00 - 10:30am.

There will be a welcome reception with Supervisor Chu on the free museum day for ticket recipients at 10:30am at the Piazoni Room near Woolsey Court. The de Young Museum is open on Sunday from 9:30am to 5:15pm.

By Email:
Send an email to chustaff@sfgov.org
Subject line: de Young
Include in email: Your first and last name, phone number, home address and number of tickets you are requesting

By Phone
Call (415) 554-7460

If you are leaving a voicemail, please make sure to include your name and contact information.

I might be a REALTOR, but I care about more than just SF home sales!  I dig community stuff too.  So on that note, The Avenues Blog has another community event to share in the Sunset District.

This time, it’s from Carmen Chu’s Office:

Please join our office in improving West Sunset Playground this Saturday, June 28th as we work to repaint structures, clean and sift sand and pick up litter in the surrounding areas so that children who use the playground have a safe environment to play in!

We are working in conjunction with the Friends of West Sunset Playground, the Neighborhood Parks Council and Recreation and Parks Department to help improve this playground.

Materials and supplies will be provided, and refreshments will be served.  Please dress comfortably.

To RSVP, contact our office - (415) 554-7460 or email us at chustaff@sfgov.org

WEST SUNSET PLAYGROUND CLEAN-UP
SATURDAY, JUNE 28
9AM - 12PM
39TH AVE & ORTEGA STREET

Hope to see you out there!

The rumors where true!  I was driving by today (thus the sort of whacked cameraphone photo) and saw the sign!

Java Beach is opening a new location at Sloat Blvd and 45th Avenue! 

Hmmm… I’m probably still closer to the one on Judah Street - but having a second option across the street from the San Francisco Zoo is nice too!

Three cheers for the upcoming caffeine fix!

I’m still stunned.  It seems like it was just yesterday when my boyfriend and I were talking about going out for dinner at PJ’s Oysterbed.   We decided to go somewhere else that night because, well, it wasn’t like PJ’s was going to shut its doors or anything right?

Au contraire!

PJ’s did shut it’s doors at 737 Irving Street a couple of weeks ago, and per the word across the blogosphere (and the stench that can still be smelled across the street), they left something for the neighborhood to remember them by. 

On June 5th, Eater SF (Curbed SF’s hungrier cousin) reported that the answer machine at PJ’s Oysterbed insisted that the closure was temporary. 

I held my breath.  (Both due to the gut wrenching smell on Irving Street and because of my anticipation for the stench-free reopening.)

Yesterday, I couldn’t hold my breath any longer and called the restaurant.  The answering machine message states “We regret to inform you that we are permanently closed…….” 

A tear (almost) ran down my cheek. 

It was one of my favorite places in the City, let alone in the Avenues.  But like so many of my favorite restaurants that have gone before, it too had to shutter it’s doors. 

The funny thing is that I don’t think I even remember what I ate there.  I vaguely remember gumbo.  I know I loved their desserts.  I loved that they knew how to make a cocktail without watering it down.  And I loved that the chef would come out wearing white shorts and beads and dispersing jello shots to the customers.  Really, I just loved the vibe there.  I always had a good time. 

But I still have a glimmer of (false) hope.  In addition to announcing the permanent closure, the answering machine message also states that you’ve reached “PJ’s Oysterbed in the Outer Sunset,” not Inner Sunset.  If they’re wrong about the location, maybe they’re wrong about the permanent closure?  I know I’m grasping at straws here… but what if it doesn’t reopen ever?  Will I have to make my own jello shots while wearing white shorts and beads around the house? 

I know I’ll come to terms with the loss one day.  I know I’d be able to deal with it better if I knew what happened and the reasons for closing.  But, I’ll be ok… eventually.  For now, I just regret not going when I had the chance. 

Good-bye PJ’s - I’m sad to see you go.

I have a bit of an addiction that I don’t really like to talk about.  I’m addicted to reality TV.  And usually, it’s really bad reality TV.  Out of the reality TV shows that really feed my addiction, the cop/criminal shows are the ones that really do it for me.  But the TV shows just aren’t local enough, and I’d like at least part of my dose of reality to be located close to home. 

So I depend on my local police departments to feed my addiction to reality!

Depending on where you live, your local police department will email you a crime report, either on a daily, or a weekly basis. 

If you live in the Sunset or Parkside districts, Captain Paul Chignell of the Taraval police station will send you a fairly complete daily report of arrests and criminal incidents throughout the neighborhood, sometimes with a little bit of entertaining commentary to go along with it.  These reports are pretty thorough, but you will sometimes receive a few days worth of emails at a time when the Captain dares to take a day off.

If you live in the Richmond district, you receive an email from Captain Anthony Fotinos of the Richmond police station every Friday afternoon with a “greatest hits” style email that covers the highlights of crime (if you can call them that) that have occurred in the past week.  This newsletter also adds events from the Safety Network calendar to the email - which gives a nice balance of the good and the bad, or yin and yang, so to speak, but they’re definitely less thorough than the Taraval district’s daily updates.  Which makes me wonder exactly what qualifies for the weekly greatest hits list? :-/

If you want to get the Taraval station’s daily update, email the captain to request it. 

And if you want to get the Richmond station’s daily update, email the station to request it.

And even if you’re not a reality junkie like me, you might find these reports useful to know what’s going on in your neighborhood.   After all - knowing is half the battle!

Thanks to the eagle eye of the author of The N-Judah Chronicles, I discovered another blog that features The Avenues. 

Sunset Style

It’s an awesome little blog (we’re all little blogs aren’t we?) written by a native San Franciscan that has grown up in the Sunset and Parkside districts.  The author takes photos of the buildings and scenery and always has some nice commentary to go with it. 

If you know of something like this for the Richmond District - give me a holler, I’d love to share it with other readers!

Happy Friday Folks!

So I am getting ever closer to getting this blog off the ground.  But - have hit a little road block with a lack of widget capability.  For those that are currently reading this blog (both of you)- you know what I’m talking about.  For those that stumble on this post at some date far into the future and aren’t bloggers - I’m talking about the bar on the side with all of the links that doesn’t work the way that I want it to, or, for that matter the way it should.

So - I’m working on charging through the roadblock - and of course, if it ends up that I can’t charge through it, the theme will likely end up changing. 

For now though, I thought I’d link to a few recent posts from across the blog-o-sphere that are in some way, shape or form, related to The Avenues.

Enjoy - and check back in another week or so to see if the kinks here have gotten worked out yet.

Part of the Great Highway Disappears - and then Reappears with a New Name! [Curbed SF] 
Who is Really Lucky - You or the Fish? [SF Citizen]
What the Happs in the Sunset Today, Tomorrow, Next Week & More [Sunset District Events Calendar]
Sunset Dweller Checks Out Pacific Catch Restaurant [N-Judah Chronicles]
Richmond Dweller Checks Out Seal Rock Inn Restaurant [94121.net]