Condo Living

Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

Established as a park in 1850, Union Square, San Francisco, was named before the start of the Civil War as a tribute to the frequent demonstrations in support of the Union troop. The park was renovated in 2002.

• E-Mail
• Print
• Reprints
• Save

By BILLIE COHEN

Published: September 6, 2006

The vibrancy of city living — culture, shopping and the finest restaurants — appeals to a broad spectrum of second-home buyers, including aging boomers looking for a getaway and globetrotting jet setters beefing up their portfolios. Many of those buying in metropolitan areas may already have a second home or even a third, but their collections are simply not complete without a pied-à-terre in an energetic urban locale. According to the National Association of Realtors, 40 percent of all home sales in 2005 were second homes. And a third of those were in urban areas. While many American cities offer that type of living and urban amenities, the hottest (and some would argue most prestigious) markets are found in Manhattan, Miami, Las Vegas and San Francisco.

The typical buyer in these cities may be a wealthy executive who counts a city condo as one of many secondary homes that he cycles through over the course of the year, or a baby boomer in her 40’s or 50’s. These individuals or couples are still working and consequently have the money to invest in an additional home. Still other buyers are simply empty nesters who may have had a larger house in the suburbs and now want a smaller place in a more central location that they can escape to or lend to their adult children. … San Francisco “We joke that it’s somewhere between adult camp and assisted living,” said Lynn Sedway, 64, a real estate and urban economist who owns in the Four Seasons condo-hotel in San Francisco, as well as in the Napa Valley. “The advantages include the downtown location and the fact that we can walk to theater and to restaurants.”

As empty nesters, she and her husband wanted a small place that could provide them with amenities to make their lives simpler. “This way there is somebody waiting for us and there is somebody who can take our luggage upstairs,” Ms. Sedway said. “We feel total security, and it’s very well managed. Largely from the West Coast, and attracted to the weather and a more relaxed version of city living, San Francisco’s second-home buyers want the luxury and culture of a city but not the frenetic pace. “Bay Area folks tend to like to have that urban living experience and are amenable to it, but we’re not New Yorkers,” said Rob Levy, a partner with McGuire Real Estate. Fortunately for them, a slew of developments are making that lifestyle accessible. The area south of Market Street, or SoMa, is where the new condominium and condo-hotel projects are sprouting. “They’re close to transportation and on flat ground,” Mr. Levy said. “And the weather is good there because of the microclimates; it’s much less foggy.”

The two main groups moving into the city are people from the Bay Area and investors, who can be local or from overseas (primarily from Asia). Diana Nelson, a broker for Millennium Partners, which developed the Four Seasons Residences, said 80 percent of its buyers were from the Bay Area, and for half of them, this was their second, third or fourth home. Ms. Nelson sees people like lawyers and venture capitalists, but also younger families involved with Silicon Valley. Peter McCaffrey, a 42-year-old caterer who lives with his family in Napa Valley, spends five or six months out of the year in San Francisco for business. The city was at the top of his family’s list when they started the search process. “We were looking for a second home in a lot of cities, but with me being a chef,” Mr. McCaffrey said, “I’m a foodaholic, and I think it’s the food capital of the United States.” He is also a fan of the city’s varied arts offerings, which he plans to share with his young children when they move into their condo in the Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences; it is scheduled to open in late 2007 but is already nearly sold out. In the past few years, the center of the city has shifted from the traditionally desirable Pacific Heights, Russian Hill and Presidio Heights neighborhoods to the area south of Market Street. Three condo-hotels are the notable residences in that region: the St. Regis, the Four Seasons and an incoming Ritz-Carlton. Units in all three start at over $1 million, and they all offer prime location and amenities.

For example, in addition to having in-room spa treatments and butlers to help with unpacking groceries or purchasing a gift for a party, the St. Regis is within short walking distance to notable restaurants, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Yerba Buena Gardens and, in 2008, the Contemporary Jewish Museum designed by Daniel Libeskind. In another area of town, by the Embarcadero district, is the Infinity, due to open in 2008. Located near the Ferry Building — with its gourmet food, wine shops and farmers’ market — the Infinity is a block from the waterfront and, accordingly, offers impressive views. And while it is not attached to a hotel, it does have similar luxury amenities, including a screening room, a huge fitness center and 24-hour concierge service. Prices range from $600,000 to more than $3 million.