San Francisco, which has been the most bulletproof county during the downturn, was the only one where the roll rose last year (by 4 percent). This year, it was up by 1.3 percent, the biggest increase of any county.
"Our residential market bottomed out last year and it is still on the road to recovery," said Assessor Phil Ting. "We haven't seen properties being restored to prior values yet, but we will probably see that in the next year or two."
Read more: Bay Area Home Values Flatten Out
Not that this is a surprise to us at SFHotlist. As readers know, I called the real estate bottom in 2010, noticing that 2009 seemed to be the "worst" year for San Francisco home values but I did negotiate many sweet deals for home buyers so I guess it depends on your perspective bc in retrospect, it was an awesome time to buy a home...if you could qualify for a loan! But broadly, it was tough. Lack of liquidity, lack of bank lending, fear, stress, rising unemployment...all in all, I am glad 2009 is behind us.
But back to the good news. San Francisco does seem bulletproof, doesn't it? Of course, we suffered along with everyone else. Watching, "Too Big to Fail" over the weekend was a vibrant reminder. And yet, San Francisco is resilient. This is an amazing place to call home and a lucky place to own a piece of the real estate pie.
