BAY AREA WEEKLY RECAP
Here’s a quick look at some of the biggest stories shaping housing, development, and local life around the Bay Area this week.
BAY AREA DEVELOPMENTS & REAL ESTATE
Palo Alto Baylands Townhomes – 2100 Geng Road, Palo Alto
Palo Alto’s City Council is voting on a 145 unit townhome project that would replace office buildings near the Baylands, including 19 affordable homes. Moving forward under the builder’s remedy provision, it signals a major shift toward housing in job heavy Silicon Valley areas.
Caltrain Railyards Redevelopment – 4th and King Street, San Francisco
Plans have been submitted to transform 18.6 acres of Caltrain railyards into a massive mixed use neighborhood with 2,500 homes and up to 4 million square feet of commercial space. With a 15 to 20 year timeline, this could redefine transit oriented development and the future of downtown San Francisco.
Alexandria Theater Redevelopment – Inner Richmond, San Francisco
New permits have been filed to redevelop the long vacant Alexandria Theater into an 83 unit residential building with ground floor retail and affordable housing. After more than 20 years of failed attempts, this marks real progress in converting historic but underutilized sites into housing.
MARKET TRENDS
• Buyer activity is picking up as spring starts, with California home sales up 7.0% from January.
• Mortgage rates eased a bit, with the average 30 year fixed rate at 6.05%, which helped bring some buyers back into the market.
• Bay Area prices are still very high, with February median single family prices at $2.25M in San Mateo County, $2.016M in Santa Clara County, and $1.976M in San Francisco.
• Inventory is still tight in the core Bay Area markets, with only 1.6 months of supply in San Francisco and 2.4 months in both San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.
• Well priced homes are still moving fast, with median days on market at 8 days in Santa Clara, 9 days in San Mateo, and 29 days in San Francisco.
📩 Want to better understand what this means for the future of Bay Area housing? We’re here to help — send us a message at [email protected].
FOOD & DRINK
JUST OPENED IN THE BAY AREA
THE BIG FOUR
Redesigned by Ken Fulk, it keeps its dark-wood, "old San Francisco" soul but introduces a new menu by Chef David Intonato featuring refined American classics like Chicken Pot Pie and Dungeness Crab Benedict.
SAN FRANCISCO
NORTH ITALIA
This is the first San Francisco Bay Area location for the scratch-made Italian concept. The 8,500-square-foot space features an open kitchen where you can watch pasta being made by hand and an alfresco bar.
WALNUT CREEK
OPENING MARCH 25TH
WATCH MORE
SF Bay Area News: 9 Major Shifts to Watch
UPCOMING EVENTS
🆓 Free Events
Nowruz (Persian New Year) Celebration — SF City Hall (North Light Court), Today (Mar 20) until 3:00 PM
Castro Night Market — Castro St (between 18th & 19th), SF, Tonight (Mar 20), 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Metcon Workout in the Park — Salesforce Park (Main Plaza), SF, Sat (Mar 21), 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Flower Bulb Day (80,000 Free Tulips) — Union Square, SF, Sat (Mar 21), 1:00 PM – 4:30 PM (Line starts ~9:00 AM)
40th Annual Orchid Show — San Jose (Regional Partner Venues), Sat & Sun (Mar 21–22), 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
🎟️ Ticketed Events
SF Symphony: Salonen Conducts Sibelius — Davies Symphony Hall, SF, Tonight & Sat (Mar 20–21), 7:30 PM
Unbroken Chain: Celebration of Phil Lesh — The Fillmore, SF, Tonight & Sat (Mar 20–21), Doors at 7:00 PM
California Artisan Cheese Festival — Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Santa Rosa, Sat & Sun (Mar 21–22), 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Bouquets to Art (Final Weekend) — de Young Museum, SF, Now – Sun (Mar 22), 9:30 AM – 5:15 PM
Oakland Restaurant Week (Final Weekend) — 140+ participating venues, Oakland, Now – Sun (Mar 22), Lunch & Dinner
Brought to you by OWN Real Estate
That’s it for this week’s newsletter. If you found something useful, share it with a friend, and if you are thinking about buying, selling, or just trying to make sense of the Bay Area market, reach out anytime.
Want to discuss your options? Reach out anytime at [email protected]
That's it for this week's newsletter. If you found something useful, please share it with friends. Stay tuned for more updates on detailed developments, new restaurants, news, and other Bay Area things. If you would like us to cover something you know about, please let us know!
— Wilson Leung
