Market Sharing with Damion Matthews: PART 1

Damion Matthews of Engel & Völkers in San Francisco is one of the city's rising stars in the luxury real estate market. He is also editor ofSFLuxe.com, a website that celebrates luxury living in San Francisco. Recently, The Élan Collection joined forces with the chic, cool and tech-savvy Matthews to market the Alta Collina residence in San Francisco's upscale Telegraph Hill. We asked him to give us the inside scoop about the city as a metropolitan vacation destination for our "Market Sharing" Q&A series. Here's Part 1 of the Q&A:

The Élan Report: What makes San Francisco such a unique vacation home market?

Damion Matthews: I always marvel at how San Francisco has something for absolutely everyone. You can easily create your experience of the area to match whatever your lifestyle is. If you want to be cosmopolitan, we have fantastic theaters, nightclubs, restaurants and shopping. If you want to be outdoorsy, we have hiking, surfing, biking, skiing, flying. If you want to be totally relaxed, we have countless spas and opportunities for romantic wine country excursions. We have the nation's best sports teams, some of the most important museums, the leading businesses in the world, a wonderful zoo and lots of kids' attractions, plus glamorous social events for the adults. I mean, there's just always something new and fun to do!

TER: Recently, Fractional Life reported 65 percent of overseas investors have expressed interest in fractional investments this year. Do you see fractional home ownership growing in metropolitan locations like San Francisco?

DM: Oh, absolutely! It's a relatively new concept for San Francisco, but with the high prices that premiere properties command in the area, fractional ownership is exciting to people who love the area but are weary of investing several million dollars into a home they won't use full-time.

TER: If a client was choosing between a pied-à-terre in New York or San Francisco, what would you tell them to ultimately sell them on S.F.?

DM: Ah, the New York versus San Francisco debate! I love it! A lot of people simply have residences in both cities. But it depends on their lifestyle. With so many people needing to do business in the Silicon Valley or in Asia, a San Francisco pied-a-terre is a necessity for a lot of people.

TER: What's your best advice for purchasing a fractional residence in San Francisco?

DM: Buying a vacation property is one of the rare instances when you can actually not feel guilty about letting your emotions guide your purchase. You want to be excited about the place! If you walk in and have that "wow" feeling, then it's the right place. And not just from an emotional standpoint, but from an investment standpoint...because if you decide to sell it later on, your potential buyers will feel the same way about it that you do.

Stay tuned for PART 2 of Matthews' interview tomorrow...