Top San Francisco Realtor Perspectives: View From My Window

by Shelly Sutherland

reading time: 1.5 minutes

Shelly Sutherland is a top San Francisco Realtor who has partnered with buyers and sellers of residential property for nearly 25 years. Explore her website at ShellySutherland.com.

There’s a Facebook group titled “View From My Window” that started during the worldwide pandemic and I have found myself visiting this site often and being in awe of the views, sometimes stunning and others, non-descript. The views are of beachscapes, rolling hills, Norwegian and New Zealand fjords, and one was of African animals in a backyard. Those are the Instagram-worthy images. Equally impactful are views of neighboring buildings, streets, patios strewn with laundry or a simple backyard. It is so satisfying to see these images from around the world and read about the place and the person living there. The focus is outward. 

As a realtor, I focus on the interior space of a home and I wonder about all these people who have shared their views, what’s it like for them, inside.  How is their emotional state and for those in a difficult living situation, how are they coping. Gazing out to the African tundra, the fjords or streetscapes can be meditative yet some require a great deal of detachment if they are dealing with a difficult living situation.

My conversations with clients these days of Covid are more about the interior spaces of the mind and how their next home purchase will reflect their newly discovered needs for safety, workspace, access to the outdoors or air flow. They share with me their concerns about work stability and financial repercussions if they lose their jobs.  So much uncertainty so I say, pause…and try not to spend too much time on Facebook.

Photo: Shelly Sutherland