| 2009 Home Sales in San Francisco : if you Love Statistics, this Post is for You! | June 27th, 2009 |
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What Costs How Much Where in San Francisco as per MLS effective June 22, 2009 The below charts track year to date sales by property type and neighborhood by number of sales; low, high and median sales price; average days on market (how long it took the home to be designated “pending sale”); and average sales price to original list price (that percentage of original list price buyers ended up paying). An asterisk signifies a confidential sale — thus the final asking price is shown, not the actual sales price. Market activity in SF increased substantially these past 3 months – of course, spring is usually the most active time of the year — though median prices generally continued to decline. Buyers are out in increasing numbers but continue to cherry pick those homes they consider the best values, and those they do purchase are selling, on average, at much higher discounts to the original list price than a year ago. As always with general statistics, many aspects of value are not reflected below: curb appeal, condition, views, outdoor space, parking, rooms built without permit, quality of location within the neighborhood, and so forth. Thus, how the following statistics apply to any particular home and its value is unknown. Note the huge disparity that often appears between the low and high price for a particular property type in the same neighborhood: it sometimes runs in the multi-millions of dollars. With real estate, the devil’s always in the details.
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| Union Square Condo Priced at $189,000 | June 26th, 2009 |
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There is sort of a catch. . . The HOA fees are $800/month in a building with no special bells and whistles. But still. . . |
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441 Square Feet. Cool Union Square location at 333 Grant. Exposed brick. No parking, but who cares at this price???| $775,000: 4br/2.5ba right on the water– | June 22nd, 2009 |
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Ok, so it’s in Alameda: but still, those water views out every window have got to grab you– the home is also set along a birding trail with amazing opportunities to view wildlife in action. |
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| The City would rather you got off that ladder. . . | June 22nd, 2009 |
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These ladders were commonly added to buildings constructed in the City during the 1930’s and earlier. They were never part of a building’s fire escape system; but they often were installed as a ‘convenience’ to building owners who wanted roof access without bringing a portable ladder to the site. These ladders are now prohibited on residential buildings and must be removed with a proper building permit. |
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You know those old wooden ladders popping up to roofs from laundry rooms the top of our exterior stairs? Well, they’re kind of dangerous. And now they’re also illegal. . .| Update on homes at 829 Folsom | June 20th, 2009 |
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829 Folsom, a 69-unit boutique building on a great block of Folsom, across from the Yerba Buena Center, has five units in contract. Their studios start at $399,000. Their 1BRs start at $524,000. Their 1BR+Den start at $589,000. In order to qualify for FHA financing programs, the project can only release a certain number of homes at a time. Right now they only have published pricing are on the 1st through 4th floor. Since 2BR units start on the 5th floor, they have yet to set pricing for those larger units. When I toured 829 Folsom, I was impressed by the finishings. The baths in particular were wonderful with big, deep tubs. The kitchens often have islands and always feature thick granite countertops. The other advantage of the building is the location. This address is set in the heart of the only true walking district South of Market, with easy access to the Westfield Shopping Center, Metreon Movies, MOMA, Yerba Buena Gardens and Art Center, and a multitude of restaurants. All prices are negotiable. No one is allowed to reveal what the current properties in contract sold for, but a typical response to any inquiry is “Bring us an offer!” For more information, call 415-577-0809. |
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| The Montgomery Offers Sweet Deals on Studios | June 19th, 2009 |
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There are only four studios left at The Montgomery, but they are all well priced, and they all are high enough up to clear the view of the wall on the building’s South side. All are 489 Square feet. Prices start at $350,000. All sales include three years of free parking in the building next door. For more information call 415-738-7214. |
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| Luxury home market in San Francisco picking up. . . | June 16th, 2009 |
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In 2009 to May 22nd, 39 houses sold for $2,000,000 or more: their average size was 4062 square feet, with an average price of $3,400,000 and an average dollar per square foot of $773. In the same period, 14 condos sold for $2,000,000 or more, with an average size of 2300 square feet, an average price of $3,000,000 and an average dollar per square foot of a whopping $1317 (think spectacular view condos in very prestigious buildings). Almost half these home sales, 21 houses and 2 condos, took place in the Pacific & Presidio Heights/Marina district. 10 house sales occurred in the Noe-Eureka-Haight area; 2 houses and 7 condos sold in the Russian/Nob/Telegraph Hills area; and 5 high-end condos sold in the South Beach and SOMA districts. A few sales also closed in neighborhoods such as Sea Cliff and St. Francis Wood. Year over year, virtually every neighborhood saw drops of 50% or more in the number of sales of these very expensive homes. As an indication of the increase in activity in this market segment, there are currently 20 homes priced $2,000,000+ which have accepted offers, but not yet closed sale. 12 are in the Pacific & Presidio Heights/Marina district; 3 in the Noe/Eureka/Haight district; and 2 are in the Alamo Square area. |
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Upper-end home sales seem to be picking up as well, though the rate of sales is still far below that of previous years. The financing situation for expensive homes continues to be difficult, so buyers for such properties typically pay all cash or put down-payments of at least 30-40% of the sales price. Though cash-rich buyers are moving back into the real estate market, until financing becomes easier, high-end sales will remain far below previous levels.| Arterra Raises their Prices | June 15th, 2009 |
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Nope, that’s not a typo. On Friday the Arterra notched up the prices on all the listings they have in the MLS by more than $100,000, save one 1BR that’s been sitting on the market since February, and remains at $509,000. Here are the units in the MLS with the price increases. All are one-bedroom units: #417 660 square feet. Was listed for $449,000. Now $539,000. #423 660 square feet. Was listed for $439,000. Now $539,000 #414 670 square feet. Was listed for $525,000. Now $640,000 #1406 693 square feet Was listed for $519,000. Now $649,000 #721 730 square feet. Was listed for $550,000. Now $675,000 #4919 730 square feet. Was listed for $565,000. Now $695,000 Up until now, the Arterra has been accepting offers that were way (way!) below listing prices. Whether this indicates less flexibility on the developer’s part remains to be seen. |
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| Sales activity on foreclosed properties in San Francisco | June 14th, 2009 |
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Through May 22nd, there were 99 REO house sales and 26 REO condo sales, ranging from a low price of $196,000 to a high of $1,320,000, with a median price of about $470,000. The average dollar per square foot for the REO house sales was $374, and for condos, $456/sq.ft. Almost 50% of REO house sales accepted offers within 2-3 weeks of going on market and, reflecting a hot market for such homes, averaged a sales price of 6% above the asking price. Though the sales listed below are from neighborhoods all over the city, in fact over 75% of the REO house sales took place in the southern border neighborhoods of the city, stretching from Bayview to Oceanview. |
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REO sales constituted approximately 12% to 15% of home sales in San Francisco since the beginning of the 2009– a rate that has stayed relatively steady (and far below the rates of many other Bay Area counties).| Availability at the SOMA Grand | June 13th, 2009 |
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The San Giacomo building on SOMA Grand’s West side has topped off its first building– so you’ll know what the outlooks will be like from some of the units on that side of the building. For details or showings please call 415-577-0809. |
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SOMA Grand: As of three days ago, SOMA Grand was 70% sold. 1BR+den units on view side are almost gone. JR-1BRs (that means ’studio) start on higher flors in the high 500K range for 630 sf. You have a wider selection on the 2BR floor plans.
