Noe Valley Voice July-August 2002
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The Cost of Living in Noe:
It's the Wooing Season

By Corrie M. Anders

Home sellers got a chance to play "ElimiDate" in May and early June, as infatuated buyers continued to engage in bidding contests for the best properties in Noe Valley. The final June tally won't be available until later this summer. But the May lovefest posted the largest number of home sales in three years.

Buyers and sellers got together on 27 detached homes and condominiums, according to data supplied to the Voice by Zephyr Real Estate on 24th Street. That number topped the December 1999 previous high of 26 sales.

Zephyr manager Randall Kostick says he is not surprised to see "brisk" activity in May and June, since it reflects sales of homes that hit the real estate market in March and April. "That's the beginning of spring" -- a season that traditionally puts people in the home-buying mood, he says. However, this spring's home buyers were particularly lusty, often paying above the seller's asking price.

Noe Valley sales also recorded an oddity for the month of May: a condo sold at a higher price than the most expensive detached home. The three-bedroom, 21/2-bath condo, in the 500 block of Duncan Street, sold for $1,575,000. The most expensive detached home, a four-bedroom, 31/2-bath home in the 3600 block of 22nd Street, exchanged hands for $1,520,000.

Meanwhile, sales of flats and apartment buildings continued a spring-long rebound. Five rental properties closed escrow during May, including a $1,425,000 six-unit building in the 500 block of 30th Street.

Coming after a stagnant period, the increase in apartment sales may be due to home buyers purchasing flats as a less expensive alternative to single-family homes. The soft rental market may also be inducing landlords to get out of the business.

"If they have a vacant unit and they can't seem to rent it, it may be an opportune time to sell the whole building," says Kostick.

Noe Valley rents have dropped considerably since the dot-com peak of 2000. In the first quarter of this year, for example, rents for one-bedroom apartments were 21 percent cheaper than a year earlier, while two-bedroom apartments cost nearly 12 percent less.

Noe Valley Home Sales*
Total Sales Low Price ($) High Price ($) Average Price ($) Average Days
on Market
Sale Price as
% of List Price
Single-family homes
May 2002 13 $635,000 $1,520,000 $1,022,153 35 109%
April 2002 12 $559,000 $1,380,000 $863,425 15 112%
May 2001 14 $540,000 $2,050,000 $939,750 29 101%
Condominiums
May 2002 14 $375,000 $1,575,000 $722,714 42 103%
April 2002 10 $435,000 $850,000 $651,100 33 104%
May 2001 8 $339,000 $925,000 $552,375 22 104%
2 to 4 unit buildings
May 2002 4 $750,000 $900,000 $826,500 24 113%
April 2002 7 $480,000 $1,350,000 $921,428 42 102%
May 2001 4 $730,000 $1,100,000 $900,625 39 100%
5+ unit buildings
May 2002 1 $1,425,000 $1,425,000 $1,425,000 139 97%
April 2002 0
May 2001 1 $940,000 $940,000 $940,000 27 95%

Noe Valley Rents**
Size of Apartment Average Rents
Jan-March 2002
Average Rents
one year ago
Jan-March 2001
% increase (+)
or decrease (-)
Studio $1133 $1313 -13.7%
1 bedroom $1649 $2088 -21.0%
2 bedrooms $2303 $2604 -11.6%
3+ bedrooms $2997 $3536 -15.2%

*Information provided to the Noe Valley Voice courtesy of Zephyr Real Estate (www.zephyr-re.com) and based on all Noe Valley home sales (closings) recorded during the month. "Noe Valley" in this survey is defined as the area bordered by Grand View, 22nd, Guerrero, and 30th streets.

**Data courtesy of Rent Tech, Inc (www.renttech.com)