Noe Valley Voice October 2003
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The Cost of Living in Noe:
Million-Dollar Homes Becoming Humdrum

By Corrie M. Anders

If you thought house prices were high in July, well consider this: The average price of a Noe Valley home sold during the month of August was more than $1 million. That's a phenomenal figure for a one-time working-class neighborhood gone yupscale in less than two decades.

In fact, six single-family homes with a sales price that topped $1 million closed escrow in August, according to a monthly survey Zephyr Real Estate conducts for the Voice. The six were among 11 homes sold during the month, often after bidding wars that forced buyers to pay an average 5 percent above the asking price.

The most expensive single-family home was a five-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath located in the first block of Vicksburg Street. It sold for $1,475,000.

Prices for condos were rising as well. The average ticket among the eight condominiums sold in August was $775,050, and buyers paid around 6 percent over asking. A four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath condo in the 100 block of Duncan Street set the bar at $1,082,400.

Million-dollar price tags also triggered a rush to purchase multi-unit properties. Five of the seven sales in the two- to four-unit category were two-unit flats, a favorite of tenants-in-common buyers (people who pool their resources to share a building).

"It's one of the only affordable routes left for first-time buyers," says Randall Kostick, sales manager for Zephyr's 24th Street office.

Kostick says he expects the high-flying sales activity to continue through December.

"We're going to see these numbers continue to be strong for the next few months," Kostick says. "Those who want to sell before the end of the year are doing it right now" and putting their homes on the market.

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
August 2003 11 $682,000 $1,475,000 $1,013,091 39 105%
July 2003 9 $615,000 $1,675,000 $992,556 47 101%
August 2002 10 $715,000 $1,410,000 $924,200 38 106%
Condominiums
August 2003 8 $592,000 $1,082,400 $775,050 26 106%
July 2003 5 $469,000 $930,000 $601,200 31 104%
August 2002 2 $640,000 $840,000 $740,000 27 110%
2 to 4 unit buildings
August 2003 7 $676,000 $1,635,000 $1,053,714 32 101%
July 2003 1 $1,225,000 $1,225,000 $1,225,000 26 107%
August 2002 3 $1,218,000 $1,500,000 $1,337,667 18 100%
5+ unit buildings
August 2003 1 $1,580,000 $1,580,000 $1,580,000 41 88%
July 2003 0
August 2002 0

Noe Valley Rents**
Size of Apartment Average Rents
April-June 2003
Average Rents
one year ago
April-June 2002
% increase (+)
or decrease (-)
Studio $1028 $1112 -7.6%
1 bedroom $1456 $1561 -6.7%
2 bedrooms $2098 $2185 -4.0%
3+ bedrooms $2536 $2665 -4.8%

*Information provided to the Noe Valley Voice courtesy of Zephyr Real Estate (www.zephyr-re.com) and based on all Noe Valley home sales (escrow 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)