Noe Valley Voice April 2005
RETURN TO HOME PAGE
FEEDBACK

The Cost of Living in Noe:
Buyers Pay 24 Percent Over Asking

By Corrie M. Anders

The hordes of people shopping for a home in Noe Valley in March confronted a problem that has bedeviled buyers for months. There wasn't much to look at.

When the Voice surveyed the listings mid-month, only 13 homes were for sale--nowhere near enough to meet buyers' seemingly insatiable desire to put down stakes in Noe Valley.

The shortage has forced buyers to compete aggressively for the few available homes, and has prolonged this year's heady rise in real estate prices.

During February, five single-family homes closed escrow in February, three of them for more than $1 million each, according to statistics provided by Zephyr Real Estate. The fierce competition forced buyers to pay an average 24 percent more than the seller's asking price.

Buyers were so eager--and so financially prepared--that the homes typically were on and off the market in 15 days. One February transaction closed escrow in seven days, said Randall Kostick, Zephyr's 24th Street office manager, and most likely was an all-cash deal that didn't need bank financing.

Kostick said he expects the inventory of homes for sale to increase in April and May. "Over the last four weeks, we've had twice as many properties coming on the market as we did 30 days ago," he said in mid-March. "So, hopefully that will free things up a little bit."

The February data showed the average Noe Valley home sold for $1.1 million. Buyers paid almost $1.4 million for the most expensive property, a four-bedroom, three-bath home in the 1500 block of Diamond Street.

The February report also reflected rivalry among condominium buyers. Buyer paid an average 20 percent more than the asking price for the three condos that sold in the month.

The condos closed escrow in less than three weeks on average, and sold for an average price of $785,000. A $931,000 three-bedroom, one-bath unit in the 1100 block of Dolores Street was the priciest condo sold in February.

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
February 2005 5 $880,000 $1,355,000 $1,103,300 15 124%
January 2005 6 $950,000 $1,800,000 $1,335,833 46 109%
February 2004 6 $929,000 $1,200,000 $1,051,667 38 110%
Condominiums
February 2005 3 $575,000 $931,000 $785,333 20 120%
January 2005 2 $780,000 $825,000 $802,500 19 124%
February 2004 6 $650,000 $1,086,000 $842,333 23 111%
2 to 4 unit buildings
February 2005 2 $1,305,000 $1,500,000 $1,402,500 23 104%
January 2005 3 $912,000 $1,435,000 $1,115,667 57 114%
February 2004 3 $1,200,000 $1,608,000 $1,450,000 73 102%
5+ unit buildings
February 2005 0 - - - - -
January 2005 0 - - - - -
February 2004 0 - - - - -

*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.

Noe Valley Rents**
Type of Unit Number in Sample Range of Rents, March Average Rent, March Average Rent, February
Studio 1 $1200-$1200 $1200 $1262
1 bedroom 9 $1225-$2195 $1616 $1366
2 bedrooms 9 $1500-$2300 $1946 $2122
3 bedrooms 7 $1950-$5445 $2871 $2703
4 bedrooms 3 $5000-$6800 $5600 $6000

**These rent averages are based on a sample of 29 Noe Valley rental listings appearing on www.craigslist.com on March 18-19, 2005. The previous sample, published in the March Voice, was collected February 17-18.