March 2006 RETURN TO HOME PAGE FEEDBACK

Noe Valley's sizzling housing market lost some of its heat in January as buyers took longer to make up their minds and refused to overpay for their new addresses.

Four single-family homes closed escrow in January, considerably fewer than the 15 homes that sold a month earlier. Three condominiums changed hands, down from the 14 condos that sold the previous December.

While January sales of detached homes and condos were comparable to one year earlier, there were several signals that the neighborhood was experiencing a less frantic market.

For the first time since July 2004, and only the third time since the summer of 2003, the average sales price for a detached home was under $1 million. In addition, buyers in January barely met the seller's price, paying 99 percent of the list price. A year earlier, aggressive overbids pushed prices an average of 9 percent over the asking price.

Homes remained on the market for an average of 65 days before closing escrow. One year ago, buyers were picking up front-door keys in 46 days.

Condo buyers in January on average paid full price and closed escrow in 48 days. But condo buyers one year earlier paid 24 percent over the asking price and were ready to move into their new homes in just 19 days.

"This is what most of the real estate industry is referring to as a return to a normal market instead of the craziness that we've been going through for the last few years," said Randall Kostick, general sales manager for Zephyr Real Estate, which supplies monthly sales data to the Voice.

Still, real estate is not cheap in Noe Valley.

Buyers paid $1,175,000 for the most expensive home sold in January, a four-bedroom, two-bath property in the 400 block of 27th Street, between Sanchez and Noe streets.

The costliest condo, a four-bedroom, three-bath unit in the 500 block of Elizabeth Street, between Noe and Castro streets, sold for $1,310,000.

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
January 2006	4	$850,000	$1,175,000	$972,500	65	99%
December 2005	15	$675,000	$2,145,000	$1,203,533	37	106%
January 2005	6	$950,000	$1,800,000	$1,335,833	46	109%
Condominiums
January 2006	3	$350,000	$1,310,000	$874,333	48	100%
December 2005	14	$575,000	$1,510,000	$890,321	42	105%
January 2005	2	$780,000	$825,000	$802,500	19	124%
2 to 4 unit buildings
January 2006	3	$1,300,000	$1,635,000	$1,445,000	46	103%
December 2005	4	$937,500	$1,716,888	$1,233,597	56	106%
January 2005	3	$912,000	$1,435,000	$1,115,667	57	114%
5+ unit buildings
January 2006	0	-	-	-	-	-
December 2005	1	$6,160,000	$6,160,000	$6,160,000	99	104%
January 2005	0	-	-	-	-	-

*Sales figures include all Noe Valley home sales completed during the month. In this survey, Noe Valley is defined as the area bordered by Grand View, 22nd, Guerrero, and 30th streets. The Voice thanks Zephyr Real Estate (www.zephyrsf.com) for supplying the data.

A Snapshot of Noe Valley Rents**

Type of Unit	Number in Sample	Range of Rents, February 2006	Average Rent, February 2006	Average Rent, One Year Ago
Studio	2	$995-$1000	$998	$1208
1 bedroom	18	$1350-$2450	$1797	$1532
2 bedrooms	12	$1775-$3600	$2323	$2521
3 bedrooms	7	$2600-$3700	$3016	$2600
4+ bedrooms	3	$5200-$6900	$6034	$4950

**These rent averages are based on a sample of 42 Noe Valley rental listings appearing on www.craigslist.com February 6-15, 2006.