December-January 2007 RETURN TO HOME PAGE FEEDBACK

A five-bedroom house located on Noe Valley's western slopes sold in October for nearly 25 percent more than the asking price, giving the sellers a $2.2 million payday.

The determined buyers closed escrow in just 12 days on the 3,300-square-foot home, which has 31/2 baths and parking for three cars and is located in the 1800 block of Diamond Street near 29th Street.

The property was one of six single-family dwellings snapped up in October, according to Zephyr Real Estate, which provides the Voice with monthly sales data for the neighborhood.

October buyers on average paid 14 percent more than the sellers' asking price, which helped boost the average price tag to $1.4 million for a Noe Valley house. The new homeowners also got their front door keys in just 15 days.

The number of homes sold in October equalled the number sold in September but was only half the number sold in October of last year, when the housing market showed relatively few hints of an impending mortgage crisis.

"The numbers show that we still have a low inventory [of homes for sale]," said Randall Kostick, Zephyr's general sales manager. "And they show that values have not had some kind of decline."

Kostick said he expected the shortage of homes for sale to persist through early next year. For one thing, homeowners typically stay put from Thanksgiving through December.

"[Sellers] are faced with, 'If I don't have to sell right now, I won't, because we're coming on the holidays,'" he said.

Interestingly, the Noe Valley condominium market had more pep and showed an increase in activity in October. Buyers purchased eight condominiums, one more than in the previous month and double the sales total one year earlier. The homes typically sold for 2 percent over the asking price, but on average took six weeks to close escrow.

The most expensive condo was located in the 1000 block of Noe Street between 23rd and 24th streets. The 1,650-square-foot unit, with three bedrooms and 21/2 baths, sold for $1.3 million--4 percent above the asking price.

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
October 2007	6	$979,000	$2,220,000	$1,429,000	15	114%
September 2007	6	$875,000	$2,515,000	$1,365,500	29	109%
October 2006	12	$876,000	$2,750,000	$1,525,950	24	102%
Condominiums
October 2007	8	$723,000	$1,300,000	$976,938	41	102%
September 2007	7	$659,000	$1,625,000	$948,857	20	109%
October 2006	4	$821,000	$1,349,000	$1,121,250	58	101%
2 to 4 unit buildings
October 2007	2	$1,510,000	$1,560,000	$1,535,000	23	93%
September 2007	3	$1,250,000	$1,875,000	$1,473,333	60	98%
October 2006	1	$1,125,000	$1,125,000	$1,125,000	91	102%
5+ unit buildings
October 2007	2	$1,515,000	$1,650,000	$1,582,500	56	100%
September 2007	0	-	-	-	-	-
October 2006	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.

Noe Valley Rents**

Type of Unit	Number in Sample	Range of Rents, November 2007	Average Rent, November 2007	Average Rent, One Year Ago
Studio	6	$1200-$1550	$1374	$1317
1 bedroom	21	$1095-$3000	$2061	$1661
2 bedrooms	26	$1950-$5400	$2987	$2619
3 bedrooms	19	$3595-$8000	$4392	$3328
4+ bedrooms	5	$4500-$11,750	$7730	$6000

**These rent averages are based on a sample of 77 Noe Valley rental listings appearing on www.craigslist.com October 26 - November 15, 2007.