Noe Valley Voice June 2011
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The Cost of
Living in Noe

Historic Firehouse Sold


By Corrie M. Anders

Engine No. 44, the one-time fire station on 22nd Street where artists Mark Adams and Beth Van Hoesen lived for almost 50 years, was sold in April for $4,050,000.

The architectural oddity was one of six single-family homes that changed hands in April, according to sales data supplied to the Voice by Zephyr Real Estate.

The number of sales was less than half the 13 sales posted in March. However, the sale of the historic firehouse, built in 1909, added combustion to April’s tally.

“It’s a rare occasion to have a property sell for over $4 million in Noe Valley,” Kostick said. “This is the highest-priced sale since a home sold for $5.3 million in October of 2005.” (That home, at 526 Duncan St., currently is for sale at $6.4 million.)

Adams and Van Hoesen bought the fire station for $7,500 at a surplus property auction in 1959. The couple, whose works are well-known in the art world, used the building as both a home and studio and kept many of its original features, including a brass fire pole and spiral staircase. After Adams’ death in 2006, Van Hoesen sold to buyers who renovated the building, located at 3816 22nd St. between Noe and Castro streets. (Van Hoesen passed away late last year.)

With a restored facade and a new ultramodern interior, the four-bedroom, 4.5-bath home returned to the market in 2008, priced at $6,375,000. Over the next few years, the price dropped twice, first to $5,175,000, and then to $4,250,000, prompting the offer that resulted in April’s sale.

For that tab, buyers got a four-story urban palace with voluminous living space (6,140 square feet), gourmet loft kitchen, rooftop terrace, spa, wine cellar, and observation tower with 360-degree views. They also inherited several firehouse ornaments, such as a flagpole and fire-bell alarm box.

As for the other Noe Valley houses sold in April, they must have had some bells and whistles, too. None of the five sold for less than $1 million, and two went for more than $2 million.

Nevertheless, Kostick said, “there are still properties under $1 million available in Noe Valley.”

These days most of those are condominiums.

Buyers purchased 10 condos in April, the same number as in March and more than twice as many as in April of last year.

Nine sold for less than $1 million. Kostick pointed out that April’s least expensive condo cost $515,000 and the average price was around $830,000.

One unit topped the $1 million mark, however. Buyers paid $1,175,000 for a three-bedroom, 2.5-bath condo in the 1100 block of Church Street between 23rd and 24th streets. The 1,768-squarefoot unit, in a fairly new contemporary building, sold in 30 days for $60,000 more than the asking price.

Noe Valley Home Sales*

Total Sales
No.
Low Price ($)
High Price ($)
Avgerage Price ($)
Avg. Days on Market
Sale Price As % of List Price
Single-family homes
April 2011
6
$1,109,500
$4,050,000
$2,090,750
103
99%
March 2011
13
$1,050,000
$2,650,000
$1,622,231
57
99%
April 2010
10
$550,000
$2,595,000
$1,269,100
49
100%
Condominiums
April 2011
10
$515,000
$1,175,000
$832,700
55
99%
March 2011
10
$425,000
$1,275,000
$860,400
41
100%
April 2010 4
$640,000
$1,490,000
$990,000
38
93%
2- to 4-unit buildings
April 2011
0
--
--
--
--
--
March 2011 3
$950,000
$1,610,000
$1,311,667
72
99%
April 2010 2
$810,000
$1,050,000
$930,000
278
96%
5+-unit buildings
April 2011
0
--
--
--
--
--
March 2011 0
--
--
--
--
--
April 2010 0
--
--
--
--
--


* Sales include all Noe Valley home sales completed during the month. Noe Valley in this survey is defined as the area bordered by Grand View, 22nd, Guerrero, and 30th streets. The Voice thanks Zephyr Real Estate (www.zephyrsf.com) for providing the sales data. NVV 6/11


Noe Valley Rents**

Unit
No. In Sample
Range
May 2011
Average
May 2011
Average
April 2011
Average
May 2010
Studio
1
N/A
$1,400 / mo.
$1,608 / mo.
$1,250 / mo.
1-bdrm
18
$1,400 - $2,999
$2,070 / mo.
$1,947 / mo.
$1,889 / mo.
2-bdrm
28
$2,025 - $4,580
$3,046 / mo.
$2,825 / mo.
$2,777 / mo.
3-bdrm
11
$2,850 - $5,500
$3,712 / mo.
$3,363 / mo.
$4,029 / mo.
4+-bdrm
5
$4,699 - $6,995
$5,838 / mo.
$6,000 / mo.
$5,725 / mo.

** This survey is based on a sample of 63 Noe Valley listings appearing on Craigslist.org from April 25 to May 9, 2011. NVV 6/11