May 2011 RETURN TO HOME PAGE FEEDBACK

Noe Valley’s housing market experienced a spring rebound, as buyers in March purchased 13 single-family homes, including three with price tags above $2 million.

Those sales far outpaced the four transactions recorded in February—traditionally a slow winter month—and matched the number sold in March a year ago.

Buyers also took the keys to 10 condominiums in the neighborhood, according to March sales data compiled for the Voice by Zephyr Real Estate. That was twice as many sales as in February.

The data showed that house buyers in March paid an average 99 percent of the seller’s asking price. However, they took nearly two months to close escrow, 57 days. In March of last year, deals were completed in an average 35 days.

Randall Kostick, Zephyr’s general sales manager, said he was not surprised that deals took longer to finalize this year.

“Every transaction is like pulling teeth,” he said. “Buyers think they should have the advantage, sellers think they should have the advantage,…and lenders are picking through every transaction with a fine-toothed comb—which they should be doing.”

All 13 homes sold for more than $1 million apiece, and the average sales price in March—$1.6 million—was 18.5 percent higher than that paid in March of 2010.

A trio of sales at the top of Noe Valley’s price range pushed up values, Kostick said. Until now, cautious buyers had stuck mostly to medium- and bargain-priced homes.

“The higher end is coming back to life again,” Kostick said. “We’re seeing houses in the $1 to $2 million and $2 to $3 million dollar range that probably would not have sold as quickly one or two years ago.”

The most expensive residential property sold in March was a newly constructed house with a Stick Victorian façade in the 3600 block of 22nd Street between Sanchez and Church streets. Selling for $2,650,000, the home had four bedrooms, 4.5 baths, 3,232 square feet of living space, a two-car garage, and panoramic city views.

The two runners-up in the detached-home category both sold for $2.3 million. One was located near Alvarado School in the 800 block of Alvarado Street, between Douglass Street and Hoffman Avenue. The other was on 26th Street between Diamond and Douglass streets—a block away from Douglass Park.

The month’s most expensive condo was a two-bedroom, three-bath property in the 4500 block of 25th Street, between Hoffman Avenue and Homestead Street. The 1,955-square-foot home sold in 20 days for $1,275,000.

Buyers also renewed their interest in small apartment buildings of two to four units. Three units changed hands in March, compared with one in February and one in March a year earlier.

 

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
March 2011	13	$1,050,000	$2,650,000	$1,622,231	57	99%
February 2011	4	$851,000	$2,850,000	$1,678,250	31	95%
March 2010	13	$650,000	$2,975,000	$1,369,130	35	101%
Condominiums
March 2011	10	$425,000	$1,275,000	$860,400	41	100%
February 2011	5	$590,000	$875,000	$738,900	143	100%
March 2010	10	$700,000	$1,625,000	$1,065,555	30	99%
2- to 4-unit buildings
March 2011	3	$950,000	$1,610,000	$1,311,667	72	99%
February 2011	1	$1,186,500	$1,186,500	$1,186,500	50	108%
March 2010	1	$1,465,000	$1,465,000	$1,465,000	40	92%
5+-unit buildings
March 2011	0	—	—	—	—	—
February 2011	0	—	—	—	—	—
March 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 5/11

 

Noe Valley Rents**

Unit	No. in Sample	Range April 2011	Average April 2011	Average March 2011	Average April 2010
Studio	5	$1,295 – $2,395	$1,608 / mo.	$1,286 / mo.	$1,306 / mo.
1-bdrm	17	$1,250 – $2,750	$1,947 / mo.	$1,954 / mo.	$1,834 / mo.
2-bdrm	19	$1,950 – $4,580	$2,825 / mo.	$2,883 / mo.	$2,673 / mo.
3-bdrm	3	$2,840 – $3,750	$3,363 / mo.	$4,225 / mo.	$4,054 / mo.
4+-bdrm	1	N/A	$6,000 / mo.	$3,447 / mo.	$4,548 / mo.

** ­‑This survey is based on a sample of 45 Noe Valley listings appearing on Craigslist.org from April 7 to 16, 2011. NVV 5/11