Noe Valley Voice October 2012
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The Cost of Living in Noe

Buyers Cozy Up to Condos

By Corrie M. Anders

Residential real estate sales in Noe Valley remained perky in August, as avid buyers purchased eight single-family homes and 10 condominiums, including a contemporary townhouse that sold for $400,000 more than the asking price.

The sales tally for single-family homes was five below that of July but just one fewer than in August 2011. Condominiums, mimicking a recent jump in prices for detached homes, saw a rise in sales from July to August and doubled the number sold in August of last year.

“We’ve had similar numbers in the past, but for the condo market it was ‘holy cow,’” said Randall Kostick, general manager of Zephyr Real Estate, whose firm supplies monthly sales data to the Voice.

Kostick noted that condos were a relatively more affordable alternative to detached homes, which, in the past few months, have hovered around $1.5 million. In July, buyers paid an average 32 percent more for houses in Noe Valley than they had in July a year ago.

“Everyone would like to have a single-family home with a garden in the back, but not everyone can afford that,” he said.

Still, the typical price of a condo was just over $1 million in August, as buyers on average gave sellers a 7 percent bonus over the asking price. And a few of them handed over a king’s ransom to beat out stiff competition for the attached homes.

To counterpunch two rival bidders, buyers paid $1.7 million for a two-bedroom, 2.5-bath condo on 23rd Street two blocks from Noe Valley’s main commercial strip. That was $405,000 more than the original price tag—a 26 percent bump—for the 1,783-square-foot unit with a one-car garage.

The new owners paid all cash for the condo, which “had a lot of nice features, a stunning view, and was in a superb location,” said the seller’s real estate agent, Bernie Katzmann with Herth Real Estate.

Even the least expensive condo among the August sales didn’t come cheaply. Five offers were submitted for a 1960s, one-bedroom, one-bath unit with 585 square feet on Grand View Avenue between 24th and 25th streets.

Sellers wanted $299,500 for the pint-sized unit. But the all-cash buyer successfully boosted the price by a third and coughed up $397,000 to close the deal in 12 days.

“The timing was really good” to offer the Grand View property for sale, said BJ Droubi of Droubi Team Coldwell Banker. “It was priced to attract an investor-buyer with all cash, and that’s what we got,” she said of the Southern California shopper, who purchased the unit as a rental for a family member.

August buyers also paid a 5 percent premium for single-family homes, which helped push average home values up to more than $1.4 million. That was 5.8 percent higher than one year ago.

Kostick said six of eight single-family homes sold for at least $1 million, including a Diamond Street dwelling that topped the $2 million mark.

The newly renovated property, located in the 1500 block of Diamond Street between 27th and 28th streets, was one of the few that didn’t sell for its asking price.

It was originally listed for $3.2 million. Buyers paid $2.8 million—or 12.5 percent less—for a home with four bedrooms, 4.5 baths, two-car parking, and 4,092 square feet of living space.

 

 

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

August 2012

8

$829,000

$2,860,000

$1,427,691

34

105%

July 2012

13

$908,000

$2,260,000

$1,548,154

29

105%

August 2011

9

$825,00

$1,980,000

$1,350,000

37

104%

Condominiums

August 2012

10

$397,000

$1,700,000

$1,060,100

36

107%

July 2012

7

$825,000

$1,479,000

$1,003,571

33

103%

August 2011

5

$535,000

$1,253,000

$838,200

60

101%

2- to 4-unit buildings

August 2012

2

$1,450,000

$2,145,000

$1,797,500

53

104%

July 2012

1

$1,700,000

$1,700,000

$1,700,000

26

113%

August 2011

2

$855,000

$962,000

$908,000

40

102

5+-unit buildings

August 2012

0

July 2012

0

August 2011

1

$1,425,000

$1,425,000

$1,425,000

376

95%

*‑ ‑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.comfor providing sales data. NVV 10/2012

 

 

Noe Valley Rents**

Unit

No. in Sample

Range

September 2012

Average

September 2012

Average

August 2012

Average

September 2011

Studio

2

$1,525 – $2,000

$1,763 / mo.

$1,830 / mo.

$1,569 / mo.

1-bdrm

15

$1,895 – $3,600

$2,528 / mo.

$2,463 / mo.

$1,945 / mo.

2-bdrm

16

$2,750 – $5,500

$3,790 / mo.

$3,435 / mo.

$3,583 / mo.

3-bdrm

6

 $3,300 – $6,000

$5,016 / mo.

$4,818 / mo.

$4,707 / mo.

4+-bdrm

4

$4,400 – $15,000

$8,724 / mo.

$8,812 / mo.

$5,925 / mo.


** ­‑This survey is based on a sample of 43 Noe Valley apartment listings appearing on Craigslist.org from Sept. 5 to 15, 2012. NVV 10/2012