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The two condos over at 1 Baker have been battling it out for the last few months in search of buyers.
Big news: #4A landed in contract at the end of April. Its last list price was $679,000 for this 2BR/2BA unit with about 1337 square feet. Is there a buyer for #3B out there (photo above)? That list price was just reduced to $675,000. Not sure what the hold up is; this is a nice Haight location right off Buena Vista Park, identical in the number of bedrooms, bath and square footage.
I stopped in at 542-546 Central in the North Panhandle during my broker tour this week. This is a three-unit building involving an upper unit priced at $835,000, and a lower flat listed at $760,000. Both units share an interest in a third, ground-floor unit that is being viewed as rental property.
I stumbled upon the lower unit’s whitewashed kitchen, which struck me as the type of room that’d be used in a movie about a dead chef. What you can’t see in the photo above is the other half of the room, which is occupied by a huge, wooden designer picnic table easily accommodating eight or more people. Even the wood floors are painted white throughout this unit. You kind of have to see this room in person.
Entering the market within two weeks of each other earlier this year, 1 Baker #3A and #4A continue to look for Haight buyers. These 2BR/2BA, 1337-square foot condos are neck-and-neck as far as price goes, with both experiencing price reductions in March.
In one corner is #3B, which first came on the market at $749,000, and is now down to $699,000. Its master suite overlooks Buena Vista Park. The unit was last sold in March 2005 for $701,000.
And in the other corner is #4A. Also originally listed at $749,000, its new price is $679,000. It’s a little slicker than #3B, with hardwood floors. Last purchased for $665,000 in December 2004, this unit will not break even for its current owner, either.
Will someone please step into the ring and buy one of these units? Sure, the 1982-era design isn’t as alluring as the other architecture in the Haight, but the square footage is generous, and parking is included for both units. The location is convenient for buses downtown, and you’re a short walk from the Castro and Hayes Valley.
With volumes and prices down, the first quarter of the year opened with a whimper. Buyers were reluctant to make purchase decisions, and sellers held back from putting their homes on the market.
Most neighborhood averages were below $1M. That just supports my theory that the most popular price range continues to be $400,000-$900,000. Here’s a look at how single-family homes fared in a variety of neighborhoods:
Inner Richmond
# Sold: 2
Avge Price: $860,000
Inner Sunset
# Sold: 4
Avge Price: $793,200
Parkside
# Sold: 11
Avge Price: $719,000
Ingleside/I. Heights
# Sold: 14
Avge Price: $445,279
Miraloma Park
# Sold: 8
Avge Price: $831,375
Sunnyside
# Sold: 9
Avge Price: $684,333
Noe Valley
# Sold: 19
Avge Price: $1,291,605
Glen Park
# Sold: 8
Avge Price: $941,625
Corona Heights
# Sold: 2
Avge Price: $1,145,000
Pacific Heights
# Sold: 3
Avge Price: $3,524,500
The Mission
# Sold: 2
Avge Price: $592,625
Bernal Heights
# Sold: 11
Avge Price: $710,455
Potrero Hill
# Sold: 6
Avge Price: $952,333
The Excelsior
# Sold: 18
Avge Price: $529,411
Stop in tomorrow for a look at condo averages!
Got a three-unit building you want to sell, but don’t want to tread the choppy waters of the multi-unit TIC ocean? Take a tip from the sellers over at 215-217 Cole in the North Panhandle: Create an “airspace” subdivision of a three-unit building. Turn the top unit into Parcel A, and designate it a planned unit development, or PUD. Turn the middle and lower flats into Parcel B, and market them as two TIC interests. Then you can end up selling a two-unit building—much more marketable than three units due to the condo conversion requirements—and a PUD, which can be sold in a very similar manner to that of a condo.
Both parcels can, according to the disclosure documentation, “share the use and enjoyment of the land and certain elements of the building.” There’s one association that is then subject to a declaration which governs the building. Everybody pays monthly association dues as specified in the disclosures.
In the case of 215-217 Cole, the top unit was sold as a PUD in December for $775,000 after being on the market for 208 days. What remain are the two units, priced at $809,000 and $805,000 and first listed in November 2008. The units were in contract recently, but the deal fell through.
A word out there to prospective buyers: Consult with an attorney before you consider an ownership arrangement such as this one. It’s worth paying for a consultation so you know what you’re getting into.
I stopped at 908 Steiner in Alamo Square on my broker tour today. The property was built for a family in 1888 and ultimately became a halfway house in the postwar years—giving way to a hippie enclave in the ’60s and ’70s. The current owners have preserved murals and original artwork from the hippie years, visible in some of the three-story Victorian’s many rooms.
But alas, here we are heading into 2009, and times have changed. Buyers aren’t necessarily looking for a preserved hippie house featuring wall-to-wall ornate carpet and wallpaper on every surface. They also don’t really like small bathrooms with multiple shelves showcasing various Barbie dolls. At the right price, well, maybe. But at the current $1,950,000 list price, these trappings begin to feel like a liability for the seller. Paired with no garage, this hippie Victorian may be on the market for a while.
Update: 908 Steiner sold for $1,275,000 in Sept 2009 (!)
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