Category Archives: Richmond/Lake

Preview: SF Homes Coming Soon

Inventory is slimmer this Spring, but there are plenty of homes coming soon with owners who may be open to selling before officially going on the market.

I’ve rounded up a few of my picks below. Give me a shout at eileen@insidesfre.com | 415.823.4656 if you’d like more details or would be interested in seeing any of these homes in person:

439 16th Avenue
Central Richmond
3BR/3BA, 1 pkg
$1,900,000

439 16th Avenue is a gracious home with lovely period detailing like box beam ceilings. The upper level has three bedrooms and full bath, and the spacious master has two large closets. There’s a one-car garage, storage, and unwarranted one-bedroom inlaw. Large, flat, fenced yard. (Listing courtesy of Compass) Continue Reading

Cash Sales in San Francisco Drop in 2019

San Francisco real estate sees its share of cash buyers, but they’re not popping up as frequently as they used to. For the past several years, cash buyers have represented a quarter of all single-family and condo sales.

However, the percentage has dropped to 16.5% for houses and 14.6% for condos in 2019.

Having the ability to pay all cash certainly gives you an advantage as a buyer. You’ll likely get a call back in a multiple-offer situation if your offer isn’t the highest. But being able to pay in all cash typically doesn’t exempt you from having to overbid like everyone else.

Here’s how things have shaken out in 2019: Continue Reading

What You Could’ve Bought: For Under List Price

Properties in San Francisco generally sell for more than their asking prices. But there were some recent sales that bucked this trend—particularly ones involving homes in the $2M+ range.

Keep your eye on the market as we move toward the Fall. We’ll be getting an inventory boost right after Labor Day, and those “leftover” summer homes may turn out to be great buys.

In the meantime, here are a few homes that recently sold for under their list price:

1325 Lake Street
Lake Street
List Price: $3,000,000
Sale Price: $2,275,000
First Listed: Sept 2017

A large, traditional home in need of a facelift, 1325 Lake was first listed last Fall for $3M, and the price gradually went down from there. The house has a great location near Mountain Lake Park and Laurel Village. This is a good example of a property with good bones that current or future owners can take to the next level, it just took a bit of time to find the right buyer—at a price that will allow for solid renovations. [Listing courtesy of Compass] Continue Reading

Central Richmond’s Alexandria Condos Selling at Brisk Pace

Central Richmond’s Alexandria Condos Selling at Brisk Pace

Buyers are quickly snapping up condos at new development The Alexandria in the Central Richmond. With half of the 43 units already in contract based on hard hat tours of the still under-construction building, The Alexandria will likely be sold out within the next few weeks.

I took a tour of the project this week, and was quite impressed with the building. The old Alexandra theatre sits on the corner of Geary and 18th Avenue, but the actual condo building occupies the lot behind the theatre on 18th Avenue. So it’s surprisingly quiet with respect to Geary traffic.

The four-story building has one- and one plus den bedrooms, along with two- and three bedroom units (some with dens and balconies). Air conditioning is a standard feature here, as is one parking space per unit. Continue Reading

SF Condo Prices Up, Noe Leads the Overbids in Q1 2018

San Francisco condo prices were up three percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2018, with an average citywide condo price of $1.3M and price-per-square foot of $1,100.

The usual array of well-established, popular neighborhoods like Hayes Valley, Eureka Valley, Mission Dolores, NoPa and Russian Hill commanded the largest overbids. But it was Noe Valley that attracted the steepest and most frequent overbidding. Continue Reading

What You Can Buy: Condos with Deeded Gardens

Finding a condo in San Francisco with a private, exclusive-use garden is not all that common. After all, who wouldn’t want a yard of their own for grilling, dining, kids and dogs?

Four terrific condos with deeded gardens just hit the market, and I’m anticipating they’ll sell quickly. Check them out on the open house circuit this weekend, and start thinking about where you’ll be planting the raised vegetable beds:

2447 Vallejo
Pacific Heights
2BR/1BA, 1314 sq ft. 1 pkg
HOA dues: $475/month
List price: $1,649,000

2447 Vallejo is located on a flat, tree-lined street in a six-unit building. The living room has French doors that open on to the stairs that lead to the large, south-facing garden and patio. The unit itself has an open floor plan, in-unit laundry, deeded storage and garage parking. (Listing courtesy of Sotheby’s International Realty) Continue Reading

What You Could’ve Bought for Below The List Price

Yes, most San Francisco homes sell for more than their list price. But not always, especially when there are some challenges involved. Busy locations? Poor overall presentation? Those factors end up thwarting sellers every time. Here are three properties that didn’t slam into contract for way over the list price:

688 Clipper
Noe Valley
List Price: $2,250,000
Sale Price: $2,150,000
Days on Market (DOM): 128

688 Clipper technically shouldn’t be here, as it was originally listed for below $2M. The story is that the property came on the market in August 2017 for $1,999,999, and the sellers raised the price to $2.3M twenty days later. No buyers came along, so they reduced the price to $2,275,000 and received an offer shortly thereafter. That fell out of contract, and the price then slid further to $2,250,000. Challenges here were a very vertical floor plan, a location on a trafficked street that’s more Diamond Heights than Noe Valley, and a lack of staging that other properties at this price point often have. Continue Reading

SF Condo Market Mixed in 2017

The San Francisco condo market was not quite as jubilant as its single-family home counterpart in 2017. Yes, there were the random instances of 25%+ overbids, and an eight percent, year-over-year increase in the average condo price. But we basically saw a repeat of 2016, with prices flatlining.

The average citywide price of a condo in the fourth quarter of 2017 was approximately $1.3M—up from $1,210,000 in Q4 2016. We also saw the average price-per-square foot end up at $1,052, which was a four percent increase year over year. Continue Reading

Massive Overbids from Luxury Buyers Continue

Massive Overbids from Luxury Buyers Continue

I first blogged about the huge overbids I was seeing in the luxury market back in May.

Well, that trend continued throughout the second quarter, with multiple high-end buyers throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars over the list price at happy sellers.

One of my favorites was that small house (photo, left) at 1238 Stanyan in Cole Valley. Renovated in 1969, the modest four-bedroom home had views and was on a deep lot—code for development potential. Stanyan was listed for $2,750,000. But the buyers were feeling extra generous and the sale closed for $4,000,000 in May. Continue Reading

Just Sold: 3BR/2BA Lake District Condo

Just Sold: 3BR/2BA Lake District Condo

My clients just closed on their purchase of a beautiful top-floor, three-bedroom condo at 175 17th Avenue in the desirable Lake Street area. The home features two full baths, an open living/dining area and large master suite. And let’s not forget the chef’s kitchen with six-burner Viking range, one-car independent parking and a large, shared yard.

A huge plus for 17th Avenue is its prime location between California and Lake, which is in easy walking distance to Clement Street shops and restaurants, Mountain Lake Park, and Laurel Village.

Sale price was $1,625,000.

Special thanks to Karen McDowell at Bank of the West for her loan assistance, as well as Bridget Cannata-Deming at Pacific Union International for a great job on the seller side. And Maggie Wong at Old Republic Title was an excellent escrow officer. Congratulations to everyone!

The Most Overbid House ‘Hoods in San Francisco Right Now

Buyers have had no qualms about dramatically overbidding for single-family homes in West Portal, Westwood Park/Highlands, the Central Sunset, Ingleside Heights and Miraloma Park this year.

Those neighborhoods are seeing an average overbid of 20 percent. West Portal actually had five homes sell for between 30 and 50 percent over list price this year.

The selling pattern within individual neighborhoods is a useful data point for sellers when it comes to setting a list price—and for buyers as they decide how much to offer for a property. The traditional pattern in San Francisco has been to list low and sell for more. In general, single-family homes in popular neighborhoods and at price points under $2M tend to get the highest overbids.

I did a quick analysis on the single-family home market and flagged the neighborhoods that are experiencing the highest levels of overbidding. Here are the hot spots now, according to the average overbid percentage year to date:

West Portal 22%
Westwood Park/Highlands 21% Continue Reading

What You Can Buy: Condos That Live Like Houses

The single-family home market is currently crawling with buyers, and inventory is at a low level for the number of prospective purchasers. Single-family home buyers need to be creative and flexible when it comes to landing the right dwelling, which sometimes translates into considering other types of properties.

Condos with unique, house-like features are out there—from detached Victorian cottages to two-level units. Here are a few homes that are technically condos, but that live like houses and are located in popular, walkable neighborhoods. Here are just a few I’ve seen recently:

75 Wood
Jordan Park/Laurel Heights
4BR/2BA, 1500 sq ft
Leased parking @$300/month available
$1,295,000

The Deets: 75 Wood is one of two cottages, and sits on the rear of the lot. You enter through the breezeway from the street, and there’s a nice courtyard between both cottages. The main level has two bedrooms and the living spaces, and the lower level is connected via spiral staircase and includes another two bedrooms and bath, as well as an office area. Improvements include new foundation, electrical, plumbing and roof. There is also a huge, undeveloped attic, which definitely has possibilities given that this is a standalone building and wouldn’t require messing with a unit below you when it comes to structural work. Though there’s no garage, street parking is not bad and there is also leased parking available nearby.
The Location: Commanding a 96 Walk Score, 75 Wood is an easy hop to the restaurants and shops along Clement and Sacramento Streets, the heart of the Laurel Village retail area, and is more or less situated between the Presidio and Golden Gate Park. Continue Reading

Spring’s Overbidding Trend: Pay $500,000+ To Get That House

Spring’s Overbidding Trend: Pay $500,000+ To Get That House

The list low, sell high pattern in San Francisco real estate has been going on for years. But a trend surfacing in April points to the willingness of some buyers in the $2,000,000-$3,000,000 range to pay anywhere from $500,000-$800,000 over asking for a single-family house to “win” their personal bidding wars.

That’s what five sets of buyers did last month, in neighborhoods as varied as the Central Richmond, Forest Hill, Forest Hill Extension, Ingleside Terrace, Eureka Valley/Mission and Bernal Heights. Let’s take a look: Continue Reading

Condo Market Healthy But Flat in Q1 2017

Fewer buyers cared to overbid dramatically for condos in the first quarter of 2017—with a few exceptions when it came to two-level units, or nicely renovated ones in prime locations.

The average condo price for the 524 units reported sold in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) was $1,270,736, up slightly from the $1,218,956 average in the first quarter of 2016.

Buyers paid a citywide average of $1,027 per square foot, with 24% of all sales changing hands for all cash. Continue Reading

What’s On The Condo Market: February 2016

What’s On The Condo Market: February 2016

There are more than 300 condos on the market right now in San Francisco, so there’s a good chance one will be a fit for you if you’re looking to buy one. Here’s a look at what’s out there in the one-, two- and three-bedroom market segments:

One-Bedroom Condos
Number Available: 85
Median List Price: $849,000
Neighborhoods With the Most 1BRs: South Beach; Lower Pacific Heights; SoMa/Yerba Buena; South Beach; Van Ness/Civic Center
Least Expensive 1BR: 750 Great Highway #2 ($489,000) in the Outer Richmond. Reasonable floor plan, in-unit laundry & dishwasher, and located right across the street from the beach.
Most Expensive 1BR: It’s a tie! 650 Delancey (Oriental Warehouse) #416 and #304 in South Beach, both listed for $1,695,000. #416 is a top floor 1BR that could be used as two bedrooms, shiny red kitchen and parking. #304 has a master bedroom plus office, neutral color scheme, and parking. Both are clocking in at $1,157-$1,213/square foot, which is right in line with market prices.
My Value Pick: 246 2nd Street #905 ($775,000), in Yerba Buena. This unit has a walk-out terrace with city views, in-unit laundry, storage and parking. Continue Reading

Get in touch:

Eileen Bermingham

Corcoran Global Living

415.823.4656

eileen@insidesfre.com

DRE# 01352627

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