July-August 2001 RETURN TO HOME PAGE FEEDBACK

Have $2 million to plunk down on a house? That's how much well-heeled buyers paid in May for a four-bedroom, 31/2-bath home on Castro Street, according to data compiled by Zephyr Real Estate. Single-family homes have broken the $2 million barrier in Noe Valley several times during the super-hot real estate market of the past three years. But this was the first $2 million sale in 2001.

"Things perked up in May" following a brief lull a month earlier, and homes were snapped up quicker, said Zephyr manager Randall Kostick. Buyers paid on average just over the asking price for the 14 single-family detached homes sold in May, while condominiums commanded an average of 4 percent more than the original price. A condo on 27th Street was the most expensive at $925,000.

Meanwhile, the big story in Noe Valley's apartment market is that rents for one- and three-bedroom units continue to decline dramatically. Landlords in recent months have knocked an average $300 off their asking prices for one-bedroom apartments, and about $100 for three-bedroom rentals, according to Rent Tech, Inc. (This decline will be reflected in the April­June figures, not available to the Voice until after July 1.) Prices for studios and two-bedroom units remain pretty much the same as they've been all year.

Rent Tech President and CEO Grey Todd said one-bedroom apartments have returned to "more acceptable levels" following last year's rapid escalation of prices. "They were overpriced before." Three-bedroom prices were driven up by dot-com workers who frequently used the extra bedroom as an office, said Todd. "Those are the ones who don't have jobs now, and that's leaving a glut of apartments."

Noe Valley House Sales: May 2001*

	Total Sales (Closings During Month)	Low Price ($)	High Price ($)	Average Price ($)	Average Days on Market	Sale Price as % of List Price
Single-family homes	14	$540,000	$2,050,000	$939,750	29	101%
Condominiums	8	$339,000	$925,000	$552,375	22	104%
2 to 4 unit buildings	4	$730,000	$1,100,000	$900,625	39	100%
5+ unit buildings	1	$940,000	$940,000	$940,000	27	95%

Noe Valley House Sales: April 2001*

	Total Sales (Closings During Month)	Low Price ($)	High Price ($)	Average Price ($)	Average Days on Market	Sale Price as % of List Price
Single-family homes	15	$561,000	$1,700,000	$894,533	20	102%
Condominiums	7	$300,000	$699,000	$440,000	74	98%
2 to 4 unit buildings	4	$585,000	$1,450,000	$1,116,250	57	98%
5+ unit buildings	0	-	-	-	-	-

Noe Valley Rents**

Size of Apartment	Average Rent, October-December 2000	Average Rent, January-March 2001	% increase or decrease
Studio	$1273	$1313	+3.1%
1 bedroom	$1913	$2088	+9.1%
2 bedrooms	$2790	$2604	-6.7%
3+ bedrooms	$4085	$3536	-13.4%

*Information provided to the Noe Valley Voice courtesy of Zephyr Real Estate (www.zephyr-re.com) and based on all Noe Valley home sales (closings) recorded during the month. "Noe Valley" in this survey is defined loosely as the area bordered by Grand View, 22nd, Guerrero, and 30th streets.

**Data based on rentals listed by Rent Tech Inc. (www.renttech.com) as of March 31, 2001.