July-August 2003 RETURN TO HOME PAGE FEEDBACK

We're now entering the summer doldrums for real estate--when parents and kids focus on trips to Camp Mather or the Grand Canyon, and real estate agents jet off to London or Florence.

But this spring, before the vacation break got under way, the home-buying frenzy was particularly strong in Noe Valley.

In May, residential shoppers purchased 14 single-family homes, five of them for more than $1 million each, according to sales data provided by Zephyr Real Estate.

"We're still seeing [sales with] over asking prices," says Randall Kostick, Zephyr's 24th Street office manager. Buyers on average paid 3 percent more than the seller's asking price.

The average sales price for a single-family home in Noe Valley during May was $986,464. The most expensive home, a four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath in the 1100 block of Noe Street, cost just over $1.7 million.

In addition to the five single-family homes selling for over a million, there were three $1-million-plus sales among buyers of two- to four-unit buildings.

Noe Valley's real estate market remains buoyant, says Kostick, because of the lowest mortgage rates in 40 years and "a shortage of good properties on the market."

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
May 2003	14	$615,000	$1,720,000	$986,464	33	103%
April 2003	14	$675,000	$1,530,000	$893,071	26	101%
May 2002	13	$635,000	$1,520,000	$1,022,153	35	109%
Condominiums
May 2003	3	$645,000	$900,000	$793,333	47	102%
April 2003	7	$645,000	$1,100,000	$855,571	45	98%
May 2002	14	$375,000	$1,575,000	$722,714	42	103%
2 to 4 unit buildings
May 2003	6	$549,000	$1,720,000	$1,060,333	48	99%
April 2003	5	$875,000	$1,315,000	$1,112,000	40	102%
May 2002	4	$750,000	$900,000	$826,500	24	113%
5+ unit buildings
May 2003	0
April 2003	0
May 2002	1	$1,425,000	$1,425,000	$1,425,000	139	97%

Noe Valley Rents**

Size of Apartment	Average Rents Jan-Mar 2003	Average Rents one year ago Jan-Mar 2002	% increase (+) or decrease (-)
Studio	$1058	$1133	-6.6%
1 bedroom	$1497	$1649	-9.2%
2 bedrooms	$2145	$2303	-6.9%
3+ bedrooms	$2728	$2997	-9.0%

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

**Data courtesy of Rent Tech, Inc (www.renttech.com)