September 2007 RETURN TO HOME PAGE FEEDBACK

The real estate market in Noe Valley simmered right along during June and July--just before the nationwide mortgage crisis hit in August.

"We had a pretty darn good summer," said Randall Kostick, general sales manager for Zephyr Real Estate, whose firm provides monthly sales data to the Voice.

Sales activity traditionally slows during the summer vacation period, and "it's not till Labor Day that we pick up again," he said. Homebuyers were still shopping last month, though fallout from the subprime credit crunch made getting even luxury home loans more difficult and more expensive.

"I have seen delays and I have seen buyers scrambling to get alternative financing" that for many purchasers carried mortgage interest rates that were 1 to 1.5 percent higher, said Kostick. But "I've not seen a single property fall out of escrow because of this."

As the summer began, a total of 23 single-family homes were sold during June and July, according to Zephyr's data. That number was fewer than the 29 sold during the first two summer months last year, and considerably lower than the 35 in the same two-month period of 2005, when the housing market was red hot.

Kostick attributed this summer's diminished sales to the scarcity of homes on the market, as many owners had opted to stay put to avoid higher prices and higher property taxes.

Evidence for the neighborhood's housing strength could be found in the willingness of buyers to pay extra for a single-family detached house.

July buyers on average paid 19 percent more than the asking price. Three of the homes sold for a premium of 25 percent or more, including a 27th Street property listed at $1.8 million that sold at $2.3 million.

"So that's a very strong single-family home market in Noe Valley," said Kostick. "And we had a strong average sales price approaching $1.5 million in both months."

The most expensive house that was sold in July was a three-bedroom, two-bath property, located in the 700 block of 27th between Diamond and Douglass streets. It had the $2.3 million sales price.

A four-bedroom, 31/2-bath home in the 600 block of 28th Street, also between Diamond and Douglass streets, was June's highest-priced sale. Buyers paid $2,725,000 for the property.

Sixteen condominiums changed hands during June and July--with price tags averaging more than $1 million. But the number of condo units sold fell below the 25 sales recorded for the period last year and the 22 posted in 2005.

The most expensive condo in July cost $1.9 million and contained three bedrooms and four half baths. The 2,500-square-foot unit is located in the 1000 block of Sanchez Street between 24th and Elizabeth streets.

The priciest condo in June was recorded in the 500 block of Elizabeth Street, between Castro and Noe streets. The $1,525,000 price included three bedrooms and two baths in 2,200 square feet of 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
July 2007	10	$1,037,000	$2,300,000	$1,497,800	13	119%
June 2007	13	$900,000	$2,725,000	$1,485,962	26	104%
May 2007	12	$925,000	$2,950,000	$1,765,000	28	105%
July 2006	16	$764,000	$2,450,000	$1,230,250	27	107%
June 2006	13	$865,000	$2,425,000	$1,496,692	26	105%
Condominiums
July 2007	10	$457,000	$1,910,000	$1,198,305	20	109%
June 2007	6	$703,000	$1,525,000	$1,000,333	22	111%
May 2007	11	$340,000	$1,410,000	$880,818	31	105%
July 2006	14	$635,000	$1,400,000	$888,206	34	103%
June 2006	11	$675,000	$1,350,000	$892,545	42	102%
2 to 4 unit buildings
July 2007	7	$1,100,000	$1,765,000	$1,389,571	76	101%
June 2007	3	$1,575,000	$1,789,000	$1,698,000	32	100%
May 2007	7	$1,296,000	$2,200,000	$1,561,571	33	103%
July 2006	6	$1,050,000	$2,450,000	$1,381,667	40	94%
June 2006	4	$1,295,000	$2,820,000	$1,847,500	46	97%
5+ unit buildings
July 2007	0	-	-	-	-	-
June 2007	0	-	-	-	-	-
May 2007	1	$3,114,000	$3,114,000	$3,114,000	154	102%
July 2006	0	-	-	-	-	-
June 2006	-	-	-	-	-	-

*Sales figures include all Noe Valley home sales completed during the month. In this survey, Noe Valley is defined as the area bordered by Grand View, 22nd, Guerrero, and 30th streets. The Voice thanks Zephyr Real Estate (www.zephyrsf.com) for supplying the data.

Noe Valley Rents**

Type of Unit	Number in Sample	Range of Rents, August 2007	Average Rent, August 2007	Average Rent, One Year Ago
Studio	4	$1200-$1450	$1338	$1300
1 bedroom	14	$1345-$3800	$2059	$1772
2 bedrooms	14	$2150-$4600	$3305	$2891
3 bedrooms	9	$3400-$5000	$4364	$3438
4+ bedrooms	1	$6500-$6500	$6500	$5300

**These rent averages are based on a sample of 42 Noe Valley rental listings appearing on www.craigslist.com August 3-22, 2007.