Noe Valley Voice April 2003
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The Cost of Living in Noe

By Corrie M. Anders

Six single-family homes and two condominiums were sold in Noe Valley during February, including one house for just over $1 million.

The total of eight sales was a 50 percent decline from the 16 homes and condos sold during February one year ago, according to data Zephyr Real Estate prepared for the Noe Valley Voice.

Randall Kostick, Zephyr's 24th Street office manager, said that sales were constrained because fewer homes were available to buyers. In contrast, many more homes were on the market during the comparable period the previous year.

"It's not so much that there weren't buyers buying," he said. "It's that sellers were not selling."

The supply of homes during March has started to increase--as it traditionally does during the spring. "But there are still more buyers than sellers."

The average price buyers paid in February 2003 for a detached house was $843,667. And buyers on average paid 3 percent more than the seller's original asking price.

Randall noted that buyers consistently have bid up properties during the last few years--paying 6 percent above the asking price in February of 2001 and an average 5 percent premium in February of last year.

This February's most expensive detached house was a three-bedroom, three-bath jewel in the 400 block of Duncan Street. The selling price was $1,060,000.

Two properties in the two-to-four-unit category sold for more than $1 million: Buyers paid $1.4 million for a multiunit property in the 900 block of Diamond Street, and $1.1 million for another in the 200 block of Duncan Street.

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
February 2003 6 $660,000 $1,060,000 $843,667 32 103%
January 2003 10 $580,000 $1,553,500 $936,950 68 98%
February 2002 11 $525,000 $1,470,000 $881,861 42 105%
Condominiums
February 2003 2 $595,000 $780,000 $687,500 87 100%
January 2003 0
February 2002 5 $430,000 $750,000 $615,300 49 97%
2 to 4 unit buildings
February 2003 4 $781,000 $1,400,000 $1,035,875 66 98%
January 2003 4 $895,000 $1,160,000 $1,053,750 60 97%
February 2002 2 $825,000 $950,000 $887,500 28 96%
5+ unit buildings
February 2003 0
January 2003 0
February 2002 0

Noe Valley Rents**
Size of Apartment Average Rents
Oct-Dec 2002
Average Rents
one year ago
Oct-Dec 2001
% increase (+)
or decrease (-)
Studio $1126 $1137 -1.0%
1 bedroom $1570 $1657 -5.3%
2 bedrooms $2093 $2373 -11.8%
3+ bedrooms $2906 $2931 -0.9%

*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)