Noe Valley Voice June 2007
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The Cost of Living in Noe

By Corrie M. Anders

A fast-moving surge of wealthy buyers purchased 12 homes in Noe Valley in April, including one luxury property on Elizabeth Street that sold for $2,675,000.

Buyers were in such a rush that they typically paid 8 percent more than the asking price and got keys to their new addresses less than three weeks after the homes hit the market. Single-family homes generally take six to eight weeks to close escrow in a "normal" market.

The April sales pace was slightly below the 15 transactions recorded the previous month, but equal to the sales total of April a year ago.

"We still have a lot of buyers and an ongoing issue of not enough inventory [of homes]," said Randall Kostick, general sales manager for Zephyr Real Estate, which provides sales data to the Noe Valley Voice. "If we had had 20 properties to sell, we would have sold 20."

The $2,675,000 Elizabeth Street property was April's most expensive home. The home, in the 900 block between Hoffman and Grand View avenues, has four bedrooms, 31/2 baths, and 3,100 square feet of living space.

Only two condominiums sold in April, compared with six in March. The sales, however, involved buyers who paid 5 percent more than the seller's price and closed the deal in just 23 days. In the hot market of one year ago, buyers purchased 11 units and paid nearly 20 percent more than the asking price.

The most expensive condo sold for $1.4 million. The three-bedroom, 21/2-bath unit, with 1,650 square feet, is located in the 2200 block of Castro Street between 28th and 29th streets.

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
April 2007 12 $900,000 $2,675,000 $1,456,250 19 108%
March 2007 15 $910,000 $2,879,000 $1,411,800 20 109%
April 2006 12 $835,000 $2,340,000 $1,402,213 30 105%
Condominiums
April 2007 2 $1,010,000 $1,400,000 $1,205,000 23 105%
March 2007 6 $721,000 $1,025,000 $873,333 23 103%
April 2006 11 $650,000 $1,620,000 $995,318 30 119%
2 to 4 unit buildings
April 2007 4 $1,190,000 $1,750,500 $1,580,000 43 112%
March 2007 7 $1,275,000 $1,850,000 $1,544,643 38 105%
April 2006 5 $1,125,000 $1,616,500 $1,372,800 31 107%
5+ unit buildings
April 2007 0 - - - - -
March 2007 0 - - - - -
April 2006 0 - - - - -

*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, April 2007 Average Rent, April 2007 Average Rent, One Year Ago
Studio 5 $1200-$2250 $1500 $1134
1 bedroom 33 $1250-$2800 $1854 $1655
2 bedrooms 20 $1799-$3000 $2397 $2446
3 bedrooms 10 $2400-$6500 $4125 $3259
4+ bedrooms 1 $3995-$3995 $3995 $5950

**These rent averages are based on a sample of 69 Noe Valley rental listings appearing on www.craigslist.com April 24 - May 12, 2007.