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Noe Valley homebuyers paid an average of $1.5 million for a detached house in February, slightly less than the typical cost for a neighborhood property one year ago.

Six homes closed escrow in February, compared with four in January and eight sales a year earlier, according to monthly data supplied to the Voice by Zephyr Real Estate.

The single-digit sales reflected the weak pulse of the San Francisco housing market, which has been virtually holding its breath since September.

Still, February was "a bit of an improvement" over January, and "we're getting the feeling that spring will certainly be better than our winter was," said Randall Kostick, Zephyr's general sales manager.

On average, sellers of single-family homes in February received 99 percent of their asking price, and transactions closed escrow in 50 days--a month faster than the 83 days the deals took in December.

For the first time since October, a Noe Valley home sold for more than $2 million--and there were two such sales.

Buyers paid $2,579,000 for a three-bedroom, three-bath house in the 4300 block of 25th Street, between Diamond and Douglass streets. The home, which has two-car parking, sold at its asking price in 15 days.

The second most expensive dwelling, a four-bedroom, 31/2-bath manor, sold for $2.1 million. The 3,400-square-foot property, which closed escrow in 47 days, is located in the 500 block of Clipper Street, between Diamond and Douglass streets.

Condominium sales also were up in February. Six units changed hands, compared with two sales in January and four one year earlier. Condo buyers paid an average $835,000 in February, down from about $883,000 a year ago.

The most expensive condo sold during the month was a three-bedroom, 31/2-bath unit in the 4200 block of 25th Street, between Castro and Diamond streets. The 2,600-square-foot home sold for $1,575,000.

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 2009	6	$770,000	$2,579,000	$1,494,833	50	99%
January 2009	4	$945,000	$1,500,000	$1,181,875	82	95%
February 2008	8	$850,000	$2,450,000	$1,530,063	38	107%
Condominiums
February 2009	6	$599,000	$1,575,000	$835,250	104	95%
January 2009	2	$950,000	$1,262,500	$1,106,250	67	92%
February 2008	4	$609,000	$1,200,000	$882,750	41	100%
2 to 4 unit buildings
February 2009	1	$1,500,000	$1,500,000	$1,500,000	1	100%
January 2009	5	$920,000	$1,312,000	$1,108,800	85	90%
February 2008	1	$1,859,000	$1,859,000	$1,859,000	34	101%
5+ unit buildings
February 2009	0	-	-	-	-	-
January 2009	0	-	-	-	-	-
February 2008	1	$1,825,000	$1,825,000	$1,825,000	95	94%

*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, March 2009	Average Rent, March 2009	Average Rent, February 2009	Average Rent, March 2008
Studio	14	$1000-$1800	$1347	$1592	$1555
1 bedroom	36	$1425-$3200	$1895	$1965	$1867
2 bedrooms	43	$1899-$4450	$2789	$3073	$3103
3 bedrooms	19	$2700-$7800	$3917	$3738	$4325
4+ bedrooms	7	$3500-$8700	$5628	$6094	$5537

**These rent averages are based on a sample of 119 Noe Valley rental listings appearing on www.craigslist.com from February 27 to March 12, 2009.