Noe Valley Voice March 2010
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Noe Valley Voice

By Corrie M. Anders

Winter and a fretful real estate climate kept home buyers and sellers in hibernation during January.

Only three detached homes and three condominiums sold during the month, according to Zephyr Real Estate, which supplies monthly sales data on Noe Valley homes to the Voice. The total equaled the same number of properties that changed hands in January one year ago.

But average prices for detached homes declined--and it took far longer to get the deals done. Even the usually weaker condo market showed more resilience than house sales.

"When only three houses are sold in Noe Valley, there's not a lot going on. It was a slow period, and we encouraged our Realtors to go on vacation," said Kostick with a bit of wry humor.

Because the country's sluggish economy has tamped down both sales and prices, some homeowners may have opted not to sell their properties during the traditionally slow winter months.

Kostick said they probably reasoned, "I'm expecting the market to rebound [and] I don't want to se ll at this time and at this price."

Buyers held off too, in anticipation of even lower prices or a wider selection of homes in the future.

The three homes that did sell in January averaged out to $962,000 in price, contrasted with $1,182,000 a year earlier. The transactions took an average 126 days to complete, while last year's buyers typically closed escrow in 82 days.

One of the homes skewed the data, taking the better part of a year to sell. The two-bedroom, one-bath house--marred by a lack of parking--stayed on the market for 232 days, until the owners lopped $100,000 off the asking price.

"You don't hear of 232 days on the market unless you go to Middle America," Kostick said.

Surprisingly, the most expensive of the six homes sold in Noe Valley in January was not a detached home, but a condominium. Buyers paid $1,420,000 for the three-bedroom, 2.5-bath unit (with 2,440 square feet of space and parking for one car) located on Homestead Street between 24th and 25th streets.

The top-selling detached house went for $1.2 million. The home, located in the 300 block of Jersey Street between Noe and Sanchez streets, offered two bedrooms, two baths, and a one-car garage.

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
Jan. 2010
3
$757,000 $1,200,000 $962,333 126 98%
Dec. 2009 7
$756,217 1,710,000 $1,300,888 76 97%
Jan. 2009 4
$945,000 $1,500,000 $1,181,875 82 95%
Condominiums
Jan. 2010
3 $770,000 $1,420,000 $1,131,000 80 96%
Dec. 2009 3
$755,000 $796.,500 $770,500 147 98%
Jan. 2009 2
$950,000 $1,262,500 $1,106,250 67 92%
2 to 4 unit buildings
Jan. 2010
0
- - - - -
Dec. 2009
2
$1,375,000
$1,425,000 $1,400,000 47 98%
Jan. 2009
5
$920,000 $1,312,000
$1,108,800 85 90%
5+ unit buildings
Jan. 2010
0 - - - - -
Dec. 2009 0 - - - - -
Jan. 2009 0 - - - - -

* Sales include all Noe Valley home sales completed during the month. Noe Valley in this survey 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 sales data. NVV 3/10

A Snapshot of Noe Valley Rents**

Type of Unit Number in Sample Range of Rents,
Feb. 2010
Average Rent,
Feb. 2010
Average Rent,
Jan. 2010
Average Rent,
Feb. 2009
Studio 14 $1,025 - $1,600
$1,301/ mo. $1,278/ mo. $1,592/ mo.
1 bedroom 26
$1,280 - $2,450
$1,868/ mo. $1,810/ mo. $1,965/ mo.
2 bedrooms 39 $1,880 - $4,200
$2,663/ mo. $2,709/ mo. $3,073/ mo.
3 bedrooms 24 $2,595 - $7,000
$4,302/ mo. $4,210/ mo. $3,738/ mo.
4+ bedrooms 8 $3,495 - $7,500
$5,218/ mo. $5,805/ mo. $6,094/ mo.

** Survey based on a sample of 111 Noe Valley listings appearing on Craigslist.org from Jan. 28 to Feb. 13, 2010. NVV 3/10