April 2011 RETURN TO HOME PAGE FEEDBACK

After paying nearly $3 million last year to purchase one of Noe Valley’s most expensive homes, the owners of an ultramodern house on Hoffman Avenue sold the property a mere 11 months later, at a loss.

The residence was one of only four single-family homes and five condominiums sold in Noe Valley in February, according to sales data provided to the Voice by Zephyr Real Estate.

“It was a little slow,” said Randall Kostick, Zephyr’s general sales manager. He noted, however, that sales typically stall during the winter months.

The posh house on Hoffman was first sold in March 2010 for $2,970,000. The price included four bedrooms, 4.5 baths, a gourmet kitchen, au pair quarters, and 4,400 square feet of living space. Built in 2009, the home offered panoramic views from its lofty site in the 400 block of Hoffman between 24th and 25th streets. (See “Architecture—Some Like It Modern,” September 2010 Voice.)

The new buyers bought the home for $2,850,000—4 percent less than what the previous owners paid.

Nevertheless, the sale pushed the average price of a Noe Valley house in February to $1,678,000—35 percent higher than the $1,239,000 recorded in February a year ago. (Note: Our small sample size limits the significance of these comparisons.)

The Hoffman Avenue deal was not the only oddity in the February home sale ­statistics.

Instead of paying 100 percent or above the seller’s asking price, as buyers usually have done in recent years, they gave sellers 95 percent of what they were seeking—and they finalized the transactions in a relatively quick 31 days. Normally, long transaction periods accompany such price concessions, as buyers and sellers haggle over the property’s worth.

One explanation, Kostick said, is that homeowners whose properties haven’t sold during the fall may take them off the market during the winter months and renew their efforts to sell in the new year.

“They may be slow to recognize the [true] value of their home,” he said.

When they re-list their property—especially those in job relocation or divorce situations, for example—they may be more motivated to accept a lower price.

Interestingly, condo sales in February appeared to act just the opposite. Buyers paid the full asking price, but saw the process stretch out an average of five months.

Kostick said two condos likely skewed the average length of transactions.

One—a two-bedroom, two-bath unit in the 100 block of 29th Street just east of Dolores Street—took 385 days, or about 13 months, to close escrow. It sold for $590,000, or 16 percent below the $699,000 asking price.

The second, also a two-bedroom, two-bath unit, sat on the market for 161 days before selling for $836,500, 3.5 percent below the $867,000 list price. It was located in the 700 block of Grand View Avenue, between 25th and Clipper streets.

The most lucrative condo sold in February was in a Marina-style building in the 1400 block of Sanchez Street between Duncan and 28th streets. Buyers paid $875,000 (3 percent more than the asking price) for the 1,500-square-foot, two-bedroom, one-bath unit. The condo sold in 34 days.

Noe Valley Homes Sales*

	Total Sales	Low Price ($)	High Price ($)	Average Price ($)	Average Days on Market	Sale Price as % of List Price
Single-family homes
Feb. 2011	4	$851,000	$2,850,000	$1,678,250	31	95%
Jan. 2011	3	$700,000	$1,085,000	$922,595	51	100%
Feb. 2010	5	$875,000	$1,500,000	$1,238,900	44	103%
Condominiums
Feb. 2011	5	$590,000	$875,000	$738,900	143	100%
Jan. 2011	2	$680,000	$1,200,000	$940,000	141	95%
Feb. 2010	7	$580,000	$848,000	$716,000	64	100%
2- to 4-unit buildings
Feb. 2011	1	$1,186,500	$1,186,500	$1,186,500	50	108%
Jan. 2011	0	—	—	—	—	—
Feb. 2010	0	—	—	—	—	—
5+-unit buildings
Jan.  2011	0	—	—	—	—	—
Dec.  2010	0	—	—	—	—	—
Jan.  2010	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 providing the sales data. NVV 4/11

Noe Valley Rents**

Unit	No. in Sample	Range March 2011	Average March 2011	Average Feb. 2011	Average March 2010
Studio	4	$1,150 – $1,500	$1,286 / mo.	$1,558 / mo.	$1,376 / mo.
1-bdrm	14	$1,375 – $2,900	$1,954 / mo.	$2,140 / mo.	$1,898 / mo.
2-bdrm	25	$1,850 – $5,500	$2,883 / mo.	$2,661 / mo.	$2,698 / mo.
3-bdrm	2	$3,150 – $5,300	$4,225 / mo.	$3,908 / mo.	$3,712 / mo.
4+-bdrm	2	$3,295 – $3,599	$3,447 / mo.	$6,100 / mo.	$5,660 / mo.

** ­‑This survey is based on a sample of 47 Noe Valley listings appearing on Craigslist.org from March 7 to 18, 2011. NVV 4/11