Noe Valley Voice July-August 2012
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The Cost of Living in Noe

Bids Over the Top in May

By Corrie M. Anders


Buyers vied to purchase 13 single-family homes in Noe Valley in May, some amid such fierce competition that they had to sweeten the deal with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The May sales didn’t match the 17 recorded in April (nor the 17 in May a year ago), according to monthly data provided to the Voice by Zephyr Real Estate. However, buyers paid dramatically more than the asking price for their preferred home.

“It was kind of scary,” said Randall ­Kostick, general sales manager for Zephyr Real Estate. He noted that buyers on average paid 5 percent above the seller’s asking price, which translates to an average $70,000 more.

Condominium shoppers were even more enthusiastic, paying an average 10 percent above asking, as they gobbled up 10 homes in May. That sales number was two more than in April and four more than in May of last year.

Kostick said part of the overbidding could be traced to buyers who were frustrated at losing previous battles in a marketplace with strong demand but a low inventory of homes for sale.

“The next time, they push a little bit further,” he said. “They’re so tired of being beaten out they go significantly over the asking price—and they get the property.”

Kostick pointed to a single-family home that sold for 41 percent over asking. Sellers wanted $849,000 for the two-bedroom, two-bath fixer-upper in the 1100 block of Church Street, but the 1,720-square-foot property sold for $1.2 million. Buyers paid $1,250,000 for a two-bedroom, 1.5-bath home in the 200 block of Jersey Street—a 1,290-square-foot Victorian that sold for 25 percent more the $998,000 list price.

In the condominium category, a unit in the 1000 block of Dolores Street, between 23rd and 24th streets, was priced at $1.1 million and sold for $1,505,000—nearly 37 percent more. The three-bedroom, 3.5-bath condo—the most expensive condo sold during May—attracted 12 offers, according to Lee Bender, a real estate agent at Hill & Co., who sold the home along with Steve Dells of Zephyr Real Estate.

“It’s definitely a hot market again,” Dells said.

But of course, there are limits. Consider the most expensive property that sold in May, a 1912 remodeled home in the 4100 block of 23rd Street between Castro and Diamond streets.

The five-bedroom, 3.5-bath house had an original price tag of $2,740,000. It sold for $2.6 million—a drop of 5 percent, or $140,000.

 

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

May 2012

13

$902,000

$2,600,000

$1,427,538

33

105%

April 2012

17

$880,000

$3,400,000

$1,540,177

46

103%

May 2011

17

$752,000

$2,300,000

$1,476,950

53

99%

Condominiums

May 2012

10

$540,000

$1,505,000

$1,043,850

36

110%

April 2012

8

$710,000

$1,584,000

$962,875

61

102%

May 2011

6

$759,000

$1,315,000

$931,083

36

101%

2- to 4-unit buildings

May 2012

4

$1,049,000

$1,660,000

$1,249,750

68

97%

April 2012

3

$928,000

$1,300,000

$1,159,333

50

116%

May 2011

3

$815,500

$1,325,000

$1,073,500

57

99%

5+-unit buildings

May 2012

0

April 2012

0

May 2011

1

$1,350,000

$1,350,000

$1,350,000

89

90%

 

*‑ ‑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.comfor providing sales data.   NVV 7/2012

 

Noe Valley Rents**

Unit

No. in Sample

Range

June 2012

Average

June 2012

Average

May 2012

Average

June 2011

Studio

8

$1,450 – $2,200

$1,695 / mo.

$1,433 / mo.

$1,919 / mo.

1-bdrm

25

$1,800 – $3,450

$2,530 / mo.

$2,612 / mo.

$2,164 / mo.

2-bdrm

31

$2,495 – $5,800

$3,527 / mo.

$3,977 / mo.

$2,851 / mo.

3-bdrm

21

 $3,600 – $15,000

$5,485 / mo.

$5,249 / mo.

$4,076 / mo.

4+-bdrm

5

$4,000 – $7,850

$6,010 / mo.

$7,332 / mo.

$5,020 / mo.


** ­‑This survey is based on a sample of 90 Noe Valley apartment listings appearing on Craigslist.org from May 28  to June 16, 2012.  NVV 7/2012