In my opinion, most real estate brokerage companies’ and their agents’ websites/blogs don’t provide a lot of useful market information. And that’s being polite. There are some exceptions, however, and one is Paragon Real Estate Group.
The 2011 San Francisco Residential Wrap-Up: Things Are (Are Not) Looking Up
Where do you think the market went in 2011? Come on. Take a guess. If you believe my own SF Association of Realtors “stronger affordability conditions, a lower cost of owning versus renting, and declining foreclosures, continue to steer the San Francisco housing market in a positive direction.” [January 2012 Market Focus Report].
“Continue.” Now that’s reassuring.
Noe Valley Comes Roaring Back
While single family home prices for San Francisco as a whole can’t seem to recover beyond being around 18% down from their all-time highs, Noe Valley home prices have come roaring back since the start of the year. The three month moving average for April was down just 1% from its all-time high of March 2008. In May, the moving average slipped back to 6.5% off the all-time high. Take a look (click to enlarge):
Commonwealth: Anything But Common
In Ratatouille,Anton Ego, the long-nosed and terminally jaded restaurant critic, sits down to his meal at Gusteau’s and, rather than ordering anything off the menu, says to his waiter: “Surprise me.” When Ego takes his first bite of the film’s title dish, he’s instantly transported back to boyhood and his mother’s kitchen, all his cynicism upended by Remy’s fresh take on a Provencale classic.
That Rare Thing: A San Francisco Demolition
Listed at $885,000 in November 2008, this little Noe Valley fixer at 4209 24th Street sold for $896,000 in 31 days.
Two and half years later, the owners finally got their demolition permit. It only took a few hours for the little box of ticky-tacky to come a-tumblin’ down. Here’s what it looked like.
San Francisco’s Best Schools
Before curb appeal; before “walk-score” and commute; and way before closet space and water pressure, there’s the school. For people with kids in tow or on the way, the primary determinant of where they want to live, right after what they can afford, is the quality of the schools in the neighborhood.
Where to turn for information?
Spring Arrives in Noe Valley and Home Sales Warm Up
January is the cruelest month for the housing market. Every winter, sales flatline for a month or two, before reviving with the spring.
This year, there were just seven sales in Noe Valley (Subdistrict 5.C) in January and February. That’s the worst showing in my data set, which goes back to 2003. Things picked up smartly, however, in March. Take a look (double click the chart).
Home-Spotting: Second Time Around, 285 Douglass sells for $250,000 over asking
Explain this one to me please. Elegant if dowdy Victorian lists for $2.349 million in September 2010 and sits there for three months with no takers. Relists in April at $2.3 million and in contract seven days later at $250,000 over asking price. Calls to the no-doubt-jubilant listing agent for some clarification were not returned, but the only thing I can think of to explain it is a brief and bloody bidding war.
[Ed. Update: 4/14/11: Thanks to John Farnham, the listing agent, for getting back to me. There was indeed a bidding war. Won by the guy with the all-cash offer and a promise to close in 7 days. And the extra $250,000 in cash.] ...