I’ve been making the case recently that SF’s enormous run-up in prices has caused formerly overlooked or “B” neighborhoods to suddenly become the latest battlegrounds in the bidding wars. The reasons’s simple: with more and more people priced out of their first choice neighborhoods, they are increasingly moving on to their second and even third or fourth choices.
Bernal Heights has always had its charms — fine weather, great views, and pretty good freeway access, depending on where you are. But, with its wicked-narrow streets and generally modest housing stock, it’s often been seen as the poor cousin to Noe Valley or even Potrero Hill.
Not any more, apparently. According to this recent article at SFGATE, Bernal Heights was just picked as THE hottest neighborhood in THE COUNTRY, according to Redfin, the national real estate brokerage company. They based their findings on such metrics as how often their users saved Bernal Heights homes to their “favorites” list, how often the area was searched, etc. That sort of attention has resulted in a median sales price increase of 38.2%, according to Redfin. Our own numbers come in at a more believable 20.3% change for the average home price.
Still, there’s no doubt that Bernal Heights has finally “arrived” as a neighborhood.
So from now on, spell Bernal with an “A.”