One of the oldest tricks in the book for turning heads is to market a property as one that’s been off the market for decades, as in the case of this week’s top overbid, a three bed, two bath house on the north slope of Bernal Heights at 238 Rutledge.
This place listed for just under $1.1 million less than two weeks ago–this is another price it’s hard to imagine anyone really thought was viable at the time, but we’ll let that slide for now–and closed his week for just under $1.8 million.
The pitch here was that the home had been off the market since the ’70s. Is that true?
Well, the city indeed has no record of a sale here in that time, and while those public records can be a little spotty, the big one to look for is always the property values: In California, homes only get reappraised for tax purposes after they change owners or after major construction.
And the last time 238 Rutledge went before the assessor’s scrutinizing eye, it came out to…$45,000.
Not $450,000–just $45,000.
For reference, in 1973, the median price of a California home was less than $32,000, or about $202,000 after inflation. A $45,000 sale price is about $285,000 now.
As we often say in this space, those were the days.
| Address | BR/BA/Units | DOM | List Price | Sold Price | Overbid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 238 Rutledge Street | 3/2/N/A | 11 | $1,095,000 | $1,795,000 | 63.93% |
| 1128 Chestnut Street | 1/1/ | 6 | $895,000 | $1,375,000 | 53.63% |
| 3 Burnett Avenue | 2/2/5 | 15 | $995,000 | $1,510,000 | 51.76% |
| 555 Darien Way | 3/2/N/A | 14 | $1,899,000 | $2,850,000 | 50.08% |
| 77 Carmelita Street | 2/2/A | 15 | $1,895,000 | $2,725,000 | 43.80% |
| 2426 17th Avenue | 3/1/N/A | 11 | $1,295,000 | $1,850,000 | 42.86% |
| 727 Lakeview Avenue | 2/1/N/A | 14 | $849,000 | $1,210,000 | 42.52% |
| 153 Clifford Terrace | 2/2/ | 16 | $1,595,000 | $2,270,000 | 42.32% |
| 818 Church Street | 2/2/ | 5 | $1,395,000 | $1,981,800 | 42.06% |
| 679 Moultrie Street | 3/2/N/A | 9 | $1,625,000 | $2,300,000 | 41.54% |
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