Here’s a riddle for you: 220 Westgate Drive is a four bed, two bath house that just went up for sale near Balboa Terrace, so what does this place have to do with St. Mary’s Cathedral, clear across town? Well, answering that demands some history:. Old St. Mary’s has overlooked Chinatown since 1854; another St. … Continue reading Balboa House Repurposes Destroyed Cathedral
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Maximum Overbid: Make Yourself at Home
The US Census estimates that the average American move more than 11 times in their life, or about once every six or seven years. But someone just plain has to be ahead of the curve, like the case of this week’s biggest overbid, 2494 35th Avenue, a three bed, three bath Parkside house that came … Continue reading Maximum Overbid: Make Yourself at Home
Despite What You’ve Read, This Is Not the Bay Area’s Richest City
The times they are a-changing up in Belvedere, as that very wealthy Marin County city may soon build its first affordable housing project in over 30 years, although predictably many of the locals are not letting it go on without a fight. It’s surely not a coincidence that Belvedere sees so little diverse housing construction … Continue reading Despite What You’ve Read, This Is Not the Bay Area’s Richest City
Shipyard Condo Sells for Half Million, Instantly Goes Back Up For Sale
Some homes you just can’t bear the thought of parting with. But 550 Innes Avenue #101 is evidently not one of them, at least not in the eyes of the guy who just bought it. This one bed, one bath Shipyard condo just sold three days after Christmas for a tidy $525,000 (about normal for … Continue reading Shipyard Condo Sells for Half Million, Instantly Goes Back Up For Sale
Why Does This $8.9M Nob Hill Condo Look Like a Museum?
What do you get for $8.9 million in the Nob Hill condo market these days? Well, at 1001 California Street #3, which just listed for that very rich sum, you get not only a two bed, three bath home but also history–or at least, the modern equivalent of history. If these interiors look surprisingly lustrous … Continue reading Why Does This $8.9M Nob Hill Condo Look Like a Museum?
Maximum Overbid: Did This Rundown Nob Hill Fixer Really Net $21M?
Covering housing in SF, we employ the phrase “That can’t be right” far more often than is probably usual for any other job on the planet. Case in point, this week’s Maximum Overbid is really pushing the definitions of “maximum,” with a Nob Hill sale that hit 775 percent of its original asking price. The … Continue reading Maximum Overbid: Did This Rundown Nob Hill Fixer Really Net $21M?
Is “Van Mission” a Real San Francisco Neighborhood?
Home sellers and buyers can get downright pernicious when it comes to neighborhood prestige. Of course, this is highly subjective: The Tenderloin, for example, sports some of San Francisco’s most beautiful architecture and most fascinating neighborhood history. But some people still nurse a grudge against the name anyway. So what do you do when you … Continue reading Is “Van Mission” a Real San Francisco Neighborhood?
This Is SF’s Blueprint For More Racially Fair Housing
San Francisco is assembling a new housing element, this time with a brand new goal in mind: City Hall wants this one to be fair. The housing element is the SF Planning Department’s eight-year blueprint for new housing in the city. Despite the dull sounding name and demeanor, SF Planning is one of the most … Continue reading This Is SF’s Blueprint For More Racially Fair Housing
Maximum Luxury: Pac Heights Mammoth, Ultra-Rich Condo Hub Finally Gets $24.5M Penthouse
Maximum Luxury is a weekly column about the most expensive properties for sale in San Francisco, motivated entirely by idle (but irrepressible) curiosity. The flashy condos at 2121 Webster Street broke ground back in 2014, and the 76-unit, Handle Architects-designed hub sold its first home in 2016, to the tune of $8.9 million. However, the … Continue reading Maximum Luxury: Pac Heights Mammoth, Ultra-Rich Condo Hub Finally Gets $24.5M Penthouse
Maximum Overbid: “The Worst House” Doubles Its Money
Sometimes the real estate game is simple: All you have to do is predict the future. That doesn’t require any special powers–just a reasonably good sense of the way things are going. Case in point, back in September we featured 320 Day Street, a crumbling fixer advertised as “the worst house on the best block” … Continue reading Maximum Overbid: “The Worst House” Doubles Its Money
Tahoe Property With “Underground Lair” Plans Seeks $12.5M
One of our favorite sub-genres of home listings is incredibly ambitious and expensive luxury properties that have not yet actually been built but still seek millions of dollars. You can find lots of these phantasmal gems in San Francisco, but we have to admit, this latest Tahoe listing in the town of Olympic Valley might … Continue reading Tahoe Property With “Underground Lair” Plans Seeks $12.5M
Update: Designer Silver Terrace House Ahead of Its Time, Sells For $2.16M
UPDATE: Well wouldn’t you know it, those headwinds blew this property right into a $2.16 million payday….and we removed all the photos per request. *** Silver Terrace is a corner of Bayview that often holds out against rising price pressures, even when nearby neighborhoods come to a boil. As such, the new listing at 1948 … Continue reading Update: Designer Silver Terrace House Ahead of Its Time, Sells For $2.16M
Maximum Overbid: A New Year’s Fixer Breaks Bank
There’s nothing quite like the first overbid of the new year–in this case because it’s actually a fairly modest affair all around. The two bed, one-bath circa 1930 house at 2626 23rd Avenue sold this week after just a little over a month on the market for more than $1.5 million, or more than 134 … Continue reading Maximum Overbid: A New Year’s Fixer Breaks Bank
Filbert Cottages: The Ultimate Russian Hill Landmark, Yours For $3.89M
Possibly no properties better represent Russian Hill history than the old Filbert Cottages–today as well as once upon a time when they were built. These four landmarked homes at 1338 Filbert presaged the coming popularity of the Craftsman style in San Francisco in 1907. Of course, at the time it was not really a style … Continue reading Filbert Cottages: The Ultimate Russian Hill Landmark, Yours For $3.89M
Maximum Luxury: Infamous Sea Cliff Mansion Still Seeking $15 Million
This is Maximum Luxury, a weekly column where we examine some of San Francisco’s most expensive properties, basically just because we’re curious. And oh do we have a curiosity in store this week: Up on Sea Cliff Avenue, one of San Francisco’s priciest homes also has one of its strangest histories. The house at 224 … Continue reading Maximum Luxury: Infamous Sea Cliff Mansion Still Seeking $15 Million
This Is San Francisco’s Very First Home Listing of 2022
The new year is less than a week old but already busy on the home front, with 18 properties listing since the big ball dropped on Saturday. But there was only a single property in the city with the chutzpah to actually go up for sale on New Year’s Day itself (at least on MLS): … Continue reading This Is San Francisco’s Very First Home Listing of 2022