Overbids can be a surprisingly sensitive topic. For example, a while back, the buyer of one of our previously featured weekly overbids pointed out that the realtor of that property intentionally priced it low, and argued that we should talk about this practice when highlighting overbids. The truth is, we’ve brought that subject up many … Continue reading Maximum Overbid: A Parkside Puzzle
Category: theFrontSteps
Forgotten San Francisco Neighborhoods: Where the Heck Is Fairmount Heights?
Over at 221 Chenery Street we’ve got a circa 1907 Victorian that was completely rebuilt in 2017, now seeking nearly $3 million for three beds and three baths–but that’s not the interesting part. The new listing calls this a “contemporary Fairmount Heights residence.” Excuse me? “Fairmount Heights?” Surely this is Glen Park Well, yes, it … Continue reading Forgotten San Francisco Neighborhoods: Where the Heck Is Fairmount Heights?
Balboa House Repurposes Destroyed Cathedral
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
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
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
Maximum Overbid: A Recession Repeat Finally Wins Big
With the holiday weekend upon us–where did the time go?–not as many homes closed this week, as SF saw about 100 sales in all since last Friday. But that doesn’t mean anyone was slacking in the bidding department, as the number one taker, a two bed, two bath Inner Sunset house at 1443 16th Avenue, … Continue reading Maximum Overbid: A Recession Repeat Finally Wins Big
Maximum Luxury: Big-Time East Cut Building Finally Makes Big Sale
Welcome back to Maximum Luxury, the weekly column where we peer at some of San Francisco’s most expensive homes, just for the heck of it. Ordinarily we feature listings still on the market in this space, but sometimes a unit we’ve had our eye on up and sells out from under us before we can … Continue reading Maximum Luxury: Big-Time East Cut Building Finally Makes Big Sale
SF Struggles To Clean Up Streets & Sidewalks Yet Again
After the cost of housing and the homeless crisis, likely the biggest complaint many San Franciscans and would-be San Franciscans have about SF is that our streets and sidewalks are chronically dirty. In truth, street conditions ary a lot from neighborhood to neighborhood and even block to block, but the state of the asphalt remains … Continue reading SF Struggles To Clean Up Streets & Sidewalks Yet Again
Explaining Cubix, the SoMa Building With Tiny $379K Condos
Start packing very, very small bags, because there’s a new listing at Cubix, San Francisco’s most economically sized condo development. The unit at 766 Harrison Street, #506 is a 279 square foot studio, retailing for $379,000; that of course is a tiny sum of money in SF condo terms, so little that usually only subsidized … Continue reading Explaining Cubix, the SoMa Building With Tiny $379K Condos
The Real Estate Records SF Crushed In 2021–and the Ones We Didn’t
According to the real estate aggregate site Redfin, it’s been a wild year for housing across the US, as they have recently published a ranking of ten real estate records broken across the US in 2021. Actually Redfin’s records only go back to 2013, so this might not be all that historic of a year–but … Continue reading The Real Estate Records SF Crushed In 2021–and the Ones We Didn’t
Maximum Luxury: A Classic Pac Heights Remodel, Before & After
Maximum Luxury is a weekly column where we gander at the most expensive homes for sale in San Francisco, basically for no reason except that we want to. When 2620 Buchanan Street hit the market 90 days ago asking $18 million, it was actually the end of a long drama around this six bed, eight … Continue reading Maximum Luxury: A Classic Pac Heights Remodel, Before & After