After a relative lull in the Fall market in San Francisco, November came out of the gates with a bang.

Sales were up across the board in district 9. The average sale price across the board was $1,338,018, up almost $200,000 from the same month last year. A few monumental sales are responsible for the value jump, but the entire market in general over performed.

The top end of the market selling well is good news for the median and the lower price points.

With 5 sales above $2,000,000, district 9 saw a flurry of activity:

765 Market St #24A - Sold for $4,975,000

We touched on the amount of activity at the Four Seasons Residences above the hotel on Market Street in a previous article. The flurry of listings in the building is undeniably due to the Four Seasons Private Residences at 706 Mission. Homeowners are in one of two minds; either they sell their home at the current Four Seasons and purchase in the new building, or they stand to lose the valuation their homes had before an additional supply of 146 Four Seasons residences opened up next door. While values will eventually steady, in theory, the immediate influx of additional supply will hurt short term values.

488 Folsom St #3401 - Sold for $3,800,000

Great to see The Avery making sales. This building is exceptional, particularly the views. Residences begin on the 36th floor and shoot all the way up to the sky, topping out on the 56th floor. A penthouse was just sold to a hometown hero on the Golden State Warriors, too.

401 Harrison St #41D - $3,550,000

The 41st floor sale at The Harrison is a great sign for the final push of the building. With only a handful of residences remaining, most of which are on the higher end of the price list, a $3.5M sale is just what the developer ordered. Originally asking $3,975,000, a 425K discount was what one lucky buyer landed. Deals are out there, and developers ARE willing to negotiate. If you’re in the market for a penthouse - I’ve said since day 1 - the trophy property of the entire city is still available in #48B. Whoever ends up with that penthouse will be the underground king of the hill.

201 Folsom St #33E - $3,300,000

LUMINA is showing strong signs of resale and has since original homeowners began selling their homes. The building averaged ~ $1,400 a foot on the initial sell out in 2015/2016 (a handful of penthouse units are still seeking their first owner*) and has jumped into the $1,600 - $1,700 per foot range across the board with the first wave of resale this past year. This baby sold for $1,849 a foot, which is to be expected for the higher floor view units.

718 Long Bridge St #1504 - $2,310,000

It’s always good to see an Arden unit sell for what it’s worth. Arden is the marque building in Mission Bay - unanimously voted according to residents. It’s the final project completed by BOSA, a world renown developer with over 150 buildings up and down the West Coast of the United States, and holds claim to 3 of the 4 condominium buildings in Mission Bay. At $1,570 a foot, some realtors would argue it sold at a discount, and should have sold for more..

The Median Market

While it’s fun to write about penthouses in the clouds, this is where most of us live (myself included). The average selling price across the district was $1,338,108 which is typical for South Beach, Mission Bay or East Cut, but not the entire district (including Inner Mission, Potrero, Dogpatch, etc). The market in December is always a little skewed. We have 50 condos for sale above $2M, and 50 between $2M and $1.2M (~ the average sales price in 2018 in D9). This primes us with the expectation that some sellers are going to hold out until the new year, but those needing to sell will be very open to making a deal. Judging by The Harrison sale above, even developers out there are in need of selling.

My best advice - ask.

Buyers in the market right now submitting offers below ask price will get to know the exact expectations of the seller they’re working with. Some will consider, some wont. You’ll never know if you don’t ask.