As we highlighted in June of last year:

We’ve been intrigued by the truly high-end conversion of unit #102 at 355 Bryant Street since the 2,200-square-foot loft hit the market listed for $2.195 million, or roughly $1,000 per square foot, back in 2006, outfitted with Italian cabinetry, hardware, wall systems and book-matched slabs of Carrara marble.

Reduced to $1.995 million and sold for $1.935 million in January of 2007, the two-bedroom, two-bath unit subsequently traded for $2.1 million in October of 2015.

And having returned to the market priced at $2.475 million two months ago, the resale of 355 Bryant Street #102 has just closed escrow with a contract price of $2.425 million, or roughly $1,101 per square foot, representing total appreciation of 15.5 percent for the high-end loft since the fourth quarter of 2015 or 4.0 percent per year on a straight line basis. The loft has seen some improvements since returning to the market which could explain the price increase. The owner is said to have re-modernized the interior as well as getting austin roofing contractors to fix existing issues with the roof.

As always, design matters (particularly when the market’s in flux).

Two months ago, the “stunning, ultra-modern live/work loft” suddenly returned to the market priced at $2.45 million.

And last week, the list price for 355 Bryant #102 was reduced 27 percent to “$1.795 million,” a sale above which will be considered to be “over asking” according to all industry stats and aggregate reports, but with said list price intended as the opening bid for a “Luxury Live Auction!”

If you think you know the market for high-end lofts, now’s the time to tell.  We’ll keep you posted and plugged-in.

UPDATE (9/18): The day after our post, the list price for 355 Bryant Street #102 was further reduced to “$1.5 million” a sale above which will be considered to be “over asking” according to all industry stats and aggregate reports.

UPDATE (10/08): All mention of the “Luxury Live Auction!” for 355 Bryant Street #102 has been scrubbed from its listing and the list price for the unit, which remains active and available, was raised to $2.25 million on October 2.

33 thoughts on “High-End Loft Reduced 27 Percent, Going the “Auction” Route”
  1. Absolutely beautiful space, no doubt. However, the building faces a freeway onramp / underpass. That area struggles with homeless issues as well as being completely dead on weekends, I would assume. The gorgeous ficus trees lining that street will probably be taken down by DPW in coming years as they fall over all the time.

    Still I’d be shocked if it went for anything less than $2.1M.

    1. I’d be surprised if the noise from the bridge was an issue here. This place is buried under and behind several large buildings. Check out the aerial images [name link] on Google Maps to see how insanely isolated the “solarium” is.

  2. I could never figure out why SOMA deserves the those prices – both selling and renting – since 2008. It took a beating back then, it is heading the same direction again this round. I would buy in that area when the price is down 40% from today’s level.

    1. On average, SoMa condo values dropped around 22 percent at the height of the Great Recession. That’s compared to a 19 percent drop for San Francisco, or a 21 percent drop for single-family homes, overall.

    2. SOMA got those prices because of AirBnB, foreign capital flight, speculation, money laundering, and tower re-zoning on land that formerly provided decent jobs for those who didn’t happen to have college credentials.

      1. I agree that this is unquestionably South Beach. But I’ve always thought of South Beach as a subset of SOMA. Rincon Hill, for example, is also a subset of SOMA. There are others. So it’s not incorrect (in my view) to say this is SOMA, it’s just a little non-specific.

  3. I am sure your data is more accurate than my recollection. That said, during 2008/2011 downturn, you could almost buy foreclosures in any of the SOMA buildings. I am relatively sure that the 3 areas with most foreclosures were SOMA, Bayview, and another one…

    1. Yeah. Also no doors and no privacy. The only way you get bedrooms with no windows (i.e. no emergency egress) is to not make them enclosed rooms.

      I have a hard time imagining why anybody wants to spend $2 million dollars for a home without real bedrooms, but maybe it’d be okay for a childless couple who never have houseguests. The whole loft thing never did it for me; if you’re saving a lot of money by accepting its limitations, that’s one thing. But for the price of this one, you could do better. That said, if you like this aesthetic, it’s very nicely done.

  4. Just looked up the location and it’s directly in front of a bridge entrance. The traffic lined up 18 hour a day would drive me nuts.
    I think it’s a very nice loft tho.

  5. Is it a real (Court House Steps) auction or is it “bidding” to get the listing agent to accept your offer, only to package it off the Lender(s) for short-sale approval?

    I ask, because that’s what these “auctions” were like 10 years ago, as I recall.

    1. Not real auction, just inviting bidding. This one is about the 3rd of this kind of “auction” that I saw in the last month.

      1. from both seller and buyer standpoints, what are the strategic advantages (or disadvantages) of “inviting bidding” aka “auction” vs. just having it be on the market and accepting offers & bids as normally?

  6. UPDATE: The list price for 355 Bryant Street #102 has just been further reduced to “$1.5 million,” a sale above which will be considered to be “over asking” according to all industry stats and aggregate reports.

  7. Nothing in the records show it is a foreclosure at the courthouse auction nor is the property in Notice Of Default.

    1. In June of 2019, the seller purchased it for $2.425 million. They aren’t going to just give it away. They know what they have, and they aren’t going to suffer low ball bids from value investors.

  8. Okay, I should have looked at the Redfin listing KM referred to before commenting, even sarcastically. Their estimate is $1,847,111 as of Saturday, or almost 24 percent lower than the asking price. It’ll be interesting to see what this sells for.

    1. As we’ve previously noted, Redfin’s “estimates” are actually based on the current list price of the property itself. Which is why, the Redfin Estimate of “$1,847,111 as of Saturday” has suddenly jumped to $2,185,147 as of this morning (and why Redfin’s “estimates” should generally be ignored).

  9. As noted above, all mention of the “Luxury Live Auction!” for 355 Bryant Street #102 has been scrubbed from its listing and the list price for the unit, which remains active and available, was raised to $2.25 million on October 2.

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