The Hayes: Neighborhood Map
Another “plugged in” reader provides both facts (sales/views/timing) and opinon for The Hayes (55 Page):

I am considering buying at The Hayes, did a long walk around there last week, did a lot of info digging, and can report:

Fact section:
∙ About 30% sold overall – seems slow but steady
∙ Folks on the Page street side (higher floors) will have some decent views, including City Hall
∙ Folks on the Rose street side (garage side) will have a stunning view of the trash bins for the restaurant
Incentives may be had further on, as they want to sell it out by opening, [realistically] Nov./Dec. 2007
∙ They’re working on the fourth story at this point

My Opinion section:
This development is a gamble, but it could pay off. It is central to everything (arts/transit/SOMA/Mission/Castro/Civic Center) and this development could really help the area, especially with all the retail planned for the ground floor. There’s plenty of homeless encamped around, but the Octavia side is really nice, and Franklin Street side is fine. If I were a trader, I would say buy, this area’s stock will go up.”

Okay, who’s next? [email tips at socketsite.com]
The Hayes (55 Page): Now Starting In The $300,000s ($399,000) [SocketSite]
The Hayes: 55 Page Street [SocketSite]
Incentives At The Hayes (And Bonuses At Arterra) [SocketSite]

42 thoughts on “The Hayes (55 Page): A Plugged In Buyer’s Facts (And Opinion)”
  1. I don’t think the Hayes is as much of a gamble as the Soma Grand is. At least you have a great neighborhood with restaurants, shops and the performing arts venues. Soma Grand which is going to be much more expensive is basically in skid row with no services at all.

  2. I’m still wondering if they’re going to underground the extremely ugly utility lines along the Page Street frontage. Agree that the location can’t be beat. IMHO, much better than Soma Grand in that respect. (Is this the new 1 Rincon vs Infinity discussion?)

  3. Let’s talk about the ground floor retail under condo’s;
    The Met=Skybox realty/Countywide home loans
    Portside=Pacific Union
    200 Brannan=AFI and associates
    The Brannan=Urban Bay (opening soon)
    88 Townsend=South Beach Real Estate
    Do we really need any more ground floor real estate offices????

  4. No gamble at all! I love Hayes Valley, and I think this area is much more exciting than South Beach or Mission Bay. Mid Market can only hope to be like HV in 15 years. It could use a good grocery store within walking distance. I think the closest thing is the Safeway on Church.

  5. A major factor in my decision to buy there was the Market Octavia plan described at livablecity.org and at the Planning Department web site. It looks like most of the good stuff is going to be adopted, and should be more or less nailed down at the 3/22 meeting. Regardless, there’s going to be a lot of non-South Beachesque infill (including other new condos) over the next decade.
    As far as views go, the upper floors on the sunny south side have views (albeit not straight shot) of Twin Peaks/Mt. Sutro.
    Location is a total home run. Restaurants and cafes in the Mission are only a short walk away (no cabs or MUNI needed on weekends), in addition to the more touted destinations in the Duboce Triangle/Castro and Hayes Valley neighborhoods. Being able to walk to Golden Produce on Market and Church is also a nice bonus.
    I was told they’re closer to 50% sold as of this week, which includes BMR. Latest word on move-ins is December/January.

  6. Units in the historic stables are cheaper per sq. feet than the units in the higher rise building…with a more open floorplan. Any downside to buying in the historic stable?

  7. The historic stable units remaining have little to no light. The windows are on one wall of the apartment and limited to those facing the inner courtyard. They are also on lower floors.

  8. I lived in Hayes Valley (on Fell between Octavia and Laguna) for the past ten years. Wow, what a change from the sometimes disgusting place it was. It’s a completely different neighborhood today. My point is: there’s hope for Soma Grand’s neighborhood.

  9. Perhaps the best selling feature of the Hayes…close proximity to Blue Bottle Coffee.
    Maybe I’m not getting it but proximity to specific businesses doesn’t affect my decision to purchase real estate. Blue Bottle could go as quickly as it came (though for the neighborhood, I hope they stick around !).
    We frequently see statements like “steps from Chez Papa/Whole Foods/nameYourSuperstarRetailEstablishment” in the marketing blurbs for properties. I could put weight on proximity to a whole shopping/restaurant district (like Hayes St.) which isn’t likely to suddenly disappear, but not a specific business.
    … unless we’re talking Toronado 🙂

  10. “I was told they’re closer to 50% sold as of this week, which includes BMR. Latest word on move-ins is December/January.”
    The Hayes is no where near 50% sold. Don’t be silly…I went to their office several times over the last a few months. There wasn’t any noticeable change to their inventory. Location is good. But to be honest, the building looks like low income housing. Their prices are still too high. Their smallest studio on the lowest floor is asking right under $400k for exactly 400 sq. That’s $1000 sq.ft NOT including parking. Just for comparison, there was a 476 sq studio sold for $224.5k at the Brannan last summer. And the two buildings are in no comparison. If you absolutely love that area, I would sit back and wait for price reductions. From now to summer is normally the worst time of year to purchase a home, this year in particular given how many condo projects are coming up. If you don’t have to move in for the next 6-8 months, buying at the end of the year will save you lots of money.

  11. I just sold my place at the corner of 7th and Howard, but not because I didn’t like the neighborhood. I was there for 2.5 years and actually grew to like and appreciate the area. I felt pretty safe and never heard of any crime, except on 6th Street.
    With the Fed building and the SOMA Grand going in, I imagine that neighborhood is in for an upgrade in the next 5 to 10 years. A high-end hotel management company took over the Best Westerns on 7th and the big development at 8th and Market could also happen.
    There is the South of Market Project Committee thru SF Redevelopment and sketch plans have been done to slow the freeways which are 7th, 8th, 9th, Howard and Folsom streets.
    Will be very interesting to re-visit in a few years.

  12. The person who said that Hayes Valley is more exciting that South Beach or Mission Bay is absolutely right. With so many muggers, beggars and other street people so close to this development, just getting from your car or from public transportation to your condo each day will be an adventure.

  13. “Just for comparison, there was a 476 sq studio sold for $224.5k at the Brannan last summer.”
    Sounds like a BMR resale to me, but agree that this project isn’t 50% sold.
    “so many muggers, beggars and other street people so close to this development”
    “So many”? There are the usual suspects that tend to hang out between Rose and Market on Gough, but even then we’re talking about one or two people. Sounds like you’re long overdue for a margarita at Zuni. Amazing that they’ve managed to stay in business considering all those muggers, beggars and street people roaming the streets…

  14. “Just for comparison, there was a 476 sq studio sold for $224.5k at the Brannan last summer.”
    If you saw a 476 sq feet studio at the Brannan, that was not a BMR, for $224.5k, I hope you snapped it up. You could sell it at a big profit. But you probably have all the money you need, selling unicorns.
    By comparison, a studio about 1/2 that size (256 sq feet) would cost you more ($258k) in the Tenderloin:
    https://socketsite.com/archives/2006/12/book_concern_building_83_mcallister_update_and_pricing.html

  15. what do you all think a mid to better unit at the hayes is worth per sq foot – selling this year?
    it sounds like infinity is selling $ 800- 1200 psf — for comparison.

  16. $224.5K for a studio at The Brannan? What drug are you on? Crack? First of all there are no BMRs at the Brannan,second of all nothing that small,and third there has been nothing that has sold for under $650K for several years. I often wonder what some of these “pluged in people” are plugged into!
    [Editor’s Note: Apparently it’s worse than crack. Blame the big “Z”.]

  17. All I got regarding this deal was numbers, unfortunately. (219 Brannan St UNIT 2E, SOLD 05/04/2006: $244,500, 476sq.ft)
    http://www.zillow.com/HomeDetails.htm?zprop=52149936
    And no I didn’t get to snap that deal because at that time I was busy learning how to use the good old unicorn joke. And to this day I still haven’t mastered it to your elegant level.

  18. Have you noticed the security guard in front of the Zuni? It’s for the muggers, beggers and street people!

  19. That transaction was between family members. The 1st mortgage is 360,000. The unit sold for 279,000 in 2000.

  20. Damn those “street people.” They should really apologize for offending your senses like that with their presence. I’m sure that’s at the top of their to-do lists, right after surviving.

  21. Zillow lists the unit as selling for $244,500 on 5/04/2006, but Zillow also shows the unit selling for $7,000 on 5/12/2003.
    Just now, I looked at comparables for my home on Zillow, and it listed a nearby 2000+ square foot view house as recently sold for under $200,000. The house is owned by a friend, and I’m very familiar with the house– I would value the house at at least $1,500,000.
    Lesson: Take Zillow info with a grain of salt.

  22. “…I was busy learning how to use the good old unicorn joke. And to this day I still haven’t mastered it to your elegant level.”
    Thanks!

  23. I find it funny how people try to compare Hayes Valley to 6th street. First off, Hayes Valley was never that bad. The projects down the street is terrible but they mind to themselves. You do your thing, they’ll do theirs.
    As for 6th street, there’s tons of SRO’s and they aren’t leaving anytime. The difference is the city help rebuild the Hayes Street Projects and tore down the infamous TKO Projects in Fillmore.
    I dont see any landlords on 6th street rebuilding their rundown daily hotels.
    For location, i’ll take the Hayes way over the Soma Bland anyday.
    Comparing Hayes 10 years ago to Soma Bland today is unfair.

  24. How long have you lived here? Before the 101 was removed from Octavia, Hayes Valley WAS that bad. And I don’t think anyone is comparing Hayes Valley to 6th Street but rather Hayes Valley to the broader Mid-Market area.
    I do agree that the SROs aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, but that’s one street in a much larger neighborhood.

  25. I see no logical comparison between today’s Hayes Valley and SOMA at 6th/7th/8th today. Before Davies Hall was built in the early 80s, you had hookers and drug dealers all the way from the projects to Van Ness. The area has changed a great deal – and I think 55 Page will further help it. SOMA Grand is a much bolder proposition in my book, but people buy for the potential of the location. Or at least I do anyway. None of us knows what the area around SOMA Grand will be like in 20 years. But I would bet you it will all be much more expensive!

  26. There is a two bedroom condo a couple of blocks away from the Hayes (on Hayes St between Franklin and Gough) that’s about 10 years old, 2.5 bathroom, 1100 square feet, on 2nd and 3rd floor. It is listed for $720,000. It has been on the market for over two months. So. Doesn’t this 10 year old condo make the the Hayes seem overpriced?

  27. “Lesson: Take Zillow info with a grain of salt. ”
    Zillow has been accurate on most searches in my experience. I just looked up this studio at the Brannan on PropertyShark and the purchase price was also listed at $2445K. Then again, they could all be on DRUGS.

  28. I inquired into the two units I was interested in at The Hayes (Units M and P, with terraces). According to one of the ‘Project Coordinators’ at The Hayes, who responded to me by e-mail, the M unit is listed at $965,000 and P is $1,045,000. Of course, these are 3rd-floor only units, so might suffer from the lack of light that others have mentioned…
    Too rich for my blood, so I didn’t bother to go check them out myself.

  29. Has anyone made a counteroffer and been accepted at the Hayes? How much is the builder willing to knock off the listing price?

  30. Since The Hayes doesn’t offer deeded parking, is there anywhere to park around there that is not metered?

  31. It’s a tough area to park in. The great majority of units at The Hayes are sold with a leased space ($100 a month.) I don’t know the number without parking off the top of my head.

  32. I did a hard hat walkthrough at 55 Page this week, as I have a deposit down on a unit at The Hayes. The complex is 60% sold. I was very impressed. It is going to be a stunning building, and they are not scrimping on the materials or the quality (and that’s not from marketing – I talked to several of the guys actually working on the building.) They have maximized light and view potential everywhere they could. I met several of the people who will be living in the building, and we all agreed we felt very much we had bought the right place at the right time. Not only will it be a really nice place to live, but I do not doubt it will be a good investment over the next 10-15 years.

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