819 Haight Street
Sold for $1,635,000 in August 2005 having been listed for $1,395,000, this past Friday the re-sale of 819 Haight Street closed escrow with a reported contract price of $1,380,000 (15.6% under its 2005 sale) having been listed for $1,595,000 a year ago.
As a plugged-in reader wrote about the property two weeks ago:

The posts that comment on the costs to add bathrooms are probably right, particularly given the finishes on this house. Some of the best possible materials were chosen throughout–tile, fixtures, etc. The front porch is an aberration. A quick fix prior to the sale in 2005, replacing even more inappropriate and very damaged Spanish tiles.

As for the neighborhood, that block is entirely residential, with the exception of Zephyr. There are several families on the street who enjoy the proximity of Duboce and the dog park up the street. It’s a very walkable neighborhood, and contrary to the suggestions above, safe. You might find graffiti on your trashcans, but aside from that, no car break ins or the usual petty things you’d expect. (Petty criminals don’t like hills.)

We’d buy it. Again. But then, we’d be buying it for less than we sold it for in 2005, so we’d consider it a bargain. 😉

Keep in mind that competitive bids were more the rule than exception in San Francisco circa 2005. And as soon as a property sold, it became a comp for the next sale. And so on. And so forth.
A Four Year Hold For A Renovated 819 Haight: A Winner’s Return [SocketSite]
819 Haight Street’s Return Redux: Winner’s Curse In Action? [SocketSite]
A Winner’s Curse That Has Yet To Be Cured [SocketSite]

10 thoughts on “A Winner’s Circa 2005 Curse (And Seller’s Boon)”
  1. I’ll get blasted for this, but I seen many instances where the RE agent did a pretty good job of pricing a property, but the market forces drove the bid way higher. The overbid phenomenon is definitely gone except for those rare gems, or strategically under-priced homes.

  2. He means Vanguard, right? Not Zephyr. Back in 2005 they probably looked at what that specific block had done, 816 Haight for 1.276 in 2000, 875 for 1.275 in 2002, that they went wild. But both those houses had at least two baths. They probably thought they’d expand and never got around to it. Because even at the 1.38M 8/27/10 sale price, it would have been the most ever on Haight up till 2005. Two years later the next door neighbor/sister house, 815 Haight “won” with 2.02M on a 1.495M list, although it had 3 1/2 ba’s and was 300 feet larger. (They did the obvious expansion that 819 might have done.) Those buyers better not sell any time soon. They’ll get crushed.

  3. I like slate on some fireplaces (depending on style) and also in mudrooms. I’ve seen it done well in exterior applications as well.
    as for the slate here, it looks no more odd than the green “marble” columns.
    part of the problem is that these two greens (the slate and “marble”) are not quite complementary to the salmon color of the house.
    reading the prior thread on this house, nobody thought it would go anywhere near asking. looks like most thought it would sell from 1.2 to 1.4M, including RE bulls and RE bears.
    bravo socketsiteers!

  4. eddy, I’m not sure why you’d get blasted for that comment. Those situations definitely sound like cases where the agent properly priced the property so as to get the maximum amount.
    On this property, I just don’t understand. There were even predictions last year that this would go for close to the $1.595 asking. It’s interesting to read the comments from 3 years ago on the 815 Haight thread and see how times have changed. My favorite is this one:
    “Then the question is, which is the next district with the msot [sic] appreciation?
    Inner Sunset is already hot. Is Central/Outer Sunset next for 2M dollar houses?”
    “I’m curious where slate does work?”
    Pool tables seems like an obvious one, but also roofs, chalkboards, and tombstones? 🙂

  5. I cringe when I see slate like this example or other veneer products installed over a wood framed stair. That is just going to trap moisture and lead to the early demise of the wood stair substructure.

  6. Ok, now for the retrospective. I boldly (and incorrectly) claimed on the first post over a year ago that the property would sell for $250K-$300K less than list. Well, it sold for $215K under list plus a yearish of waiting, which has a real cost. So, I was off a bit.
    My favorite post though was from a wonderful Realtor – http://www.kathleengilheany.com/ who posted, “Great home in great neighborhood. Smartly priced.”
    You can choose what to think about her…

  7. I actually stopped by this place a few weeks ago. The owner, a very nice gentleman, was sipping a blue moon while tending to his garage sale full of CDs and other items that were stored in the deep depths of the garage. I asked him if it was for sale and he responded that he has finally sold it. He mentioned that a lot of people were put off by Haight street and only 1.5 baths. I toured this property three months ago and was impressed, but did not have the 1.6 asking, if it was listed at 1.4 then, we might have worked something out.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *