Purchased for $670,000 in 2005, the remodeled Bayview home at 1426 Van Dyke Avenue resold for $630,000 in 2007. And in 2012, the property was foreclosed upon and taken back by the bank.
Listed as a two-bedroom fixer, with 1,200 square feet of finished space and an unwarranted bedroom and bath on the first floor for $577,500 last year, 1426 Van Dyke sold for $490,500 last July.
And having since been remodeled anew, the now four-bedroom, three-bath home has just been listed with “granite counter[s],” “stainless steel appliances,” and 1,600 square feet of finished space for $699,000.
More like back to ’95 with that listing web site.
Sounds like it was way overpriced back in 2005. Come on, I bought my prime Sunset home slightly before then for less….
How good or bad is this neighborhood now? I’ve heard it is improving and many of the thugs have moved out. I see you could walk to the train.
It’s definitely improving. Breweries, art galleries, fancy bakeries, etc have opened, State Assemblyman David Chiu moved his his family in, etc. Still “affordable” by SF standards though.
We moved to the Bayview a year ago. We love it. Awesome diversity (and it’s not just a black community; lots of immigrants from all over the world). Terrific neighbors — we met more people here in a week than we knew in Bernal and Dolores Park combined over 10 years. Neighbors literally lined up to meet us when we were moving in, complete with hugs and cookies. It’s a working class community. There are issues with littering. We’ve had people knock on our door late at night to tell us the light was on in our car or that we left a car door open. If that happened in Bernal, everything would’ve been stolen in the car (and was several times, even on our steep street in Bernal). Not in Bayview, though. We’ve had zero issues with crime. Oh, and the weather here — holy geez is it awesome. We had to have a whole house fan installed it gets so hot so often. We’re growing tomotoes and basil. Where else can you do that in SF? There are businesses moving here what seems like every other week — Craftsman and Wolves just opened up, a craft brewery (Laughing Monk), a craft distillery (Seven Sons), and I know of two other craft breweries hoping to open by the end of the year. We have a Blue Apron competitor (loav.es) that offers meal pickups at Huli Huli (another great restaurant).
From a crime perspective, I know it exists in pockets, but I largely see it as gang-on-gang violence — same thing we have in the Mission and other places in the city. We have two kids under 5 and we feel totally safe with them playing outside. The parks here aren’t as nice as some other parts of the city, but it’s all improving. The transit plans the bike coalition, MTA, and other groups are implementing are all very good and will only improve our connectivity to other parts of the City. There’s literally billions of dollars of development happening in the Bayview — not just the size of Lennar Urban’s developments either. The developer we bought our [remodeled] home from is aggressively investing in Bayview. There’s just so much opportunity here. Come join us. It’s a terrific community.
It’s not nearly as bad as most people think but it’s still BV’s biggest challenge and probably will remain so for some time just like in the Mission. The Bayview area along the 3rd street corridor is huge so it’s street by street and the surrounding and slightly separated residential neighborhoods (Silver Terrace, Portola & Little Hollywood) are still walking distance to 3rd but far enough from the problem areas to have far less crime and will rise up with BV
If you have some patience I think S/E SF is probably the best investment opportunity in the Bay Area given the sunny weather, proximity to transportation and jobs and all the great businesses opening up.
Agree, in addition to the weather and connectivity, the Bayview has a really unique mix of classic SF single family homes, walkable retail corridor, industrial spaces that are being converted to creative uses (look at the breweries or Flora Grubb), waterfront access, views of the bay, and major redevelopment areas. Caltrain is proposing a new station in the area which would be huge, there’s over 300 acres of new waterfront parks on the way as well as the Blue Greenway and redevelopment of existing parks (Gilman, Hilltop, etc), and lots of other things going on. Some things will take some patience, but a lot is happening here.
“industrial spaces that are being converted to creative uses”
Well, there go the jobs for the working class community that the poster above referred to.
Those jobs went long ago. Magnetic probably meant to say “vacant” or “underutilized” industrial spaces.
All my newer tenants in BV really like it. Men, women, tech, non tech professionals, etc. It has a good vibe and energy, and is way friendlier than precious-stuffy-schmoe-valley, for instance. Bernal is getting that way too, and so is the mission…but at least the mission still has a ton of diversity to balance things out. Don’t want a los-gatos-shallow-alto-tiburon in the city now, do we?
Offers scenic views of industrial metal buildings directly across the street. Literally steps away from Mother Brown’s Drop In Center a very unwelcome presence in the ‘hood.
Damn those industrial metal buildings! All they’re good for is providing jobs to working class communities.
“The gays, of course, are moving in.”
So true, my partner and I left the Castro for the BV area (Portola) and we couldn’t believe how many other LGBTQ couples are in the neighborhood and it’s growing as Bernal & Castro continue to rise in price. As my realtor said, “the actual first rule of real estate is go where the gays go.” and many of us are going to the BV area.
A friend who just moved there calls it “gayview”
Ha…that article seems to have been written only by consulting web marketing material. Innes Court Park isn’t even technically open yet (it’s part of “The Shipyard”), and the article says it’s the hottest place to do yoga and bootcamp.
But that vid sure is sweet…sell the dream!
Put an 8 in front of any offer for this house.
Hmm. Bought in 2005 for $670k, Sold at a loss two years later.
Foreclosed five years later. Vacant for three years. Then sold for below asking and below 2005 sales price? Looks like a lot of money went down the tubes chasing the Bayview dream.
Buying at the peak in the Bayview, Eh? Maybe this time it’s different.
Riiigghhttt…and everywhere else in the city buying at peak and selling at the bottom made people millions, right?
Last July was the bottom? Or are you saying the 2007 loss was the bottom? Or was the 2012-2015 vacant period the bottom?
Bottom was 09-11
This place is kind of a microcosm of the “Big Short.” $670,000 in 2005 in the Bayview? That is about $850,000 in 2016 dollars. Madness, of course, and we saw where it led. Will history repeat itself? I don’t think so because now we make people play with their own money to a fair degree, rather than 100% OPM. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a “Medium Short.” I put that at less than 50-50, but it is certainly higher than 0. If this place sells for $800,000 or above, I’ll have to up my odds.
And this is not a dig on the Bayview. I like that area and give it good (very) long term gentrification prospects. Try Old Skool Cafe and/or Radio Africa – two of my favorite restaurants, and an easy ride on the 24, or plenty of parking in the area when we drive.
I questions what kind of “remodel” it had in 2007. It must have been A- bad or B- trashed if it needed one again now. Also the current remodel is el cheap Chinese contractor special. That Zhu realtor does a few of these cheap flips in BV every year.
So all this post tells us is what we already know: high prices in BV 05-07. Add a foreclosure at low price + flipper = slightly higher price now. Samo samo as many other homes in BV.
Just to add one more thing to the discussion. Attractiveness of Bayview will rise further once Uber opens HQ in Dogpatch, Warriors arena opens up and Central Subway connects the T-Line to Market Street. Commuting into the city from East Bay or Peninsula is bad already and it will only get worse. Getting a house in any South East hood of SF for 600-800k that is a 20-40min commute to Market street is a good deal in my opinion.
800k is a good deal for a starter home in what alternative universe LOL? How is that a good deal when you can get a house in an already attractive neighborhood of a mid-tier city for two to three times less than that? Sure San Francisco is nice, but is it 2-3x better than other cities, especially if you’re settling for an inferior neighborhood? Are you earning 2-3x the salary, I doubt it. People have lost their minds.
Sabbie, it’s not about how ‘nice’ SF is but about some economic facts:
1. Other than NY, there is no other city in the US with the number of jobs paying young people +100k (or even +200k). Making 20% more per year than elsewhere does add up over a 10, 20, 30 year period. 3rd tier cities can’t match that.
2. People think in relative terms: if your alternative to buying a house for 800k is renting an apartment for 3.5k per month, then buy the house. There are no signs of rents becoming better in SF going forward. Also, housing prices have held up well during the last crisis.
3. The low interest rates are surely increasing prices. The monthly payments that you make today for a $600k mortgage are similar to what you used to pay for a 450-500k mortgage 10 years ago.
I’m not saying that current prices are ‘just’ a good deal for everyone, but if you make $100k per year and you expect to do so going forward, buying in Bayview is not a bad option. This is not an ‘alternative universe’ but the current economy in SF.
Your math is off.
For example, the rents in Boston are the fourth highest in the nation, but people on average are still paying less than 30% of their income on rent. While in SF people are paying on average above 50% of their income on rent. So you’d have to make an extra 20% just to break even, but this doesn’t include the other higher costs of living.
“Also, housing prices have held up well during the last crisis.” Um, the median home price in Bayview dropped from around $625k in 2007 to around $275k in 2012.
Indeed! The key is affordability. SF is near historic unaffordability levels.
Many other markets have not fully recovered yet and are at near their historic affordability levels – and some of these have good job and population growth. These are the places I invest in. Not sexy appreciation (3% – 4%/year) but great ROI as rents are “good” and the demand for rentals is high. Rental homes specifically.
“but if you make $100k per year and you expect to do so going forward, buying in Bayview is not a bad option.”
But look at what you’ve just said. You and others are talking prices in the $600-$800k range. That’s 6x – 8x price/income which is much higher than normal. And that large stretch would be in a neighborhood that doesn’t even qualify as “transitional”, rather it’s a neighborhood that some folks hope will eventually transition.
And while some tech companies will be here long term, many tech and other high paying jobs are very volatile. Most do not come with a pension or retirement medical.
So the main economic issues here seem to be a chain of cascading risks. A risky housing stretch with a risky job in a risky neighborhood.
And while predicting interest rates year to year is a fools game, longer term since rates are historically low now it presents a risk that they will be higher down the road when you want to sell.
And this is hardly theoretical stuff here. This particular house produced a decade of economic pain. And all these arguments about stretching to buy and the gentrification of the Bayview being right around the corner could have been made back in 2005 when the home was initially purchased.
Isn’t it the norm that you shouldn’t pay more than 1/3 of your gross salary for rent/mortgage payments? So if you make 100k and your mortgage payments on an 800k house is 12x3k=36k per year, that’s 36%. That seems to be on the upper end.
Again, I’m not saying that this makes sense for everyone. Buying Real Estate in SF has become a luxury good and many people are left out. However, for people making $100k to $200k, it makes sense to buy a home and pay 3k interest per month over paying $4.8k rent per month for a 2BD 2BR.
That’s more like $3,500 per month including property taxes. It makes sense, if you can somehow save the down payment of $160k while simultaneously paying the country’s highest rent and enjoying $15 small plates and cocktails. And if you don’t mind the possibility of losing that $160k plus your credit rating if the bubble bursts and you are forced to sell or walk away.
Key is the down. Techies are renting rooms in my neighborhood for 1500. They are young, single, just starting out, and make above 100K. They do not however have the 160K in savings to put down that would afford them a 3500/month PITI situation. They have student debts and if lucky maybe 1K in the bank.
Also, Bayview has about 45k people. The new Shipyard and Candlestick Developments will add +10k residential units to the neighborhood over the next 10 years. This means the makeup of the neighborhood will change quite a bit. If it’s to the better or the worse is to be seen.
Where to start. If you own in Bayview, you talk it up and try to make the best of it until you decide to sell because some other sucker is willing to make the same mistake you did 10 years ago and overpay for this neighborhood.
I’ve lived here 2 years. Moved from Mission Dolores. The house is great and the weather is good. The trash, the shootings, the loitering, no restaurants open on the weekend or after dark, no grocery stores, business trying to open and then promptly going out of business due to lack of actual customers. It’s a joke at $850k.
If I hear “up and coming sunny Bayview” one more time, I will lose it.
Wait until the city decides the best place for permanent shelters would be Bayview…
Not sure if you’ve been keeping up with the neighborhood news, but the City has abandoned plans for a neighborhood shelter because of neighborhood opposition and supervisor backing. Your last sentence is moot and lame.
“A child watches as the playground at the Alice Griffith public housing development burns to the ground after being set on fire by an unknown culprit. Plans are underway for Alice Griffith’s long-awaited redevelopment.”
Amen. Where there’s smoke there’s fire. Better hope the redevelopment is made of asbestos. And yeah, I’m sure the shelters will end up in Noe or Pac Heights. Riiiight… Moot and Lame? Try Loot and Mame.
1 – it’s not exactly as if the mission doesn’t have those problems too…crime, trash, shootings, loitering. 2 – no restaurant open on weekend? Wrongo bucko, lotsa ‘straunts open. 3 – no grocery store? The new Duc Loi? Foods co? Dem’s a supermarket. Dang, you sure don’t get around much, do you?
perhaps a bland suburb will be more to your liking.
This is the Duc Loi in the old Fresh & Easy that closed and was vacant for two years? Too soon to say if that’ll stick or it’s just more of the same ‘business trying to open and then promptly going out of business due to lack of actual customers’.
The city contacted 120 grocery stores that passed on that space and it took nearly $4.5M in city/federal grants and loans to get Duc Loi in.
Lucky number 121? Maybe, maybe not?
With Duc Loi having since shuttered, the nearly 15,000-square-foot grocery store space at 5900 3rd Street, into which $3.5 million of interior improvements were recently poured, is now on the market with an asking price of $6.5 million (which includes 45 parking spaces in the building’s garage).
And if you compare walking round the mission at night with walking around the bayview at night, then you’re the one that doesn’t get around much.
Sure…mission and 16th is awesome at 2am. No robberies and asults here!
BV is dead at 2am (no pun intended, he he he).
Could not agree with “Bayview Not by choice” any more strongly. Although I would agree with others who say that the proximity to the projects makes a big difference in ones individual experience.
I lived on Divisadeo at Turk for 14 years, next to the projects, ten of those years predated the opening of Nopa and the restaraunt boom, the tech shuttle routes, and the city investment in streetscaping. Unfortunately none of those things changed our day-to-day which was dominated by people who loved to toss trash on the streets, tag buildings, mug and rob the “rich” folks getting off the 24 Divisadero and shooting one another in random violent outbursts. We lived within three blocks of seven homicides in that time period, three that occurred on our block while we were home!
If this Bayview Miracle is going to actually play out it will happen over a twenty year, or more period, especially given the length of time that major projects will take to complete. take the Divisadero example as a guidepost, but don’t expect the same pace of change, Divisadero sits between Pacific Heights, The Castro and GGP and is twenty minutes to jobs either by car, transit, or bike, Bayview had none of those attributes and in fact is as far away as the Outer Richmond and Sunset but without those neighborhoods established pleasantness.
I’m sorry, Bayview Miracle Hooey, but you’re way off base. Comparing Bayview to your experience on Divisadero are two different worlds.
I’ve lived at Haight and Divis and Hayes Valley and two places in the Mission. BART is definitely better than the T-line, hands down, but we’re 20 minutes from where we live to sitting in my office on Market street via public transit. Not bad. Have you talked to anyone in the Outer Richmond lately? All I hear from friends out there is how bad the traffic is and how it takes 45 minutes to get downtown.
Bayview groups are working with the MTA to improve transit signaling and have already improved 5-10% and can squeek another 5-10% out of the system. SFBC has 4 separate protected routes planned, etc.
Oh please, the Bayview beats any of the western neighborhoods HANDS DOWN for the mere fact that our homes don’t have to deal with the mold and mildew that plague those homes. Coming from both the western addition/nopa and the inner sunset I can say I haven’t seen mold/stucco rot/ or any of the fungal BS that those neighborhoods and their homes struggle with on a daily or long term basis. Look at the long view and you’ll see that Bayview homes will last way longer than anything stewing in the moisture of the west.
God how I hate the boosterism and nativism of humanity, as exhibited all too often in forums like this. Also I know we’re all having to justify our decisions in a place that forces us to make the “best” alternative choices for the perceived need to be in San Francisco. I’m a sucker like everyone else in this regard.
Like most I’m here because of family, friends, and work, not because any particular hood is the “best” in this big world. The region is great, so is the city, but there are many other places globally that meet or possibly exceed our notions of “great”.
Those caveats aside, here is my reality, I live in a sfh built in 1925 at cabrillo and 39th. I take the 31ax to Montgomery and bush and it takes me 30 minutes one way. I can drive that route in about the same time. We have yet to deal with the mold and rot that I keep hearing about and although I said I would never live this close to the fog belt for twenty years I have been shocked at the sun and warmth here of late and the long term neighbors are too.
The bottom line is that if you like the Bayview or SOMA or Pleasanton or Orange County (egads) that is your choice and my opinion of the Bayview Miracle is based upon my preference for a less industrial, less gritty place for my family. Additionally, as so many have said, the Southeastern neighborhood hype is surely driven by realtors/homeowners looking to boost values.
The dash of reality is that most people don’t want to wait twenty years for crime, transit, parks and amenities to be built. If your in your forties now then you won’t see those benefits until your sixties and then you’ll be ready for a new neighborhood. So why not live where you’re comfortable now?
These nuanced, thoughtful, thorough views of this topic, free of prejudice – will you stop it already? Your duty is to bloviate…
It’s 100% real estate marketing and it’s 100% effective on rubes. These are the folks who think iphones are the pinnacle of technology and blue bottle is coffee at it’s finest.
I love that the rubes are paying almost as much to live in the TL, Mission and Bayview than my neighborhood costs.
To throw my two cents in…I am a Bayview resident, I had my sfh built in 2005, btw one of the few places with empty lots for development without teardown at the time. I immediately saw a huge equity boost only to see it plummet where in from 2009-2014 I stood before the assessment appeal board to contest my property tax assessment. I am also a native San Franciscan who grew up on the border of Portola/Excelsior and my father had a business in the Bayview for 38 years.
Needless to say i have seen the Bayview go through its paces, from its days when despite its high concentration of public housing a number of people were employed with working class blue collar jobs, to the rough mid to late 80’s when drugs and unemployment swept through taking out many mom and pop stores and where violence became the calling card of the Bayview.
The nineties were pretty much a wasted decade in the Bayview as a generation lost to drugs/violence/disinterest in education did not move the needle in any direction. Late 90’s/Early 2000’s brought the light rail construction and at that point a lot of optimism along with the dot-com craze that within a few short years the development in Mission Bay would make some tangible changes within the Bayview as the Bayview became incorporated into the City. That didnt happen as the dot com bubble burst and Mission Bay development ceased. A few years later the real estate bubble began to inflate only to see the Bayview decimated again by financial foolishness (institutional and personal).
The fact of the matter is that people in the Bayview will always be wholly optomistic about the Bayview what else is there especially when change seems always just on the horizon, or when you are itching to see even the simplest of progress. Dear god the damn SF Produce Market is here and for 30+ years you’d be hard pressed to find a place to buy fresh produce!
Despite the weather it has always been a fairly unincorporated part of town, along with Visitacion Valley, and while better connected transit wise now, we have also lost the one thing that often ever brought people into the community (49ers). With each upturn or bit of prosperity seen in San Francisco, the Bayview is seemingly always the last part of the City to reap the benefits or to find the eyes of City planning or the Mayors office focused upon it. So you question enthusiasm? Seriously?
For the first time since the construction of the Shipyards there is a massive investment in the Bayview. Investment that will undoubtedly change every socio-economic demographic of the neighborhood. The developments at Candlestick, and The Shipyards will not be filled by an existing populace, which means new politics, new visions, new community and those are all things to be excited about. The fact that the Bayview is not the defacto dumping ground for homeless shelters is something to be enthused about. The idea that this time, possibly, the third street corridor will be filled with thriving businesses to replace decades empty storefronts and that there will be a reason to be on Third street after 8 pm is something to be overjoyed about.
As a resident do i think it happens tomorrow? no. And realistically after 40 years in San Francisco in and around the Bayview i know even one market glitch could delay the dream another decade, but that doesn’t change the fact that for the first time since the mid sixties there are cranes and significant construction in the Bayview.
I know it may be a pipe dream but as a kid i remember Valencia street, Cortland, Folsom were like, and while i don’t expect Third Street to mirror that at least i can fathom that under the right conditions it may again at least be a viable commercial thoroughfare. I still certainly expect that those with the means will opt for Dogpatch/Potrero/SoMa, but there is hope that those NOT seeking condo living might look at the Bayview, embrace being fairly closely connected to the development of Mission Bay, Pier 70, The Shipyards and Candlestick and look towards the future of the area than the past.
Btw I went to St. Ignatius and spent my time in the Sunset and its different strokes for different folks as to “City Living.”
Again just my 2 cents.
Amazing post, thanks for sharing your nuanced, historic perspective.
“Bayview what else is there especially when change seems always just on the horizon, or when you are itching to see even the simplest of progress.”
The problem here becomes when you have people working at money losing companies where profitability and a sustainable business model are ‘just on the horizon’ buying in a neighborhood with change ‘just on the horizon’ and furthermore stretched themselves financially to do so. There’s obviously a possible outcome where everything works out great, but that outcome relies on quite a bit of good fortune coming your way.
Even the point about the defacto dumping ground for shelters needs to be looked at. The recent Super Bowl sweep of street people has created quite a bit of political momentum for a more permanent housing solution for some street people. It’s great to hope that the Bayview won’t again be the dumping ground, but what other neighborhood is stepping up? Somewhere has to be the dumping ground and until that somewhere is manifest the hopes for the Bayview are just another ‘just on the horizon’ hope.
It’s fine to hope for things, but you have to realize when you’re playing a game where you roll 10 dice and only win when they all come up ‘6’s
If you’re gonna flip this place, couldn’t you at least remove the terrible 70s stone veneer? I mean come on, it’s 2016.
I hope that all that Bayview hopes for comes true – it would be wonderful to have another vibrant neighborhood to visit in SF. Especially one that offers its own flavor and maybe even options that aren’t too expensive. One of those neighborhoods where you can still get your watch or shoes fixed, go to a diner or family-run restaurant, a regular toy store, basically somewhere still middle-class, where they don’t have to sell high-end stuff just to pay the rent.
Jenolfa, none of that exists in Bayview and hasn’t for 50+ years. And if it did, it would close at dark and would not be open on weekends.
No other SF neighborhood decreased as dramatically during the Great Recession as Bayview. Houses went from $750-$850k to $250-$350k amazingly fast. I don’t think it will every go down to those levels again (I hope) but it will be the first to decrease and the most.
I never said Bayview had all that. I’m just hoping that if, big capital IF, Bayview gentrifies, it will gentrify to a point to replace all the middle-class neighborhoods in SF that have gentrified past that point to high-priced lux.
What I’d love to know (and I’m sure we’ll soon find out) is which would be more vulnerable in a downturn, Bayview or Oakland. I’m sure Bayview would slot in after some more desirable Oakland neighborhoods and behind less desirable Oakland neighborhoods.
My opinion is a bad neighborhood in San Francisco is always better than a bad neighborhood in Oakland. Every time there has been a shooting on my block (2 in 2 years) SFPD showed up ASAP. Not sure you can say the same for Oakland PD. It was a big reason for us to choose Bayview over a larger place closer to BART in West Oakland.
How do you compare Bayview vs NOBE in Oakland? NOBE is a better neighborhood than Bayview, price maybe a little lower than Bayview.
People in Bayview or those who recently moved here talk up so much about how good and upcoming Bayview is.
I moved to Bayview a year ago and it has been very disappointing to say the least. Thugs everywhere, go to downtown Bayview along 3rd street on a Thursday or Friday early evening and it is sometimes like you are in the middle of a riot waiting to happen. Cars drag race, loud motorcycle doing a one-wheelie, kids yelling at each other at Muni station along 3rd, cars double or triple park on the streets, some folks don’t even both stopping at a stop sign, slow down would have been a big ask. There is no respect for traffic rules, and the police arent doing anything about it either as they have their hands tied on other more violent crimes in the area.
Bayview is still a very challenging neighborhood and people know it but choose to turn a blind eye. The accessibility to anything convenient is non-existent, unlike the Mission and even Tendeloin.
Of course I want Bayview to gentrify and transition into a more civilized neighborhood, but man it is going to be another 15-20 years before we see that come to fruition. Just being realistic, it is not going to be as quick as what other Bayview residents want you to believe.
Public housing with boarded up windows just needs to go quickly and replaced with mix-used communities. Tear them down already.
I’m in agreement with jrr1. It is disappointing and still 15-20 years away if it doesn’t get worse again…sigh.
For me proximity to work and commute time is everything. Even though muni is inconsistent in Bayview and it seems like only half of the trains stop and turn back around for downtown at 23rd street it’s still better than a bridge or BART.
One growing problem in Bayview is the density of renters and investors. Renters tend to be less invested in making an effort to improve things in a dangerous neighborhood.
Most people go from home to wherever in a car and then back. Never setting foot on the streets of Bayview.
The going from home to wherever in a car and coming back w/o setting foot on the streets is a common feature of SF. In my neighborhood the only time you really see people on the streets is when they are walking their dogs. .
There are many investor owned homes in my neighborhood and your observation on that is spot on. A good gauge to determine if a home is rented out in my area is the front yard. If the yard is kept up its usually owner occupied, if not its usually rented out.
This has been a very interesting thread and thank you to everyone, especially the BV residents, who provided an unflinching honest look at this area. Like others, I have lived and worked in SF for forty years and have seen neighborhoods changed for the better in my opinion. Anytime investment dollars come in whether they are developers taking a run-down home and turning it into something beautiful and livable for new homeowners or simply when neighbors decide to spend money to upgrade or fix up their homes, these are good things. And good begets good. It makes me happy to see buildings and people being put to their highest and best use.
That being said, I will probably not invest in BV at the current levels. There is too much froth. I like to sell high but don’t have the balls to buy high and gamble on selling higher. My investment dollars will get the capital gains tax treatment so I will make up the difference (or more) when I buy during a recession at a discount.
Will I finally drive around BV, grab a bite to eat, while scoping out potential areas to invest? Absolutely.
If you do a 1031 you will postpone capital gains taxes on your appreciation.
I think you are right that this may be the top of the market – the irrational exuberance is one indication of that.
I have thought about the 1031 and talk with several people about it. It seems many SF people will 1031 out of state into a triple net investment. No more landlording in SF but there are risks associated with triple nets out of the area as well. I could also invest globally as well. It would have been nice to keep the $$$ in SF since I know this area well but city policies have forced me to look elsewhere in the meantime.
UPDATE: Back Below 2005 in Bayview?