Last week the sale of 601 Van Ness #808 closed escrow for $335,000. That’s 12.8% under asking, and 10.7% less than what the seller had paid on 8/31/06 ($375,000). And once again, shouldn’t a rising tide raise all boats?
A few other properties that we’ve featured that have recently closed escrow: 785 Cole Street on 8/3/07 for $1,900,000 (5% under asking); 2420 Larkin on 7/17/07 for $4,100,000 (2.6% over asking); 720 York #226 on 7/13/07 for $751,000 (3% over asking); 10 South Park #3 on 7/19/07 for $925,000 (3% over asking); 73 Lobos on 7/26/07 for $635,000 (6% over asking); and 1751 Vallejo on 7/17/07 with a contract price of $1,152,000 (18.2% over asking)
∙ Shouldn’t A Rising Tide Raise All Boats? [SocketSite]
∙ Garcon, There’s A Couch In My Kitchen (785 Cole) [SocketSite]
∙ Little Background, Lot’s Of Interest (At Least From Us): 2420 Larkin [SocketSite]
∙ A True Loft Conversion In The Mill Building (720 York #226) [SocketSite]
∙ It’s Not The Garden Of Earthly Delights But It Is A Garden [SocketSite]
∙ We’re Calling Dibs On The Deck Chairs (73 Lobos) [SocketSite]
∙ Then Again, It Worked Just Fine For The Three Little Pigs [SocketSite]
Why do you point out how much they sell for over/under asking? I thought it was ‘bad’ when realtors use that statistic?
Interesting two closed under listing, perhaps listing prices have aligned with the market or is a tight market from an inventory perspective driving up prices?
How do you get SocketSite readers to post? Put up anything speculative, preferably about a proposed high-rise or signs of a doom-and-gloom market. How do you keep Socketsite readers quiet? Post some real facts about successful sales where properties closed over asking.
seehsee – too bad the sellers of that place on van ness didn’t list their place for $330k. they could have had another one of your “successful sales” that “closed over asking” at $335k and was only $40K under what they paid in 2006…
Nousee: Not implying that it’s not a challenging market nor that some aren’t losing out. Just making two points: 1) Despite a widespread focus on market negatives, some are still coming out nicely, even without artificially lowering asking prices as you suggest. (Just Monday evening I got together with a realtor friend of mine who had just closed on three high-priced properties in SF at slightly under, at and above asking.) 2) To a large degree, this site appeals to dreamers: those who didn’t act at the right time to enter the market (and continue their poor planning by banking on a grim future to do so) and those obsessed with highrises they will never have the wherewithal to live in.
[Editor’s Note: Please keep in mind that the average SocketSite reader already owns a home (and appears to have a decent amount of “wherewithal”).]
seehsee – too bad the sellers of that place on van ness didn’t list their place for $330k. they could have had another one of your “successful sales” that “closed over asking” at $335k and was only $40K under what they paid in 2006…
Thanks for making his point.
Thanks, Editor. Please keep in mind, as well, that there may be a difference between the average Socketsite reader (or survey respondent) and the average Socketsite poster. With a universe of 10,000 monthly unique visitors (your number) and 496 survey respondents, your sample can legitimately be projected. But comment areas are populated by those with opinions adequately strong to compel them to post. And ,they can do this as frequently as they wish (unlike the responses to a valid survey). A reader profile survey is one thing, but the tone of the message boards could be quite another–especially if they are dominated by a small but vocal group.
[Editor’s Note: No problem. And with this we won’t argue. Well, except with regard to readership (we’re running well over 10,000 unique visits a day).]
Seehsee, read this board a little more often and you’ll understand that a property’s selling “over asking” is meaningless and says nothing about the state of the market. Talk to your realtor friend and see if he or she will explain honestly why this is so (or just read the many, many explanations here if your friend simply repeats the mantra that the market is HOT).
Observer, your comments are so true! Love it.
Anon at 8:28. I read this board every day, and my realtor friend was being honest with me. She is quite frank about disappointments, challenges and successes when talking about her job. And, she’s definitely not a market cheerleader. I watch the market and listings myself, as well. My point is simply this: Just as it’s ridiculous to let the realty industry be one’s sole source of insight and analysis about what’s going on in the market, the same goes for gloom-and-doom bloggers who have a self-centered agenda in painting the market as grimly as possible. I do not dispute that the market is in turmoil right now, and that even darker times may be ahead. But, despite that , some properties are still selling at high prices, and therefore some sellers are still making out quite well.