41 Federal
A little over two months ago we noted that 41 Federal #42 (at Shore|Line) was advertising “Seller Motivated Drastic Price Reduction.” And that the list price had been reduced from $939,000 to $869,000 (7.5%).
And while the listing is no longer marketing “Seller Motivated,” yesterday the price was reduced another $19,000 (2.2%). And yes, the developer was advertising $850,000 eight months ago.
∙ Listing: 41 Federal #42 (1/1.5) – $850,000 [MLS]
Seller Motivated Drastic Price Reduction Penthouse Unit [SocketSite]
Savings At Shoreline (41 Federal) [SocketSite]

26 thoughts on “And Now We’re Back Where We Started At Shore|Line (41 Federal)”
  1. Very unattractive photo of the hallway (why?) but not a single shot of the living room or bedroom.
    Perhaps they are trying to hide the size of this place. There is no square footage noted in the listing.

  2. I watched that building being constructed. No where near the quality of any bigger development. It looked like almost all wood, put together by unskilled probably not legel workers, as opposed to ORH or Infinity, where the building just looks solid and the enormous construction crew moves so quickly.

  3. From the MLS site: “Feel of Georgetown but blocks from the water front…”
    Two comments:
    First of all, does anyone know what “Georgetown” this realtor is referring to? Is there an alley somewhere known as “Georgetown”, that Bay Area folks relate to? I’ve lived in Georgetown (north of Austin,TX) and in Georgetown (D.C… and to mention Adams Morgan), and this alley called “Federal” reminds me of neither.
    Second, what’s up with all the ads on sfarmls that reference “Manhattan”, “SOHO style meets…”, etc. ?? San Francisco definitely has a soul and identity of its own. It does not to have to refer to anything east of the Mississippi to make it appealing. This sounds like the spin that some realtor in Phoenix or Portland would put out.

  4. As often happens with condo layouts, the kitchen ended up in a dark corner. The obvious solution: dark counters and cabinets. This entire building is sad a testimony about the realities of construction today.

  5. Have any of you actually seen this unit?
    It’s quite unique. Not a cookie-cutter unit like so many others. The floorplan is very flexible and the view from the deck is pretty neat. The finishings are high end. The block does actually feel like Georgetown in D.C. It’s a quiet tree-lined block.
    Alas, it is still way too expensive for today’s market.

  6. I haven’t seen the unit. The alley, or “block” was enough of a turn-off. It’s not the Georgetown D.C. feel that I remember, that’s for sure.
    I can’t comment on Georgetown, Guyana. Perhaps that is the Georgetown in mind here. I’ll have to trust anon on that one.
    And yes…way to expensive.

  7. Although I agree that the street is a tough sell due to lack of street parking for guests, and the parking itself for the unit is oddly situated in the 200 Brannan garage, the poster who claims that the construction of Shoreline is cheap is way off the mark. We gave serious consideration to Shoreline before settling on another project elsewhere in the city.
    After looking at Shoreline, along with One Rincon, Infinity and some smaller developments, we can attest to the fact that this developer (associated I think with Santa Fe Partners) is top-notch. We were really impressed by the finishes and attention to detail in these units, but ultimately the street, the parking and $$/sq ft drove us elsewhere.
    I fear the comments regarding the quality of these units comes from yet another Infinity/One Rincon buyer that is trying to justify their purchase in a building/area that might not hold up in short-term value.

  8. I actually like the block. Not much traffic vs. the surrounding streets.
    But lack of street parking for guests? When there isn’t a baseball game, the embarcadero has hundreds of parking spots available. It is a ghost town! The only thing I would mention is that the area is not immune to break-ins. There is a fair share of car window glass in the area. I sure wouldn’t park my car outside overnight, and have had my guests pay to park in a secure garage elsewhere. Seems weird that the unit has no parking in the building’s own garage, and instead parks around the block at 200 brannan.
    Anyone who did not witness the construction of the building should remain mute about the quality. I sure saw it from start to finish, as did some of my friends in the area, and in terms of structure it was less than amazing, that’s for sure. I care as much about what is behind the walls holding up the building (I prefer concrete with tensioned steel rather than wood) as what kind of appliances and cabinets are in the unit.

  9. I’m totally puzzled by the small narrow pictures of the interior. Why post a pic of the hallway? The narrow pics of the kitchen and bath seem cut off. And no pictures of the living space, bedrooms, windows, etc.
    Just terrible marketing of this unit…

  10. I wonder how many condominium buildings with less than ten units and only two or three floors are constructed with concrete and tensioned steel. You can’t compare a high-rise to a low-rise. And yes, we actually did a walk-through on their first open, studs, hard hats and all and were accompanied by a seasoned contractor, real estate investor and friend who also felt it was good construction.
    Again, I think it’s safe to say anon 3:21pm is an Infinity/One Rincon buyer trying hard to make themselves feel better.
    And, as stated in my previous post we did not buy at Shoreline.

  11. Why would someone be mad if they bought at the Infinity or One Rincon? Looks like these are the smart buyers?
    Imagine if you bought at Shoreline! Looks like you’ll be takking a loss. Or if you lived at the Beacon, or 170 or even SomaBland… there’s a lot worst out there than One Rincon/Infinity.
    For the money, Infinity is the best new building. For the views, Rincon wins it. What does Shoreline have besides an unit that will sit on the market until next year????

  12. Not taking any sides, but for 850k you get a 1bed unit at the Shoreline that nobody wants.
    For less than 800k you could have gotten a sweet 1bed view unit at both Infinity and OneRincon. For less than 700k, you could have gotten a 1bed treetop unit at Infinity.
    The location at Shoreline is just okay, but the parking situation is a major turnoff and the street feels too much like an alley. And for a cheaply built, wood construction building, 850k for a 1 bedroom is still too steep.
    Infinity’s location is wonderful and has deeded parking.
    No comment on Rincon except it will have the best views in the city 😉

  13. I have to disagree with several people here and say that this building is one of the best new boutique developments in the city. The quality of finished product far exceeds many large projects around, Palms, Somagrand, 170 off third, etc. Don’t be fooled by the lousy photos, or what people here say. Take a tour and see for your own eyes.
    The parking is in 200brannan’s lot. You exit from the back of Shoreline, and the elevator to pkg is 20 ft away across the landscape area. It would be better if there were some kind of rain shelter in between. But in terms of distance to the pkg, it’s just as if you lived in 200brannan. One thing I liked about this building the most is exactly the tree lined alley! It feels like your private inclined driveway and gives a very warm coming home feel. That transition to me was quite intoxicating…The building doesn’t have a doorman. Dues are therefore quite low for a 9 unit building. As I was told before, earthquake insurance is also included(!). What this unit suffers from is the lack of “view”. It looks right at the rooftop of 250brannan. That said, this is a very well laid out 1/1.5 with superb finishes. I’m guessing there might be a little more room on the price, but honestly not much.
    I agree with deshard about the developer. I met him and his wife (and their dog). They are true class act and totally down to earth. I’m excited to see their next project. (BTW, unit #23 changed hands very recently (last month I think) for somewhere above $1.3M. It was sold within a couple of weeks it came onto the market IMSMR.)

  14. I believe #23 was one of the first units sold last year, so I guess you can call it a flip. There wasn’t much after work done to the unit as everything was already built to such high quality. I don’t know the exact price it was sold at again. But seeing how fast it went away, I’d assume it’s close to $1.495m if not over.

  15. I am realtor in the area and I just looked up 41 Federal #23 and it was sold at list price of $1,495,000 and closed escrow in the last week. Apparently there were multiple offers and according to MLS it went into contract on the same day as the 1st open house.
    This unit was the largest in the building (1670 square feet) and it states it was a relocation sale so the owner must have had to move.

  16. What was the original sales price of #23?
    I know the developer listed #33 at 1.325M in Sept.06. I forgot if it was a 2 or 3 bedroom, but was 1423sqft.

  17. I tried to check tax records and it does not say. Same with the property history report. Also my early note of 1670 was incorrect as #23 is 1635 square feet according to the last listing.

  18. “For the money, Infinity is the best new building.”
    I honestly think #42 is an excellent unit. I’m a big fan of the Infinity myself. But in comparison to what you can get for an $800k budget at the Infinity, this is a pretty good deal. Remember the upgrades on flooring, appliances and so forth done here can be worth at least 50k. The flexibility of the 1/1.5 floor plan is perfect for a stylish single who enjoys hosting lots of dinner parties. Of course you don’t have the Infinity’s amenities or location advantage, but the fact that the building has only 9 units is a big plus imo.
    “I am realtor in the area and I just looked up 41 Federal #23 and it was sold at list price of $1,495,000 and closed escrow in the last week. Apparently there were multiple offers and according to MLS it went into contract on the same day as the 1st open house.”
    I think the seller of #42 made a common mistake when he/she decided to use the overpricing plus reduction strategy. It simply does-not-work. Now people are just sitting there and waiting to see what happens next. If I were the seller, I would take it off the market immediately and do short term rentals for 6 months. Re-list it at $799k in the spring, it will go over. Good properties priced fairly are selling very fast and often going over asking (yes, even with many people taking so much time everyday trying to convince everyone including themselves that the market is gonna crash).
    Seeing these photos that do not in any way present the quality of this building is almost irritating even from a buyer’s perspective. Somehow it just doesn’t feel like this listing agent is trying hard enough to sell this unit…

  19. The seller is trying to structure a short-sale according to the listing. Also it was 100% financed and the listing notes it was never lived in! You would think the owner would have at least tried to rent the place?

  20. SocketsiteBrowser, is the short sale info in the super-secret agents remarks? It’s not in the basic public info.
    Rents in SF will only cover half the monthly costs of owning using normal financing so why rent? So you can bleed half as fast as not renting? If it’s truly 100% down then they have nothing invested, might as well throw the keys on the roof and walk away. Let the lender take the loss.

  21. “SocketsiteBrowser, is the short sale info in the super-secret agents remarks?”
    Yes, this is listed in the agent remarks not publicly visible. What would motivate an owner to buy and do 100% financing and then letting your credit go down the drain? There must have been another motivation for them doing this as it makes no sense.

  22. SocketsiteBrowser, the motivation was “real estate always goes up”.
    Get a place with nothing down and a 1% neg-am arm with a one-year teaser rate period. You pay $8.5K on the mortgage for that year plus say $6K in HOA plus 1% taxes, total 24K. At the end of the year the place will have appreciated 20% guaranteed. Sell for $1.02M, pay off the loan ($170K left), pay the realtor 6% ($110K) and pocket your money. It’s a can’t lose investment.
    $110K/$24k is a 450% per annum return. Much better than a boring old T-bill. Isn’t leverage great?
    Except for one thing.
    Real estate doesn’t always go up.

  23. just learned that one of the units at 41 federal is going into foreclosure. A flip gone bad apparently…
    41 Federal St, San Francisco County, 94107
    Unpaid Balance:
    $746,144

Leave a Reply

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