We love the architectural details, and we’re suckers for a wood burning fireplace in the sky, but we do wish the new kitchen was up to par with the rest of the “Parisian Elegance” (and there were a place to park store the car).
∙ Listing: 666 Post Street #1103 (1/1) – $559,000 [MLS]
And Satan pays the HOA dues.
666 on 8-8-8 ? Yikes !
The photographer sure takes on a journey through his/her lens collection. Most of the interior shots are shot with a really wide angle lens that creates an almost fisheye distortion. That makes me feel claustrophobic.
Then there are those telephoto shots of all of the buildings in the view. Here’s the Clift Hotel. There’s the Transamerica Pyramid… what’s up with that ? I guess they’re shots from the roof garden.
I used to work a block down the street (next to Postrio). There are plenty of garages one to three blocks away, so if you must have a car there are choices. Had no problem getting garage space a few years ago, but don’t know current availability.
HOA is way too high for that price segment. Don’t care what it pays for; it’s way too high.
Parisians love their gas guzzlers!
When I bought a home in the Marina (early 90s) for the price this is selling for, I would never have expected to see such inflation of housing prices. Since neither my income, or my employees income, has inflated at the same rate, I cannot but feel sympathy for young buyers in the city today. Because of Prop. 13, the cost of ownership of this apartment is more than my cost of ownership of my two story home.
Nice looking building and detailing and a lot of square feet for the money. Seems like a decent value for the buyer who can forego the gleaming tower and wants to live close-in, within a neighborhood that’s already established.
I’m less bothered by the kitchen than I am by the lack of a distinct dining room.
At $0.87 per square foot, the HOAs are high but not astronomical.
Can any of our Realtor contributors comment on pricing for the co-op ownership structure vs. a standard condo?
The lobby is gorgeous with marble and sandstone carved staircases, floors, and elevator lobbies. The blood red building is also very distinctive and can be seen all the way from Twin Peaks and the Bay Bridge. The theatre district is across the street. There is an AVIS rental car across the street, so you can rent a Mercedes, Prius, or whatever your pleasure for long journeys out of the city. The restaurants are superb, and the location is far enough from the touristy areas to feel like a real city neighborhood. I was a signature away from moving into a unit here (rental) but they did not allow pets.
Re: High HOA dues. Keep in mind that this is a co-op and therefore a single property in which owners are actually shareholders. The monthly fees likely include property taxes.
Anonandon,
Don’t take this the wrong way, but your comments about prices 18 years ago vs. today sound like an old man talking about this “newfangled” way of life.
The entire world has changed since 1990, and SF more than any place. Local economic conditions are like night and day, and the amount of young couples with household incomes over $300k who are dying to live in the Marina has probably increased ten-fold since then. I can’t speak for your employees, but I doubt that they are a representative sample.
The entire Tech sector, which is America’s only truly defensible one, is centered upon a city that’s the size of a shoebox. That sector, for all intents and purposes, barely even existed in 1990. SF also has the coincidental benefit of being the most beautiful city on the planet.
And you’re surprised that people are willing to pay a million dollars for a nice home in a great part of the city?
Gimme a break.
“SF also has the coincidental benefit of being the most beautiful city on the planet.”
not sure how much you have travelled but this is highly debatable.
the natural beauty of the city is probably in the top 20 worldwide and 1 or 2 in the US. (capetown, vancouver, hong kong, rio, others)
the beauty of the actual city itself (buildings, streets, people) is in the bottom half across the world and maybe 10th in the US
NewBuyer you missed my point. I was talking about how unfair Prop 13 is to NEW BUYERS in California. Someone will be paying more in propety taxes for their one bedroom shoebox on Post Street than I will on a single family house in the Marina. Yes I am OLD, 47 years old in fact. And although I am going grey on the edges, I can still outswim most 22 year olds, and I challenge you to a bike race up Mount Tam.
I just think the rules have changed for new buyers. This unit should be entry level housing, but trust me, everyone in San Francisco is not earning 180K a year, which is what you should have in income if you want to buy this place when you take into account the HOA.
Spencer,
I’ve traveled quite a bit — the cities that I would put in SF’s class for combo of natural and architectural beauty are Geneva and Kyoto, though I was really young when I went to Paris. SF has amazing natural beauty, by far the best in the country and one of the best in the world. And our architecture is truly distinctive, with great man-made icons. Can I please ask which other TEN you think are better? Lol.
Anonandon — you sound pretty awesome, so my apologies for what sounded like a slight. I guess I’m just not looking for anyone’s sympathy, though… 🙂
It’s not called Everybody’s Favorite City for nothing. Funny that those of us that are proud of our city are getting b!tched out for just that, it should be the other way around! I think there are some closet residents from those other less desireable cities, that will never compare to the splendor charm uniqueness that is SF. Chicago and NY are concrete jungles with generic boxes sticking out of the sky. SF has the most artistic homes and the best preserved heritage out of any city in the country. SF isn’t even on par to these other backwaters. But that’s just my personal experience (yes I am well traveled. Only city that compares to SF is Prague. )
From a geography standpoint, I agree that SF has one of the best geographies. Not sure about the top position though
I personally think that
Rio
Honolulu
Capetown
Hong Kong
may be “better” geographically, but it’s a toss up. I would guess that if you ask the citizens of the US, they’d put SF on top. If you asked citizens of the Earth, they’d put Rio
I’d really have a hard time picking SF over any of the above cities, but especially Rio. SF has beautiful hills in the city. Rio has hills and mountains. SF has ocean beach, Rio has phenomenal beaches. SF has Marin, Rio has the rainforest. and Rio is also one of the most diverse cities on Earth. SF has GG bridge, Rio has the Statue of Christ the Redeemer (the Jesus statue)
regardless, SF is pretty awesome.
ex-SFer
For geography, Rio probably has an edge, and yes I’ve heard great things about Hong Kong and Cape Town. But that’s just the Geography ranking. SF has amazing History, Architecture, and of course, Culture. It would be Top 10 in my opinion or Architecture and Culture, and would be considered an “up and comer” in the History category compared to most European and Asian cities. But still… it’s America’s gem city, and that’s saying a lot.
newbuyer:
I had a long boring response, but deleted it.
Overall, I agree with you. SF is an amazing city. Trying to debate the “best” is just far too difficult. how can one compare SF to the desert beauty of Sedona as example? Or SF with Jerusalem (which I dislike but many people think it’s the most beautiful city on Earth).
so instead, I leave it at “SF is one of the best cities on Earth”. Most would agree with that.
the History argument is always tough, especially with the asian/middle eastern/african cities. Some of them have thousands of years of history. it’ll be a while before SF can compete with that! but SF has a very interesting short-term history. and it’s often more interesting to see history from 2-4 decades ago than 2-4 millenia ago. sometimes the reverse is true.
I was recently looking at some ancient egyptian artifacts from 4000 years ago. I remember seeing ruins in Vietnam/Thailand that were thousands of years old too. It is FASCINATING to me to see those! Wow. And hopefully soon I will go to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, and Guilin and see things built 2000-3000+ years ago. How do you compare the GG Bridge (a marvel) with the Great Wall or the Sphinx? Or the Hippy Revolution with the Aztecs who built the Pyramids? Luckily, you don’t have to. Just sit back and experience! I love recent history because you can see photos of it and video… get a feel for the people, understand what they were going through. Ancient history is more mysterious. what were people like back then. I have no comprehension at all!
I am an equal opportunity enjoyer. I have LOVED visiting even the most “boring” of places. I have loved Savannah Georgia and Wichita Kansas and Houston. I’ve vacationed in rural Wisconsin and Montana. All great in their own special way. I had a BLAST in Bakersfield (yep, Bakersfield). I will agree though, SF is better than bakersfield.
🙂
I like this building, but I’m pretty sure that “Parisian” molding found throughout was added for staging – I’ve seen units in this building and none of them have this detail and you can see in a few places where it jogs awkwardly. Still, not a bad building or unit for the price.
NewBuyer – could you perhaps tell me what field you and your friends are in that pay $300k? I’m sick and tired of my $50k/year salary and would like to change to THAT career.
Anonandon – thank you so much for your post. I think all the future of SF holds is generation after generation of newcomers without the income to afford these prices. At a time when tuitions are skyrocketing, salaries are barely rising (falling if you take inflation into account), and interest rates will only go up (and need to), most of my generation – early 30s – got priced out over a decade ago. Without wealthy parents, almost no young people are able to afford real estate in SF.
I dunno, are you saving 20% of your salary? If not, you are probably not ready to buy anyway, as your standard of living will take an initial hit when switching from renting to buying.
I don’t know too many families making $300k/yr, even your mythical two Google family doesn’t make quite that, but it is not that hard to make $150-200k. Heck two SFPD cops make that, or a nurse and a firefighter or teacher and a computer programmer.
Your first house will undoubtedly either be a TIC or a SFH in an “up and coming” neighborhood like Mission Terrace or Sunnyside or The Sunset. That’s why they call them starter homes. I know it seems impossible, but it can be done, it just requires hard work and sacrifice.
And if the gloom-and-doomers are right, home prices are going to collapse really soon now and you can put all your savings to work on the house of your dreams!
The list price for 666 Post Street #1103 has been reduced from $559,000 to $545,000.
The sale of 666 Post Street #1103 closed escrow today with a reported contract price of $530,000.