A Museum Parc and neighborhood sales comp back in December of 2005 at $660,000 ($740 per square foot), 300 3rd Street #504 was bought back by the bank for $608,811 in December of 2008. And the one-bedroom was just listed for $517,800 ($580 per square).
As an aside, keep in mind that peek-a-boo view of 680 Folsom should be getting better, not worse, over time.
∙ Listing: 300 3rd Street #504 (1/1) – $517,800 [MLS]
∙ Wet Weekend Special (And Scoop): The Designs For 680/690 Folsom [SocketSite]
what does it mean to say that the bank bought back a property for $608,811? if it’s a foreclosure situation, how do you put a dollar amount on it?
[Editor’s Note: That’s typically the loan balance of the senior note (first mortgage) outstanding.]
I worked two jobs for 5 years to save up enough money to buy my first place in the city. After 2 years of looking I bought a place at Museum Parc, because it was across the street from Max’s and down the street from MOMA and the new Metreon was coming.
This building is older, but I still think it’s a great location. Units tend to be larger, but need updating. The windows are not as sound insulating as the newer ones, parking is split off from the HOAs. Great location, even though Max’s is history now.
thx Editor for educating a novice.
One thing i like about these older buildings is that they do not have BMR units (since i do not qualify for it but only by a small margin). I’d be interested to hear if others give extra consideration to buildings without BMR units, for any reason.
although I always think that SF RE costs too much, this is an example of a unit where you could really “add value” if you wanted to LIVE there.
you could buy this for $500k or so, and redo the ENTIRE place for very cheaply and have a very cute “luxury” apartment.
You could put in new carpeting, paint the place. Then redo the cabinets and countertops and appliances in the kitchen. And redo the bathroom vanity/mirror as well. afterwards it would be as nice or nicer than the inside of ORH as example.
And you could do this whole place for pretty cheaply, especially if you did some of it yourself.
I recently redid my entire bathroom (new tile on floors, tile on walls, paint on walls, new pedestal sink, new lights and mirror, etc) for about $6,000.
this bathroom couldn’t cost much more than that.
The kitchen could be updated nicely for well under $6-10k depending on finishes.
The new carpeting (or hardwood floors or whatever you want) can be put in for a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.
Thus, I see no reason why you couldn’t have a kick butt place for under $30k of renos… (even far far less than that)
Of course this would be even better at $300k. but I won’t get into that argument… Just that for $550k or so you could have a place fairly comparable to ORH.
obviously when I say comparable to ORH, I mean INTERIOR comparable to ORH. the view is clearly not ORHish.
This location is very much core South of Market–not like Rincon Hill at all.
Museum Parc building has a variety of unit types including some efficient studios. Even before BMR forced developers to mix things up market forces were causing developers to include a range of units including some targeted at modest buyers.
The interior layouts are like other modern condo boxes, but the finishes are exactly what the last boom wanted. The original kitchens are white and everything is carpeted. Recent construction has wood floors in the main rooms, granite counters, and appliances are usually metal or dark.
“…you could buy this for $500k or so, and redo the ENTIRE place for very cheaply and have a very cute “luxury” apartment.”
With 2BD units @ SF BLU starting at 575K why even bother spending 500K on this place pre remodelling?
Pros: location, good layout, low HOA’s.
Cons: parking situation is terrible, no laundry in some units, soot from cars on 3rd/Folsom, lobby smells like either thai or indian food all the time.
Otherwise, good pied a terre.
680 Folsom unfortunately hasn’t seemed to make any progress whatsoever from that photo from Feb-08. Anyone here any updates on this project? It looks to be dead.
With 2BD units @ SF BLU starting at 575K why even bother spending 500K on this place pre remodelling?
a good point. I didn’t really mean to imply that this place is the best value around. Only that you could take a place like this and REALLY improve it with small cosmetic changes. it would work if you plan on LIVING there, but probably not if you try to flip.
I am horrible at valuing SF RE, so I don’t try to do it. I am personally of the opinion that 1BR places are entry-level inferior goods (economic term, not value judgement), and thus should cost less to own than to rent. $500k is clearly far above cost to rent.
But that argument has been rehashed 1000x so I left it out.
instead, I just meant to say that with $30k I could do A LOT to this place. Even in SF.
FWIW: I hadn’t realized BLU prices were that low now.
[Editor’s Note: BLU Cuts Pre-Sale Required Green To $575,000 (And Up To 26%).]
Hi ex SF-er. Agreed, this could be a nice place with a modest remodel. One of the issues with condo values is that you are buying into the building as well as your individual unit. Personally, I’d rather own a run down unit in a nice building rather than vice versa. (BTW, I’m not saying that Musuem Parc is run-down!) It’s going to be interesting to see how the values on some of the new construction plays out over a 10 year period. If I was going to buy I would pay the premium and stick to the blue chip buildings like The Infinity or The Brannan.
On SF BLU, 575K is the starting price for the smaller less desirable units.
Pros: location, good layout, low HOA’s.
Cons: parking situation is terrible, no laundry in some units, soot from cars on 3rd/Folsom, lobby smells like either thai or indian food all the time.
Otherwise, good pied a terre.
My understanding is that 680 Folsom has been put on hold indefinitely due to economic conditions or financing, or some combination of both. Ain’t nothing going on there except a lonely security guard walking his beat.
No wonder, coffeegrind, the office leasign market is DEAD. No one is hiring and everyone is laying off or moving jobs out of the area. That means there is already so much subleasing space on the market, that new space will just sit. No need to finish 680 Folsom when no one will take it anyway.
” … lobby smells like either thai or indian food all the time.”
Awesome! That is a feature I’d expect to have to pay extra for, but it comes along with the relatively low HOA fees.
This neighborhood sucks; I lived there for a year.
“This neighborhood sucks; I lived there for a year.”
lolcat can you elaborate on what part of it sucks? as a prospective SOMA buyer I could use some more negative perspectives, because many people like soma so much these days they mostly say good things only. I’m aware of the bums and deadbeats that wander the neighborhoods already.
condoshopper,
Museum Park actually has a good location for SOMA. It’s right behind YB Park which houses an ice rink, kid’s park, museum, restaurant and open space. The building is also right by Union Square, Financial District, South Beach, Ballpark and the Water. You can 2 grocery stores nearby, Whole Foods and Safeway. I used to rent across the street and I found the location very liveable. MOMA is only a block away and there’s not a homeless problem in this area. It’s safe.
I do agree that some parts on SOMA is sketchy. A lot of the run of the mill condos located in alleys, west of 4th street are less desireable. You should spend the weekend @ Yerba Buena and hopefully you’ll like it.
For weather, location and overall quality, South Beach is a great area.
j,
thanks for the input. you said you rent across the street. is it the orange colored apartments across from 3rd street and on the same side of folsom? i find that corner and building (on the exterior at least) is more attractive than museum parc.
Reduced by $15K, now $563 per square.
Here comes some more inventory: #816 (1bed, 860sq.ft.) was taken back by the taxpayers (via Indymac) for $404,865 on June 16. Originally sold for $590,000 in April 2006. Anybody know what happened to #504 (can’t find a record of sale and it looks like it was pulled from the MLS. Shadow inventory or maybe this is it?)