Remodeled and listed for $5.25 million in 2013, the asking price for the 3,900-square-foot penthouse atop the Hamilton at 631 O’Farrell Street was reduced to $4.25 million in early 2014 and then to $3.95 million six months later.
While briefly in contract earlier this year, the listing for the Trendyloin penthouse was officially withdrawn from the MLS without a reported sale last month.
And early this morning, 631 O’Farrell Street #2101 was listed anew for $3.498 million and with an official “one” day on the market according to industry stats and reports.
OMG, that staging…has got to go.
The staging wouldn’t as bad if the chairs were a neutral color. Aside from the staging, I am sure having to wade through TL’s finest residents on the streets effects the sale of this beautiful penthouse.
My wife and I looked at this apartment last time it was listed. At least the staging will go. The real problem is the floor plan (crowded galley kitchen in a 3,900 sq. ft. apartment, poorly shaped and located dining room, laughable guest bathroom, and a rabbit warren of bedrooms and bathrooms with low ceilings and narrow hallways).
[Editor’s Note: We’ve included the floor plan in the image gallery above.]
This is a unique and fascinating unit and building and I’m glad the agent holds so many open houses so we all have a chance to see it. But this penthouse is also a hot mess with major issues which buyer’s at this price point aren’t likely to put up with. In particular:
* The neighborhood has great proximity to things, but it’s also disgusting and a bit dangerous. Linger very long outside the building to say goodbye to a friend or even just check your phone and the street people who loiter here 24/7 are drawn like moths or zombies to come harass you. Plus, imagine hosting a fancy party here and the talk of your guests is less about your fabulous place and more about the person they passed on the street who was urinating or smoking crack or sprawled out unconscious on the sidewalk. The street people won’t be gentrified out either, since they generally already live in protected/supportive housing or on the streets.
* The other 185 units in the building are all small and most of them are tiny studios. They’re converted hotel rooms. And so shared amenities may be overloaded and you’ll be the one rich guy with a giant penthouse living with hundreds of middle class folks in tiny units who may resent you for it.
* The floor plan is a total disaster and is totally incompatible with the way most people buying a place like this would want to live. So before you even move in you’ll likely have to spend at least $1M and at least a year on a to-the-studs renovation. If done right, it could be amazing though.
This place is a white elephant and I think the best approach would be for the building HOA to buy it and use it for amenities such as a club room, event space, maybe some guest suites they could rent out or sell, etc.
[Editor’s Note: With respect to the residents, other units and community below: Life At The Hamilton (631 O’Farrell): A Plugged-In Reader’s Report.]
What this place needs, imo, is for some flipper to come in and remove all the personality. Take out the gilded walls in the foyer, the mirrored wall in the dining room, and that mural in the master bedroom. Do something about the guest bathroom. Replace the windows so there aren’t horizontal bars every few inches interrupting the views. Blandify the furnishings. Leave the kitchen – it’s new enough and the new owner will want to put in their own anyway, they always do.
The floor plan is awkward, agreed, but it would feel much less so if the decor wasn’t swearing at you from every direction.
$4300/month in fees to live with an O’Farrel Street Address is greatly hurting this place. The Four Seasons and Millennium towers are ~$2500/mo for a similar sized place if memory serves me correct.
And while I think this space is actually very desirable, the building is filled with a wide variety of diverse residents that may be off putting to potential buyers in this price range (to put it more mildly than^^^).
Personally, I really like the space and think this could be a great buy/fix/flip or buy/fix/live for anyone. I think this part of town will become very desirable over time. But the price needs to come down, IMO, to accommodate for the high fees unless I’m missing something.
Is it safe to say that the walls aren’t movable, or is it just that nobody has taken it on?
You couldn’t pay me to live in that neighborhood. Seems like a white elephant.
The current listing agent got this place written up on SFGate the last week of December and said “When you’re up there, you’re not in the Tenderloin, you’re up in the clouds. It’s not to be missed”. So there’s that.
Redfin shows it was relisted in October of 2017 for the current asking of $3.95M.
I really wouldn’t want this for any price.
UPDATE: Having failed to sell last year, the penthouse atop 631 O’Farrell Street, unit #2101, has just been listed anew for $3.95 million and with an official “one” day on the market according to all industry stats and reports.
UPDATE: Having failed to sell when listed in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 or last year, the penthouse atop 631 O’Farrell Street, unit #2101, has just been listed anew for $3.95 million and with an official “six hours” on the market according to all industry stats and subsequent reports.
Went to Sunday Streets in the Tenderloin with my kids last weekend. I can’t understand why a $4 million place in that area isn’t selling immediately. (That’s sarcasm, if it isn’t obvious).
UPDATE: Trendyloin Penthouse Finally Trades after Nine Years on the Market