The remodeled 6,245-square-foot home at 3530 Washington Street, “on one of the finest blocks in Presidio Heights,” appears to have been priced in late 2018 and was officially listed for $10.25 million in May of last year.
The five-floor home features “Bay and Golden Gate views” from its rear-facing rooms and is outfitted with five bedrooms, four and a half baths, a 1000+ bottle wine room and a tandem two car garage.
Having been reduced to $9.65 million and then removed from the MLS at the end of last year, the sale of 3530 Washington Street has now closed escrow with a contract price of $8.3 million or $1,329 per square foot.
And having been relisted at $8.6 million on the day the sale was finally recorded, the sale was “within 4 percent of asking,” and with an official “1” day on the market, according to all MLS-based stats and aggregate market reports.
What does “appears to have been priced in late 2018” mean?
Looks like its previous sale was for $1.88M in 1997. Seller has done very, very well.
6.9 percent annual appreciation. Very nearly double the national average, which is excellent. But just about exactly the SF average, as you might expect.
Plus the use value of 23 years in a beautiful home in a great neighborhood.
When calculating “appreciation” and returns, don’t forget to account for the seven-figure remodel and updgrading, not to mention the cost of carry, as well.
In addition, you might want to double-check “the SF average,” in terms of actual appreciation versus a change in the “median price” or such, because it’s well under 7 percent.
Shouldn’t we also count the tax benefits and the amount the seller would have paid in rent for a comparable place?
What are the numbers anyway?
When calculating appreciation, no. When calculating returns, yes (as long as you’re accounting for the opportunity and transaction costs related to the purchase and sale as well).
Average annual appreciation of 6.9 percent would represent a near quintupling of values over the past 23 years.
If I’m the seller, I’m counting returns, not just appreciation. Kudos to this seller. He lived in a prime location for 20 years not just for free, but made a killing on it.
Most importantly it wasn’t a straight line over those 23 years. There were some huge double digit up years and some white knuckle down years.
While the ROL or Return on Life might be high, a house you live in is not an investment. It provides no cash flow. Good memories might come out of the house, but capital only flows into it. A conversation on returns is moot.
Precious metals (like gold and silver), fine, collectible wines and art, and certain cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin), all have significant carrying costs (capital flows into them) but it is possible to sell them for much more than you paid for them (including the amount you spent to hold them) after a period of time.
They might not be investments that you or I would make, but just like residential real estate, they are still investments.
It sure looks like capital flowed out of this property. Not until it was sold, but it appears like the seller lived for free and walked away with a profit at the end.
I respect San Franciscans for not caring that actress Julia Roberts bought this home. Now if it were a Tech mogul the gossip would have been non-stop.