Having returned to the market priced at $14.2 million in October of 2020, been reduced a few times over the years and then relisted anew for $10.2 million this past March, the modern Cow Hollow home at 2555 Union Street has just resold for $9.266 million or roughly $1,589 per square foot.
While nearly $1,600 a square foot isn’t exactly cheap, it’s 5 percent cheaper than in March of 2015 when 2555 Union was purchased for $9.75 million or roughly $1,672 per square foot.
And yes, that’s an apples-to-apples drop in value from the first quarter of 2015, despite the fact that the widely misreported Case-Shiller Index for “San Francisco” home values is “still up 60 percent!”
The pool of very wealthy who can afford homes in Cow Hollow and other upscale neighborhoods is shrinking. SF’s population dropped to under 810k as of last July with data indicating that those leaving SF skew to the more affluent. And why not as they tend to have greater freedom in relocating out of a city or a state.
The street situation and the collapse of retail (CoCo Republic closing its Union Square flagship store just months after opening it – citing that downtown SF is not viable for a flagship store) are two driving factors making SF less desirable and causing folks to leave. It’s much easier for the affluent to vote with their feet and get out. Sellers in more upscale areas are realizing this and are willing to significantly cut their asking prices.
I don’t think the people who can buy a 10 million dollar home are leaving SF. It’s the 30 something couple who can buy a 1 million dollar home but don’t like what you get for it.
It’s the people who are selling the 10 million dollar homes who are leaving.
How do you know this seller is leaving San Francisco?
Maybe socketsite could post something about who is actually leaving, the foot traffic downtown, improvement or decline in street condition and what streets instead of endless articles about sale prices and mortgage rates. We get it!! High end modern house sells for crazy price but less than what it would have in the past. Endless comments about how sterile it looks , too many lights, blah blah blah!!! Mix it up…….. I wish I knew how to quit you.
and it’s the people buying $9.2 million dollar homes who are staying
It’s both. From the Robb Report:
“The IRS follows migration patterns by checking if tax filers listed different addresses on their forms than the year prior. Then, the agency can track how many people depart a region, and of course, the income of the individuals coming and going. During the two years the Chronicle analyzed, the average annual income of citizens leaving San Francisco was $153,000, while the people arriving earned $103,000 a year.” Additionally, San Francisco had the largest median income drop (from 121K to 116K) of any US city for the two-year period 2019 – 2021.
More information like this is far more interesting than the never ending apples to apples.
This could just be people arriving at an earlier stage in their careers – would be interesting to see average age too. If they have the same future earning potential, this gap shouldn’t matter too much.
That’s a BINGO! There are some deeply flawed and misleading “analyses” making the rounds.
It’s not like $153k can put you into the $10M house buying category, so that statistic is way too general.
All complaining about downtown aside, the marina is still an amazing place to live.
I live in Cow Hollow and agree. However, I was also here during the 1989 earthquake and saw what happens with liquefaction of loose soil (Marina flat areas are generally landfill of bay wetlands). That earlier Loma Prieta shaking is nothing compared to what is building up even closer on the overdue Hayward fault.
So, enjoy the party! But, don’t forget to have on hand: flash light batteries, peanut butter, gallons of water, and a Walmart tent (buildings get quickly “red tagged” as inhospitable by the City).
Based on the geological maps I’ve seen, most of Cow Hollow is on fairly solid ground. Not like the other side of Lombard.
Was walking around after the SailGP last weekend and had the same thought. SF has some amazing neighborhoods.
The only thing missing from that kitchen is a Bunsen burner and a couple of Erlenmeyer flasks.
That biotech lab space seems incorrectly zoned as residential, looks more like PDR to me
Yeah, it totally came straight from IKEA! Is this the ausfahrten model? It should have more colors and bay windows like the real San Francisco!?!?!?!?
I love the stainless steel kitchen. There’s a reason most if not all commercial kitchens use it. I guess some people just can’t separate the idea of luxury from carerra marble.
A stainless steel steel commercial kitchen is one thing but it doesn’t contribute to a very “homey” feeling IMO. So many of these homes designed for our tech masters give off a very cold feeling.
You’re right that most commercial kitchens use stainless steel: because it requires less maintenance and keeping it relatively clean is less fussy when the kitchen is in constant use. Does it resist scratches as well as durable stones like granite?
In my mind, stainless steel doesn’t impart the idea of luxury unless you go further to include the implication that the owner has the money to regularly employ a private chef or frequently hires an outside catering service whose staff will feel comfortable using it.
The James Bond movie “Stainless Is Forever”