March 27, 2008

SF: (Bitter) Swanky Condo Update

Quite awhile back, I wrote of a dreamy looking set of condos going up on 17th and Clayton Streets: location, spaciousness, and pure style. They’re finally ready now, and according to  TheFrontSteps.org, the crowds turned out in droves for a recent open house. I wonder about these crowds though. Yes, 4588 17th Street is a stunning 3/3.5 luxury condo with an incredible design, inside and out. But are there really so many San Franciscans who can pay $1, 399,000, plus a $400 HOA? Plus, some readers have already pointed out the problems you will have pulling out of your garage at that intersection…

Still, this trend in new luxury condos is nothing new. We’ve hardly missed the soaring towers of pricey enclaves taking up the last of the city’s buildable space, so there must be buyers for these units. On my own block, I’ve watched a beautiful complex going up near a park I take my puppy to. These condos are on the MLS now as well. 729 Moraga St., for instance, is very similar to the 17th St. condo above, but offers 4/3, substantially more space, and a higher price tag( $1,995,000, with an HOA of $500 per month). So, right: they can’t stop my walking by on my way to the park, but there’s no way in hell I’m ever going to see the place inside once it’s owned: no one I know could afford that.

Some readers at Socketsite have opined that foreign buyers are our new biggest target group, since, to quote:

“The dollar continues to drop against foreign currencies. To foreigners our local real estate appears to be getting cheaper and cheaper.”

And

“Considering that SF was already much cheaper than London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing, and now the dollar has taken a nosedive, executives in these places, especially from Asia, can buy prime condos in SF for less than half what they would pay at home.”

I don’t know if it’s true that foreign buyers are snapping up the new luxury condos I see everywhere now, but I do know that the average buyer (a middle income, long time renter looking to finally own) is priced out. Here’s what we can afford:

5700 Mission St., #1: 2/1 condo for $439,000. The agent is “not sure” if the $400 HOA is enforced, so let’s assume it isn’t. That way the aforementioned mid-income buyer can enjoy life in the dubious Outer Mission/Crocker-Amazon in a condo that has been on the market 80 days, and reduced 50k. Hmm.

86 Potomac St.: Hayes Valley 2/1 for $445,000. Not a condo, silly middle-income buyer– it’s a TIC. Also, it’s currently rented. Have fun evicting the tenant! On the market for awhile (40 days), this unit too has been reduced 50K since it listed.

I know: I’m bitter. I see the sparkling, capacious lux units and they’re all I want. When I turn my attention back to what I can “afford,” I don’t want to afford it.  But the question remains: are there really that many people who can afford well over a million dollars for a condo in San Francisco, or will some of these heart breakingly beautiful homes sit empty until prices come down?

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Photo: Socketsite.com

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