SF Askhole Of The Month, September 2021

Remember when blogs hyped extreme San Francisco real estate overbids? We’re taking a different approach — one underscoring our values in educating and empowering home buyers to make smarter choices and reject transactional inefficiencies. As we aim for more perfect market intelligence, askhole sellers take heed: the gig is (almost) up.

The Biggest Askhole: Underpriced by 38.46%

2021 14th Avenue was listed exclusively by cooperating broker Sotheby’s International Realty Inc. Photos below courtesy of SFAR MLS.

This Golden Gate Heights house certainly has an unexpected wow factor. We’re actually not too upset about the listing price of $1,800,000, even if it was more than a million dollars off the sale price. The winning bidder on the 3-bed/2-bath/2,293sqft house paid all cash (not subject to bank appraisal) and must’ve had a very strong emotional response to the place to throw down $2,925,000 for it. It happens. While the home’s finishes may be outdated and the floor plan is choppy, the view is dramatic — and that view is forever.

2021 14th Avenue is one of the top 5 most expensive homes sold in the neighborhood year-to-date. From the time the seller purchased it in 2012 for $1,310,000 until present, it appears as if the home had no work done to it. To reap an easy $1.3+ million in appreciation in just nine years isn’t too shabby!

First Runner Up: Underpriced by 34.23%

2362 46th Avenue was listed exclusively by cooperating brokers Park North Real Estate and Corcoran Global Living. Photos below courtesy of SFAR MLS.

Kudos to the buyer that was able to see past the garish “chakra paint colors” on this 3-bed/2-bath/1,403sqft house in San Francisco’s Outer Parkside neighborhood, just a couple blocks from Ocean Beach. The modest move-in ready home with plenty of opportunity to improve over time was listed at a ridiculously low $1,095,000 and subsequently bid up to $1,665,000 on the offer date. The sale price is more than twice what the seller paid for it in 2014! It’s worth noting that the winning offer was non-contingent but the month-long escrow period suggests that the buyer did obtain a mortgage.

Interestingly, the 2014 listing says the house was 2-bed/1-bath/1,162sqft plus a bonus room behind the garage. Public record today shows the same specs, and the Department of Building Inspection has no permits on record for added bedrooms and bathrooms at 2362 46th Avenue. The seller and listing agents this time around could (*should*) have managed risk by not marketing these unpermitted spaces, but now they’ll have to hope the city inspector doesn’t serve the new owner with an abatement order. It sounds like a lawsuit to us!

Second Runner Up: Underpriced by 33.33%

1194 Capitol Avenue was listed exclusively by cooperating broker Keller Williams Tri-Valley. Photos below courtesy of SFAR MLS.

You gotta love — *lolz* — an agent who puts so little effort into selling property. Exhibit A > Amateur photography (and only 1 photo). Exhibit B > The first three sentences in the MLS marketing remarks for 1194 Capitol Avenue speak nothing of the house itself and instead focus on the teaser $799,998 list price: “Absolute Bargain! Unbelievable Price! Hurry it won’t last long at the Low, Low Price!” We wish we were joking, but that’s honestly the first three lines. Exhibit C > We want to give the benefit of the doubt because the listing agent is from outside the area and maybe doesn’t understand how litigious the business is in San Francisco, but saying a property is “walking distance” to anything is definitely *not* best practice for abiding by Fair Housing laws.

Criticisms of the marketing aside, this house itself seems to be a bit sloppy having rooms constructed without required permits (and thus not reflected in public records and likely not in compliance with building standards). The house on a tiny ~1,598sqft lot sold for $1,200,000 to a buyer represented by — you guessed it — another agent from outside the area. Comparable sales suggest the buyer overpaid… significantly. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. We beg every seller and buyer in San Francisco: Please, PLEASE do yourself a HUGE favor and work only with experienced local agents who know the customs and laws in our city.