The New Fillmore

The hillside home at 2755 Fillmore sold again, this time for $13.25 million.

REAL ESTATE | PATRICK BARBER

While the highest end of the housing market has been slowing in San Francisco over the past few months, buyers will still pay big prices for properties in prime condition in locations that also offer top-shelf views.

Such was the case with 2755 Fillmore Street, which sold for its asking price of $13.25 million in late July. Many industry insiders were surprised at the high price, given that the home traded less than three years ago for around $10 million. To put the most recent sale in perspective, it netted nearly $2,600 per square foot — a big number even in Pacific Heights, where single-family homes sold for an average of about $1,700 per square foot during the last year.

The four-bedroom, 5,142-square-foot home, extensively renovated in 2013, has a contemporary design and showed well during open houses. But perhaps its biggest selling point is its view of the bay, Alcatraz Island, the Palace of Fine Arts and the Golden Gate Bridge. Even in a market gradually normalizing after a frenetic few years, a sale like this demonstrates that the luxury segment remains resilient.

Patrick Barber is president of Pacific Union.

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“It would be impossible to do better” than Pacific Heights, claims a promotional video.

By CHRIS BARNETT

Real estate rumors are rampaging in Pacific Heights about the new luxury condos being built at 2121 Webster Street, formerly a dental school, now christened The Pacific.

• Evan Spiegel, the 26-year-old CEO of the hot new social media site Snapchat — youngest billionaire on the Forbes 400 and the main squeeze of Australian actress Miranda Kerr — bought all four grand penthouses for $58 million or so and is combining them into two huge homes that open onto one another.

• Peter Buffett, son of mega-investor Warren Buffett and a former resident of the neighborhood — and a songwriter, composer and creator of commercials and logos for MTV and CNN — scooped up two grand penthouses to link into a single aerie with a killer view.

• Actress Michelle Pfeiffer and her television writer-producer husband David E. Kelley (L.A. Law, Ally McBeal, Boston Legal, among others) bought two grand penthouses and are moving up from the Peninsula to the city.

• Actress and social crusader Susan Sarandon toured and purchased; superstar Gwyneth Paltrow stopped by for a look.

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The home at 200 Laurel Street sold for almost $10.3 million, or 114 percent of the listing price.

REAL ESTATE | PATRICK BARBER

Bidding wars remain a fact of life for San Francisco home shoppers. Single-family homes in the city sold for 108 percent of the original listing price in the first quarter of 2016, according to data from the multiple listing service. This trend has been dominant in Presidio Heights, where a shortage of homes for sale is ensuring that sellers in the neighborhood get a premium.

Through April 15, there have been three single-family home sales in Presidio Heights this year, including two on April 8: 3737 Jackson and 200 Laurel. The Jackson Street home sold for $4.5 million — 104 percent of the listing price — while the Laurel Street home fetched nearly $10.3 million, or 114 percent of the listing price. Even with those big price tags, both homes quickly found buyers: 3737 Jackson in 15 days, 200 Laurel in 10 days. The only other Presidio Heights single-family home sale this year sold in two weeks for 140 percent of its original listing price.

It’s worth noting that there were twice as many home sales in Presidio Heights last year from January through mid-April. Even so, given the neighborhood’s relatively small size and high desirability, four of those six homes sold for more than the listing price.

Patrick Barber is president of Pacific Union.

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Shop owner Claudia Volpi says Superga is a perfect fit for San Francisco’s casual vibe.

RETAIL REPORT | BARBARA KATE REPA

Claudia Volpi throws down a friendly ultimatum: “I challenge you to find an Italian who doesn’t own a pair of Superga shoes.”

And she’s hoping the sporty “People’s Shoes of Italy” will soon become common footfare for Fillmore residents as well, now that the doors to her new boutique are open at 2326 Fillmore Street.

The shoes — slip-ons, tie classics and hi-tops for women, men and children — look fresh and modern. But in fact, their origins hark back to 1911, when an entrepreneur in Torino, Italy, Walter Martiny, had the idea of using vulcanized rubber to make waterproof boots, revolutionizing footwear for the agricultural workers there. In later years, the shoes evolved to become tennis wear with carefully crafted cushioning and support — and then fashion statements when leather, wool and silk and thicker soles and wedge heels were incorporated into the designs.

Volpi says she has worn and loved Superga shoes since she was a little girl, and she has the evidence to prove it: a picture of a slightly tattered red pair she wore back in the day, later worn by each of her three children.

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Both 3003 Jackson (left) and 3007 Jackson (right) sold over the asking price in 12 days.

REAL ESTATE | PATRICK BARBER

A pair of recent single-family home sales in Pacific Heights illustrate that properly pricing a home for sale can pay off on multiple levels.

In the 3000 block of Jackson Street, two properties that are practically next door to each other changed hands in early June, with the transactions and homes bearing some similarities. On June 5, 3007 Jackson Street — a six-bedroom home built in 1918 — sold for $6.55 million. Less than a week later, the nearby 3003 Jackson Street — a five-bedroom home built in 1891 — found a buyer for $5.63 million.

Both homes sold in a brisk 12 days — about three times faster than the neighborhood’s pace of single-family sales in May. And both sold for between 6 and 8 percent over the original asking price. The $5 to $7 million range represents a “sweet spot” for home prices in Pacific Heights, and there was no shortage of qualified, motivated buyers interested in both Jackson Street homes. Because these two homes were carefully priced, the owners were able to make speedy sales and pull in some extra money in the process.

Patrick Barber is president of Pacific Union.

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REAL ESTATE | PATRICK BARBER

The frenzied overbids that characterized neighborhood real estate in the first half of 2014 began to subside in the second half — one sign that the San Francisco housing market could move toward a more balanced state in the coming year.

Bidding wars in Lower Pacific Heights, Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow and Presidio Heights reached their zenith in May, when single-family home buyers paid an average of nearly 12 percent more than the original list price. By November competition had slowed a bit and buyers were paying about
1 percent below original list price.

More sellers reduced home prices in the second half of the year, which likely helped to increase the number of deals that closed. In the first two quarters, 45 single-family homes in the neighborhood changed hands. Between July 1 and the end of November, 52 homes had already sold, with a month still remaining in the year.

Looking ahead to 2015, expect more home price appreciation, though perhaps at a slower rate than during the past few years. Inventory is historically tight in January, so buyers will continue to have limited choices. Savvy sellers, however, might take advantage of this window and put their homes on the market.

Patrick Barber is president of Pacific Union.

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