San Francisco home sells for an astounding $2 million over the asking price

SAN FRANCISCO - It’s even staggering by Bay Area standards, where homes commonly go for over the asking price. In San Francisco last week, a home in the city’s Inner Richmond neighborhood sold for $2 million over the listing price, to close at $4.95 million. 

The four-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom single family property is located at 659 12th Avenue and is described as an Edwardian-style home that was remodeled in 2011. 

Listing agent and longtime luxury real estate broker Tal Klein noted the property went for 68% over the original listing price of $2.95 million.  

"It was a shocker to me," Klein told KTVU. "Not what I expected. I knew it was a good house, I just didn't know how much people would spend to be in it."

And while over-asking sales happen regularly in the city where the housing inventory is extremely tight, the real estate broker acknowledged, "This was in fact an exceptional transaction and unique sale."

Homes features

Klein said the property featured "highly sought-after elements," including an open floor plan with a family room, a two-car garage parking on flat property, and a level walk-out yard, which is rare in the city.

Klein also highlighted the home’s premier location near Golden Gate Park, saying its "lifestyle appeal" grabbed the attention of a lot of prospective buyers.

"Its proximity to the nature of Golden Gate Park and urban access is a major draw," the broker explained. 

Price set to generate interest, competition

When setting the listing price, Klein said it was placed at an "attainable" price point, with the expectation that it would trigger competition.   

She speculated the home would probably sell for $3.5 million, maybe go for $3.9 million, given the comparable properties in the area and how she prepared the home for showing. 

"I priced it for some action," Klein shared. But the realtor said that in the first open house, she realized just how high-in-demand the property would be. Still, she did not expect it to reach almost $5 million.  

"Once all this interest kind of built-up, I really thought the highest we would do is break into the 4s, the low 4s. So this was a surprise to me," Klein said, adding, "This was unusual. It was atypical, and it was just all these factors combined." 

18 offers

All those factors including how well it was staged and how well the home resonated with the prospective buyers, resulted in a fiercely competitive bidding war which included 18 offers. The top eight competitors all made cash offers. 

"There were five people who really wanted it and had cash, and they were able to compete. They didn't have to go and get it appraised. They
didn't have to worry about that, and they could live in it. It would be their forever home," Klein shared.  

The house was on the market for a quick six days before the sale. 

"I already had so much interest. There was no reason to keep going," Klein said.

Home sales in San Francisco 

Big picture view:

The San Francisco housing market has historically been a volatile one, marked by booms, corrections, and rebounds — swings influenced by the heavy tech presence and its hiring and layoff cycles. 

Last month, the medium price for a single family home in the city’s Inner Richmond was almost $2.13 million, according to figures from Redfin. 

Bay Area market

Figures show overall, home prices in the wider Bay Area are up.

In fact, according to the California Association of Realtors, the Bay Area led the state with a year-over-year median home price growth of 2.8%. The Central Coast was the only other region in California that saw price increases, with a modest 0.8% gain.

Among Bay Area counties, San Francisco saw the greatest jump in the median price, marking a year-over-year increase of 23.5% last month to more than $1.97 million, the California Association of Realtors reported.

SEE ALSO: Mortgage rates rise to highest level in over a month

The association said that uncertainties stemming from the war in Iran and the broader economy, could temper the housing market in the short term, but prices are expected to climb as we move further into the spring home buying season. 

Cost per square foot 

Klein noted that while the final closing price was markedly higher than asking, it’s not that out of the price range when breaking down the cost per square foot and the fact that the home has undergone upgrades.

"The cost per square foot (approximately $1,800/sq. ft.) is actually quite competitive when compared to the cost of purchasing and remodeling a similar-sized unrenovated home in this neighborhood," the broker said.

She also said the high demand and competitive activity around this home served as a strong indication that the city is experiencing a resurgence and an economic rebound amid a housing market with perennially low inventory.

"There is high demand, the city is improving. Everybody was coming back. The people are coming back with families, retirees coming back into the city, people who left for COVID, who want to come back. It was a really good smorgasbord of buyers. They all wanted that house. It really resonated for them," Klein said. "There's a lot of demand and there's not a lot of turnover."