After hitting the market last month for the first time in more than 60 years, a Presidio Heights home with no parking and no primary suite sold for nearly 50% over asking, a sign of just how fervent the market has become for single-family homes on the north side of town.
The four-bedroom, 2.5-bath home at 116 Cherry St. was priced at just under $3 million when it came to market Oct. 10. One hundred showing requests, 16 written offers, and two rounds of bidding later, it sold this week for $4.4 million, according to Alexander Lurie, who colisted with David Cohen, both of City Real Estate.
“It was the talk of the town,” Lurie said. “It’s so hard to find a home, let alone a home that’s under [$5 million], in that location.”
The window seat and ceiling details in the library were a big hit with the buyers.
The fireplace in the entry is one of four in the home.
The turn-of-the-century property belonged to the sellers’ grandparents, Cohen said. It required a $100,000 makeover in the month before it hit the market to make it more appealing to today’s renovation-averse buyers. The agents and their team put about 200 hours into overseeing the overhaul, which included changing the kitchen countertops and flooring, refinishing floors elsewhere, painting, landscaping, and staging.
That investment translated into around $1 million worth of value, Lurie said.
“Before it had been touched, I wouldn’t be surprised if it traded with a 3 up front,” he said. “A lot of buyers are overwhelmed and intimidated at the prospect of having to do perceived work.”
During the $100,000 pre-listing update, the kitchen got new countertops and flooring.
The agents enlisted specialists to determine if it would be feasible to add parking to the home, which has a front door about 10 feet above street level. The analysis found that it is likely to be doable — with hard costs of $400,000 for a two-car garage without interior access or roughly $650,000 for a full lower-level expansion and four-car garage.
Some buyers expressed interest in turning a small office on the bedroom level into a bathroom and walk-in closet to create a primary suite, Lurie said, though his understanding is that the winning bidders don’t plan to do anything beyond move right in.
Monica Pauli of Compass, who represented the buyers, said the sale illustrates the high demand and low inventory in Presidio Heights, especially for the rare home priced under $4.5 million.
Some buyers discussed turning an adjoining office off this bedroom into a closet and bathroom to create a primary suite.
It wasn’t just the “crème de la crème” location and price point that drew bids for the home by Willis J. Polk, who also designed the house at Filoli, the Flood Mansion, and the Beach Chalet. Classic details, including four fireplaces and a library with a wood-beam ceiling, were also selling features.
During the short window the home was on the market, Lurie heard repeatedly that a place without parking would never break the $4 million mark. Instead, he received several bids over that price.
“A lot of people were mistaken,” he said. “I think there’s an enduring element to that timeless home that’s been modernized enough but still has the character people love and identify as San Francisco.”