February 19, 2007

San Francisco: Enjoy the Marina Life in a Glorified Closet

When people say San Francisco real estate is crazy, they aren’t
referring so much to the single-family homes that go for over a
million. They’re referring more to the studios that go for anywhere
from 1/2 a million to 3/4 a million — or more. People have a hard time
justifying such a chunk of change for less than 500 square feet when
the same amount of money will buy you a comfortably spacious 2 or 3
bedroom bungalow in Portland, or Chicago, or… well, probably most
places… if we aren’t talking Bay Area, New York, or London.

But we aren’t talking about these places. We’re talking about San
Francisco. And here, a studio at 445 square feet can easily list at
nearly half a million dollars; but they don’t necessarily sell, and
thus languish on the market for months (begging the question: who
prices these places?) This studio here in the ever-popular Marina
district is a prime example. At close to 1000 bucks per sq. foot, I
think it’s okay to expect a little …what? Sparkle? Magic? Something
other than the fact that you will, to quote realtor-speak: “own a
studio in the Marina!!!”(exclamations are the realtor’s, not mine).
Because within the 30 seconds it will take you to traverse this
studio, that singular charm will lose its luster–especially when you
consider this is a TIC and you’re going to be shelling out HOA fees on
top of your mortgage.

Because really, this place is tiny. It feels tiny. The feeble light coming in to the bedroom/living room reluctantly illuminates what can only be classified and a cleverly remodeled Spanish/Mediterranean walk-in closet. But clever or not, it’s still a closet. And of course, you get no garage space, so please do not have accumulated more than a closet’s worth of belongings, and even then, please plan to store half of them off site.

The miniaturized kitchen seems like something from a childhood diorama: all the new appliances snugly tucked together ensure you barely have a place to stand and cook. Forget about having guests over unless they are willing to sit in the oven, in which case you had best
order in.

The one advantage is the short walk from the stove to your bed–or better still, from your bed to the front door. You will want to spend a great deal of time outside.

Stats:
Beds: 0
Baths: 1
Sq. Ft.: 445
Year Built: 1934
Floor Number: 2
MLS: 315760
Status: Active on market
On Redfin: 118 days

Sales History:
Date Price Apprec
07/06/2005 $2,850,000 (entire building)

Open House Information

* Sunday, February 18, 2007 1 - 4 pm

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