Sunday Open House feedback on 514 Elizabeth Street

As a Real Estate agent I pride myself in pinpointing the "fair market value" of homes I'm assisting Sellers to sell, and Buyers to buy. I spend countless hours evaluating all comparable sales and current property on the market. Sometimes it happens quickly, sometimes I feel the need to keep researching, but eventually I come to a certain conclusion of what Buyers will think a home is worth.

It's always interesting to then see my research get tested by real buyers, in this case by feedback at this past Sunday's Open House for 514 Elizabeth Street.

We've priced the property at $895,000 for a 2 bedroom (can be used as a 3 bedroom) 1 bath. There are plenty of "comparables" that sold for far less, some very close in price. But then you need to add in some seriously valuable features that 514 Elizabeth has, that most comparables don't.

For one, the location is simply as good as it gets in Noe Valley. Elizabeth is just 1 block to the extremely popular 24th Street shopping corridor in Noe Valley. Yet Elizabeth is a quiet and quait street. In addition, 514 Elizabeth is just in from Noe Street which means it's basically a flat walk to get to 24th. Just 1 block over towards Castro Street and you have to deal with a hill. Elizabeth & Noe Streets is also 3 blocks to Church Street and the J-Church MUNI line and several bus lines. In other words, it's got it all location-wise.

Secondly, and this is from serious feedback from the Open House, the kitchen/family room/dining area is amazing. The sun shines everywhere with 2 skylights and windows in nearly every direction. Plus you look at green immediately outside nearly every window. One buyer who started at the front where the formal living room and bedrooms are located then entered the kitchen/family room area and her eyes went wide and she exclaimed "oh my, I love this".

Thirdly, I'll group a bunch of mini-features, that when added up, really do set this Condo apart from it's competition. And again, this is Open house feedback. 1) It's remodeled, yet it retains significant old world charm. 2) top floor is more desirable since no one stomps on your ceiling. 3) everyone remarked how special the shared garden is. 4) large walk-in laundry room with storage/closets. 5) large pantry and tons of kitchen cabinets.

Fourth, it comes with the attic deeded, and that kind of additional storage is definitely valuable to a number of buyers.

Frankly, 514 Elizabeth is close to a $1 million dollar property with one exception. The downstairs owner owns the garage. They are going to lease a side-by-side spot to the new owner of 514 Elizabeth for $200 per month. But having it "deeded" adds value. So when other Agents came by on Tuesday at the "Broker's Tour" and they immediately saw what appeared to be an under-priced property. But the non-deeded spot made the price seem about right to most.

Of course I'm convinced because I spent so much time researching the market, and Buyers and Agents alike seemed to agree with 6 sets of Buyers spending a very long time at the Open and asking a ton of questions. Of course you must judge for yourself. If you're in the market for a Top Floor 2 to 3 bedroom condo in Noe Valley come by this Sunday's Open House from 2-4pm. Or call us for a private showing. Or first check out the video walk through at www.514Elizabeth.com