The house at 5 Naples Street shows a couple of trends we are seeing in the San Francisco housing market.
1. There are increasingly more high-end flips and newly built homes in neighborhoods not considered prime flip territory.
The Excelsior, winner of the 2014 Curbed Cup, is a neighborhood beloved by many of its residents (they are always vocal in their support during our annual contest). When it won the prize in January 2015, we wrote that it was known for "single-family homes under $1 million." This house is asking $1.598 million, which makes it the most expensive home on the market in this neighborhood.
2. Developers are digging down, mining for square footage.
We were interviewing an architect recently, and he mentioned that more and more he's being asked to excavate under homes to create space. "With home prices these days, you can justify the cost!" he said. He also mentioned that you don't face the same kind of neighbor resistance encountered when building up. We've noticed that a lot of architects and developers adding lower levels are developing interesting ways to daylight subterranean rooms. For this house, they created a moat-like light well that's bridged by a glass-lined bridge. The house is currently 2,362 square feet. When it sold in 2013, there was an 870-square-foot house on the lot that was demolished.
Outside of that, the home has a lot of the modern amenities we see in recently remodeled and new houses: an open floor plan, a view deck, and a large master suite. The listing describes it as a "great Bernal Heights alternative," which implies the kind of buyer they have in mind.
- 5 Naples Street [Redfin]
- The Curbed Cup Neighborhood of the Year Is ... the Excelsior! [Curbed SF]
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