601 4th Street Penthouses #2 and #3
Originally asking $1,099,000 in October 2008, the sale of 601 4th Street Penthouse #2 closed escrow yesterday with a reported contract price of $785,000 ($663 per square foot).
As the penthouse had been relisted in November 2009 for $815,000, however, MLS based reports will consider it three months on the market and an official 4 percent under asking.
601 4th Street Living
Purchased in September 2000 for $815,000 (and we believe renovated at least a little bit in between). And perhaps not a great comp for the “It’s a steal!” penthouse number three directly next door (last asking $835 per square).
Penthouse Number Two Of Three Atop Six Zero One Fourth [SocketSite]
Hitting For The Heublien Building Penthouse Cycle (#PH3) [SocketSite]

14 thoughts on “Year 2000-esque Penthouse Comp Atop The Heublien Building”
  1. tipster, don’t be misleading with your terminology. You know full well that prices never went up in SF after 2000, so they have not fallen. Unlike other locales, SF prices have thus held up remarkably well!

  2. What’s most amazing is that someone paid 700/sf for this in 2000.
    If the top for condos in SOMA was 2007 and the ramp-up in prices 70%+ from 2000 to 2007, this means 40% or more of paper profits have evaporated there.
    That’s the theory. I doubt this penthouse would have fetched 1200/sf in 2007 though. This sounds ridiculously expensive even with the hindsight of the bubble years.
    Then again this is SF where professional geniuses don’t always come with money smarts.

  3. Is it just me, or is that really a pent-house in the literal sense? Who wants to live on a shack on a roof?

  4. $815K in 2000 inflation-adjusted was $1.015M in 2009. That’s a 23% real drop vs. a 4% nominal drop.
    which IMO is exactly what the government et all are going for. Expect more of this over the next few years.
    This place (among many others) looks like either a 3rd world shanty or perhaps a rural barn from the exterior. it’s amazing that anybody thinks it looks like anything else.
    I think Mugatu from Zoolander calls this “Derelicte”. Derilicte indeed.
    on a positive note, the interior was quite functional and simple, nothing fancy (Great work triangle!). If I recall it’s basically a studio.
    also, it is pretty darn unique. It’s almost like you’re alone up there with just those other “penthouses”, and the views are quite nice. Lots of light.
    I wish they wouldn’t have put those stairs to nowhere… it eats up very valuable floor space and doesn’t add anything.
    $785k for a studio is still pretty impressive in my book.

  5. @ Billy
    Yes, this is in fact a penthouse by definition, one of very few properties legitimately marketed as such vs. simply being a top floor apartment.

  6. The “shack”, as it’s being referred to, is actually the top of the elevator shaft. To get to this unit, and the other two penthouses, you have to get off the elevator and walk outside to get to your unit’s door, not the ideal arrangement this time of year. I’ve toured this unit several times over the past year and 1/2, and even dragged my daughter along once to see the “tub in the sky”, which is quite a hoot. I can’t imagine trying to make it down the incredibly steep steps (ladder, really) with slippery wet feet. That being said, it’s a fairly nice space, in a great building. I could see working in this unit, but not living there. Whoever owned it obviously really wanted to sell it, and finally priced it with that in mind. I’d say the prospective pool of buyers was pretty small.
    The other penthouse for sale next to it is a beautiful space, much larger and very livable. Well worth touring if you’re in the neighborhood, and it’s open. Just have your umbrella ready when you step out of the elevator.

  7. $663/sq.ft…yeah, prices are really crashing here fellas. except this still represents very expensive real estate compared to most parts of the world, despite the worldwide meltdown in asset prices.
    would any of you consider paying $785,000 for a studio? in soma? is this now a good deal??

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *