As a plugged-in reader commented yesterday (and we’ve co-opted for use today):

We’ve got a sale at under $400/sf in SOMA (plus the price of a refrigerator, it appears). Do I hear 300 anybody? 300?

The 1,345 square foot bank-owned two-bedroom at The Beacon (250 King Street #516) sold for $525,000 ($390 per square foot), it had been purchased for $872,500 ($649 per square) in February 2007, a drop of 40 percent over the past three years.
∙ Listing: 250 King Street #516 (2/2) 1,345 sqft – $525,000 (SOLD) [Redfin]

12 thoughts on “A Beacon Two-Bedroom Sells For Under $400 Per Square Foot”
  1. “Seller will credit up to a maximum 3% of the sales price towards closing costs”
    Obviously this is happening all over and they felt the need to cap it at 3% meaning it is probably usually higher. Which is what I’ve been saying but realtors have been denying. You can see this sort of thing in listings all over.
    And they paid $390 psft. Subtract 3% from that and we’re at about $375. Now subtract $18,000 in tax credits and we’re at $360 psft by the end of the summer.
    A 4.7% loan at $525K, plus property tax, less 20% for taxes, plus HOA is 2800. That’s about what that unit would rent for. But then you are taking on the “risk” of additional declines, which is all but certain. Getting rent parity, but a $100,000 move out fee is no bargain.

  2. tipster – you see one listing mention seller will pay 3% of closing costs and assume all sellers are doing it. that’s like saying if i ask out one girl i therefore ask out every girl i see. it’s ridiculous.
    just about everything you say is suspect when you make so many whacky claims for lord knows what reasons.
    as for exSFers question – the arbitration and mediation clauses are in the standard contract and optional – both buyer and seller must sign to enact them, and it specifies 3% as liquidated damages should something like what you describe happens. but like anything else legal – you can always find some attorney who will see it your way and fight it – so it’s not always so cut and dried.

  3. As I mentioned numerous times on these threads before, this dump is headed much, much lower. Every single person who bought here is a candidate for foreclosure/short sale/strategic default, no reason to stay given you are down 40-50% from peak. At some point vulture investors probably step in and buy in bulk at this shantytown, but not at these prices. This shithole is headed to $250 per sq ft, if not lower.

  4. antonio, you are correct, of course. But the same holds true for just about anyone who bought in SF after 2003 with less than 20% down, which I would bet includes the majority of such purchasers. And even many who put 20% down or more are now under water. The looming (and current — see stats on distressed inventory) foreclosure/short sale/strategic default wave is by no means limited to the Beacon even if it may be a poster child for this phenomenon.

  5. $575K for a 1300+ sq ft 2/2 at the Beacon is a steal. The only catch: $400/month for parking. The Beacon’s leased spots go for $115/month for most units — which is rough, but much better than $400 a month (!!) I would buy a similar unit at the same price in a hearbeat if parking were leased at the typical $115/month.
    On a side note: I just moved into a Beacon 2/2 in early April (renting), moving out of a 1/1 with a phat view at the Hills Plaza. The area bordered by 2nd & 4th Street , and the Embarcadero (King St) & Brannan, is GREAT. Walk to Safeway, Starbucks, 21st Amendment, Nova, AT&T Park, easy transit to S and E Bay on 101/280 and 80, Caltrain and Muni at your doorstep, Embarcadero jogging/biking, and walk to work in the FiDi. Tres Agaves, Fringale, Panera, Iron Cactus, MoMo’s, Pete’s Tavern, the District, Mijita’s, Public House, Irish Tavern, and so many more restaurants, sushi bars, pubs.
    The financial sitauation of the Beacon HOA is unfortunate, but the LOCATION is phenomenal.

  6. Most of the restaurants in the area actually suck.
    Tres Agaves is selling an image, the food is not great.
    Iron Cactus is just garbage most of the time(unless you like cold burritos and 3x too much salt in the beans).
    Of course district and momo’s also seem more about image than anything, so not something I consider when all I care about is good food.
    Anyways, I think the location is decent, but phenomenal is quite a stretch.

  7. “….more about image than anything, so not something I consider when all I care about is good food.”
    Agreed, but this is true of most restaurants/bars in this city and not specifically idiosyncratic to this location or broader Soma. It holds equally true for Noe or the Marina, etc. What’s the old saying? “You sell the sizzle, they buy the steak.”

  8. I don’t know why should $525k for the Beacon 2/2 be that surprising. If it had deeded parking, it would add $75k to the unit which would bring the price back up to $600k and $450 per sq foot. It is a fair price for a 5-6 year old problem developement in a decent but not necessarily great location. When someone buys ORH, BLU or Infinity at $390/sq foot, I would then sit up and take notice…

  9. Looks like a lot of folks are getting ready to throw in the towel at 250 King. You can go here to resolve parcel numbers (APNs) to Unit numbers.
    APN 8702012* – NOTS May 27, 2010 (CitiMortgage, May 2, 2007)
    APN 8702013 – NOD April 30, 2010 (National City, May 8, 2007)
    APN 8702018 – NOD April 20, 2010 (Americorp Funding, July 28, 2006)
    APN 8702054 – NOTS Jan. 15, 2010 (CitiMortgage, May 2, 2007)
    APN 8702058 – Cancelled NOD on April 26, 2010 (NOTS on March 10, 2010). CitiMortgage, April 16, 2007. Will be interesting to see if the owner stays current.
    APN 8702068 – NOTS Dec. 22, 2009 (JPM, June 14, 2007)
    APN 8702084* – NOTS Dec. 30, 2009 (JPM, April 30, 2007)
    APN 8702113* – NOTS May 25, 2010 (CitiMortgage, Nov. 15, 2006)
    APN 8702129 – NOD Feb. 25, 2010 (Wells Fargo, Oct. 16, 2007)
    APN 8702141 – NOD April 29, 2010 (Wells Fargo, March 16, 2007)
    APN 8702152 – NOTS April 15, 2010 (Astoria Federal Mortgage, Sept. 21, 2007)
    APN 8702157 – NOTS July 16, 2009 (Wells Fargo, March 27, 2006)
    APN 8702160 – NOD April 12, 2010 (Wells Fargo, April 25, 2007)
    APN 8702213 – NOD April 6, 2010 (MortgageIt,Inc., May 23, 2007)
    APN 8702242* – Trustee Deed May 14, 2010 (ABN AMRO, May 7, 2007)
    APN 8702245 – NOD Feb. 9, 2010 (Beneficial California, Inc., Aug. 20, 2007)
    APN 8702264 – NOD May 4, 2010 (America’s Wholesale Lender, June 21, 2006)
    APN 8702273 – NOD March 3, 2010 (WaMu, July 21, 2006)
    APN 8702299 – NOTS March 2, 2010 (WaMu, April 5, 2006)
    *Ebrahim Jalili
    In addition, I ran across several folks not paying their HOAs, which, on occasion, is a prelude to foreclosure.

  10. Sheesh, EBGuy, as we used to say when I was a little kid: “Man alive!” People here have been noting the writing on the wall for The Beacon for some time, and it looks like the straw will break the camel’s back in the not-too-distant future. This will be a nasty cycle of short sales and REOs at ever-declining prices, followed by more owners realizing they are too far underwater to justify paying a penny more, followed by more short sales and REOs at further declining prices. Re-casts of funny loans will only exacerbate it. Sadly, more recent buyers are also caught up in it, and those 2009 “bargains” at the “bottom” now seem not-so-great after all.
    And of course, no building or neighborhood exists in a vacuum.

  11. See my May 13, 2010 12:16 PM post on this thread for other Ebrahim Jalili owned properties (including The Odeon and One Rincon). I knew that name looked familiar.

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