740 Church Street

When 740 Church Street first hit the market in April listed for $5,250,000 including the undeveloped lot at 222 Cumberland, a number of plugged-in people estimated the lot to be worth $1 million.

Having sold for a combined $5,250,000 in August, the recorded value for the house at 740 Church Street was $4,275,000 while the lot at 222 Cumberland was recorded at $975,000.

As best we can tell, it wasn’t Facebook, Zynga or other web 2.0 money behind the purchase which was financed with a $2 million mortgage and line of credit for up to $1.3 million more, but professional services to the tech industry are in play.

And no, the buyers aren’t from overseas. In fact, the buyers are from two blocks away, having purchased 366 Liberty for $2,575,000 in 2009, the sale of which we featured at the time and a property we wouldn’t be surprised to soon see returned to the market.

19 thoughts on “The Local Scoop: Behind the Purchase of 740 Church Street”
  1. So who was the buyer?
    [Editor’s Note: Not being public figures, we think that’s enough information and we’ll leave it at that.]

  2. Bit of a thread jack – I’m thinking about buying around here (dolores heights). Can any folks in the know just give me some comments, tips, etc on the area? I’ve been to the park plenty and the places nearby but given that I live in pac heights I’m not a local. Thanks.

  3. Editor – Why give this information at all? As you mentioned they’re not public figures, so why does the world need to know sort of where they work and definitely where they currently live?
    Just… weird. I mean, the information you’re giving isn’t even interesting, it’s just like you had a slow day so you decided to discuss some people’s lives. And yes, I know it’s public info, but don’t see the need for you to sum it up.
    [Editor’s Note: While the buyers aren’t public figures, the house is a high profile property and the background directly relates to the topics of financing and who’s currently driving the market. In addition, the lot value is worthy of note as is another property that might soon return to the market and is in the wheelhouse of many readers.]

  4. This is a great area– walking distance (if you are OK with walking up and down some very steep hills) to Dolores Park, the 18th/Guerrero restaurants, Noe Valley, the Castro, but still a quiet neighborhood generally, as the steep hills keep down traffic. Great views from some houses (as you know if you spend time in Dolores Park).
    Easy to get on 280 for the drive south (via Dolores St), and close to the J Church to get downtown.

  5. “Can any folks in the know just give me some comments, tips, etc on the area”
    I love Dolores Heights. Has a great feel to it, I think.
    I live in Noe, and its amazing how many threads get reduced to Noe vs Mission, but to me clear that Dolores Heights > Mission or Noe ( and indeed, arguably > Mision & Noe combined!).
    Gourmet Gulch!!!

  6. Dolores Heights > Mission or Noe
    Agreed. Plus you have many more public transport/shopping options around Dolores Park than NV. I should know, I live 2 blocks away.
    Noe has only the J line and some buses. Castro and Church street have a wide ranging alphabet soup (JKLMN) a mere 5-10 minutes walking distance from DH.

  7. And no, the buyers aren’t from overseas.
    I don’t understand this comment?
    Also looks like the owner(s) here maintain an interest at 519 Dolores opposite this home on the park. They also banked $1.2+ on the 7 year hold of 3922 17th from 02-09. Nice work.
    The tone of this post is a little hard to read with all the forced links to other flaming topics, but I believe the editor is basically stating that this home, and the aforementioned homes, we’re all purchased by regular people with regular jobs.
    professional services to the tech industry and some consulting work for Apple
    This is pretty standard work / job descriptions for most any professional in the bay area at this point. Does any one really expect to hear, “local bar back and waitress buy multimillion dollar home” anytime soon. Probably not, unless they bought a few thousand shares in Apple in 2002.
    Anyway, I think this is a highly relevant post highlighting, albeit in a very obscure way, the fact that not every MM home purchase is a senior exec at one of these high flying dot come firms.
    I generally do not like the public outing of non-public figures and respect the fact that this was not deliberate. Although the hot trail of the Liberty is a little too direct for me. Hopefully others will continue to respect the owners privacy.
    And congrats to the buyers. I suspect the former owner of 740 would be thankful the home fell into the hands of individuals who seems like good stewards that will honor and respect the love that was placed into making this spectacular home spectacular.

  8. @eddy, maybe you were not around here back during the end of the bubble years when some agents would post that they were hearing more “French spoken at open houses” and how overseas buyers were outbidding eachother trying to “invest” in San Francisco real estate. The “hearing more French spoken” comments became the cause of many funny jokes, especially as the market started to decline.
    From 2010:
    “It’s been fascinating to watch the evolution of the CW on this site over the years. So while I’m being tipster-esque I’ll just have to ask, How much French are you hearing at open houses these days?
    Posted by: diemos at January 9, 2010 1:42 PM
    I’m not hearing any French lately at open houses. Therefore, every rich French person who has ever been to San Francisco must have lost all their money.
    I did notice a Boulangerie opened up on 24th st, tho. That’ll be a big hit I’ll wager.
    Posted by: anonn at January 9, 2010 2:33 PM

  9. Actually, the foreign investor theme hadn’t been brought up here for so long that I forgot about it. The language used to make the point in this post is very confusing. I sense a disturbance in the force here and suspect the editor bought a home recently yet struggles to cope with the direction / message to take. I’d love to know the answer to the question. If only there was a way to know, some way to ask the question and get a response. 🙂
    Regarding the trolls, I’ve personally moved on from engaging in a serious dialog. What’s the point?

  10. One of the truly really spectacular renovated and superbly maintained homes in The City; on par with some of the best on the Gold Coast outer Broadway.
    Congrats to the new owners!

  11. This house is hot… I’m almost sorry that I couldn’t buy it… But then I would have to leave my NOCAST (North of California Street) bubble.
    This is totally OT, but speaking of high-end real estate: I noticed 2430 Vallejo was being staged today. It needs a lot of work, but it’s a fantastic house if someone is looking for a project on a really great block. And, no, I’m not an agent nor do I know who has the listing. It’s just a great house if you’re into traditional.

  12. I agree Eddy – “Although the hot trail of the Liberty is a little too direct for me.”
    I was at a dinner party last weekend when the host leaned into me to talk about a guest who was nearby – the host said to me “I heard from a certain ‘someone’ who is standing nearby and wearing a purple sleeveless dress, that bla bla bla…..” I think we’ve all been on the receiving end of churlish behavior such as this at one point or another.
    I truly hope this outing brings no consequence to these people.
    In my opinion, the editor could have simply said ‘they’re not techies like you might expect’, and leave it at that. But the editor doesn’t stop there, and proceeds to tell everyone they’re in a business that serves the tech industry and they most recently lived at 366 Liberty. Unbelievable – class act

  13. Absolutely beautiful. Loved this house for like 10 years. Had the brief opportunity to see the interior it last year, just a tremendous attention to detail.
    Congratulations to the new owners.

  14. They traded up. All information is public. Their names were not revealed and will not show up in a Google search. I think the editor added to the debate while respecting a few rules of privacy.
    I think the message there is that the healthy BA tech industry does lift the market. It’s not so much a one time event like an IPO than a more wide reaching phenomenon. Many people connected to tech have been around for long enough to be financially solid.
    For instance, I often gravitate among a group of French (yes) techies between SF and the BA. We all came here between 1997 and 2005. All of us have had our dotcom 1.0 and 2.0 stories, successes, layoffs, career moves. All the big local names are represented.
    All of us are in a very decent financial position, some more than others, but we’re all doing all right.
    And yes, all of us have bought at least one piece of property these past 10 years.

  15. I live nearby.
    The area is lovely except for a few things that happen in Dolores Park: wee hours male prostitutes, occasional gang-related violence, some adolescent drinking and the afternoon drug dealers which target the high school kids. Lately vandals have damaged the new play structure.
    The neighbors call the police every time they witness something, so there’s a strong neighborhood watch. Check out doloresparkworks.org for details.

Leave a Reply

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