Built as a duplex in the early 1900s, the two-story West Oakland building at 960-962 16th Street was subsequently converted into the House of Prayer Church of God with a parsonage on the second floor.

Purchased for $367,000 in April 2014, the then-church was re-converted into a two-unit residential building and rehabbed “to condo specifications” over the past year.

And having been listed for $949,000, or roughly $304 per square foot in a neighborhood which has been selling for closer to $440 per foot, the sale of 960-962 16th Street has closed escrow for $1.3 million (roughly $416 per square foot), the press release for which – touting the sale for “$350,000 over asking” and with 15 offers, “thanks to our strategic marketing plan” (of pricing at 30 percent under market) – is now making the rounds.

At the same time, the top-floor 3-bedroom with 3 newly renovated baths is now back on the market as a rental and priced at $4,200 per month.

14 thoughts on “The Story behind This $350K Over Asking Sale in West Oakland”
  1. The take away for non-SFists is in West Oakland, even taking rehab costs into account: “Purchased for $367,000 in April 2014… has closed escrow for $1.3 million.” That’s impressive.

    1. Wow! West Oakland is getting expensive. I haven’t been in West Oakland in years. Has the neighborhood improved that much?

      1. You’re trying real hard Gonsalves in the OAK chest pumping.

        It’s actually a garbage neighbourhood. I went there once this year, parked for 2 hours and had my windows smashed… wish I was kidding.

        1. You can get your windows smashed anywhere. whitefolks coming to West oakland running minorities out driving up rents. san francisco running middle income whites out with 3,600 a month rent for funky small 1 bed apt.

    1. If I’m reading this correctly quite a bit less than that (another “if” seems to be what’s listed: ‘lotta bathroom work, not much structural)

      1. Keep reading (and take “permit values” with a grain of salt): “Replace existing stucco to horizontal siding to match remaining exterior siding of existing duplex and replace 32 windows within same opening and same trims; convert 1st story assembly area of 2 story mixed use building (which was gutted) to new 2nd unit; [install] 200 amp service, 2 meters for duplex and electrical for remodel of upper unit; [install] 2 furnace systems, exhaust fans, etc. for duplex; remodel kitchen & 3 baths in 2nd story unit…”

        1. Several shakers worth, no doubt. But looks like they re-used the front doors – just repainted them – so that saved some $$$ 🙂

  2. Everything in this renovation is right-off-the-self from Home Depot. They didn’t even bother to use matching replacement windows. It’s rare to hear of a reno budget over $350k in West Oakland and this property looks to be no exception. They easily made $500k.

    1. Stop focusing on the actual profit and start complaining about how the real estate agents exaggerated. This is Socketsite after all – we’re trying to build a narrative. The market is about to drop, agents are liars, and the secret spreadsheets hold all the answers.

      1. Yes, we must stop people from exaggerating! The secret spreadsheets! Meanwhile in Chechnya…

  3. It looks like it’s really, actually happening “this time.” Oakland, gentrifying, finally. I was expecting the oakland 1-4 unit bldg market to cool way off and drop lower than SF, but it seems to be staying strong. Praze th’lord, I may yet be saved from another three decades of sideshows.

    -Raiders. GONE. Good riddance.
    -20 acre glass factory in Fruitvale: SHUT DOWN. Awesome. Condos in future.

    Build, baby, build.

  4. Socketsite, all these Oakland articles… At what point do you give in and change the masthead to “plug in to SF and EAST BAY real estate…”.

    Run some percentages over the past year, articles tagged with east bay cities vs total. Is it over 10%? 15%?

    1. Not enough Oakland content considering the current housing boom. Besides, more clicks for Oakland stuff.

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