1B, A, E
Let’s Go Richmond
The Richmond, stretching from Arguello to Ocean Beach, is one of the most well-established neighborhoods in San Francisco. Settled before the Sunset District, it features wider, more curvy streets and homes that are larger than what you’ll find on the west side.
Most homes here are 3-4 bedrooms with at least 1.5 bathrooms and garage parking. You’ll find a mix of stately Edwardian and Arts and Crafts-style homes—many with wood floors, stucco exteriors, and Spanish tile roofs. Some houses are fixer-uppers, while others have been beautifully modernized.
The area also has a variety of multi-unit buildings, from four-unit condos to classic San Francisco flats. But be careful—some driveways are steep enough to scrape the bottom of your car!
Who lives here? Families looking for good public and private schools, multigenerational households, developers, and rental property investors all compete for homes in the Richmond District.
Details. The Richmond – Inner, Central and Outer Thanks to its long history, relatively big parcels and rolling topography its homes are also varied too where it’s common that you have a Queen Anne Victorian, sandwiched in between some mid-century apartment building on one side next to a Spanish Mediterranean revival on the other. While inventory is usually the single-family house, many of those have been divided up into condominiums and, more recently, tenancy in commons. The Inner Richmond is the most densely concentrated part with more shops, restaurants and neighborhood-y types of amenities while the central and outer Richmond are more house-oriented. While many homes have been flipped and upgraded, many are still vintage or were last touched in the 1990s/2000s. We’re sure there’s demographic and economic shifts here between generations at play, but the point here is that we will still see fixers that have been owned by the same family for generations come to the market that are especially big. There are a few tree-lined alleys and streets that do make it feel more special, but for most of the Richmond the trees of Golden Gate Park will have to do as power lines and power poles outnumber the number of real trees in many parts.Â
1F Sea Cliff 1D A Stroll Through the Lake District, erm, Street District A Lake Street listing will have a 50/50 chance of being a house or a condominium with about 25-40 of each selling every year. If there are any income properties in the area, they tend to be 2-unit building (duplexes) with the occasional triplex or quadplex. Houses are still on the larger side with the median/average house having 4 beds, 3.5 baths with about 3,400 sqft of space set on larger parcels with about 3,000 sqft of space. Condominiums here tend of have 3 beds, 2 baths and 1,600 sqft of living area. People like the area because of its feel which is due, in large part, to its tree-lined streets, wider streets (although Lake Street is now a permanent slow street) and varied, yet rich architecture that is a mix for sure but a style that favors the Arts and Craft movement. Some homes have been spectacularly updated while others were updated in the 90s and 80s and dressed up for sale today (meaning they too could be upgraded). If you do any renovations, be cognizant of applicable permits, get the support of your neighbors and think about how best to use that lower space on garage levels. You’ll understand what we mean if you’re considering just a project, which will cost a lot because of the sheer size of many homes and the scope of work that many may need.  Set in between Presidio Terrace to the north down to the south part of the USF campus are three distinct and relatively smaller enclaves of Jordan Park, Laurel Heights and Lone Mountain.  1C Jordan Park is known for its angular, grander scale houses set on three perfectly straight streets: Palm, Jordan and Commonwealth. About 10-12 single-family houses sell in Jordan Park each year. The homes that sell usually have 4 beds, 4 baths and 2,800-3,000 sqft of living area on larger, nearly 3,600 sqft-sized parcels. They are big. On the inside, you’re likely to see larger, grander living areas, formal dining rooms, entry foyers, big kitchens (more likely if a house has been remodeled) with a fireplace-centered living room. Bedrooms are upstairs clustered around a center staircase. The feel has that bigger brownstone/federalist row home or something you’d find on the west side of London in Kensington, Mayfair or even St. John’s Wood.  1C Laurel Heights is another USF-adjacent, curved topography, buried-powerline clutch of larger 1930s and 1940s houses and two-unit buildings that have a suburban feel. That’s probably thanks to the wider-frontage parcels and because the street scape is dominated by driveways and garage doors. The homes here are wide and big with varying details on the inside that may have been updated to something modern or something that has held up well over time. You will have the issues with homes dating from the 1930s and on but not the Victorian era issues (if you have any). Some homes may have views and the area has that feel that someone is always coming or going but in that suburban way if that makes sense.Â