$450,000 Buys A Lot of House .... But Not in Noe

The NY Times featured a Noe Valley flat for sale today as an example of what you don't get when you spend $449,000. In Shelburne Falls, Mass. or Richmond, Kentucky that price will net you a 4 bedroom, 3 bath house or larger. In Noe you get this lower-unit apartment on Clipper:

WHAT: A one-bedroom, one-bath apartment
HOW MUCH: $449,000
PER SQUARE FOOT: $700.49
SETTING: This apartment is on the lower level of a two-unit corner building in Noe Valley, a centrally located neighborhood in San Francisco. During the beginnings of the dot-com boom in the 1970s, densely packed row houses, originally built for working-class families in the early 20th century, became popular with young families. This building was built in 1921, but the unit was added in the 1950s. Two blocks north is 24th Street, a thoroughfare lined with coffee and pastry shops, bookstores, a diversity of eateries, and boutiques catering to young professionals and their kids. There’s a light-rail stop within a mile of the house.
COMMON SPACES: The kitchen is eat-in and there are hardwood floors throughout.
PERSONAL SPACES: The bedroom has built-in closets and cabinetry.
OUTDOOR SPACE: The unit shares a large yard with the rest of the building. A city park with a basketball and tennis court is across the street.
TAXES: $5,208 (estimated)

We're not even going to touch the comment about the 1970s dot-com boom (um, fact-check?). But we'd rather live here than either of those places - even in a one bedroom at 595 Clipper.

[NYT: What You Get for... $465,000]

Noe In The National News

In 2002, Noe Valley was one of the nation's Best Places to Live.

More recently, local Stephen Fowler updated our national image.

Yesterday? Celebrating the 'grown up' skater crowd born of a generation of kids who took over abandoned swimming pools. Summary: a $500k remodel of a $1M house.

The overall message? In the comments, please.

[NYT: When Skaters Grow Up]

Fowling Noe Valley

From a comment we've since deleted if for no other reason than it wasn't on topic:

Why don't you post something about stephen fowler noe valley neighbor? He was on wifeswap on abc. check out www.stephenfowlersucks.com or google stephen fowler wife swap

Regarding such, we've followed the Gawker posts (and the rest of the related craziness across the 'net). We didn't post because it felt like a pile-on and that's not what we're about. Stephen Fowler does not represent Noe Valley -- even if he lives here, goes on TV, and says things that make him (and everyone else in Noe) seem like a ______, _______ and ______. Noe has nothing to fear from this man -- his wife is embarrassed (in a Mrs. Spitzer way) and has said he needs professional help.

But really...who cares? It's just another crappy show highlighting the worst in people (in this case an angry transplant who needs help (but drives ratings)). Not really worth our time, and certainly not representative of Noe Valley.

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