StBloomSF

Just down the street from the Painted Ladies (on Steiner) is Fulton Street, the lane that marks the northern end of Alamo Square. The four blocks that make up Fulton Street in Alamo Square are also filled with fine examples of stick style Victorians. These 19th Century constructions are characterized by bay windows and cornices and look out onto Alamo Park.

You definitely can’t beat this location. Fulton is right on the northern border of Alamo Park and right in the middle of the action in terms of all the San Francisco fun that is nearby. Not that you have to leave Alamo Square to find great restaurants. There are a ton of tourists that come by here--especially in the summer, but they are mostly focused on Steiner and the Painted Ladies that they know so well from Tales from the City and Full House.

The typical home along Fulton sells for between $500K and $1 mil. A 2-bedroom around here goes for about $3500 and a 1 for about $2500. In other words, this is pretty typical for SF generally though it would be expensive for most of the rest of the Bay Area.

Part of the reason for the “moderate” prices is the relatively high crime in the area. Though there haven’t been any murders recently in Alamo Square, there have been nearly a half dozen assaults every month and well over 200 burglaries and robberies in the last six months. Basically these are happening on the daily here, and Fulton gets its fair share.

Schools are a mixed bag with good nearby choices on the north and not quite so good choices to the south. There are also a number of private school choices around here.

Overall, this seems like a pretty good place to live if you are single and willing to share it with one or two other people. Or if you are a young couple with high income jobs.

Running parallel to Arlington Avenue on the east, Amherst Avenue is a narrow leafy street that happens to be home to the most expensive home in all of Kensington. The home--a beautiful terra-cotta roofed Med style home built in 1925 though clearly renovated--is a 4 bed, 4 bath 3000 ft. beauty with a wonderful airy feel to it. It sold for $1.2 mil at the end of November.

Most homes along Amherst are not quite this expensive. A home across the street, for example, sold for almost half the price despite being larger and younger (built in 1947). This other home also has a beautiful view of the bay.

So what accounts for the differences in price?

The more expensive home had clearly been renovated recently and simply had a newer, more luxurious look to it. There was nothing wrong with the other home with its classic cozy look.

The schools here are solid with Kensington Elementary, Portola Middle and El Cerrito High having APIs of 10, 6 and 6 respectively. Not amazing on the higher end but perfectly workable.

Overall a pretty nice neighborhood, great for professors with families who want a little bit of distance from Cal but still to be able to be there in 10 minutes.

For those singles and young couples who have the wherewithal to aspire to such things, Russian Hill is one of the most desirable locations in all of SF. And of the streets in this highly affluent area, one of the most attractive to residents is Chestnut, where you will find one of the very most expensive home sales in the entire city in the past year--a 3-story Victorian that went for nearly $5 mil.

One of the attractions of Chestnut is its variety. On the far western end is Van Ness Avenue, Chestnut Avenue climbs up from that busy avenue, crowded on either side with the 3-story Victorians that are so attractive and so typical of SF. Bay windows and first floor garage doors are the rule of the day here.

After two blocks however, Chestnut gives way to the Chestnut Street Steps which climb up through a small woody area. (This is, of course, just one of several such steps in SF, with the Vallejo Steps perhaps being one of the most famous.)

On the other side of the steps, Chestnut picks up again, though the character of the street has somewhat changed just on the other side. The feel on this first block is much more like what you find in Nob Hill to the south. There are tall residential buildings of the kind you find in metropolitan centers like New York, but that are less typical of SF. This section of Chestnut has a very European feel to it, with buildings being recessed behind high walls with gated entrances and having private green spaces also enclosed within; or, varying the 3-story structures with balconies and cornices rather than bay windows. You are just one block north of the famous Crookedest Street in the World at this point and there is in fact a set of stairs that will lead you right to the street. (Which also makes this a very highly frequented section of Chestnut.)

You also start getting some amazing views of the waters just beyond the Golden Gate. As Chestnut starts making its descent that is where you find what appears to be a mission or church but is actually San Francisco Art Institute. Designed by the same architect who designed Coit Tower, the SFAI facilities are beautiful replica of the kind of architecture the Spanish brought here. They also have a mural by Diego Rivera here.

At the eastern end of Chestnut Street it crosses over Columbus. This is where you find Bimbos, the classic music venue made famous in the 60’s. It is just a very cool set-up inside. To give you a flavor of the kind of acts that perform at Bimbos, here is what is coming up next for them: they have a couple of nights with Sandra Bernhardt if you are into a night of amusing talk; if you prefer to rock like it is the Reagan Era, then come on one of the Tainted Love nights such as on the Stung night when they do all Police tribute songs.

Put simply, this is a pretty amazing run of blocks.

What does it cost to live here?


The average condo in and around Chestnut Street goes for around $1 million. As far as renting goes, 2 and 3 bedrooms run in the $5000 to $6000 range. A studio might go for $2500.

The schools in the area are also strong, with famous schools like the Yick Wo Alternative Elementary making its home here.

Crime is a little bit of a mixed bag. Although on Chestnut Street and in the immediate surroundings it is relatively quiet with only about a dozen burglaries and half a robberies in six months, the area is surrounded by high traffic, high crime areas where burglaries, assaults and robberies abound. Overall, however, you should be okay while on Chestnut itself so long as you use common sense. (No late night walks by yourself, or staring at your phone instead of being aware of your surroundings.)

You can’t beat this location however. You are right in the center of the best part of the city and within minutes of everything from a cool North Beach bar to a live theater event. It is one of the best places to live in the world if you aren’t quite ready to completely settle down yet and have a high powered (and high salaried) job.

Acacia Avenue in the Claremont Pines neighborhood has this distinction: it is the location of the most expensive single family home sale in all of Oakland in the last year. A large beautiful 1995 home sold here for $2.4 mil at the beginning of last month. Trulia believes the new owners overpaid estimating the value of the home at $1.8 mil. I am not so sure however. This really is an aesthetically stunning home--from its amazing bay views to its sunny interiors and marble countertops. It has 3 bedroom and 5 baths and more than 5000 ft of interior space on ¾ of an acre. It really is a mini-mansion in an amazing location.

Acacia is actually packed with large beautiful million dollar plus homes like this. Since most homes date from the mid-90’s, it is likely the case that most of the homes here were built following the destruction of the 1992 Oakland Firestorm. These homes are large, often in that attractive Mediterranean style with adobe toned walls and red-tiled roofs and seem to all have pretty amazing East Bay views.

Most people that live in this area can afford to send their kids to private schools, but the local schools are mostly alright as well, with Hillcrest Elementary having an API of 10 and Oakland Tech being a solid 6.

The area is about as safe as it gets as well with just a handful of burglaries and a couple of assaults in the last six months.

With Rockridge and Berkeley nearby and easy access to the city by car or BART, this is one of the best locations in all of the Bay Area. If you can afford it, of course.

Broderick Street in the Anza Vista neighborhood of San Francisco is best known for the Kaiser buildings that bookmark it on both sides. In fact, one of the tall Kaiser facilities interrupts Broderick at about the level of Geary.

Most of the rest of Broderick, however, is a largely residential street perfectly situated for doctors and nurses. You get a number of attractive 3-story Victorians along the street which, not surprising sell for some of the highest prices in all of Anza Vista, small as it is. Actually, the highest priced home sale in Anza Vista was here. A two-story Pink Lady with a drive down sub street level garage sold for $1.4 mil in the last quarter of 2012. (Rents are very high in Anza Vista and the surrounding areas as well, with the average 1 and 2 bedroom running around $3500/month.)

Though many of the buildings here date from the first quarter of the 20th Century, there are some newer, unusual looking buildings. One particularly unusual one, has garages on street level and then high second floors.

The barred doors and windows on street level are clues to the crime worries in the area given its proximity to the crime ridden Tenderloin. Although there is a moderate level of crime in the area, however most of Broderick and Anza Vista are spared the worst of it. There were only about three dozen burglaries and robberies and a handful of assaults in the vicinity of Broderick in the last six months. (Very moderate for the city and a world away from the level of crime just to east of here.)

Schools in the Anza Vista area are a bit of a mixed bag with those on the northern end being strong and those on the southern end weak.

Overall, a pretty nice spot if you happen to be a doctor or have the salary of one.

Lyon Street in the Presidio Heights neighborhood of San Francisco runs down south just off the end of the Presidio right on the border between Presidio Heights and Pacific Heights. Obviously that means that this is some pretty high priced real estate.

One of the most expensive homes to sell in the area sold here on Lyons. It is a large 1902 home with with more than 3000 ft of space, 5-bedrooms, and 4 baths. The home sold for $4.6 million last August--a 3-fold increase from its 1996 price tag of $1.4 million.

In general, Lyon Street homes are big and old, dating in many cases to before the big 1906 Quake like this one does. They were then at the western edge of the city, the Quake being to impetus for the westwards expansion into what are now the Richmond and Sunset Districts.

The location can’t be beat offering access to the best of what SF has to offer, from the Presidio on the north, to the North Beach and Civic Center areas to the west, to Golden Gate Park on the south.

The schools here--both public and private--are also excellent. And crime, which is of course a worry in any big city, is relatively low with only an occasional nearby assault to worry about and the usual burglaries that are commonplace throughout the nicer areas in SF.

Overall, this is a pretty good street if you happen to have a large family and the money to afford living here. You would, of course, have to be the CEO or CFO of your company to manage it.

Ordway Street is on the eastern half of Albany where the bay city starts pushing up against the Berkeley Hills. Although Ordway is on the part of Albany that does begin to make its ascent up into the hills, this is not one of those winding hillside roads where you are guaranteed a stunning bay view from your back deck. You won’t find many decks here and I doubt many of them have much of a view.

Most of the homes on Ordway date to the Jazz Age. These are very nice bungalow walk-ups, one of which holds the distinction of being the highest priced home sale in Albany in the last year. A rather shabby looking bungalow here sold for $1.2 million in March--definitely a good sign for the housing market given that less than a decade ago the same home sold for half a million. In my opinion this isn’t even the best home on this block, much less in Albany.

Most homes along Ordway don’t quite reach this level. A couple of other very attractive bungalow style homes sold for $684K and $745K respectively.

It is the location that people really like about Ordway. It is in a thoroughly residential area but you are relatively close to Solano Avenue--a great Sunday morning brunch site and to Berkeley, so if you are a professor or just like to have a nice time every so often you are well situated for it.

Another draw to Albany is the amazing schools that serve the area. From Marin Elementary and Cornell Elementary to Albany Middle School and Albany High, all the schools on this eastern half of Albany have APIs of 10.

As to crime, it is really low on Ordway and the surrounding area. All you really get is 3 or 4 burglaries per month--not much of anything really.

Overall, however, I would say that although I like this area, I do not think of it as million dollar territory.

Green Street is a residential street that crosses Cow Hollow east to west--basically from Van Ness to the Presidio. My favorite part of Green is probably the section farthest to the west, near the Presidio. There are lots of really beautifully maintained older buildings here on this end. That and the combination of the tree-lined street gives this a very cozy sort of residential feel that makes it feel less like a harsh city than a tightly knit community. You can imagine that it looked much like this nearly a century ago.

The houses here are an interesting mix. There are, of course, the three-story Victorians that are a mainstay of northern SF. But there are also homes in what I think is the classic Italianate style--at least as far as I can tell with my very basic architectural knowledge. These are really attractive homes with cute European style balconies and top floor terraces that offer views and fresh air opportunities.

It is right around this location, just as Green starts descending down towards the North Beach area that you get the most expensive home to have sold in this area, a 3-story 1922 home that sold for $4.2 million. Most homes along Green do not sell for that much but a $1-million dollar home or even studio is not at all uncommon around here. This is not surprising since Green is the border between Cow Hollow and Pacific Heights.

And then you will also find large 6-story brick buildings like the one near the western end that is the home of the Russian Consulate (only slightly northeast of the Little Russia area of the Richmond District). There are a few buildings like this that look more like old fashioned office buildings or maybe slightly more unusual apartments.

Green flattens out to the east of Pierce. This is where you will find the Catholic St. Vincent de Paul Church and Gym. This is also where you start to find a lot more 3-story Victorians very much in the style of North Beach and where you get a lot of older pre-World War II apartment buildings (kind of like the San Francisco of Hitchcock). By the time you reach Van Ness it pretty much feels indistinguishable from North Beach.

There aren’t a lot of stores or restaurants on this section of Green, but with Union just to the south and Van Ness on the eastern end you should be well within walking distance of a number of restaurants and stores, no matter where on Green you find yourself.

Green Street and the Cow Hollow/Pacific Heights is a relatively safe point in northern SF, which does have some rough spots. Though there is a ring of violence that surrounds the area, roughly overlapping with high traffic areas, Green Street itself has only had one assault in six months. Unfortunately the neighborhood is not immune to crime altogether. Burglaries are commonplace all along Green and throughout the entirety of both Cow Hollow and Pacific Heights. This is basically the price of living in the city.

One of the big benefits of living in this section is that you have a number of very good schools, so if you happen to have kids and don’t want to raise them in the boredom of the suburbs, this area is one of the better options the city has to offer--especially if you are willing to shell out the big bucks for a private school.

Overall, I would say this is great spot to live in the city. A little oasis of charm and relative safety.

Alvarado Road is probably the most expensive real estate in Berkeley, boasting not just the highest price home sale in the past year, but the top 2 highest priced home sales of the past year. Alvarado slips off of Highway 13 as it makes its way up towards the Caldecott Tunnel. This is a very leafy European looking area right by the section of the Berkeley hills where the Firestorm of 1991 started.

In fact the second of these homes--which sold for $2.3 million--was built in 1998, probably on the ground of a home that did not make it through the fire. In fact, Trulia estimates this 5000 ft. home at $2.8 million and given that is both newer and has the better view, I would have to agree. It is an amazing home.

But really most of the homes along the zig zag stretch of Alvarado are pretty worthy of the props I am giving them. These are large mansion like homes with half timbering and amazing yards.

This is a favorite area for super successful intellectual types, such as those who create computer languages or start environmental movements. The hills of Berkeley are filled with famous authors and Nobel prize winners.

This is a great location if you are associated with Cal or if for commuting into the city and or throughout the Bay. Overall, I would love to live here.

Bay Street runs intermittently right through the heart of the Marina in San Francisco. It is home to the most expensive home to sell in the Marina and is filled with pretty amazing older homes and apartments on its western end by the Palace of the Fine Arts.

In fact, one block of Bay Street borders the southern end of the Palace. The homes that look out onto the artificial lagoon and the swans are slightly unusual for Bay--they are old neoclassical looking homes dating from a century ago, during the period just after the Great Quake of 1906. It is on this stretch, looking out over the lagoon that you will find the highest priced home to sell here in the past year. A nearly 3000 ft. 4-bedroom 3-bath dating from 1929 sold here for $4.3 million in November. (It has last sold in the late 90’s for under $1 million. Quite an appreciation.)

The rest of Bay along this western section of the Marina is made up of three and four story buildings not altogether unlike similar buildings that you find in North Beach and other sections of San Francisco, with street level garages underneath attractive bay windows. There are actually a fair number of apartments along this stretch, which is perhaps a touch surprising for the Marina which is mainly known as a swanky family area.

Bay dead ends at Scott St. and then picks up again at Fillmore St. where it has a fairly different feel having Marina Middle School on its southern end and then Fort Mason on its northern end about midway through. Along this section it is mostly apartments and as you get near Fort Mason they are actually of a newer variety, the 3-story Victorians giving way to modern looking redwood shingled buildings on the western end of the fort.

Fort Mason, like the Presidio on the western end of Bay, is no longer used for military purposes and now is home to some private enterprises, including the classy vegetarian restaurant, Green’s.

What will renting one of these condos on Bay cost? Prices run from $6000 to $20,000 per month for a two bedroom. (That is right--I didn’t put in an extra zero on one of those.) I even saw a 5-bedroom going for $45,000/month here. That is more than half a million dollars a year for a home you won’t even come to own. You can however find a one-bedroom for just under $3000--a steal, I guess.

Unfortunately, the Marina really isn’t so safe of an area to live. In the last six months there has been one murder and more than 150 assaults in the Marina. There have also been nearly 300 burglaries and robberies. Given how much people pay to live here, it is a little surprising that crime should be this high here, even with the high density.

Overall, I think the price and crime worries make the Marina not the best value. Even though you are right by the Presidio and have tons of other nearby entertainments, I can’t really recommend this as the ideal location for setting down roots.

The tiny Tamarack neighborhood in Hayward basically has two different things that characterize it: it is home to Mission Hills Middle School, and it has a small residential area. Mission Hills Middle School is a private middle school with extended day care. Because it is a private school, I really don’t know how good it is on an objective level. (No APIs and all the rest of it.)

The rest of the neighborhood--basically just a handful of square blocks--is also not very distinctive. It is made up 1950’s style Ranch style homes of the kind that is pretty typical of Union City. They look fairly run down and the streets have that flat unappealing looking that so many neighborhoods in this area of the East Bay do. In the last year, the four homes that have sold in this neighborhood have sold for $265K, $271K, $355K, $356K respectively--also pretty typical for this location.

Though there have been about a half dozen nearby assaults and maybe a dozen robberies, the neighborhood is relatively safe. It is an okay area as far as commuting goes, being situated in a location that gets you to virtually anywhere in the Bay Area in a relatively manageable amount of time.

Overall a pretty average neighborhood.

Forest Hill Extension is exactly what it sounds like, an extension of the fairly prestigious SF neighborhood just to the southeast of the Taraval/Montalvo turnabout.

It has very attractive architecture but it is not quite on a level with what you find in Forest Hill. In fact, it feels to me a lot more like the adjacent Sherwood Forest neighborhood or maybe even the Twin Peaks area. The homes here are smaller and more modest--relatively speaking anyway--but they are still very beautiful. Actually, it is only because I am comparing it to Forest Hill that this neighborhood requires qualification.

The homes here are probably about a century old and tightly packed along softly curving streets with very squat front yards. These homes are squarish sometimes Bungalow style homes with large paned windows some with views down towards Daly City. On the north eastern end of Forest Hill Extension you can see the towers of the La Honda medical facilities.

The median home here is selling for about $1.1 million currently. In the past year homes have sold from between $450 K and $1.7 million--though the vast majority were in the $800K to $1.5 million range.

All the other benefits of living here in the West Portal area hold true for Forest Hill Extension. The schools are just as strong: West Portal Elementary, Hoover Middle and Lincoln High have API’s of 9, 7 and 7 respectively, and this is also one of the safest and most quiet areas in the city.

Overall a pretty great place for young families, if you can afford it.

Hidden away on the western end of San Francisco right at the edge of the Sunset District, Forest Hill is just far enough away from the more hectic locations in San Francisco to give residents a certain feeling of tranquility and security, yet not so far away that you can easily be at a 5-star restaurants within 15 minutes.

There is nothing modest or muted about these homes however. The neighborhood is just a beautiful architectural tour-de-force; the kind of place that is like a architecture student’s dream neighborhood. Every home is unique and deserves an hour’s attention at least by those who love to study residential architecture. There are story book style cottage homes with curved faux rustic style roofs and perfectly selected multicolored brickwork. There are large mansion style homes fronted by giant redwood trees with eye lines that stretch out over the Sunset to the sea. There are even cozy half timbered French style cottages with attractively shaped topiary in the front yards.

The median selling price for a home here in Forest Hill in the past year was $1.4 million. Homes here barely hit the $2 million range on the high end so it is far from being in the same league as its western neighbor, Saint Francis Wood.

What accounts for this discrepancy? As far as I can tell, the main reason for this has to do with location. Forest Hill though it is nicely tucked away is a little bit outside of the prime areas where the filthy rich want to be. You have Golden Gate Park just to the north but you are not quite as conveniently located for getting to the northern part of San Francisco, which is the truly posh area.

At least, this is what I can make of it. The other thing too is that since Forest Hill has an ordinance against commercial offerings, schools and other businesses require you to leave the neighborhood. That is a bit of a drawback.

That said, the schools that are in the area are some of the strongest in San Francisco. Crime is very low and the public transportation system that can take you all over the city is more than adequate: you can get from here to the Financial District via public transportation in about a half hour.

Definitely not too shabby.

You will find not just one $4.5 million home on Cherry Street, but two. What makes this such a high cost area?

Partly it is, of course, the big old historic homes that are right here. This is a neighborhood that got built out in the decade after the Great Quake of 1906, and those that came here were largely the really well off. It has remained an area for those to this day.

That is why you will find large mansions occupying Cherry Street. From the Presidio to California Street, that is what you will find. These are those large beautiful imposing structures that feel like they could equally house offices as they could a rich family. As far as I know most of them here are residential rather than commercial.

This would actually be a good place for doctors who have made it and are teaching at one of the many medical facilities that are just at the southern end of this location.

Overall with the great schools and proximity to Presidio and Golden Gate Park, this is a great place to raise a family if you can afford it.

If you know anything about Presidio Heights, you know that it is one of those neighborhoods in San Francisco like Sea Cliff and Saint Francis Wood where the creme-de-la-creme, the richest of the rich, live. Presidio Heights in general and Washington St. in specific, does not have the amazing Golden Gate Bridge views of Sea Cliff, nor does is it tucked away quite in the way that Saint Francis Wood is--but what it does have going for it is truly historic homes largely built in the decade or so after the Great 1906 Quake, which brought many San Franciscans out to these then “peripheral” areas.

When a resident of Washington Street steps out of his or her house in the morning they find a lane that except for the modern cars and other modern additions looks much like it a may have a century ago. These are grand old manors with short front yards and beautiful walk-up entry ways. Some are quite ostentatious, with Doric or Corinthian columns book-ending the entrance, and palladian windows giving way onto tiny Romeo and Juliet style balconies. Some make use of the top floors (most of these are three story structures) to create open air verandas, perfect for sunbathing on that one day per year that the weather is clear and warm enough. Other buildings along Washington Street are a touch more modest, and look much more like the older buildings that you might find throughout the city.

Nevertheless, the wealth in the area raises all home prices. The most expensive homes to sell in the last year in Presidio Heights have been within a block or so of the corner of Washington Street and Cherry Street. The one on Washington Street is a 1927 3-story home with more 3500 ft. of space and a beautiful back yard. It really is an amazing structure. I personally however much prefer the Mediterranean style home a house or two away that recently sold for $3.5 million. It was built in 1924 and has a really attractive open air deck on the top floor. The style also is much more modern in feel--very European in a good way.

That gives you a sense however of the the kind of neighborhood this is: multi-million dollar homes with luxury cars parked out front. You can’t beat this location either. You are a block away from the Presidio on the north and within walking distance of Golden Gate park on the south. The schools are also some of the best in the city and the commute to most other parts of the city is pretty good.

Overall it is great area to live if you are a CEO or CFO with a family who hates commuting or needs to be somewhat near the action of the city.

This tiny square to the north of where Decoto Road and Alvarado Niles Blvd. meet is barely what can be called a neighborhood at all. The majority of this location is taken up by a strip mall with a big parking lot. You will find a Marina Foods which is a great Asian foods market and a Pho Thanh Long, a Vietnamese restaurant, and a handful of other East Asian places--which tells you about the diversity of the residents that make up Union City.

There is a also a Burger King, and an O’Relly Auto Parts.

Behind this strip mall is an apartment complex which makes up the rest of El Mercado. These are pretty typical apartments with carports and boxy looking two story structures arranged around the grounds. It isn’t wonderful and feels slightly overcrowded but I have seen far worse. A one bedroom here will run you around $1500 and two bedroom about $1700. (Which I think is expensive for a one-bedroom but about right for a 2-bedroom.)

As to schools, they are unfortunately average to below average in this section of Union City, with Searles Elementary, Chavez Middle School and Logan High having API’s of 4, 3 and 6 respectively.

As to crime it is fairly low with only a half dozen robberies reported in the last 4 months.

Overall I would say that if you have kids, this place is overpriced, but if you are single this place might be okay especially since the BART is pretty close by. Might be ideal for a couple that works in different parts of the Bay Area and needs a pad that is in between these.

10th Avenue is where you will find the highest priced home sales in all of Inner Richmond in the last year. In fact, the two highest home sales happened here. (There were a couple of properties that sold for more, but they were multi-family homes, not single family homes the way these are.)

10th Avenue is a great Inner Richmond street running north south from Golden Gate Park in the south to Mountain Lake Park in the Presidio on the north. On the southern end of 19th Avenue where the mostly highly priced homes are is where the neighborhood also happens to be oldest. The old homes here are a century old, dating from the period after the Great SF Quake of 1906 which brought residents farther west and coincided with the SF World’s Fair of 1912.

That’s the period these most expensive homes date to. A couple of these homes along 10th sold last year for about $2.2 million. They are attractive older homes that stand alone (as opposed to being pushed up close to one another as many homes are here). These homes are usually two-story walk-ups but they have walkways in between them and generally feel more like individual homes than apartments.

Much of the rest of the street, however, is pretty typical of the Inner Richmond and much of the rest of northern San Francisco. It is basically filled with three story walk-up Victorians.

One of the advantages of living in the Richmond District are the strong public schools. McCoppin Elementary, Roosevelt Middle School and Washington High have APIs of 7, 8 and 7 respectively, pretty strong for any city really.

As to crime, 10th Avenue is a relatively safe area for SF. The 2 dozen assaults that have taken place within half a mile of 10th in the last 6 months have taken place to the east of here and mostly along Geary. Burglary and robbery are more evenly spread with the 5 dozen burglaries happening throughout the neighborhood and the dozen robberies mostly taking place on Geary.

Given the great transportation system, the relatively lower rents of Inner Richmond (you can find a one-bedroom for $1800 and a two-bedroom for $2400), I would actually say that when you put it all together 10th Avenue in specific and Inner Richmond in general is one of the sweet spots in San Francisco where it is relatively affordable and actually livable for families.

The appropriately named Union District is the Union City neighborhood where you will find the Union City BART station. It is shaped somewhat like a right triangle with the majority of the neighborhood taken up by the BART station, its parking lot and a shopping plaza. The shopping plaza has a Safeway supermarket and the usual set of stores you expect to find in a suburban shopping plaza.

Just to south of this area, in the middle section of Union District are a grouping of apartment complexes. These are mostly made up of newer units in 4-story buildings decorated in dark beiges and browns and muddy reds. A one-bedroom in one of these apartment buildings will run you around $1600; a two, $2000; and a three, $2500.

On the far southern end of the neighborhood where it narrows to a point, Union District is made up of townhomes. These are also those newer kinds of townhomes made in the Spanish mediterranean style with adobe walls and tiled roofs.

The median price for one of these townhomes is $450K with prices ranging from $188K to $617K. Though most are in the $300K to $500K range.

Schools in the area are about average (except for the Chavez Middle School which is below) and crime is relatively moderate.

Overall, this is not too bad a place to live and relatively affordable.

The most expensive single family home to sell in the last year in the Central Richmond neighborhood is right here on 17th Avenue. 17th Avenue is a pretty typical Central Richmond street. The home itself is pretty nice. It is in one of those walk-ups that usually gets converted into separate condos. In this case it has been kept together as one home, which would be ideal for a family with kids. This home was built in 1912, but it has clearly been renovated since then to make it look new. Very nice.

17th Avenue stretches from Golden Gate Park (by Snow Lake) to the Presidio, three blocks west of Park Presidio Blvd. (Highway 1). Home prices for other homes on or near 17th Avenue range from $850 to $1.5 mil, so the property that sold for the most is not way above the range that most homes sell for in this area.

The entire neighborhood here seems to date from about 100 years ago, probably part of the post 1906 Earthquake building boom and exactly matching up with the World’s Fair that built the nearby Legion of Honor and Palace of Fine Arts.

There is a strong Russian presence in this area--so much so that the northern end of Central Richmond is known as Little Russia.

Closer to the southern end of 17th Avenue, however, you get more multi-family homes--buildings divided up into condos--which tend to sell for more due to their rental value. South of Geary, much of the neighborhood dates from the 1920’s and is not quite as elegant as those to the north--these are the more typical 3-story walk-ups that are the default structure in places like North Beach.

Btw, if you are curious, a 2 bedroom in and near 17th will run you between $2200 and $3000. (I also saw a 3-bedroom listed for $5000/month. At the price you can buy a house in the burbs and commute in and have something to show for it at the end of the day.)

There are several benefits to living in the Central Richmond District. First, the schools here are some of the best in the city. Not only are there several private schools that are set-up to cater to the affluent residents of nearby Sea Cliff and Pacific Heights, but the public schools are equally strong with APIs of 7 and above.

This is also a much quieter area. Though there are some restaurants here, most of them are not the destination for tourists or foodies (though many will drive through here on their way to the Cliff House or the Legion of Honor).

Now, as far as crime goes, this is not the suburbs. You are definitely much safer than in neighborhoods like the Tenderloin or the Mission, but within a half mile radius of 17th Avenue in the last 6 months there have been 2 dozen assaults, 1 sexual assault, 1 solicitation, 6 dozen indecent exposure citations, 50 burglaries and another nearly 20 robberies (mostly along Geary--the main drag here).

Overall, however, this is a pretty good place for families who hate the burbs and must live in the city. So long as you can afford it, of course.

Where was the most expensive home sale in Outer Richmond in the last year?

Right here on 48th Ave., that’s where. The home, a 1951 single family home with 8 rooms and 4 baths sold for $1.65 mil last summer. It is a very attractive 3-story home with a ground floor garage and front door and large sleekly square 2nd and 3rd floor windows that look out over the Monterey Bay cypresses to the Pacific breakers. It has clearly been renovated recently.

Given the location and the fact that it is one of the largest homes along 48th, it should be quite obvious why this home should be the most expensive in Outer Richmond. Imagine waking up to these amazing views every morning and being just across the street from the beach side trails on the northern end of Ocean Beach and within walking distance Sutro Heights Park and Cliff House. With Golden Gate Park to the south and Lands End and the Legion of Honor to the north, you certainly can’t beat this location for natural wonder.

Not all of 48th Avenue gets these kinds of views however. South of Balboa Street, although you can still hear the breakers and smell the nearby ocean, your views are blocked out by bungalows built on the western side of 48th. Prices drop somewhat here as well. You are still however well within walking distance of the beach and there is a supermarket and restaurants which make it so you don’t have to get into your car for basic necessities.

Another big draw to area are the great schools. From Lafayette Elementary and Presidio Middle School to Washington High, all of the local public schools are solidly above average. The proximity of Sea Cliff, also means you have a number of private choices so long as you are willing to pay the high tuition rates.

There are, of course, some drawbacks to living so close to the far western end of the city. First, is that you will have a bit of a commute into work whether you choose the very solid public transportation system or to drive. Second, you better be okay with fog, since being this close to the ocean means you will have to live in it for probably 10 months out of the year. This section of Outer Richmond is first to get overcast and last to get sun, so be aware.

There is also a bit of crime. In the last six month there have been about 20 assaults within a block or two of 48th Avenue--mostly by the parks. There have also been about the same number of burglaries, most of them along 48th itself.

Overall, however, this is a great place to live if you love being near the beach, the parks, the museum and a bit removed from most of the city craziness.