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San Francisco

Controversial pickleball house sets 2024 sales record in SF at $24M

Hotwire’s Karl Peterson gets $5M less than ask price for Presidio Heights home

Hotwire co-founder Karl Peterson sells SF home with controversial pickleball court for $24M
Hotwire's Karl Peterson and 3630 Jackson Street (TPG, Google Maps, Getty)

Hotwire co-founder and venture capitalist Karl Peterson has sold his Presidio Heights home and its controversial private pickleball court for $24 million, according to public records. The sale of 3630 Jackson Street just tops the previous biggest sale in San Francisco so far this year. 

The buyer, 3630 Jackson LLC, appears to have Texas ties, as both the real estate attorney listed on the deed and the principal address for the LLC  are in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.

The agent for the buyer was not immediately clear as the property has been removed from listing sites. Steve Mavromihalis of Compass is the listing agent and declined to comment, citing an NDA.

The home along the Presidio Wall initially came to market about a year ago asking $36 million, but it had dropped to $29 million by the time it went into contract last month. Peterson and his wife Holly had argued that noise from the pickleball courts at the park across the street from their home impacted their ability to sell at the higher price. One potential buyer backed out because of the noise.

After the Petersons and some neighbors complained, the city’s Recreation and Park Department said it would turn six of the 12 courts back into “tennis only” spaces, though pickleball enthusiasts continue to defy that rule. The fact that the Petersons had added a private pickleball court to their quarter-acre lot only increased the ire of public-court pickleball players. 

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The Petersons bought the home for $16.65 million in 2013 and told the Wall Street Journal that they put $10 million into renovating the 1917 Julia Morgan-designed house. The eight-bedroom, 7.5-bath, 12,000-square-foot dwelling includes a ground-floor speakeasy/karaoke lounge with three disco balls, multiple panic/safe rooms, a two-car garage with a dog washing station and additional parking on the herringbone-patterned driveway. 

Many of the north-facing rooms have Presidio, bay and Golden Gate Bridge views, including the primary suite, which has two walk-in closets, each with its own bathroom. 

Holly Peterson told the WSJ that they were selling because their teenagers now go to boarding school and that they are renovating another property they own in San Francisco. They also have homes in Aspen and South Bend, Indiana. 

Agents have reported that ultra-high-end buyers are finally getting off the fence after the near standstill that started in mid-2022. Last month, a Pacific Heights pocket listing sold for just under $24 million and was the first in the city to break the $20 million mark this year. Other high-end San Francisco sales in the city’s premier northern neighborhoods this spring have totaled closer to $10 million, with three deals around that price point currently in contract.

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