Bidding War for San Francisco Home in Presidio Heights

A Presidio Heights home that hasn’t changed hands in over 40 years went for more than $1 million over its $6.5-million asking, a sign that inventory-starved high-end buyers may finally be looking beyond turnkey properties — if the location is right.

3333 Jackson (Steph Dewey at Reflex Imaging)

Listing agent Ted Bartlett of Compass said that he and his co-listing agents Tina Bartlett Hinckley and Elizabeth Roeder “carefully priced” 3333 Jackson, which had been in the same family for more than four decades.

The property was only on the market for eight days and received all non-contingent offers over asking from highly qualified buyers, he said. Bartlett said each prospective buyer was well represented by agents familiar with Presidio Heights and its local dynamics.

Bartlett did not name the sellers of the six-bedroom, four-bath 1913 Beaux Arts home, but property records show that it was owned by the Olness Family Trust and sold by the two sons of Richard and Susan Olness. The elder Olnesses both died in 2023 and Richard Olness ran his own eponymous real estate firm, according to their obituaries.

Compass agent John Townsend repped the buyers and said that for years having a house in the city that needed “some TLC” was a “tough sell.” But buyer mindsets seem to be changing this year, he added. Townsend declined to name his clients but property records show it was Luke Ogelsby, a vice chairman at CBRE, and his wife Britt.

3333 Jackson is “quasi-livable” as is, he said, which allowed potential buyers to “choose your own adventure as far as move in with minimal work and plan something later or do the big project.” At nearly 5,000 square feet, any work could likely be done without a major expansion of the building envelope, making it a “far more manageable process.” It has a prime location on a “top-10 block,” with a relatively low price tag for the neighborhood, even with the overbidding.

“To get a house of this scale on this block for under $8 million is difficult to say the least,” he said, adding that it also has a walk-out south-facing yard, usable space in the basement and views from the top floor.

Townsend said lack of inventory is pushing his buyers in Marin and San Francisco to offer hundreds of thousands of dollars over the asking price more and more often, even for fixers. Most are move-up buyers looking for their “forever home.” When you’re looking at a long-term buy, he said, “the calculus changes as far as what you’re willing to go after.”

Tyler Stewart of Heath Real Estate, who recently represented the buyers on a $12.6 million deal around the corner from 3333 Jackson and also leads major renovation projects, agreed that the continued lack of inventory has made frustrated buyers feel like “they have no option but to build.”

Construction prices are still high, averaging around $1,000 per square foot and upwards of double that for the kinds of high-end redesigns owners want in Presidio and Pacific Heights, she said. She anticipates that will only go up if the Trump tariffs on materials stay in place, and the high prices have put all her build out projects on hold.

But she said construction costs may be getting less important to long-term-minded luxury buyers who seem to be increasingly comfortable being “a little in the red” after their renovations, if they get the home they want, where they want it.

“It’s not that they’re less worried about their return on investment, but they’re realizing there is such a value to the quality of time that they get to spend at home, so if they end up overspending above what someone else would value their real estate at, they’re okay with that,” she said.