Telegraph Hill multifamily asking $7M to be going, going gone starting on Friday

The five-unit property with two roof terraces is a rare example of a non-distressed SF property coming to the auction block

10 Reno Place (Photos via Concierge Auctions)
10 Reno Place (Photos via Concierge Auctions)

A $7 million multifamily whose penthouse has panoramic views will be going, going, gone after a rare luxury auction sale that starts on Friday.

Buyers will have from December 10 to 17 to bid online for the Telegraph Hill property, which has a three-bedroom, three-bath penthouse with two roof decks, as well as four smaller apartments below. Only one apartment is occupied, according to Bob Buttaro of Concierge Auctions, which is co-listing the property with Victoria Clemons and Julia Bernardi of Compass.

10 Reno Place (Photos via Concierge Auctions)

10 Reno Place (Photos via Concierge Auctions)

The owners bought 10 Reno Place for $5.5 million in October 2019 and only just completed renovating it this fall, Buttaro said via email. They put it on the market in the spring and then again in September for $7 million because they are “not able to enjoy the property as much as they would like,” he said.

After the initial marketing efforts failed to result in a sale, the owners decided on an auction to reach “a broader audience of high-net-worth individuals across the US,” Buttaro said.

Even though it is listed at $7 million, the auction is selling “no reserve,” which means the owners are obligated to sell to the highest bidder, regardless of the price.

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Auction sales for non-distressed homes aren’t common in the Bay Area, in part because of an underpricing strategy by local agents that already creates an auction-style bidding war on many properties. In August, Zillow said that the San Francisco area led the 50 largest U.S. metros in the share of homes that sold for 30 percent above their list price or more. A Cole Valley property made headlines this fall when it sold for $2 million over asking.

Concierge’s pitch: Auctions can move high-end homes that haven’t sold quicker and without a prolonged marketing process that may hurt the perception of the home’s value.

“Every day a home sits on the market, it depreciates in value,” Concierge CEO Laura Brady said in a statement. “For five years, our research continues to show that the largest factor in determining the price that a luxury property will ultimately sell for is the number of days that it has been on the market. We continue to find that properties either sell quickly for close to their initial asking price, or they linger on the market and sell for a fraction.”

Buttaro said the company, which was sold to Sotheby’s and Realogy in November, is “very active” in California and has sold five properties in San Francisco in the past few years.

Before the Telegraph Hill auction, its most recent local sale was a penthouse in the Ritz-Carlton Residences off Union Square. That two-level 3,600-square-foot 4-bedroom, 4.5-bath was listed for $8.5 million in January 2020. When lockdowns began in March, the buyers decided to go the auction route. Five active bidders put down a $100,000 deposit, and it ultimately sold for $5 million, plus about $600,000 in buyer’s fees to Concierge.

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