Russian Hill mansion once owned by Nicholas Cage finally goes into contract

A century-old Tudor Revival home in San Francisco’s ritzy Russian Hill once owned by actor Nicholas Cage went into contract with a list price of almost $10 million – four years and $2 million less than when it first came to market.

The 6,300-square-foot mansion, built in 1914, sat on the market for years even as homes in the city sell for millions more than the asking price. That may reflect just how much time, money and effort it may cost to restore.

“People look at it as a fixer,” Compass agent Mark Allan Levinson told SFGate in 2019, when it was asking $11 million, down from its original 2017 price of $12 million. “There are only a certain amount of people who have that kind of money and that kind of bandwidth.”

898 San Francisco Street (Compass)

The 898 Francisco Street home was in contract with an asking price of $9,950,000 as of Dec. 15, according to Zillow and the Compass website. That price has held steady since March 2020.

Cage bought the home and a vacant lot next door for $9.4 million at the end of 2006. He rethought that decision and it was back on the market the following spring, asking $7.9 million, plus $1.5 million for the empty lot. It sold, with the lot, in July 2008 for $8.5 million, meaning the actor took a hit of almost $1 million.

The lot, which fronts Hyde Street and assures an uninterrupted view from the home, is still a separate listing from the house and was asking $3 million when it went into contract. That means the grand total could be as high as $14 million.