8 figure presidio heights home fetches nearly $1mill over asking price

Jul 15

Tops 2021 price at height of pandemic hot streak despite millions in likely renovations

A grand Presidio Heights view home has sold for $12.9 million—close to $1 million over its asking price even with millions in renovations likely in the future fo) the new owners.

The buyer was Koalafied Holdings LLC, which has the same address as a Mission District condo owned by Anjney Midha, according to loan documents. Midha is a general partner at VC giant Andreessen Horowitz, leading its AI investments. He was the co-founder of augmented reality startup Ubiquity6, which was acquired by Discord in 2021. That same year he became an angel investor in AI heavyweight Anthropic, which is now valued at over $15 billion.

Tech CEO Vignan Velivela bought 3498 Jackson Street at the end of 2021 for $12.25 million, but does not appear to have made any updates to the 1937 home other than adding an EV charger in the four-car garage, according to city permits. The source said the 5,700-square-foot home was unstaged and that the owners had never moved in, having bought a home on the Peninsula instead.

The previous owners, Jack and Carole Strauss, had owned the home for over 50 years and had not done any major interior work since the 1990s, according to property and permit records.

Peninsula-based agent Stanley Lo of Green Banker represented both sides of the recent deal and did not reply to a request for comment. But a source with knowledge of the negotiations said there were two offers on the table.

Even without updates, the home sold for nearly $1 million over its $11.98 million asking and $650,000 over its 2021 sales price in just one week in May. The sale closed July 2.

Compass agent Butch Haze, who made an offer on the home when it came to market back in 2021, said that it needed “substantial work” but that the property’s Presidio Heights location, views, the grand scale of some of its common rooms, and its “commanding” corner lot were its main selling points.

“Some homes are just the stewards of the block,” he said of the property, where its history also includes a long stint as home to one of the Hills Brothers coffee heirs.

But even with an impressive street presence, Haze said the new owners would likely need to put $8 to $10 million into renovations.

“The families who are staying in San Francisco are doubling down, which they truly are when buying with these interest rates,” Haze said. “They’re buying special trophy properties that they know will hold their value.”

Haze pointed to nearby sales like 3898 Jackson, which went for its $7.3 million asking price in one week, as evidence that the market, at least in the city’s northern neighborhoods, is past its bottom. He also said that the affluent buyers looking in these neighborhoods have high hopes for San Francisco’s future as the city’s political landscape changes.

“They’re making an investment not only in the house but in San Francisco’s comeback,” he said.