Like many prospective homeowners in San Francisco, we spent a long time searching for a place that met all or enough or our needs and wants. We searched in earnest for over a year (after setting aside the process a couple years earlier). Eventually we determined that we would stay in the city of San Francisco only if we could find a home that offered both views and a yard. That combination, for us, was worth paying for. Any thing less and we would keep renting the great view we had or we would eventually resign ourselves to commuting.

Views are most like Twin Peaks, but Twin Peaks is detached from neighborhood conveniences. The only place that I can think of that is comparable in terms of the absense of through traffic is Presidio Terrace or West Clay Terrace on outter Lake Street near Sea Cliff. In terms of conveniences and recreation we recognize there are a number of wonderful neighborhoods offering both - Presidio Heights, Cow Hollow, and the Marina among them. The simultaneous seclusion and centrality is probably the most unique element of Parnassus Heights - residents who are both distinguished and wonderfully welcoming is a close second.

Understand first that there is not much turnover in Parnassus Heights. Many neighbors have occupied their homes for 40 or 50+ years. People that are buying are buying to stay, grow and enhance. Given all the natural advantages of Parnassus Heights, residents know that the value of their improvements will compound over time in a way that only select streets in the city will experience. New construction in Parnassus Heights has fetched over $1,000 per square foot in 2005 - comparable to values on other blocks with outstanding views such as Vallejo, Broadway, Pacific and parts of Russian and Nob Hill. Some of the most valuable properties in Parnassus Heights would sell well in excess of $5 million if they were marketed. In absense of that, the public does see single family homes selling from from $1.75M to over $3 million. On the other end of the spectrum, we have seen a one bedroom condo without views offered at $725K and we saw a smallish single family house without views that was offered under $1 million - of course the house sold for over $1.2 million so this turned out to be a not-so-encouraging example for prospective buyers and perhaps not-so-surprising to San Francisco homeowners who understand the imbalance between the large number of people with incomes and the small number of properties offered on prime residential streets.