17th Ave, Central Richmond

The most expensive single family home to sell in the last year in the Central Richmond neighborhood is right here on 17th Avenue. 17th Avenue is a pretty typical Central Richmond street. The home itself is pretty nice. It is in one of those walk-ups that usually gets converted into separate condos. In this case it has been kept together as one home, which would be ideal for a family with kids. This home was built in 1912, but it has clearly been renovated since then to make it look new. Very nice.

17th Avenue stretches from Golden Gate Park (by Snow Lake) to the Presidio, three blocks west of Park Presidio Blvd. (Highway 1). Home prices for other homes on or near 17th Avenue range from $850 to $1.5 mil, so the property that sold for the most is not way above the range that most homes sell for in this area.

The entire neighborhood here seems to date from about 100 years ago, probably part of the post 1906 Earthquake building boom and exactly matching up with the World’s Fair that built the nearby Legion of Honor and Palace of Fine Arts.

There is a strong Russian presence in this area--so much so that the northern end of Central Richmond is known as Little Russia.

Closer to the southern end of 17th Avenue, however, you get more multi-family homes--buildings divided up into condos--which tend to sell for more due to their rental value. South of Geary, much of the neighborhood dates from the 1920’s and is not quite as elegant as those to the north--these are the more typical 3-story walk-ups that are the default structure in places like North Beach.

Btw, if you are curious, a 2 bedroom in and near 17th will run you between $2200 and $3000. (I also saw a 3-bedroom listed for $5000/month. At the price you can buy a house in the burbs and commute in and have something to show for it at the end of the day.)

There are several benefits to living in the Central Richmond District. First, the schools here are some of the best in the city. Not only are there several private schools that are set-up to cater to the affluent residents of nearby Sea Cliff and Pacific Heights, but the public schools are equally strong with APIs of 7 and above.

This is also a much quieter area. Though there are some restaurants here, most of them are not the destination for tourists or foodies (though many will drive through here on their way to the Cliff House or the Legion of Honor).

Now, as far as crime goes, this is not the suburbs. You are definitely much safer than in neighborhoods like the Tenderloin or the Mission, but within a half mile radius of 17th Avenue in the last 6 months there have been 2 dozen assaults, 1 sexual assault, 1 solicitation, 6 dozen indecent exposure citations, 50 burglaries and another nearly 20 robberies (mostly along Geary--the main drag here).

Overall, however, this is a pretty good place for families who hate the burbs and must live in the city. So long as you can afford it, of course.