As we’ve said before, price is not everything when it comes to writing about housing. But it IS the thing that’s on people’s minds most often, and how could it not be? The bottom line is the bottom line, after all.

Earlier this year we examined how much it really costs to buy a home in the Richmond, and of course the answer to that is that it depends on the standard we’re using. Case in point, now that 2021 is almost done we can look back at the entire range of Richmond home sales and suss out the extremes, the highest and lowest price points in the neighborhood, according to MLS.

In fact it’s a good thing we waited to see, because both of the relevant outliers are fairly recent, landing buyers just last month in November: The most expensive Richmond home sold all year (not counting Sea Cliff sales, which as always we’re ambivalent about) was the November 30 closing of 659 48th Avenue for a cool $5 million even.

This three bed, two bath, 2,400 square foot property landed on the market in October and ended up selling for $1 million more than the original list price. What’s the secret? Well, the fact that it’s right on the edge of Sutro Heights Park and enjoys sprawling Pacific views might have had something to do with it.

And the opposite end of the scale? The 2021 record for least expensive and most affordable Richmond home falls to 471 23rd Avenue #5, an economically sized one bed, one bath condo just off Geary that clocked in at just $520,000 the first week of November, a bit more than $20,000 over what it initially asked.

Both these homes date to the middle of the 20th century–the ’50s and ’60s, respectively–both nabbed hot buyers willing to pay more, and both have been off the market for decades prior to this year.

And now both, in their way, are record holders. What did it really cost to buy a home in the Richmond this year? Around $500,000–or around ten times that figure, it all depends on the breaks, and of course on your means.

Now 2021 is not quite over yet, so how confident can we be that something will not come along to upset these conclusions? Well, lucky for us, there are currently no Richmond homes listed asking more than $5 million or less than $520,000, so while a surprise is possible, something very strange would have to happen with one of these other properties.

But in the meantime, that was your year in two listings.

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