In the past we’ve shown you a lot of before and after housing offers, where a once-humble Richmond abode undergoes renovation and comes out the other side with not only a new look but a big fat new price tag as well.

For the case of 734 27th Avenue, instead we’re imagining what might have been. This is indeed a newly minted overhaul of a previously modest home: When the place last sold in 2012 it sported two beds, 1.5 baths, an in-law unit, and was held as a rental property charging $2,650 per month. (!)

The Department of Building Inspection has permits on record going back to January of this year that authorize first major repairs but eventually greater and more elaborate renovations, all the way up to a new vertical addition, the results of which we can see right here.

Now we know exactly what this new 734 27th Avenue, sporting four beds, six baths, and over 3,000 square feet of living space, is worth–or at least, we know what they’re trying to sell it for, in this case a whopping $3.95 million.

The question is, what would have happened if they’d done nothing and just sold the previous house as is? What might it have been worth without the addition of, well, these additions?

The 2012 deal was for a fairly modest $675K. Back then the median price of a house in San Francisco was about $735K, whereas today it’s around $1.85 million, an increase of about 151.7 percent.

So by way of a very crude estimate, we could guess that a $675K Richmond home ten years ago would, if presented pretty much the same now, be worth a little bit over a $1 million.

On the other hand, if we look at similarly sized homes in the neighborhood–two bed, 1.5 bath, around 1,200 square feet–the median price this year has been around $1.6 million, although admittedly that’s based on only seven sales.

In either case, clearly the decision to build up the property and the asking price pays off for the owners here.

Our question is, which do you think is better for the neighborhood itself–a new designer house worth four times as much, or an older, fixer kind of home that costs a fraction of that?

Which would you want to see if you were buying a new home? Which would you want to see more of on your street? Drop us a line with your opinions.

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