Prices for condominiums at San Francisco’s Millennium Tower have plummeted in response to several structural issues that have come to light since 2016. According to SFGATE, a one-bedroom condo at the tower was recently listed at $649,000, marking a significant 41% decrease from its $1.1 million sale price a decade ago. Other units have seen even steeper declines, with a two-bedroom previously sold for $1.5 million now on the market for $800,000, demonstrating nearly a 50% drop in value.
Nevertheless, real estate professionals like James Testa hold a positive view of the building's prospects. "Generally, Millennium Tower is a fantastic deal right now," Testa said, as per SFGATE, confidently suggesting that the current affordability should not be expected to last indefinitely. He attributes the adjusted pricing to a recent trend, citing similar low sales in 2023 and 2024 as new benchmarks for the tower's market. Despite the grim history of the building, the possibility of securing such property 'inexpensively' is attracting a significant amount of interest from prospective buyers.
The 58-story Millennium Tower, once home to notables such as NBA star Kevin Durant and former San Francisco 49er Joe Montana, has faced daunting challenges due to its tilt and subsequent sinking. Daily Mail reports detail how issues escalated to the extent that the building, resting on a 10-foot deep concrete foundation, had sunk 28 inches by the end of 2022. Residents experienced not only creaks and cracks but were also hit with bills amounting to millions of dollars to address the structural problems.
Despite these setbacks, significant efforts have been made to correct the lean of the luxury high-rise. By January 2023, some stabilization had been achieved, with the completion of a project to anchor the building to bedrock scheduled for the third quarter of 2023. Realtors have already begun positioning the Millennium Tower for a strong market return, with a Sotheby's listing assuring potential buyers of the completed anchorage to bedrock. "There's just nothing else out there that is so uniquely positioned, and the fact that you can pick it up so inexpensively is such a great opportunity," explained agent James Testa, per SFGATE.
Owners, however, have borne significant financial stress due to the building's woes. In one incident chronicled by the Daily Mail, resident Mehrdad Mostafavi revealed the distress caused by faulty repair works, which resulted in his kitchen sink flooding with sewage. Alongside the personal turmoil, there's the collective financial impact on residents who were charged their share of the over-budget repair costs, originally pegged at $100 million but escalating due to unforeseen complications and city requirements, according to Daily Mail.
To date, some remain cautiously optimistic that the worst is behind the once-doomed structure. With its amenities such as saline pools, deluxe lounges, and a 20,000-square-foot fitness center and the structural repair work now anchored in bedrock, the Millennium Tower's condominiums could very well represent a significant opportunity for real estate buyers willing to overlook its troubled past, as cited by SFGATE.
