The 3R Reality: Why the Sea Cliff "Bones" Deal is a $2,000/sq ft Trap
The call usually comes in on a Tuesday, flavored with that specific brand of optimism that only exists before someone has actually laid eyes on a 3R report. Someone has found a "deal" in Sea Cliff. It is a house with history, a glimpse of the bridge, and what the listing agent calls "good bones" without a hint of irony.
In The City, "good bones" is just a polite way of saying, "you are about to spend the next three years of your life in permit purgatory, negotiating the specific profile of a baseboard with a neighborhood association that has nothing but time, money, and an endless supply of opinions."
The math of the sweat equity dream died a few years ago. It was buried under the weight of a supply chain that never quite recovered, and a labor pool that realized it could charge whatever it wanted, because there is only one of them, and ten thousand of you.
Construction costs for high end finishes in The City have easily cleared $1,500 a square foot. $2,000 a square foot is not unheard of becauase, loooooook, you NEED an architect and a permit expediter, toooooooo.
By the time you find a contractor who hasn't fled for the hills of Idaho, (Scott Cohon (link to this https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-cohon-9ba95598/).... where are yoooooou?!?!) and navigate the latest whims of the Planning Department, your bargain has become a weight around your neck that no amount of Bay views can lighten.
What is the current cost per square foot for luxury renovations in San Francisco? You can expect to pay between $1,500 and $2,000 for the high end finishes expected in a neighborhood like Sea Cliff, and that is before you calculate the carrying costs of a multi year delay that eats your ROI while you wait for a signature.
Buying something turnkey isn't a lack of imagination. It is a calculated act of sanity. You are buying the fact that someone else already fought the battles, they closed the permits, and they ensured the millwork is actually straight.
In 2026, the real luxury isn't the renovation.
It's the ability to move in, unpack, and actually live your life.
If you have a $4M budget and five years of patience, buy the fixer; if you want to be home by the end of the month, let’s look at the turnkey estates that just need your art collection to finally be able to call your place "home"
