The incredible shrinking house--2824 Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda, CA
The large house at 2824 Santa Clara was on craigslist a few months ago, described as an "executive home" if memory serves. I'm not sure what that means other than a euphemism for "around $1M." It's now back on various real estate sites with a shiny new MLS(r) number, 40366628 (no link until EBRD issues are resolved). First, the publicly-available specs:
Currently at $990,000 ($475), it's squarely on the high side, but buyers routinely lose their minds over Fernside houses, so it'll probably sell for about that much (sigh).
That said, it hasn't always been priced below $1M. In an earlier incarnation, it was listed at $1,095,000:
And before that, it was even higher:
Interestingly, the earliest listing shows 2 1/2 bathrooms and a 2,700-sqft floor plan, and no MLS(r) number; my guess is those specs were owner-provided rather than public records. So far the price has been dropped a total of$209,999 (17%) $249,999 (21%).
I wasn't able to find a sale history on Trulia or Zillow, so this house may well have been owned for decades (as suggested by a $626 property tax bill for all of 2007!); the seller should (and evidently does) have some wiggle room available on the price. Sadly, I could see someidiot executive pay $950K for this thing, so it's probably not going to drop all that much before someone buys it.
Update 11/14/08: Price dropped a whole 4%, to $950,000.
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2 or 3 bedrooms (depending on where you look), 2 bathrooms, 2,082 sqft, 6,656-sqft lot, $990,000
From Zillow:
This elegant and stately split-level traditional is located in highly coveted Fernside. Features include arched entryways, vaulted ceiling in lvg rm/great rm, formal dining rm, and a landscaped back yd. An additional bonus room and bedroom may be used as rec/rumpus room or guest quarters
Currently at $990,000 ($475), it's squarely on the high side, but buyers routinely lose their minds over Fernside houses, so it'll probably sell for about that much (sigh).
That said, it hasn't always been priced below $1M. In an earlier incarnation, it was listed at $1,095,000:
And before that, it was even higher:
Interestingly, the earliest listing shows 2 1/2 bathrooms and a 2,700-sqft floor plan, and no MLS(r) number; my guess is those specs were owner-provided rather than public records. So far the price has been dropped a total of
I wasn't able to find a sale history on Trulia or Zillow, so this house may well have been owned for decades (as suggested by a $626 property tax bill for all of 2007!); the seller should (and evidently does) have some wiggle room available on the price. Sadly, I could see some
Update 11/14/08: Price dropped a whole 4%, to $950,000.
Announcement: read about EBRD, Inc.'s DMCA content removal complaint against this blog
Saw this house being sold "by owner" about a year ago or so and did not sell, and then it was listed by an agent, and we toured the house when it was over the $1 million mark and was not impressed by the desperately-needing-update kitchen and everything else. Was just curious as to the new "coming soon" sign, and realizse it's now being listed as a new property by a new listing agent at a $100K lower price. There is a house that is two doors down, 250 sq feet bigger, and just went on the market and is listed at $929K so it makes little sense to have a smaller house but 61K more than the other one, and on a corner street which is busier than the $929K house. Strange. If this is not a knifecatcher house, I don't know what it is.
Public records indicate that this is a 2BR/2BA house, so they're playing fast-and-loose with the facts. There's probably some work that was done without permits, or maybe they're trying to count a basement room as a bedroom. Pretty sketchy.
The house is outrageously overpriced. The lot is oddly shaped, and the house is on a busy corner. The agent is most likely desperate for a listing, so she told the owners she could sell it for $990K, then she'll wind up doing a "drastic price reduction" after it sits for a month or so.
Public records indicate that this is a 2BR/2BA house, so they're playing fast-and-loose with the facts. There's probably some work that was done without permits, or maybe they're trying to count a basement room as a bedroom. Pretty sketchy.
The house is outrageously overpriced. The lot is oddly shaped, and the house is on a busy corner. The agent is most likely desperate for a listing, so she told the owners she could sell it for $990K, then she'll wind up doing a "drastic price reduction" after it sits for a month or so.