Great buy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--2524 Buena Vista Ave, Alameda, CA

Today's listing is mysterious (MLS(r) #40375723). The property description has more exclamation points (10) than letters or spaces (9):

Great buy!!!!!!!!!!

The house itself is a hair over 1,000 sqft (on a 2,970-sqft lot), yet it boasts 2 stories, 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It's currently listed at $545,000. It makes me wonder if it's just a shotgun house that someone stood upright (no good photos available). The public records on Zillow indicate only 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, and a bizarrely expensive transaction in 2007:

Sale History
10/04/2007:	$770,000 *
12/29/2004:	$550,000
01/07/1999:	$167,318
05/18/1993:	$149,500
* Transaction not included in Zestimate.

Maybe the 2007 transaction was some intra-family transfer with a fraudulent jacked-up appraisal for tax purposes, although I'm not sure why I'd participate in some funky scheme for the privilege of paying over $7,000 in property tax. Whatever the case may be, there is no way in hell a small bungalow on a small lot on a mediocre part of a sub-prime avenue was ever worth close to $770,000, so something fishy is going on.

Whatever the case may be, though, this great buy is listed for less than was paid for it not just the last time around, but the time before that as well, which is a first on this blog.

Update 1/23/09: Price dropped from $545,000 to $525,000 in mid December.

Update 3/11/09: Price drop bonanza:

$545,000 to $525,000 on 12/19/08
$525,000 to $505,000 on 01/31/09
$505,000 to $495,000 on 02/13/09
$495,000 to $415,000 on 03/02/09

Imagine what a truly fantastic buy this must be now that it's 24% off its "great buy!!!!!!!!!!" price. 

Update 1/10/09: Finally sold on 11/25/09 for $400,000.