Recently in Sold! Category

This quaint, ancient little Gothic-y house on Chestnut was on the market last spring. I didn't write about it then, but I just found out it recently sold, so I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the listing's life over the past few months. First the specs, with picture courtesy of Google Street View:

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,250 sqft, 3,150-sqft lot, built in 1875 (!)

It was once known as MLS(r) #40346003 and described as...

Charming, historical Gothic Carriage House with front and rear yards, historic "tack/bunkhouse." Wood flooring in LR, unique windows, said to be from Old City Hall (per owner; not verified). Home is an "H" designation on Alameda Historical List.

There's no sale history on Zillow, other than this last transaction at $459,000 recorded on 9/18/08. What's interesting, however, is that you can easily find evidence of its descent towards its final price, starting from its June open house when it was listed at $539,000 (emphasis mine):

Open Homes

Written by Alameda Sun    Published: Friday, 13 June 2008

[...] Open Homes for June 14–15 Alameda 15 Parfait Lane $529,000 Sunday 2-4 1546 Broadway $530,000 Saturday 3-5 1316 Chestnut St. $539,000 Sunday 2-4 3110 El Paseo $539,000 Sat. and Sun. 1:30-5 305 Lagunaria Lane $540,000 Saturday 1-3

with an intermediate stop at $499,000:

What's most interesting, however, is that several sites (like the Harbor Bay Realty site in the screenshot above, or Barb K's site, which is otherwise a good resource for up-to-date sales data) show the property as having sold for its list price, with no mention of the 15% discount off its original list price that was required to close the sale. Strictly speaking, this is true--the house was listed for $459K at the time of its sale, and it sold for exactly that amount.

But if it's "nothing but the truth," it's not "the whole truth," and the casual would-be buyer gets suckered into drinking from the poisoned well guarded by the local experts and making inflated offers that are too close to the obscene asking prices we're still seeing all over town. "You need to offer their asking price or your offer will be turned down--you see, homes in this area are selling very close or over their asking price!" This vile, dishonest, false sense of urgency is motivated by exactly one thing in a commission-based transaction, and that ain't the buyer's best interest.

This is going to be a sad holiday season for the real estate market.

Yet another tiny little house got Craigslisted today, with a "coming soon" notice. In the far east part of Encinal, today's bite-size Cape Cod has the following specs:

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 848 sqft, 3,996-sqft lot, $525,000

Whether someone is a first time buyer or wants to simplify and downsize, this 2 bedroom, 1 bath Cape Cod style home offers a fabulous choice. It's simply brimming with charm and curb appeal.

Xeriscape-inspired landscaping. Great for water-conservation efforts. Three fountains front and back --- a tribute to feng shui principles. There’s even a meditation nook!

Location, location, location! On desirable East End. Easy walk to schools, shopping areas. And easy access to highways.

COMING SOON!

In case you didn't pay attention in Greek class, "xeriscape" means "drought-tolerant landscaping", or desert-y trees and shrubs and such. It's a great idea in areas where water is scarce--certainly better than a golf course in the middle of the desert. Of course, having three fountains completely defeats the purpose, but I'll be generous and assume they're closed-circuit, reclaimed rain water fountains (Ms. Dimacali confirms this).

The lot is large for a house this small, and it seems to be in pretty good shape, but if you want my $525,000, you need to give me more than 848 square feet. Sorry, folks, but $619 / sqft? You can feng my shui.

Hopefully you didn't get your dry plants using a big meditative HELOC and you'll be able to drop the price closer to where it belongs (suggestion: start the price with the digit "3" and we might have something to talk about):

Last sale and tax info

Sold 04/11/2003: $402,000

2007 Property Tax: $5,556

Haven't you noticed the whole real estate market is its own version of a xeriscape these days?

Update 10/29/08: New copy on Craigslist.

$525000 OPEN SUN 2-4 CHARM CHARM CHARM-GARDEN GARDEN GARDEN (alameda)

You forgot "overpriced overpriced overpriced."

Update 12/20/08: Sold for $525,000 (sigh) with substantial (5-digit) credits to buyers.

TODAY'S LISTING IS ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE ALL-CAPS DESCRIPTIONS. I almost wrote an entire blog post in caps but decided against it when it became apparent I couldn't stand to write (or read) more than 3 lines.

2919 Fernside is a large-ish Mediterranean home in the "prestigious" Fernside district, with substantially diverging specs depending on where you look.

Zillow (public records) says: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,711 sqft, 4,100-sqft lot

Real estate sites say: 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2000 sqft, approx. 3,920-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40375131, $799,000

PRESTIGIOUS FERNSIDE DIST. [...] AMAZING HOME HAS 3 BED,INCLUDING A PENTHOUSE MASTER BEDROOM W/SKYLIGHT, [...] COUNTRY KITCHEN [...] LARGE MEDIA ROOM,WITH BATH, [...] PROFESSIONALLY LANDSCAPED YARD. COMPLETE 3 BATHROOMS. 100 YR OLD BRASILIAN TREE

The copy in the description is not only all caps, it's completely discombobulated, but no matter. Maybe the media room used to be one of the 4 public-records bedrooms, and the 3rd bath was added on?

In another stunning turn of events, the agent's "here's how much we need" comparative market analysis used to set the listing price came out to almost exactly the seller's previous price + 6% commission:

Last sale and tax info

Sold 07/08/2005: $755,000

2007 Property Tax: $9,249

Update 10/15/08: Pictures went up. EBRD will have to accept their copyright claim is bogus when someone posts resized screenshots--I just have to post this delicious photo.

Update 10/16/08: It's getting weirder every day. They fixed the picture today--by flipping it so it's right side up. It's still a resume, not a house. In case you can't read, it starts with...

Frederick O. O'XXXXX
2xxx Shoreline Drive #XXXX
[...]
OBJECTIVE
To XXXX a challenging position XXXX

The condo market isn't well, but some sellers (and/or their agents) thankfully show signs of moderate brain activity. Today's craigslist condo is one of the first sub-$300K 1000+sqft 2-bedroom condo I've seen in town, in a building with looks far less ignominious than the hideous 1970s boxes you see all over town:

2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, 1,071 sqft, MLS(r) #40374497, $279,950

$279950 Open House Sat 10/11 1-4pm Townhouse Style Condo in 4-Unit Bldg. (alameda) (map)

---

Reply to: gailmtravers@hotmail.com ^[?]
Date: 2008-10-10, 5:35PM PDT

Open House Saturday, 1-4 pm. With townhouse privacy, this two-bedroom, bath and a half condo offers spacious bedrooms and a quiet location at the rear of a small, friendly community. With only 4 units, it’s well located to shopping and restaurants and its low HOA dues ($125 mo.) complete the package. At this price, with a little TLC, it’s a perfect first-time homebuyer opportunity.

(try to ignore the non-sequitur-laden sentence structure of "With only 4 units, it’s well located to shopping and restaurants and its low HOA dues ($125 mo.) complete the package").

Of course, Beelzebub only knows how much backbreaking work TLC this condo requires; for all I know it's a wreck inside. But breaking the $300K barrier (and not just by $1000, either) for a condo that can house more than one person is something to be celebrated.

Don't break out the streamers and silly hats just yet, though--the asking price still reflects fairly aggressive year-over-year appreciation expectations by the seller:

Last sale and tax info

Sold 05/29/1998: $135,000

2007 Property Tax: $2,567

That works out to an average 7.5% y-o-y appreciation rate, which given the "TLC" requirements (code for "the owners did minimum maintenance in 10 years of ownership", I suspect) and the nosedive the market has taken in recent months is pretty high. Maybe they fell for the Göbbelsian propaganda heard the "fact" that home values double every 10 years and figured they'd test the hypothesis scientifically.


Update 12/13/08: Sold in less than a week for $305,000.

It always amuses me to read descriptions of properties going into foreclosure describing them as great investments. It reminds me of those old high-mileage Buick Regal beaters with "RUNS GOOD" painted on them. If it RUNS GOOD, why sell it, really? And if it's such a great investment, why is it back on the market a few years after its last purchase, and being foreclosed on?

Today's brilliant financial move is what looks like a small Victorian chopped up into two units, on the 1500 block of Santa Clara. I can't tell from the Google Street View picture whether it's the little rickety one on the west side or the tall Italianatey-sticky one just inches to the east of it (my bet is the former). The specs, such as they are:

2x 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1,572 sqft, no lot size available, MLS(r) #40374298, $449,000

Appealing investment opportunity! Upstairs [...] 1 bedroom and 1 bath with 2 bonus rooms, [...] updated kitchen and bathroom. Downstairs [...] updated kitchen. [...] Desirable location!

Interestingly, the previous sale price wasn't all that high, especially for 2004. It makes you wonder how much of the "updated kitchen(s)" was financed using a HELOC.

Last sale and tax info

Sold 05/14/2004: $405,000

2007 Property Tax: $5,797

I don't know what's going on in that part of Santa Clara, but it seems to be a hotbed of foreclosures and dilapidated houses. Maybe it's the bend in the street just a block to the east? Or the church across the street?

I frankly don't understand what causes people to expect and pay enormous amounts of money for homes east of Broadway. Another overpriced Tudor revival recently hit the market, complete with a featured label on Zillow and its own shiny site. Here are the specs:

4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 1,725 sqft, approx. 5,200-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40373096, $788,000

[...] elegant architectural design in East End. Close to parks, schools, [...] Cathedral ceiling & frpl in living rm, [...] updated chef's kitchen, den/fam room w/French doors [...] Fig, plum, apple & citrus trees.

(resized thumbnail from property web site shown under fair use, not EBRD copyrighted photo)

One of four listings to hit the market all at once this week, 1724 Alameda Avenue is also the most interesting. I wasn't able to find any public domain pictures, so I'll probably shoot a couple this weekend and post. First, the specs:

4 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 2 stories, unfinished basement, 2,652 sqft, 13,200-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40373116, $899,999

Sonoma in Alameda? [...] 4 bedroom Italianate style home [...] huge double lot with gardens, it also includes a spa like studio cottage. Main house needs cosmetics.[...]

You read right. 13,200-sqft lot, in a great location, where they truly aren't making any more land. Built in 1889, it's also been owned by the same folks for a long time, judging by the low property tax ($1,774) and absence of sale history on its Zillow page.

I took a look at this property; the lot is so big you can't really take good pictures of the building without trespassing, which I wasn't interested in doing, so here's what you can see from the street:

$339 / sqft for a big, beautiful house with bonus cottage on a giant lot in the Gold Coast means it's not going to last.

A "fantastick" 2-level home near the East End just hit the market. It's small and overpriced, as usual, and has a surfeit of lavatories, per various public records:

2 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 1,118 sqft, approx. 3,900-sqft lot, MLS #40371001, $649,000

Charming split level steps from Edison Elementary. [...] vintage details - coved ceilings, [...] pegged random plank wood floors. [...] Dream of a kitchen. Fantastick yard [...]

That works out to $580 / sqft, which is completely out of touch with reality, especially considering it has serious competition from the Fairview house and the Pearl house, which are bigger and cheaper.

Sale history data suggest the owners are trying to get out before the market hits 2003 levels again.

Sale History
05/09/2003:	$456,000
No other sale data is available

Let's see how far down it needs to drop before it sells.

Update 12/11/08: Not that far. Sold to some idiot willing to pay $639,000.

In the continuing "maybe it wasn't such a good idea to buy an overpriced property we can't afford" saga, today we (re)introduce 1813 9th Street, a small, unassuming house at the north end of 9th street. The specs are unimpressive:

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 986 sqft, approx. 5,220-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40370885, $375,000

GOOD CURB APPEAL, HARDWOOD FLOORS, [...] WELL-PRICED HOME IN A DESIRABLE AREA.

Good curb appeal and desirable area are all in the eye of the beholder.

I'd personally describe it as "blends in with the elements," which I suppose is curb appeal for the privacy-minded.

At $375,000 ($380 / sqft) it is significantly overpriced, but considerably less so than it was the last time it sold:

Sale History
05/05/2008:	$441,150 *
01/11/2005:	$550,000
10/01/1999:	$215,000
No other sale data is available
* Transaction not included in Zestimate

That's right: somebody paid $558 / sqft for that nondescript little box in a nondescript neighborhood.

I really hope the idiots who approved those loans, and the idiots who signed their names at the bottom, really enjoy the financial ruin they so richly deserve.

Little by little, it seems the market is being reshaped by repossessed/foreclosed houses that were sold for too much money a couple of years ago. Another one of those just hit the market, a little Craftsman at 1107 High Street. The specs:

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,071 sqft, 3,430-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40370821, $529,900

Charming Arts & Crafts bungalow [...] original details and some updating. [...] open/ spacious feel. Nicely finished hardwood floors, built-in cabinets. [...] workshop/storage in rear. Don't miss this one.

At $495 / sqft, it's significantly overpriced, but it appears to be close to the foreclosed amount:

Sales History

Sale History & Tax Info

Sale History
07/22/2008:	$544,541 *
09/27/2006:	$615,000
10/03/2000:	$311,000
No other sale data is available
* Transaction not included in Zestimate

You can't blame the bank for trying to make its money back. Oh wait, yes, you can, since they had no business making that loan to begin with. $615,000 for a sub-1,100-sqft bungalow is complete insanity, and $529,900 is not much better.

Update 12/11/08: Sold to another moron for way too much money, $535,000.

WTF is up w/ those abbrev. posts on MLS(r) sites? Today's listing has "ez acces to parks."

Excellent Home buying opportunity [...] Adorable 1 bed and 1 bath fully detach victorian nestled on a traquil tree line st with ez acces to parks, [...] one of the LOWEST priced homes is Alameda and a great condo alternative on a Huge lot.

This abbreviated listing is for an abbreviated home with the following abbreviated specs:

1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 888 sqft, 3,750-sqft lot, $276,500, MLS(r) #40368605 and #346373

I remember seeing this mini Vic on the market not that long ago, and indeed it has sold twice over the past 3 1/2 years, not counting its latest run-in with the bank (data courtesy of the excellent Bay Area Sold Homes site):

08/12/2007	2253 Clinton Avenue	$525,000	1	888	1895	Alameda	94501
05/29/2005	2253 Clinton Avenue	$475,000	1	888	1995	Alameda	94501

The earlier transaction made the agent proud:

We sold it for way over asking! Yay us! Of course that was the responsible thing to do, since $475,000 for 888 sqft (a mere $535 / sqft) is such an incredible deal. Things had turned sour a couple of years later, as the property sold for $525,000 (a steal at $591 / sqft) after being listed for $549,000 in late 2006; it didn't sell until August, 2007 (my emphasis):

Open Homes for the Weekend of Oct. 7 and 8, 2006

Written by Alameda Sun    Published: Friday, 06 October 2006

Information on open homes listed below was gathered by the Alameda Sun for the purposes of providing prospective real estate buyers a place to start their search. The Sun does not guarantee the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of the information. To list your property on this page or www.alamedasun.com, call 263-1472. 1437 Morton St. $259,000 Sunday 2-4 1433 Morton St. “B” $315,000 Sunday 2-4 955 Shore Point Court #212 $325,000 Sunday 2-4 2133 Santa Clara Ave. #212 $398,000 Sunday 2-4 1533 Pacific Ave. $450,000 Sunday 2-4 2137 Otis Drive #209 $475,000 Sunday 2-4 1816 Chestnut St. $495,000 Sunday 2-4 1033 Verdemar Drive $520,000 Sunday 1:30-4:30 1033 Verdemar Drive $520,000 Saturday 1:30-4:30 2253 Clinton Ave. $549,000 Sunday 2-4

A few weeks ago, Alameda agent Pacita Dimacali and I had an interesting exchange about fluffy marketing copy. I wouldn't want to take undue credit for today's let's-call-a-spade-a-spade craigslist post (at least the first paragraph), but I must say it's refreshingly honest about the condition of the property, at least as Alameda real estate listings go. First the specs:

983 Pearl Street, 4 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms, 1,846 sqft, 4,500-sqft lot

The headline sounds ominous:

It's a bit hard to read, so here are a few selected tidbits:

this must have been a gorgeous home
cracked plaster everywhere
damaged wood trim
$24,295 of Section 1 repairs

Of course the rest of the post is fairly typical NAR-approved lyricism: we're trying to sell a house, here, after all. And considering the vast swathes of truly fantastical old homes scattered all across Alameda, "eye-candy to an architecture buff" is unnecessary hyperbole--frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn about all the samey Spanish/Mediterranean houses in that part of town, and I doubt many people do either, at least in terms of architectural "eye-candy." Pretty, yes. Cute, why not. Inviting, I'll give you that. But "eye-candy to an architecture buff"? Hardly.

There's no sale history on Zillow, so it's likely this poor TUDOR FIXER fell into disrepair at the hands of a long-time owner who's neglected their estate for whatever reason.

And speaking of Zillow, after all the flak the big Z is getting from the real estate industry for their Zestimates(tm), I find it a bit rich that a Zestimate(tm) is not only mentioned in a listing, but ostensibly used to establish a "fair" list price by deducting $50K from that Zestimate(tm). And for what looks like a serious fixer, $648,000 ($350 / sqft) seems a bit high considering how easy it is to spend $150K on a house that size in that condition--which would bring the price up to a risky $430 / sqft.


Update 9/22/08: Speaking of ominous, this seller is using the old threat tactic.

$648000 Last chance to submit offer on Fixer Tudor in east end (alameda) (map)

---

Reply to: hous-850633317@craigslist.org ^[?]
Date: 2008-09-22, 9:33AM PDT


Seller reviewing offers Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 1 pm. If you're interested in writing an offer, please let me know or drop it off at our office on 2424 Central Avenue, Alameda by 12 noon.

Update 12/20/08: Sold for $648,000 as is with no credits to the buyer. And so I ask, what the hell?

Update 1/1/09: Sold for $630,000 according to SFGate.

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This week's recent sales on SFGate showed a small bungalow I hadn't noticed when it was on the market, 1541 Paru Street. The specs are, ahem, cozy:

1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 952 sqft, 2,058-sqft lot

thumbnail from Alameda Sun not MLS site (why)

This little house just sold for $355,000, which is encouraging considering the obscene asking prices we've been seeing on other small properties.

What's also encouraging is that it was once listed for $429,000, when it was Alameda Sun's Home of the Week. This means someone lowballed and the seller (get this) accepted the 17%-off bid instead of chasing the market down for months. We need more sellers like that.

The sale history doesn't reveal anything scary, so one hopes everyone's reasonably happy with the transaction.

Sales History

Sale History & Tax Info

Sale History
08/12/2008:	$355,000
04/04/2006:	$267,500
09/30/1992:	$156,000
No other sale data is available

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This property threatened to come on the market back in March via semi-cryptic craigslist posts. It's finally made it onto craigslist again, with few details. The address isn't given, but my sources tell me it is located at 1025 San Antonio. The listing is still a little coy (see bold passages below; my emphasis):

$799000 "Gold Coast" Craftsman on the Island of Alameda! (alameda) (map)

---

Reply to: nick.falconio@prurealty.com ^[?]
Date: 2008-09-02, 9:53PM PDT

This is a rare opportunity to purchase a beautiful Craftman home in one of the most desirable areas in the East Bay - before it is offered to the general public! This home is on a beautiful tree-lined street and is comprised of four bedrooms, two baths, refinished hardwood floors, original paneling and wainscoating, tiled fireplace, built in buffet and may other original details. There is an attached one car garage w/bonus room above! Outside is a delightful rear garden area with potting shed and patio. If you're looking to own a home on Alameda's Gold Coast, don't miss this opportunity!

I am offering this home first to buyers who ARE NOT being represented by a real estate agent, and who are pre-approved by a lender. Please contact me directly for a private showing before I offer the home to the general public. I can be reached at (510)986-2008

Nick Flaconio,Realtor
Prudential California Realty
nick.falconio@prurealty.com

Aside from spelling his own last name two different ways, Nick is very cagey about this house and not telling you where exactly it is. I think it's the brown Craftsman next to the Greek revival compound extraordinaire (drool) below:

There's no sale history on Zillow, so one assumes the house has been in the same family for a long time and might even be owned outright. You can't beat the location, and (assuming I have the right house) the following specs make it competitive, at $339 / sqft:

Another adorable bungalow on Bungalow Boulevard! It feels like the whole adorable street is being sold off this year. This little guy at 3259 Sterling has the following publicly-available specs (MLS(r) #40366431; no link until EBRD issues are resolved):

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,073 sqft, 3,422 sqft lot, $562,000

Adorable bungalow on picutesque Sterling Ave. [...] Craftsman with tons of original detail [...] Updated kitchen and bath, [...] Perfect location on cozy street [...]

Now the street is "picutesque." That must mean "so cute you are compelled to take photos." But at least they didn't use the word "sweet."

At $562,000, it's right in the middle of the other two bungalows on Sterling, but it's quite a bit smaller (the other two are both 1,194 sqft, or 10% larger), and at $524 / sqft it's just way too expensive. I would personally price it at $499,000 and sell it in one weekend, but then, I'm not the owner. Neither would I buy it, even at that price, but that's beside the point--it's just overpriced by about $120 / sqft. Drop it to $440,000 and you might just get rid of it.

Nothing special about its sale history:

Last sale and tax info

Sold 12/24/2001: $384,000

2007 Property Tax: $5,512

My main beef (other than the amount itself) is that the $562,000 price means a 7% y-o-y appreciation, and that's just greedy. You should have sold it 2 years ago.

Update 11/7/08: Sold for $570,000.



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A large-ish white Colonial revival home at 1822 Union Street has been on the market for a few weeks, and I thought I'd share my impressions. It's priced pretty low for its size, especially considering it's an already subdivided duplex, and it seems like it didn't start out that way, so turning it back into a single-family home might not be too hard.

Here's a quick summary of the house's publicly available info:

Duplex, 2 stories, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2,145 sqft, listed at $599,000 ($279 / sqft)

$599000 Spacious Colonial Revival Duplex or large SFR OH Sun 2-4 (alameda)

---

Reply to: philip@kaakeproperties.com ^[?]
Date: 2008-08-22, 10:19AM PDT

Spacious Colonial Revival style home circa 1900. Legal duplex with upstairs and downstairs unit. High ceilings and a nice yard.
The ground floor has 2 bedrooms 1bathroom and includes a plus room and laundry room.
Upstairs has a large front room 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom.
Located on a quiet block of Union St. in Central Alameda it has a fenced in yard in the back and fenced side yard. This would make a great owner occupied with a rental unit - or convert back to a single family home.
For mor info and photos http://www.1822union.com/
Open Sunday 8/24 2-4pm

It looks ok from the outside. When you step inside, though, things are quite a bit different. I didn't see the upstairs, tenant-occupied second unit, but the downstairs unit made quite an impression. I'm going off of 4-week-old memories of a very quick tour--it took me about 2 minutes to decide that house wasn't for me at any price--so I might have some of the details wrong, but in a nutshell:

The bedrooms on the right side of the house are decently sized, with a bathroom in between. There's a very long dining/living room to the left of the house that's about as long as the house is deep, with built-ins that would be cute if they weren't encrusted in layer upon layer of decades-old paint. The kitchen's bizarre floor plan, ancient fixtures and appliances, and geriatric laminate or Formica (I think) countertops all scream to be updated as soon as humanly possible.

But the real kicker is  the truly fantastical sun-porch-turned-laundry-and-extra-bathroom-type room extravaganza in the back of the house. It's wide and shallow, with a washer, dryer and toilet on a floor that appears to have considerable slope to it, and--get this--an old fiberglass (or some other kind of material; the cheap molded kind you can get at Home Depot) shower stall that's not actually attached to a bathroom wall the way those things are normally installed. Instead you see the back of the shower stall as you walk into the room, in all its old, fiberglassy, yellowing, rough-looking glory. And yes, there's a toilet, a shower, a washer and a dryer all in the same "room." Conveniently, the property's Web site does not show any pictures of the whole room--only a closeup of the washer and dryer.

If that's truly the owner's unit, and the owner favors their own comfort over their tenants', as is usually the case in the other SFHs turned into MFRs I have seen in Alameda, then I'm glad I didn't see the other unit. But for all I know the upstairs unit is a palace.

There's no sale history on Zillow or Trulia, so one assumes this house has been owned for a long time and its financing situation isn't in jeopardy.

Update 10/1/08: Price dropped to $569,000. In case you didn't know, "good bones" means "try not to pay attention to the hideous condition."

$569000 Reduced price on this Spacious Duplex, Good Bones! (alameda) (map)

---

Reply to: philip@kaakeproperties.com ^[?]
Date: 2008-10-01, 11:44AM PDT

Update 10/17/08: Dropped to $549,000.

Update 10/23/08: Dropped to $499,000. Yay.

Update 12/22/08: Sold for $480,000. That's what I call a nice comp-resetter.


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I'm not sure why, but there appears to be something about bungalows that make agents use the word "sweet" a lot. Today's new listing is a "sweet" East End bungalow (MLS #40364577; no link to MLS site until EBRD decides to get back to me about their DMCA complaint). The publicly available data about this property includes:

2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,164 sqft, approx. 3,500 sqft lot, $648,000

[...] bungalow [...] too many upgrades to mention! [...] plus room off master [...] finished garage w/ storage [...] dog run [...]

That's $557 per sweet square foot. It seems a little high in this market where houses in the $400-$450 / sqft range have a hard time selling. But then, maybe the sellers don't really have a choice:

Sales History

Sale History & Tax Info

Sale History
12/22/2006:	$610,000
11/30/2005:	$615,000
04/18/2002:	$412,500
08/16/1996:	$190,500

I wonder what's behind the serial sales. Aren't homes supposed be held on to for 7 years on average? Maybe the house is a dog. It does have a dog run. The pictures I'm probably not allowed to show don't reveal anything wrong with it--it looks pretty nice in the Google Street View photos:


If you Google the address, you're likely to find a link to its open home announcement in August, 2006, when it was listed for $638,000. This incidentally means it was last sold for at least $23,000 under asking after a good long time on the market (the last transaction date is 12/22/2006), and that was well before the credit crunch really started:

open homes this weekend
Written by Alameda Sun    Published: Friday, 11 August 2006

[...]

18 Gonsalves Court $1,499,000 Sunday 2-4

2860 Jackson St. $638,000 Sunday 2-4

1 Ferro Court $899,000 Sunday 2-4

[...]

It'll be interesting to watch and see if it repeats its past performance(s).

Update 11/10/08: Sold for $648,000. What is wrong with people?





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Today's new listing doesn't deserve a silly pun on account of its plainness (MLS #40362975). First, the usual publicly-available specs:

2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,128 sqft, approx. 4,800 sqft lot, listed at $614,000

At $614,000 it is grossly overpriced ($544 / sqft) and should drop significantly.

The only thing recommending it for me is its location across the street from the magnificent Victorian at 938 Taylor Avenue, which was on the market a couple of years ago.


I toured it and was completely blown away by the magnificent exterior, mature tree in the yard, original hardware and built-ins, and large amount of space inside.

I was less blown away by its list price at the time (started above $800K, if I remember correctly, and eventually sold for $715,000 or a much more reasonable $304 / sqft).

Update 11/7/08: Sold for $598,000.

This listing was on the market for a while earlier this year, then disappeared. It's now back with a virtual tour and a new price of $648,000, down from the original $649,998. Here's the original listing:

And here's the new one (MLS #40360165; no link until EBRD issues are resolved):

Victorian duplex.[...] replaced foundation 2000 [...] sewer lateral 1996 [...] nearly 12' ceilings, picture moldings, vintage light fixtures, ornamental fireplace [...]

What bothers me about this listing is the addendum to the vflyer post (my emphasis):

Maybe the listing is not an REO or short sale in this incarnation, but it sure looks as though it was just a few months ago:

Sales History

Transaction Not Included in Zestimate

This transaction was not used in computing the Zestimate for this house due to anomalies [... which] can include unusual document or transaction types, sales between possibly related parties, unusually high or low transaction prices, or other data irregularities that might indicate the transaction is not a full-value, arms-length transaction.

Sale History & Tax Info

Sale History
04/01/2008:	$249,708 *
05/31/2000:	$150,000 *
04/30/1999:	$272,000
No other sale data is available
* Transaction not included in Zestimate.

REO or short sale listings are often considered to be a pain because the buyer has to deal with slow-moving banks and sometimes the property itself has been neglected for months due to the owner's fatalism ("I'm losing this house anyway") and/or inability to afford maintenance. If a human buyer bought this house from the bank in an REO transaction back in April, then yes, it's not an REO as far as transaction annoyances go, but the question of neglect remains, unless the new owner spent the time, money and effort addressing any such issues after s/he purchased the property.

Now, I don't know for a fact that the 4/1/08 transaction was an REO, nor do I know whether the house had any structural or neglect problems. For all I know it's a gem in fabulous condition. But if it was an REO just a couple of months ago, trumpeting "NOT an REO" doesn't seem kosher to me.

Disclaimer: I don't know the details of this transaction beyond what I remember from its being on the market a few months ago and what's available on Zillow. In other words, this is an opinion piece that's not guaranteed and not even necessarily deemed reliable, and I'll be happy to post clarifications and corrections if anyone submits verified information.

Judging by the other homes in that part of town, 2410 Otis Drive (MLS(r) 40361007; no link until EBRD issue is resolved) is probably about as exciting as its inspired description. Here are the publicly available specs:

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,430 sqft, approx. 4,350 sqft lot, $599,000

Well maintained [...] with living room, dining area, kitchen and a garage. [...]

(no photo yet).

Not surprisingly, it's another boom purchase trying to get out with its shirt and/or honor still on:

Last sale and tax info

Sold 12/03/2004: $565,000

2007 Property Tax: $7,243

Subtract the usual agent commission, you know the drill...

Update 10/26/08: Sold for $530,000 on 9/24/08. Ouch.






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