Results tagged “94501” from Knife Catchers

Miraculously, 1201 Peach Street just dropped its price by $50,000 today. It now sits at $949,000, and is no longer FSBO--José Cerda-Zein is now representing the property.

It's also spamming Craigslist considerably less these days. It used to pop up almost every weekend, twice (until Craigslist viewers flagged it down), and return the following weekend, twice, like clockwork.

One particularly charming feature of this property, in addition to the wood paneling inside, is the daring blend of fish scale siding on top and tan stucco on the bottom.

More details at the original post from September 2008.

Today's listing is just plain weird. 1616 Clement Avenue has the following specs:

3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 2,078 sqft, 3,195-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40453780, $699,000

7 year old lovely home in Marina Cove Nice neighborhood. .upstairs den cld be 4th bdrm, luxurious bath, hardwood floor, spacious fam rm, [...] superb location. .speak clearly and slowly when leaving messages.

The lovely location near the end of Hibbard street (you may remember its almost-neighbor 1810 Hibbard) is truly "superb" if you like old metal buildings (hint: pan the map around a bit):


View Larger Map

The neighborhood is "nice" if you enjoy proximity to large metal containers:


The sale history is even weirder:

Date	Event	Price
Mar 03, 2010	Listed	$699,000
Jun 21, 2007	Sold (Public Records)	$1,185,545
Jun 24, 2004	Sold (Public Records)	$659,000

Even at the peak of the market I can't think of very many properties that appreciated more than 20% annually, yet this house sold for almost double its initial price in just three years.

If you're interested in this property, just remember to speak clearly and slowly.

Today’s “new” listing inspired me to dust off one of my old gripes about the real estate industry, namely its lack of transparency and borderline dishonesty.

3229 Fernside Boulevard came on the market this week, with the following specs:

4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2,172 sqft, 6,439-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40453128, $895,000

Traditional Mediterranean family home of highest caliber.[…] Living rm w/ fireplace, office rm w/ built-in book cases & French doors which lead outside. […] wonderful backyard […]

View Larger Map

It’s in the same neighborhood as the half dozen or so properties that were listed all at the same time a year ago.

Given the size, lot size, waterfront location, and tax-credit-fueled buying frenzy, there's nothing outrageous about the $895,000 price tag (although $412 / sqft is silly in almost any circumstances).

What really galls me about this listing is that, on March 2, 2010, over 15 years after the Web started gaining acceptance, 6 years after we sent unmanned rovers to another planet, the real estate industry and its various players still can't, or won't, get their act together and tell people the truth about their listings.

I surveyed several sites' records of this property and I am appalled to report that none of them paints an accurate picture of this listing.

• Redfin promises to give you the skinny, but hides it behind a registration wall due to MLS(r) rules. And even after you log in, you get no information about previous prices.
  

Post login:

• Trulia shows the current price and its list date says "more than 180 days ago", but there's no mention of previous list prices.

• Yahoo! is completely out of date and doesn't even have an MLS(r) number.

• Kijiji suggests the listing is just one month old.

• Movoto, MLS East Bay and Sawbuck (never heard of them before) come out and say or imply the listing is brand new ("On site: 1 Days" could be interpreted as "new listing" or "new listing as far as we know", but I'd bet money most people pick the former).

• Cal Home Finder says the listing is pending at the old price and MLS(r) number.
  

What will it take for the real estate industry to get its act together and stop misleading people looking to spend six-plus figures on a house? I'm not holding out any hope for the industry to self-regulate, considering the myriad conflicts of interest: not telling the public a property has been on the market for a long time creates a false sense of urgency, which may help a sale, which helps the agent earn a commission, a percentage of which goes to NAR in the form of dues, so any transparency and data freshness rules are simply not going to be enforced.

What's blocking the establishment of a single, open, publicly-accessible, up-to-date repository of property information about for-sale listings, so that consistent, accurate information is available to consumers on any site they choose to visit? It's not that technology isn't available to achieve this. If Google can update its index of billions of Web pages from the entire world multiple times every day, surely a database containing a few million listings and a few hundred million data points can be kept up to date and published on a daily basis.

It all boils down to archaic, arcane, and paranoid barriers erected around real estate listing information by an industry fighting tooth and nail against its inexorable obsolescence.

Guess who's back? Our old friend the unsellable 1626 Alameda Avenue! It now sports a shiny new lower price ($925,000) to go with its new MLS(r) ID (40453300) and its new agent (Andrea Gordon, picking up after Carol Burnett; whose site is down; here's a cached copy).

Please refer to the original post for details, or Chez Neumansky's detailed tour summary for a first-hand account of the place.

The recent bump in home prices has some sellers seeing dollar bills again, as evidenced by a large number of new listings in January and February and some truly silly prices.

Today's inflated asking price belongs to 847 Santa Clara Avenue, a pretty Victorian triplex with the following specs:

3 units (studio + 1-br + 2-br), 2,230 sqft, MLS(r) #40452574 (Redfin doesn't have the active listing yet)

Queen Anne cottage residence [...] great conditiion with lots of amenities everyone loves. Hardwood floors in lower units. Studio with large kitchen & spacious bath. Upper unit w foyer, high ceilings, quait balcony off bedrm, [...] Close to school, libra. shopping

I saw this property when it was on the market in late 2006, and can confirm it is very pretty on the outside, but the lot is minuscule, the inside was less than inspiring at the time (it may have been improved), and the property is wedged between its two neighbors, one of which is a church.
 

View Larger Map

I don't remember there being any deeded parking or garage, either, which is somewhat of a problem for a triplex.

The property last sold for $700,000 in late 2006, and given what's been going on in the real estate market, you wouldn't necessarily expect to see it again for... $850,000. Yet that's exactly what the sellers are asking as of February 28. I'd wish them luck, but that would be disingenuous.

The ugly little corrugated shack at 1715 Lincoln Avenue has been on the market since June of this year, but I never wrote about it until now. It's such an unsellable crackerbox on a busy street I don't see how anybody would be interested in reading about it, much less buy it. But I've been silent long enough. Maybe the vacuous, cloying platitudes dished out throughout the holiday season have worn me down; or maybe yet another year of reading the same vapid garbage in real estate listings has finally tripped a switch. No matter--let it be written, let it be done.

1715 Lincoln Avenue has the following pathetic little specs:

1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 923 sqft. 2,280-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40415778, $399,000 ($432 / sqft)

LIVE/WORK.COMMERCIAL ZONE. Good set-up for home based business. [...] Spacious living room.Large storage.laundry room. Small fenced in yard/patio. [...] Enclosed porch. Was used for business then, as residence today, or as either/both tomorrow.

The MLS(r) listing is sedate and descriptive enough, and there's really nothing wrong with it. But what really got my goat today is the off-MLS(r) listing on Craigslist, reproduced below:

$399000 Are you ready to make your dream come true? Live/Work at Grand Station (alameda) (map)

---

Date: 2009-12-29, 7:02AM PST
Reply to: [redacted to protect the guilty]

---

[photos]

ZONED COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL. What a fabulous opportunity to have your business where you live. Possibilities abound in this 1 bedroom/1 bath house, enclosed porch with large picture windows.

Nail salon? Beauty parlor? Retail? Professional service? Office? YES!

Across from Alameda's Gaslight Emporium, on Lincoln and Grand. Convenient location at an affordable price.

Do you know anyone (not currently homeless or mentally deranged) who dreams of  living in a tiny 923-sqft double-wide box planted on a tiny 2,280-sqft lot at one of the busier, uglier intersections in town (Lincoln and Grand), across from a liquor/convenience store, nestled between other ugly houses and busy businesses, and altered countless times to satisfy the needs of various non-residential activities in the 69 years since it was built (as an earlier, and evidently unsuccessful, incarnation of this listing once intimated)?



View Larger Map

What if you did use this as a business and a residence: how exactly do you fit both a thriving business of any size and its owner's living space in a 1-bedroom Tupperware? Almost by definition, nothing "abounds" in a house the size of a gazebo, except maybe cockroaches, and certainly not "possibilities".

Seriously, dear readers, do you or anyone you know entertain the hope, nay, the dream, of someday living in a slapdash World-War-II-era nail salon?

And what exactly is affordable about a $432 / sqft price tag for what is arguably one of the least appealing properties to come on the market in years?

Stop the inanity! Just call a spade a spade and stop embellishing the unembellishable! And for the love of Pete, get a thesaurus and forever banish from your vocabulary those meaningless, vacuous cheerleading bromides that serve no purpose than to highlight your complete lack of creativity and/or make better copywriters angry.

Happy new year to all. May prices fall another 15% and option ARMs default by the thousands.

Update 1/5/10: Ms. Dimacali helpfully switched her post back to the old version, which has the following description:

Description

LIVE/WORK. Rare opportunity to have a building in a commercial zone. Was used as realty office and an "antiquery". Use as a residence, a place of business, or both. Tremendous value in its zoning classification, among other businesses on the same block. Directly across from Alameda's Gaslight Emporium, at historic Grand Station. Cross street is Grand Avenue.

Was probably built as a bungalow, but when porch was enclosed, it was "modernized." Enclosed porch could be used as the office/reception area. Large display windows in front. Garage and driveway for 2 plus vehicle parking. Separate and spacious storage and laundry room. Fenced in patio for outdoor entertaining and cook-outs. Living/Dining room, eat-in kitchen, one bedroom and one bath.

The "Wear Your Pajamas to Work" title adds to the property's extra classy appeal as a potential nail salon across from a liquor store.

Update 1/18/10: After dropping to $349,999 (maybe a typo?), your next dream house came roaring back at $399,000.

Update 1/22/10: It's back at $349,999.

I wonder who the first part of this "new" listing is directed to. 1419 Cottage Street, a cute overpriced cottage that failed to sell last year, is back on the market for a lower, still-too-high price. The specs, as a reminder:

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,289 sqft, 5,000-sqft lot, built in 1895, MLS(r) #40442977, $619,000 ($480 / sqft)

The agent helpfully confirms this is the same property one may have seen last year (emphasis mine), which saved me a couple of minutes. Thanks!

Yes, this one was on the market last year. New low price and additional work to the finished basement. Square footage will be approx double with some extra work. Quiet neighborhood. Great value.

The Zestimate a year and a half ago... (screenshot taken in Spring 2008; note the owner-inflated estimate):

was close to the then-asking price (screenshot taken today, 12/23/09):

The price has come crashing down to $619,000 and claims to be a great value, even though the renovations are still not finished. Note to agents and sellers: "less than I paid" does not equal "great value" to other people.

Date	Event	Price	Appreciation	Source
Dec 21, 2009	Listed	$619,000	--	EBRD #40442977
Aug 17, 2005	Sold (Public Records)	$700,000	13.4%/yr	Public Records
Aug 09, 2002	Sold (Public Records)	$479,000	--	Public Records

On a per-square-foot basis, $480 / sqft is a full $130 / sqft more than the going price these days, which in your case translates to about $170,000. In other words this property should be priced around $450,000. Sure, the agent claims there's a full floor's worth of square footage available, but 1) it's not verifiable unless you look at the permit status and 2) the work isn't finished yet. Expecting a $130 / sqft premium in advance for the promise of square footage when the next owner will have to fork over extra money to be able to live in that square footage is moronic.


So welcome back and happy holidays, little house. Happy new year, too.

Hi everybody!

1304 Morton Street finally sold in early December for $938,000, according to Redfin.

In summary:

• April 2008: 1304 Morton St appears on the market, listed at $1,250,000
• July 2008: the price is dropped to $1,199,000
  
• September 2008: the price is dropped to $1,150,000
• March 2009, almost a year after the initial listing, the property is relisted for $975,000
• August 2009: the price is dropped to $949,999
• December 2009: the property closes for $938,000

The extent and quality of the renovation work on top of the previous sale price (above $500,000) means the now former owners likely didn't make their money back on the transaction.

The moral of the story? Don't over-improve, and don't spend 6 figures on your kitchen.

That's a $312,000 price drop from the initial list price (about 25%) and 20 months on the market. I trust Redfin won't begrudge me a full history:

Date	Event	Price	Appreciation	Source
Dec 02, 2009	Sold (MLS)	$938,000	--	Inactive MLSListings #80911577
Nov 12, 2009	Delisted	--	--	Inactive MLSListings #80911577
Sep 22, 2009	Delisted	*	--	Inactive EBRD #4
Aug 21, 2009	Price Changed	*	--	Inactive EBRD #4
Aug 21, 2009	Price Changed	$949,999	--	Inactive MLSListings #80911577
Mar 10, 2009	Listed	*	--	Inactive EBRD #4
Mar 06, 2009	Listed	$975,000	--	Inactive MLSListings #80911577
Jan 01, 2009	Delisted	*	--	Inactive San Francisco MLS #1
Nov 21, 2008	Delisted	*	--	Inactive EBRD #3
Nov 20, 2008	Delisted	--	--	Inactive MLSListings #2
Jul 22, 2008	Listed	*	--	Inactive San Francisco MLS #1
Jul 21, 2008	Price Changed	--	--	Inactive MLSListings #2
Jul 19, 2008	Price Changed	*	--	Inactive EBRD #3
Jun 11, 2008	Price Changed	*	--	Inactive EBRD #3
Jun 11, 2008	Price Changed	--	--	Inactive MLSListings #2
May 02, 2008	Listed	*	--	Inactive EBRD #3
Apr 25, 2008	Listed	--	--	Inactive MLSListings #2

There's been a fair amount of activity lately, what with the renewal of the irresponsible tax credit and idiot agents cheering for the second coming. Here's a messy summary of interesting happenings in our little town.

• 452 Santa Clara: here's a bank that's not messing around. 31 photos, nice property, 2,800+sqft Victorian fourplex, REO, listed super aggressively for $400,000. It'll be gone for way over asking in just a few days.
• 2267 Clinton is back, yet again, with a puny price drop (now down to $1,369,000). The idiot perma-sellers will never get their asking price and are wasting everybody's time. Remember this is the listing that claimed rents were rising just a year ago in spite of a mountain of evidence to the contrary.
• 3246 Liberty is a very pretty, large bungalow in a part of town that has people go ga-ga and overpay on a regular basis. This is one of the larger houses on that block, and it's priced comparably to what smaller bungalows were listed for this year ($599,000). Still too much, but some idiot buyer will probably pay that much.
• 1312 San Antonio is an expensive Tudor on a tiny lot in an excellent Gold Coast location. A short sale at $819,000 (previous transaction $869,000 in late 2005), it's unlikely to sell for over $800,000.
  
• A cute little Victorian 891 Oak Street just dropped its price from $575,000 to $475,000 in one fell swoop after remaining unsold for over a year. It's now a short sale.
  
• The unsellable duplex at 1626 Alameda Avenue dropped its price by a whole $1,000, to $942,000. Lovely price history:

03/24/09 -- $1,145,000 to $1,095,000
05/12/09 -- $1,095,000 to $1,049,000
06/23/09 -- $1,049,000 to $999,000
07/23/09 -- $999,000 to $950,000
08/25/09 -- $950,000 to $945,000
09/21/09 -- $945,000 to $943,000
10/25/09 -- $943,000 to $942,000

• 1304 Morton is finally pending! What price did the stubborn kitchen-pimping sellers accept? We shall see.
  

A glance at Zip Realty will indicate the market is still littered with listings in various stages of foreclosures, and the market appears to be poised for a second wild ride starting early next year with tens of billions of dollars in bad loans coming home to roost (notice the inverse shape of the graph below and the Case-Shiller home price index):



Yes, I did use the word "idiot" an inordinate number of times in this post.

Somehow, in the tsunami of Bayport houses coming back on the market in great distress just two or three years after they were first built, I missed 268 Bryant. I won't bore anybody with a long discussion and stick to the facts.

5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 3,743 sqft, 5,381-sqft lot, MLS(r) 40425512, $975,000

Entering through the elegantly arched front doorway and beautiful entry with soaring ceilings and welcoming living room you know you are home! Sophisticated, tranquil and spacious, [...] exquisite residence [...]

This property was listed about 3 months ago for $998,000 and recently dropped a hair to $975,000.

It was first sold in 2005 for $1,071,000, and given the competition just around the corner, I don't see how it can possibly sell for near asking.

The sale history on Zillow shows one recent transaction in 2002, for $609,000.

According to multiple sources, this property finally sold for $600,000. That's $9,000 + probably $30,000 or so in commissions below the previous transaction price, and a whole 31% off the last list price.

The moral of the story? If an agent tries to talk you out of lowball offers, or says she doesn't want to insult the seller, fire her at once.

The little bungalow on a little lot at 1312 Mound Street is back as MLS(r) #40437110 for $499,000, $39,000 more than the price at which it failed to sell a year ago. The agent is either not very creative or not very motivated to go beyond real estate 101 platitudes in the new description, other than the Morse code punctuation:

Location Location Location. .. .. 3 bedroom 1 bath with hardwood floors and backyard with low maintenance. ..

Please refer to the original post for details.

The trashed two-houses-on-one-lot dealio at 547 Pacific Avenue is back as MLS(r) #40435505 with the following description:

Fixer---two houses on one lot. Second is stripped to rafters. First needs major repairs. Great for the investor or handyman. Live in one-rent the other.

I wonder if you're you expected to live in the "stripped to rafters" unit while renting the unit that needs major repairs, or the other way around? Either way, it sounds like a great-quality-of-life, high-cash-flow situation, doesn't it?

The transaction history is amusing:

Date	Event	Price
Oct 23, 2009	Listed	$485,100
Aug 19, 2009	Sold	$412,000
Jun 29, 2006	Sold	$655,000
Apr 03, 1987	Sold	$175,000

It looks as though the repossessing back is trying to turn a slight profit on the sale this time around.

Today's new Bayport McMansion is a fine, fine example of what not to do during an asset bubble. 318 Lina Avenue has the following specs:

4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3,150 sqft, 3,840-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40435548, $825,000 (plus $119 / mo HOA dues)

Exceptional price for this stunning Malpeque model at Bayport. Highly upgraded w/ onyx and wood flooring, Thermador S/S appliances, maple cabinetry throughout, [...] surround sound and so much more. ..

View Larger Map

The sale history speaks for itself:

Date	Event	Price
Oct 23, 2009	Listed	$825,000
Dec 20, 2006	Sold	$1,136,000

That's 27% off the initial price. Not bad.

A little Victorian cottage at 1209 Eagle Ave just came on the market with the following specs:

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,161 sqft, 4,125-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40434764, $499,000 ($430 / sqft)

Queen Anne high basement cottage by Marcuse and Remmel built in 1891. Traditional charm w/ loads of permitted upgrades, and a kitchen for today! Period full bath. Plus room for office? [...] Tankless water heater, newer furnace. Nice yard!

View Larger Map

It looks empty with nice period details and hideous modern kitchen updates apparently made on the cheap (or with no taste). The property is listed for just a hair more than its last sale price in 2003. It'll probably sell quickly in spite of its sub-prime location.

Date	Event	Price
Oct 20, 2009	Listed	$499,000
Dec 30, 2003	Sold	$465,000

3260 Briggs Avenue recently came on the market with the following specs:

3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,221 sqft, 10,150-sqft lot(!), MLS(r) #40434872, $725,000 ($594 / sqft)

Incredible opportunity property. Three bedroom, 1 bath crafstman [...] Needs work, but great location and huge yard. Contact the city to get details on subdividing the lot to build another residential building on it.

View Larger Map

The extra-large lot is obviously the justification for the excessive, almost $600-per-sqft asking price. The last recorded sale was over 30 years ago, so one would hope this house is paid off and the sellers can drop their price closer to where it belongs.

Last sale and tax info

Sold 12/01/1976: $57,000

2009 Property Tax: $2,072

Update 10/25/09: The MLS(r) photos suggest this place needs not just "work" but a complete redo inside.

Update 12/6/09: Dropped to $649,000 in mid November.

Update 3/2/10: Sold for $595,000 on 12/28, an 18% drop from the original asking price.

Briefer posts than usual this week. 1224 Chestnut is back on the market after a long absence. The specs:

3 units, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2,334 sqft, 3,500-sqft lot. MLS(r) #40435063, $615,000 ($263 / sqft)
[...] Strides to St. Josephs, shopping and public transport.

View Larger Map

This property was on the market back in early 2008, listed for an obscene $799,000.

Open Homes for March 22-23

Written by Alameda Sun    Published: Friday, 21 March 2008 [...]

166 Oak Park Drive $630,000 Sunday 2-4 1350 Broadway $649,500 Sat. & Sun. 2-4 1616 A Fernside Blvd. $649,950 Sat. & Sun. 2-4 880 Portola Ave. $699,999 Sunday 2-4 423 McDonnel Road $745,000 Sunday 2-4 1224 Chestnut St. $799,000 Saturday 2-4 2718 Bayview Drive $759,000 Sat. & Sun. 2-4:30 15 Sea Bridge $905,000 Sat. & Sun. 2-4 26 Gonsalves Court $1,380,000 Sat. & Sun. 2-4

(emphasis added).

You'd think agents selling houses in Alameda would know the difference between the many architectural styles that grace our little town. Heck, in any town I'd expect a Real Estate Professional (tm), someone who makes a living helping people buy and sell houses, to have a modicum of sensitivity to building styles, or at least some knowledge of chronology. But that's not the way Marcus and Millichap rolls, evidently.

Today's property at 1012 Walnut Street has the following specs:

5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms (4 units), 5,001 sqft, 3,132-sqft lot, built in 1896, MLS(r) #40434353, $849,000

Detailed & well-maintained Craftsman with significant renovation-new roof, siding, paint, electrical, plumbing. [...] Large renovated Owner's Unit w/ 2 car garage & storage. All units sep metered/sep hot water heaters. Coin-op W/ D owned by landlord. [...] Perfect for Owner-occupant. Large backyard. [...]

First off, as far as I can tell, the agent screwed up the details in the MLS(r) listing; the lot is ~5,000 sqft and the house is 3,132 sqft, not the other way around, at least according to Zillow and Trulia. This ain't Bayport, thank you very much. Second, if we are to believe the agent, this property is a rare example of a 1896 Craftsman, complete with bay windows and a second story like so many Craftsman houses of the era.

The one part of the listing I can't argue with, though, is the "perfect for owner-occupant" bit. That's because the only owner for whom this property makes sense is the owner who lives on the premises and doesn't mind paying twice the market rate for the privilege of enjoying one fourth of their house and sharing the yard with a handful of strangers; because this house sure doesn't make any sense as an investment property. Take a look at these numbers, provided by the owner:

Unit 1: 1+1, $1,495 / mo
Unit 2: 1+1, $1,050 / mo
Unit 3: 1+1, $1,000 / mo
Unit 4: 2+1, $1,200 / mo

Gross rent income: ~$56,000
Expenses (repairs, taxes, vacancy, etc): ~$22,000
Net income: ~$34,000

A 6% fixed mortgage on a $849,000 property with 20% down comes out to about $49,000 / year. So you're $15,000 in the red every year from the get-go.

"But what if you're living in the property?" you ask. Let's see.

Assuming the 2-bedroom unit is the "owner's unit", the numbers come out to ~$42,000 gross / $20,000 net income (remember you lost $1,200 a month by kicking one tenant out). This means you're paying $2,400 / month ($49,000 mortgage - $20,000 net income, divided by 12) to live in a 2-bedroom unit in a shared house (with shared yard) that normally rents for $1,200 / month.

What an incredible deal!

"But rents aren't always going to be this low!" you retort.

Maybe not, but they're not exactly going up either.

"But real estate doubles in value every 10 years!" you persist.

I suppose it all depends which 10 years you're looking at:

ZESTIMATE^®: $873,50

• Value Range: $515,365 - $952,115
• 30-day change: -$2,000
• Zestimate updated: 10/16/2009

Last sale and tax info

Sold 06/17/2005: $856,000

2009 Property Tax: $11,866

If this property is supposed to double in value by 2015, it might want to get started soon.

An old acquaintance just came back: 3257 Adams Street is back as MLS(r) #40434225 with a new price: $550,000, down from $639,000.

I don't mean to brag, dear sellers, but if you were willing to sell for $550,000 and had read my original post, you may have sold it in weeks instead of, you know, not selling after almost a year and being stuck with a still-too-high asking price coming into the slow season.

Date	Event	Price
Oct 15, 2009	Listed	$550,000
Sep 25, 2009	Delisted	*
Jul 16, 2009	Price Changed	*
Jul 16, 2009	Relisted	*
Jul 06, 2009	Delisted	*
Jun 25, 2009	Listed	*
Jun 21, 2009	Delisted	*
Mar 20, 2009	Listed	*
Mar 09, 2009	Delisted	*
Dec 09, 2008	Listed	*

An aggressively-priced bungalow just appeared on the market this week. 1726 Eagle Avenue has the following specs:

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,491 sqft, 3,750-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40434309, $381,200

Granite kitchen with all appliances all remodeled. Laminated floors, painted, new bathrooms. There are new double pane windows. There is also a separate non conforming unit with separate entrance in the rear.

The aggressive, non-round asking price suggests a bank is likely involved in the transaction on the sell side, which is supported by the recent history:

Date	Event	Price	Appreciation	Source
Oct 16, 2009	Listed	$381,200	--	EBRD #40434309
Jul 17, 2009	Sold	$592,285	45.3%/yr	Public Records
May 06, 1998	Sold	$9,000	-39.4%/yr	Public Records
Oct 28, 1991	Sold	$237,000	11.5%/yr	Public Records
Apr 21, 1989	Sold	$180,000	--	Public Records

But if the house was sold for $237,000 in 1991 (the $9,000 transaction in 1998 is likely a non-arms-length transfer between relatives, although I don't know that for a fact), and if the July 17, 2009 transaction is what it looks like, i.e. a bank taking the house back, how exactly does one justify adding on so much to the loan balance that one winds up losing a house that should be 2/3 paid off?

After a lull in new listings, the end of this week reverses the trend with a number of interesting new listings. First up is 1206 Buena Vista, a tiny house with a cheerful paint job and the following specs:

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 886 sqft, MLS(r) #362505, $459,900

Stunning 1910 home, well maintain and beautiful landscaped. [...] update kitchen. Located close to shopping, schools, and easy freeway acess. This one will not last long. .. Hurry!

Of course this listing is only new if your memory is short. After paying $630,000 ($711 / sqft) in 2005, the "owners" tried to unload their "stunning" house almost 2 years ago for $679,000. Judging by the San Francisco MLS(r) number and the funny-looking, non-round asking price, it seems that didn't work out very well.

Some sellers don't mess around when it comes to pricing their properties aggressively. Not enough of them, mind you, but the new listing at 2151 Alameda Avenue gets points for trying extra hard. The property has the following specs:

3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,596 sqft, MLS(r) #40431652, $300,000 ($188 / sqft)

[...] Contractors Special. Great Alameda Location with Living Room & Fireplace, Family Room, Victorian Style Home, Close to Town!!

You read right; this property is listed for $300,000. Of course there are no interior pictures in the MLS(r) listing, so who knows what condition it's in and how much work it needs. But considering its previous sale price, this certainly qualifies as an almost bargain, at 57% off:

Date	Event	Price
Sep 29, 2009	Listed	$300,000
Aug 22, 2005	Sold	$705,000

Of course we'll have a feeding frenzy and this property will sell for way over asking, which will prompt enlightened local real estate agents, buoyed by the recent increase in the Case-Shiller index (full data set in Excel format), to call the bottom of the market and a return to good times.

A cute little Victorian cottage built in 1885 just came on the market this week. 1230 College Avenue has the following specs:

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,641 sqft, 6,348-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40431531, $745,000

completley restored historic victorian. [...] plank floors and high end designer kitchen. Period detail throughout with a wonderful formal dining room. High ceilings built-ins and a family room off the kitchen. [...] There is an over sized usable landscaped yard

At $454 / sqft it's largely overpriced, although its East End location will probably have someone go ga-ga and pay full price. The lot is large and the house looks beautiful from the outside, although the Terminator kitchen is a disgrace and completely incongruous in a 124-year-old house.

At any rate, the owners are probably already losing money even if the house sells at full price, having paid close to $700,000 five years ago:

Date	Event	Price
Sep 29, 2009	Listed	$745,000
Nov 23, 2004	Sold	$697,000
Aug 04, 1998	Sold	$278,500
Mar 03, 1988	Sold	$178,500

If the 16.5% yearly appreciation rate between 1998 and 2004 doesn't convince you we were in a bubble of immense proportions (compare to the normal 4.5% y/y appreciation between the previous two sales in 1988 and 1998), I can get you an incredible deal on a gross of tulip bulbs.

Tis the season to be relisted. 2017 Lincoln Avenue disappeared a few months ago, but came roaring back this week, with new MLS(r) #40431603 and a slightly reduced price ($549,900, down from $560,000).

The description is cute:

[...] hardwood floors, Just needs a new owner to place the final touchs on this gem.

As is the house (it's the little blue one, not the pretty yellow one):

As for the location, it's cute mostly if you enjoy a high-traffic thoroughfare and a schoolyard across the street.

It appears this property took a detour through the bank before coming back on the market this time around:

Date	Event	Price
Sep 29, 2009	Listed	$549,900
Jul 10, 2009	Sold	$658,445
Oct 29, 2004	Sold	$509,000

Anyone care to speculate where the $150K increase between the initial loan in 2004 and the (ostensibly) repo price in July 2009 came from?

Yet another Bayport house was (re)listed this week. 380 Hollister Avenue has the following specs:

3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 2,361 sqft, 3,289-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40431306, $779,000 ($330 / sqft)

Over $70K in upgrades, [...] loft and MB retreat [...] many exquisite features: granite kit C/T, SS appliances, [...] m/bath marble C/T, surr sound, upgraded flooring, custom paint and shutters, beautiful yard w/ functioning gas firepit. [...]

Finally a listing that's not afraid to describe those ugly Nazi appliances as what they are.

This property was unsuccessfully listed at the same price a few months ago (then known as MLS(r) #40398972).

Date	Event	Price
Sep 26, 2009	Listed	$779,000
Jul 01, 2009	Delisted	*
Mar 09, 2009	Listed	*
Apr 21, 2005	Sold	$785,000

Look who's back! Lagoon-access Victorian triplex 1904 Clinton has been relisted at a lower price ($899,000 down from $949,000, or $351 / sqft; MLS(r) #40431282) with a new agent, our good buddy Jose Cerda-Zein. Please refer to the original post for specs.

One factor that might be contributing to this property not selling is the fact it's been chopped up into three small units--neither of its two buyer pools can possibly be interested. Investment property buyers don't really want a luxury home in a prime location with three small units in it, because it doesn't make sense to pay a large location and architectural premium for three little apartments. And well-heeled Victorian aficionados interested in a lagoon property don't want a triplex; they want a large single-family home that's ready to move in as is.

So much for my prediction this thing would sell quickly. 

No fewer than three listings on Bay Street came on the market this week: first 1549 Bay Street, then 1427 Bay Street, and finally 1143 Bay Street, which appeared yesterday. This is in addition to the huge, expensive colonial at 1209 Bay Street (MLS(r) #40428223) that came on the market a few weeks ago. By coincidence, all three properties were listed in order of closeness to the Gold Coast. By no coincidence at all, all three appear to be listed under less than ideal circumstances, and today's beautiful Gold Coast Craftsman is no exception. First the specs:

3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms, 1,903 sqft, 5,000-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40431194, $769,000 ($404 / sqft)

Craftsman splendor in heart of Gold Coast. GORGEOUS architectural detailing. Configured as 2+/1.5 w/ obvious modification to create sep entrance to 3rd BD (check w/ City). [...] Circular floorplan. [...] hot tub. Det garage and partial basement.

The house is beautiful pretty, the location is excellent, and the price is, well, just about the same as it was when the house was purchased in 2003. The transaction history is a sobering summary of what not to do when it comes to real estate.

Date	Event	Price	Appreciation
Sep 25, 2009	Listed	$769,000	--
Jul 31, 2003	Sold	$760,000	13.7%/yr
Mar 26, 1997	Sold	$336,000	13.1%/yr
Aug 07, 1992	Sold	$190,000	--

If this property sells for asking price (which is probably will), the sellers are looking at a $37,000 loss in nominal terms, and a $167,000 loss in real dollars after adjusting for inflation, assuming 6% agent commission.

Real estate is such a great investment.

Update 9/28/09: the open house was well attended and gave me an opportunity to assess the property discreetly. The front yard shown in the street view photo above is the only yard with grass; the backyard is tiny, and looks like a giant deck (complete with hot tub) ringed by a little paved path. The bedrooms are all upstairs and tiny except for the master bedroom, which isn't particularly large. The master bathroom, also upstairs, badly needs updating. The kitchen is large, sunny, and in decent condition, though hardly up to modern HGTV standards (which is a good thing in my book, but buyers might object). Counters abound all over the place, including a small island with a built-in stove and hardly any food prep space. The living and dining rooms are very large, oppressive Craftsman extravaganzas of dark wood and stone fireplace, and gorgeous if you're into wooden caves. There's a tiny bit of storage available in the partial basement, which doubles as laundry room.

Maybe agent Alice Garvin has been on vacation for the past two years and just gotten back into the real estate game. Or maybe she's not paying attention. What else would account for her pricing strategies, which appear to assume mid-2000s appreciation rates still apply and a price per square foot well north of $500 is actually a good idea?

628 Glenwood Isle has the following specs:

3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 2,174 sqft, 6,298-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40429196, $1,150,000 ($529 / sqft)

LARGE HOME ON LARGE [...] MANY CUSTOM FEATURES.PAVERS IN DRIVEWAY & WALK.SIDE YARD & BACK PATIO ON WATER.EXTRA ROOM COULD BE OFFICE [...]

The property is located at the end of one of those silly fingers on the landfill side of the lagoon and boasts a great view of the hospital parking lot.

At $529 / sqft and a price tag well above $1M, it will likely take a goodly amount of time to sell, as it should, unless the sellers take advantage of what should be substantial equity (if not a fully paid-off house) to drop the price by, say, $400,000 or so.

Date	Event	Price
Sep 14, 2009	Listed	$1,150,000
Dec 01, 1975	Sold	$82,000

Even notoriously over-enthusiastic Zillow values this house around $800,000, which given its size and location is much closer to a realistic value in today's market (not that $800,000 for a boring rancher on landfill is reasonable, mind you, but it beats $1.15M with a stick).

Various folks are predicting a spike in inventory in the last quarter of this year, and while I have no evidence today's property at 2512 Calhoun St is a distress sale, the sale history certainly doesn't suggest a happy transaction. Not to mention the fact it tried to sell itself last year to no avail. First the specs for the current listing:

Duplex, 5 bedrooms (3+2), 3 bathrooms, 1,665 sqft, MLS(r) #40430973, $679,000

[...] ideal for owner-occupancy with a great rental unit downstairs! Gleaming hardwood floors, granite counters, fresh paint inside & out. [...] On Demand water heater for efficiency! Brand new landscaping with sprinkler system. Feels like home, must see to appreciate!

This property is now listed for $679,000 ($408 / sqft), which is too high and has no chance in hell of ever making sense as an investment property the way rents are going. It's a tad less than it was last December ($699,000 then), but still nowhere near where it needs to be. But it certainly makes more sense than the price the owners paid just three years ago:

Date	Event	Price
Sep 24, 2009	Listed	$679,000
Dec 02, 2008	Delisted	*
Jun 30, 2008	Listed	*
Oct 17, 2006	Sold	$770,000

Welcome back, little duplex. Maybe this fall season will be kinder to you than last year's.

A short post to start the week. 2619 Edison Court just came on the market today with the following specs:

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 986 sqft, 3,528-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40430318
LOCATION1 LOCATION1 LOCATION. [...] BUNGALOW ON QUIET CUL DE SAC

It looks quiet all right, what with a schoolyard less than a block away.

What's the price tag on this lovely, sub-1,000-sqft 2-bedroom bundle of joy?

Only $710,000, or a mere $720 / sqft, which is more than twice the going rate for 94501 these days. Sure, some prestigious school is a block away, which might please neurologically deficient parents enough to plunk down two Ivy League college educations in excess of what they should be paying for the privilege of driving their Dodge Caravan only one block to take their rugrats to Edison Elementary. But even accounting for the Edison School premium, this property is overpriced by at least one small condo's worth.

You might think this insanity might be due to an inexperienced agent working with demented sellers, but agent Alice Garvin has been working in the industry since 1971 (which explains the all-caps listing). With that kind of longevity it's only fair to assume she's not completely incompetent to the point of pricing a property at twice the market rate. That leaves us with the demented seller option, which includes the common we-liberated-equity-so-we-need-to-sell-for-a-lot subclass.

Date	Event	Price
Sep 20, 2009	Listed	$710,000
May 15, 2007	Sold	$600,000
Aug 03, 2000	Sold	$350,500

This one will be interesting to watch.

The great unwinding of the Bayport complex is continuing apace. Today's "esquisite" McMansion at 311 Bryant, which has been on the market for almost two months already, has the following specs:

4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3,149 sqft, 3,977-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40421484, $955,000

Come and enjoy luxuary living at its best [...] over 100K in upgrades. Hickory Espresso Hardwood floors, granite Counter in Kit. / Cherry Cabinet with Mahogany finish. [...] Surround sound & much, much more.

The Craigslist post is a tad more lyrical, with the randomly capitalized words that sell houses faster:
 

This Italian Malpeque Plan 9 with Approx. 3,149 Sq. Ft. is part of the Cove Collection, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths. It is located within Alameda’s newest Community, Bayport of Alameda. This home features classic architectural design with a multitude of upgrades to satisfy the most sophisticated discriminating buyers. Upgrades start with the Front Door that leads into the upgraded Hickory Espresso Hardwood Floors, beautiful arched doorways throughout, Plantation shutters, Crown Molding, Upgraded gourmet kitchen, with Stainless Steel appliances, Granite countertops, Cherry Cabinets with Old World Mahogany Finish. Family Room comes with a Fireplace & build-in Media Center that leads to a finished and landscaped backyard. Upstairs enjoy the loft with a build-in Media center and a secluded state of the art master suite and master bath with a deep jetted tub that leads to a large walk-in closet.

This monument to decadence and excess has one of the most obscenely tricked-out kitchens I have ever seen:

It will not surprise anyone to read the initial buyers spent way too much in 2005:

Property History for 311 Bryant Ave

Date	Event	Price
Sep 04, 2009	Price Changed	$955,000
Aug 12, 2009	Price Changed	$975,000
Jul 25, 2009	Listed	$995,000
Jun 17, 2005	Sold	$1,017,500

Unfortunately, for this thing to have a shot at competing with the glut of Bayport houses for sale, the price needs to drop significantly more than it has.

Note to Bill and Griselda: it's spelled exquisite with an 'x'.

The pointy-hat Victorian at 1009 Central is back as MLS(r) #40429761 with a new, slightly lower price of $460,750, down from $499,000 last March. Please refer to the original post for details.


Here's a summary of the listing activity since 2005:

Date	Event	Price
Sep 16, 2009	Listed	$460,750
Jul 31, 2009	Sold	$432,000
Jun 04, 2009	Delisted	*
May 27, 2009	Relisted	*
Apr 01, 2009	Delisted	*
Mar 21, 2009	Listed	*
Aug 04, 2005	Sold	$700,000

While we're on the subject of financially-inept imprudent home buyers, this week's new post-Victorian "duplex" at 1549 Bay Street stands as another fine example of what not to do when considering a home purchase. First the specs:

3 (or 5?) bedrooms, 1 (or 1 1/2) bathroom(s), 1,398 sqft, 3,300-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40430026, $534,900 ($383 / sqft)

REO bargain priced below comps. Move in condition, [...] Victorian era home with 4 bdrms, 2+ baths, full height attic with extra room, plus a 1 bdrm unit below. [...] a remarkable find.

The discrepancy in the number of bedrooms and bathrooms between the listing and the public records is likely due to a conversion of what once was a modest single-family home to a duplex in 1940, presumably not permitted, which was amnestied by the city in 1999 (permit #B99-1696) but not reflected in the county records To their credit, the house's successive owners over the years appear to have obtained and finaled permits for a lot of the work performed on the house, which sadly can't be said of a lot of properties in Alameda. Of course a permit alone doesn't guarantee quality or durability, but at least it safeguards the next owner from having to clean up the permit history with the city or having to tear down a bunch of unwarranted improvements.

The MLS(r) photos show a pretty house in good condition, but fail to point out its proximity to large-ish buildings on both sides of Bay Street (Pagano's hardware mart on the same side and a market/liquor store across the street).

The tiny 3,300-sqft lot doesn't provide much protection against the elements and the very busy section of Lincoln just a few hundred feet to the north.

Having established all that, then, you may be interested to know the previous owner, just 4 years ago, spent $810,000 to purchase this property ($579 / sqft).

Date	Event	Price
Sep 18, 2009	Listed	$534,900
Jun 04, 2009	Sold	$496,100
Jun 23, 2005	Sold	$810,000
Jun 27, 1988	Sold	$170,000

I wish that were a typo. Maybe it is. Assuming the house sells near asking price, which it just might (although spring fever has died down considerably), we're looking at a 34% drop in value in just 4 years. Alameda is different, innit?

Update 1/10/10: Sold to a newborn sucka for $555,000.

Some people take their street name seriously, and today's listing at 1610 High Street is certainly priced in a manner befitting its location. Let's look at the specs:

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,274 sqft, MLS(r) #40428088, $725,000 ($569 / sqft)

[...] charming split level house in the east end of Alameda. Light and airy, with french doors and paned windows. Beautiful moldings and wood work mantel fireplace. [...]

Remember how, three or four years ago, housing bears were being mocked for missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime to get into the market and buy a house before everybody got priced out forever?

Well, those chickens are coming home in droves, with yet another Bayport McMansion coming back to the market just three years after it was purchased--again. You can read the specs on the original post.

Today's updated listing on Craigslist describes the house like this:

Beautiful Classic Colonial in prestigious Bayport Development of Alameda Ca. This home comes with a multitude of upgrades. Custom tile in entryway, French Doors that open up to a private office or Formal Dining room. Designer lights over Kithen breakfast counter. Fireplace in Family room with additional lighting. Finshed side and back patio with custom pavers. Beautifully landscaped yard with automatic sprinklers. Custom paint. Master Bedroom suite with private patio. Lots of Upgrades. Great Value! This is a Short Sale that has been lender approved for the price. BPO's have already been done. Can close escrow in less than 30 days!!

It's now listed for $675,000 (still with the old MLS(r) #40390663, which isn't active as far as I can tell), down from $695,000 back in January, down from $830,500 when it closed escrow almost exactly three years ago.

This is getting ridiculous.

A Victorian semi-wreck in a hideous location (if you're a single-family home), cozily nestled betwixt a laundromat and a tailor, standing directly across busy lower Park street from a party store and a stone's throw away from my favorite tire shop (perfect for those mid-afternoon nitrogen cravings), came back on the market for the third time in 18 months, and once again it is listed for more money that the last time around.

More money. Not less. And from walking past this property at least once a week, I can tell you its exterior looks haven't exactly improved with the passage of time. Here's what it looked like to Google's Street View van a little while ago:


Here's a handy summary; please refer to the previous post for details on the property.

• In May, 2008, 1192 Park Street hit the MLS(r) as #40340126, listed at a grotesque $925,000. It had been on Zillow prior to that for $898,000 or so, if memory serves, and failed to sell, so the seller raised the price in a bid to attract more potential buyers.

• Then, in October, 2008, the property came back, presumably bank-owned by then, listed at $708,500.

It didn't sell then, for obvious reasons, and now it's back, with timing so perfect it seems to have been carefully chosen to completely miss the peak of the selling season. And it's listed for $1,400 more than last year.

The sale and listing history are amusing; I suspect the June, 2008 transaction is the bank taking it back:

Property History for 1192 PARK St

Date	Event	Price
Aug 26, 2009	Listed	$709,900
Aug 16, 2009	Delisted	*
Jun 11, 2009	Price Changed	*
May 12, 2009	Listed	*
Apr 18, 2009	Delisted	*
Apr 17, 2009	Price Changed	*
Oct 18, 2008	Listed	*
Oct 01, 2008	Delisted	*
Jun 03, 2008	Sold	$644,100
May 02, 2008	Listed	*
Dec 07, 2005	Sold	$163,000
Apr 18, 2003	Sold	$112,000
Jun 29, 1990	Sold	$56,000

Another little house came on the market this week, so far north on Schiller you can probably smell the truck fumes from the comfort of your breakfast nook. Behold the end of the block at Clement:

In addition to its unfortunate location, 1904 Schiller Street has the following unappetizing specs and description:

2 (3?) bedrooms, 2 (1? 5?) bathrooms, 1,066 sqft, 4,104-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40427280, $412,900

MAKE ME BEAUTIFUL AGAIN. Public Record show 3 beds 1 bath, but home is being used as 2 beds and 1 bath [...] finished basement with bonus room and half bath. Permit unknown. Buyer(s) are advised to inspect and check with City.

You'd think some folks may have noticed that the days of paying $450 / sqft and up for little houses in substandard locations are, erm, over.


But apparently not. This week's little bungalow at 764 Eagle has the following specs:

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,051 sqft, 5,880-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40427485, $469,500 ($447 / sqft)

[...] Spacious Kitchen. Large yard Bright & Sunny Charming Brick Fireplace with beautiful wood. Walk to [...] Webster Street Shops and Restrauants or Marina Village.

Paying that much for only one bathroom on just 1,051 sqft in that high-traffic, not particularly picturesque location is idiotic. Of course some arithmetically-challenged first-time home buyer eager to spend way too much for 30 years for the privilege of saving a few thousand dollars on their taxes next year will probably pay "snap it up" at full price--after all, this house has a history of fostering bad decisions on its owners:

Last sale and tax info

Sold 01/10/2006: $595,000

2009 Property Tax: $7,092

You read right--this little bungalow fetched $566 / sqft just 3 1/2 years ago. It is now for sale for 21% less, and still arguably overpriced by another 30%.

Update 1/10/10: Sold for $460,000 on 11/25/09.

I harbor nothing but loathing for the (admittedly well-built) monstrosities that have flourished like kudzu out of the barren, infected soil of the west side for the past five years. They have no personality or yards (unless you count a spot to pitch your grill and a small-dog run as a yard), but they sport humongous floor plans, obscene kitchen and bathroom appointments, and price tags to match.

Thankfully, a lot of the investors idiots who bought into that development in the mid-2000s are losing their shirts.

This week, not one, not two, but three such monuments to housing bubbliness came on the market.

258 Bryant Avenue is by far the largest:

4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, 3,453 sqft, 5,162-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40426136, $975,000

It joins a chorus of other large houses on Bryant that have appeared on the market at various points in the past year or two:

• 410 Bryant (listed at $889,000, sold for $852,000, $6,500 less than its previous sale price, not counting commissions)
• 310 Bryant (listed at $799,000 last March, still unsold as far as I can tell)
• 350 Bryant (listed at $929,000 in late 2008, sold for $805,000 last Spring, a $51,500 loss v. its previous price before commissions)
  

258 Bryant is on its way to match its neighbors' performance--even if it sells at full price, the commissions guarantee a loss for the seller.

Property History for 258 BRYANT Ave

Date	Event	Price
Aug 24, 2009	Listed	$975,000
Nov 16, 2005	Sold	$956,000

2408 Coral Sea Street is a bit smaller, but still boasts 4 bedrooms and a "nice park close" by, which is handy to supplement the minuscule lot:

4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 2,925 sqft, 3,760-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40426155, $737,550

[...] built in 2006. It sits near College of Alameda among a group of homes all recently built. Very spacious with living room, family room, large kitchen, courtyard off of dining room, laundry room, master bath suite. [...] nice park close to the house.

The funny non-round price is due to a rather checkered past:

Property History for 2408 CORAL SEA St

Date	Event	Price
Aug 24, 2009	Listed	$737,550
Dec 01, 2006	Sold	$567,000
Mar 23, 2006	Sold	$1,002,000

It, too, has neighbors in rather less than stellar shape:

• 2438 Coral Sea Street tried to sell itself numerous times and finally sold last spring for $750,000, $300,000 less than its initial list price in early 2008 and $230,000 less than its previous sale price in 2006. Blam.
  
• 2418 Coral Sea Street did too but still hasn't sold as far as I can tell.

Lastly, 238 Hollister Street, the smallest of the bunch. It "needs a new owner," evidently because the old one didn't work out too well. I wonder why a kitchen would need to be updated in a house built just 4 years ago.

3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 2,361 sqft, 3,462-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40426267, $682,605

Move in Ready [...] updated kitchen, just needs a new owner to call this place home

Its price is also an amusing reflection of its owners' exceptional financial savvy:

Property History for 238 HOLLISTER Ave

Date	Event	Price
Aug 25, 2009	Listed	$682,605
Jun 02, 2009	Sold	$747,505
Dec 16, 2005	Sold	$832,000

One of its neighbors appeared to be having some trouble deciding what to do last October:

• 398 Hollister Avenue tried to sell itself for $787,000, then rent itself for $3,500 / month. Unsold as of 8/30/09.
  

So much for home ownership promoting neighborhood stability.

Update 9/28/09: 2408 Coral Sea sold for $688,500.

The "green" eco-friendly house at 1533 Morton Street has been on the market for a while, but only recently did it come to my attention it's highly deserving of a writeup on the blog, so here it is. Touted as a very advanced design with all sorts of ecologically sensible features, from solar panels to recycled or recyclable building materials, 1533 Morton St. has the following specs:

3 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, 1,500 sqft, ~6,100-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40404178, $899,000

ALAMEDA'S 1ST NEW "GREEN" INFILL. [...] UBER ENVIRONMENTAL HOME. NEWLY CONSTRUCTED "SOLAR" l GREEN HOME EMBELLISHES TODAY'S HIGHLY COVETED GREEN DESIGN. [...] GREAT HOME OFFICE, GUEST ROOM OR AUPAIR.

At $360 / sqft, it's almost priced correctly, and you'd think with all those green features and potential energy savings, it'd be gone by now. But it's not--it's been on the market for almost 5 months as 8/29/09, and dropped its price from $969,000 to $899,000 on July 1.

Why would that be? It looks great on paper--big lot, big house, all the right things for the well-heeled, environmentally conscious Bay Area buyer (if you talk to agents they'll tell you those wealthy San Francisco 30-somethings with 1 1/4 children are flocking to Alameda by the boatload), and an arguably reasonable price per square foot (in context; I'd never pay that much for anything, but given the way houses are priced in Alameda, it's priced reasonably well). The agent is clearly targeting that population:

Both the Environmental Home and the immaculately restored Historic Home are located on one large lot, contiguous to the Gold Coast region of Alameda.  The highly recognized Alameda Schools are within close proximity, as well as parks, markets, shops and restaurants.  Take the Ferry, BART or Bus to San Francisco.  Ferry Ride takes only 20 relaxing minutes.  A beautiful commute.

Maybe the fact that there's a big tall 3,700-sqft house on the narrow 6,100-sqft lot RIGHT IN FRONT OF THIS PROPERTY is giving potential buyers pause (note the helpful sign pointing to today's house on the front lawn; I wonder if you're allowed to keep it after you buy to help direct your friends to your housewarming party):


With that in mind, some of the features of the property make you wonder whether they were indeed an enlightened decision on the architect's part:

In an educated effort, the architect opted to place the home’s public rooms one story above ground in order to take advantage of natural light, heat and views, while the ground level cleverly gives way to the perfect space for au pair quarters, additional family room, gymnasium or a Zen garden retreat. The uppermost level holds spacious, light-filled and naturally air-conditioned sleeping quarters.

... or merely an attempt to cope with the inevitability of a very large building mere feet away across the lot, perhaps blocking some of the sunlight during the day? Maybe one of those pesky city regulations requiring enough parking for everyone caused the designer to say "I know! Let's put the maid and the car below the house! That way we have parking, and the solar panels can actually see the sun part of the time! This house will sell in minutes!"

All that being said, what I would like to know is who in their right mind would buy a high-end-ish eco house on half a lot (with no room for grass or trees), with a big ol' antique owned by someone else in the way of street access. And be willing to deal with the indignities of a monthly $50 HOA fee. If this and the front house were marketed as one of those two-houses-on-one-lot deals, and priced at $990,000 for the pair, it might be different, although I have a hard time imagining how the mortgage works out assuming you rent one or the other; these are pretty distinctive properties catering to a very small pool of potential tenants, so vacancy rates would likely be high.

Did anybody at the design firm that perpetrated this dual monstrosity do a market analysis before creating not one but two unsellable white elephants?

Lastly, one thing that's been bothering me for a long time is how agents for large houses often boast of potential  "au-pair" quarters. Who keeps au-pairs in 2009?

1304 MortonSt has been on the market for ages--I first wrote about it in April 2008, and again in March of this year. It still hasn't sold in spite of multiple, significant price drops and an obscenely over-the-top kitchen renovation (I wouldn't be surprised if the sellers paid more for their kitchen than a number of people paid for their condo here just 10 years ago).

It appears the agent still hasn't come to terms with the two most recent price reductions and can't really decide how much the house should be priced, though.

(from today's Craigslist post)

(from the current listing on Redfin as of 8/27/09).

It's nice to see the attention to detail the agent lavishes on a million-dollar listing.

Update 11/13/09: Pending.

Once in a while I run into a listing on a street in Alameda I've never heard of. Today's property is on Constance Circle, which is way out there on the east side. The specs aren't too shabby:

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,628 sqft, ~5,700-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40425766, $769,000

The description was apparently written by a cheapskate Wheel of Fortune contestant:

Dsrble sngl lvl in quiet East Shre nghbrhd! 3 bd, 2 ba, 1600sf of trnqul lvng! Sun filled updt kit; stnls stl appl, w/Lrg eating area. Frml liv rm w/rustic wd frpl. Exciting clrs thru-out, dl-pane wndws, prvt yrd, patio, & strg. Quaint stroll 2 waters edge, rstrnts, shping, prks & grt schls!

(note "Quaint stroll 2 waters edge" is almost entirely spelled out).

From the outside, it looks stunningly boring and almost exactly like every other house on that block:

At $472 / sqft, even with its location right by the water, it's significantly overpriced and needs to drop some; the dscrptn mntns nthng abt a water view from the inside, so presumably you have to go see the water in person, rather than just sit around and look at it from your living room.

Zillow indicates this property was sold for a lot of money just four years ago:

So today's asking price is likely just a reflection of what the sellers need if they want to move without owing the bank. Good luck with that.

Everybody probably knows about the enormous house on a giant lot at 1221 Sherman, which recently dropped its price by almost $1M all at once.


Turns out it's a short sale, at least according to Redfin.


What really has me scratching my head is this:

Date	Event	Price
Jul 16, 2009	Price Changed	$1,569,000
Jul 07, 2009	Listed	$2,488,905
Mar 20, 1992	Sold	$739,000

Bought 17 years ago, this house should be half paid off. Back then, loan underwriting still followed some standards, by and large, so let's assume a classic 80% LTV mortgage, rounding up to a $600,000 loan. 17 years later, the owners might owe $400,000. Yet here we are with a short sale listed at $1,569,000, which suggests about $1.2M or more has been added to the loan balance. I shudder to think that the initial list price ($2,488,905) was actually the current balance.

So I ask, how is that possible??!

This "listing" just came on. Something's high about it, and it ain't the street. Friday night special? (MLS(r) #40424707; its brother MLS(r) 40424705 is tersely described as "Huge").

It seems I missed a few significant price drops in the previous installment of the Knifecatchers Price Drop Series, so here are a few more.

• 2066 Eagle Ave dropped its price a tiny bit for the second time, to $649,500. It started out at $699,000, and dropped to $670,000 a little while ago. Still too high at $462 / sqft in an unremarkable location (hat tip reader S)
• 3045 Marina Drive is back as MLS(r) #40423754 and has now dropped to below $1M, to $950,000. It's been on the market for over 8 months now and started out at $1,795,000. That's a 47% combined price cut
• The wreck at 1192 Park St is now listed for $645,900

More, of course, as I find them.

928 San Antonio has been on the market and dropping its price in dribs and drabs for many months now. It has returned as MLS(r) #40423686 and a sad note in the listing--the seller is ill and presumably has to sell in the worst possible combination of circumstances.

Perhaps this should serve as a cautionary note for everyone else against buying hard-to-sell houses (this property looks like a "spite house" with no garage or driveway) at the top of the market. Illness and accidents don't discriminate and strike down without warning.

Here's a handy-dandy checklist of red flags that mean "do not buy":

• The market is trapped in a collective frenzy of overpaying.
• A property you're interested in has incurable defects:
• The lot is too small. If you catch yourself saying "Hrm, this lot really is a little on the small side" or "I wish the yard were larger", the lot is too small. Walk away.
  
• There's no garage and no reasonable way of building one on the lot. A tent doesn't count. A carport barely counts. A driveway isn't quite enough. No garage and no driveway means "run away." Building a garage is expensive and a pain in the rear. Best to get one already built that comes with the house.
  
• There's too much traffic. It's loud, it's dangerous if you have pets or children, and it makes it a pain to leave the house in the morning when you're already late for work.
• The house is too small. Unless you're single with no children and no possibility of living with someone else at any point (widowed and resigned, or pathologically misanthropic), or really nostalgic about your cramped quarters when you were attending NYU, less than 800 sqft just doesn't cut it.
  
• The house is too big. I like excessive, decadent white elephants as much as the next gal, but the great majority of people not only do not need 4,000+ sqft of living space, they don't want it. It's a pain to clean, maintain, re-roof, re-foundationize, heat, cool, and so forth. 
• You're in your 20s or 30s, recently married, and the house only has 1 or 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. I hate to generalize, but babies happen, and when babies happen, people lose their minds and want to buy a bigger house. The last thing you want to do with a new baby is go through the stress of selling, buying and moving, and tackle the extra expense of a bigger mortgage, and the extra extra extra expense of baby and mom/dad taking extra time off (babies are expensive), all at the same time. Rent for a while, or buy just a little too much house now (well, not now, wait another year or two, but you get the idea) so you can actually fit baby comfortably later.
  

Remember that what looks less-than-ideal to you very likely looks less-than-ideal to most people too. Those people are the ones you'll try to sell your house to. Don't compromise on stuff you can't change.

I'll close this sad listing with a pictorial summary of all that went wrong with this property even before she got sick. Good luck.

A beautiful, odd-looking Victorian on the east side of Encinal is on the market again in early July 2009, not very long after its previous sale. 3241 Encinal has the following specs:

3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms, 1,675 sqft, 5,500-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40419044, $729,000 ($435 / sqft)

Beautiful! Unique Ext. architecture. [...] walk to all! Spacious kitchen and garage. Light filled with high ceilings and original details. [...] A small plus room can be used as an office or storage/coat room...

That right section with the pointy roof reminds me of this:


If memory serves, this was Julius Remmel's own home (he of the Marcuse and Remmel architecture firm), which may explain some of the home's more interesting architectural touches. Its exterior is really quite something in person (especially the entryway and the Germanic-looking roof extension) and I encourage you to check it out. Here's another view from the right:

The inside, however, is another story. It may have been changed significantly since it was last purchased, but when I toured it in 2006, I remember it having a bizarre layout: the front parlor was used as a bedroom, the kitchen was extremely large, and the bathrooms were in odd places. There was also an odd mixture of wood and carpeted floors. I haven't seen it since, so again the inside could be very different now.

The buyers are listing the property for just $1,000 under what they paid three years ago. It was too much then (as they found out, apparently) and it's still too much today.

Date	Event	Price
Jul 10, 2009	Listed	$729,000
Nov 28, 2006	Sold	$730,000
Nov 05, 2006	Delisted	*
Oct 15, 2006	Listed	*
Oct 16, 1992	Sold	$250,000

Update 11/4/09: Finally dropped to $698,000.

You may remember our old friend 1526 Pacific, a duplex that's been on and off the market for well over a year. It didn't sell at $650,000 last year, and so the sellers decided to slash the price by a whole thousand bucks down to a remarkably affordable $649,000 to stoke buyers' interest and get this thing sold PDQ. It's been back as MLS(r) #40420980 for a couple of weeks:

What a Perfect Opportunity to own a Chunk of Alameda. [...] Duplex with 3bd & 1 ba in each of the 2 units. [...] Park like setting. The Yard is as spectacular as the Investment opportunity. [...] This has to sell.

Note the cute "This has to sell." note at the end. If you're sticking to your delusional price after over a year has passed and the mother of all economic crises has hit, then you don't have to sell. You just want to sell, for as much money as possible. If you had to sell you'd drop it to $450,000 and have it sold before everyone is done buying real estate until 2010.

The most recent Case-Shiller data for May '09 was widely misreported as showing the first increase in home prices in ages (see Calculated Risk's writeup about why the reports are erroneously focusing on the non-seasonally-adjusted numbers), and I suppose that inspired some folks to price their tiny handkerchiefs like it's 2006. Today's mini-home at 1619 Oak Street has the following specs:

3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 883 sqft, 2,448-sqft lot, $435,000 ($493 / sqft)

Cozy 3 bedroom 1 bath home blocks from Alameda's downtown Park Street. This home features an updated kitchen, new roof (6/09) and new carpet & kitchen flooring (7/09). Enjoy its convenient location and take a stroll to shopping, restaurants, library and theater. www.1619oak.com For more information on this house or for information on similar homes in Alameda give me a call at 510.205.1781.

$493 / sqft for a minuscule 3-bedroom bungalow with nothing to recommend it on the outside (or on the inside; it looks like a cheap early 1990s condo redo inside, complete with rental-grade carpet and bottom-of-the-line kitchen)? Where do I sign?

Update 11/29/09: Down to $370,000.

This week has been a real treat for non-Victorian aficionados. Here's a quick rundown (no pun intended):

$549,000 2822 Central Ave
2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1196 sqft, 3,500-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40408457 $459 / sqft

Charming craftsman cottage [...] Cozy 2 bdrm,1 Ba located on one level, close to great schools, parks and transportation. Hardwood floors, new interior paint 2009, built in shelves & plate rack in dining Rm. Updated foundation

Nice enough, if boring. Price should come down a bit (small lot, only 1 bath) but probably won't need to.

$395,000 1213 Eagle Ave
2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 909 sqft, 3,500-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40408375 $434 / sqft
[...] clean and neat. Back room includes laundry and could make a great office. Full basement has a lot of potential for projects. Nice clean yard [...]

There are also two giant warehouses half a block away. Handy, no? Shouldn't stand a chance at $434 / sqft, but buying fever is back, so it'll probably sell for close to asking.

$530,000 2525 Webb Ave
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1401 sqft, 4,400-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40408233 $378 / sqft
Great location, large backyard. Lots of potential.

They forgot to say "Needs work." Sellers are probably trying to save their shirts. I'm not sure I'd want to live  in a place whole interior looks like this for 6 years.

Date	Event	Price
May 04, 2009	Listed	$530,000
Jul 23, 2003	Sold	$468,000
May 12, 1999	Sold	$250,000
Jun 05, 1992	Sold	$170,000

$685,000 2616 Buena Vista Ave
1,850 sqft, 7,000-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40408055 $370 / sqft
Dynamite Duplex in Fabulous Fernside! Classic A&C bungalow in front: unpainted wood details. Frplc, built-ins, hrdwd floors. Eat-in kitchen w/nu stove. Sunny 2/1 back unit has own small garden. [...] Close to Edison School, shops, transit!

Is 2616 Buena Vista really Femside? Lovely inside. Should sell quickly.  Sellers should also have some wiggle room on the price:

Date	Event	Price
May 03, 2009	Listed	$685,000
Feb 28, 1997	Sold	$259,000

$320,000 2418 Marti Rae Court
1 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 798 sqft, 2,200-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40408315 $400 / sqft
Absolute best urban, island location for this 1 bedroom, 1 bath cottage. Short walk to the heart of Alameda's shops, cafes, restaurants, new movie house, commuter bus and more! Hardwood floors, updated kitchen & lighting, washer/dryer, fireplace and lovely details in this historic cottage.

Listing of the week. I'm not sure "Absolute best urban, island location" is even allowed by NAR rules. What I am sure of is that it's a completely ridiculous statement, unless you can't imagine living more than a block away from a KFC, a gas station, a Jack In The Box, a roach motel, a fire house, and a rock bar (hotel one block north-east).


The location and the street's trailer trash name ("Marti Rae"?) seem to attract savvy buyers:

Date	Event	Price
May 05, 2009	Listed	$320,000
Jun 25, 2004	Sold	$419,000
Mar 06, 2001	Sold	$245,000
Jun 10, 1998	Sold	$137,000
Oct 16, 1989	Sold	$132,500
Dec 16, 1988	Sold	$115,000

Note the negative real appreciation through the 1990s we saw before. This thing has no business being more than $150,000.

Update 9/29/09: Some idiot bought this for $340,000.

Agent Broker Carol Burnett has taken on another listing whose pricing strategy makes one wonder. 1170 9th St #13 has the following itty bitty specs:

1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 577 sqft, MLS(r) #40408593, $299,000

THE BEACHCOMBER COMPLEX IS ON THE LAGOON, BOAT DOCK AVAILABLE FOR CANOES, PADDLE BOATS. 1 BED , 1 BATH ON LOWER, ONE LEVEL, LARGE BACK YARD ENCLOSED WITH FENCES FOR DOG, AND ENTERTAINING. , NO STAIRS OR HALLWAYS FROM PARKING SPACE TO CONDO. BEAUTIFUL POOL AND DECK AREA.

If Ms. Burnett didn't make a habit of typing all in caps all the time, one might think this listing was trying to make up for its tiny size by shouting at potential buyers.

At $299,000 ($518 / sqft), this condo is priced just right to languish on the market until the geese come home. The sellers overpaid 6 years ago, so it makes sense for them to look for someone else willing to overpay.

Property History for 1170 9TH St #13

Date	Event	Price
May 06, 2009	Listed	$299,000
Aug 25, 2003	Sold	$233,000

Good luck.

You may remember the heinous failure of the auction scheduled a few Fridays ago for 1238 Versailles. Looks like they're trying a real listing again, listed at $1,395,000.

$1395000 / 6br - BED & BREAKFAST INN RESTAURANT & TEAHOUSE (alameda) (map)

---

Reply to:
Date: 2009-05-05, 12:06PM PDT


Beautiful historic property renovated with building permits. Rated as a 14 year old house by the insurance company! Bed and Breakfast Inn, Restaurant and Teahouse established over 25 years. Live where you work in a gorgeous Island setting. Ferries are accessible to take you all over the Bay Area, as well as access to Bart (Bay Area Rapid Transit) Six bedrooms, six baths, six fireplaces and a full commercial kitchen approved by the Alameda County Health Department. We have an exemption from parking and the property is zoned commercial, so this is a legal conforming use - no Use Permits required.

The "Oldest House in Alameda" 22nd City Historical Monument, since 1854, shipped around the Cape Horn designed by Andrew Jackson Downing. Large coastal redwood trees and California live oak create a very unique setting in this east end property. We have been hosting High Tea and Dinners daily as well as weddings and receptions. Owners retiring after 25 years. We are only the second owners. Chance of a lifetime! Call 510-523-9697 for a private showing.

Versailles Ave at Encinal Ave (google map) (yahoo map)

• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

"Live where you work"? How many people who can afford a $1.4M house work in Alameda?

"Only the second owners"? Let's do a little math. "After 25 years" means the house was purchased in 1984. Since it was built in 1854, the previous, original owner was at least 150 years old when they sold (assuming they were at least 20 years old when they bought the house new). That's another seriously old seller. The weather on the island must be very good for one's health and longevity.

Oh, and it didn't sell at $1,395,000, and nobody bid on it at the auction even though it started at $595,000. So what exactly makes you think it'll go this time around?

It's been a while since we featured an honest-to-goodness bought-at-the-peak-now-what property, and I was getting worried the market was actually going to drown in non-distressed sales, which are a lot less interesting. But 2448 Roosevelt restored my faith in the market's ongoing collapse. The specs:

2 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, 1,385 sqft, 3,800-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40408203, $660,000

This is the home you have been waiting for. [...] Close to beach, South shore shopping, transportation and park. Large living room has beamed ceilings, french doors to outside patio and private backyard. New windows, upgraded electrical.

I don't know about you, but the house I've been waiting for sits on a little more than 3,800 sqft of land, and it's also not $476 / sqft. Some folks need to realize their house isn't actually worth what they paid for it in 2006, not now, not then, not ever.

Last sale and tax info

Sold 09/27/2006: $645,000

2008 Property Tax: $8,060

Drop it to $525,000 and it'll sell in a day. Keep it at $660,000 and watch the selling season fade away as you keep paying your oversize mortgage for another year. Or not.

Update 9/29/09: Sold for $575,000 on 9/1/09.

To my surprise, an old favorite that failed to sell for the longest time is now back on the market. 1600 Dayton has the following specs:

6 bedrooms, 4 1/2 bathrooms, 4,000 sqft, 9,555-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40408137, $1,799,000

Gold Coast Estate-1928 Original owner, custom. Sunken LR, outstanding craftsmanship. New Kitchen, new appliances. [...] natural wood entry, french doors, gothic touches, hardwood floors. [...]

At $1.8M ($450 / sqft) it's getting closer to the price it needs to be for a high-end mansion type, although it's still a mighty big check to write. It's certainly priced better today than it was the last few times it was listed:


or:

Date	Event	Price
May 04, 2009	Listed	$1,799,000
Dec 16, 2008	Delisted	*
Sep 29, 2008	Price Changed	*
Mar 25, 2008	Price Changed	*
Jan 02, 2008	Listed	*
Jul 07, 2007	Listed	*

The neighborhood is about as good as it gets, and while it's not my cuppa architecturally speaking, it might actually sell this time around, assuming it's structurally sound (one of the issues with another very large property that remains unsold after multiple large price drops, in addition to its owner's questionable ethics, was its giant brick foundation and a lot of "deferred maintenance" on the roof and various other parts). The one thing I vaguely remember from one of Dayton's prior incarnations was some truly hideous wood paneling in one of the rooms, but it shouldn't incur too big a penalty.


Thanks for the well wishes, everyone.

Yay! A great big huge pretty expensive Victorian! Let's check 1126 Union Street out:

5 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 2,386 sqft, approx. 5,200-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40405159, $948,000

Exquisite Queen Anne Victorian [...] Foundation replaced by Gutleben, 3 floors of living space, updated electrical & plumbing. Tasteful period lighting fixtures and moldings, finished full basement includes 5th bedroom & full bath [...]

It's gorgeous from the outside, and based on the MLS(r) photos, the inside ain't too shabby either. The location isn't exactly fabulous, what with busy Encinal right there, but at least there's a cute widdle fence all around.

Now, I'm all for encouraging people to take good care of their Victorians, and I'd pay a premium for a nicely-preserved specimen like this one, but $948,000 is just too high. And it's not just tightwad L. Opine speaking--the market is. Behold:

• A much larger 7-bedroom Victorian (3,500 sqft after basement remodel, 4 stories thanks to a usable attic) on a larger lot (6,300 sqft) down the street at 1716 Encinal, which was almost completely renovated with all the expensive stuff done, failed to sell a year or two ago after one price drop to around $950,000.
• Gorgeous, über-tricked-out 1304 Morton is languishing on the market at $975,000 after a combined $275,000 in price drops.
• A much, much larger Queen Anne (granted, it's been chopped up into multiple units) with lagoon access at 2140 Clinton has been sitting around since late last year and is still unsold at $995,000.
• Another beautiful Queen Anne in great condition, 1904 Clinton, with lagoon access as well (and chopped up into three units), has been sitting on the market for over 3 months at $949,000, and isn't moving.
  
• A larger, extraordinary Italianate on a giant lot with a separate studio, in the best location in town, 1724 Alameda Ave, sold for $870,000 a few months ago.
• A comparably-sized Marcuse and Remmel at 1616 Lafayette (photo below) was on the market for ages in mid-2007 for around $800,000 and didn't sell. It only had a perimeter foundation job, and the basement wasn't quite of legal height, but it was also $150,000 less and for sale during a period of relative financial stability.
  

1836 8th Street came on the market a few days ago with an amusing description. The specs:

Duplex, 2 units with 1 br, 1 ba each, 1275 sqft (total), 4,290-sqft lot, built in 1947, MLS(r) #40406102, $525,000

Not A Short Sale, Not Bank Owned!! An Actual Person Selling a Home! Each Unit Has 1 Bedroom, 1 Bathroom, Apprx. 650 Square Feet, [...]  Close to Marina Village Shopping, Parks & Beaches!!

I'm not sure which park and beaches they're referring to--certainly not any I'd go willingly. But what's really important here is that this property is being sold by a real person.

$525,000 ($412 / sqft) is way too high, given how awful 1947-vintage houses are in this town and its très subprime location. Each minuscule unit can't bring in much more than $800 a month, if that, and even with 20% down and a 5% fixed rate, the mortgage and property taxes amount to something like $2,700 a month. This is a great investment if you enjoy burning 14,000 dollar bills every year.

The only way this property makes sense is if you cut the price in half, which, incidentally, is roughly its previous sale price:

Last sale and tax info

Sold 06/30/2000: $250,000

2008 Property Tax: $4,281

Our actual person is in a bit of a pickle if s/he borrowed against their property--I honestly can't imagine what kind of an imbecile would pay more than $250,000 for this thing. But real estate mania is alive and well in our little town, so who knows?

I could be wrong, but I suspect this Craigslist post threatening to put a new house on the market is for the tenth waterfront property on Marina or Fernside:

$710000 Coming May 1 - Beautiful Art Deco home with Dock (alameda)

---

Reply to: hous-kf4zn-1132923165@craigslist.org
Date: 2009-04-21, 9:00AM PDT


California Deco, tri-level home built in 1936 with 38' deep water dock. Approximately 1500 square feet plus non-conforming areas bringing livable area to about 1800 square feet. Light filled, open floor plan with many upgrades. (Floor plan below - pics coming May 1) Home will come with a 1 year warranty.

* 2 bedrooms
-- First bedroom has private 3/4 bath with venting skylights for a "glass ceiling" effect
-- Second bedroom/bonus room has a wall of closets and a wet bar
* 1 full bath with shower over tub
* 3/4 bath with updated fixtures and shower
* 1 car garage with remote control security door
* Original hardwoord floors
* Beautiful antique fireplace, fully operational, cleaned and serviced (with new flue)
* Kitchen updated and upgraded in 2006 (JennAir downdraft Gas/Convection range, built in KitchenAid dishwasher)
* Breakfast room with inlaid tile and marble floors
* Vaulted ceiling Library/family room/media room
-- Beamed ceilings and wood walls
-- Floor to ceiling bookshelves
-- East wall has large windows with sliding doors out to rear deck,
* Dock completely rebuilt in 2007 with environmentally friendly decking (special for wetlands)
* Large basement workshop/storage area under the house; plumbed for sink
* Garage has washer/dryer hookups, and current applicances will stay with the house

* All new telephone and data cabling for high speed internet throughout the house (integrated data closet)
* Updated plumbing, electrical panel and wiring

Home features private wrap-around decks with built in hot tub, private gardens and virtually no neighbors. Windows are all dual-pane for sound proofing and energy conservation; tankless hot water heater; central force air heating with programmable thermostat. As the house is on the water, we also have an active permit from the Corps of Engineers to allow maintenance and updates as needed to the decks, dock, piers and gangplank (this is extremely difficult to get, and if you do get one, they cost $5000).

Home will be open to the market after May 1; phone number to call to tour the home will be posted. This is a private sale (not a short sale). We are retiring and moving to a smaller home, and a real estate attorney has been engaged to handle the escrow. (Much better than realtors, as the attorney costs about $1500 to do what a realtor would charge $40K to do. We feel the price we are listig at is fair and didn't think increasing it to cover the cost of real estate agents made sense). Description is deemed accurate but not guaranteed, floor plan not drawn to scale. If interested in seeing larger pics of the floorplans, please send an email.

This looks a lot like a FSBO for many reasons:

1. It's spelled properly, by and large
   
2. It's priced well below $1M, unlike most of the rest of the waterfront
3. It's got lots of relevant detail

I'm not crazy about the "glass ceiling" phrase for what's supposed to be a desirable feature, though.

You'd think by now most people have at least heard of the financial crisis and the state of the housing market. But not everybody. Today's condo at 1227 Porta Ballena has the following specs:

3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 1,645 sqft, MLS(r) #40405328

Beautiful ballena bay location, elevation resembles a duet on a quiet street . Tastefully updated with an eye for detail,[...] Vaulted ceilings, dramatic windows, spacious patio with stargzing gazebo spa. [...]

The owners of this duet-resembling unit paid close to half a million just 6 1/2 years ago (funny how $449,500 sounds a lot more threatening when you call it "close to half a million"):

Property History for 1227 PORTA BALLENA

Date	Event	Price
Apr 16, 2009	Listed	$599,500
Oct 25, 2002	Sold	$449,500
Mar 31, 1989	Sold	$255,000

And somehow, with everything that's been going on, they expect it to fetch a whole 30% more in today's market. Maybe they expect to be rewarded for their tasteful upgrades.

If this sells for anywhere near asking, I'm a monkey's auntie.

"Gaaaaah!" was my reaction as the property photo finally loaded after I had summoned the Redfin page for today's wretched, hideous miniature bungalow at 1594 Pacific. This monument to stuntedness has the following picayune specs:

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 795 sqft, 1,450-sqft lot, MLS(r) 40405051, $359,900

REO/Bank Owned. Sunny and cute home located in a very nice neighborhood [...] Hardwood Floor with large kitchen. Large basement is handy for storage and work room.

Imagine, if you will, a teeny-tiny chintzy little turn-of-the-century broom closet, "improved" over the years to resemble the worst of post-war Orange County tract sprawl, complete with super-classy aluminum-framed windows, sitting on a lot barely as large as the average house discussed on this blog.





Now paint it pink.





I'm not kidding. Not Barbie-flesh pink, not Pepto-pink, more like a half-licked Jordan almond from an old wedding reception, spit out and left to fade in the summer sun in the back of your car.

Now that you've been warned, here it is:

Now imagine paying $453 / sqft, or $359,900 for this minuscule monstrosity, and you might very well choke on that Jordan almond. But what's even more Heimlich-worthy is that somebody paid half a million dollars (that's US dollars, not Zimbabwean dollars) for this unsellable midget:

Property History for 1594 PACIFIC Ave

Date	Event	Price
Apr 15, 2009	Listed	$359,900
Feb 20, 2009	Sold	$415,000
Sep 12, 2006	Sold	$500,000
Jun 02, 2006	Price Changed	*
May 04, 2006	Listed	*
Jul 13, 1990	Sold	$168,000

What doesn't help this poor house's case is that the 1500 block of Pacific is home to some beautiful properties such as the newly-painted dark green colonial Blockhaus at the corner of Benton, a pretty purple Victorian on the north side, a large, towery Queen Anne at the corner of Stanton, and two gorgeous Italianates on either side of the street a little further east.

In all fairness, though, the Casitas Pequeñas gang does have a strong presence in the hood, so I should probably stop being mean lest they puncture the soles of my shoes with their tiny little gold-capped teeth. 

If a baker is willing to spend time and effort on presentation for $2 pastries, you'd think a Realtor(r) would have the decency to do the same when the price tag is 201,000 times that. But evidently that's not the case. 1127 "BROAD Way", represented by an illiterate, spastic baboon by the name of Wilson Stephens of "WS Investments" (I wonder if he's the WS), has the following specs and unfortunate description:

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,300 sqft, 2,590-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40404977, $402,000

Lovely Home in ALameda, Move in Ready w/ Bright ,light and Airy open plan.Hardwood floors, tile in Bonus rm.

Mr. Stephens might be the only person in the English-speaking world who can't spell "Broadway" properly.

That medium-sized house on a little lot is priced to sell, assuming the inside isn't wrecked, and its open house(s) will probably be "mobbed", to use the vernacular. It's still way too much money for such a boring house in a high-traffic location with practically no lot, but there's a fool born every minute willing to catch the knives thrown by even greater fools:

Sales History

Sale History & Tax Info

Sale History
11/12/2008:	$577,494 *
12/23/2005:	$675,500
10/24/1997:	$210,000
No other sale data is available
* Transaction not included in Zestimate. More info

You read right, some bright bulb got themselves a Christmas present 3 1/2 years ago for $675,500 ($520 / sqft) and promptly proceeded to lose it, to nobody's surprise. They apparently tried to get rid of the house in March 2007 and had the gall to ask $699,500. It'll probably sell this time around, since the asking price is 43% off and flirting with reasonableness, but lower Broadway sure feels a bit crowded these days.
 

Majestic, towering pine trees are precious little things, and if you'd like the opportunity to dine alfresco behind one, here's your chance. 1901 Eagle Avenue has the following specs:

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,472 sqft, 2,800-sqft lot, $499,000

This charming 1910 split-level Craftsman is nestled behind a majestic pine on a quiet tree-lined street in Central Alameda. With 1472 sq. ft, this home boasts a spacious living room with wainscoting, a beautiful stained glass window, wood burning fireplace and hardwood floors that flow into the dining room. The updated eat-in kitchen has loads of storage and a laundry nearby. A large sunny bedroom and bath are on the first floor. The second floor has a bedroom and cozy attic room with loads of potential. Outside, the sheltered yard offers a quiet place for gardening, relaxing or dining alfresco and the detached garage offers room for a workshop. For the boating enthusiast, the Alameda Marina is just one block away.

You'll have to squeeze a little, though, because the lot is under 3,000 sqft.

Factoring in inflation and agent commissions, it looks as though we're getting back to late 2002 prices:

Last sale and tax info

Sold 12/31/2002: $437,000

2008 Property Tax: $6,134

The property tax seems a little high to me (and delinquent, too), based on the previous sale price; perhaps the property was reassessed for an "equity withdrawal"? The house appears to be in very good shape inside and out, based on the Craigslist post photos, and it's a rare house these days that hasn't paid for its own maintenance. At any rate, it's certainly priced somewhat aggressively at $339 / sqft and will likely sell in short order. It's not priced right, mind you, what with the tiny lot and subprime location (this neighbor isn't looking too proud), just well enough to stand a chance at selling soon.

Update 9/5/09: Sold for $540,000 in May.

This is getting ridiculous. 3035 Marina Drive is the newest of nine overpriced waterfront homes either on the market or just sold/pending, split between Fernside Boulevard and Marina Drive.

Listing: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,900 sqft, 4,370-sqft lot, $1,295,000 ($682 / sqft)
Public records: 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms, 1,605 sqft ($807 / sqft)

Fabulous waterfront home. The finest attention to every detail! Kitchen has onyx, every gourmet feature-warming oven, beverage & wine refridgerato

Here's what the waterfront looks like from a yard sign's perspective:

Of course it's massively overpriced and doesn't stand a chance in this economy given the eight comps within spitting distance, but no matter.

If they're serious about selling, the owners need to bring the price down to about $700,000, which they should have ample room to do, unless of course they HELOCed spent two Ivy League educations on their obscenely self-indulgent kitchen:

Last sale and tax info

Sold 06/17/1999: $420,000

2008 Property Tax: $6,268

Note I'm not saying $700,000 is a reasonable price for less than 2,000 sqft on one tenth of an acre, water view or not. It's excessive. But the market isn't sane yet.

Who knows, maybe they really enjoy wasting craigslist bandwidth and keeping their home in showing condition 24/7 just in case one of them Greek shipping magnates stops by and plunks down a cool million-and-a-third for their misspelled cooling appliance and onyx countertops.

Efficiency is a good thing, in general--it means less waste and more performance out of a given unit of anything. But I'm not convinced turning both your basement and your garage into living spaces, without permits, is a good thing when it comes time to sell your house.

1812 Mulberry Street has the following specs and description:

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,677 sqft, 7,000-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40404071, $619,000 ($369 / sqft)

2 Story Home, located at Central of Alameda, [...] Good neighborhoods, School. Potential to live one and rent others. [...] Beautiful Hardwood Floor 3beds/2bath (rented for sec. 8). Non-conforming unit-Lower 3bed/2baths-O/O and garage conversion w/ o permit-2beds

I'm not sure the agent realizes "located at Central of Alameda" would most likely be interpreted as "at the intersection of some street and Central Avenue", which this house isn't even close to. "Good neighborhoods" also sounds a trifle risky for an MLS(r) listing. And a one-story home with an unpermitted basement unit is not a "2 Story Home."

The only permits I have found are for much more minor work than adding a new basement unit and permanently replacing your car with a person:

Type	Status	Date
Plumbing Permit, NA, NA	FAILED--1/10/2005	1/5/2005
TEST SEWER LATERAL/INSTALL KELLY
Plumbing Permit, NA, NA	FINALED--1/14/2005	1/11/2005
SEWER REPLACEMENT & TEST
Building Permit, NA, NA	FINAL--12/30/1987	8/5/1987
REPAIR FRONT STEPS
Building Permit, NA, NA	FINAL--1/5/1989	10/27/1987
REPLACEMENT OF GAS FACILITIES

The permittedness of the units notwithstanding, this property reminds me of the mini-wannabe-Stanford-Mansion Victorian on Clinton whose 4,500 sqft have been cut up into nine, count'em, nine units.

Remember 2524 Eagle?

I do too.

It's back as MLS(r) #40403901, listed for $499,000. New listing my foot.

[...] fabulously remodeled kitchen and bath. Oringal built-ins in the living room and in formal dining room, [...] nothing left to do but move in. Priced to sell fast.

The basement photo in the MLS(r) listing looks as though the paint cans went for a walk.

A distressed McMansion at 2438 Coral Sea St is back, yet again, with new MLS(r) #40403518 and old price ($799,000). Please refer to the multitude of prior posts for details.

Update 8/30/09: Apparently sold for $750,000.

Update 1/10/10: Actually sold for $700,000.

South of the lagoon lies a string of finger-shaped dead-end streets, all named "Something Isle", and most covered in 1960s ranchers with lagoon access. The lagoon location has historically commanded a premium, but the neighborhood is certainly not immune from the market correction we're experiencing. Today's failed investment at 632 Sandalwood Isle has the following specs:

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,690 sqft, 5,568-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40403415, $750,000 ($444 / sqft)

Single Level [...] Small Boat Dock. Built in the true California style of the 60's with stone, glass, water, and wood. An inner courtyard, [...] hardwood floors, fireplace, views of water from living, dining, kitchen & office, [...]

(no photo yet)

In addition to being by the water, this property might also be under said water:

Property History for SANDALWOOD Isle

Date	Event	Price
Apr 03, 2009	Listed	$750,000
Mar 22, 2005	Sold	$817,000

That's a lot of stone, glass, water and wood.

Ms. Dimacali will probably get on my case for this, but her protestations do not invalidate the fact that paying $470 / sqft in 2006 for a tiny condo in an unremarkable 1960s complex was massively, inexcusably stupid. Today's little short sale condo at 339 Broadway is a fine example of the kind of idiotic purchases that litter this blog:

2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. 955 sqft, MLS(r) #40403295, $325,000, $289 / month HOA dues

 

Resort and leisure lifestyle in the Laguna Hacienda condominium complex —mere steps from the beach and a short walk to Alameda Town Centre shopping center with easy access to public transportation. This condo has a wide balcony, and overlooks the courtyard, the pool and the lagoon. Amenities include six community laundry rooms for free use by residents. Covered parking with storage.

Condo features hardwood floors in the entry and kitchen. Some upgrades include newer appliances, mirrored closet doors, ceiling fans. Wood-burning fireplace. Security system.

This is a short sale. Seller’s loss, buyer’s gain.

Actually, it's the bank's loss, not the seller's, unless you're being persnicketily accurate and admit that the bank owns your house until it's paid off. The forgiven debt isn't taxable as income anymore these days, another brilliant idea pushed through Congress by the real estate lobby. The seller is only losing sleep and their FICO score.

The Craigslist post photos suggest the unit is already vacant, or occupied by the tidiest person in the world:

Which reminds me of...


This widdle condo sold for far too much just three years ago:

Last sale and tax info

Sold 04/28/2006: $448,500

2008 Property Tax: $5,909

A low-interest, fully-amortizing mortgage is probably in the $2,000-$2,500 / month range for that purchase price depending on down payment and PMI. Add in $289 / month in HOA dues and $500 / month in property tax, and you're looking at a monthly outlay in the $2,800-$3,300 range. For 955 square feet. Meanwhile, you could rent bigger units up and down the waterfront in the same area for about $1,500 a month.

I suppose this helps answer the question I posed a little while back--what will happen to all those condos?

The 900 block of Post Street is one of the main island's more desolate spaces, dotted with some of the ugliest, most depressing post-war construction you're likely to see in this area. After what was evidently a failed attempt a year ago, 992 Post is back on the market as MLS(r) #40403453, with the following description:

Don't let the square footage fool you this ranch style home in Alamedas east end is compact but very livable. Completely remodeled in 2007 with upgraded custom granite counter tops in the kitchen and stainless steel appliances. [...] new plumbing, electrical, furnace, continous flow hot water heater and dual paned windows. [...] quiet no-outlet tree lined street within walking distance to top tier schools and great parks. It's like a brand new house

The full-blown remodel probably cost a pretty penny. It's not as if this house was cheap the last time around:

Last sale and tax info

Sold 10/03/2006: $550,000

2008 Property Tax: $6,921

It's now listed at $535,000, down a full $150,000 from last year's initial list price. If this is a flip gone bad, it is spectacular. We need a few more of those to make sure specuvestors stay out of the market for a few years. If not, why did the owners spend so much on a tiny house that evidently needed so much work, if they were likely to move so quickly, when all signs pointed to an impending market crash?

I might be missing something here, but I don't know of any row houses on Broadway. Yet this listing at 1030 Broadway claims to be one:

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,010 sqft, 4,900-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40402677, $585,000 ($579 / sqft)

Striking Neo-classic Row House with full finished basement [...] Foyer,formal dining room, office off spacious eat in kitchen.Fresh interior paint throughout. [...] many fruit trees incl,fig,orange,apple,apricot and two plum.

Maybe there's just a car-sized crack in the common wall between these two "row houses". I'm also not sure about the "striking" part, unless the house is holding a giant mallet behind its back that you can't see in the picture.

The sale history suggests the owners have plenty of room to drop the price by the $200,000 it needs to drop by:

Last sale and tax info

Sold 06/05/1998: $115,000

2008 Property Tax: $1,134

What makes anyone think their ugly, completely unremarkable post-Victorian house can command that kind of price in this market?

It was last sold right when it was built:

Last sale and tax info

Sold 09/14/2004: $858,500

2008 Property Tax: $11,934

The pricing strategy appears to be something along the lines of "We're not losing money on this! Let's get a pair of agents who will share a 4% commission and we can break even."

It looks great if you like huge new McMansions that look the same on tiny lots with nice, straight new sidewalks and minuscule green spaces whose personality gets brutally manicured out of them on a regular basis.

Update 8/30/09: Sold for $852,000, less than its 2004 price.

While we're revisiting old favorites, I submit that the overpriced cut-up Victorian jigsaw puzzle (9 units? Give me a break) at 2267 Clinton will be on the market well beyond its owners' lifetimes. Heck, the way it's going, the owners' children might die of old age still clinging to their $1.5M price point.

It's back as MLS(r) #40402191, at the new, low, low price of $1,425,000.

Based on the MLS(r) photos, there isn't much left of the property's much-vaunted Victorian character. Carpet, carpet everywhere, and not an unrented square inch to breathe. The (terrible) MLS(r) photos suggest some of the units are empty (so much for $114,600 yearly income), the two photographed kitchens look incredibly cheap, characterless and cramped, and other than the picture and chair rails and some woodwork that would take some effort to remove, there doesn't seem to be anything remotely Victorian left in this once-glorious carved-up house. And remember these are the official, cherry-picked photos aimed at representing the house in its best light to prospective buyers.

I am thoroughly underwhelmed. I could see paying $600,000 for the (enormous) building, lot and location, maybe, and spend another $200,000 turning it back into a real house. Not a penny more.

Update 1/8/10: And again, for a little less this time ($1,369,000).

Remember 1019 Santa Clara, the obscenely overpriced Tudor revival that started out at $895,000 only to slowly drop to $748,000 and then disappear, about a year ago? It's back. The agent's name and broker (Sima Talai, Prudential CA Franciscan Properties) match the email address last used on the Craigslist posts ("simat@sfpru.com"), so she hasn't been fired yet and will almost certainly close a full-price sale this time around now that the price has been massively cut unchanged to $748,000.

Can not get any better than this! [...] Tudor house with huge family/office, fireplace, manicured, easy to maintain back & front yard, [...] One garage, possibly 3 car port tandem.

I'll refer interested parties to the original post for specs and commentary. It's now known as MLS(r) #354673. In fairness, it's very pretty inside, the kitchen hasn't been Luftwaffied, and it seems to be staged beautifully. But $748,000 $689,000? Not on your life.

(thanks to danielsf for the update)

Combine a busy schedule with what looks like a Spring-bounce-ready market full of new listings, and you get a much abbreviated, but hopefully still informative, threefer post. The "appreciation" calculations are based on 4.5% yearly adjustment for inflation, 6% agent commissions, and 2009 sale at full list price (yes, I know, a likely story).

Today's gravitational cutlery includes the specimens below:

311 Centre Court, 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom townhouse, 1,720 sqft, $579,000 ($337 / sqft)

2009: $579,000
2004: $570,000
Appreciation*: -$166,000

Speaking of fake wealth destruction, today's little Victorian at 1009 Central is up there with the best of them.

4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (+ 2 non-permitted bathrooms), 1,365 sqft, 5,440-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40401382, $499,000

Beautifully maintained Victorian [...] lot of charm. Hardwood floors, updated kitchen [...] 2 bathrooms without permit [...] no garage but huge driveway for plenty of parking.

The pointy roof looks odd to me--I could be convinced it's original to the 1891 building, but something tells me it was added later on, based on countless other little Victorian cottages sprinkled all over the island.

The listing claims this is a two-story home, but it looks like a one-floor, high-basement cottage with a finished (or not) basement. There's what looks like a permit ready to go to convert the basement back to storage, so I'm not sure whether all four of the bedrooms (not to mention the two stowaway bathrooms) would stay:

Case / Application / Permit Number			CB07-1243
Type / Classification			Building
			Combination Building Permit
			Residential / Over the Counter
Address			1009 CENTRAL AVE ALAMEDA, CA 94501
Parcel Number			073-0392-015-00
File Date			11/16/2007
Status			B_OTC -  Ready to Issue
Status Date			2/15/2008
Valuation			$0.00
Fees			$7,107.35
Payments			$3,553.50
Balance			$3,553.85
Description			CODE ENF:X04-0395 & X05-0222(MM)CONVERT BASEMENT BACK TO STORAGE AREA BY CAPPING OFF BATHROOMS & KITCHEN -PLBG/MECH/ELE FROM ORIGINAL SOURCE & CONVERT ATTIC BACK TO STORAGE AREA (BLDG/PLBG/MECH/ELE)

I didn't find a permit for foundation work; one other recent permit indicates some sheetrock had to be removed in the basement to ascertain whether basement walls were load-bearing and bring the basement up to code. All of this suggests to me the foundation might need some work, but again I'm happy to be corrected if anyone has credible evidence to the contrary (one wishes more homes would make that determination as easy as 2323 Buena Vista).

Now, what about that phantom wealth destruction?

Property History for 1009 CENTRAL Ave

Date	Event	Price
Mar 21, 2009	Listed	$499,000
Aug 04, 2005	Sold	$700,000

That's about 29% off its 2005 sale price. Of course, I expect some agent to chime in triumphantly when it sells quickly after multiple bids over asking. They can cling to their denial of the inevitable return to normalcy that's hitting the Bay Area for as long as they want. 

Update 9/19/09: Relisted for $460,750.

Sometimes I wonder if the Treasury is printing money to make up for the massive wealth destruction occurring all over the country as the excesses of the housing bubble are being wrung out of the system. Of course, none of the money being lost was ever real money, and it's painfully clear nobody likes what the Treasury is doing. Today's McMansion in the West end is a subprime example of foresight and excellent money management:

4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 2,925 sqft, 3,760-sqft lot, MLS(r) #80914276, $690,000 $790,000

Award winning design [...] shows like model. Over $15,000 in kitchen upgrades and $22,000 in countertop and flooring upgrade. Beautiful Bamboo flooring, [...] Stainless Steel appliances, Thermador built-in refrigerator, double oven, caesar stone counters [...] Won't last long!

They're so sure it "[w]on't last long" they raised the price by $100,000 the day it was listed. Or maybe the initial list price was a Freudian typo.

Property History for 310 LINA Ave

Date	Event	Price	Source
Mar 20, 2009	Price Changed	$790,000	MLSListings #80914276
Mar 20, 2009	Listed	$690,000	MLSListings #80914276
Nov 28, 2006	Sold	$1,088,500	Public Records

My favorite part, though, is the lovely bath the owners are taking on this property: $298,500 (27%) in 30 months or so--that's about $10,000 per month going "poof" since they purchased the property. Assuming they've been making regular payments since they moved in, this is roughly the same as paying $15,000-$18,000 a month in rent, with the added bonus of a couple of blown FICO scores and (most likely) a stress-related illness or two. But we know full well homeownership is the best way to build wealth.

At $270 / sqft, it's still too much, of course, especially considering how small the lot is. And $790,000 is a lot of money, regardless of how big the house might be. Now that lending has returned to reasonable standards, anyone buying this property would have to have between $80,000 and $160,000 in cash and $200,000 or more stable yearly income. Considering how well the economy is doing in California, I'm sure the sellers will find dozens of qualified buyers in no time flat.

To all the Alameda real estate agents who say things like...

the prices in Alameda have always held their values for the most part! We are again seeing some multiple offers on properties!

maybe it's time you stopped lying through your teeth making provably false statements being ignorant idiots working.

(Thanks to Sam Bezi for this post's title) 
 
Update 4/10/09: Also known in the local MLS(r) as #40404344.

It appears that spamming Craigslist with borderline bait-and-switch ads and even the old "Taking multiple offers on Saturday from 1 to 4" trick didn't work (imagine that!), so 601 Fortress Isle is back on the market.

Again.

It's now on the MLS(r) as #40401150 (no Redfin link yet), listed for $722,000, with no description. The same broker that was carpet-bombing Craigslist with his idiot agents who think Alameda has an ocean view and a lake still has the listing.

A reader kindly provided photos of the new listing at 1902 Chestnut, which is an interesting hotchpotch indeed. Here are the specs:

2 houses on one lot: one large triplex + one ranch house
Triplex has 3 + 1 + 2 bedrooms, 1 + 1 + 1 1/4 bathrooms
Rancher has 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
3,121 total sqft per Zillow public records, 6,975-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40400263, $658,000

Unique [..] Victorian Triplex + a ranch style 3 bedroom house. [...] New roofs, back stairs 2008, # 2003 is fixed up & ready to rent! Interesting architecture & details. This property needs work [...]

Here's what the structures look like (thanks for the photos!):

The ranch house in back was built in 1967 and looks respectable, if not attractive:
 

Remember 1201 Central, the non-luxurious luxury home that comes with all its appliances, last seen on the market last summer?

It's back as MLS(r) #40400498. The property description is essentially unchanged.

Gorgeous 3 Bed 3 Bath Home! Over 1700 sq ft. Corner location on tree lined Central Avenue. Stone tiled kitchen nook. All appliances stay - washe, dryer, stove, refrig all less than 2 years old. Luxerious His & Hers walk-in closets in upstairs master bedroom - Luxury Alameda Living

The owners tried $689,000, then $629,000, then took the property off the market. It came back today at $599,000, which is substantially less than they paid for it in 2003, especially if you include 6% commission. It really makes me wonder if they grossly overpaid in 2003, or if they let the property go to pot, or both.

Update 3/18/09: This is indeed a short sale.

Here's a collection of market trend graphs courtesy of Redfin and Trulia. This is just for 94501, because that other ZIP code bores me to tears. I'll add credible charts from other providers as they become available. If you know of any embeddable graphs you think should go on this page, please let me know.

Update 8/14/09: Misc. numbers and stats analyzed in a Fun with numbers post.

Redfin's price-per-sqft graph for 94501 (single-family homes)

Redfin's price-per-sqft graph for 94501 (condos)

By popular demand, here's the same for 94502 (aka "There be dragons"):

Redfin's price-per-sqft graph for 94502 (single-family homes)

Redfin's price-per-sqft graph for 94502 (condos)

A side effect of completing a sold-out housing development at the top of a housing bubble is that, when the market turns sour, an entire subdivision is underwater all at once. This week's McMansionette at 310 Bryant Ave has the following specs:

4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 2,925 sqft, 4,013-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40400068, $799,000

Master developmnt [...] W/ Newer elementary Sch. Spacious Private sunny courtyard & backyard w/ morning & afternoon sun. [...] Extra large master suite. [...] Formal dining rm w/ spacious kitchen & lots of cabinets. Big family Rm. Anderson window.

The sale history might be a lesson for future buyers:

Property History for 310 BRYANT Ave

Date	Event	Price
Mar 14, 2009	Listed	$799,000
Aug 19, 2005	Sold	$861,000

But we know all too well home buyers aren't exactly the most prudent type, so somebody will probably think this is a great bargain at $273 / sqft and buy it near list price in the worst down market in US history. Oh well.

 

Some listings stay on the market for more than a year. Others come back on the market after less than a year. The condo at 11 Eclipse Court (another Wendy Sanda special) is in the latter camp, having last closed escrow in April, 2008. The specs:

2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,443 sqft, MLS(r) #40399496, $535,000 ($371 / sqft)

LOVELY UPSTAIRS 2 BED/2 BATH ALL ONE LEVEL. [...] NEWER CARPET AND PAINT, REFINISHED HARDWOOD ENTRY/KITCHEN, ALL NEW KITCHEN APPLIANCES, GAS STOVE, WOOD BURNING FIREPLACE [...]

This unit was purchased in 2008 for considerably less than its current price:

Property History for 11 ECLIPSE Ct

Date	Event	Price
Mar 11, 2009	Listed	$535,000
Apr 07, 2008	Sold	$437,000
May 16, 2000	Sold	$350,000

One presumes the wished-for $98,000 premium is a refund for the ALL NEW KITCHEN APPLIANCES, miscellaneous REFINISHED sections, and agent commission.

While we're discussing agents, here's a plea to Ms. Sanda: Will you please stop yelling in your listings and learn how to type like a greater, rather than lesser, ape (pace this little fella)?

This is getting out of control. Not five, not six, not seven, eight nine! houses on the Marina / Fernside waterfront are now on the market or in various states of pendingness. 3031 Marina Drive just appeared, with the following specs:

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,249 sqft, 5,016-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40399978

Fabu

(as of this writing, the MLS(r) description is a terse "Fabu").

Redfin and other MLS(r) sites show this as a new listing, but ZipRealty says it was listed on 1/14/09 (2 months ago).

The sale history suggests this little 2+1 is probably almost paid off:

Last sale and tax info

Sold 07/30/1987: $340,000

2008 Property Tax: $6,283

A little history shows what happened to nominal prices between 1987 and the late 1990s (not much), so if we generously call this a $400,000 house before the 21st-century price runup, you might think it'd fetch something in the low $600,000s today (around $500 / sqft because of the waterfront premium), which is consistent with the presumed assessment value the $6,283 property tax is based on.

Appropriately, this "fabu" property is listed for a paltry $1,150,000, which not even the inflated price tag of its neighbor at 3045 Marina Drive rivals on a per-sqft basis ($921 / sqft v. $872 / sqft after $400K price drop for 3045 Marina Drive).

The waterfront must be crawling with yard signs.

I know a lot of buyers have been chomping at the bit for another chance to purchase 409 Shell Gate Road, which was on the market last year. All that pent-up demand, free-flowing credit and strong job market, combined with a realization that now is a great time to buy real estate and invest in your future, almost guarantee it's going to be gone by Sunday.

Well, your wish has come true, and you're getting a second chance! 409 Shell Gate Road is now back on the market, known as MLS(r) #40399644, and listed for a paltry $525,000, or only $349 / sqft for a unique gem of mid-1960s architectural flair.

Please be courteous and try not trample each other as you rush to drop off your signed offer of 15% over asking with 40% down and 815 FICO.

(excuse me)

You may remember that this ugly run-of-the-mill rancher was advertised as follows (emphasis added):

Hawaii in alameda? This lovely home is a strolling distance to the shore, schools, shops and rest-aurants. It's a spacious 3bd/2baths/2cgarage cozy home. Features central heating, romantic fireplace in livingrm, move in condition. Hurry this won't last.

I hope words are nutritious, because that's all a lot of Realtors(tm) have to eat these days.

You may remember the "painted lady" Victorian on Morton that was bragging about its "unheard-of" price (and then its unheard-of price drop). It disappeared without a sale last last year, and with good reason--it was overimproved (if you can say what looked like a $75,000 tricked-out kitchen is "improved") and overpriced.

I heard through the grapevine the owners had bought a new house before selling the Morton property, and were in a bit of a bind.

Well, it's back (MLS(r) #40399138), for the even more unheard-of price of $975,000.

If I may quote myself:

Assuming an appreciation that matches historic trends (i.e. around 5%), today's price should be about $830,000.

It was listed for $1,250,000 at the time, which means it's down about 65% of where it needs to be.

Now consider that Lehman Brothers and relatively easy credit were still around then. The rhetorical question at the top of my original post now seems to be answering itself:

Why can't this house come on the market in a year or two, for $500K less?

Update 8/25/09: Still on the market with a really idiotic price drop from $975,000 to $949,999. Not only is "$949,999" a truly meaningless discount from $950,000, it also shuts out all the buyers who start looking at $950,000 using various real estate Web sites. Well done, genius(es).

Update 8/27/09: Still on the market for any one of three prices.

Update 11/13/09: Pending.

As promised earlier today, here's a short summary of goings-on at 1616 Cornell Drive, a pointy English Tudor on a corner lot in the East End with the following vitals:

3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1,487 sqft, 4,040-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40398284, $749,500

[...] 1929 English Tudor is in the desirable Fernside neighborhood, and walking distance to top-rated schools. [...] fine architectural details, [...] updated kitchen, lots of storage, built-in cabinetry, a wood-burning fireplace [...] much more.

Nothing terribly interesting about this property other than its excessive price ($504 / sqft), whose only justification is the property's previous sale price under three years ago:

Property History for 1616 CORNELL Dr

Date	Event	Price
Mar 05, 2009	Listed	$749,500
Nov 17, 2006	Sold	$740,000

Note to buyers: nothing good comes out of paying too much for your house.

Update 4/9/09: Amusingly, the price was increased to $769,500.

Update 10/4/09: Finally a teeny tiny price drop, to $720,000, after about 7 months on the market. "New low price" my foot. ZipRealty has this listing tagged as a short sale (no surprise there).

Sorry for the low post volume this week; not very many interesting listings coming on the market. Mostly relists like...

• 1527 Willow St (MLS(r) #40398697, $724,500), covered a month ago;
  
• 1626 Alameda Ave (MLS(r) #40398582, $1,145,000) with a new agent. The listing is always in ALL CAPS regardless of the agent representing the house, so I'm guessing the owner might have some control issues evidenced by their lack of sale in something like 10 years or more of trying to unload their "mansion";
  
• 538 Palace Ct (MLS(r) #40398372, $435,000), a sad, unrecognizably Victorian "duplex" I didn't have the heart to cover last year because it's so sad looking;
  
• 1612 Minturn St (MLS(r) #40398229, $545,000), covered a couple of months ago.
  

One relist I didn't cover is 1611 San Antonio, at the same idiotic high price at which it failed to sell last year:

$1059000 / 4br - Fabulous Gold Coast Property ~OPEN SUN~. 2PM-4:00PM (alameda) (map)

---

Reply to: daveparkrealtor@gmail.com
Date: 2009-03-07, 7:32AM PST


Don't miss this fabulous 4bedroom 2bath turn of the century brown shingle home on a large deep lot in Alameda's exclusive Gold Coast neighborhood.

For more information visit www.1611SanAntonio.com

The listing history is sad (what little you can get from the MLS(r) anyway):

Property History for 1611 SAN ANTONIO Ave

Date	Event	Price
Jan 01, 2009	Listed	$1,059,000
Jan 01, 2009	Off Redfin	*
Sep 18, 2008	Listed	*
Sep 18, 2008	Off Redfin	*
Sep 13, 2008	Price Changed	*
Sep 08, 2008	Relisted	*
Jul 12, 2008	Relisted	*
Jul 10, 2008	Off Redfin	*
Jun 21, 2008	Price Changed	*
Jun 03, 2008	Relisted	*
May 27, 2008	Off Redfin	*
Apr 30, 2008	Listed	*

If I remember correctly, one of the price changes last year was from $1,095,000 to $1,059,000. The Google search results aren't conclusive, but I do remember thinking the price drop was silly:

I couldn't find a sale history for this property, so there should be room to drop significantly. Zillow's mostly useless Zestimates, which are usually much too high, have this house valued at $725,000 as of today, which is about right for...

4 beds, 2.0 baths, 2,148 sq ft, MLS(r) #40387468

I've only seen the outside, but trusted acquaintances tell me the house isn't in good enough condition to warrant a seven-digit price; supposedly lots of little annoyances and signs of age all over. I might just drop by an open house to confirm.

The Spite House's neighbor at 1343 Broadway (MLS(r) #40397569 and #40397471) came on the market this week, and I'll post on it when I have a chance to research it a little more. Also watch for a post on strategically-priced, sub-$1M 735 Palmera Court (MLS(r) #40398286), which is listed for considerably less than a neighbor a little while back, and a pointy, overpriced East-Ender at 1616 Cornell Drive (MLS(r) #40398284).

Remember how one, then two, then five houses along the waterfront all seemed to come on the market in a semi-coordinated avalanche? Guess what: a sixth specimen at 3019 Marina Drive just appeared on the MLS. The specs:

3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2,000 sqft, no lot size specified, MLS(r) #353483, $1,038,000 ($519 / sqft)

Lovely [...] with fruit trees, vegetables, and plants. 40 ft dock for your boat [...] 2 bed/1 ba single story home in the front and 1 large waterfront studio in back. Upgraded kitchens and bathrooms. Gazebo with spa. [...] go fishing, boating right from your backyard. [...]

Zillow has very different specs:

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 976 sqft, 4,928-sqft lot ($1,064 / sqft)

It doesn't look like much from the street, but that's to be expected--the really interesting bits are on the other side:

We now have six homes in a row vying for the well-heeled boater's dollars. Here's the previous map updated for this property:

The sale history suggests the current owners should be able to drop their price by a few hundred thousand dollars (assuming they actually want to sell):

Today's Craigslist post had me in stitches (almost). Here goes, in its entirety, with some highlighting for emphasis.

$485000 / 2br - Sweet and Charming Home with lots of Character! (alameda) (map)

---

Reply to: hous-1055041452@craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}
Date: 2009-02-28, 8:17PM PST


Two bedrooms, one bathroom.
Charming home with lots of character. Built in 1912.
Beautiful refinished wood floor throught the home.
New roof!
New foundation!
Fresh paint!
Great central location in Alameda.
Quiet neighborhood of expensive homes.

*Price for quick sale before listing on MLS.
If interested call Moti at 415-850-4841

The backyard and Home Depot special granite and short backsplash in the kitchen look especially appealing.

If you don't know where 1810 Hibbard is, here's a map with a street view. It looks like a bunch of super classy new construction homes on the west side with three five times as many pickup trucks than cars parked outside of them (I counted them), a big empty lot to the south of this property, and the striking modern sculpture below at the north end of the block:

But that's not what amused me most. This is:

2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 744 sqft, 3,564-sqft lot, $485,000

You read right. 744 square feet for $485,000 ($652 / sqft) is "Price[d] for quick sale before listing on MLS."

Maybe whatever is stored in those silos has been wafting down the street and eating away at the owner's brain cells. Or maybe they didn't have enough room for a TV, radio, computer, or newspaper mailbox in their subcompact bungalow to be informed that there are no quick sales anymore (with the occasional exception, and both of those occurred before unemployment hit double digits in California and the S&P 500 hit an 11-year low), and that the kinds of price per sqft that actually sell in Alameda are less than half of their demented asking price.

  

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the owners are not quite there. You may remember this property from last year, when it was on the market with a rather colorful description courtesy of Ms. "Sam" McDowell:


If you can't quite make out the description, here's what it says:

Its craftsman architectural integrity has been effectively exploited into a wreck created by the ravage of passing time or human beings????

Sure makes you want to move right in, doesn't it? Yet the current owners did pay $300,000 for it last April:

Last sale and tax info

Sold 04/30/2008: $300,000

2008 Property Tax: $2,099

In other words, this house is probably an attempt at a quick flip that's almost guaranteed to end poorly for the idiot flippers. Assuming they did things right, not luxuriously, and that the Craiglist post is factually accurate (i.e. the "new foundation" is a new foundation, not a cheap perimeter job, and the "new roof" really is a full roof replacement), we're probably looking at $60,000 worth of work given the condition the house appeared to be in.

That said, if the new roof, new foundation, and full rehab listed in the Craigslist post are their work, and if they're done properly (I have my doubts based on the cheap kitchen do-over and what looks like just a coat of paint on the windows, rather than a replacement), I must commend them for restoring what looked like a complete disaster. I'm almost tempted to wish them a break-even sale so they don't get completely turned off from rehabbing old houses in Alameda. It's an expensive hobby in this market, but I can think of much more destructive ways of killing time.

Update 3/9/09: On the MLS(r) as #4039891, same price.

Update 3/10/09: Reader Alyssa (yabbadabba) was kind enough to provide photos of the house taken when it was on the market last year, pre-renovation. Alyssa says:

I had a feeling this house would be flipped.  These are some before photos which show the sad state that the house was in; these photos are from February 2008.  The house looks better now from the photos.

Behold:



Could be worse. Like, say, the side of the house:

I didn't write about an ugly, overpriced 1960s 2-level rancher on the lagoon at 604 Westline Drive (the $848,000 "jewel at Crown Beach" 4+3) when it came on the market a few months ago because, frankly, I much prefer to look at pretty Victorians. Its yard sign claimed the property was pending for a while, but it was listed for sale on Zillow 7 days ago, so it might still be available. Shortly after 604 was listed, a big new-ish home at 514 Westline came on the market, and now a third listing has arrived in the past few days, so this brewing epidemic should probably be documented.

616 Westline is an ugly rancher with the following specs:

5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 floors, 2,260 sqft, 3,650-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40396342, $779,000

$779000 / 5br - Five Bedroom Lagoon Home (alameda) (map)

---

Reply to: quinn@bayside-realestate.com
Date: 2009-02-27, 9:56PM PST

Quinn Stone | Bayside Real Estate | 510-326-9697 616 Westline Drive, Alameda, CA Five Bedroom Home on the Lagoon Open Sunday, 2pm - 4pm 5BR/3BA Single Family House offered at $779,000 Year Built 1965 Sq Footage 2,260 Bedrooms 5 Bathrooms 3 full, 0 partial Floors 2 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size 3,650 sqft HOA/Maint $475 per year DESCRIPTION Enjoy your own private dock on the lagoon. Relax in the spacious master suite or read a book on its lagoon-view balcony. The bright living/dining room has a gas fireplace and double sliding glass doors opening on to a balcony overlooking Crown State Park. Sunsets are spectacular! A large interior laundry room with sink makes laundry a snap. The versatile bonus room offers many possibilities. Convenient attached 2 car garage with interior access. Across the street from Crown State Park and Beach, close to Webster Street and Towne Center shopping.

It's plenty ugly, although the inside redeems the exterior a bit:

Right next door to a duplex covered twice on this blog stands the sad Victorian at 1813 Sherman, which just came on the market as MLS(r) #40397301, although you'll have to hand over your registration information to an MLS site, or just pay attention (check out Redfin's URL) if you want to know where exactly it is. The specs:

duplex, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,784 sqft, 3,125-sqft lot, MLS(r) #, $599,000 ($336 / sqft)

Super clean, no defered maintenence. [...] top unit has access to finished attic. newer concrete foundation. [...] individually metered, and have washer and dryers in unit. [...] low maintanance building. Large back yard with mature Avocato trees.

The lot is tiny, and as you can see in the photo it seems to be all length. The Avocato trees must be hiding from the former fruit processing plant right across the street, which guarantees low traffic, very little noise, and a lovely view to the owner and tenants:

Never mind that $599,000 for a small house that was never really intended to be a duplex might not be cash-flow positive for, what, 15 years, if that: the location alone should be enough to deter all but the dumbest savviest investor from purchasing this poor old thing.

A gorgeous 1880 Victorian at 2323 Buena Vista came on the market a little while ago, and I'd been waiting to take my own pictures so I could write a post worthy of the structure and its current condition. A reader (who shall remain anonymous; no, it wasn't I who took the pictures) was gracious enough to send me their own photos, used here by permission, so there's no reason to wait.

Today's glorious wreck has the following specs:

multi-family (beds, baths unknown), 3,514 sqft, built in 1880, MLS(r) #40394635

Contractor needed to start and complete lower units of East End Victorian. Much potential. Plans and permit history unknown. No inspections or reports. Bank/ Seller will consider all offers.

(Description excerpted from listing on Trulia).

I couldn't find the lot size anywhere, but its neighbor to the east at 2327 Buena Vista is listed as sitting on 6,800 sqft (green border), and this property's lot (orange border) looks about one third larger (from Zillow):

Whoever is representing this property is likely from out of town, as it is not an "East End" Victorian--it's to the west of Park Street. The agent also conveniently omitted the large Chevron gas station at the very busy intersection two doors down (clearly visible in the Zillow map above).

It was once a fantastic, well-preserved, enormous house:

But somebody ran out of money, apparently, and left before completing renovation work in the back:

... or on the side:

The foundation work appears to be done:

But the lower level has no walls. And it's been raining. A lot.

The running-out-of-money hypothesis appears to be supported by the sale history:

Sale History
10/29/2008:	$466,200 *
06/17/2004:	$745,000 *
No other sale data is available
* Transaction not included in Zestimate. More info

Here's a blast from the past. 2438 Coral Sea Street is back as MLS(r) #40396836, at the same price it failed to sell a year ago ($799,000).

To minimize redundancy, please consult the original post for the skinny.

Update 8/30/09: Apparently sold for $750,000.

Update 1/10/10: Actually sold for $700,000.

It is well established that NAR and the MLS(r) are not the most fair-playing, transparent or sharing of organizations, especially when it comes to relevant information regarding properties for sale. A number of independent sites have emerged to try to blow away the Balkanized, obfuscated, opaque system of rules and restrictions set up by NAR to maximally impede the free flow of information and keep home buyers from making informed decisions--after all, those might lead to lower sales prices or no sales at all if everything were disclosed and available to everyone, rather than artificially space-constrained and restricted in their distribution. It also allows for a cottage industry of compliance officers and lawyers to flourish, all of whom (or whose employers) probably pay NAR dues. The Realtor(tm) must be the final arbiter of what the consumer knows, for an informed customer is a harder patsy to hoodwink.

Today's listing is a particularly egregious example of the kind of downright consumer-hostile practices NAR and the MLS(r) revel in.

8 Dolphin Court came back on the market today. It is a mostly new McMansiony house on a business-card-sized lot:

3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 2,035 sqft, 3,494-sqft lot, MLS(r) #40396446, $599,000

Well Maintained Warmington Home [...] Great Corner Lot with beautiful flag stone back yard [...] Versatile Floor Plan. .. Stainless Steele Appliances. .. .SHOW and SALE

I don't know, nor do I much care, which one of these it is (it's the blue one on the right). It probably doesn't matter, because they're so close to each other you're practically living with your neighbor anyway:

It is also not far from many other monstrosities covered on this blog, which have fared remarkably well not done so great since their construction and initial sale:


One might think $599,000 for a somewhat large house is a decent deal, especially if one believes, as the MLS(r) probably hopes, that this is a new listing, priced to sell, with no issues whatever.

Because the address sounded familiar, I went to Redfin to refresh my memory, where I was greeted by the friendly admonishment below:

So in I sign, and for my trouble I am given the strategically redacted information below (emphasis added):

I don't blame Redfin; they're a broker and they can't not abide by MLS(r) rules if they want to stay in business. At this point I was becoming somewhat irritated, so I turned to an independent site with no vested interest in hiding information, namely Google, and I found this:

Luke Trif's site appeared to be malfunctioning at the time of this writing, but Google had a cached version showing the following data:

I can't ascertain the date, but the Google cached version says (emphasis added):

This is Google's cache of http://www.luketrif.com/process_paragon.php?ct%5B%5D=ALAMEDA&mnbath=2&mxprice=900000. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on Jan 19, 2009 17:57:38 GMT. The current page could have changed in the meantime.

In summary, at various points in time, 8 Dolphin Court was...

• Listed as MLS(r) #40258170 and priced at $860,000
• Listed as MLS(r) #40356830 and priced at $729,900
  
• Dropped to $699,900 
• Listed as MLS(r) #40396446 and priced at $599,000 (today's listing)
  

It shouldn't take this much time and effort on the part of a disinterested, independent third party (that would be me) to find out...

• how this listing has fared since it was first listed,
  
• whether the current owners (be they human or bank-shaped) might be easy or hard to deal with,
  
• whether trying to buy this property is worth the time (banks are notoriously slow and impenetrable, and some folks are giving up or not interested in wasting their time trying to buy REOs and foreclosures)
• the listing's prior price and sale history,

all of which may be relevant to one's decision to pursue this property. They may also be irrelevant, but the MLS(r) is trying its darnedest to make sure potential buyers are never given the opportunity to find out.

There'll be a party at the Opine compound once that antiquated, anti-free-market conglomerate finally disappears in a cloud of vampire dust.

Oh, and that property on Dolphin Court, yes, it's overpriced. Thanks for asking.

(bonus points if you can figure out the title of this post)

Update 9/28/09: Sold for $628,000. All hail Spring fever bidding wars in the worst economy, job market and real estate market in 80 years.

Two Marina Village condos, both on Redondo Court, came on the market a couple of days ago. They're both "yawl" models, and have identical specs:

2 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, 1,631 sqft MLS(r) #40395927 (14 Redondo Ct) or #40396026 (25 Redondo Ct)

14 Redondo Ct:
[...] LARGE [...] TOWNHOME STYLE YAWL PLAN IS 2+ BEDROOMS/3.5 BATH. HUGE EXTRA ROOM WITH IT'S OWN BATHROOM IS ON THE GROUND LEVEL. [...] EXTRA LARGE GARAGE LENDS ITSELF TO A WORK ROOM OR LOTS OF STORAGE SPACE.

25 Redondo Ct:
FINALLY ONE OF THE COVETED "YAWL" CONDOS OVERLOOKING THE MARINA! [...] BONUS ROOM WITH IT'S OWN BATHROOM ON THE GROUND LEVEL AND A PATIO. [...] GAS COOKTOP, CORIAN COUNTERTOPS, GAS FIREPLACE, SOUND/INTERCOM SYSTEM THROUGHOUT. ..

The strident agent for both is, as you might expect, Wendy Sanda, who should probably change her first name to Marina.

As is appropriate for townhomes near the Marina, at least one of them (14 Redondo Ct) appears to be seriously underwater:

Property History for 14 REDONDO Ct

Date	Event	Price
Feb 18, 2009	Listed	$575,000
Oct 19, 2007	Sold	$620,000
Sep 01, 1999	Sold	$364,500

Property History for 25 REDONDO Ct

Date	Event	Price
Feb 19, 2009	Listed	$650,000
Nov 18, 1991	Sold	$371,000
Dec 23, 1988	Sold	$356,000

What I don't understand is why Ms. Sanda took two near-identical listings priced $75,000 apart, since the cheaper one is almost guaranteed to eclipse or at least cannibalize sales prospects for the other.

It's also interesting to note how prices changed between 1988 and 1999: a whopping $772, or 0.21%, nominal value increase per year. Not 21%. Not 2.1%. 0.21%. Point-two-one percent. In real dollars, assuming 4.5% yearly inflation, that's about a $215,000 shortfall over 11 years. But we all know that home values (or prices; the myth has been repeated so many times in NAR's giant game of telephone it's hard to keep track) double every 10 years.

When the market is down, real estate agents always tell you "you can't generalize--my market in Pikerville, Maryland is doing great and prices are holding up". When you provide e