Run, don't walk! Price reduced by a buck.

Update: Now we're talking. The price has actually been dropped a reasonable amount. Price is now 565K...but stay tuned for 564,999 if it doesn't move soon.

Yes, this is the second one of these that I've seen and I just can't believe people do this. What is the point? Is it the ever enticing "999" that you think will surely bring in those buyers who have been holding out? The sad thing is, this particular home looks pretty nice and might be worth visiting. I'm not keen on its proximity to Hwy 12, but I haven't actually driven the street for a first hand impression. It has 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, is just over 2000 square feet and has been updated with lots of fresh goodies.

The home has been on the market for 67 days and I would suggest that this agent come up with a realistic price reduction strategy and not pull this kind of ridiculous stunt. The current cost per square foot is only $289, which is good, so drop the asking price by at least 3-5K if you're trying to generate interest based on a reduction. Then again, maybe it's the homeowner and they've seen too many $9.99 ginsu knives infomercials. Sheesh...

The man in the mirror...

UPDATE 2: The price on this house has been reduced to 463K. It's now $405 a square foot, which is still too high in my opinion.

UPDATE: The price on this house was just reduced to 499K. That's still $436 a square foot, so I wouldn't call it a bargain. My guess is that this one will not sell until it's around 450K.

Feeling a bit cranky today so I'm going to vent my frustration on this listing :)

"Beautifully remodeled W. Petaluma Home" - Let me start by saying that this home is technically in West Petaluma due to its proximity to 101, but it resides in that sort of in between area that's most people do not associate with the quaint, we're-near-the-new-theatre-district, West side of town. It's just off of Payran near the river, where all that construction is going on. Granted, Payran will be "comp repaved by end of year", but until then, cone zone baby. Personally, I used to live in this area and didn't really like it. To each their own.

"Price reduced for quick sale!" - It shows as being on Redfin for a day, so I assume it was listed, pulled off the market, the price was lowered and then relisted. Anywho, they are currently asking 535K for this 1,144 square foot home that was built back in 1960. They mention a "beautiful remodel", but that still comes to $468 a square foot. That's a bit steep for this location in my opinion and the house doesn't really look that nice to me. Maybe I "must see to appreciate", per the listing, but I'm not motivated at this price.

And finally, a bit of advice to the man in the bathroom mirror -- if you step to the side and just kind of point the camera in at an angle, we wouldn't have to witness your summer duds and be blinded by the paparazzi flash of your camera.

100K Price Drop - Includes Rented 1Bed Apartment

UPDATE: This home is no longer on the market...

As the listing for this home states, "Seller is serious!". This is a southwest Santa Rosa home that was built in 2004 and is now listed for 599K. Based on the price per square foot ($274), this looks like the best deal in this particular neighborhood. It's only been on the market for 46 days, so it appears something has come up to warrant a quick price reduction to get out. If you're looking in this area, check this one out. The price seems good and you get some rental income as well, which could be good or bad...Mr. or Ms. Landlord.

Home in a "fluffing good area"

UPDATE: This home is now listed for $499,900 or $264 a square foot. Unfortunately, the agent hasn't bothered to look at their description and make it 10K less laughable.

Punctuation is very important, but it still doesn't save this listing from being ridiculous. Here's the unedited description, including both of the periods at the end:

Tremendous opportunity for this fixer sold as is needs interior paint, carpet, fluffing good area well designed and large lot. price is king here absolutely will not last at this price. .

And what exactly is a "fluffing good area"?

A) A misspelling of an inappropriate word that proves this listing was posted in a drunken stupor after a broker party or liquid lunch.

B) Lacking the ever critical comma in a very strategic location.

C) Even if lacking the aforementioned comma, who in the world refers to updating or fixing up a house as "fluffing"? Fluffing is reserved for pillows, silly little dogs with expensive haircuts and the new age groupies who claim your aura requires it on bad days.

Mr. Agent, I would also suggest that the next time you take a picture of the kitchen and it's wonderfully tangerine-dream colored formica, you may want to remove the slew of business cards scattered on it from previous agent visits. The cards give it that "this home is a dog that no one wants" look, which is best avoided.

OK, enough of these foibles and follies (...dropping silly sounding words that begin with "f" into my posting to get into the spirit).

Based on what I can gather, this home had an offer at 535K and it fell out. It's now listed at 510K, which puts it at $270.00 a square foot. Not bad, especially for a 4 bedroom, 2 bath home with nearly 1900 square feet. The lot is also nice sized at 7,318 and there appears to be some grass mixed in with the tall weeds in the backyard picture. Grab a jug of Roundup and a good mower and you should be ready to play ball.

At this price and specs, this could be a good bargain, and hopefully you will have enough cash left over to give it a proper fluffing.

Prices dropping faster than subprime lenders.

Trying to keep up with the price adjustments on some of the previously covered homes is becoming a job in itself. I have two of them today, so I'm going to hit them both in one post.

The first home is 4517 Earhart Ave. in Santa Rosa. The neighbors house that was listed at a higher price of 469K (vs. 465K for this one) appears to have an offer. Who knows if it will stick, but this seller must be wondering what's up. I think the 469K house was in better shape based on the pictures, so that may be the determining factor. To the point, the price for this home has been dropped to 455K, which is right there where I suggested you make an offer (blatant self promotion...sorry). In fact I suggested you offer 445-455K and feel pretty confident you could get away with 440-445K at this point. If you're the homeowner, you may want to stage this house and take some new pictures. I'm making a broad assumption here, but the current pictures make it look like it's a rental, which does not help your position, in my opinion.

The other place is the townhome at 1406 Marylyn Circle in Petaluma. I thought it was already a good deal at $434K, but the price was just reduced to 419K (265.00 per sq. ft.). At Nearly 1600 square feet with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a 2 car garage, this seems like a good deal to me. I've driven this neighborhood and it seems fine. The HOA is a bit high in my opinion at 255.00 per month, but at least you get a pool and tennis courts for you money. There is another townhome right across the street for sale as well, but they are asking 459K (UPDATE: Price has been reduced to 425K). If there is something wrong with this one (which is not mentioned in the listing),the price difference of 40K could buy you some nice improvements.

Price reduced by One Million Dollars

UPDATE: Price has been reduced to 3,350,000

Now THIS is what I call an aggressive price reduction! It's still listed at a lofty $3,599,000, but lopping a cool million off the top sure sweetens the offer. If this San Anselmo home had only been on the market a day or so, I would have thought it was a typo by the agent, but it's been listed for over 23 days. What would inspire someone to drop the price this dramatically?

Eyebrow raising adjustment aside, take a look at the views and interior shots for this place. Really amazing! The house has 5 bedrooms, 4 baths and is listed at 4,342 square feet. The lot is ginormous, clocking in at 175,939 square feet, which is right around 4 acres if my math is correct. That's a heap of Marin County dirt. If this home is in your price range, it's probably worth a look...if for no other reason than to solve the million dollar mystery.

The little house that couldn't sell.

UPDATE: As far as I can tell, this house did not sell and was pulled from the market.

In the ongoing saga of the little home that just won't sell, they have lowered the price once again. They are now down to 499K, which is 46K off the original 545K. I feel a bit sorry for these folks at this point, but frankly, I think the home was really overpriced when it listed. Stop by, take a look, and offer them 475K-485K -- I bet you can snag this place.

A pool and a pond. A pond would be good for you...

Dear Real Estate Agent,

Although I think this pond is somewhat attractive, I am currently looking for home for my family, not for frogs or a breeding ground for mosquitoes. In light of this, you many consider changing your lead picture to the front of the home instead of the fountain/pond image that is currently being used. And while I am on the topic, of the 5 pictures shown, 2 are of the landscaping, 1 is a close-up of an outside gazebo, 1 is the front of the house and the final one is the dining/kitchen area. I plan on living IN the house, so I would really like to see several more images of the interior rooms and spaces. Your listing mentions a "large sunroom" and a "large master bedroom", which could have been great subjects for the aforementioned interior photographs.

Best regards,
John Q. Homebuyer

No You Didn't...Price Reduced by ONE DOLLAR.

I don't know why they did this, nor do I care, but it's the funniest thing I've seen all day (...possibly all week). I was recently contemplating blogging about people who reduce their homes by 1-10K and think it's going to make a difference in today's market. Show me a 30K reduction and then you'll get my attention, that is if the original price wasn't padded. This, on the other hand, defies ones ability to keep a straight face.

Attention! If this is your home and your agent recommended that this would bring in the masses, you may want to shop for a new agent. In my opinion, I think the home should have been pulled from the MLS altogether, repriced (with more than a $1 difference) and then relisted in a week or two. The way it was done just makes the seller and/or agent look ridiculous...but it was good for a laugh. I guess that's worth a buck.

Note: Redfin is NOT the agent on this listing. I just got the info from their site.

338 Bassett St, Petaluma - You're Kidding, Right?

520K for a 978 square foot home that is sitting on a foundation that needs work? That's $532 a sqaure foot for this teensy house and the listing suggests that you may want to move it to the back of the property and build a second home. Wait, I have an idea, bulldoze the whole ugly mess and start over, but is this lot worth 520K? It's pretty good size (7,187) and on the "desirable west side", but that still seems steep to me. It's about half a block away from the high school -- you'll have to decide if that's a good thing or not.

But wait! For this low-low price, you also get the "way-cool retro light fixtures" (yes, actual verbiage from the listing) and they are going to throw in the lovely oh-so-San-Francisco earthquake enhanced driveway at no extra charge!

520K...you're kidding, right? ...right?

4517 Earhart Ave, Santa Rosa - Update

I previously suggested making an offer on this home and now the sellers have lowered the price. It was originally listed at 480K, and now after over 180 days, they have lowered the price to 465K. There are three other homes with the same floorplan available as well. One is listed at 469K, one at 495K and another at 485K. This seems like a decent deal, but I think you could offer 445K-455K to this seller and walk away with the keys.

2559 Edgewater Dr, Santa Rosa - Reduced

If you're not familiar with the Northpoint community in Southwest Santa Rosa, you should take some time to drive over and take a look. This is a newer development that was built by Pacific Mountain Partners which included single-family homes and townhomes. This particular home is the largest townhome floorplan which features 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. There are pluses and a few minuses here, but overall, it's a pretty good value and these homes were well built and included nice standard features.

One of the big upsides for the townhomes is the HUGE garages. This is a 3-story unit and the entire first floor is a garage. It's tandem, but widens out once you get past the door for a really nice area. This homeowner turned part of the garage into a bar/rec room. A small back yard is also part of the deal, but it is only accessible through the garage. This particular plan has all 3 bedrooms on the 3rd floor, which is nice if you have children and want everyone on the same floor together. Other features include a separate living room and family room, dining room and nice size kitchen with a substantial island.

This townhome was originally listed at 499K, but the price was recently reduced to 485K. If a single-family home is more your style, take a drive around the neighborhood as there are four or five of these for sale right now as well. For only 30K more than the townhome, 2743 Desert Rose Ln just came on the market for 515K.

910 Cedarwood Lane, Petaluma - Price Update

The subject of my first post was this little Petaluma house near Lakeville. I felt the home was overpriced and should be listed around 519K to be competitive. It looks like they just lowered the price to 513K, which is still $473 a square foot, but more realistic and reasonable. The home appears to be in good shape, so now might be the time to make an offer.

4517 Earhart Ave, Santa Rosa - Make An Offer

I'm guessing the owners of this house might be open to an offer at this point. The home has been on the market over 170 days and another home of the same model came on the market just over 30 days ago. I visited this community when they were initially selling and they seem to be fairly nice homes. Cobblestone is a respected builder in the area and this could be a good deal. This house is on the smallish side, but could be perfect as a starter home for someone. The kitchen in this particular plan is more niche than gourmet, so keep that in mind if cooking is a passion. If I recall, these homes included a wood-burning fireplace with a gas starter. No A/C here, but it was an option for buyers and others in the community may have it.

1406 Marylyn Circle, Petaluma - Good Price

This townhome was just reduced significantly and seems to be a pretty good bargain. Nearly 1600 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2 car garage for $434,900. That comes out to around $274.00 a square foot. The house has been on the market for quite some time and apparently the owners are getting a bit anxious to sell. The first set of pics that were posted showed an empty house. They have since taken the time to stage it and it looks pretty nice. The home also includes a wood burning fireplace (always a plus for me) and the community has a pool and tennis court. At 255.00 per month, the HOA dues seems a bit steep, so keep that in mind if considering this home.

Woodbridge Classics – Big Bang for the Buck

And now for some good news…If you're looking for a new place up in the Northeast Santa Rosa area, take some time and visit Woodbridge Classics by Rivendale. These townhomes are built in pairs -- not huge, long buildings of multiple units. Because of this, you only share one wall with your neighbor. Most of the units consist of one Plan 4 and one Plan 5. The Plan 4 homes are low income units and include 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The Plan 5 has 4 bedrooms and 3 full baths.

I am particularly excited about the Plan 5 as it clocks in at just over 1900 square feet and the prices are around 490K right now. That’s only 257.00 per square foot for a brand new home. I also really like the floorplan for this home, but I know everyone has different needs. It features one bedroom and a full bath downstairs, which can be used for a guest bedroom, office, or whatever your needs might be. I was very impressed with the kitchen in this home as it has a huge island and tons of cabinet space. The flow of the kitchen, dining and family rooms is very nice in my opinion and creates a great space for entertaining and everyday living. There is also a nice big storage space under the stairwell that could also be a great fort for your kids.

Moving upstairs in the Plan 5, there are 3 decent sized bedrooms and they space seems quite usable and comfortable. One of the secondary bedrooms is a bit smaller than the other, but it doesn’t fall into the “that’s a joke” category. The laundry room also lives upstairs and there are plenty of windows throughout to make the house feel open and light. The master bedroom is not huge, but the size seemed fine to me. The master closet is large and includes some basic shelving to help you with organization.

So what are the downsides? That depends on what you’re looking for in a home. The homes do include a back yard (positive points), but they are pretty small. Definitely better than nothing and pretty much what you would expect when buying an attached home. You also get a garage, but it’s a very narrow tandem number that will make your mini-van feel huge. Garage is good, not great actually, but I’m not a big fan of the long, narrow tandem design. Again, better than street parking and provides great storage possibilities for any other pack rats like myself.

Regarding the location, I’m not so sure. There is quite a bit of building going on in this area. Rivendale is also building Woodbridge Traditions (Single-Family detached) in the same neighborhood and another community called Montage just around the corner. Another builder is starting work on a development next to Woodbridge, but I have not seen any info on it yet. They look like small, detached homes – possibly in the 1100-1300 square foot range. There is a school right next to these communities and quite a bit of open space surrounding. It seems like it could be a nice neighborhood when things get built out, but you never know really. There is a farmhouse just to the south and I have heard roosters ever time I have visited this community. This land could probably be sold in the future, so it’s unclear if there will be more homes or something else to the south of the community.

I visited last week and they are about halfway through their construction and sales process. If you’re looking for a brand new home, want a good sized place and also a good deal, check out Woodbridge Classics, you might be pleasantly surprised.

"Demand is High at Sweed School" - Oh Really?

If you're not familiar with this project, Sweed School is a 14 home project (11 townhomes and 3 carriage homes) that uses an existing structure that was built back in 1911. I was on the interest list for this community because it looked very unique. Turns out, it is a pretty cool project and I like how they maintained the building when they built out the townhomes. When I received the grand opening email from them, I was really surprised at the prices. I replied to the message with my concern and stated that I felt they were around 75K too much. I know, I know, pretty snotty thing to do, but I felt I was providing a public service of sorts. The lowest priced townhome was 509K (1069 sq ft, 2bed, 2.5 bath) and they went up from there. These townhomes have no garages and no yards. Anywho, I was doing my usual checking around online the other day and noticed they still have half of the homes left to sell. When this project was ramping up, they were making it sound like people would be camped out for weeks just to get a look.

"Demand at SweedSchool is expected to be very high, so get pre-qualified now", was what many of the emails said. If this was in 2005, their messaging would have been accurate, but they sent this out after the downturn was in full-force. Hellooo...welcome to 2006. It looks like they did come down 40K on the one of the carriage homes, but I'm not sure where they are on the townhomes. I think they felt the uniqueness of the community was going to make it an easy sell and allow them to keep prices jacked up a bit.

Personally, I think you can get a lot more for your money, especially if you are looking for a condo type set up. Check out Azure off of Lakeville -- they are offering a 2 bed/2 for 405K. It's a new build and doesn't have the nostalgia and west side address of Sweed, but you get around 1000 sq feet, a pool, a clubhouse and you save about 100K.

910 Cedarwood Lane, Petaluma - Overpriced?

This is a nice looking little house (key word is "little") near Lakeville in Petaluma. At 1084 sq. ft. with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, it's not going to be overly spacious, but it does look like it's in good condition. Some nice back yard work, but a bit too much concrete for my taste. This home was initially listed at 545K and recently lowered to 533K. I think it's still overpriced -- you're paying $492 a square foot for this 1970 home. My guess is that it needs to be around 519K to even be competitive right now. It's been on the market for 157 days so far, so we'll see. If you are looking in this neighborhood, check out 924 Alderwood. It seems like a better deal...and it has a pool :)