Friday, April 20, 2007

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.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

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.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

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