What Is This Thing? *Update 3*

I last featured 2009 Montana back in August when I said that a sale would likely occur soon if the developer maintained a realistic attitude.

(lot) Purchase: 10/6/06 - $969,500

Listing History: 3/4/09 - $2,798,000
Reduced: 04/01/09 - to $2,598,000
Reduced: 05/02/09 - to $2,498,000
Reduced: 07/30/09 - to $2,198,000
Reduced: 08/11/09 - to $2,098,000
Reduced: ???????? - to $1,988,000

SOLD: 10/28/09 - $2,010,000


The developer paid almost a million for the lot -- and they built a 5 bed/6.5 bath 4,380 sq ft house with underground parking which only fetched two million. I think they probably took a big loss.

Buyer's Remorse?

Address: 1309 Cedar - 90405

Details: 3 bed/2 bath 1,523 sq ft house, 6,355 sq ft lot, "just remodeled"

Description: Classic Spanish Style Home Just Remodeled. This type of house NEVER goes out of style. Compare to any, character-less, ho-hum newer home. Located in the much desired Sunset Park area of Santa Monica. 3 Bedrooms / 2 Bathrooms. Beautiful arches, windows, built-ins and fireplace. Bright and Airy in every room. Large 6355 Square foot Lot with 1523 Square Feet of indoor living space opening to wonderful outdoor living space. Long driveway to clean detached double garage. Park 7 cars on-site. Original Hardwood throughout with new Travertine kitchen tile floor. Brand new double oven just installed. Charming yards and patios with gorgeous foliage. Large Master Bedroom with French doors and gazebo-style porch opening to nicely landscaped private backyard. Walking distance to beach and Main Street. Located in award-winning Santa Monica / Malibu Unified School district.

Previous Purchase History
1/4/05 - $1,125,000
12/12/00 - $679,500
12/3/96 - $440,000

Listing History: 8/8/09 - $1,279,000

SOLD: 10/28/09 - $1,250,000

This house shows that there is still pretty good demand for solid, entry level SFRs. This was on the market for just two weeks before going into escrow and it sold almost at asking price.

But these are the types of transactions in which I wonder if the buyer may eventually develop some remorse. With the seemingly irrational flurry of activity, I think a transaction like this might show just how much downside there is if one gets worked up and buys at the wrong price.

This property is described as being "just remodeled". Looking at the photos it looks like it was just surfaces in the kitchen and bath that were redone. If we give a little credit for these upgrades, it looks like our buyer here just got an early-mid 2005 rollback. Decent I guess...but I keep getting worried when looking at the previous purchase history.

This went for $679.5K back at the very end of 2000. Seems like a nice little house and I agree with the comment about it having more character than the newer houses (see last post), but I think you need to remember that price is what you pay and value is what you get -- I don't see much value here.

Jokers -- Fools -- Clowns

Address: 933 25th - 90403

Details: 6 bed/6 bath 7,100 sq ft house, 8,350 sq ft lot, new construction

Description: Exquisite New Italian Villa-Luxury Beyond Compare. 2-Stry foyer w/sweeping staircase. Spacious formal LR w/fireplace & FDR w/wine rm. Library. Gourmet Island Kit has custom cabinetry, top-of-the-line SS appliances & granite counter tops. Marble & Brazilian Cherry wood floors. Family rm sitting area w/frplc opens to lg backyard w/sparkling pool, BBQ & outdoor patios. Mstr suite w/sitting area, huge walk-in, & luxurious bath. 3 additional bed rms upstairs. Full basement w/Media, 2 guest rms & gym

Lot Purchase: 8/1/07 - $1,950,000 (included plans + permits)

Listing History: 10/22/09 - $4,488,000

Back in December 2007 I featured this property (back then it was an empty lot). The builder bought this property after the tear down had already been knocked down and the empty lot was marketed with plans and permits.

At the time that I featured it, the builder was throwing a little party out front and was giving away coffee mugs, t-shirts, food, etc. I think a clown was even present to entertain the kids. They were spinning the kick off of this construction project as a situation where they were celebrating as the owner was "building his dream house".

I was foolish enough to believe that some guy really was coming in and building a dream house to live in. I was even more foolish (as you can see on my last post in 2007) to think that this was some sort of longer term bullish sign that someone would come in and spend so much money on such a big house in 90403.

Looking back, its so obvious that this was yet another case of bubble infection. I even thought the completed house (with its 7,000+ sq ft of "high end construction") could be worth $4-$5mm...

Fast forward to today and here we've got the construction finally completed...and surprise, surprise it was likely a spec from day one. But the problem is that we've had the economy and real estate market crash. This house sticks out like an ugly, sore thumb. Looks a little like something you might see in disneyland...

I highly doubt they could get anything near this price even if this was north of Montana in 90402. Instead, they are trying to sell a cheap looking bubble relic for top dollar. Someone should tell them the suckers are all gone.

And just to show a quick example of what has happened to the spec builders who thought they could make a killing in 90403 on high end stuff...check out 1122 Stanford which in my opinion looks like a much better house and has similar stats.

The only problem for our 25th street spec builder is that the Stanford house already tried last year to get top dollar and it sat on the market with no interest...it is back now and they have cut their price down to $3,395,000. They still have no takers.

You have to have a lot of bravado to come out and price your pig at $4.488mm and ignore every single piece of market evidence out there. This thing might need to whack a million bucks off the asking price. Best of luck.

Less Bang For Your Buck

Address: 520 18th - 90402

Details: 3 bed/2.5 bath house, 1 bed/1 bath detached guest house, 8,940 sq ft lot

Description: Beautifully appointed traditional home located in the heart of Gillette’s Regent Square. The floor plan in the main house includes 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, an elegant formal living room with a bay window, built-ins and fireplace. Separate dining room and a bright remodeled kitchen and family room open to a lovely spacious backyard. All main living spaces were designed by the renowned Waldo Fernandez. In addition, the property has a complete detached guest house.

Previous Purchase: 7/3/07 - $3,000,000

Listing History: 10/14/09 - $2,495,000

While this house is solidly in rollback territory, they are only asking 16.7% less than a near peak price. I do not believe that represents enough of a discount to warrant much enthusiasm if you are a buyer.

However, I think an even better way to evaluate value here is to look at the property which I featured yesterday which sold for just $55k more than the asking price on this one. Look at the photos, look at the stats, and I think it should be pretty clear that this property here is in an inferior league than the one on 23rd. So I think we will need to see a reduced price tag on this to get a sale completed.

Much More Bang For Your Buck *Part 2*

Address: 715 23rd - 90402

Details: 5 bed/5.5 bath 4,632 sq ft house, 8,700 sq ft lot

Description: Enter this stunning 5BD, 5.5BA + ofc/bonus/media or 6th bedroom. Spacious living room/hardwood floors & fireplace. Kitchen w/Viking appl, built-in breakfast area. Formal dining room, family room w/tile floors opens to backyard w/heated pool & patios. Great for entertaining! Exquisite master w/high ceilings, fireplace, ofc, 2 lg walk-in closets. Spectacular rooftop deck between the Master & bonus room. HVAC system w/2 heating & 2 AC units.

Listing History: 2/12/09 - $3,295,000
Reduced at some point down to - $2,788,000

SOLD: 10/20/09 - $2,550,000

In a post that I did back in July, I talked about the sale of 457 24th being a case of getting "much more bang for your buck".

This house on 23rd which just sold is also a case of getting much more for your money. This is a full size lot in GRS close to Franklin with no location discount. The house is big (4,600 sq ft) and while I can't tell when the remodel/build date was, it looks to be in very good shape from the photos (click on the "sold" link above for photos). Also, at this price, this comes out to $550/sq ft which is a lot better than the bubble values people were paying.

Even if you want to assume that the lot is only worth $1mm at the bottom, then this person just paid $1.55mm for the construction. At that price, they paid about $335/sq ft for the construction.

If I am missing some grand flaw in this property then speak up, but ultimately, I think this type of sale shows just how much the market has fallen and it also shows that you can get decent deals right now. I won't argue that this can't go lower but I don't think there is the same downside potential on this property that I see on many others where people seem to be irrationally bidding up already overvalued properties.

Look at Comps -- Don't Get Ripped Off

Address: 908 17th #102

Details: 3 bed/2.5 bath 1,904 sq ft townhouse (?), new construction, $307/month HOA

Description: Front unit in Casa Monica. New quality construction in 2008. Ideal loc. Close to Montana Ave. chic shops & restaurants. Walnut hardwd flrs, archways, rec lighting thruout. Liv rm w/custom designed fp & dining area opens to tiled patio. Nice open flr plan. Kit features hard-to-find marble countertop & Viking appl. Spacious mster w/high ceil also features mster ba w/Jado brushed nickel fixtures, steam shower. Other features incl roof deck, priv access 2 car garage, video- intercom, CAT5.

Listing History: 9/10/09 - $1,475,000

Nice new townhouse with 3 bedrooms...what's not to like?

Well, it just so happens that I came across the sale of another unit (presumably very similar if not identical) in this group of new townhouses which sold in May 2009 for a lot less than the asking price on this one.

Unit #8 (maybe that should be #108?) which you can see here, is also a 3 bed/2.5 bath townhouse at this address and it sold on 5/21/09 for $1,115,000 after having an initial asking price of $1,498,000.

And remember, this is 17th street...with lights on Wilshire and Montana and all the great traffic that comes with it. This active unit is actually being advertised as a "front unit". So does that mean you should have to pay $360,000 more than unit #108 just to get the privilege of hearing the traffic even closer to your unit?

Accepting Less Than A Full Refund *Update 1*

I last featured 472 23rd back in July. This is a 4 bed/2 bath house on a 8,880 sq ft lot.

Previous Purchase: 8/5/05 - $2,750,000

Listing History: 7/10/09 - $2,650,000

SOLD: 10/14/09 - $2,250,000

A solid 2004 rollback. Congrats to this buyer for not being a total bonehead and paying up like the rest of so many buyers out there right now.

Robust Demand For Entry Level Houses

Address: 2251 26th - 90405

Details: 3 bed, 2 bath 1,373 sq ft house, 7,500 sq ft lot, 1941 construction

Description: Charming 3br+2ba on a tree lined street in Sunset Park. Check the details when you visit this beauty! Gorgeous hardwood floors, crown mouldings, wainscoting, brick fireplace, nice use of stained glass. Very inviting pool with all new equipment. All on a 7,500 sqft lot! Don't miss this Santa Monica gem!



Listing History: 9/9/09 - $989,000

Sold: 10/16/09 - $979,000

This property went into escrow after being active for just 7 days. The escrow closed in just one month. There is some seriously strong buying activity out there right now.

This is an unimproved (except for the pool equipment apparently), old, 1941 house just about a half block south of Pico.

Spec House on Washington *Update 1*

I last featured 2222 Washington back in August 2009.

It is a 4 bed/3 bath 2,630 sq ft house on a 5,060 sq ft lot.

Lot Purchase: 3/29/07 - $1,010,000

Listing History: 6/4/09 - $2,595,000
Reduced: 06/30/09 - to $2,395,000

SOLD: 10/13/09 - $2,236,000


When I last featured this house I said the following: I think Washington needs to get down closer to $2mm and they will find a buyer.

So it looks like the buyer did indeed materialize at a price closer to $2mm but they paid a bit more than I thought they would.

Given what the builder paid for the lot, I'm wondering if they actually made a little profit on this.

Cecil Gale Delusion *Update 1*

I last featured 2619 Washington almost a year ago in November 2008.

This is a 3 bed/2.5 bath Cecil Gale on a 7,040 sq ft lot.

Previous Purchase: 12/20/96 - $715,000

Listing History: 11/3/08 - $2,284,800

Re-Listed: 10/13/09 - $1,995,000


When I featured this property last year I said the following: I will be surprised if they can get anything even near $2M for this place.

Well here we are a year later and I think this property is still very overpriced. For more info on the condition of the house, I will present a comment left from the last post by valueWatcher:

Nice home with lots of charm. Just have to underscore the renovation comment above. It needs a new kitchen. It needs additional bathroom(s). The main bathroom in its current form functions as a guest bathroom for the main house AND a master bath. I'm moving on. They'd be lucky to get 1.9 in the current market. Although that's probably optimistic...

Also, this house has been sitting on the MLS rental section for 111 days now. First they were asking $7,500/month and they are now asking $6,000/month. Both of those rental asking prices are wildly delusional and they have no shot at getting those prices.

This seller needs to get real. I don't know how much longer the market is going to stay hot, but if they get aggressive on the price (unlikely considering their delusional pricing history), they might have a shot at a sale...otherwise, we'll see you again next year.

Likely 2004 Rollback

Address: 1039 Centinela - 90403

Details: 6 bed/6.5 bath 4,700 sq ft house, 7,500 sq ft lot, 2003 construction

Description: Impressive Mediterranean Home w/5 BR+mds in Franklin Sch District. Dramatic Open flr plan w/beamed ceiling, rich mahogany windows & cherry wood flrs. Spectacular Chef’s Kitchen w/granite counter tops, cstm maple cabinetry & top-of-the-line appliances. Spacious Family rm sitting area w/fireplace & French doors to Loggia and grassy backyard. Mstr suite w/spa tub, frplce & large Veranda. 3 additional BR suites upstairs. Italian tile & Travertine flrs. All purpose Media/game rm on lower level.

Previous Purchase: 1/7/04 - $2,268,000

Listing History: 9/14/09 - $2,495,000

While I personally do not really like this style of house, this is a lot of square footage and a lot of beds and baths on a good sized lot -- and this is pretty new construction. I am featuring this property because I think it shows a more rational level where I believe prices should be or are headed shortly. I do not believe mid 2005 prices have a very good chance of standing up and given that we have seen 2004 prices on a variety of different types of properties a while back, I think we are headed back there at a minimum. Thus I think this seller did a fair job at pricing to start off with.

This particular house appears to be a 2003 spec which sold in the first week of 2004. Given that it has now been on the market for a month, I think that a smart seller would think about instituting a good price cut to get this sold before things cool off in the winter. We could easily see a mid-2004 price on this.

I think the location is OK, and it is great if you are a desperate housewives fan since I believe a cast member lives nearby.

More 90403 Condo Exuberance

Address: 425 Idaho #10 - 90403

Details: 2 bed/2 bath 956 sq ft condo, 1968 building, $231/month HOA

Description: Feel the ocean breezes from this very charming sun-filled upper corner unit in the best location just apx 4 blocks from the ocean and apx 1 block to Montana Ave. Features include HW floors, designer tiles in kitchen and bathrooms plus other designer touches thru-out unit, smooth ceilings, inside laundry, secured pkg with extra storage. Wonderful 10 unit bldg with low HOA dues. Move-in condition.

Purchase History:
7/1/05 - $672,000
4/22/02 - $385,000
11/19/99 - $297,000

Listing History: 8/19/09 - $650,000

SOLD: 10/2/09 - $650,000

This little condo barely breaks the 950 sq ft mark and is located within a dumpy looking 1968 building. Yet, after just 7 days on market, it went into escrow and closed at list price for an amazing $680/sq ft.

Looking at the previous purchase history, we can see that this is an early/mid 2005 rollback. So while this price may not be all that much more (if at all higher) than what could have been obtained by the seller earlier this year before the bounce, I think the fact that this not very high quality unit sold quickly at list despite being just an earlier 2005 rollback at best further illustrates the strength in the market.

Taking another look at the previous purchase history, one should quickly be alarmed by the huge increase in selling prices between 2002 and 2005. In the 3.2 years between these two sales, the price of this unit rose by a 19% compound annual rate. That means it went up by 19%...then another 19%...and then another 19% on top of that. I don't know if you will find anyone, regardless of how bullish they might be, who would tell you that is justifiable.

For a more rational valuation, I would advise taking the 2002 price as a base and then put on a 5% growth premium (3% for inflation and 2% for SM premium/fluff margin) which I believe would be a pretty generous assumption. This is generous because first off we are ignoring the much greater than average 11% compound annual growth in pricing which took place between the 2.5 year period of late 1999 and 2002. Second, long term real estate appreciation is generally about inflation plus a very small premium. 2% seems like a large premium.

So if we go with 5% annual growth from the 2002 sale price, we get to a current fair value of $552,000 using our generous assumptions.

I think the buyer just overpaid by at least $100,000. Be careful out there right now if you are a prospective buyer. You don't want to getting into bidding wars with people who are irrationally buying.

Irrational Condo Exuberance

Address: 901 10th #210

Details: 2 bed/2 bath 1,380 sq ft condo, 1970 building, "remodeled kitchen", $370/month HOA

Description: Back on Market! Fabulous Front facing Unit in Ideal location! Enjoy the Santa Monica lifestyle in this 2 BR+ Den and 2 bath Condo w/wood floors and fireplace. Remodeled Kitchen with Stainless steel appliances. Washer and Dryer inside. Spacious Balcony with Treetop view. Pristine Building w/Gym, Sauna, Jacuzzi and EQ Ins. Unit comes with extra Storage and Side by Side parking.

Previous Purchase: 6/1/06 - $820,000

Listing History: 6/16/09 - $729,000

SOLD: 9/21/09 - $710,000

The condo market has been hot for a while now and I've tried to illustrate this on the blog. This condo here sold for a mighty $515/sq ft after being active for only 24 days.

Yes, it is a rollback...but what I find pretty crazy is the comparison between this unit and one that I featured on this blog a while back.

Back in February of this year, I featured a unit in the same building (presumably right next door). Unit #211 has the exact same square footage and I would presume a similar layout.

But check out what it sold for back at the very end of 2008:

Previous Purchase: 3/5/04 - $650,000

Listing History: 10/21/08 - $698,000

SOLD: 12/30/08 - $565,000

This comes out to $409/sq ft, which means that unit #210 just sold for 26% MORE than unit #211 did just 10 months ago. Now granted, unit #210 boasts of a "remodeled kitchen" but I'm not convinced -- the photos show just a few new appliances. Unit #210 also boasts of being "front facing", but unit #211 is likely very nearby.

Overall, I have been thinking of the market bounce right now as mainly a situation where prices have stopped going down and activity has picked up. This example here might suggest that in parts of the market or with some very eager buyers, we might even be seeing rising prices. I think the idea of rising prices is still somewhat suspect because this is just one example here and may be somewhat of an outlier -- or there may be bigger differences between these units that I am not picking up on. I think any price rises will likely serve to be temporary in nature. 20% bounces in 10 months can happen in stock prices but it isn't the type of price behavior that is likely to stick with real estate. If you are a potential buyer right now, you need to have your eyes wide open to the fact that some irrational behavior (this example here) is going on (I believe temporarily). If you are a seller, I would advise capitalizing on this behavior to the best of your ability.

209 25th Finally Sold

209 25th was on the market and "looking for backup" for a long time. It is a 3 bed/2.5 bath 2,556 sq ft house on an 8,700 sq ft lot.

Fairly material location discount should apply as this house is the second in from San Vicente and the backyard shares a wall with the WaMu parking lot. But since we have seen non-location discount houses in 90402 go for well under $2mm (see Westside Bubble's latest post), this price should come as no surprise.

Listing History: 10/7/08 - $2,050,000
Reduced multiple times down to - $1,649,000

SOLD: 10/8/09 - $1,525,000

So it only took 366 days to sell...but hey they got it done! I believe this house had fallen out of escrow before and in its last and final escrow, it was "looking for backup" and "pending" for quite a while.

Additional Local Blogs -- Old and New

For those of you who are new here or who simply haven't heard of the following blogs, I thought it might be helpful to review some additional housing blogs in LA.

Westside Bubble -- This is the gold standard which existed before my blog. Focus is on the "westside" but the majority of the posts tend to focus on Santa Monica.

Homes in WeHo -- A blog focusing on West Hollywood which was started by a former reader of this blog.

Under Culver -- This is a blog which focuses on Culver City; however recent posts have been focusing on adjacent and less adjacent areas.

And finally, a new blog presenting a somewhat unique look at the other side of the "shadow inventory" that we always talk about...

Westside Shadow Buyer -- A prospective westside buyer lays out what they are seeking to buy

Yale Sale

Address: 1066 Yale - 90403

Details: 5 bed/2.75 bath 3,325 sq ft house, 7,900 sq ft lot, 1939 construction expanded/remodeled years ago (very early 90s?)

Description: Delightful home, filled with light, whimsy & fabulous floor plan. Not only are there 5 good bedrooms including a master with balcony overlooking the back, but there's a lovely family room with fpl, formal dining room, living room w/fpl and kitchen with decorative fireplace. Other great features include hardwood & carpeted floors, spa tub, bkfst area & laundry rm. The backyard is enourmous w/room to build pool or just simply relax and sip lemonade under the beautiful Sycamore.

Listing History: Sometime in 2008 starting at $2.4mm and cut down to around $2.1mm

Re-Listed: 3/28/09 - $1,895,000
Reduced down to $1,795,000

SOLD: 9/25/09 - $1,600,000

This house sat on the market for a long time. It was listed back in 2008 and taken off the market late in 2008, only to be re-listed this year at a lower price. The seller kept cutting the price and finally found the market clearing level. Since the last sale of this house was in early 1991 for $777,000 the seller presumably had a good chunk of equity and was able to cut down to a market clearing level.

Interestingly enough, the compound annual rate of return on this house between the 1991 sales price and the current sales price is about 4%. Computing long term annual appreciation rates is one way to get a rough feel for price level. Inflation plus a very small premium is generally a reasonable amount of appreciation over the long term.

Next, I remembered that I had featured 1018 Yale back in August 2008. 1018 Yale was a tear down on the same block as this property which sold in August 2008 for $1.337mm. For a little more than a quarter million more, the buyer of 1066 Yale just got an actual 5 bedroom house on an exact same sized lot and same block. I think that should help illustrate that the market has fallen since August 2008 by a fair amount. You can get a lot more bang for your buck now if you stay disciplined and buy right.

Finally, I thought this house sort of compared well in some ways to 2714 Washington which I featured all the way back in April 2008. 2714 Washington sold in March 2008 for $2.134mm and was larger by about 1,100 sq ft and had an extra bedroom and 2.25 more baths. However it had a lot size which was 1,200 sq ft smaller, no backyard (because it was completely taken up by a pool), and had an interior which clearly needed refreshing. I believe that it too was an older remodel.

Coming all the way back to 1066 Yale, you need to acknowledge that there is a bit of a Yale discount because of the light down at Wilshire and a little extra traffic on the street. Also, with the remodel/addition having taken place many years ago, the interior could use some work depending on your needs/taste. But taking a step back, this is a 5 bedroom house on a good sized lot north of Wilshire on a not too big location discount street. I did not personally see the inside, so please correct me if I'm missing something, but at $1.6mm I think it is fair to say this house sold at a level which would be called "fair value" for the current market. Certainly you can make the case that it can go lower, but this price is well off of peak and represents what I view to be a fair purchase of a lot of house in a pretty decent location given where the market currently is.

Uh Oh...Here Comes a 90405 SFR Foreclosure *Update 2*

I last featured 2432 21st back in April 2009.

This 3 bed/1.5 bath house was a failed short sale as well as a failed rental attempt. REO was the only way to go.

Previous Purchase: 4/4/07 - $1,100,000

Listing History: 2/21/08 - $990,000

Bank Buyback: 8/8/08 - $811,750

REO Listing History: 3/28/09 - $824,900
Reduced at some point to - $789,900

SOLD: 8/28/09 - $810,000

Interesting that the bank cut the price to a level which then elicited an over asking price sale. Also interesting to note that it took the bank an entire year to get this thing sold after they took possession of it at the trustee's sale.

Overall, it is great to see these examples. For the housing market (as well as the economy overall) to get back to a healthy state, we need to see the excesses of the bubble get washed out. One main reason why I remain somewhat skeptical of SM's housing market strength right now is that many banks appear to be lagging when it comes to actually foreclosing on properties. Many readers here are obviously just as confused as I am about this. It would be great to hear from someone who works for a bank and has info.

We need more examples of the above and less of those from my last post in order to truly get back to equilibrium. I still think it may take a good chunk of time before we are there.

2003 Rollback Auction Price Set In 90402 *Update 2*

I last featured 740 21st Place in August. This property has been set to go to auction for quite a while now. Yet somehow the date of the auction keeps getting pushed back. When I first featured it, the auction date was July 27th and the amount was $1,950,000. When I featured it back in August, the date was moved to August 27th.

Now, once again, the amount is the same but the date has been pushed back another month to October 16th.

But now that we are past September 30th, we can go ahead and check up on the property tax payment status. According to the office of the assessor, the owner is in default on their property taxes to the tune of nearly $67,000.

In my last post on this property, I also mentioned 310 22nd Street because it too was scheduled to go to auction soon. Well, surprise, surprise, 310 22nd's auction date has been pushed back from September 14th to October 14th. This house has been on and off the market for quite a while with a bloated for sale price every time. It has also spent time on Craigslist and the MLS rental sections asking over $16,000/month.

Well, taking a look at the MLS rental section once again, we see that the house is currently listed for rent at $15,000/month. Seems a little fishy to try and rent out your house if you are currently in default on the mortgage and there is an upcoming auction. But what makes the situation even harder to understand is that the property taxes appear to actually be current. Why would you pay your property taxes if you are about to get foreclosed on? Bizarre for sure, but the one thing you can bank on is that I wouldn't be too keen on renting a house which appears to be in default on the mortgage...

Want A Refund On Your McMansion? *Update 1*

I last featured 632 11th back in July. This is a 2005 spec house with 5 beds/5.5 baths.

Previous Purchase: 7/29/05 - $3,050,000

Listing History: 7/17/09 - $3,250,000

SOLD: 9/28/09 - $3,150,000

In my previous post on this property I said the following:
They are going to have to do better than a mid 2005 rollback to sell this, and thus I believe this should go for a sub-$3mm price.

Well, it turns out I was wrong. I still do not believe that this segment of the market is participating much in the bounce seen in lower dollar value properties, but if we see a good number of additional examples like this one, I may have to conclude that the bounce is taking place in a material way across the board.

This seller has to feel pretty good considering they were able to get out of this at an above mid 2005 price. Good job.

Ashland "Land Value"

Address: 2002 Ashland - 90405

Details: "major fixer", 7,000 sq ft lot

Description: Probate, Major Fixer. Sold at land value. No court confirmation required. Great 7000 ft. lot on prime block of Ashland. Grant school district.

Listing History: 8/3/09 - $849,000

SOLD: 9/25/09 - $828,000

A couple of posts ago I featured 2208 Ashland which was a redone house on the same lot size.

Here is your lot value data point. I don't know the area well enough to give details on the little location differences but these two properties are fairly close to each other so I think the comparison is likely fairly decent.

Finally, how about the current comment format. A good compromise between the old and the pop-up style?