Details: 3 bed/2 bath 1,945 sq ft house on a 7,500 sq ft lot, remodeled
Description: Unique hip & creative living! Linda Brettler inspired remodel using a blend of original and inventive materials to create fun, comfortable & livable spaces. Featuring concrete solar heated pool & spa off master. Wide open floor plan. Large living room w/ wood burning fireplace. Oversized windows & beautiful oak flooring throughout. Left center hallway with hidden laundry separates private bedrooms from living spaces. Formal dining room opens to courtyard & Gourmet kitchen w/ 6 burner Viking, industrial deep sink, stainless appliances & cabinets, granite counters & multicolored cork flooring. Office or guest off kitchen. Large step down family w/ cement flooring, sound system & stained wooden ceiling panels off kitchen connects to outside patio area & yard w/ artificial turf. Master bath w/ dual sinks & shower heads, glass tiles & walk in closet. Sliding glass doors off family and master truly create Santa Monica indoor/outdoor living. Detached garage with private ally access.
Listing History: 11/11/11 - $1,379,000
Reduced down to - $1,329,000
This is how you don't want to do it. The sellers listed too high from the beginning and then have cut the price just once by a measly $50k. This listing is now at 94 days on market. I went to one of the early open houses and there was plenty of traffic. But the backyard (and parts of the house) are a little odd and not in the greatest of shape. Yes, this is a good 3/2 in a nice location but they just pushed too hard with price and have not been flexible enough on cutting. There has been a small amount of inventory for some time and there are plenty of buyers out there. But these sellers have shot themselves in the foot as this listing is now stale and still overpriced. They need a more material price cut ASAP or else they should take it off the market.
As a potential buyer, I have never understood the concept of a "stale" listing...I look at these as opportunities for eventual seller fatigue and capitulation...possibly, a future good buy.
ReplyDeleteI agree -
ReplyDeleteI would much rather bid on a place that has been sitting on the market for a year vs brand new on the market
after a year sellers are no longer insulted by low ball bids
If something is sitting on the market for a year then there is either something wrong with the property or it is pretty overpriced and the seller is being stubborn. Good luck being the one to talk sense into a seller who has seen numerous other offers and not come down to market. In this market things sell pretty quickly if there isn't a problem with the property and it is priced realistically. As the crash was happening I thought I would surely be lowballing sellers and scoring a great deal. But those days are over. Submitting low offers on properties that are even remotely attractive will be a giant waste of your time now. The time for getting low offers accepted was late 2008-mid 2009.
ReplyDeleteThe crash is still happening......
ReplyDeleteWarChestSM,
ReplyDeleteI am glad to get some balance in my daily diet of housing crash news. You are right in that on the Westside there are still lots of people holding out and it's difficult to get a good deal on anything but garbage. However that being said, I don't think housing prices will go anywhere but down, don't know how much or for how long since the Fed is dead set of inflating our way out of this problem. I don't think the sky will fall, but Japan is a good indication of where we will be in 20 years.
Really, Is there a 'crash' still happening? Not in 90405....
ReplyDeleteThe 3/2 gussied up house on Ashland between 16th and 17th went into contract after 10 days. Asking price 1.4m
Is that a 'crash' price?
"there are still lots of people holding out and it's difficult to get a good deal on anything but garbage"
ReplyDeleteIf lots of people are still holding out, why is it hard to get a good deal?
The crash isn't going on anymore and we aren't going to be like Japan.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, just because someone can cite one higher priced house that sells quickly doesn't mean too much. Its all about price level overall. It looks pretty flat to me (and it has been for some time now). Stability is the name of the game. No crash but no great bounce either.
WarChestSM,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that things are flat to slightly down right now in SM. However if the fed and the politicians are throwing the kitchen sink at housing and at best housing is flat, what does that say about the market? When housing life-support is withdrawn, what happens to prices? What will happen after interest rate start to rise? It maybe 2014 before that happens, but it will happen. There are many other peripherals we can talk about, from FHA to taxes, but it will only take a single event to make things worse. I am not saying there will be a crash, but no one can predict the future. There are just too many uncertainties to justify such a large and illiquid transaction. Buying as a consumption is reasonable as we all need a place to live, but one should justify the purchase as such and not a smart investment decision.
This "life support" you talk about will remain in place until the market is able to stand on its own two feet. We are closer to that point than many of you seem to think. Many people (including myself for a while) have thought that rates were likely to rise at any minute...but yet they keep going lower. For rates to rise we would need to see stronger economic growth. I would expect the headwinds from higher rates to be offset by a stronger economy. Who knows, rates may not rise for some time. The future is always uncertain. By definition, renting or buying anywhere on the westside is a huge form of consumption...nobody NEEDS to live here but we think it is worth the price. What it all comes down to for me is what are my costs going to be if I rent vs own. I don't think you will be able to go back through the archives and see me talk much about real estate in "smart investment" terms...Its all about fixing your cost of living once rent and own costs are close. I believe we are at that point right now.
ReplyDeleteWarchest, you are correct.
ReplyDeleteI think the bears just don't appreciate how short life is. For someone with real wealth, living on the West Side is just worth more than living in some other part of the USA.
And for someone with even more wealth, living North of Montana is worth the premium over other parts of the West Side.
Life is short, and you can't take your wealth with you. For those that can afford it, why not start enjoying the amenities that make life special rather than waiting.
Note that all of the above is only an argument for LIVING on the West Side vs living somewhere else in the USA. Doesn't mean a person has to buy.
For the wealthy it may make more sense to RENT on the West Side rather than own. But it doesn't make sense to live in a crummier part of America just to save money
'Life is short, and you can't take your wealth with you. For those that can afford it, why not start enjoying the amenities that make life special rather than waiting."
ReplyDeleteThats what my parents always say...if you have the money...enjoy it!!!! Live where you damn well please. If you don't have the dough, you gotta go....(to the Valley!)
'Life is short, and you can't take your wealth with you. For those that can afford it, why not start enjoying the amenities that make life special rather than waiting."
ReplyDeleteIn 2005 that was stupid advice and only something a realtor would say, but with rates where they are and prices down 20-25%, the monthly nut is effectively somewhere around 2001 prices. And for those expecting rates to spike any day now, the Fed has already injected trillions into the economy, and they're suddenly going to stop? That is delusional, moronic permabear talk.
Go check out latesummer's blog if you want to see what it's like to end up a bitter renter and permabear.
Poor dwr - still trying to justify your purchase after several years. What do you have - a five or six figure loss? Who cares what the monthly nut is? That's the same justification that Piggington had. Put down as little as possible and pay as much in interest as possible. Bankers live off people like you. Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here.
ReplyDeleteSee my latest post. I think there is little downside in buying at these levels and little to gain from renting if you are just waiting and hoping for prices to fall.
ReplyDeleteIt is tempting for me as well but it would be great if we could all stay away from personal attacks and focus more on the arguments. That is why the other blog with Latesummer has degenerated and become a difficult to impossible read for anyone who really cares about exchanging ideas vs just the entertainment value of flaming each other.
ReplyDeletekihei,
ReplyDeleteyou know nothing about me, and very little about anything else.
Sure I do dwr - you bought a house in 2001 and are a lawyer (which explains your attitude).
ReplyDeleteBut you've posted some real beauties
dwr Sep 15, 2008 07:50 AM
And then there is a third category, owners (like me) who bought before Alt-A loans allowed any moron to "buy" a home in SM, and who have known for years what is coming, even to areas like SM. But it's ok, I don't treat my home like an investment, it's where I live. And when prices crash, I will buy two or three more.
dwr Jan 7, 2009 07:20 AM
By the way, I already own a SFR in Santa Monica, and will be buying a second one, at the bottom, which I am confident I will be able to spot, plus or minus 5%.
dwr Oct 14, 2010 04:00 PM
I own 1,000,000 times more real estate in SM than you do.
So, genius, since you are able to spot the bottom within 5%, did you see the bottom and buy with both hands? When? (of course we know lawyers are as honest as politicians) Since you love talking about the low monthly nut, how much debt are you swimming in?
yes those are beauties, because I was 100% right. i was posting back to 2005 about the coming crash. And yes, I did buy another house and kept the first one. Hope that makes you happy.
ReplyDeleteso my posts dating way back are on record, which is evidence of my prescience. let's see what kihei has to say for itself:
ReplyDelete"As for not seeing me on this blog, that's because I didn't move here until 2008, from Maui. And because of the timing of my move I got LUCKY in selling my condo for a SMALL PROFIT. If I was still living there I'd be upside down on my mortgage and would likely be a strategic defaulter. And note I'm perfectly willing to say I got lucky on my timing. I think many of the bullish anons on here mistake luck for skill. And if they find themselves stuck in a trade, they'll blame it on anything else except themselves."
You got "lucky" and made a "small profit" and now are a renter. I think that about sums it up.
Latest Case-Shiller for LA was -5.4% yoy. Of course I wouldn't be an owner yet. Debt free and loving it. It must suck that you've been wrong and bitter for years.
ReplyDelete