Now and again, don't you find an open house a real time warp? How about this '60s-vintage TV?
(If this is too fluffy, be sure to read Housing Panic and Calculated Risk today. We'll have weekly inventory tomorrow, and DataQuick for April next week.)
Tracking the real estate bubble on the Westside of Los Angeles, especially in Santa Monica ... available housing inventory, highlights/lowlights, and the larger economy.
Obligatory Disclaimer: I do my best to accurately report publicly-available data, but take no responsibility for what you do with it!
Contact westsidebubble {at} gmail {dot} com .
8 comments:
1053 17th. I am seeing that this is on the market for $1.2 million...I am also seeing that it sold in late January 2007 for $1.0 million. Looks like a flip to me. They say it is rented out until September 07 and that it comes with plans for a new 2 story home...that you would have to BUILD! They don't have a lot of room on this before it will be a loss so it will be interesting to see if they chase the market down.
Also, the large lot tear down on 22nd (which also came with "plans" for a new home) is in escrow but I don't know what the sales price may be. This was a potential loss situation so it would be nice to see a follow up post and see if the flipper got burnt. Address is 1036 22nd - 90403
Additionally, 934 25th is reported to be in escrow but I still see the for sale sign on the front lawn. No loss or flipper here.
1043 Chelsea is reported in escrow. Was purchased a little more than 2 years ago...so we see this is most likely a conservative flip (2 year waiting period for tax free gain).
2320 Idaho (featured on this blog) is still for sale (and sitting empty I believe).
How much longer can the denial last?
Also, anyone able to get info on a possible sale from the auction for the condo on 26th I keep yapping about?
1138 12th Street #10
2 bed/2 bath
Sale History
08/10/2005: $685,000
10/24/2003: $483,000
09/12/2001: $280,000
Currently for sale at $685K
Per Craigslist: Recently Reduced. These Owners are ready to talk.
Yea they are ready to talk about how they are going to be losing money! Picking out condos that will be taking losses is getting easier and easier...as time goes on, we should see this with SFHs as well. Its kinda like when public companies report earnings. If they had a great quarter in the previous year, the comps are really hard to beat and falling short just gets easier and easier, especially when the fundamentals are falling apart. This condo still has a long way to come down though...
But sometime these sale offers, perhaps like the 12th St condo, are priced to kick off a bidding war. Also, here's another possibility - the owners have been transfered to another city or divorced and they just have to get out. So who is the owner of record on 12th?
An aside here - one strange thing I've noticed about SM property is sales among RE agents/brokers and how many have property on the market over the last six months.
Great observation anon, about RE agents. Kinda like rats leaving the ship.......
http://westsideremeltdown.blogspot.com
Anon,
Yes, this could be a gimmick to try to spark a bidding war. However I do not think this is the case because if they didn't get any action at a higher price, it seems doubtful that by lowering it a bit they will all of a sudden get a frenzy of people interested...besides, there is a LOT of supply on the market in terms of 2/2 condos in this area. My impression is that this is a lightly distressed situation.
Regarding the owners...
Purchased on 8/10/2005 for $685K. The owners (married couple) got a $584K first with Countrywide and a $68.5K second with Countrywide as well. So it looks like they actually put 10% down...good for them. However, on 5/22/2006 they then went to our friends at WAMU and got another loan for $148.8K
So judging from this, we might simply have a case of people who got in over their heads. They probably weren't making enough to pay for the place and could have been just hoping to hold on long enough to sell and make a profit. Maybe its a sob story, maybe not. But if they had initially purchased a property that they could responsibly afford and didn't plan on selling in a year or two, they probably would have been better off.
Condos like this that had such a huge run up over the past 5-7 years are going to get hammered.
Re 1138 12th St #10
You said, "Purchased on 8/10/2005 for $685K. The owners (married couple) got a $584K first with Countrywide and a $68.5K second with Countrywide as well. So it looks like they actually put 10% down...good for them. However, on 5/22/2006 they then went to our friends at WAMU and got another loan for $148.8K"
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So the 148.8K Wamu was a refinance of the 68.5k second? Even now, before any devaluation of RE, this is upside down with about $732K of debt. If the property has a FMV of only $685K, Wamu is the party in hot water. If the seller walks, Wamu must decide whether there is any value maintaining their position, keeping the taxes current, and marketing the property. Wamu could pay off Countrywide in an REO, but why would they? What's in it for Wamu? They would sink well over $600K in order to protect 148.8K? I assume we will be hearing how Countrywide dodged the bullet on this one and what an idiot the the lender was at Wamu. The appraiser will be in deep bandini, too.
Great job on this blog. In the past most buyers didn't bother looking at the debt on a property, only the value and how much they expect the property to go up. It is extremely important to know the debt on any property one expects to purchase. This gives the buyer an excellent buying edge for all the newly created upside-down FBs.
Keep up the great work!!
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