Anon's comment brought up this new listing at 2641 32nd St. in SM. A 2 bed / 1 bath on a big 60-foot lot, it was listed 7/5/07 for $1,250K, reduced in steps to $1,099K, and sold 9/11/07 for $1,070K.
It grew a second bathroom and just returned to market, now asking $1,499K, described as:
"LIVE, WORK, PLAY and GROW in spectacular restored and updated 1928 Spanish on an unbelievable huge green pasture."
Cute. Otherwise known as a big front lawn, because the house is set way back, with little left behind.
"Plus there is a second structure with two beautiful connecting offices or studios."
Otherwise known as the garage with attached sheds?
"Beautiful trees, flowers, shrubs, hardscaping and landscaping."
MLS photo looks about the same as the before photo (above), mostly a couple of added palm trees between garage and house.
"new stainless kitchen, hardwood floors, tank-less hot water, new furnace, great character. Grant Schools...."
Is a pretty basic flip of an 852 sq.ft. house worth over $400K in a sagging market? Or will this flipper be put out to pasture?
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Flipper's pasture
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38 comments:
there is tremendous hunger , tremendous pent up demand for single family homes at this price point
yes of course this is overpriced but don't underestimate the number of silly desperate buyers out there, scared that if they don't buy now they will forever be priced out
Hey Anonymous, can I please get the name of your crack dealer? Either that or you're the pathetic toolbox trying to sell this crackerbox at 2x market value.
There is NO ONE on the westside worried about getting "priced out". Have you been following what's happening to inventory & prices lately?
Tim Leary would be proud. That must be some good LSD (as I think about it, you're probably not on crack, more like a hallucinogenic...)
"there is tremendous hunger , tremendous pent up demand for single family homes at this price point"
I agree with this but it is not at the $1.5M level...it is closer to the $1M level. I don't know how much of the pent up demand is based on the fear of being priced out though. I think it is more from people who are just tired of waiting and have convinced themselves that losing hundreds of thousands on paper in the short term doesn't matter too much. I disagree of course, but oh well...
The bed/bath and square footage stats are a problem. This means this place won't get near $1.5M. If it were like the flip on 25th and had 500+ more square feet and another bedroom then it might stand a chance of getting a price in the neighborhood of $1.4M.
The large lot here makes it almost a waste to have done this cheesy remodel. At some point this place needs to do a MAJOR remodel or a tear down. Why pay for all the crappy granite and steel right?
Another dan on the board? Welcome.
You said $1.5 for 842 sq ft? Or am I misreading the entry? That's $1760 sq/ft right by the airport?
$1.5 million to have the biggest front yard in sunset park seems like a good deal to me! Your comment was dead on, this buyer got a pretty good deal on land value at approx. $111 per square foot, but the house was a tear down and at this price point who wants to live in a 850 square foot house. Did the sotherby's agent even bother to look at the last sale price in pricing this listing. This house might sell quickly if it was price appropriately, but this is just out of line.
Silly desperate buyers? That's a good one. None of those desperate buyers can get loans anymore. The ones who can are educated enough to do their homework. Sorry, but this is only good for raw land and it's overpriced raw land at that.
I live on 32nd street and it IS a pasture now. They were putting up a split rail fence there yesterday -- I kid not.
There are enough DUMB people shopping for homes in this neighborhood right now that you will be surprised as to how high this sells
you will be surprised as to how high this sells
But it didn't last year.
Good size lot....lot value should be about $1m to maybe $1.1....seems like the flipper made a mistake in not carrying this flip out to its real potential, scraping the existing house and building a spec house.....there seems to be a real market in new construction homes in SM...with that lot size, you could build a nice size house, pool and still have a nice yard....now that would sell at a premium.
BTW, the McPersian spec on Ashland and 23rd sold for $2.2 to a East Coast family.
right - plenty of demand right now at that 2million price point ONLY for nice stuff like that persian
For $100,000 dollars more you could probably buy the house on 34th with the same size lot and totaly redone, this is the dumbest flip attempt yet.
Never underestimate the bad taste of buyers....
I went to see it. To sell the "pasture" line they have put up a fence and have a big cutout of a cow in the front yard (!!) The renovation is mainly cosmetic, nice floors, new kitchen...I didn't even look at the bath. The rooms atached to the now one car garage match the house. The back yard is small, but private, with a new deck. There is this odd hedged area with a largish playhouse...
But it all comes back to that horrible waste of space that is the front yard -- Gotta love that they are trying to make it into a selling point. It is impossible to understand what would make a person put money into the house rather than razing it and using the big lot in a much better way.
Are you crazy? People: this is a tiny place in a crappy area that I'd barely consider Santa Monica; it's airport adjacent just blocks from Bundy, just south of the 10 freeway. Bad school district. No one, not even the proverbial fool, will ever pay $1.5 million when it doesn't even get you a third bedroom or a good neighborhood or a decent school.
The sellers are absolutely dreaming, I bet this was purchased as a teardown to flip at the top of the market, and when the bubble started busting they went to plan B. They're going to take a bath on this.
Is it even possible to tear this down and rebuild something closer to the curb -- taking that useless front yard and making it either more house, more backyard or both?
I don't know anything about SM zoning, but many cities have setback rules that don't allow you to rebuild closer to the curb (or, on the waterfront, closer to the water). Anyone?
Price Stout,
Yes, you could build new closer to the street, just have to follow current zoning for setbacks and height. Required front yard setback is probably 20-30 feet.
Remember 2416 21st St. from last July? Fixed-up tiny house on a 50-foot lot.
It tried for $1,200K, finally sold for $1,020K, and last I noticed had a demolition permit posted. Fate of this one on 32nd?
"Are you crazy? People: this is a tiny place in a crappy area that I'd barely consider Santa Monica; it's airport adjacent just blocks from Bundy, just south of the 10 freeway. Bad school district."
As a person who lives in the neighborhood, you don't need to protest so much. So it is a couple blocks from Bundy and the 10 -- it's not like you can hear either of them on 32nd between Pearl and Ocean Park. It is not in an area that is in the takeoff or landing paths for the airport and the sound level is no worse than most of 90403 (where I have also lived). Although Adams middle school is bad Grant is actually a great elementary school. And even if you consider it "barely Santa Monica"it still is, with Santa Monica City services and that much closer to the ocean and further from the 405 for anyone who has young children who want them to have clean air. I like the neighborhood.
That said, I do think 1.5Million is Car-razy for this house. I thought it was nuts that someone bought the house on Pearl at 34th for 1.055 million -- that one IS almost on Bundy and is equally tiny with a converted garage space. Maybe this broker thinks people won't notice that comp, after all, it didn't have a place to graze cattle.
Thanks, Anon(s?) for the local reporting.
I find that a pleasant neighborhood as long as you aren't too close to the Ocean Park Blvd. and airport noise to the south or Pico and freeway traffic to the north.
Now, I don't live in the area of this property, but knee-jerk overstatements are irritating... so I'm going to break this down...
"People: this is a tiny place in a crappy area that I'd barely consider Santa Monica;"
Not that tiny when compared to like sized lots and properties from a comparable era. And since when did anybody care what you'd consider Santa Monica? The city has boundries. This is well within them.
"it's airport adjacent just blocks from Bundy,"
Um, really, it's not. This property is outside the flight path and the noise isn't much of an issue.
"just south of the 10 freeway."
Only in the sense that 90403 is "just north of the 10 freeway."
"Bad school district."
Um? SMMUSD is a GREAT school district. One of the best in the state.
"No one, not even the proverbial fool, will ever pay $1.5 million when it doesn't even get you a third bedroom or a good neighborhood or a decent school."
I don't doubt that the first half of this sentence has some merit... I question everything else you said though.
Mind you, I live half way across the city and have absolutely NO horse in this race. I just can't stand ridiculous hyperbole.
Another spec home in the area just had a sign go up, on 25th and Hill. It's a huge home for the lot and it is right on top of Clover Park. 2470 Hill, which is $2.288MM, seems like it might sit for awhile given the locational disadvantage. There's a lot to like about that house, but with all the windows abutting the park, I just have some reservations abou it. Man, I'd hate to have to take a spec home to market right now.
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/rfs/656497079.html
price stout, I think front setbacks in that area are 20ft, rear are 25ft, and side are 10% of lot width. There are additional setback for second stories, but technically you could put a McMansion on this lot if you were interested in losing your money.
I kind of live in the flight path, around 21st and Hill. I can hear all the planes, but it's really not that bad. Since I'm always walking my dogs around the area I kind of became familiar with the worst airport noise areas. I think the worst is definitely the east side of the AP. landing jets are so loud and since they have slowed to final approach speeds the noise is more sustained. At the other end of the runway, Marine and Navy get kind of load, especially when traffic is reversed. Other than that, it's mostly ambient noise you get used to hearing and it's gone well before I go to bed. That said, the house on 31st probably can barely hear ap traffic.
i agree with the other posters
note that front setback rules are different all over santa monica
in the 90402 you must build with a 30 foot setback
Why would it be terrible to have a unch of windows facing clover park?
ON THE ORIGINAL POST
you mentioned 852 sq ft is worth $400K
What year are you thinking of? Maybe 15 years ago houses in SP were around that......are you thinking that this listing will be reset to 1992 prices?
Home prices are not gonna be that low! wishful thinking folks.
Go drive by the house on 25th and Hill and you'll see that it just lacks any privacy. The eastern (northeastern) facade is all doors and access to street that fronts Clover Park. I can see why it might lower value. I'd like to be close to a nice park, but not right on top of a busy one. Plus, it's kinda sketchy at night at that park. Also, it's one house from the fire department, which comes with it's own impacts.
25th and Hill is also close to the SM Airport runway, around where planes become airborn.
I find this an interesting blog. I sold a house 1 year ago in Mar Vista near Venice HS. Purchased for 340k and sold for 859k. My family is now renting a house in 90403 for about the same as our 270k mortgage. I can't believe the idea that 1 Million + homes are the norm in Sunset Park. 90403 has a few homes for sale under 1.7 million and in my opinion it is a much, much nicer area. Do incomes really support the types of prices in Sunset Park? I find this hard to believe. Even 1+ years into the RE downturn the prices close to the airport are absurd, that goes for Mar Vista as well. Where will prices land? Even at 750k most of the population is priced out never mind 2.2 mill.
Oh my God! This just gets crazier! Anybody who thinks this is even remotely a good deal is either a cheer leader, bankrupt Realtor, or that guy who was the publicist for Saddam Hussein who kept on saying Iraq is winning the war. Wise up people!
The debate between Realtors/sellers ("Bulls") and buyers ("realists") is fascinating. It is also interesting that the discussion will eventually affect prices and volume as buyers see that many sellers are unreasonable and that prices will fall much further much longer than current sellers anticipate.
Oddly, sellers feel entitled to their bubble windfall, as large as possible. Sellers violently react against those wishing to pop their bubble and decrease their windfall.
Besides easy credit, the Bubble psychology was the product of fear and greed fanned by rumor.
Deflated by a credit crunch, the popping of the Bubble occurs when the market becomes unsustainable in real life, with the evidence presented in these blogs, where sellers revolt over the various myths and absurdities.
On absurdity: SMMUSD is one of the best school districts in the state. The reality: SMMUSD has several good school in the expensive Malibu and 90402 areas, but many schools are mediocre. Not South Central mediocre, but certainly not consistent with excellence.
Check the APs on the link.
I personally think every kid is entitled to a good free public education, not a myth. So don't peddle the myths.
That's why people pay the big bucks for 90402
the schools in 90402 are very different than in the rest of sm
The API for every school in Santa Monica is over 850, putting them in the top 5% nationally. The two elementary schools on Montana have APIs of roughly 950, putting them in the top 1%.
Comparing them to the schools in south central (where I used to teach), where the scores are at best 400, is stupid.
ALL of the schools in Santa Monica are excellent, a few of them are just incredible.
Of course, Canyon Charter (not SMMUSD) scores better than all of the SMMUSD APIs, so if that's what's motivating you, the Canyon is the place to be.
By the way... just because I know the answer... the APIs in Manhattan Beach average within five points of SMMUSD... so the folks who were trying to paint Santa Monica schools as some sort of unreconstructed wasteland are just not looking at the facts.
you rock Anon 1:58.....SMMUSD is the reason the prices are so high in SM, period. As well it should be. My neighbor's kid got into Berkeley, Stanford and some Ivy League school last year, went all the way through the 'marginal' (90405) SM schools...its incredible and well worth the high prop. taxes we all pay in SM....you 90402ers got nothin' on the 90405, except higher test scores and more Persians.
Then again, I rent out my back house to a few grads of the 90405 systems and they are basically gangsters. At least they are quiet.
Argue all you like, but McKinley and Grant are also excellent schools, with much more diverse student bodies than Roosevelt or Lincoln. And both McKinley and Grant do not put the same emphasis on API testing that the latter two do. John Muir and Will Rogers are more middling in their scores, but scores are not the be all and end all of making sure your child receives a good education or even a good school. You realize your child can still get the burned-out phoning-it-in teacher at Lincoln (there are perhaps less of them there than some other schools, but rest assured, they are there).
There is less violence in the elementry schools on montana than in the rest of the sm elementary schools
just ask your kids - they know what goes on
If by "violence" you mean things like pushing and shoving, you may be right.
Franklin and Roosevelt were absolutely crucified by the Drudge Report / Fox News crowd a few years ago for expanding their no tolerence bullying policy to include games like "tag" that have the potential to escalate into shoving matches.
But if you sincerely want to imply that Santa Monica elementary schools (much less elementary schools in South Central where I used to teach) are rife with actual violence... well, your either far to credulous, or you're an idiot.
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