November 2008 
There are 27 blog entries for November 2008.
A Couple Sunday Opens (11/30)
Sunday, November 30th, 2008 at 4:17am. 283 Views, 0 Comments.
Your blog author has been enjoying a few days mostly away from MBC, taking time to recharge while the RE world is especially slow. We do have a full week of material ahead.
This weekend, we see only one new listing that's open, so we'll feature that and make quick mention of 2 others.
Click here for the complete list of opens published in the Beach Reporter, or at any time use the link in the right-hand column under "Prop. Search Tools." As always, click on any highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin.
We ask MBC readers who visit these homes to also report back. Tell us what you see, what you like and what you don't like. Use the comments here to discuss the homes we've highlighted.
1728 Poinsettia is a mid-80s build that's been tastefully…
This weekend, we see only one new listing that's open, so we'll feature that and make quick mention of 2 others.
Click here for the complete list of opens published in the Beach Reporter, or at any time use the link in the right-hand column under "Prop. Search Tools." As always, click on any highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin.
We ask MBC readers who visit these homes to also report back. Tell us what you see, what you like and what you don't like. Use the comments here to discuss the homes we've highlighted.
1728 Poinsettia is a mid-80s build that's been tastefully…Spectacular, But Shifting Fast
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 11:32pm. 135 Views, 0 Comments.
We've had only good things to say about 220 35th, and the feedback has been much the same.Here's a beaut with big ocean views on a walkstreet west of Highland. Modern and yet warm, maxed-out size-wise (4br/4ba, 4200 sq. ft.) but cozy. It's truly unique, as befits a custom build by a custom builder who intended to live in the home himself.
Finding the right price for this baby has not been easy, but they're trying, and they're not playing a waiting game, either.
When first the home was offered for viewing not so long ago in early October, no price was printed on the flyers. We got word that it would be $5.5m, and considered that reliable enough to print (virtually) at that time.
Turns out, the true start price was $5.0m. After two steps down, it's now at…
Open Forum (11/25-12/1)
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at 7:26pm. 181 Views, 0 Comments.
And now we tiptoe back into a world of limited-to-no comment moderation – your blog host's preference, as well as most everyone else's, it appears.Tying back to the auction story, be prepared to be astonished.
2509 Palm, which drew no bids at $1.499m on Sunday, has returned to market at $1.899m.
Discuss.
Also, a topic struck us last week as worthy of a few comments, if not a whole story:
The annual downtown Holiday Open House seems to be a bit more perilous than it needs to be. Sidewalks are crowded, but all the streets are open.
Wouldn't the event be improved with Manhattan Ave. closed for a couple of blocks around MBB, and MBB closed from the pier up to Valley, with Highland open? Seems like a no-brainer, but they haven't done it yet.
It says here they'll be…
Auctions a Qualified Failure
Monday, November 24th, 2008 at 5:36am. 315 Views, 0 Comments.
After several weeks of hype and garish "auction" signs all over town, Sunday, it was time for 5 new homes to go to auction. (See "Name Your Price?" for our first story on this last month.)
The first 2 up for consideration in the morning were in Hermosa, 540 and 544 21st, in the pleasant Hermosa Valley area.
The auctioneer began the bidding on 540 21st, and got an immediate bid at the auction minimum price ($1.649m), down from its $2.995m start in early 2007.
That was the last public bid.
All day.
No one bid against the first person for 540 21st. That start price was surely below an unknown "reserve price" in the mind of the builder/seller. They'll have to work it out.
Then 544 21st drew no bids at $1.669m (it also began at $2.995m, according to the flyers).
In…
The first 2 up for consideration in the morning were in Hermosa, 540 and 544 21st, in the pleasant Hermosa Valley area.
The auctioneer began the bidding on 540 21st, and got an immediate bid at the auction minimum price ($1.649m), down from its $2.995m start in early 2007.
That was the last public bid.
All day.
No one bid against the first person for 540 21st. That start price was surely below an unknown "reserve price" in the mind of the builder/seller. They'll have to work it out.
Then 544 21st drew no bids at $1.669m (it also began at $2.995m, according to the flyers).
In…
Weekend Opens (11/22-11/23)
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008 at 12:21am. 136 Views, 0 Comments.
We always appreciate a week with new options, and here we go.
Click here for the complete list of opens published in the Beach Reporter, or at any time use the link in the right-hand column under "Prop. Search Tools." As always, click on any highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin.
We ask MBC readers who visit these homes to also report back. Tell us what you see, what you like and what you don't like. Use the comments here to discuss the homes we've highlighted.
Hill Section
606 Ardmore is a one-of-a-kind modern on the periphery of the Hill Section.
If you've ever passed it, you know it. It's bold, angular, made of concrete, glass and steel. Seems to be holding up well style-wise – a 1993 build that remains fresh and forward-looking.
Despite…
Click here for the complete list of opens published in the Beach Reporter, or at any time use the link in the right-hand column under "Prop. Search Tools." As always, click on any highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin.
We ask MBC readers who visit these homes to also report back. Tell us what you see, what you like and what you don't like. Use the comments here to discuss the homes we've highlighted.
Hill Section
606 Ardmore is a one-of-a-kind modern on the periphery of the Hill Section.If you've ever passed it, you know it. It's bold, angular, made of concrete, glass and steel. Seems to be holding up well style-wise – a 1993 build that remains fresh and forward-looking.
Despite…
A Twin Makes a Deal
Friday, November 21st, 2008 at 7:28pm. 153 Views, 0 Comments.
More than 8 months ago, MBC took note of two brand-new homes, built by the same developer on a split lot, with the same layout but different design features.We dubbed the pair, 3307 and 3309 Poinsettia, the "Twins in the Trees." (Click for details on 3309 via Redfin.)
It also seemed obvious that The Twins were starting much too high. Both homes are 5br/5ba, 3250 sq. ft. – pretty much the max on 4640 sq. ft. lots – and both started at $2.795m. Newbies aren't generally going for those kinds of prices these days. So we put the subject up for discussion in a poll.
MBC's pricing polls often – but not always – appear to generate quite bearish results. This time, the vast majority of voters erred high. Though most were skeptical of that start price, fully 70%…
Renting Could Cost You $300k
Friday, November 21st, 2008 at 12:46am. 154 Views, 0 Comments.
There remain lots of listings simultaneously for sale and for rent. (See our mid-September update, "Why Sell When You Can Rent?" Many are still available.)
The problem for a seller is: What happens if you succeed in finding a renter, not a buyer, and then need to bring the property back to market later?
2909 Elm offers a cautionary example. (Click for more pics & details via Redfin.)
This 5br/4ba, 3450 sq. ft. home (built 1991) was first offered 2 years ago – Dec. 2006 – at a price that was much too ambitious. (More on that in a moment.)
Over time the price came down, but never quite to market. The home rented out, instead, in July 2007.
Now it's back, much lighter than its last list price.
The price progression:
The problem for a seller is: What happens if you succeed in finding a renter, not a buyer, and then need to bring the property back to market later?
2909 Elm offers a cautionary example. (Click for more pics & details via Redfin.) This 5br/4ba, 3450 sq. ft. home (built 1991) was first offered 2 years ago – Dec. 2006 – at a price that was much too ambitious. (More on that in a moment.)
Over time the price came down, but never quite to market. The home rented out, instead, in July 2007.
Now it's back, much lighter than its last list price.
The price progression:
- Dec. 2006: $2.8m
- Spring 2007: $2.495m
Auctions Approach
Thursday, November 20th, 2008 at 10:58pm. 279 Views, 0 Comments.
This Sunday is the auction date for 5 new homes in MB and HB.Auctions will occur at each individual property at the times listed below.
To bid, you must be registered by Friday using forms available at the website of the auction company.
Non-registered members of the public are welcome to attend any auction. MBC encourages even non-bidding readers to drop in on at least one.
Please see the MBC story "Name Your Price?" from one month ago for more detail on each home, including pics, links and original list prices.
Times on Sunday are as follows, earliest to latest, with auction start prices in parens:
540 21st, HB ($1.649m) – 10:00am
544 21st, HB ($1.699m) – 10:15am
2509 Palm, MB ($1.499m) – 11:30am
1405 Faymont, MB ($1.399m) – 12:30pm
1211 11th, MB ($1.450m) –…
A Little Help: Professions
Thursday, November 20th, 2008 at 6:06am. 117 Views, 0 Comments.
A recent suggestion for a reader poll rang a bell, and we'd like to post it.
The idea was to survey the MBC readership and identify the fields in which people work.
We'll do that, but there is a tension here in creating the list for the poll between being 0ver-inclusive and under-inclusive. We don't want a list that's like some gubmint form with 75 categories. But we don't want 35% of people to vote "other" if the list is too short.
Here are some ideas for the survey list:
The idea was to survey the MBC readership and identify the fields in which people work.
We'll do that, but there is a tension here in creating the list for the poll between being 0ver-inclusive and under-inclusive. We don't want a list that's like some gubmint form with 75 categories. But we don't want 35% of people to vote "other" if the list is too short.
Here are some ideas for the survey list:
- Health Care
- Finance
- Law
- Marketing/Sales
- Entertainment
- Communications
- Sports
- Engineering
- Manufacturing
- Education
- Government
- Nonprofit
It Pays to Be Flexible
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 5:50am. 127 Views, 0 Comments.
If you're going to sell in this market, you'll have to be flexible.
If what you are selling is a large ocean-view home in the Hill Section, feel free to begin by dreaming big.
And if things don't work out, get real.
There's always a tension between those goals – getting top dollar versus getting a deal done.
Over at 312 S. Dianthus, which recently sold, there were another couple of wrinkles to this oft-told story.
Not only did the sellers begin by dreaming big, they raised the price midstream (in 2008!) to reflect even bigger dreams.
And got a deal after the price boost! (See "How Quickly Things Change.")
But all that madness came to nothing. The deal collapsed, the home returned to market at the original price, and, over time, adjusted and adjusted.
The good…
If what you are selling is a large ocean-view home in the Hill Section, feel free to begin by dreaming big.
And if things don't work out, get real.
There's always a tension between those goals – getting top dollar versus getting a deal done.
Over at 312 S. Dianthus, which recently sold, there were another couple of wrinkles to this oft-told story.Not only did the sellers begin by dreaming big, they raised the price midstream (in 2008!) to reflect even bigger dreams.
And got a deal after the price boost! (See "How Quickly Things Change.")
But all that madness came to nothing. The deal collapsed, the home returned to market at the original price, and, over time, adjusted and adjusted.
The good…
