3rd Overbid of '12 a Small Markup

Posted on Monday, March 26th, 2012 at 11:02pm.

The occasional overbid situations in recent months have raised eyebrows. Not all have led to big jumps from the asking price, though.

759 27th (4br/3ba, 3300 sq. ft.) is the latest to close, the third overbid sale of 2012, and here the existence of multiple offers led to just a $10k increase from the asking price.

A sale at $1.589m still looks downright non-crazy in a year that's got buyers feeling nervous and sellers ever so tentatively asking: Is this our game again?

You may recall when 759 27th debuted in January, nearly occupying the field alone for Tree Section buyers wanting 4+br, 3000 sq. ft. and a good location. We said in our review at the time that this one "checks a lot of boxes, with a very modern kitchen and master bath, a pretty nice location with a sense of open space, plus some views."

Though the home is upgraded, especially in the kitchen and master (bath is a stunner), there were factors limiting the home's appeal. The split-level layout (very 80s) and smallish, isolated kitchen stand out; the rear yard is really a patio that's going to be in shade most of the time. And that exterior could use a facelift some day as well. Of these, layout and yard are the hardest to fix.

The closed sale at 759 27th remains right in line with 2 neighboring sales:

608 29th (4br/4ba, 3070 sq. ft.), a bit smaller, boasting a superior location and great yard, but an upside-down layout that was far more of a challenge – it sold for $1.630m in late October last year. (See "Making Upside-Down Work.")

2509 Laurel (4br/3ba, 3650 sq. ft.), obviously bigger, but no yard, and though it's a neighbor just a 2-minute walk away from 27th, definitely suffering by comparison in location, since the Laurel property is just off Valley. Laurel sold for $1.575m without the plus-plus updates you see at 759 27th. (See "Close the Books on 2509 Laurel.")

So far for the year 2012, the overbids to close have both been in the Hill Section, as we noted last week:


303 Larsson

303 Larsson (3br/2ba, 1800 sq. ft.), nicely upgraded, came up at $1.0m, but closed at $1.1m (+$100k).
307 Larsson (3br/1ba, 1200 sq. ft.), tiny and original, started at $830k and went for $885k (+$55k).

Some other recent overbids:

Late last year, it was a big, newer home at 800 19th (at Pacific), going from a $1.899m start to a $1.952m close (+$53k) with at least 7 offers;

704 Marine

Recently, 704 Marine drew several bids when priced at $1.299m (see "Multiples on Marine");

1805 John, likely a lot sale, had at least 20 bids before one was accepted; it will definitely go well above the $1.1m start. (We'll publish MBC readers' projections soon.)

Sometimes multiple offers drive up prices; other times they just give sellers a choice – a chance to pick the stronger buyer.

That's still a seller's market, if not one that's necessarily rocketing up yet.