11 – No, Wait, $5m – or Less

One of these days, they were going to sell the big new custom home at 116 Terraza Place in East MB.

It just took upwards of 2 years.

And discounts of... are you ready?

... discounts of $5-$6 million from the original ambitions. That's a whole second house! And maybe a third and a fourth.

This week's closed sale price: $4.9m.

At one point in 2008-09, the builder's website had teased the coming attraction and suggested an $11m asking price, while the first post-completion listing on the MLS sought $10m. Last list price was $5.999m.

Everyone who's seen the place came away impressed, but shaking their heads at the asking price.

It turned out that debuting right as MB's market bottomed didn't help much, and remaining totally out of whack for months upon months was not a good strategy, either.

But now that it's sold, we can say that, for that money, the buyers got themselves a wonderful custom Spanish on a half-acre lot on a private street, with a motor court around the entry more befitting 90210 than is typical in 90266. The home's got 7br, 9ba and more than 10,000 square feet of living space, plus a decent yard and great pool.

Some standout features we recall – the guest suite that's off in its own wing, the kids' own separate living room upstairs off their bedrooms, the huge covered/outdoor living spaces (complete with sunken fire pit)...

Was the spec project a gangbusters success? Of course not.

The land at Terraza was acquired in a peak year, back in May 2005, for $3.3m.

Consider the carrying costs over – egads – 6 years, the costs of sale (i.e., sales commissions), and, oh yeah, the cost of building an ornate 10,000 square foot home. Do you think they pulled that off for $1.6m or less? Sadly, no.

But why look backwards? A great home at a great price is always a cause for a toast.