Bouncing Balls

Trying to track RE listings can be like trying to follow bouncing balls.

One has a deal. Or does it? No. Oh, yes it does again. 

Another listing cancels. Then it comes back. Are they in? Are they out? In?

Bouncing around over the past week has been 2812 Elm. This short sale made a deal more than a month ago (news featured in "Breaking the Ice?") but, late last week, went "active" again, as several readers noted.

Now, it would appear there's a new deal in place. Good news, if true.

Recall that the current owners paid $1.584m in June 2005; last list price: $1.299m (-$285k / -18% from 2005).


660 33rd (5br/5ba, 4500 sq. ft.) is big new construction that has hung around heavily (475+ DOM).

Along the way it faced NODs, got slated for auction in August (see "More on 'Foreclosures' in MB, Part II") and now has finally gone REO.

Last week: Posted with a deal.

This week: Back on market, bank-owned, now at $1.995m, a third off its $2.999m start price.

440 6th (6br/6ba, 4200 sq. ft.) is a beautiful new South End walkstreet home, custom built, which had a deal in late August (see "Newly Gone, South"). MBC noted then that the home had "never varied from its start price at $4.495m" before making a quick deal (within 2 months).

Alas, that was a contingent deal and the contingencies started to look a bit remote and down-the-line. So the property's back on public offer and has taken 2 cuts to $3.999m.

Recently 404 9th, a recently rebuilt/remodeled home (no bd/ba/sq ft data yet) sold off-market for $3.8m, providing at least some kind of a comp for the next buyer to come along.

815 2nd, the first shortie among new construction in the Hills, began near $5m in February 2008, but all these months and months later recently cut to $2.899m. (Far lower than 89% of MBC readers estimated in our pricing poll last year.)

There's finally a deal in place, though the listing is in "backup offer" status, and you should know by now to take that good news with a grain or 2 of salt.

Not only was the listing offered as a short sale; there was an offer of seller/lender financing as well. [UPDATE: The buyers made their offer in the developers' bankruptcy court proceedings.]

Looking back, how might this one have fared if offered near $3m to begin?


Not quite in the same vein as the others, we note the recent passage and return of 505 3rd, which MBC described generously 2 weeks ago as "a ragged investor-owned property that recently dropped well below its acquisition price to try to find a deal."

It got a mention because it had canceled at $1.425m (below the Sept. 2005 price of $1.6m). But it's back, just a common re-list.

And how strange it is to move forward without 3309 Pacific.

We counted 746 DOM when it dropped out near the close of the period for our 10/15/09 spreadsheets.

MBC once called 3309 Pacific "A Long, Strange Listing," noting that the home had been "for sale now in parts of each of the past 4 years, 2005-2009."

Not so long ago there was chatter here at MBC to the effect that the seller was really motivated, trying to make something happen. (Last at $1.249m.)

Then the listing fell off the map.

Somehow, we can't quite believe it won't bounce back.

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UPDATE: Information on 660 33rd changed after the first version of this story posted. (It was just listed as bank-owned with a price cut.) This post has been updated.