A Few More Late 2010/Early '11 Closings

It seems like we're almost finished looking back at 2010, ready to really look ahead to what might await us in 2011.

But let's first look at some interesting late-2010 deals, some of which closed in the year just passed, some this week.

Monticello, formally known as 2100 Pine (5br/5ba, 3100 sq. ft.), made a deal within a week of hitting the market, just before Thanksgiving.

Though the home sold for $2.1m in March 2010, the new owners faced a job change and offered it back within the same year – selling for $2.030m in a deal that closed Tuesday.

No surprise, really, that the home went quickly – we've called it "a high-caliber house, clearly one of the top 3 or so to be offered on the public market in the Tree Section this year." (See "Ciao, Monticello.") The custom-built home does possess a profoundly nice style, once quirkily compared to Monticello – that we've called a "timeless classic with a distinctly American flavor."

The modest $70k drop in price within the same year owes mainly to the sellers' desire to get quick action, which they did. Of course, the costs of sale would make the resale somewhat more expensive than just that $70k, but you've got to do what you've got to do.

2513 Elm (4br/4ba, 3150 sq. ft.) also sold for about $70k less than acquisition, but its last purchase was way back in 2004.

It's a late-90s home with a safe Caliterranean look, nice great room and some recent updates, particularly the kitchen.

Elm was purchased for $1.599m in Aug. 2004, hit the market in June 2010 at $1.730m, but closed just before Christmas for $1.525m ($-205k/-12% from start).

As we'll discuss in an upcoming story, $1.525m was the median price for SFRs citywide for the year. As one of 2 homes in all of MB to sell at that price last year, 2513 Elm wound up as one of the literal "median houses" in MB for 2010.

1809 Walnut (5br/5ba, 3125 sq. ft.), a pretty typical "Tuscan" speckie, very plain-vanilla inside, has closed for $1.775m. In this case, that's a modest bump over the $1.665m acquisition price from May 2004.

Nearby 1821 Poinsettia, 5 years older but otherwise fairly comparable, sold for $1.675m in late October. Location for Walnut was a significant advantage – well, let's say almost a $100k advantage – over Poinsettia.

2301 Oak (3br/2ba, 1150 sq. ft.) is a 50s cottage that was very recently prepared for market with a serious modernization. (For more see our recent "Weekend Opens" post.)

It launched at $939k, made a deal within 2 weeks, and has now closed for $899k.

The closest comp, the recently renovated 3005 Oak (3br/2ba, 1175 sq. ft.), sold in November for $890k.