More Trouble on Larsson

It's no fun to watch, but a Hill Section listing at 407 Larsson is turning into a disaster.

Regular readers will recognize the home as one that's been on offer for a long time – since mid-September 2008, to be specific. (With some re-lists.)

The owners paid $2.980m for the 5br/5ba, 4850 sq. ft. home when it was new, 4 years ago, in Nov. 2005. Only this past Summer, after about 300 DOM, did they begin to offer it for less than they had paid.

This week it's up with a new agent and another new price: $2.269m.

That's -$711k/-24% off the 2005 acquisition price, and quite a bit lower than the $2.599m list price when MBC last mentioned the property (see "Pushing into '04?") about 6 weeks ago.

And, need we remind you, it's November – the home hasn't sold in 14 moths, and now starts up, er, "fresh" as we approach the holidays.

The new price is a noteworthy $131k cut from the previous agent's last list price. But at this time of year, with a home that's vacant (per the current listing pics), you have to imagine that the cutting isn't finished if they're going to make a deal.

This Summer MBC noted an unfortunate error in a Beach Reporter ad for 407 Larsson. In "Million-Dollar Coupon," we noted that the wrong digit was used to tease a price cut from $3.150m to $2.949m. Instead, the "coupon" said the new offering price was $1.949m.

If the price drops much lower, it may be time to rename that story "Million-Dollar Omen."

Larsson is not listed as a short sale, though the current list price is well below the amount of the first purchase loan, not to mention another loan initiated later.

When this one finally changes hands, it may actually be one of the deals of the year. To be determined.

For some additional perspective, this big home now pencils out to $469/PSF, pretty low, if not unprecedented, for the Hills in recent months:

1042 2nd is a newer (2003) home of comparable size (5br/4ba, 4425 sq. ft.) with its own location issue, right on busy 2nd St. at Sepulveda, huddled up against a large office building.

It closed in August for $1.810m and $409/PSF.  (Click highlighted address for more pics & details via Redfin – yes, they do this now for sold listings!) (See "Atypical Deal on the Hill" for more on the sale.)

903 10th (6br/7ba, 5120 sq. ft.) is pretty new (2007) and a bit bigger than 407 Larsson. It's got a location issue of some concern, but probably not of the same degree. This home runs along Poinsettia, the main north-south artery through the Hills, with plenty of daylong traffic.

10th recently made a deal (click the highlighted address – Redfin also now shows "pending" listings in their entirety), with a last list price of $2.850m, or $557/PSF, a cut above Larsson.

For more data, see the Hill Section Solds page or the Hill Section Actives page from our 10/31/09 MB Market Update.

407 Larsson has been called delightful by MBC readers responding to prior stories. The problem here is – what's that phrase? – oh yes, location x 3. Larsson is the Oak of the Hill Section. This home is on the "right" side, at least – not abutting the commercial properties and Sepulveda.

Still, 407 Larsson is proving to be one of the huge, sore-thumb examples of how location matters so much more today than it did a blink of an eye ago, during the boom.