Our First Pricing Poll

We're now welcoming back a familiar listing, and the situation seems right for MBC's first poll on what the sale price on this specific property might be.

The cottage at 1829 Poinsettia (click for details via Redfin) is charming, but not quite perfect. Current ("new") price is $1.575m. We encourage you to read this story and vote on the likely final price in the poll on the top-left column of this page. Voting closes at 10:00pm, Monday, January 7.

Poinsettia is a 1950 home (3br/2ba, 1450 sq. ft.) given a lot of attention in a recent remodel, lovingly tricked out with some very nice attention to detail in parts. The Craftsmanesque look is great, and the details and landscaping are above par. But the basic layout is still that of an older, smaller home, and there's little usable outdoor space. (For more, see "Aiming High on Poinsettia" and, especially, "Aiming High, Part II.")

Shortly after MBC ran a story on 1829 Poinsettia, in May 2007 when it was priced at $1.785m, the sellers received a low-ball offer that cited the blog and, well, shall we say, was unwelcome. (Not to mention rejected.)

The price did adjust down to $1.599m, where it hung around for months. The listing was canceled in November, with 166 DOM by our count.

New year, new agent, slightly new price: $1.575m.

This is still $1,086/PSF, which is quite simply unmatched by any Tree Section sales of livable homes since MBC started tracking in March 2007. (For detail see the MB Market Update spreadsheets, in the upper-right corner of the front page; or download by clicking here.)

The sellers were obviously displeased with their previous representation, but we don't see that they've opened their minds much. The new price is irrelevantly lower than the last list price.

We can give the new agent (who apparently has a cell phone) credit for two things: 1) new pics and 2) a commitment to get some darned appliances into the kitchen.

Backstory/tangent: In May, there was no oven or stove in this otherwise total remodel, despite the fact that people were obviously living in the house. By the time the listing canceled, still no stove or oven. See the new pics, and yes, there are still no cooking appliances. The listing earnestly promises:

New stainless steel appliances are coming soon to enhance the elegant style of the kitchen...

OK, so the new agent is fixing this one glaring problem, but you all have to help the sellers see the light on price. It's hard to deny that this home offers a sweet, sleepy location, but a less-than-total remodel of a small home has a peak value, and we suspect it's well below $1.6m.

If you have an opinion, please vote. Naturally, we encourage you to support your opinion in the comments, but that's not required.