It was just a week ago that we asked MBC readers for opinions on the price at 3601 Laurel.
It seemed obvious that the corner-lot cottage (3br/2ba, 1530 sq. ft.) near Rosecrans and the refinery had begun too high.
Within the week, the sellers agreed, dropping $200k from the start price just 8 days into the listing –…
It was just a week ago that we asked MBC readers for opinions on the price at 3601 Laurel.
It seemed obvious that the corner-lot cottage (3br/2ba, 1530 sq. ft.) near Rosecrans and the refinery had begun too high.
Within the week, the sellers agreed, dropping $200k from the start price just 8 days into the listing – a quick self-correction. That brought the asking price down to $1.4m.
Now that we've closed the latest MBC pricing poll, it's safe to say that those voting believed there's a lot more cutting in 3601 Laurel's future.
As our graph shows, two-thirds of those voting believed that Laurel's value is $1.1m or less.
A plurality, 35%, thought the property to be worth less than $1.0m.
To create this chart, we had to combine the top 3 price tiers we offered in the poll just to show you the tiny sliver of 4% who thought the home's worth might be more than $1.3m.
In all, just one-third (34%) agreed that Laurel should command anything more than $1.1m. (Take note of that lonely third being consumed by the red-and-pink Pac-Man that is the majority opinion.)
This was one of the most bearish takes we've seen on a property. There's been some talk during the week's worth of voting that MBC readers were being unreasonable.
We'll see. It's understandable that people would look at the location and apparent condition and value Laurel somewhat closer to a lot sale.
That raises the first question, what's the land value? There are 2 Tree Section lots struggling to get $800k right now – 1801 Elm ($850k) and 3401 Palm ($799k), plus another, with the best location of the 3, probably headed near there, too (1605 Pine at $879k).
All of those are smaller than 3601 Laurel's 5400 sq. ft. corner lot, but all have better locations to some degree. The land under Laurel could be worth $900k or so.
And Laurel, more than the other 3, seems to have a livable structure that just needs updating. We're all missing one big part of the equation there – with no scheduled brokers' opens or public opens yet, we've had to rely on the listing description telling us it's "well-kept" with "lots of potential," code words for "needing updates." It's hard to say what the overall value is at Laurel without knowing more about the current cottage.
MBC polls have been both too bearish and not bearish enough in the past. We'll report back if and when 3601 Laurel closes to see how you did.
Please see our blog disclaimer.
Listings presented above are supplied via the MLS and are brokered by a variety of agents and firms, not Dave Fratello or Edge Real Estate Agency, unless so stated with the listing. Images and links to properties above lead to a full MLS display of information, including home details, lot size, all photos, and listing broker and agent information and contact information.
Based on information from California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. as of March 19th, 2024 at 2:45am PDT. This information is for your personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties you may be interested in purchasing. Display of MLS data is usually deemed reliable but is NOT guaranteed accurate by the MLS. Buyers are responsible for verifying the accuracy of all information and should investigate the data themselves or retain appropriate professionals. Information from sources other than the Listing Agent may have been included in the MLS data. Unless otherwise specified in writing, Broker/Agent has not and will not verify any information obtained from other sources. The Broker/Agent providing the information contained herein may or may not have been the Listing and/or Selling Agent.