Pricing Poll: 2312 Pine

Readers familiar with MBC pricing polls will recall that, quite often, the subject properties came out of the blocks appearing to be dramatically overpriced.

In the case of 2312 Pine, we're not sure. What drew our attention instead was that this home was sold new in 2003 and is now up for resale for the first time.

We talk a lot about how MB is living in 2005, pricewise – although our town does seem to be slipping back toward 2004, depending.

So how might a 2003 acquisition fare in 2009?

For its part, 2312 Pine (5br/5ba, 3150 sq. ft.) appears to offer much of what people expect of newer construction in the Trees. Max space for the lot, nice kitchen and great room, bedrooms with their own baths. The back yard features some nice twists: an in-ground spa and a little putting green.

Location generally qualifies as the heart of the MB 'burbs, though some may be put off from being just several doors down from Marine.

The current owners paid $1.559m new in July 2003. Start price now is $1.889m (+$330k/+21%).

Our poll probably boils down to: Can you get 20% above 2003 prices nowadays? If not, how much more can you get?

Please read the rest of the story below, with some comps, and vote in our poll.

The first broker's open is Friday and the first public open is Sunday 1-4pm, so we'll ask readers for further feedback here as the poll remains live for a couple days past the opens. We'll hold the voting open until Tues. night at 8pm, giving adequate time for the weekend tours and reactions to inform the votes.

Pricewise, what might be right for 2312 Pine?

All the comps we're looking at happen to come from streets beginning with "P."

Some recent resales:

• 2600 Poinsettia (4br/4ba, 3200 sq. ft.) (pictured), a 2000 build, very charming, north of Marine, sold for $1.530m in early June ($478/PSF), down quite a ways from a start at $1.899m;

• 1817 Pacific (5br/4ba, 3300 sq. ft.), a gleaming 2005-built Cape Cod, sold for $1.710m, also in early June ($518/PSF); it had fallen well below its April 2005 acquisition price of $1.925m; and

• 2200 Palm (4br/4ba, 3650 sq. ft.), a bigger mid-90s build with the best location in this list, sold in mid-July for a respectable $1.975m ($541/PSF), although that was down from a loftier start at $2.195m.

Also, we're still waiting for a sale price on 2400 Poinsettia (4br/5ba, 3650 sq. ft.), an early-90s home nearer to Marine that was at $1.599m when a deal was made ($438/PSF). (See "Learning, and Not.")

A high-range outlier among recent sales was 1812 Palm (5br/4ba, 3225 sq. ft.), a pristine house with inarguably a huge location advantage, which began at $1.899m and sold for much more: $2.1m ($651/PSF).

2312 Pine starts at $601/PSF. The main comps we're looking at were between $478 and $541/PSF, suggesting a price range of $1.5m-$1.7m for Pine if we go on PPSF alone.

Or you could put all those comps away and try answering the poll question this way:

• Is a 2003 build/purchase worth 5% more today ($1.635m)?

• Or 10% more ($1.715m)?

• Or something more like its start price, 20% more?

Again, please vote in the poll, and we'll close the vote Tuesday night at 8pm. The home will be featured in our "Weekend Opens" to remind you to attend on Sunday.