Three Comebackers, Different Fates

Three new listings have been offered previously over the past 3 years, but didn't sell.

This time through, each faces a much different market.

Likely to fare best out of these 3 is 455 35th, a large and darling Cape Cod (3br/3ba, 3075 sq. ft.) that was offered for about 6 weeks late last year at $1.599m. It's back now at the same price.

The mid-80s build has some recent improvements done by the current owners, including a very nice high-end kitchen. (For more, see the review in our "Weekend Opens" post from Oct. 24-25.)

OK, so the sellers sat out the holidays and the busy 1st quarter. But there's still a hunger out there for a good family house. It'll draw interest again. They'll do fine.

UPDATE (4/21/10): 35th posted in escrow within a week.

3601 Poinsettia (3br/1ba, 1075 sq. ft.) should draw some interest, too, being a spiffy cottage at a sub-$1m price in the Trees ($989k).

The same home was marketed unsuccessfully from January-April 2008 at $1.139m.

So today's price, 2 years later, is $150k lower – the cost, perhaps, of not meeting the market back then.

A darker tale concerns 714 MBB (3br/3ba, 1675 sq. ft.) You could almost see this one coming 3 years ago.

In MBC's early days, back in May 2007, we posted "A Tale of Two Townhomes," noting that both 710 MBB and 714 MBB, equally sized townhomes in the same building, were on the market at the same time.

710 was the superior property, but it was offered for less money than 714, undercutting it.

Eventually, 710 sold for $1.142m, leaving the neighbor in its dust – 714 quit shortly after 710 found a buyer. (See "714 MBB Quits.")

The problem was that 714 had been purchased in April 2006 for $1.355m. The new owners were trying to resell at $1.379m, but with the sale at 710, it became clear that they were not going to get out flat.

Almost 3 years later, the new listing for 714 MBB is a short sale, and the price is way down: $989k.

That's $366k (-27%) below the 2006 acquisition price, and $153k (-13%) below the sale price at 710 a few years ago.

UPDATE (4/21/10): The price on 714 MBB dropped within days to $899k, putting it $456k (-34%) off the acquisition price; $243k (-21%) below the sale at 710.

It's a mess, but maybe it's mostly the bank's mess. After all, who was giving out too much free money in 2006-07? A lot of those chickens seem to be coming home now.