You would expect in a declining housing market sellers would have the wherewithal to adjust prices to meet market expectations. You would also expect sellers to put some effort in marketing their home by sprucing it up with new paint or staged photos to entice prospective clients. Well you are wrong! Welcome to Southern California, home of overpriced Wonderland housing followed by the stubborn seller mantra of “you can take it or leave it.” Today we salute Monterey Park with our Real Homes of Genius Award.
This marvelous 800 square foot villa is a looker. Enjoy 2 bedrooms and 1 large bathroom as you entertain your finicky friends. Make sure you tell your pals to watch out for the cracked driveway. Let them know that the cracks represent every major river in the world from the Nile to the Mississippi. Aside from impressing peers with geography, what home wouldn’t be complete without a custom installation of a modern television antenna?
Professionally installed, you’ll create healthy sibling rivalry as mom and dad race over to your place for some UHF/VHF channel surfing. No need for American Express payments to DirectTV when you can surf the free airwaves. If you stare at the home picture long enough, it starts bending in the middle as if partaking in a Matrix simulator. Alan Greenspan had it right when he stated that adjustable rate antennas where the wave of the future (or was it adjustable mortgages?). Either way, you’ll be making so much appreciation that in a few years, you can refinance and add a fresh coat of paint. But why ruin a good thing right? So let us take a look at sales history for this breathtaking place:
Sale History
06/01/1978: $52,000
Now we’re talking. A healthy 8% annual growth rate for 29 years! Since typical housing growth is at the rate of inflation, we are nearly twice that. After running a few numbers, the median rent in the area is $1,200. Keep in mind that this home is selling for half a million dollars and you can rent it for $1,200. Do we really need to run the numbers to find out what the prudent thing is? I know you're itching to catch this falling knife so go ahead and give your broker a call.
Today we Salute you Monterey Park with our Real Homes of Genius Award.
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9 Comments:
I know you're itching to catch this falling knife so go ahead and give your broker a call.
For that price, maybe you could get the seller to throw in some shod and a new driveway, cause we sure know you wont be able to afford it yourself after you make that sellers pipe dream come true.
@anon,
Good lookin out. You're right. Updated.
@kevin,
It looks like we have the original owners here. Even if they drop it $100,000 they'll still profit with a large sum. But we are talking modern electronics here so maybe $479,000 is justified.
I don't think this house is to expensive. What you see here is what liberals call a “multi cultural” neighborhood and to get this it's worth a premium along with the prospect of some West LA gays will invade the neighborhood and turn it around, like the did in such coveted places like Eagle Rock, Echo Park and other “under priced” areas of this beautiful city.. Don't be so narrow minded, don't you see the potential..??? HAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Monterey Park is the "Olympic City with a Heart" - let's give it the gold medal for Real Homes of Genius.
Actually, for a decent neighborhood, we've been trained to see this as a bargain, so, why would the sellers waste time on paint and paving?
The City of Monterey Park also has a first time homebuyer's assistance program which will set you up with a $50K silent second, provided the home isn't priced over $533K, you put 3% down and you don't make over $47K a year. The mortgage math doesn't quite add up for me, but what would I know, I'm no high-rolling real estate investor.
It may interest the readers to know that Los Angeles offers a first time homebuyer's assistance of up to $75K. But as of a few weeks ago they have suspended the program. I suspect the City has run out of funds for this year. I don't doubt that this absence of funding will deal another blow to the sales at the lower end of the market over the summer and fall.
"We've been trained to see this as a bargain" Nicely put. I noticed that back up in the SF Bay Area (where I'm originally from) realtors are still trying to train buyers to over-bid. There is a definite "do as you're told" mentality which translates as "we want our 6%".
Amen. I go to various real estate web sites and still see the same crap they've been spewing for the past 5 years. Some haven't realized the market has changed. Sellers in general are really enjoying the koolaid these days as their houses languish on the market. Still pieces of garbage on the market in the 600K range in Rancho Cucamonga.
Inventories are way up compared to Dec 2006, but the sales volumes which are published in the local paper each Sunday show that usually only 2-3 houses above 600K are closing every week. I sold my house in another state and am sitting on cash just waiting for a bottom... 2008? 2009? when?
half a million really doesn't get you what it used to these days...
I thought this home was a genius listing until I found this blog!
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