Over in West University, one of the updated brick bungalows in the Rice Court neighborhood makes a few good points — in its windows, archways, and a section of living room ceiling vaulted into the sharply pitched roofline. The 2008-renovated 1934 property has been on the market since an August listing aimed at $799K; it dropped its price a month ago to $765K. Two-and-a-bit years ago, the current owner picked it up for $551K.Â
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As renovated, the original 2-bedroom, 1-bath home now has master bedrooms both on the first level and in space under the eaves reached by a staircase thrust into the living room (above). A second bathroom has been fitted upstairs as well. One of the room’s pointed pass-throughs leads to the enclosed-porch sunroom facing south toward the street, located one lot in from Buffalo Speedway and a block north of University Blvd.
Another cased opening frames the dining room. Its glass panel doors . . .
open to a brick-lined side patio:
The kitchen, meanwhile, shares the back of the 1,551-sq.-ft. home with the adjacent family room, which appears to have once been a bedroom:
The floor plan’s remaining downstairs has access to the sunroom:
Its bathroom is a ramped-up and shared one in the hallway:
Skylights illuminate the upstairs suite. Many of its features are built in, such as the nightstands and storage flush with the kneewalls:
Ditto the shelving in the suite’s “study” that overlooks the staircase:
This 5,250-sq.-ft. lot is a smidge larger than the more prevalent 50-ft.-by-100-ft. lots found in many sections of West U.
- 3126 Amherst St. [HAR]
It’s a great location and a nice little house. I just bought a house in this price range so I’ve been studying the market. Almost $500 a square foot is a little hard to swallow. You’re paying big bucks for the location and lot size. You can get nice new construction in Montrose for half the price per square foot and Montrose is not a bad place to live either. I’m not saying the price is too high, but I needed a little larger house for this price range.
It boggles the mind that people will pay $500/sq. ft for West U when they can spend $300/sq. ft. about a mile south in Braes Heights, plus get an oversized lot. But someone probably will!
@Karen: living in the city of West U brings benefits you don’t enjoy in Braes Heights or Old Braeswood, though I wouldn’t know whether they’re worth the premium paid in housing costs.
My general feeling for 77005 and 77006 is 3000 feet and up is 400 a foot, 2000-3000 is 450 a foot, below that is lot value. Lot value and this approach puts it between 650 and 700. Mark my words. (Though inventory for non-TH SFR under a million in these zips is very hard to come by).
That den/living room is a fail.
Prices in West U have certainly gone up quite a bit over the last couple years, but this house doesn’t seem out of line when looking at some of the other listings currently posted in 005.
http://search.har.com/engine/5902-Lake-Street-Houston-TX-77005_HAR26784431.htm
5902 Lake is about the same size (1,578 sq ft vs 1,551) and is on a smaller 5,000 sq ft lot and is listed for $130k MORE at $895k.
A tear down on a 5,700 sq ft lot is listed for just under $1mm.
http://search.har.com/engine/4005-University-West-University-Place-TX-77005_HAR32711820.htm
If you look at recent lot value comps, the lot value alone for this location probably approaches $680-690k. The house looks to be updated and move in ready, so I think $750-760k is probably actually fairly reasonable for the current market.
Rodrigo, what are those other benefits? This particular house is two lots off of Buffalo. I just don’t see the attraction for the price, but I’m sure someone will buy it. We looked a similar property 10 years ago when we were house shopping but we opted for Old Braeswood to get more house and land for our dollars.
I really like this house, it looks comfortable and welcoming.
$145/sq ft for the lot – I would guess that’s close if a bit high to market value for decent but not great location lot in West U these days. I have a hard time seeing it not get torn down, most houses in West U used to look like this after all (before the bulldozers and McMansions came).
The attraction to living in West U is that it is an independent city. The police and fire departments are local for example, but the biggest attraction is the strict zoning they have. You don’t have to worry that a used car lot will open next door to you. Ever.