Price Adjuster

Braeswood Place
08/10/09 6:14pm

Swamplot Price Adjuster: Blue Bonnet Spread

by
Homes for Sale, Price Adjuster, Southern Oaks
19 Comments

The Swamplot Price Adjuster needs your nominations! Found a property you think is poorly priced? Send an email to Swamplot, and be sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it deserves a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. Unless requested otherwise, all submissions to the Swamplot Price Adjuster will be kept anonymous.

Location: 3105 Blue Bonnet Blvd., Southern Oaks
Details: 3 bedrooms, 4 baths; 4,109 sq. ft. on a 16,992-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $3,400,000
History: On the market since last Thanksgiving. Price reduced $100K mid-June.

Our nominator, struggling with the price tag:

Typical newer construction home in Southern Oaks. The chandelier in the foyer is way too ostentatious for my taste…but to each their own. The rest of the house shows like any other new construction mcmansion in Southern Oaks and Braes Heights that list between $1,000,000 – $1,300,000. Also, it’s sits four houses off of Buffalo Speedway in one direction and two houses down from a huge apartment complex in the other direction. The only advantage I see this house has is that it’s on a 16,000 sf lot, whereas most of the others average 9,000 sf. The house is only 4,100 sf, making it smaller than most of the new construction in the area. So, the question is, why the $3.4 million price tag?

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Glenbrook Valley
08/03/09 11:22am

Swamplot Price Adjuster: Glenbrook Valley High?

by
Homes for Sale, Price Adjuster
8 Comments

The Swamplot Price Adjuster needs your nominations! Found a property you think is poorly priced? Send an email to Swamplot, and be sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it deserves a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. Unless requested otherwise, all submissions to the Swamplot Price Adjuster will be kept anonymous.

Location: 8107 Glen Dell Ct.
Details: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths; 2,757 sq. ft. on an 11,307-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $245,000
History: On the market almost continuously from March 2005 to February 2006, then again from March to September 2006, and after a couple of weeks’ rest back on again until March 2007. Returned to the market from February to August of last year. Listed again since July 3rd of this year. Price reduced from $259K.

Here’s our reader’s nomination:

The home has a lot of good bones, flagstone exterior & some flagstone floors, big windows, angled rooms, pool. But the things done in the name of updating haven’t helped it. Lots of cheap ugly ceramic tile, Home Depot pedestal sinks, overdone moldings, and the original flagstone posts were taken down in favor of plain square wooden ones. There is no landscaping to speak of, and the pool is drained, now that will show well.

So, then . . . what might be a better price?

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Bellaire
07/27/09 11:39am

Swamplot Price Adjuster: A Little Corner of Bellaire, As It Is

by
Land for Sale, Land Prices, Price Adjuster
15 Comments

The Swamplot Price Adjuster needs your nominations! Found a property you think is poorly priced? Send an email to Swamplot, and be sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it deserves a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. Unless requested otherwise, all submissions to the Swamplot Price Adjuster will be kept anonymous.

Location: 4901 Evergreen St., Bellaire
Details: 6,890 sq. ft. lot, marred by only by existing house. “BEING SOLD AS LOT VALUE ONLY***DRIVE BY ONLY***Great Corner Lot***Lots of Trees**”
Price: $700,000
History: Listed at the current price since late May.

Note: Story updated below.

The reader who’s nominating this Bellaire lot wonders why it’s priced like a Bellaire house:

This is probably priced more than double what it should be. While Bellaire is not a cheap neighborhood, there are plenty of nice 3700-4000 square foot homes selling in Bellaire for this same price or lower. It isn’t even a big lot. The appraisal district appraises it at $254,069 for a price difference of $445,931 . . .

It is also a corner lot, and there is a stop sign in front of the house. I know there is an older house on the lot, but the agent is selling it “As-is” without scheduling appointments . . .

There is a beautiful 4400 sq foot house also on Evergreen a block or two away (5113 Evergreen) on a similar size lot that is selling for 825 [was recently reduced to $799K].

What would be a better price for this little piece of Bellaire?

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Homes for Sale
07/20/09 12:16pm

Swamplot Price Adjuster: Hunter Green in Downtown Rosenberg

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Price Adjuster, Rosenberg
3 Comments

The Swamplot Price Adjuster needs your nominations! Found a property you think is poorly priced? Send an email to Swamplot, and be sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it deserves a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. Unless requested otherwise, all submissions to the Swamplot Price Adjuster will be kept anonymous.

Location: 812 2nd St., Rosenberg
Details: 3-4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths; 3,793 sq. ft. on a 33,600-sq.-ft. lot. “Second home” on property “needs work.”
Price: $279,900
History: Listed since June 24th at the current price.

Declares the reader who’s nominating this property:

This house just went up for sale in Rosenberg’s downtown. The problem I have with it is that the listing seems totally incorrect, as there’s no way this is on 33,600 sf lot. The house, built in the 1920’s, can’t possibly be almost 4k sf either. I’ve driven around, looked at the arial view on Zillow from all sides, and I can’t picture it.

Even if it is a large lot, it’s surrounded by commercial property, with some kind of electrical grid (?) right behind it and public street parking right in front. The metal roof is sliding off in chunks, and you can see that from the bridge right behind it, where everyone can see the top of the house. Why is there a bridge? Because the railroad yard is right there! The so-called 2nd house on the property is very old rental units that look so diseased that the only option would be to tear it down. There’s no garage, so at least there’s be a place for one after that’s gone.

The appeal is lacking from the front no doubt, but the inside décor has that beat. Gold and hunter green don’t usually win the interior design popularity contests these days.

What would be a better price?

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Bayou Woods
07/06/09 3:27pm

Swamplot Price Adjuster: Game Time in Bayou Woods

by
Homes for Sale, Price Adjuster
20 Comments

The Swamplot Price Adjuster needs your nominations! Found a property you think is poorly priced? Send an email to Swamplot, and be sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it deserves a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. Unless requested otherwise, all submissions to the Swamplot Price Adjuster will be kept anonymous.

Location: 8906 B Memorial Dr., Bayou Woods
Details: 7 bedrooms, 5 1/2 baths; 7,521 sq. ft. on a 25,740-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $1,650,000
History: On the market for more than 2 1/2 years. 8 separate price reductions, totaling $925K. Just cut $100K at the beginning of this month.

Says the nominator of this home:

This place is just too much. Really. I mean … 22 ft. ceilings in the Living Room? Who’s got that much of a swelled head? And 2 separate game rooms? One of them has its own kitchen and dining room! I think “built for builder” says it all.

But what do I know? At only 7,500sf maybe it’s not grandiose enough for the new Bayou Woods.

I don’t really know much about this place, but it sure has been hanging around on the market for awhile.

What should the price be?

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Boulevard Oaks
06/29/09 2:48pm

Swamplot Price Adjuster: Boulevard Oaks by the Square Foot

by
Hermann Hospital Estates, Home Prices, Homes for Sale, Price Adjuster
23 Comments

Why hasn’t this cute little cottage on South Blvd. in Boulevard Oaks been snapped up yet?

Location: 1930 South Blvd., Boulevard Oaks
Details: 5 bedrooms, 6 full and 4 half-baths; 7,863 sq. ft. on a 10,140-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $2,450,000
History: Original home on property torn down in fall of 2007. Listed for $2.6 million during construction; price cut $150K last Halloween.

Our nominator writes in:

I’ve walked through this home. It’s a vacuous monument to the “price per square foot” itch that’s infected so many builders trying to make a buck in fancier neighborhoods. If you can get $300 a square foot for a 3,000 square foot house, why not build a 6,000 square foot house and double the take? And think of the bonus you could get for 7,863!

So the design becomes a ridiculous exercise in racking up square footage for no useful reason. Most of the experience of this house consists of walking down long, built-to-impress but useless hallways. The master bedroom is big enough to skate in.

This place only looks like a great deal on paper. I hope studying this home will make realtors and builders and buyers and appraisers think twice about applying mindless per-square foot pricing formulas.
Because this is what you end up with.

So . . . how should you price it?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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First Montrose Commons
06/22/09 11:29am

Swamplot Price Adjuster: Sweet Home on Alabama

by
Homes for Sale, Price Adjuster
49 Comments

Is this house on W. Alabama in First Montrose Commons priced . . . too low?

Location: 409 W. Alabama St., First Montrose Commons
Details: 3-4 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths; 2,558 sq. ft. on a 7,812-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $449,900
History: On the market for a month and a half. Price cut $50K a month ago.

“Why should this house be listed for more?” asks a Swamplot reader:

Because it is really large in square footage (2,558) and lot size (7,812 sf) and in addition to the main house, there is a nice carriage house in back that could be a home office, in-law quarters, rental apartment, or given that it’s Montrose, a nightclub or tattoo parlor (kidding). Although it’s been 10 years since it was updated, I think the updates have held up and stayed fairly current with today’s design trends as evidenced by the kitchen’s under-mount, double stainless sink, cooking island, granite, tile floors and tile backsplash with custom dark wood cabinetry and upgraded appliances included (looks to me). Master bath has tile and granite; one of the secondary baths looks like it could use some serious updating.

Custom paint throughout, looks like big closets, nice hardwood floors (some look better than others), lots of French doors and a bright and sunny interior make this home, in my opinion, the quintessential (non-bungalow) Montrose residence. And then there’s the added bonus of a wrought iron fenced and gated (not cheap) property on a very eclectic street. Who needs TV when you live on W. Alabama? Just sit on the porch and watch the street life. Nice landscaping, too.

What would be a better price?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Braeswood
06/15/09 8:41am

Swamplot Price Adjuster: Braeswood Landbank

by
Home Prices, Homes for Sale, Price Adjuster
18 Comments

A Swamplot reader thinks this 1959 ranch at the corner of Bellefontaine and Morningside in Braeswood is priced too high — even though the property is listed as “Pending Continue To Show”!

Here’s the scoop:

Location: 2401 Bellefontaine Blvd., Braeswood
Details: 4-5 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths; 3,748 sq. ft. on a 14,436-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $700,000
History: Currently under contract. Listed as “Pending Continue to Show.”

Our nominator writes:

I was thinking about this property three ways.

It could be sold as a remodel (which would probably require $100K or more just to update surfaces – a little birdie told me, for example, about the bright purple shag carpet in the entire bedroom wing of the house) – if it was an updated large ranch on this prime corner it could probably get close to 800K on a resale IMO. So what would a “flipper” pay for that? I’m guessing in the 500’s.

It could be sold as a teardown. The land value here is good and probably won’t ever collapse, but it will not be generating any income for a couple of years at best. There is way too much inventory in the neighborhood right now (big houses, old houses, new houses, empty lots) for more building to make much sense.

It could be sold as a rental. I’m currently living in . . . a big beautiful ranch house that hasn’t been touched in 50 years. In some ways that’s neat, but in other ways (plumbing, electrical) it is not. So I’d guess the rental income here will be about $2700/month. What would be the math on that for a purchase? I think that would depend on how much cash you put into the house and if you were landbanking it. I’d still end up in the 500s.

So . . . you got a better number?

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Home Prices
06/08/09 11:54am

Introducing the Swamplot Price Adjuster

by
Park Place, Price Adjuster
17 Comments

Are you getting the sense that some properties on the market in the greater Houston area are priced a little . . . inappropriately? Then you’ll enjoy the brand new feature Swamplot is trying out. We’re calling it the Swamplot Price Adjuster.

Which properties will Price Adjuster feature? Ones you send in!

Here’s how it works: Send your nominations to Swamplot in an email. Make sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it’s worthy of a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. (Unless you request otherwise, all submissions will be anonymous.)

Swamplot Price Adjuster will feature the best submissions, and allow readers to comment on and quibble with the property’s pricing.

Does this sound like an interesting idea? Good, because we’ve already received our first Swamplot Price Adjuster submission, and it’s waiting for your proposed adjustments:

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