The Swamplot Price Adjuster runs on 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: 2412 Wichita St., Riverside Terrace
Details: 3-4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths; 3,400 sq. ft. on a 10,200-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $729,000
History: On the market for almost 8 months. Price cut $21K at the beginning of May
A reader who lives in the “crazy quilt of a neighborhood” of this Riverside Terrace listing thinks this recently remodeled home dating from 1946 is worth considerably less than it’s going for:
Priced, as you can see, at just under 3/4 of a million (!) in a neighborhood where homes sell for around 200K on average. What? I mean it looks nicey nice and all, but not THAT nice.
Or is it? “It looks great in person,” admits our correspondent, after a quick drive-by. Did you catch those front doors, “replicas of those at the Chinese Embassy”? Or . . . what’s behind them?
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How about . . . the pagoda?
Our reader proposes this adjustment:
If I had to pull a price out of my hat I would have to price that a LOT less. Maybe 400 – 450K? My only reasons would be prevailing sales which tend to be lowish and the fact that there are a lot of properties for sale in the immediate area, going nowhere fast.
I am sure others will chime in.
Chime away!
Nicely decorated house on a large lot, but it has a strange bathroom layout in the 8th (or 9th, depending on how you count) photo, some of the rooms do not appear to be all that large, and the house is in a questionable (to me) location.
I’d price it at $350K at most, but at $275K if you wanted it sold quickly.
Toss all the furniture in and I’d probably consider buying it at $290K.
Again, why do you have this feature? Running down Houston real estate is of no value to any owner or taxpayer in this City. Please try to find something positive to say and if you can’t, say nothing at all.
Normal: posts like this are valuable to those of us who live in this city and purchase property here.
Unrealistic pricing can be bad for a neighborhood, causing a domino effect: Neighbor A lists their house at a ridiculous price, causing Neighbor B to do the same… and before you know it you have a neighborhood full of unsold homes, which can run the surrounding property values down.
Some sellers are acting as though we are still in the housing boom. This price is an example of that.
The house is worth it if it’s is not a few feet into the floodplain (one of the reasons many of the homes haven’t all been picked up to be renovated).
That piece of furniture in pic #2 & #3 looks like my cats have had their way with it.
This house is in an interesting neighborhood. Ive been photographing this area for over a year, and every time I go down there I see something very odd or new (in this case, both in one house).
This place is definitely unusual, but the price is probably within range of any number of (highly renovated) things around it. It represents a HUGE investment in improvements — it was sold for $214K in 2006 with all original 1940s features (including one of those elevator chairs on the once straight stairway). I think the current price represents the huge chunk of change they spent making this the bizarre showplace that it is.
A more constructive way to look at these issues would be to have readers link other HAR listings that they feel are either: 1.) just as desirable but lower priced; or 2.) more desirable at the same price.
Show me a similar house for less.
Show me a better house for the same price.
“Please try to find something positive to say and if you can’t, say nothing at all”
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Oh, and Gus, don’t run with scissors or chew with your mouth full.
normal is not the normal type of posting around here….God forbid if someone says something negative.
If a post on here destroys property values, then Swamplot has more power than anyone can imagine!
Pricing that house at $350K may be the dumbest comment I’ve ever read on here. Do you have any clue how much it costs to build that house??
How bout hiring a real estate professional to tell you what your house is worth instead of a bunch of blowhards that know very little about what they are talking about??
Oh, and the market will tell you exactly what your house is worth….that much is certain.
Lovely home. Location, not so much. But, I’d pay at least $500,000.
Owners will never sell this home at the current price. Drop to $400k and they might have a chance.
That house in another neighborhood may
be worth that, but this place is half
a block from a two busy convenience stores and the Southmore exit from 288. It is very busy and noisy. Lots of street people too.
Claire de Lune hit the nail on the head when she said the asking price “represents a HUGE investment in improvements — it was sold for $214K in 2006.” My gut feeling is that the owners’ are a bit ahead of the market in a neighborhood that is still somewhat spotty. It is always a challenge to be trying to sell the most expensive house on the block. I hope they succeed, as renovating nice old houses like this is better than replacing them with townhomes.
…
And the perspective correcting wide-angle lens used for the photos does make all the spaces look way bigger than they are…
Not that I have seen the house personally or anything, but it sounds like the house is a classic case of overimprovement for this type of neighborhood. But cool house, though, especially these Oriental-style stair railings and the pagoda in the backyard.
Considering that this home is north of Southmore calling it “Riverside Terrace” is a stretch. Maybe the listing agent thought that would command a “Riverside Terrace” price. It won’t.
It’s a nice house and a nice renovation but even in a good market $750,000 is also a stretch to have been originally listed at. Reducing it by $21,000 is not really a reduction. That’s maybe a 3% reduction?
They should have listed it at $500,000 and taken $475,000.
As for the renovation, sellers need to know that what they put in ain’t always what they get back. It’s not a matter of buying a house for $250,000 and then asking $500,000 because they put $250,000 into the house.
Of course you never know. Someone may fall in love with the Buddha overlooking the pool. And pay $729,000.
Yes it’s a very nice renovation… and I agree with Mies: I suspect this owner is selling *way* too soon. Maybe a hardship sale.
This house is located in Washington Terrace, not Riverside Terrace. That said, the house is beautiful and represents what I hope happens in that area. Most Houstonians’ collective draws would drop if they actually spent some time in that part of the Third Ward. The location is amazing offering easy access to downtown, midtown, the tmc, UH, TSU, Rice, Hermann Park, and more. The housing stock is solid considering most of the ‘hood was built when materials were better and people were craftsmen rather than day laborers. Now, with all that said, these people were NUTS to spend that much cash on upgrading if their only goal was to flip the house. In 20 years, this house will command that price if not more, but right now, they should consider themselves lucky if they find a buyer willing to shell out $480,000.
those people are crazy if they think they can get that price!?!?! i wouldn’t pay more than $1,569 for that piece of junk. maybe $2,000 if they added a high dive to the pool and go-cart racetrack out back.
(normal, i agree that this feature should be removed from the site, or somehow altered so that this becomes something more than commentators bashing folks trying to sell their house without any reasoned basis.)
From htownproud:
(normal, i agree that this feature should be removed from the site, or somehow altered so that this becomes something more than commentators bashing folks trying to sell their house without any reasoned basis.)
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Sir, you are disparaging the long established tradition on the internet of commenters making authoritative statements on subjects about which they know little. It may seem a negative, offensive or unreasonable practice, but consider the other side of this situation–these comments are irrelevant. No one who is buying a house will ever say, “I was considering paying $500K, but after looking at what the commenters on Swamplot had to say, I’m only willing to pay $300K.” Given this, why should you care what some anonymous person thinks?
I think this home should fetch $1.5 Million easily. Real estate in Houston is a fantastic investment no matter what the price. You just can’t lose.
And now Houston you may collectively thank me for boosting your property values.
I could swear this property was on Swamplot before. If you look on Google street view, the view was taken while the workers were still working on the house.
I’ve been in the home for a few parties, and you have no idea how well done it is, both inside and out. No financial distress, not reno’d to be a flip, just (I suspect) another project has come along of more interest to the owner. Overpriced? Sure, I think we all know that, especially not being in Riverside Terrace proper (and even then, the price is a stretch). I have no idea how much was put into the house, but every inch of it is of amazing quality and craftsmaship. Very personalized, though, which someone will either fall in love with or walk away from.
From Bernard:
A more constructive way to look at these issues would be to have readers link other HAR listings that they feel are either: 1.) just as desirable but lower priced; or 2.) more desirable at the same price.
Show me a similar house for less.
Show me a better house for the same price.
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I agree with Bernard – offering up real comparisons would be much more constructive (and make this feature more interesting) than random house-bashing and proposed prices.
This house is still in a spotty neighborhood, but close in and near tons of awesome houses just in need of some TLC. With these renovations, the location, and size, this house would be a great value for someone who wants a beautiful house near the medical center or downtown and does not want to pay $1.5 million to live in west U or the museum district.
LMNOP,
You do realize that people post on here for fun and not really for detailed analysis. I have to be reminded that that myself sometimes when I respond.
There are few old and NO new homes whose bones are so strong as this one. After 70 years this homes foundation has yet to come off of level and there is NOT ONE termite track to be found. Before its renovation, not one crack was observed in its plaster walls or ceilings. Every single 3/4 inch shiplap board which flanked the interior and exterior walls of this home was salvaged and returned to its position after the home was rewired and plumbed. Did I say that this home is constructed of original growth hard pine? try finding that today. When Ike uprooted trees in the neighborhood and ripped apart roofs, this home didn’t loose a single shingle or any of its aluminum clad high effeciency windows. The comments on this home are interesting. Taste and decor are personal and easily changed. But as for the worth of this home….Its a bargain at 725k. I know, I am the general contractor and owner.
@David Isaacs: Well done, and well said. When can I come for dinner?
to: david isaacs
Wonderful work on a wonderful old home.
What’s your next project?