Swamplot Archives by Tag: Land Prices

Monday, July 27, 2009

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

July 27, 2009 – 11:39 am

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?

Continue Reading This Story >

11:39 am | 15 Comments | Read more about Land Prices, Land for Sale, Neighborhoods: Bellaire, Price Adjuster
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Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Just Couldn’t Say Goodbye: Otto’s, Back from the Edge of the Market

July 8, 2009 – 5:55 pm

That plan by the owners of Otto’s Bar B Q and Hamburgers on Memorial Dr. to shut down the restaurant, sell the land, and retire on the proceeds didn’t end up going so well after all, the Houston Business Journal’s Allison Wollam notices. The 58-year-old restaurant

was slated to be demolished to make way for the sale of the high-profile Memorial Drive land, but the restaurant has now fully reopened after the owners were unable to find a buyer for the property. The hamburger side of the two-sided restaurant has remained in business, but the portion selling barbecue closed for a time. A sign on the door says the barbecue side of the restaurant celebrated a grand reopening on April 15.

But word of the reopening seems to be spreading slowly. The once-bustling parking lot of the restaurant, for example, was only sparsely populated during lunchtime on a day earlier [last] week.

The owners, June and Marcus Sofka, were told they might be able to get as much as $150 a square foot for their property when they listed it with Cushman & Wakefield at the end of 2007. But a real estate broker tells Wollam the 1.3-acre Otto’s property at 5502 Memorial Dr. and the 17,000-sq.-ft. shopping center the couple owns next door might be worth a little less than half of that today.

Photo: Flickr users Bob & Lorraine Kelly

5:55 pm | 10 Comments | Read more about Commercial Real Estate, Land Prices, Land for Sale, Neighborhoods: Memorial, Openings and Closings, Restaurants
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Monday, January 5, 2009

Post Oak Lane Park Dollar Timeline: All the Offers and Counters

January 5, 2009 – 8:44 am
   

Following up on the overview of the controversy he and Carolyn Feibel published last week, Bradley Olsen provides this updated summary of all the offers made for James and Jock Collins’s 7,230-sq.-ft. property at the the corner of San Felipe and Post Oak Ln., adjacent to Boulevard Place: “In April 2002, the Uptown Development Authority offers the Collins brothers $289,000 for their property to widen San Felipe and for other purposes (they bought it for $363,750 in 1982). They declined. In February 2004, Uptown offers the Collins brothers $398,035 for their property. They declined. Wulfe & Co. begins negotiations with the brothers to buy the property in 2004. In early 2006 (one side says March, the other says May), Wulfe and Co. offered the Collins brothers $1.985 million, which included a $1.46 million cash offer plus financing of $525,000 over five years. The brothers declined that offer, both sides confirm. The brothers counter-offer by asking for $1.7 million in cash, according to Cary Gray, their attorney. In June 2006, Wulfe and Co. responded with a $1.46 million cash offer, which they withdraw in July, according to both sides. In October 2006, the city notifies the Collins brothers of its intent to seize the land through eminent domain powers. Before filing its eminent domain lawsuit, the city gives the brothers a final offer in May 2007 of $433,800. They declined. In February 2008, a panel of special commissioners appointed in Harris County Civil Court voted to award the Collins brothers $723,000. They declined. The legal proceedings between the city and the brothers are still ongoing and are in the discovery phase.” [Houston Chronicle]

8:44 am | 1 Comment | Read more about Buying and Selling, Commercial Real Estate, Development Strategy, Land Prices, Neighborhood Disputes, Neighborhoods: Galleria, Parks, Proposed Developments, Quicklink
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Friday, February 15, 2008

Uptown Hot Potato: Four Quick Flips in a Few Short Months

February 15, 2008 – 8:35 am

That parking lot at the corner of Richmond and Post Oak, where the Steak & Ale and Mason Jar used to be? Very popular:

In 2007, Houston-based Hines Interests LP sold 9.4 acres to Rich Oak Properties LLC, an affiliate of Boymelgreen Developers LLC of New York. Sources put the purchase price at $86 per square foot, or roughly $33 million . . .

Rich Oak ultimately opted out of building on the site and chose to sell the entire 9.4 acres.

On Dec. 21, 2007, the land was acquired by Lasco/Hicks Ventures Ltd. Sources estimate the purchase price was $140 per square foot, or roughly $57 million.

A $24 million profit? Not bad for a few months’ work. And they said the days of the Houston land flip were over!

On the same day, Lasco/Hicks flipped six acres to Elegant Development Group Inc. The buyer is affiliated with Elegant Development and Investment Inc., a Houston-based construction services company that does commercial and residential work . . .

Less than two weeks later, Elegant Development flipped the six acres to Deyaar Development.

Deyaar Development is based in Dubai, and likes tall towers.

8:35 am | Read more about Commercial Real Estate, Highrises, Land Prices, Land Sales, Neighborhoods: Galleria
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Friday, December 14, 2007

No Fooling: The Price of Vanity in Hiram Clarke

December 14, 2007 – 7:10 pm

Zero Player St., Hiram Clarke Neighborhood, HoustonYou couldn’t invent a street address this good. But hey, maybe it’s your lucky day: The market’s down and the owner’s got to give it up.

Huge price drop too, as of this week: from $250,000 to $189,900. And that’s for a 4.24-acre lot — where you can build. With real integrity, of course.

What’s that address?

0 Player St.

Straight shooters only.

7:10 pm | Read more about Land Prices, Land Sales
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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Staub Ranchsion Sale Not Going By the Book

December 13, 2007 – 11:59 am

3740 Willowick Rd., River Oaks, Home by John Staub

How’s that River Oaks “you loved the book, now try the home” marketing tie-in going?

Well, Stephen Fox’s volume on The Country Houses of John F. Staub is currently ranked #10,535 on Amazon.com, which probably isn’t so bad for a book about a dead architect. It is heavily discounted, but it’s collected several favorable reviews online.

The reviews aren’t looking quite as good for the Staub ranch-mansion at 3740 Willowick: The asking price was dropped earlier this month from $7,495,000 to $6,950,000. For a 2.3-acre River Oaks lot with Buffalo Bayou frontage, that’s a healthy step closer to . . . yes, land value. And looky at all the excitement just down the street!

11:59 am | Read more about Buying and Selling, Homes for Sale, Houston Architects, Land Prices, Neighborhoods: River Oaks
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River Oaks Land Rush: $2+ Million Memorial Park and Bayou Frontage with Modern Obstacle

December 13, 2007 – 10:10 am

3840 Willowick Rd., River Oaks, Houston

Here’s the problem with these sleek houses on full-acre lots in River Oaks: They’re selling for too damn cheap! The gorgeous land at the southern boundary of Memorial Park fronting Buffalo Bayou at 3840 Willowick — hogged by this eighties-modern home designed by New York architects Stonehill and Taylor — got swept up for between $45 and $57 a square foot at the end of August.

At that price, wouldn’t your head be spinning with the themed-towering-mansion possibilities? Bring on the demo and stucco crews!

Well, the stucco and foam cornice pieces will probably take a while, but the big machines with the giant claws are on their way, according to this morning’s demolition report.

Photos, plans, and details of the house-that-got-in-the-way — including some fine examples of how to distract from a River Oaks land sale — after the jump:

Continue Reading This Story >

10:10 am | Read more about Buying and Selling, Demolitions, Development Strategy, Land Prices, Land Sales, Neighborhoods: River Oaks
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Friday, December 7, 2007

They’re Otto Here

December 7, 2007 – 10:38 am

Otto’s Bar B Que and Hamburgers on Memorial Dr., Houston

The owners of Otto’s Bar B Que and Hamburgers — a Houston institution since the early days of air conditioning — are retiring, closing up shop, tearing down their building at 5502 Memorial Dr., and putting it and the shopping center they own next door (including Biba’s Greek Pizza) up for sale, reports Allison Wollam in the Houston Business Journal:

Word of the end of Otto’s has already been circulating among customers, many of whom Sofka says are saddened to hear about the impending closure.

“If those people like it so much, where have they been?” she asks. “Why don’t they frequent our restaurant more? We still have our faithful that come in three times a week, but other than that, we’re stressing out each and every day to pay our bills.”

Maybe folks stopped coming by because there’s no chance they’ll run into Marvin Zindler there anymore? Anyway, it’s likely June and Marcus Sofka won’t have to stress about their bills for too much longer:

Real estate sources predict the land will sell for a minimum of $150 per square foot and say the highest and best use for the land would be a high-rise residential tower.

The Otto’ses in Sugar Land and Downtown are franchised, and will not be affected, reports Wollam, who also leaves us with this strange — but quintessentially Houstonish — image:

Another franchised Otto’s is scheduled to open next year in Chase Tower, and Sofka says the barbecue pits behind the original restaurant will be moved to the new Chase Tower location.

Photo: Flickr users Bob & Lorraine Kelly

10:38 am | Read more about Buying and Selling, Commercial Real Estate, Demolitions, Highrises, Land Prices, Land Sales, Neighborhoods: Memorial, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping Centers
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Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Million-Dollar Teardown: Under Market on Underwood?

December 4, 2007 – 12:51 pm

2335 Underwood St., Braeswood, Houston

This house in Braeswood looks like a million bucks! And it sold back in August for just over that — $1.1 million — after lingering on the market for just over half a year with an asking price $400K higher.

And it’s featured in today’s Daily Demolition Report!

Below the fold, photos of demolition-ready interiors, plus some quick math.

Continue Reading This Story >

12:51 pm | Read more about Buying and Selling, Demolitions, Land Prices, Neighborhoods: Braeswood
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Monday, July 16, 2007

The $9.7 Million Corner Lot

July 16, 2007 – 11:44 am

Corner of Braeswood and Main

Buried at the end of a Houston Business Journal report on a new Hilton Garden Inn that’s going to replace the Droubi’s boxcar at 7807 Kirby, between South Main and OST, is this gem:

Moody National had been on the hunt for more property in the area, and was especially interested in finding more land next to the Hilton site to create a larger footprint for the project. . . .

A 1.2-acre vacant lot on the northeast corner of Main and Braeswood, across from Moody National’s Residence Inn, also caught the developer’s eye, but the price was too high there as well. Moody says an offer of $140 per square foot was rejected by the owner, who said he would entertain an offer of $185 per square foot.

“The land has been extremely hard to come by,” Moody says.

Sure, that’s expensive, but there’s a premium for waterfront property.

Photo: Bradley Broom

11:44 am | Read more about Buying and Selling, Hotels, Land Prices, Neighborhoods: Reliant Park
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