kaulat

I haven't posted in ages (I promised I would shut down this blog once I bought a house, which I did last year), but recently got a request to revisit the inventory situation in Long Beach and thought I would put some numbers to what I'm seeing on the street. To wit: as of February, there were 447 homes for sale in Long Beach -- an abysmal  57.7 percent reduction from this time in 2012. As you can imagine, this has created quite a feeding frenzy.  Median list prices are up 38.6 percent from last year -- nearly 10 percent  of that since January 2013 alone -- indicating this reduced inventory is emboldening sellers.  But this boldness is being rewarded, as properties are closing for 100.1 percent of these greatly inflated asking prices. As a result of this inventory squeeze, in my area I have seen absolute dog shit sell for huge premiums.  It's insane.  According to Zillow (so take it with a grain of salt), my house has seen an 18 percent increase in value ...

Sold on 09/02/11 - $605,000 Well, that only took 400 days. Look at this long, sad saga: Sep 02, 2011 - Sold $605,000 Jul 15, 2011 - Pending (Backup Offers Accepted) Jul 08, 2011 - Price Changed $609,000 Jun 17, 2011 - Price Changed $639,000 May 27, 2011 - Listed (Active) $649,000 May 27, 2011 - Delisted (Cancelled) May 17, 2011 - Price Changed May 09, 2011 - Price Changed Apr 25, 2011 - Price Changed Mar 30, 2011 - Price Changed Mar 04, 2011 - Relisted (Active) $699,900 Mar 04, 2011 - Delisted (Hold) Mar 04, 2011 - Relisted (Active) Mar 03, 2011 - Delisted Mar 02, 2011 - Listed Nov 14, 2010 - Delisted (Expired) Oct 05, 2010 - Price Changed Sep 27, 2010 - Price Changed Aug 27, 2010 - Price Changed Jul 15, 2010 - Listed (Active) Apr 14, 2010 - Sold $405,000 Hey, a $200,000 profit! This flipper must really know what he's doing! Not so fast, punchy. Setting aside the fact that flippers who know what they're doing actually, you know, flip houses instead of chasing the market dow...

Sold on 08/31/11 - $450,000 What a long, strange trip it's been. This art-deco disaster has been on and off the MLS since June 2009. 2009! If you recall, at one point the dipshit owner was trying to get $775,000 for this mess. Hell, as recently as seven months ago he was trying to get $600k ! Ah, how the mighty have fallen. In October of 2010, I said: "I have to give credit to owners expressing themselves and building something unique in Long Beach but as I've said before, one person's quirky (and pricey) personal taste means fuckall to potential buyers." and: "You know what I think to myself when I see houses like this? 'Yeah, if it was dirt cheap I might buy it as a goof.' In other words, this kind of look-at-me 'uniqueness' is actually a detriment to selling because this level of customization and personal flair can easily put houses in the Only-At-A-Discount category." Well, I'd say selling in 2011 for a mere $40,000 above...

Anonymous writes: This house has been in default - NOD filed 1/27/2010 (apx. 14K delinquent). [Trustee Sale] filed 4/29/10. Sale postponed, then I'm sure was eventually cancelled with no new NOD filed. Currently off the market, probably trying to modify $400K 1st TD. Problem is there's still some equity in it so likely will be denied. Thanks for the inside information, Anon. I actually tried to get in to see this house when it was still on the MLS. They wouldn't even take appointments. Like the vast majority of short sales, it wasn't actually for sale. From what I've been told, you are correct that they are in the process of modifying the loan. As I predicted in May, they'll play the short sale game and sign up for every government program (HAMP, HARP, HAFA, etc.) to buy some more time and enjoy the free/discounted rent. But what definitely WON'T happen is the bank foreclosing. It's going to be a long time before we see this place back on the market....

Price changed from $639,000 to $609,000 Ouch. This is getting uglier by the day. They've knocked off $90,000 from the list price and still no action. I mean, psychologically how do you think that feels? This flipper is still ahead of the game considering he paid only $405,000 in April 2010, but that seemingly fat $204,000 profit cushion isn't as comforting when you consider the 15 months of carrying costs, the substantial money he sunk into the flip ($80,000? $100,000?), and of course paying out commissions ($36,000). It's not like he'll lose money on the deal -- I think even in the worst-case scenario he'll break even. But I'm sure he'd like to gain some profit for his trouble, so with the fall and winter months (and his one-year MLS anniversary) approaching it would be wise to keep cutting. But with a listing history like this, would you characterize this flipper as "wise"? Jul 08, 2011 - Price Changed $609,000 Jun 17, 2011 - Price Chan...

This rock-biting mongoloid is back on the market yet again. Jesus, bro...give it up already. Despite the fresh "New Listing" classification, astute Long Beach Housing Blog readers will note that this joint has been around for more than 15 months, begging and pleading for some sucker to pay his ridiculous asking price. In case you were thinking this refreshed listing would be, well, refreshed , we're treated to the same two useless photos (one of which features the shittiest MS Paint job you've ever seen). The current listing price of $539,000 , while certainly more realistic than the original $610,000 2010 ask, is still clocking in at $610 per square. Yo, I didn't know they relocated the Shore all the way up to 3rd Street! I'll remind you that this is yet another in the growing contingent of buyers who got in "at the bottom" in Fall 2008 and refuse to believe that they are about to take it right in the devil's onion ring. Assuming he could ...