I’m no architect – but something looks a bit odd about this house
820 2nd Ave, San Bruno 94066
$448,000
* Status: Active
* Bedroom: 2
* Bathroom: 1
* Year Built: 1942
* Lot Size: 2500
* Square Footage: 780
* List Date: 3/6/2008
* Garage Spaces: 1
* MLS#: 782766
*
Cozy 2bed home; skyligths; crown mouldings; triple pane windows; roof 2 years old (per seller); insulated attic. Convenient and large workshop/storage room at the backyard. Nice curb appealing.
Now frankly, there’s nothing terribly wrong with this house. 780 square feet – $448,000. $574 per square foot. 2 blocks away from Caltrain and 380. Normal.
But something about this picture just doesn’t seem right to me. It reminds me of the drawings that children make of people – where there’s no neck or torso – often just a giant head with appendages.
But then again, I’m no architect. Could this be an example of how I’ve fallen behind the times? Could this be the Facebook of houses, with all the other ones being Friendster? Is this the future of houses?
And what exactly is it that’s wrong with this picture? I can’t quite put my finger on it…
Any architects (or architect-wannabe’s) here on Burbed that want to comment on this house?
June 9th, 2008 at 7:47 am
Strong ‘Spring Bounce’ reported nationally:
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080609/usa_economy_housing.html
Anyone who is simply “analyzing the data” and making extrapolations without getting in touch with the pulse of the market would be caught by surprise.
June 9th, 2008 at 8:24 am
You mean how the rooms have to line up single file to make room for that spacious garage?
n.b.: The price is already down to $390K.
June 9th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Triple pane windows? In the Bay Area? I thought the weather was always nice in the RBA. I guess the microclimate on 2nd in San Bruno is brutal in the winter. Who knew.
June 9th, 2008 at 8:45 am
The triple pane windows aren’t for keeping the weather out, though the winds can be blustery year round. It’s to keep it from sounding like those 747s are going to stop over in your kitchen for a snack, not to mention the auto-body shop next door on San Bruno Ave.
June 9th, 2008 at 9:03 am
Personally, I’m amazed someone got to build this house in 1942. It’s not like San Bruno would have been a hotbed of war effort and scarce housing, and I’d guess that building materials were being rationed. Yeah, there was a big navy logistics base there, but it wasn’t the Richmond shipyards.
But I’m amazed there’s actually something uglier than the tiny post-war tract houses out there. I wonder if this started as a chicken coop or shed that someone managed to extend with salvaged materials?
June 9th, 2008 at 10:25 am
That lot size is smaller than structures that don’t qualify for McMansion status.
Check out the interior photos! Somebody got a great deal on Danger Red and Federal Safety Orange paints.
And now, let’s discuss the price:
Listing History:
Mar 06, 2008 $580,000
Apr 03, 2008 $448,000
Jun 01, 2008 $390,000
Clearly not an REO or the price wouldn’t be cut so aggressively. This is pretty amazing, though, a 32% price cut in only three months. And that first price is less WTF than you think, because:
Sales History:
May 06, 1988 $162,000 –
Mar 31, 1989 $192,500 21.1%/yr
Mar 11, 1997 $167,000 -1.8%/yr
Aug 29, 2005 $592,000 16.1%/yr
Yes, someone actually paid $592K for a toolshed on a half-sized lot. Did I say toolshed? I’m only quoting the seller. The description of the place on Movato describes the floorplan as “Workshop, Attic.”
Is this seller motivated? Hard to say, but the tax bills are late for 2007/08 (both payments) and last year the second installment wasn’t paid until August. And it’s not showing as a pre-foreclosure… yet. I spy with my little eye… someplace that needs an assessment re-evaluation.
June 9th, 2008 at 10:39 am
The house is out of proportion.
The height of the roof is too low. The window is too large. The space above the garage door is too wide.
June 9th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Speaking of Chicken coops, I remember reading an article at the height of the boom where some baby boomer couple sold their larger, 1,200 square foot home and bought what was actually a former chicken coop turned house-A 500 sq foot marvel for around 500k.I kid you not.
Kind of reminded me of the rent horror stories during the dot-com where people were renting closets.
June 9th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Have suicide rates been rising over the last couple years in SF? Just wondering.
June 9th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Well, some people are calling for revolution in China – because housing prices there have reached the sky. (Not to mention you can’t even buy a house before the 90s)
So nobody suicide because of housing prices yet, people in America enjoys democracy, so there is no need for revolution, we are just happy to be screwed (or priced out) forever.
June 9th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
When gas hits $6 a gallon, which it will by Labor Day at the unprecedented rate it is soaring, this shack and the rest of the real estate markup will tumble to Earth faster than you can say “fill ‘er up!” Americans will choose the gas tank until they drive their cars off the cliff, then they can walk away from their mortgages with no conscience. This country and the world have gone mad.
June 9th, 2008 at 11:48 pm
buckborden,
Gas prices affects those living in the outlying areas more than those who live and work in the job centers of the “real Bay Area”. As a result, the outlying areas will become even less desirable, while the opposite will be true for the RBA.