A healthy $1025 per square foot house in the Real Bay Area
629 Kingsley Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301 Professorville MLS# 80846292 – Property Details
$1,575,000
* Status: Active
* Bedroom: 3
* Bathroom: 2
* Year Built: 1915
* Lot Size: 2500
* Square Footage: 1536
* List Date: 11/20/2008
* Garage Spaces: 1
* MLS#: 80846292Heart,soul and style remain in this lovingly restored, expanded 1915 Cottage. Innovative design and finish work by master craftsman preserve the character and create one-of-a-kind quality, style and ambiance. What’s ?Old?-Its story, its charm, 3 ?wavey?-glass orig. windows, 1915 wood flrs, and its loc. w/in walking distance to Univ Av, Lucie Stern, Stanford etc. What’s ?New?-nearly everything else
Thanks to Burbed reader Herve for this find. What a fitting way to close out a joyous week such as this. $1.575 million. A healthy $1025 per square foot. It’s like the shining star on top of the Christmas tree. What a beaut!
Can you think of a better way to end the week?
God I love this season!
December 26th, 2008 at 9:20 am
I can understand this price for a unique property that has had a loving restoration. Anyone asking $1000+/sf for a run of the mill rancher these days ought to be shot.
December 26th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Very nice house except for the lot size which would be a showstopper for me.
December 26th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Whoa, check out the pictures. #5 is giving me tunnel vision, and #9 means either the builder got sloppy or that’s a really, really, really wide angle lens with some serious keystoning.
December 26th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
burbed – the RSS feeds shoot once nightly, maybe you just need to reset the update schedule to be every minute instead?
December 26th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I think I figured out why this is – the main RSS feed sends a signal to feedburner whenever it is updated. However, the comments feed doesn’t – so it is on a pull basis. I’m not sure how to correct this just yet.
December 26th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
What a delightful blue collar home.
Complete with greedy, out of their mind owners.
December 26th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Nice tech-related thread on Mish:
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/12/when-chips-are-down-chipmakers-resort.html
December 26th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
That is exactly the kind of modest-sized 3/2 a lot of families are interested in. Now drop the price to 1/3 and a few people can even afford it.
That’s silly. If you can afford a $1.5M home, how about something beachfront or with the best views. I mean something. And as Rocket showed – you can build twice the size for $1M.
The restoration of an older home means something, sure – but not 1.5 million somethings.
December 27th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Is this RE’s car?
http://valleywag.gawker.com/5118652/a-six+figure-car-at-silicon-valleys-repo-man
December 28th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
happy holidays, everybody!
madhaus, nice job on the gift exchange!
a. lewis, have you figured out the mole/ground squirrel issue? If they are moles, try putting down something to kill the grubs in your lawn. If you kill off their food, they’ll usually go to the smorgasbord in your neighbor’s yard instead.
I don’t know what to use now that diazinon was outlawed.
December 29th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Welcome back, nomadic, and thank you! And also thank you A Lewis for your kind words on the gift exchange.
For those who missed it, it’s on the December 23rd thread. That was a pretty quiet time so a lot of folks didn’t see it.
Tomorrow I am off to South Florida, the land of How Underwater Can These Places Go. I will try to check in when I can.
December 29th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Have a good trip madhaus! Hey, could you pick us up a few condos as souvenirs while you’re down there?
January 14th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Reduced $100K.
January 28th, 2009 at 9:11 am
The listing has been modified on http://www.mlslistings.com and there is one thing I wanted to share with everyone:
Come explore the history and the possibilities of this beautiful, affordable home in the heart of Palo Alto. And take our “History Detective” Challenge. Successfully history detectives who correctly identify the origins of a special table will have their names placed in a drawing for a gift certificate from Crate and Barrel.
February 20th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Reduced again. House is now listed again at $1,349,500 ($881 per sq ft).
February 20th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Good work Herve – keep going with the follow-ups!
May 1st, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Reduced once again. $1,299,000 now.
May 20th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Reduced one more time. Now $1,245,000. No downturn in 94301!
June 29th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
And again! Reduced to $1,100,000.
June 29th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Herve, why are you being such a gloomy gus? Obviously this house isn’t in the Real Real Real Palo Alto. Either PG&E built some power lines, or CalTrans put in a freeway, or High Speed Rail started service last week, or the nearby soccer field got torn up by non-residents.
June 29th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
madhaus – on this one, the lot shrunk in the wash. It’s only 2500sf now. Must have been a micro-earthquake that swallowed up 2/3.
June 29th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Are you sure, nomadic? Maybe the lot is the same size but they deliberately underreported it so the $ per square foot would look like a healthy RBA property. It’s like that trick where you pay extra transfer tax so future buyers think your property is worth way more than you actually paid. And if you want respect, it’s not enough to live in RRRRRRRRRRRBA. You have to have the most expensive house on the block… Or at least have people think you do.
June 29th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
> why are you being such a gloomy gus?
I’m just trying to help our so-called real estate investor Real Estater, who is still looking for his 2nd property.
> on this one, the lot shrunk in the wash. It’s only 2500sf now
The original posting was already 2,500 sq ft. However the house lost 5 sq ft. It was in a pool! It was in a pool!
June 29th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
sure the original posting was 2500sf. I’m talking about when the current
suckersowners bought the house. Must have been bigger. They couldn’t have been that delusional right? Right?June 29th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
You misspelled bagholder.
June 29th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Guys,
It’s a waste of time rejoicing over price drop on a property with 2500 sq. ft. lot size. This is like paying $3.3M for a house with 7500 sq. ft. lot size. It’s not cheap by any measure.
June 29th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
> It’s not cheap by any measure.
It’s exactly my point. Which is why I sent that listing to our Emperor back in 2008.
Anyway, what price do you think they should be asking?
June 29th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Another interesting thing. It’s assessed for $575k but was purchased in 2004 for $649k. Looks like some people over there are getting their assessments reduced. (I wonder when this place was rebuilt – before or after 2004?)
June 29th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
They should list it at $999K, and it’ll sell at $1.1M.
June 29th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
nomadic says,
>>I wonder when this place was rebuilt – before or after 2004?)
Come on, man. Look at the house. It’s obviously built before you were born.
June 29th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
Come on, scantly-clad ponytail boy! Now put back on those diapers, presto!
June 29th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
And again! Reduced to $1,100,000.
——
Oh, Herve! It’s just Holiday Season in reverse. Priced $1.5M in December and $1.1M in June. No downturn here!
June 29th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Dude, you really need a reading tutor. From Herve’s new link:
Delightful reblt & remodeled Craftsman cottage in Professorville. Cheery LR/DR combo w/ wdburning FP. Sunny kitch w/ granite counters 5 burner gas stove & wine storage…
Unless reblt doesn’t mean “rebuilt?”
June 29th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
DT, can we keep my fetishes out of the discussion please?
June 29th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
it’s rebuilt as good as old!
June 29th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
> Oh, Herve!
Calm down, would you?
June 29th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
sure the original posting was 2500sf. I’m talking about when the current suckers owners bought the house. Must have been bigger.
—–
No, nomadic. 2004 was different time. et’s revisit this conversation (although it was Feb 2008, someone sounded like 2004ish) -
Just get a “small piece”, man! That’s what this guy did in 2004 – the owner of 629 Kingsley.
June 29th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Good luck getting financing on such place anyway. Which bank is going to assess that to more than $1M?
June 29th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Do you guys think 224 N California Ave is better?
824 sq ft on a 1,800 sq ft lot. Offered at $798K. Walking distance to Caltrain station, Fry’s and farmers market.
June 30th, 2009 at 8:56 am
That one is cool, Herve Estater! Like living in a real shanty town. Awesome. Cozy!
June 30th, 2009 at 9:12 am
You can still afford a small piece of Palo Alto. You get the same environment, same schools, and same name as the guy next door who paid almost million!