Cheapest residence in Menlo Park: 2/1.5 condo for $399,000
We haven’t looked at condos for a while. Let’s see what’s on the market:
165 E Okeefe St ##3, Menlo Park, CA 94303 MLS# 40385413 – Property Details
$399,000
* Status: Active
* Bedroom: 2
* Bathroom: 1&1/2
* Year Built: 1983
* Lot Size: N/A
* Square Footage: 1182
* List Date: 12/12/2008
* Garage Spaces: 1*PRICE REDUCED!*Townhouse ft.2BR/1.5BATH, SPACIOUS, easy flowing layout frm kitchen to LR. Great Deck area for entertainment and gorgeous fireplace – also ft LOTS of CLOSET SPACES, Kitchen fit for a natural cook, plantation shutters and EASY access to FREEWAYS and CLOSE to DTN Menlo Park & Shopping!
Phew. Sunnyvale and Mountain View had me all worried. Fortunately Menlo Park steps up to shore up the market for condos. Sure this is slightly bigger than the other ones, but at $399k this is a clear $100k more than the others. And that’s a good thing.
I think the best part about this condo, besides the price, is the fact that it has a kitchen that is fit for a natural cook. Natural cooking is all the rage these days, so let’s see how this kitchen promotes that:
You see, that giant tube coming down is actually a solar tube. So basically, you’ll be cooking your food with direct sunlight. And rain water. You can’t get more natural than that!
January 22nd, 2009 at 8:56 am
This is actually in East Palo Alto. The developer probably got in bed with the city planners and got it zoned to Menlo Park.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:14 am
Actually the giant sucking tube might be pretty effective.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:23 am
> The developer probably got in bed with the city planners and got it zoned to Menlo Park
Google Maps says it’s Palo Alto, MLS Listings says it is Menlo Park and MapQuest says it is East Palo Alto. Looks like city planners promote promiscuity
$360 HOA fee.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:32 am
Upon further research, it seems the 100 block is in Menlo Park and the 200 block is East Palo Alto. This insurance agent’s office is in EPA.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:58 am
There’s something wrong with the street name O’Keefe. Its like when city planners decide to build a bad area of town, they say “We need to name one of these streets O’Keefe”. Who was O’Keefe, one of the people’s lawyers or something? There is an O’Keefe in San Mateo also, on the WRONG side of 101 and for the longest time in the 90s when you couldn’t get a place to rent, these houses on O’Keefe were available for an astronomical sum.
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:26 pm
That’s not a giant sucking tube. That’s a Cuisinart DLC-711. Just lower it down, press the switch, and you can process all your annoying guests appropriately.
And with only 1182 square feet of living space, you’re not going to want them to stay long, anyway.
Pictures 8 & 9 are worth checking out too. With all those wind-chimes, you can be sure this place isn’t demon-infested. And nothing says “Thank heaven my HOA dues are $360 a month!” like a pool with a bunch of crud on the bottom.
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Good news for tech around.
Google earnings above estimate.
IBM earnings above estimate.
Apple earnings above estimate.
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Good news for tech all around.
Google earnings above estimate.
IBM earnings above estimate.
Apple earnings above estimate.
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:49 pm
I know I’m biting the troll-bait, but what the heck.
Google’s earnings were down 68 percent.
Now, let’s look at the actual earnings compared to the expectations:
Ooops! Looks like they were quite a bit lower than expected. Thank you for playing!
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Good news for tech all around.
Microsoft is laying off 5,000 people.
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Good news for tech all around.
Microsoft is laying off 5,000 people.
Useless aggregate anecdotal data.
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Google earnings above estimate.
IBM earnings above estimate.
Apple earnings above estimate.
MSFT earnings below estimates: Layoffs coming.
Intel earnings below estimates: Layoffs coming and a shutdown of the SV production facility.
AMD earnings below estimates. Layoffs coming.
Banks insolvent. More Layoffs.
Credit dry and no savings for most.
And the previous poster already provided the ‘real’ Google numbers.
Try again RealExcreter.
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:00 pm
“Try again RealExcreter.”
lol
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Good news for tech all around.
Google earnings above estimate.
IBM earnings above estimate.
Apple earnings above estimate.
That’s too precious. The financial news has been wringing hands all day about Microsoft’s gloomy announcement, and somehow that doesn’t appear in your list. RE, I stand in awe of your cherry-picking skills. And then collapse in a paroxysm of mirth.
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:13 pm
madhaus,
Unfortunately most stock traders disagree with you. If Google is under-performing as you spin it, why would the stock be up over $8 in aftermarket trading?
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Talk about cherry-picking! Google’s 52 week high was $602.45! But hooray, it’s up $8 to… uh, three hundred something!
Dow’s whored!
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Prof. Bleen:
Did you read the fine print in the Microsoft announcement? They are laying off but also hiring. Net net the workforce reduction will be around 2500. Given that Microsoft is NOT located in Silicon Valley, it doesn’t have much impact on the employment picture here.
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Given that Microsoft is NOT located in Silicon Valley, it doesn’t have much impact on the employment picture here
And that big facility at the corner of 101 and Shoreline is housed by who? McDonalds?
Yes, clearly no MSFT presence in Silicon Valley. Well, at least not the Real Bay Area.
I’ve seen gyroscopes with less spin than you RealExcreter.
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:28 pm
hahahahahahahahahahahaha…. “RealExcreter” oh, hahahahahahahahahaha.
cannot. contain. laughter. ooh, I feel like I’m six years old making fun of the chubby kid on the playground.
AHEM. Sorry. That’s just not nice.
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:15 pm
nomadic, please don’t give me any ideas. We haven’t heard from Chuckie, Jr and Chuckette in weeks!
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:08 pm
They take a zero off of the price or I can just stay at The Glass Slipper for all the ambiance for a fraction of the price.
And I just saw Weird Science yesterday, that tube makes me think of the missiles that appear in the kid’s house for some unknown reason.
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Here’s a fun comparison for Menlo Park. Two houses, same street. Both walking distance to downtown. One costs almost 2x per square foot than the other and has a much smaller lot. The larger house on the larger lot is a corner that unfortunately has Santa Cruz Ave running down the side. It’s also $100k LESS. Both appear to be updated to the same level on the interior.
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Menlo-Park/1345-JOHNSON-St-94025/home/1999811
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Menlo-Park/1101-JOHNSON-St-94025/home/884735
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:19 pm
oh yeah, guess which one was last sold just 2 years ago? no peeking!
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:40 pm
RE- Taken a look at google after-hours recently? Down $8 to under $300, all major indices down, nikkei, hang seng down. Interesting to see what pre-market trading will be. Last night, after hours was mostly up, then pre-market got killed, and we all saw what happened today.
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:47 pm
“why would the stock be up over $8 in aftermarket trading”
“Down $8 to under $300″
MV Bound, you were lied to. DOW only goes UP!
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:47 pm
heh heh…
I like this mv bound character.
January 22nd, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Hey I want everything to turn around as quick as the next guy, maybe even more. I just can’t believe that Palo Alto or the RBA can really be any different. Again, nobody thought it could happen in MB. If you are into reading blogs, which it looks like everyone is, see the link below. It’s a little, well a lot less civilized, than this blog. I actually like burbed a lot more simply beacuse of all the incessant ad hominem attacks on the below blog.
http://mbcon.blogspot.com/
Interesting to see what could happen in the RBA next.
January 22nd, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Less civilized than burbed? Well, looks like we’ll have to kick it up a notch.
Ad hominem attacks are nothing new here. There was a time when Real Estater was called Chuck – after chuck norris. This was because his attitude is invincible and the usual rules which describe the physical world do not apply to him.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:39 pm
MV Bound, are you 90s Guy on that blog? Someone asked him if he was moving to the Bay Area.
If you’re used to that sort of thing with your real estate info, I’m sure you’re going to play well with others here. You just need to learn a different set of in-jokes. For example, today’s news on Microsoft means we are “cleared for take-off” into a fantastic Spring Bounce 2009.
Anyway, if you think this blog doesn’t get personal, you need to hang around a little more. And the more you show any individual style, the more likely you are to be featured in a burbed holiday script. Regulars have refused to post for weeks for fear of being made light of, or worse, not included. (Warning: Second link is only part 1 of 5.)
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:42 pm
madhaus – shameless self-promotion!
But if you get the book deal, let me know where I can get an autograph.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:42 pm
All you have to remember, mv:
If a regular (except WG) makes an outrageously stupid statement then they are probably parodying real estater.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:44 pm
After Chuck, RE was called Roger. Nobody knows why. Something to do with a rogue RSS feed maybe (they tend to misbehave on this site)
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:54 pm
You misspelled rouge.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:58 pm
AHAHAHHAHAHAA!!! LOL!!
“I’ve seen gyroscopes with less spin than you RealExcreter.”
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Sorry. A rouge RSS feed. They don’t do the color rogue anymore.
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Complaining about the Comments RSS feed will not get it fixed.
January 22nd, 2009 at 11:59 pm
Oh, I didn’t get the memo! And here I was throwing not-so-subtle hints on a weekly basis;)
I’ll have a look in March if nobody else helps by then. That’ll be my donation.
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:01 am
“Complaining about the Comments RSS feed will not get it fixed.”
Odd. Claiming the nice parts of the bay area are invulnerable to downturns seems to keep it immune.
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:38 am
MV_Bound Says:
>>RE- Taken a look at google after-hours recently? Down $8 to under $300,
No, I missed that. It’s up 10 now though in regular trading despite the down market overall.
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:34 am
Madhaus- You are quit intuitive, that is me. I don’t go on there much as we won’t be moving back. I got named 90s Guy by default, since I was always comparing this latest crisis to the early 90s. I got to admit I called it wrong, and this has become much worse, even as a % of GDP. I think we all can agree it seems to get worse by the day. I like your jokes and I’m with you. My guess is all these earnings announcements coming up will make stocks more affordable and we will be in for a great spring/summer rally and with all this new found wealth people will be able to afford homes.
And I’m so happy about all my 401k contributions since October all went up until last week, and now those same contributions are worth less than they were in November. Loving these economic times.
Still, I will listen to RE and WG for advice on properties to buy, but just don’t see too many compelling reasons to do so.
I know everyone talked me out of the East Bay, but I just got this update for Pleasanton. Price is now $975k compared to its 2/05 selling price of $893k when it was new. So getting close to 2005 price levels. Of course, it is a tract home and was purchased brand new.
http://tinyurl.com/dl2lq5
I agree that the Peninsula will not suffer as much as something like this, but there will be some declines in the next year or so.
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:35 am
RE- Wow up $16. Just goes to show you have to have a short-term trader’s mentality to survive in this market. I can’t seem to win right now.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:27 am
Interesting house in Pleasanton. The guy paid $893k in 2005 and still at $975k it’s a short sale. Prime example of the ATM-house phenomenon.
MV bound – are you used to the tiny lot sized from down south?
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:39 am
Nomadic- Our lot size in MB was 5,400, but we were 6 blocks from the beach. In SD, it is 7,500 sf and 3 miles from the beach. I’d prefer to be in a place at least 7,500, so Los Gatos seems like a better option. I didn’t even notice the small lot size for that Pleasanton house. Just typical new construction with no lots at all in areas that should have larger lots.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:24 am
MV Bound, I get paid the big bucks to notice these things.
Anyway, if you want at least 7500 sf there are plenty of homes in 94087/CUSD like that in your orice range. You can also find some if you look in Mountain View 94040, which is a little pricier but getting closer to your new job. That’s the MV zip to buy in.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:00 am
madhaus, are you the RE of 94087 now?
The one thing that used to bother me about my place there (on an 8000sf lot) was hearing my neighbor’s phone ring in the summertime and thinking it was mine. Lot was a little too small.
It is a wonderfully central location for the south bay though.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:24 am
MV_Bound,
If you’re willing to look at Pleasanton, I would suggest taking a look at Dublin, which is right next door. There are beauttiful newer homes there selling for very reasonable prices, like this one:
http://www.movoto.com/real-estate/homes-for-sale/CA/Dublin/5602-Newfields-Ln-12_40361022.htm
There are quite a few shopping areas around, and tons of local employers (including Oracle, Sybase, and Kaiser).
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:42 am
By the way, Real Estater, I’m still anxiously awaiting your response with respect to the actual cost of a quality roof. A non pretender such as yourself should be well versed in such things.
Oh, that’s right – you just found your way into the RBA a couple years ago…
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:55 am
anon – “quality” roof is what throws him off. After all, he’s the one who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Picture time, kids! Check out the shrinkage on the major banks:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_nSTO-vZpSgc/SXoel6A1A-I/AAAAAAAAFfM/KhBs_vgFVes/s1600-h/bank-circles.png
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Aww, poor babies. Must have been swimming in a very cold pool.
I predict as soon as the 4.5% interest rates get off the ground they’ll swell up to their previous size.
Er… uh…
Can we stick to real estate, please?
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:13 pm
“After all, he’s the one who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
Still, shouldn’t he know what it costs? What’s the phrase he coined? Oh yeah: unqualified to participate in the discussion.
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:44 pm
anon says,
>>By the way, Real Estater, I’m still anxiously awaiting your response with respect to the actual cost of a quality roof. A non pretender such as yourself should be well versed in such things.
You’ve been anxiously awaiting? Since when? Why don’t you just say so.
A quality roof should cost no more than 20 grand.
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:04 pm
nomadic, I do not aspire to be the Roger of anything. Really. Instead I want to be the nomadic of song lyrics. I’m busily working on my new hit, “Useless Aggregate Data.”
Thanks for the link to one of my earlier observations of Roger, though, yet the definition it comes from doesn’t quite fit.
Somehow this one puts me more in mind of
LuckyChuckie.And the picture, whoah! I can’t WAIT for Spring Bounce!
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:19 pm
haha, I’ve got your goat!
Here’s another bit of useless data. California unemployment has hit 9.3%. 10 out of 11 industry categories lost jobs in December.
http://www.reuters.com/article/economicNews/idUSN2329077520090123
But hey, 90.7% of us are still working!
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:24 pm
More useless aggregate data! That 90.7% of you working stat doesn’t even bother counting people like me who sit around writing song lyrics on real estate websites!
Can I please have my goat back, now?
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:27 pm
This will help housing prices…or not. They even make reference to our beloved bay area.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/21/real_estate/ghost_inventory/index.htm?postversion=2009012315
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:41 pm
I’m keeping the goat. At least for the afternoon!
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:55 pm
People, the thing is, Google might be down from its all time high at $700 or something, but whenever there is a market rout like this they just reprice ALL options to today’s price. That means when it does recover, which will happen eventually because Google is not like Microsoft on a downward spiral, the current employees will make even MORE money in total than would be possible if GOOG stock went to $700 and just kept going. That is why you should never bet against the wealth creating abilities of bay area companies. The game is rigged, in our favor (BA company employees and real estate owners).
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Now that the news on the Google results has settled a it, the emerging consensus is clearly very positive for Google. The same is true for IBM, Apple, and earlier for Oracle. Even in the case of Microsoft, they’re just doing layoffs for show. Does anyone seriously believe a company like that with gazillion dollars in the bank needs to let go of 2500 employees (net of layoffs and new hiring) to stay afloat?
Tech and healthcare will be the two bright spots in this recession. Bay area is the hot spot for both. This is why the wealth engine won’t be idling here.
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Tech and healthcare will be the two bright spots in this recession. Bay area is the hot spot for both. This is why the wealth engine won’t be idling here.
ROFLMAO!!
“Real Excreter”. It’s not just a name, it’s a descriptive term.
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:47 pm
WG, I’ve been out of the game a few years, but I remember that repricing options was always an express ticket to an IRS audit. Does Google really reprice everyone’s options? I know plenty of folks at other tech companies who went around with their options underwater for years and all they could do about is earn a few more at the new and improved (read: lower) price.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:13 pm
GOOG repricing options is why their increase in earnings was so low. $5.10 excluding the option stuff, and $1-something including it.
Employees can exchange their underwater shares for new pricing as long as they agree to an extra year tacked on to the vesting period.
.
WG said: The game is rigged, in our favor
I bet that’s exactly what the Wall Street banks were saying right up until the real estate bubble imploded.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:14 pm
The GOOG deal is different from the usual “evergreen” program other tech companies have used (as described by madhaus).
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:43 pm
nomadic Says,
>>After all, he’s the one who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
I’m not sure how you could’ve missed this. Since day one I’ve been advocating the value of everything. As I was referring to the RBA market, I said just because something is expensive doesn’t mean it’s over-priced. You can infer a similar thing about the lower end. The amateurs thought they were getting a deal for those $600K homes in San Jose. The pros get them now for $400K, because they recognize the value is there. Meanwhile, the amateurs are still refusing to buy, until they get priced out again by the recovery.
February 15th, 2013 at 6:35 pm
Very soon this site will be famous among all blogging
and site-building people, due to it’s nice articles
What do you mean “very soon”? We’re famous now!
PS: We figured your ink to your empty WordPress blog is pretty embarrassing, so we removed it. We’ll put it back when that site will be famous among all blogging and site-building people, due to it’s nice articles. And non-standard use of the apostrophe. –ed.