19 Responses to “$823 per square foot to live in Redwood City?”

1. Prof. Bleen Says:
   February 26th, 2009 at 8:18 am

   Only if the Eiffel Tower in the study is included.

2. SanMatean Says:
   February 26th, 2009 at 8:30 am

   3 bedrooms in 880 sq ft?

   Any time you see a staged house with desks or beds at 45-degree angles to the walls, it’s a sure sign that the rooms are small.

   This sold for $520K in 2002, or $640K in 2009 dollars.
   It also sold for $300K in 1990, or $500K in 2009 dollars.

   What do you guys think- should housing prices return to inflation-adjusted values? Some people think it’s inflation + 1%, but I’m not sure what logic supports this idea (other than historical). Ultimately, prices have to be linked to income, and for the last 20 years inflation has outpaced median income, so perhaps our models should be inflation-1%?

   I’m not convinced that median income is a great predictor of home prices in areas where home ownership rates are low (San Mateo county ~50%). Perhaps the median income of the top 50% of earners would be a more useful metric?

3. sonarrat Says:
   February 26th, 2009 at 8:32 am

   I don’t get this area. I lived in an apartment at the corner of Topaz and Jefferson. It was a noisy neighborhood full of lifted pickups and trashy, belligerent characters, yet the housing prices are simply beyond outrageous, especially when you consider the schools. This has got to be the single spot in the whole Bay Area most in need of a 50% haircut. This listing may be even more outrageous seeing how it directly faces the neighboring apartment complex that gave me so many headaches.

4. RinkRat Says:
   February 26th, 2009 at 8:45 am

   This is even more interesting when you consider they tried to sell it back in ’06 for $899k ($1,022/sq ft) and again in ’07 @ $849k (only $965/sq ft this time.) Does that qualify it for RBA status???

   Sonarrat — I think you might have this one confused with another home. There’s no apartment complex on Crompton, at least not this stretch (take a look at StreetView on Google maps.)

   Actually, this stretch of Crompton is pretty nice, all things considered. No through traffic…

   Sounds like burbed knows all about the Farm Hill Blvd speed trap too….we’ve all been busted by that one at one time or other.

5. sonarrat Says:
   February 26th, 2009 at 8:53 am

   My apartment was only about three blocks from this house. It’s tucked in between Alameda and Farm Hill.

6. SimonK Says:
   February 26th, 2009 at 9:47 am

   The area isn’t bad, as far as I can tell. We looked at a few houses around there, and its one of the few mixed income bits of the peninsula – rusting pickup truck in one driveway, Audi TT in the next, which has its attractions. But the local elementary school isn’t good and you only have to go a few blocks to be in multi-family and duplex neighbourhoods.

   This house, however, is horribly overpriced. There’s a 1600 sq ft house a few blocks away (in the right direction) for 750k, and 100 sq ft larger houses in High School Acres (where the neighbourhood elementary school is good) are going for less than 700k.

7. nomadic Says:
   February 26th, 2009 at 10:30 am

   I find it funny that the house is just 880sf but they included three pics of the dining area. Why not show the backyard and the bathroom instead?

8. RinkRat Says:
   February 26th, 2009 at 11:23 am

   Nomadic,

   that’s a great point. This house actually has a nice, flat back yard with a large shade tree. A few pics of this would have gone a long way to justifying the price.

   As to why it’s not included? My first guess is that the agent selling the home appears to be in the 714 area code, whilst the home is in 650. Just a guess.

9. Justin Sane Says:
   February 26th, 2009 at 11:58 am

   President Obama’s budget proposal will limit mortgage interest deductions to joint filers with taxable over $250k.

   How will this affect RBA real estate?

10. sonarrat Says:
    February 26th, 2009 at 1:06 pm

    #9, for a second I thought you were saying only joint filers making over $250K would be eligible and I had a WTF moment. Then I made out what you were saying. It will be horribly destructive in the RBA. We’re talking about taking tens of thousands of dollars a year out of peoples’ pockets who are just buying an average family home in Cupertino or Mountain View.

11. nomadic Says:
    February 26th, 2009 at 1:15 pm

    Justin – mortgage deductions are already limited for incomes lower than that. Itemized deductions as a whole become limited for married joint filers over $159,950. Thanks for adding more support to my argument that Obama is going after higher wage earners more than any other group. Guess that keeps the truly wealthy people off his back while he (hmm, pander is too strong a word…) um, shows support for the working poor.

    As for your question, I don’t think it will have a large impact on RBA real estate because people will either want to own or they won’t for a whole host of other reasons. Unless he’s going to cut the deduction altogether.

12. CB Says:
    February 26th, 2009 at 1:16 pm

    I cant tell – is this a RE listing or a CL ad for a dining table?

13. Justin Sane Says:
    February 26th, 2009 at 1:24 pm

    sonarrat, sorry about the confusion.

    The proposal is, the deduction will count at 28% rate. i.e. If you you earn a dollar more, but spend it on mortgage interest, you still have to pay 11.6% tax on it (top marginal rate 39.6% – 28% deduction for the interest).

14. UnrealAlex Says:
    February 26th, 2009 at 2:00 pm

    Again the curse of the extra zero on the end of the price….

    For $79k, I’d get it, I’d get one bedroom, girlfriend another, the third rent out if we’re in a pinch and otherwise it’s a workshop, the GF and I both work $10 an hour jobs, and there you go. Put a Victory garden into the front yard, more veggies in back, got a nice garage there for our one paid-for car and of course a couple of bicycles, a bike trailer, we’re talking damn good living circa 1949 OR 2009.

15. UnrealAlex Says:
    February 26th, 2009 at 2:01 pm

    Oops I mean 72.5 k lol.

16. A. Lewis Says:
    February 26th, 2009 at 2:06 pm

    #15 URAlex – c’mon, spring for the extra 6.5k you cheapskate! You can use the tax credit this year for that.

    But seriously, folks, I just got a super-meeeegggggaaa project added to my plate this week, and I’ve (obviously) been spending way too much time reading and writing on this blog, so I’m going to take a break for some days (we’ll see how long I can go cold turkey).

    I’m sure I’ll read it at night, but I have to get some work done for a while…keep up the good work (or whatever you want to call what we do).

17. SiO2 Says:
    February 26th, 2009 at 3:26 pm

    Regarding the tax deduction. A large number of RBA buyers get AMT. So the mortgage deduction is only at 28% anyhow, as that’s the top AMT bracket. So this change wouldn’t affect AMT payers.

    If you make a ton of money, such that you have enough income in the 33 or 35% brackets to overcome the AMT loss of deductions, then it could matter. For a California state income tax payer, a “ton” in this case would be about $500k or more.

    To some extent this will affect prices – I know that when I calculate what I can afford I include the tax deduction. (28% as I am in the sub-ton earner category). But a smaller effect than general economic conditions.

18. madhaus Says:
    February 26th, 2009 at 3:47 pm

    I tried posting first thing in the morning, and the site was having that delightful Internal Server Error. So here is my comment on today’s home, hours and hours late!

    ***

    Definitely lots of speeding tickets. I used to live in nearby Emerald Lake Hills, and Farm Hill Road was a notorious speed trap.

    Why isn’t the Realtard sure if the house has a peaceful setting or not? Did he only tour the place at three in the morning? Ah, I see my question eventually got answered in post #8 by RinkRat. 714 Area Code. No wonder the agent has no clue. Peaceful? Quiet? Updated?

    Wow, 3 BR in 880 sf. I wonder how they can fit beds in any of those rooms. Do they just lay down foam at night?

19. BuyersAreIdiots Says:
    February 26th, 2009 at 4:31 pm

    Please be nice. No name calling, no personal attacks, no racist stuff, no baiting, etc. Let’s be nice to each other in the true Bay Area spirit!

    I guess that would mean we should all toke up and hug a tree.

    I kid, I kid.

Leave a Reply