A great house for practicing the piano in Palo Alto
2216 AMHERST St Palo Alto, CA 94306$799,000
Beds: 1 Baths: 1 Sq. Ft.: 684 $/Sq. Ft.: $1,168 Lot Size: 4,680 Sq. Ft. Property Type: Detached Single Family Style: Cottage/ Bungalow Stories: Bi/ Split Level View: Neighborhood Year Built: 1934 Community: College County: Santa Clara MLS#: 80942010 Source: MLSListings Status: Active On Redfin: 126 days
Thanks to Burbed reader Galileo for this find!
First, we have seen this house before. Let’s go to the time machine:
September 30, 2009
Affordable house in Palo Alto for a student
2216 AMHERST St, Palo Alto, CA 94306 | MLS# 80942010
2216 AMHERST St Palo Alto, CA 94306
Price: $885,000
Hm… a bit of a price cut it seems. How unfortunate. At first, I was surprised – even shocked. I mean, after all, we would expect prices to go only up. But fortunately Galileo clued me in on this:
$799000 / 1br – OPEN SAT & SUN! Price Reduced! Hideaway for sale – Call to See!
2216 AMHERST STREET PALO ALTO
A truly unique redwood and oak cottage nestled on a tree-studded lot awaits you. The story is that this charming house was built for a young girl as a place to practice the piano while her family enjoyed peaceful time in their house next door. Offered for sale for the first time in over 30 years, this may be the place for you to create your own life stories.
The cabin-style exterior has a welcoming front porch which opens to a parlor with brick fireplace. The redwood interior has high, exposed beam ceilings, bookcases on both sides of the fireplace, wood windows, glass-front cabinets in the living/dining area and oak floors. The bedroom and kitchen are also redwood with oak floors in the bedroom and linoleum in the kitchen. Truly a cottage in the woods, this charming home enjoys the canopy of a heritage oak tree and a stand of bamboo providing shade and evergreen color.
Bordering Stanford University, the College Terrace neighborhood is enjoyed for its walkability, eclectic homes and sense of community. Neighborhood stores like JJ&F Market, a post office, public library and a host of interesting restaurants, coffee shops and retail stores serve the residents and provide places to congregate.
Year Built: 1934
Roof replaced: 2002
Bathroom remodel : 1992-93
Lot size: 38.5 ‘ x 120′ (4,620 sq. ft.) per City of Palo Alto
Home size: 684 sq. ft
Detached garage: Appears to be 1-car garage
Designated schools: Escondido, Jordan, Palo Alto High School (Buyer to verify)www.2216Amherst.com
It looks like the realtor forgot these amazing details. Wow… who knew this house was for practicing the piano! And now it can be yours! Just think of the music geniuses your family can produce living in this cozy cabin.
I bet if the realtor had posted these details on the main listing, this house would’ve been sold already… and at over listing (of course).
February 1st, 2010 at 8:16 am
This realtor definitely has an imagination.
Bring your imagination and heavy medication…
February 1st, 2010 at 8:32 am
It’s quite a step-up compared to last week’s latrine in Los Gatos.
February 1st, 2010 at 8:45 am
My friend and I still have a bet going on this. I say it will sell above 600K and he says below. Votes? I think it’s a slam dunk that it sells above 600K.
February 1st, 2010 at 8:57 am
I would say definitely over $600K.
February 1st, 2010 at 9:13 am
I’d bet it won’t sell because they wouldn’t entertain an offer as low as $600-700k.
The owners apparently live in Tucson. They waited 90 days for a paltry $86k price reduction. They aren’t in any hurry to sell.
Then again, the comps appear to support their list price, so what do I know? One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as they say.
February 1st, 2010 at 9:14 am
Every property in PA is a treasure.
February 1st, 2010 at 9:25 am
better house, but less nice street:
Sold on 01/21/2010
$1,000,000
2137 BOWDOIN St
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Beds: 2
Baths: 2
Sq. Ft.: 1,383
$/Sq. Ft.: $723
Lot Size: 4,625 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Style: Traditional, Cottage/Bungalow
Stories: 2
Year Built: 1932
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Palo-Alto/2137-Bowdoin-St-94306/home/1732051
and, as a reminder of what the market used to be like, check the lot size on:
Sold on 03/25/2008
$1,016,000
2120 BOWDOIN St
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Beds: 2
Baths: 1
Sq. Ft.: 909
$/Sq. Ft.: $1,118
Lot Size: 2,325 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Style: Tudor
Stories: 1
Year Built: 1931
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Palo-Alto/2120-Bowdoin-St-94306/home/1147752
and the sales price on:
Sold on 09/24/2008
$2,778,000
1567 COLLEGE Ave
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Beds: 5
Baths: 3.5
Sq. Ft.: 3,600
$/Sq. Ft.: $772
Lot Size: 5,750 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Style: Craftsman
Stories: 2
Year Built: 2006
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Palo-Alto/1567-College-Ave-94306/home/603185
I suspect those will be neighborhood records for a while (although this newly constructed house did close for $2.31M 3/2009: http://www.redfin.com/CA/Palo-Alto/2321-Oberlin-St-94306/home/606933/mlsListings-80846227)
February 1st, 2010 at 9:55 am
steve, your examples are all over the place. The first is 2x the size of today’s post (at least with the same lot size), and the third one is 5x the size of today’s house with 1,000 sf larger lot – and is brand new on the inside.
February 1st, 2010 at 10:06 am
And here is the equivalent Austin house:
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/9505-Prince-William_Austin_TX_78730_1114276982
Bah! What would you want with all that extra space anyway? And 1.3 acres?? Please! Cozy and tiny in the RBA is the ONLY way!
February 1st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Several decades ago, some middle- or slightly upper middle-class person built this shed-like structure for his daughter to practice piano.
Fast forward to 2010…you can bust your hump to get a BS, MS, Ph.D. and then work 70 hours a week to pay for this thing for 30 years, all the while living a standard of living befitting an 8th-grade dropout.
Who would even live here for free? It is so small, it would be guaranteed to lead to fighting with anyone you share it with.
February 1st, 2010 at 12:28 pm
A smart “investor” – that’s who!
February 1st, 2010 at 12:29 pm
After all, some things are more important than comfort, self-respect, and freedom. Like squandering your life away working off overvalued real estate.
February 1st, 2010 at 1:11 pm
nomadic, yes and intentionally.
the first example is a 10-day old comp. adjust accordingly.
the next two examples show what had been possible withbubble pricing. $1M for a 2300 sq ft lot and an impossible to believe, for that neighborhood, $2.8M sale.
February 1st, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Meanwhile, I can rent a 675 foot 1-BR “luxury” apartment for $2100/mo (which is still outrageously high for the area).
February 1st, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Bah! What would you want with all that extra space anyway? And 1.3 acres?? Please! Cozy and tiny in the RBA is the ONLY way!
—–
Of course! If you cannot afford Palo Alto, you can still afford a small piece of it. If you bought this 684 sqft property in February 2008, you could have built enough equity to move up into a $3M home in Palo Alto already.
February 1st, 2010 at 3:04 pm
I didn’t know that Lincoln Logs were available in that size.
February 1st, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Buy this shack built during the last Depression, just in time to lose your shirt in this Depression!
February 1st, 2010 at 7:30 pm
three random questions:
why did the Menlo Park Safeway get rid of its food bank buckets??? that’s how I donated to the food bank, it was convenient. the cashiers I asked had no answer.
why did tofu go up from $1.19/pkg. to $1.49/pkg. at TJs in Mountain View, just over the past few weeks?
why did the Walmart in Mountain View (yes, I get a few things at the evil Mall Wart, Source of Cheap Plastic Crap) have NO PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS today??? (I use plastic grocery bags as my trash bags; our condo requires that we use plastic bags.) that is most unlike Walmart. cashiers were trying to get customers to buy reusable bags, but most (like me) just reloaded their carts with their cheap plastic crap after paying.
yes, that house will sell for above 600k. no question.
February 1st, 2010 at 7:50 pm
That sounds like a tough day you had there, Kareninca. I’d probably go postal after the TJ episode and thus would have never made it to Walmart.
I did notice that TJ’s $1.29 salad mix is now $1.49, but it’s still a deal and they have a good enough selection of <$10 wines to keep me a loyal customer.
February 1st, 2010 at 8:49 pm
Karininca – I’m willing to bet the food buckets were being raided by hungry people. That’s NOT a nice neighborhood, and there are a lot of hungry and desperate people around. Can’t have hungry people feeding their children and themselves without the Food Bank putting them on their roll and getting those big profits. A typical aid to the homeless racket gets about $20k per person helped a year, the actual person they’re helping gets $2k or less a year in food and services.
February 1st, 2010 at 9:40 pm
Did Mountain View ban plastic bags too?
February 2nd, 2010 at 2:21 am
That’s NOT a nice neighborhood
the menlo park safeway? on el camino? that is one of the best neighborhoods on the peninsula.
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:40 am
This takes me way back….
I used to rent one of those cute cottages in College Terrace before I made my first million….
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Yes, it is a “nice” neighborhood. my guess is that they think that having the buckets reminds shoppers of the terrible economy and causes them to buy fewer costly goodies for themselves, and more cheap & wholesome stuff (like spam:)) on sale for the food bank. just a paranoid guess.
Smiling Cat, didn’t you say that you once lived in Colorado Springs? there’s a long description on Mish re how the city is slashing services (they are asking that residents mow public green areas near their homes, since the city won’t get out there very often(!)). and also a description of a really squalid park.
February 2nd, 2010 at 6:05 pm
I will pay $1.49/pkg for tofu in TJ’s because they do not sell food imported from china. I do trust TJ. I am not so sure about that Wal-Mart place though.
February 2nd, 2010 at 7:03 pm
Who the heck imports food from China? Isn’t it the other way around?
February 2nd, 2010 at 7:19 pm
Yes, there’s lots of food imported from China. I came across GARLIC imported from China, at the Milk Pail. amazing. I love the Milk Pail and shop there a fair bit, but I always check the boxes (and, in the case of that garlic, the packaging). you can get prices down really low if, like the Chinese, you grow your garlic in toxic waste.
Yes, I trust TJs, and wasn’t complaining re the store in re the tofu price; I’m sure they were just passing on their increased soy costs. It was more a matter of wondering what was up and what other prices might go up; a general seeking of economic symptoms.
the thing to buy at Walmart (unless you’re independently wealthy) is supplements. Consumer Lab always rates Spring Valley (the walmart brand of stuff like fish oil, grape seed extract, etc), as being both free of contamination and as containing what it claims to contain. being able to squeeze your suppliers is not all bad. also they sell organic t-shirts and underwear.