It may be just the tip of the Krazy Kool-Aid effect, but this is not how a reasonable housing market should work.  Thanks very much to Burbed reader Wendie (as well as additional fans) for bringing this textbook definition of Irrational Exuberance to our attention.

559 TENNYSON Ave
Palo Alto, CA 94301

Listed for $2,088,000 on 1/25/2013
Price changed to $2,088,888 on 1/27/2013
Sold for $2,820,000 on 2/25/2013

2 Beds
1 Baths
1,353 Sq. Ft.
$2,084 / Sq. Ft.
Built: 1921
Lot Size: 7,500 Sq. Ft.
Sold On: Feb 25, 2013
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Stories: 1
County: Santa Clara
Style: Cottage/Bungalow
Community: Old Palo Alto
MLS#: 81302338

Located in the heart of wonderful old Palo Alto with top rated schools on a large 7500/SF lot. Charming 2 bedroom 1 bath plus den. One oversized bedroom. Hardwood floors , utility basement, and detached Garage. Sold as is in its present condition. Offers to be reviewed after 2/8/2013.

We’ll have plenty more evidence as we move into Spring Selling Season that the Real Bay Area is in a Real Bubbly Attitude.  Maybe this can be the First 35% Overbid of Spring.  Now let’s hear from Wendie.

This realtor did an amazing job with the photos of this house! How else could this 3/1 1300 square foot house have sold for 2.8 million dollars?? 800K over asking prices. 

I mean, did you ever think that taking photos of a 1920′s bathroom and a CORNER of a room could do such magic?

x

You’re simply not giving the agent enough credit, Wendie.  I see at least TWO corners.  What, do you think these houses just sell themselves?

Yesterday we had a brief summary of snapshots showing that we are indeed entering the early stages of a new real estate bubble.  Far-flung areas are still far below their ridiculous 2005-6 peak pricing, and nearby but unloved neighborhoods are being scraped up by investors rather than the outbid mortgage mooches.

But core Real Bay Area listings near high-paying tech jobs are at or even above their insane 2008 peak pricing.  Yes, 2008.  Crap areas hit their high-water marks much earlier than premium places, and it’s the high end that has come back first and letting us know it.  We promised we had a doozy for you today, and we weren’t kidding.  Thanks very much to Burbed reader Wendie for bringing by the bubbly by the carboy.

Location, Location, Location! Teardown: $6.5 Million

Need proof that the Palo Alto housing market has heated up?

By Beatrice Karnes; February 8, 2013

It’s not enough to live in Palo Alto—homebuyers want to live in specific neighborhoods. A home in Old Palo Alto has gone on the market and it’s being advertised as a tear-down or a remodel. Asking price: $6.5 million.

It’s a simple, middle class home built in the mid-1930s and boasts four bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, hardwood floors, some linoleum or vinyl floors, and a one car garage.

Let’s have a look.

1935 WEBSTER ST
Palo Alto, CA 94301
$6,500,000

Active
Type: Single Family Home
MLS #: ML81303410
SqFt: 3,009
Beds: 4
Lot Size: 16,610 SqFt
Baths: 3 Full / 1 Partial
Year / Age: 1937 / 76

Virtual Tour

Prestigious Old Palo Alto location. Rare opportunity to remodel or build new on a large lot. Possible subdivision, Buyer to verify with City of Palo Alto. Built in 1935 by William Wurster. Detached recreation room with workshop, dark room and half bath.

Let us count the ways that this is Dutch Tulip Fever all over again:

• A teardown, for Six. Point. Five. Million. Dollars.
• A teardown, but you could remodel. After spending Six. Point. Five. Million. Dollars.
• A teardown, 78 years old (2 years too young for the “old house” tag)
• A teardown, with a named architect.
• A teardown, sold for its potential to build two houses. But why stop there, bribe the appropriate agencies and cram in four!  Heck, how about a 20 story condo tower? Buyer to verify with City of Palo Alto.
• A teardown, with 22, yes twenty-two mostly similar photos in full HDR.  Have you ever seen HDR photos of a workshop, a basement, or a garden hose left on the ground?  You’re about to.

Do not miss this Rare opportunity to be able to Walk To Steve Jobs’ House.

Let’s finish up the week on the Peninsula.  Burbed reader Wendie has a very special find for us, a bodacious bunker in Burlingame!  Thanks Wendie!  Meanwhile, we’re going to continue linking to different sites and we’d love to know which ones you prefer, and why.  Wendie sent in a link to mlslistings.com and the home isn’t there anymore.  Fortunately, we found it on Movoto!

Please give Wendie a big, warm, RBA welcome as today’s Guest Blogger with this excellent guest post!

50 Howland Hill Ln
Burlingame, CA 94010
$3,200,000

Loan Payment:  $12,222/mo
Bedrooms:  6
Bathrooms:  5&1/2
Size:  6,461 sqft
$/Sqft:  $495/sqft
Type:  Single Family House
Year Built:  2001
Lot Size:  21,375
Days on Movoto:  63 days
MLS#:  81226232
Status:  Active
Open House:  Sun 01:00pm – 04:00pm

Quality, details, exquisite finishes make this 6BR., 5.5BA, 2FR, 3 car garage,custom built home by Edward Neale truly remarkable. 5611 sf of living space on floors 1 & 2 plus approx 1000 sf of living space on lower level with wine rm, entertainment area featuring a wet bar, separate dining rm,a theatre inspired lounge area plus patios & decks off public rooms. Private lane close to 280/101/SF.

Here’s why Wendie sent this in:

Something about this house seems to scream “Winchester’ to me! Maybe its the “boat” bed. Clearly, that is an adult version of….what? The toddler race car bed that every 3 year old boy in America has?  But clearly, this is not for a little boy. Who would even THINK to want to sleep in that weird bed?

And then the wine cellar…seems very unorganized..no rhyme or reason to it…..and why would the realtor take a photo of the front hall with THE FRONT DOOR OPEN?

Shut the damn door so we can see the entire room!!

Moving onto the kitchen…its huge with an equally large island in the middle…yet NO overhang of the granite so you can put some chairs there and eat at the island. Why not?

And last but not least, what’s up with the backyard? How many separate areas can there be?

Seems like the perfect house for 3 or 4 separate families who never want to bump into one another….

It’s always fun to revisit a house that’s previously been given some Burbed love.  Today’s house is a foreclosure with an unpermitted garage conversion, exactly what you’d expect to find in Old Palo Alto.  Thanks very much to Burbed reader Wendie for today’s cognitive dissonance.

633 COLERIDGE Ave
Palo Alto, CA 94301
$1,888,000, Reduced from $1,988,000 on 6/7/12
Reduced from $2,198,000 on 5/15/12

BEDS:  4
BATHS:  4
SQ. FT.:  2,235
$/SQ. FT.:  $845
LOT SIZE:  6,696 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Country English
STORIES: 2
YEAR BUILT:  1941
COMMUNITY:  Old Palo Alto
COUNTY:  Santa Clara
MLS#:  81221385
SOURCE:  MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN:  25 days

Amasing 4 bd 4 ba in old town palo alto . newly remodeled with new presidential comp roof, new paint and fixtures, refinished hardwood floor, double pane windowes, stainles still appliances , lots of closets. garage had been converted to a family room and aditional room including full bath by the previous owner , permit unknown. this may not been included in sf. huge price reduction.

Here’s what Wendie had to say about this house:

Didn’t you highlight this house a few months ago as a short sale? I think it was listed as 1.2 back then….

Why yes, we certainly did mention this house, but it was last September, and it was on bank auction list.

But back then the agent wasn’t mentioning all the excitement in the former garage!  And this house is just full of excitement.  A huge price reduction!  A foreclosure last October!  Yes, a foreclosure, not just in the Real Bay Area, but in Old Palo Alto.  Who knew that Larry Page could walk to a foreclosure in his own neighborhood?  (We would have said Steve Jobs, what with all the “walk to Steve Jobs’ house” comments about this neighborhood, but he could not walk to this house when it foreclosed as he passed away one week earlier.)

And if the garage and the price and famous dead neighbors isn’t enough excitement about this house for you, here is the icing on the cake.  You’d be buying the house from the agent herself.

Be sure to read all contracts carefully, because based on that listing copy, this may not be one of those agents who pays attention to silly little details.  Annoying little details such as spelling or capitalization or prices or whether a contract is actually signed.  And if you’re not a detail person either, then the two of you are a match made in heaven.  Or at least Old Palo Alto, which is practically the same thing.

Friday’s featured find on Waverley escalated the eager entries in its comment thread, so let’s continue our pursuit of Palo Alto property with another home on the same superb street.  Thanks very much to Burbed reader Wendie for these proactively priced premises.

Also, we’re feeling a bit miffed at Redfin for not linking back to us for several weeks, so we’ll use the site Wendie provided instead.  Here’s the Redfin link if you prefer their entry, which confirms the price per square foot.

2051 WAVERLEY ST, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Offered at: $11,495,000 — Active

An Exceptional, One-time Opportunity To Own An Extremely Rare, Immense 26,344 sq ft lot (buyer to verify) in the Old Palo Alto Legendary Locale. On the corner of Santa Rita Ave & Waverley St, this dream building site is located in the prime, heart of Old PA. This premiere flat 0.6 acre lot also includes the existing 2,651 sq ft, 5BR/4BA home built in 1929.

MLS: 81216663
Type: Detached Single Family
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 4 Full
Interior: 2,651
Lot Size: 26344
Garage: Detached,2 Car Garage
Year Built/Age: 1929
Walk Score®: 58

Here’s why Wendie sent this one in:

Look! For $4,300 per square foot, YOU can live across the street from Steve Jobs’ home!

Big lot, big location!  Why do you care what the house looks like?  What’s more important is who you’re going to run into if you need to borrow a cup of sugar silicon.

Too bad this property is diagonally across from Waverley Oaks, or Larry Page would snap it up.

Here’s a glimpse from the side, courtesy of Larry’s fleet of mobile spycams. This is a better look at any of the structures than you’ll see on the actual listing.  Then again, can one actually price a home too highly in Palo Alto?  It’s been on the market for 37 days and counting, so place your bets!

Thanks very much to Burbed reader Wendie for this palatial pad in Palo Alto!  And unlike almost every other property in Palo Alto, this one’s still for sale despite this my sitting on it since April.  Remember, there is nothing wrong with any house that price cannot fix.  And by those standards, this house is definitely a fixer.

1870 UNIVERSITY Ave
Palo Alto, CA 94301
$8,995,000

BEDS: 6
BATHS: 6
SQ. FT.: 9,319
$/SQ. FT.: $965
LOT SIZE: 1.97 Acres
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Spanish
STORIES: 2
VIEW: Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 1929
COMMUNITY: Crescent Park
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81211470
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 55 days

One of PA’s largest lots! GardnerDailey’s classic Monterey Colonial style of architecture. The interior is classic and stylish featuring a lavish master suite w/ spa inspired bathroom, and 5 additional bedrooms, 3 with en suite baths. Additional 1 bedroom apartment above a 3 car detached garage completes the generous accommodations totaling over 9,300 sf. Park like 86k sf lot in Crescent Park.

Here’s what Wendie had to say about this house:

What an awful kitchen! 

For a 9M dollar house, couldn’t they have AT LEAST upgraded the kitchen counter tops? Amazingly crappy kitchen for 9M!
No, no, no, Wendie, this is an amazing vintage kitchen for 9M!  After all, this is Palo Alto.  What would be a problem in any other listing just automagically converts that bug into a feature.  Weird countertops?  More awesomeness.

And talk about convenience!  Look where this house is located!

Right next to East Palo Alto!  This home is guaranteed to be the very first place those delightful scamps will visit for a few good-natured pranks when hijinks ensue!

Are you all excited about the Facebook IPO?  I know I am!  Local used house salespeople are expecting to make out like bandits from all the Facebook money that will be snapping up nearby real estate!  Here’s just one example of what Facebookers will be calling home.

Thanks very much to Burbed reader Wendie for this superb short sale in Menlo Park!

311 SHERIDAN Dr
Menlo Park, CA 94025
$749,000

BEDS: 3
BATHS: 2
SQ. FT.: 2,360
$/SQ. FT.: $317
LOT SIZE: 5,940 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Ranch
STORIES: 2
VIEW: Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 1947
COMMUNITY: Flood Park Area
COUNTY: San Mateo
MLS#: 81135539
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Pending With Release
ON REDFIN: 174 days

This is a Short Sale. Big home in Menlo Park’s Suburban Park neighborhood. Home is in great shape, has been remodeled, but needs some TLC. Paint and carpet and you should be good to go. Located next to the German School.

Here’s what Wendie had to say about this terrific opportunity!

Look at these photos of this house!  The realtor could not bother to take the garbage out of any of the rooms? The realtor  just went crazy snapping photos of every part of the house, clearly not caring about the crap spewn everyone! And the carpet on the staircase; yuck!!!!

Clutter.  What better way to show the world how busy you are?

We’ve been having such a whirlwind tour of the Bay Area that we forgot about one of our favorite places!  And just because the seller took this sky-high priced listing off the market doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider it.  Anyone could contact the agent with the right price to make this sale happen.  Remember, it only takes ONE buyer.  One really misinformed buyer.

Thanks very much to Burbed reader Wendie for this eye-popping palace in Palo Alto!

405 MARLOWE St, Palo Alto, CA 94301
OFF-MARKET ($2,495,000, Reduced to $2,370,000)

BEDS: 4
BATHS: 3
SQ. FT.: 3,108
$/SQ. FT.: $660
LOT SIZE: 10,000 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Contemporary
STORIES: 1
YEAR BUILT: 1960
COMMUNITY: Crescent Park
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 80656322
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Sold

Price Reduced Again! Execellent location in Crescent Park. Square 10,419 lot Designed for easy living. Sep guest qrts or recreation room. Very light inside House Sq Ft are approximate. .. Remodel or Build . .Not in Special Flood Zone

Here’s what Wendie had to say about this big lot with location, location, location!

2.4 for an Eichler.

For 2.4 million, you can have your own carport AND hear the travel up and down University! And boy, does this glorified Eichler have some curb appeal!!  Look at that driveway, circa 1957.

So much curb appeal the agent didn’t dare put the front of the house as the first listing photo.  Potential buyers might expire on the spot from the awesomeness of this place with an opening like that.  Execellent!

But Burbed has you covered!  All FOUR of the pictures of this 3100 square foot house are here for your viewing pleasure (two inside, two out!), just in case the MLS copy and pix get yanked.

“Bunus”: it’s NOT in a Special Flood Zone, which is a real shame.  For this kind of money, everything about the house ought to be Special.

Today’s featured listing was sent in by Burbed reader Wendie.  Thanks very much, Wendie, for remembering that we all agreed not to ever discuss Palo Alto again!

 

120 LOWELL Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301
$1,699,950

BEDS: 3
BATHS: 1
SQ. FT.: 1,319
$/SQ. FT.: $1,289
LOT SIZE: 7,500 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Ranch, Traditional
STORIES: 1
YEAR BUILT: 1950
COMMUNITY: Old Palo Alto
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81136132
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 21 days

Opportunity! Many upgrades create move-in condition hm in Old Palo Alto on 7500 sq ft lot. Perfect for downsizeing into prestigious neighborhood or living comfortably while planning the building of your dream home. Popular great room floor plan with gourmet kitchen w/ custom cabinets & granite counters. Stunning full bath. Living/dining areas open to spacious private deck perfect for entertaining

Here’s what Wendie had to say about this interesting property:

I find this listing fascinating.  Can a 1300 square foot, 3 bed, 1 bath house, three houses from Alma/train in Palo Alto REALLY command 1.7 million?? I guess we shall see!!  Take a look at the map of the property.  Something (an apartment building, utility building?) is right behind the backyard as well. Whatever it is, its not good.  But, still the owner/real estate agent thinks the house is worth $1,300 per square foot!!!

Crazy!!

Let’s have a closer look at that mystery building behind the back yard.

I don’t think that’s a new townhouse.  All the recent construction uses earth tones.

And what’s wrong with $1,300 a foot in Old Palo Alto, anyway?  Lots of people pay that for houses where the agent is too embarrassed to use an exterior shot as an intro to the place.  And if the photos lead with the living room, there’s a good reason, so now let’s have a glance outside.

Awesome!  This place comes with a Dude hanging out in the driveway!

Bunus: This $1.7M listing looks like a serf hut next to the larger neighbor house!  Unless, of course, that wishing price represents the seller’s expectation that you’re going to scrape this sucker down and build something just as large to fit in!  But if that were the case, why all the improvements inside?  Truly a puzzlement whether it’s perfect for “downsizeing” into prestigious neighborhood or living comfortably while planning the building of your dream home!

At least the realtard spelled “prestigious” correctly, while planning the counting of her dream commission.

Update (9/16): Welcome, patrick.net readers!

Here’s a find from Burbed reader Wendie, from the zip code that is singlehandedly responsible for keeping construction workers employed.

 

3798 LAGUNA Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306
$2,498,000

BEDS: 5
BATHS:  3.5
SQ. FT.:  2,783
$/SQ. FT.:  $898
LOT SIZE:  8,378 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE:  Detached Single Family
STYLE:  Modern/High Tech
STORIES:  2
YEAR BUILT:  2011
COMMUNITY:  Barron Park
COUNTY:  Santa Clara
MLS#:  81118659
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS:  Active
ON REDFIN: 107 days

Barron Park Style Home with Great Room overlooking back yard. New construction by Excellent Builder James Witt that has been building homes for over 40 years. Buyer may select 8 finishes. Completion date by end of September 2011.

Here’s what Wendie has to say about this property:

Wow, they are trying to sell a foundation!

Well, that’s not all you get, Wendie.  You can select 8 finishes, and we’re talking Excellent Builder James Witt that has been building homes for over 40 years.  So that’s 5 years per finish.

Hmmm.  So is Excellent Builder James Witt a person, place, or thing?  And if that has been building homes for over 40 years, wait, it’s homes, so at least he/it hasn’t been working on this one since 1971.

I do wonder just which is more unlikely, though, that this house is going to be ready in six weeks, or that the agent is going to update the virtual tour so we don’t conclude that Excellent Builder James Witt has done nothing but tear up the yard.

But since this Barron Park Style Home with Great Room definitely won’t be ready in time for school starting next Tuesday, you could camp out in what’s left of the back yard.  I hear there’s a Great Room overlooking it.