"Pied-a-Terre" = French for "Overpriced Studio"

960 Larrabee St., #219 (90069)
0BR, 1BA / 431 sq ft
$289,000 ($671/ft)

Sold: 11/02 - $151,500

Listed: 5/08 - $319,999

(a few small reductions and then ...)

Re-Listed: 11/08 - $299,000

Reduced: 2/24/09

Days on Market = 298

FABULOUS PIED-A-TERRE OR GREAT FOR FIRST TIME BUYER. VERY HIP SPACE WITH UNIQUE BUILT IN ELEVATED BED AND BOOK SHELVES, REMODELED BATHROOM, A/C, DISHWASHER, BALCONY OVERLOOKING POOL AND COURTYARD, ROOF TOP SUN DECK. GREAT WEST HOLLYWOOD LOCATION. WALK TO THE STRIP!

To be fair, I'm only picking on this particular unit because I love the "fish-eye" picture, which I only assume is used to make the unit look bigger. There are several other studio/"pied-a-terre" listings in a similar situation.

Here we have an OK-sized studio (I've lived in smaller spaces). Basically, the size of an average hotel room.

The very use of "pied-a-terre" suggests that it's for someone who's, say, bi-coastal, or using it as a crash pad while in town.

I've seen a couple of units in this building. While I agree that the location is very good, the building itself is just OK. I guess my point is, if you're someone at the job/income level to have a "pied-a-terre", wouldn't you want something a little nicer? The carrying costs at this price, even with tax deductions, are around $1500/month. Assuming $250/night for a decent hotel, that's 6 nights a month for the same price - without putting any money down.

I'd argue that units like this, even more so than larger condos, should be priced around fair rental value. In looking at Craigslist, studios in this area seem to go for around $1200/mo. That would mean a price closer to $200k. It appears from the sale records that this seller has some flexibility to cut the price, and they should get serious and do so. This is another example of a seller, who, if they had more aggressively cut the price after 30 or so days on market last year, probably would have been able to make a sale and still walk away with a nice profit.