Friday Night Fights Vol. 7 - Death to the Bloated

The title was too long, otherwise I would have called this "I see your bloated, 'death-by-a-thousand-papercuts' listing and raise you a lower-priced (and seemingly - GASP! - reasonably-priced) unit ..."

Blogger's note ... after re-reading my post, my seeming (and out-of-character) "cheerleading" on #2 makes it seem like I have some axe to grind there. Not the case here, or with any of my postings.


CHALLENGER #1
(a/k/a "Bloaty Von Bloat")
838 N. Doheny Dr. #707 (90069)
$529,900
2BR / 1.5BA
1,105 sq ft ($480/ft)
HOA: $833/mo
Full-service building

On Market: 275 Days

Ready? Ok, here we go ...

Sold: 2/04 - $441,000

Listed: 8/13/08 - $779,000
Reduced: 9/19/08 - $719,000
Reduced: 9/24/08 - $701,100
Increased: 9/25/08 - $719,000
Reduced: 10/8/08 - $701,100
Reduced: 11/6/08 - $669,000
Reduced: 12/18/08 - $649,000
Reduced: 1/27/09 - $587,500
Reduced: 3/3/09 - $549,900
Reduced: 4/4/09 - $529,900

I mean, HONESTLY? The process and numbers speak for themselves. We're going to give the sellers the benefit of the doubt as it looks like they re-did the unit somewhat since the 2004 purchase, but since we all know that 2004 rollbacks are starting to happen, the original price is delusional. And the price INCREASE in September last year. Tricky! Bottom line, they cut too slowly and the market would have left them to their own little devices, until ...

CHALLENGER #2
(a/k/a "Reality IS an Option")
838 N. Doheny Dr #505
$459,900
2BR / 1.5BA
1,218 sq ft. ($378/ft)
HOA: $1,025/mo

On Market: 7 Days

Sold: 9/78 (no price listed)

So, here it looks like we have a long-time owner (who appears to have done some upgrades over time) undercutting the current listing on a similarly-sized listing. I can't speak for either unit, but that aren't that far apart in terms of floor, and both appear to have been upgraded somewhat and have similar amenities.

For unit #505, you're looking at approx $3500 pre-tax on a monthly basis. Not for everyone, but for a unit this size in a full-service building, this seems to be getting close to a reasonable rent level. Will be interesting to see if the sellers of Unit #505 are willing to cut quickly if they don't get initial interest, and how #707 will respond.