Belmont–Week in Review for November 22, 2008

Belmont’s housing picture settled down a bit as homeowners who had stalled temporarily in the wake of October’s housing news began to list their homes for sale for a pre-winter push.

→NEW Click on the play button to hear a brief market overview.

There are 53 homes for sale in Belmont, down from 57 in the last several weeks.

Five new listings have recently hit the market, three have been re-listed and there were three that closed escrow as well.

ACTIVE HOMES

1943 Hillman—4 Bed 3.5 Bath 2,969 Sq. Ft. home on a steep up slope 8,500 Sq. Ft. lot. LISTED for $1,195,000. OK, the lot is steep and if you don’t mind stairs you’ll actually find a level rear yard area out back. Nicely appointed home with remodeled kitchen. Listed By Val Shevelyov, Quest Real Estate OPEN HOUSE INFO NOT AVAILABLE.

528 Davey Glen—4 Bed 2.5 Bath 2,190 Sq. Ft home on a 7,350 Sq. Ft. lot LISTED for $1,139,000. Davey Glen is a busy street with mixed use (i.e. Condos, homes, businesses).Note—this home last sold in 1997 for $479,500. And who says Peninsula Real Estate is a bad investment. Listed By Bryce Cook, RE/MAX Today OPEN SUNDAY 11/23 1:00-4:00

1902 Miller Ave.—3 Bed 2.5 Bath 2,030 Sq. Ft. home on a 9,800 Sq. Ft. lot LISTED for $999,999. This home has a nice setting and is reminiscent of the Brady Bunch home of the 1970’s—though it has been updated. Listed By Wendy Grainger, Wendy P. Grainger, Broker OPEN SUNDAY 11/23 1:00-4:00.

3402 Lower Lock—3 Bed 2 Bath home on a 5,500 Sq. Ft. lot LISTED for $899,888. This home shows impeccably and has a very nice secluded rear level yard. Listed By Debbie Wilhelm, Coldwell Banker OPEN SUNDAY 11/23 from 1:40-4:30.

1941 Alden Street—3 Bed 1 Bath 1,330 Sq. Ft. home on a 5,500 Sq. Ft. lot LISTED for $ 865,000. Nice updated ranch home and it shows rather well. Elevated in the rear—level; yard below. The street is moderately busy. Listed by Debbie Sharp, Alain Pinel Realtors OPEN SUNDAY 11:23 1:00-4:00 and again on 11/30 (same times).

1021 Elmer Street (no photos)—3 Bed 2 Bath 1,250 Sq. Ft. home on a level 5,000 Sq. Ft. lot in Sterling Downs (AKA east side of El Camino). LISTED for $689,000. This is a pre-foreclosure sale bargain hunters start your engines… Listed by Cameron Thompson, Alain Pinel Realtors OPEN SUNDAY 11/23 2:00-4:00 and again on 11/30.

RE-LISTED HOMES

2007 Monroe Ave. 2 Bed 1 Bath 930 SQ. Ft. home on a 4,000 Sq. Ft. lot. RE-LISTED for $655,000 with no price reduction. This home has potential. Don’t let the 930 Sq. Ft. scare you away—it has a bonus room below which adds another 250 Sq. Ft. probably. Listed By Peter Vece, Dumas & Company

1909 Lyon Ave. 3 Bed 2.5 Bath 1,629 Sq. Ft. home on a 5,150 Sq. Ft. lot LISTED for $865,000 down from $869,888. The real price reduction was from $912,000 back in August. This home is now a very good deal and someone should jump on it. Nicely appointed and very clean. It has a level rear yard on a ½ level down access. Listed By Celeste L. Pagan, Carlmont Associates NO OPEN HOUSES LISTED.

2422 Hastings Dr. 3 Bed 2.5 Bath 2,250 Sq. Ft. home and a 4.032 Sq. Ft. lot RE-LISTED for $1,108,000 (same as before).These homes are along Hasting Drive and they are usually attached, though some are technically detached. This one has a canyon view and it’s an end home on the block so it has a neighbor on only one side and great canyon views out the other two (the front has a street view). It started at $1,038,000 back in August 2008 and was lowered to $1,018,000. It didn’t sell and a new agent listed the home at the same price. Listed By Jun Kyu Chung, East West Realty

SOLD HOMES

↑1500 Escondido Way—4 Bed 2.5 Bath 2,080 Sq. Ft. home on a 17,120 Sq Ft. Lot LISTED for $1,250,000 SOLD for $1,375,000 in 12 Days. This home was unique in that it has a huge level lot and is located near downtown on one of Belmont’s premiere secluded cul-de-sac streets. The only negative to this home was it backed up to Ralston Ave. and Chula Vista so it does get some street noise. Other than that, it’s a one-of-a-kind home and worth every penny they paid over for the home.

↓1314 Paloma—3 Bed 3 Bath 2,390 Sq. Ft. home on a 4,320 Sq. Ft. lot. LISTED for $995,000 originally. It was lowered to $925,000 after three weeks and two weeks later it received a contract and SOLD for $900,000.

It’s interesting to note that the two homes above were both remodeled yet the smaller one received $425,000 more. One can never underestimate the allure of a park-like level rear yard. It’s also interesting to note that appraisers typically will allow only $5.50 per square foot credit for land. At that rate Escondido should have only received $970,000 rather than the $1,375,000 it did. Clearly appraisers are way off on estimating the value of usable land vs. just land (i.e. a sloping lot).

↓809 North Road—3 Bed 1.5 Bath home LISTED for $629,900 SOLD for $607,402 in Nine days. This was a great starter home on the west side of El Camino.

This information is for entertainment purposes only and includes no legal, accounting or real estate advice nor is this intended to be specific to your situation-always consult a specialist who is familiar with the details of your situation.

Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This is not intended to be a representation of homes listed or sold exclusively by Drew or Christine Morgan or Carlmont Associates.