Icy Cold, or Steaming Hot?

Before leaving for a late-July trip, I took aim at a few market newcomer homes in the $250K-$350K range; on an unrelated yet strikingly parallel note, I just finished an outing with some new buyer clients casing the creampuff eastside neighborhoods (Laurelhurst, Irvington & Eastmoreland) in the $550K-$800K range a couple days before. I say "strikingly parallel" note because I found the same inventory dynamic in play during both outings. Listings seem either completely out of step with respect to current price-condition values, or they knock them out of the park (i.e. look pristine or fabulous and have an aggressive price point.) During my outing with the buyer clients, we saw one large $800K+ home that showed like a dream on four levels of living (as it should!) and another in a comparable location that apparently relied on its double-lot measurements to make up for a very disappointing kitchen (one I'd expect in a $349K house, frankly) and half the living space below grade. Similarly, when I toured a 2BR/2BA condo with comparable square footage and little more than a stone's throw from my own listing, I was relieved (but still shocked) that the substantially lower price it had ($50K) did not overcome the very busy and loud street, its mediocre kitchen, 100-yr-old windows, missing bonus room and utter lack of parking. I can't say enough how important it is to keep the price expectations realistic and also have the property as sparkly as possible for this market.

Here is the scoop on the three new ones I saw:

1. Sunnyside Dud - 2518 SE Belmont St. $285K 2BR/2BA main floor condo unit in an architecturally strong (but unevenly maintained) converted building in what was probably an original duplex but is now a fourplex structure. Nice staging and soft background music don't quite make up for the blazing traffic noise (rendering its nice porch unusable before 10pm or after 8am) or the unreplaced windows everywhere. Privacy concerns would require curtains anyway, I guess. On the upside, the rooms are mostly generous, and the fireplace and floors and some original features/fixtures help quite a bit, and the baths are both solid. Laundry is in the basement, along with some nice storage space. Still, it's a tough sell, even at this price.

2. South Tabor Sweetie - 7526 SE Pine St. $247,5K 3BR/1BA one-level updated modern ranch-style home with attached garage (thankfully not featured from the curb view.) Tucked into a sleepy nook of Mt. Tabor's southeast corner pocket, this modest little home nevertheless showed exceptionally well, with refreshingly tasteful and orderly decor, a smart kitchen remodel that maximized the space, nice hardwood floors and a pretty newer bath. The bedrooms, true to typical ranch style, were all unremarkable but well-proportioned and clustered at the rear. The yard wasn't big (but not small) and it was fine-tuned with healthy grass and landscaping. Great buy, easy to "see yourself" there. Happy.

3. Neglected Waverly Waif - 2406 SE Ivon Street $360K 3BR/1BA A towering foursquare in a to-die-for location, with an unfinished third floor (well, fourth counting the basement) accessible by existing stairs. Recently painted acceptable exterior colors, sizable lot & yard, plenty of space. It seemed a steal! Oh, but the pleasantries stop there. Showed egregiously poorly, including a downright revolting bathroom, because...? Don't know. Here's what I do:  the condition cost the seller an easy $25K that would have been negated entirely by a thousand bucks on a packing/staging service and another $500 for a cleaning crew.