625k in "Hip Happening Hyattsville"? Overpriced?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP back again, looked at the Nicholson house someone posted upthread and it is gorgeous. Part of what is confusing me is there's this big house on 44th that had to do a 50k price cut before going under contract: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6010-44th-Ave-Hyattsville-MD-20781/37514899_zpid/

Granted, I don't love the kitchen layout, but it seems so much bigger than the one I originally posted, which is partially why I'm very curious to see what the 625k one ends up going for.

I'm the PP who posted the Nicholson house. It is bigger than the one in this thread, so I'm not sure how good of a comparison it is. But I think a lot of the size in Nicholson was in the number of rooms and in two of the upstairs bedrooms (and a large bath). The one in this thread doesn't look small to me, at least from the listing—I was actually surprised that it's only about 1500 sf. Plus, it seems like the basement could easily be converted into livable space. If the virtual tour measurement function is accurate, the ceiling is 7'6"; most of the unfinished basements I've seen are either a little too short to finish properly or have water issues that make finishing the basement a bad idea.

The one on 44th is so clearly a flip (and so utterly charmless, IMO) that I don't think it's a good comparison to 5303 41st.

I live one house down from this listing on 44th. I know they spent a significant amount of time doing the work and it came out very nicely! The nest part is that sale just drove the price of my house way up. I have almost the identical floor plan, but have an extra full bathroom. I paid under 500K for my house 3 years ago, and just had it appraised last year for my refinance and it was valued at $675K, and that was a year ago. I plan to make some minor updates (since it was completely remodeled when I bought it) and sell in the spring market. I hope to make a significant profit that I can use as a large down payment on something in the burns, since my work's telework polices are changing and there really os no need to be close to DC.

Well, tastes differ. But I do find it interesting that the house at the top of this thread and the Nicholson house sold for virtually the same price—around $785k—while the 44th street flip sold for $670k after a price drop. At the very least, that confirms that the 44th street flip wasn’t a good comparison for the other two houses. And I’m also taking it as a sign that renovations that preserve historical character create more value and demand than a boring gray-and-white open-floor plan flip. I may not be right about that, but I’ll gladly take evidence for it where I can.

I think you're right. It may be a niche market, but for people looking at older homes with charm, the idea of a flipper getting in, striping things, painting it all sterile gray (god forbid adding lvp and stock cabinets), is a huge red flag. An older home where the owners put up with an outdated kitchen is not a deal breaker, if there's a nice window over the sink and room to move around. For the first home personally, I love the unfinished basement/garage. A house needs room for work, too, and to me it just advertises that there's ample room for living above grade and in the yard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It may be a niche market, but for people looking at older homes with charm, the idea of a flipper getting in, striping things, painting it all sterile gray (god forbid adding lvp and stock cabinets), is a huge red flag.

True fact. I've seen more than a few formerly gorgeous homes in need of work, but with woodwork still intact and unpainted, that I've been tempted to buy just to prevent some flipper from getting their crowbars on it. Fortunately (or alas), reason has so far prevailed.

Well-preserved older homes may be a niche market, but enough of us old-house fans are out there that well-preserved old houses seem to end up in huge bidding wars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is underpriced … wonder what it will go for?

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Hyattsville/5314-42nd-Ave-20781/home/10948315

It closed today for $690,000 (after an asking price of $550,000).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is underpriced … wonder what it will go for?

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Hyattsville/5314-42nd-Ave-20781/home/10948315

It closed today for $690,000 (after an asking price of $550,000).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't tell from the photos if that would be a project house or not. Not having any pictures of the bathrooms or basement is a red flag, though. There's only one shot of the kitchen, too (I almost missed it), but from that shot it doesn't look bad. What I can see doesn't have quite the same old-house charm that the Nicholson house did, at least for me, and the key to getting top dollar for an old house is having so much character that people are willing to overlook the money pit potential. It's also right next to a bus stop on a busy-ish street.

I don't see this one getting a bidding war, personally.

Except that it went for $140,000 over asking! So... there was likely a bidding war.