There’s lots of blah, blah, blah going on about the latest Street of (Materialistic) Dreams, where every-day commoners like you and I can pay $18 to tour a bunch of over-the-top abodes. The local press seems to have stars in their eyes, and spends most of their time talking about all the low-flow toilets, and Energy Star-qualified appliances and how isn’t it just marvelously eco-friendly that the 4,000 square foot homes are “built green.” Bo-ring.
In a bit of a twist, let’s ignore this year’s dog and pony show, and take a few moments to go back to 2006’s Street of (Materialistic Pink Pony) Dreams, which I actually had the misfortune of personally attending. The first thing that comes to mind when I recall walking through these homes was the surprisingly cheap feel of the finish work. We visited near the end of the run, so by this time, thousands of people had traipsed through the halls of these houses, opening and closing every door and cupboard more times in four weeks than would usually be experienced in a year. In a way it was like an accelerated wear process. Closet doors were jamming, knobs were loose, hallway doors didn’t sit quite straight… in general it was quite unsightly. Plus there were a number of things that didn’t even have to do with wear, such as poorly-painted trim lines and wood trim that didn’t quite match up correctly. I’m sure that they went back through the homes after the tour dates were over and fixed most of these things, but seeing them near the end of the tour was like getting a preview of what things would look like after five years of normal use. For multi-million-dollar mansions, you think they would have sprung for better hinges and rails.
Another thing that struck me as odd was the wine cellars. Not that the houses had wine cellars at all, but just how ridiculously huge some of them were. In the house with the largest wine cellar (Hillcrest Farm), I estimated that there was space for 1,646 bottles of wine. Is it just me, or does that seem a bit unnecessary, even for the Street of (Materialistic Uber-Excess) Dreams?
Also amusing were the houses that had “secret” doors to hidden rooms. I personally think that hidden rooms and secret doors are fun, but wouldn’t the kind of person buying a $3,000,000 home be a bit above such trifles? Besides, what is the point of a secret room when it’s been on display to the (entrance-fee-paying) public for four weeks? Not very secret anymore.
Here’s a random review of the six featured houses from last year’s Street of (Materialistic Gluttonous) Dreams, including square feet, sold status, price, and # of TVs in the staged house.
Verandah Bay
Size: 7,150 sqft on 6.89 acres
Status: Sold October 2006
Price: $3,625,000
Buyer(s): Christopher Wilcox
# of TVs: 8
Kensington Manor
Size: 6,110 sqft on 5.00 acres
Status: Sold May 2007
Price: $3,575,000
Buyer(s): Duane & Heather Baker
# of TVs: 6
Other notes: Builder still listed as the taxpayer. Possibly due to recency of sale?The Retreat
Size: 9,000 sqft on 5.05 acres
Status: Still Unsold, on the Market
Price: $5,695,000 (asking)
Buyer(s): N/A
# of TVs: 17
Other notes: This was the most extravagant home in the show (pictured above), with an enormous pool, a “secret cave,” and a huge outdoor entertaining area. The builder (Parmenter Homes) is stuck paying $42,000 per year in taxes until they can unload this beast.
Casa Montecito
Size: 6,950 sqft on 5.15 acres
Status: Sold April 2007
Price: $3,400,000
Buyer(s): Scott & Kelly Bingham
# of TVs: 4
Other notes: Builder still listed as the taxpayer. Possibly due to recency of sale? Pictured at right.Hillcrest Farm
Size: 7,220 sqft on 5.46 acres
Status: Still Unsold, on the Market
Price: $4,395,000 (asking)
Buyer(s): N/A
# of TVs: 9
Other notes: The builder (Design Guild Homes) is presently stuck paying $43,000 per year in taxes on this one. Pictured below-right.
Twin Cedars Lodge
Size: 5,030 sqft on 6.69 acres
Status: Kept by Builder
Price: N/A
Buyer(s): Philip & Jan Bononcini
# of TVs: 5
Other notes: The Bononcini’s were the owners of the entire plot of land that all six homes were built on until they parted it out in 2005 to the individual builders. They paid a total of $1,750,000 from 1998 to 2004 for the land that the 2006 SoD was built on. They made a total of $4,605,000 by parting the other five lots out to the builders. Since this was the least audacious home in the show, with the largest and most private plot of land, I’m assuming that they kept this one as their family home, paid for using the $2 million (plus) profit from the land sales. Nice move.
I’m not particularly interested in taking in this year’s show, certainly not for the $18 cost of admission. But, if anyone out there really wants a Seattle Bubble report on the 2007 Street of (Materialistic Uncontrollable Drooling) Dreams, you can pay my admission with a PayPal donation, and I’ll make the time.
MisterBubble » Jul 23, 2007 at 12:35 pm
Say….maybe all of the 2007 houses have sold…that would help to explain why the King County MLS inventory just dropped by over 40 in the space of a few hours.
I smell market manipulation.
The Tim » Jul 23, 2007 at 12:46 pm
I wouldn’t necessarily assume there’s any manipulation going on. Mondays often tend to see the number of listings go down a tad, as deals that closed over the weekend are taken off the market by the listing agent. If listings continued to drop throughout the entire week, then I’d be suspicious.
Also, this year’s SoD is in Snohomish County. :^)
redmondjp » Jul 23, 2007 at 1:03 pm
The only street of dreams event that I ever attended was back in the summer of 1989 when I was living in Bellevue working as a summer intern for Puget Power. I remember we parked in the Sammamish valley between Redmond and Woodinville and were bussed east out to the neighborhood (don’t remember which one).
What surprised me about this year’s street of dreams event is how small it is. Back in 1989 there were I think 17 homes, built with the English Tudor style that was popular at the time, and I think that the prices were in the 300-500K range, but the lots were much smaller (1/2-3/4 acre?) than the ones currently featured.
They should just cancel this event, as there is no longer any need for it. With housing prices where they are now and lending standards tightening, just pick a street –any street– and drive down it, and dream about being able to afford anything on it.
Hooray! Yippee! Pat yourselves on the back Seattleites, as we all live on a Street of Dreams today (and drive slowly, as those Pink Ponies like to suddenly dart across the street).
deejayoh » Jul 23, 2007 at 1:39 pm
I have a friend who owns a house that was on the “Street of Dreams” back in the late 90’s. Maybe 10 years ago? It’s a nice house, kinda big – but probably not even a $1mm property today. I am amazed at how outlandish these things have gotten in such a short period of time.
I don’t know whose “dreams” these are. not mine.
S-crow » Jul 23, 2007 at 2:28 pm
The house still on the market with the large outdoor pool…I did marvel at the kitchen counters. That Granite must weight darn near 1.5-2 tons combined. I asked an agent just for fun if there was a foundation directly underneath the kitchen island.
TJ_98370 » Jul 23, 2007 at 2:34 pm
Pink Ponies
The Tim » Jul 23, 2007 at 2:54 pm
On a somewhat-related note (related to insane excess), a coworker pointed out this amusing description on a 3,400 sqft Medina home on 1/2 acre. See if you can spot the part that made me laugh out loud…
Asking price: $2,250,000.
wreckingbull » Jul 23, 2007 at 2:57 pm
I have to laugh when I see ‘built green’ touted as a benefit of these behemoths.
Not unlike Al Gore and his $2000/month personal power bills.
Not unlike the guy that trades in his perfectly good car for a brand new hybrid, not considering the immense energy costs and environmental impact of manufacturing that new car.
Not unlike Little Leo DeCaprio who has probably put more carbon into this atmosphere in the form of burned Jet-A than all of us combined.
We sure like our self-delusional warm fuzzies.
Joel » Jul 23, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Secret passageways are just awesome. You can bet if I borrow $3,000,000 to blow on a house it’s going to have secret passageways. That way I can continue to secretly live in the house even after it’s been foreclosed on.
Joel » Jul 23, 2007 at 3:06 pm
“Great downsizer”?
Do I win?
If I were spending $3M on a house you can bet that I would have a few secret rooms and passages.
And I wouldn’t tell anyone about them.
er…
I mean, secret rooms are stupid. I’d never put one in my house.
Joel » Jul 23, 2007 at 3:06 pm
Is it that it’s a “great downsizer”? I’ve never heard of a home having “a great pedigree”, as if it’s a showdog or a trust fund kid.
Alan » Jul 23, 2007 at 3:07 pm
That last comment was me. Stupid browser auto-entry.
Joel » Jul 23, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Hey, that second comment of mine isn’t mine! Treachery!
Alan » Jul 23, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Not the last comment. The first ‘Joel’ comment was me.
Hi Joel, I know your email!
deejayoh » Jul 23, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Ah, secret rooms and passageways. I’m reminded of the quaint tale of the broadcom exec that hit the wires last week…
Ex-Broadcom exec alleged to have sex, drug lair
The illegal network of tunnels and rooms underneath Nicholas’ Laguna Hills estate was kept secret from his wife and city officials, the documents said.
The purpose of one secret room was to allow Nicholas to “indulge his appetite for illegal drugs and sex with prostitutes,” the crew claimed.
Jose » Jul 23, 2007 at 4:05 pm
they have this in Portland,OR too. I thought it’s free. Thanks for the input. Now I can use my time for something useful.
Joel » Jul 23, 2007 at 4:17 pm
I think you mean the second one.
CKT » Jul 23, 2007 at 4:24 pm
How the hell does a house have a pedigree? “Made from genuine old-growth Olympic peninsula pines…” Perhaps they mean the people that have lived in it, as if sleeping in the same room where some other stuck-up prick has slept is a perk?
Or maybe they’re referring to the pretty, pretty, pink pony breeding stable in the backyard…
MisterBubble » Jul 23, 2007 at 4:38 pm
You’re probably right, Tim. I thought of that possibility about 10 seconds after I posted.
Still, SFH inventory is down by 60 today; that’s the biggest weekend drop I’ve seen in a while. Perhaps all of those dreamers came back from Snohomish and decided to dig their own 1,600-bottle wine cellars beneath their 800-bottle townhomes? :-P
Alan » Jul 23, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Last Monday, the peak to through drop was 37. Today it is 76 so far.
I suspect the agencies are removing cruft because they are concerned about the appearance of high inventory. I bet a memo went around.
Then again, it was beautiful weather this weekend. Maybe that does result in high sales.
And Joel was right. I was the second post under his name.
Jay » Jul 24, 2007 at 1:08 am
What’s interesting about The Retreat, selling for $5.7M, is that it was orignally listed at $5.5M. So it sat at $5.5M unsold until earlier this year. What did they decide to do to move an expensive white elephant that wasn’t selling at $5.5M? Raise the price of course!
I think that what The Tim found funny about that listing was the fact that it referred to “downsizing” when the home is listed at 3,400SF! Wowza, that’s some downsizing!
Buceri » Jul 24, 2007 at 5:10 am
My street of dreams does not make for good TV. Owners in their late 30s or 40s in 1300sq.ft., 3 bedroom home (townhome or house) fully paid for. Big fat smiles on their faces, not a worry. Oh well….I keep on tuning on HGTV but it’s never on.
CherryVanilla » Jul 24, 2007 at 7:27 am
What’s with the # of TVs staged in each of the Street of Dreams? Do the people who put on this event really think buyers and homeowners think “I care more about how many televisions there are in the house than the quality of pulls and fixtures?”
I guess if one paid $5.5 million for a house one would want to get as much value out of being in the house as much as possible, but why would they watch TV? “We want to see how the “poor” people (people who can’t afford $5.5 million houses) live, but you know, not necessarily have to go outside and smell them or accidentally touch them.” In a huge house, surrounded by televisions everywhere within–sounds like Street of Nightmares to me. They could just look at their walls. “Wow, someone paid $5.5 million for this wall–wait, that was me.”
Lumpeninvestor » Jul 24, 2007 at 9:11 am
Hey, we should all go to the SoD and wear a Lendron t-shirt or a housing bubble T-shirt.
Betcha we get kicked out. :)
For more fun, type “housing bubble” into the search box on cafepress.
Schaum » Jul 24, 2007 at 9:21 am
I’m embarrassed to say that I went to the Street of (outlandish, avaricious) Dreams this year with some friends who were collecting “decorating ideas”. My friends were quite disappointed by this year’s offerings, saying the houses weren’t nearly as grand as last year’s. Maybe that’s due to this year’s alleged green theme (or the fact that some of the “grander” houses from last year have still not sold). Speaking of green, we were scouring for what made the houses green, as they seemed to have just as much granite and hardwood as any other McMansion, not to mention the energy required to run their many “water features” and to heat and cool the 4,000+ sq ft. I also loved that the exhibitors had opened many of the windows while they were running the A/C…
Schaum » Jul 24, 2007 at 9:24 am
Oh, yes, we should have worn our Housing Bubble T-shirts while we were there – that would have been classic! My husband has the one at this URL: http://www.t-shirthumor.com/Merchant2/products/hbbl.html
I think everyone who reads the blog should get one!
softwarengineer » Jul 24, 2007 at 11:42 am
THE RICH ELITE ACT LIKE THEY’RE IMMUNE FROM MIDDLE CLASS HOUSEHOLD WAGE STAGNATION SINCE THE LATE 1990′S AND THE BUBBLE THAT POPPED IN 2006
Even the rich elite depend upon American Middle Class to buy their goods and services, the world economy does too.
Some “pig-headed” far right “any Dem’Rep party folks” I know kind of think that way too.
They’re working less hours, barely getting their McMansion and giant SUV payments in on time [let alone gas money to drive it anywhere], yet they feel they’re the rich elite too….after all, their home is an ATM machine.
Ooops, strike that, not anymore.
Wendy Hughes-Jelen » Jul 24, 2007 at 3:05 pm
I grew up down the street from this year’s SoD – and Echo Falls Golf Course also on this same road was also a SoD back in the early-mid 90s. When my family first moved to 5 acres 2.5 miles off the highway, it was a dirt road (1977). For the record, I hated growing up out there, 10 miles from the nearest town, not getting to see my friends for 3 months every summer, no bus service…once you were in the country you were stuck in the country. I now live in West Seattle – it feels like the country but it’s so close to downtown and other services I actually HAVE a life as an adult.
I want to provide some positive comments regarding this year’s SoD. It’s the first one that has ever been marketed as Built Green (to my knowledge) and from a public-educating perspective it did a very good job of showing visitors what kinds of materials have sustainable alternatives, what kinds of appliances can be more energy friendly than others, etc. The Urban Lodge had the best signage – every single room had a framed sign explaining the green details, sources, and designers. Considering how much land this development is sitting on – and this is what the overall larger community was concerned about – the houses are closer together than most in that entire region, allowing for community building and actually knowing your neighbors. It seems weird to drive all that way for a cul-de-sac, but it’s a "golly" sight better than what I see most places. As for the number of TVs – which acts more and more like a computer these days depending on how you have it set up – They were mostly in common living areas or media centers or the parents retreat. The children’s and guest suites were not modeled with televisions (something that was important in my family).
There are acres and acres of preserved green space surrounding these homes, and they removed a minimal amount of trees (and frankly, those trees are mostly all alder (a weedy 100-year life tree) and will snap in the first strong wind storm anyway). Kudos to those builders who created COVERED outdoor living spaces – in the land where summer is 3 months long (or this year, 2), having a covered outdoor space means it’s actually usable and not just for show.
At least the developers behind this year’s SoD, easily tourable in 90 minutes since there are only 5 homes, all under 5,000 sq ft, had the common theme of trying to build green. Independent developers not involved in a project like this can come out and do whatever they want within the zoning restrictions for this area.
And since MOST people are either related to or good friends with a real estate professional, you can tour the SoD for free if accompanied by an agent outside of show hours. So yes, that means I was up at the crack of dawn both Saturday and Sunday driving out to where I grew up to give my family the opportunity to see what green development is all about. We arrived at 8 AM when they unlocked the doors and skedaddled by 9:45 AM, the cutoff time for on-site agent parking. It was nice to be the only people in the house, able to get an unobstructed glimpse at all of the neat features. (This is one way for you to find out just how good of a friend / family member you are – if they will get up that early for YOU on a weekend.)
I will say my parents thought it was idiotic to drive 10 miles to catch a shuttle back to down the street from their house to see the homes. SoD should have made some sort of accomodation for the community, giving local residents an opportunity to see these homes without the shuttle hassle – especially since they put up with all of the construction for the last year or more.
Street of Dreams 2007 | Rain City Guide | A Seattle Real Estate Blog... » Aug 10, 2007 at 2:04 pm
[...] and would sell better overall. Tim at Seattle Bubble saved us the time and trouble with this article postedon July 23, 2007 with a wrap up of what happened to the 2006 Street of Dreams [...]
2007 Street of (Materialistic) Dreams Torched | Seattle Bubble — News & discussion about real estate & the housing bubble in the Seattle area. » Mar 3, 2008 at 11:01 am
[...] looks like we may not get to have a 2007 Street of (Materialistic) Dreams follow-up post this year like we had for 2006, since the homes have apparently been [...]