What would you pay for this house?

[barista]

So determining value of a house is a very subjective matter. Almost close to being an art. Let's see if we can apply the theory of to it and get better at it. Every once in a while I will post link to a house for sell and would ask you what you think it is worth. Let's see what trends emerge...

To get us started, here's the one for this week

http://www.johnlscott.com/propertydetai ... D=31427452

My guesstimate: 375K

[Scotsman]

I think a lot depends on what you can rent the one next door for.

[jenseattle]

What would I **personally** pay or what does it appear **someone** would pay for it?

We just bought (ducking) a SFH in Ravenna for 375k. I couldn't imagine paying more than that for a condo in Redmond.

[barista]

Well the more I think about it, I realize that the value is too subjective to be decided by such a diverse set of people. As jenseattle mentioned, the value might be different for someone working on eastside say in microsoft as opposed to a person working in seattle at say Amazon or Boeing. So it might not be the best way to use the wisdom of crowds

That brings us to an end of the first and only edition of What would you pay for this house?

You all have a good day!

[rose-colored-coolaid]

I think the problem with this method is two-fold. First, you need a real crowd. 5 people a crowd is not. Second, a crowd can't decide something so ethereal as "what is a house worth". A crowd might be good at deciding how much a house will eventually sell for, and if you read the wisdom of the crowds, that's exactly the type of question crowds tend to do well at. But that's a meta question (a question about expectations), whereas the more direct 'what would you pay for it' is probably invalidated by the fact that most people aren't interested in that house.

cheers.

[Markor]

I think it's a good question. I would certainly buy it for the right price, since I'm interested in that area. As much as I hate places like that, I wouldn't pass up the opportunity at cheap housing. Since you can buy a SFH that is IMO twice the deal at $400K, I'd pay $150K for the townhouse. I think it'd sell easily for $250K today though.

[SeattleMoose]

Did some checking on Zillow. Similar Redmond condos went for about 195K in 1998. Using an annual "realistic" appreciation rate of 4% per year the condo would be worth about 285K today. I would make my initial bid at 250K and negotiate up from there. Of course, we are a year away from "reality" sinking in about prices. It will take that long for sellers to stop offering their homes at bubblicious prices.

[redmondjp]

Well, at least it's not in one of those faux-stucco buildings!

I was talking to another Redmond resident a few nights ago who owns a condo in Redmond--right now, he can't go in for several months because the whole building is tented in while the 'stucco' exterior is being stripped off and redone, as well as the roof.

Assessment PER UNIT for this work: $110,000.00

Ah yes, the joys of 'owning' a condo!