Time for another round of “Guess the Price.” Here’s how the game works. I’ll describe a home that’s currently on the market, giving you as many pros and cons as I can, and you guess what the final sale price will be when/if it sells.
Be sure to enter your real email address into the form when you leave your guess in the comments, because the winner gets a $25 gift card to the restaurant chain of their choosing. Don’t worry, I’m the only one that can see the emails that are entered. The winner is the person whose guess is closest to the final sale price, above or below. If there is a tie, whoever guessed closer to the correct closing date will be declared the winner. Contest closes to entries at midnight the morning of September 1st, or when the home goes pending, whichever comes first.
Today’s “Guess the Price” guest star is likely to be familiar to many of you… because it was the star of our very first Guess the Price contest just a year and a half ago. That’s right, barely over a year after finally selling for $290,000, 3215 Kromer Ave in Everett is back on the market. According to an agent friend of mine (not a Redfin coworker), last year’s buyers are being “forced” to sell due to a job transfer.
This time around we’re starting with an asking price of $334,900. So far, the home has been on the market for 4 days. It’s neither bank-owned nor a short sale. It is tucked back away from the freeway in the western portion of Everett’s Port Gardner neighborhood, where the median sale price of single-family homes in June was $161,000.
Built in 1906, this 1.5-story home (with basement) sports 3 bedrooms, one full bathroom, and two half bathrooms. All three bedrooms are upstairs with the full bath, while one half bath is cleverly tucked under the stairs on the ground level. The second half bath is in the basement. 1,834 of the home’s square feet are above ground, with an additional 338 in the basement.
The exterior of the home has been nicely restored, featuring cedar shake siding, a roof in good condition, and recently painted trim. The yard is well-manicured, and sports a classic white picket fence. Although there is no garage, there is a tool shed and off-street parking for 1-2 cars.
Inside, many of the finishes are either original or believable replicas of the originals. The entire home has nicely refinished (presumably original) hardwood floors, a change from the last time this home was on the market when most of the original hardwood was covered by carpet.
Outside, a wrap-around boardwalk-style deck provides an excellent view of the sheer dropoff into the massive ravine that comes right up to the north and east sides of the house. Across the ravine you can see the large parking garage of Providence Regional Medical Center’s Pacific Campus, and listen to the low drone of their massive HVAC systems.
In the basement, you’ll find a furnace that is less than a year old, and takes up the vast majority of the center of the room. Around the edges are your washer and dryer, as well as a random closet that contains a bonus toilet (the aforementioned “half bath,” although there was no sink to be found in the basement last time the home was listed).
Unlike when this home was on the market in 2010/2011, the 25+ year-old appliances have been replaced with brand new stainless steel apppliances. Compare the photo at left with the kitchen photo in the previous listing to see the dramatic difference that an appliance update can make.
Unfortunately, there is still very little counter space (which does appear to be granite), and although I haven’t been to see the home yet, it’s highly likely that the refrigerator is still technically not even in the same room.
All told, this home has definitely been nicely improved since the last time it was on the market, but will these updates be enough to boost the sale price by 15% in just a year? It will be interesting to see if the upgrades and today’s much tighter inventory are enough to snag a new buyer at this price. Unfortunately for the sellers, from what my agent friend told me, even if they manage to get their current asking price $44,900 above what they paid last year, they’ll still end up losing money on this home since all the upgrades they put in cost them around $30,000, and they’ll end up paying another $27,000 of the sale price in commissions and excise tax.
Summary of 3215 Kromer Ave
- Pros
- NEW: refinished hardwood floors throughout
- NEW: all-new appliances in kitchen
- NEW: floored attic storage
- NEW: updated energy efficient windows
- nicely restored exterior
- nice finishes inside
- fairly quiet location
- off-street parking
- well-manicured lawn
- new furnace
- bonus toilet
- no major defects (leaks, etc.)
- Cons
- terrifying ravine just off of deck
- small kitchen
- furnace takes up most of basement
So, what say you? How much will this home sell for, and when will it sell?