UPDATE: 8/17/07 – I just noticed the price has dropped to $549,000 after fewer than 2 weeks at $575,000. I bet they’ll take just about any offer at this point.
Originally posted: 8/7/07
920 Bower Way. Seems like so many of the houses for sale in Thousand Oaks right now are in the tiny old neighborhood between the 23, Hillcrest Drive and Hodencamp.
920 Bower Way is listed for $575,000. It was purchased for $640,000 on 1/9/2007. That means the asking price is $65,000 less than they paid for it 7 months ago. They lost $9,285 per month. Plus they probably paid over $3,000/month in mortgage payments. “Close to Civic Arts Plaza, shopping, 23 and the 101 Freeways” That means they are about 100 feet away from the 23 freeway. Of course, even at $575,000 this house seems overpriced to me. I don’t think any house in this neighborhood is worth more than $400,000. I’d have to see inside this one, but I’d guess something around $350,000 might be reasonable. Folks, let’s see if we can keep our heads on when we buy houses after this housing bubble returns to normalcy.
Let’s play the appreciation game. This house also shows a sale price of $175,000 at the end of 1995. That seems like a reasonable price. If this house appreciated 3% per year since then, it would have been worth about $242,000 at the end of 2006 – a few days after the current owners paid $640,000.
August 7, 2007 at 11:58 am
good job on the recent postings, i flip between here and irvine housing blog. Seems to me that these T.O. prices are reaching Northern California prices, which have always been expensive. For some reason, the Conejo Valley real estate prices have been levitating like magic (well, at least the asking prices, who knows what they’ll actually sell for). In fact, Irvine housing seems more reasonable than Conejo Valley/Oak Park pricing. Have the homes in Oak Park you were posting, actually sold yet?
August 7, 2007 at 12:16 pm
No, none of the Oak Park houses have sold to my knowledge.
There is a brand new house built in this same old neighborhood in Thousand Oaks. It was listed for $629,000. There is a SOLD sign on the house for about a week now. I haven’t seen anybody move in though. The house doesn’t even exist on Zillow yet. I am curious to find out how much it sold for.
August 17, 2007 at 12:36 pm
great site – I think the prices in this area are about to crash
August 17, 2007 at 3:39 pm
As somebody who wants to keep living in the area, I sure hope so. Or else I’m going to have to leave the state.
August 20, 2007 at 11:24 am
It would be interesting to get some information on how quickly Amgen and Countrywide layoffs will affect the area… and maybe some discussion regarding how long of an effect. I forsee a mild drop, then a head-fake recovery, then a real drop. I think that patience2007’s guesses on what houses are worth are about right…. but getting there may take a while.
August 20, 2007 at 11:30 am
I would imagine the layoffs will hurt, but what percentage of the layoffs will end up finding new jobs in the general area and be able to keep their homes?
I’m guessing some will stay but will take a pay cut to do so. It will be interesting. The combination of the layoffs plus the ARM resets and general housing decline will surely push prices down. But then how much of that will go on to spur other employment issues, such as plumbers, electricians, carpet companies, interior designers, etc. facing declining sales? Things could snowball a bit. I am in no way an expert on the economy, but the idea of house prices dropping 50% – down to where typical appreciation would put houses right now – seems like a possibility.
August 20, 2007 at 4:34 pm
I smell fear…