Too Much House for the Neighborhood?

This new listing at 501 N. Curson Ave., Los Angeles, is a big, beautiful, remodeled home.  It has five bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, a cook’s kitchen, and more.  But, with an asking price of $1,495,000, will it sell?

Similarly, up the street at 546 N. Curson is a huge, brand-new five-bedroom, 5.5-bath home that’s still under construction — has been for more than a year.

Single-family home sales in this neighborhood — bounded by Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax , Melrose and La Brea avenues — have been soft for several months.  Condos and multifamily units are selling, but single-family home sales have been virtually nonexistent.

Other than multifamily units, sales in the area have been almost exclusively under a million dollars.  One lucky buyer snapped up a bank-owned duplex, with two 1,100-foot 2+1 units, at 622 N. Vista Street for $873,325.  The property had sold for $1,010,000 in October 2006. By comparison, a 2+1 house at 507 N. Martel sold in January for $899,500.

Maybe the buying public is trying to send this neighborhood a message that prices need to come down.  After all, this is the same neighborhood that brought you the two-bedroom, one-bath home for $1.2 million.