April 29, 2008

Menlo Park Willows Neighborhood: Under $1,000,000

Affordable housing in Menlo Park is pretty much non-existent these days. Currently there are only 21 homes that are even under the $1mil mark. So I looked to the most likely place to find the least expensive housing in this town, which I believed to be the Willows neighborhood. This area is bound by Middlefield to the west, Highway 101 to the east, Willow Road to the north, and University to the south. The neighborhood has a small retail area (gas, supermarket, restaurant, etc.) along Willow, and easy access to the freeway. It is comprised of older single family homes on the north side of the neighborhood, and more condos/townhouses and apartments on the south side. (I found that the further southeast you go, the more rundown the neighborhood becomes.)

Driving around, I checked out the 3 homes currently available for under $1,000,000.

First up was 404 Durham, a 1200 sf three-bedroom, one bath single family home. It sits amongst like properties, predominantly single story and well kept. The neighborhood was very quiet on a Monday afternoon, with a few homes undergoing additions and remodels. The listing itself looked to be in good shape on a slightly oversized lot (7000 sf), with a new driveway of stone pavers, a fairly new roof, and new paint. Built in 1947, the interior has seen upgrades like canned lighting, dual-paned windows, remodeled kitchen and bath. The back sports a redwood deck and hot tub, as well as lawn and room for a garden. It has been on the market for just about 3 weeks and is currently listed at $899,000

Heading southeast, we get to 104 Haight Street and a small 900 sf home with only two bedrooms and one bath. The listing shows this as a fixer-upper, and it does look to be in less than desirable condition, with overgrown weeds, severely cracked driveway, and shoddy fence, it is located on a large 10,800 sf corner lot, meaning room to remodel, reconstruct or add on. However the downside here is that it is also one lot away from the freeway and its attendant noise; and even at 2pm on a Monday afternoon, this was apparent, as were the neighborhood roosters and their crowing. On the market over two months, this home is currently listed for $629,900.

Away from the freeway, heading southwest, we found a 3/2.5 townhouse at 135 E O’Keefe Street. This 4-unit complex begins the high-rise section of the neighborhood, where condos, townhouses, and apartments line both sides of the block. While the interior photos do show that this is a nice looking unit, the whole complex looked very old and dated to me, and the area itself borders on undesirable. This listing has been on the market 64 days, and has had one price reduction, from $799,000 to $759,000 (5%), but in my estimation it is still way overpriced. You can see for yourself this Sunday at an open house.