May 8, 2008
Cool Tools For Real-Estate Groupies
While browsing through some real-estate blogs — and believe me there are a gazillion of them out there, some better than others — I stumbled upon some valuable new tools for those of us who labor in, or merely take an interest in, this complex, crazy industry.
First up, courtesy of Mike Simenson’s blog at Altos Research, I discovered Krunching.com (love that name). Krunching, which is geared towards real estate investors, allows you to pull up an investment analysis report on any address in California. Thus, part of a Krunching report for this recently listed home with artist’s studio at 3118 California Street in Berkeley looks like this:
One drawback is that the data Krunching must rely on is somewhat out of date — I gather they’re working to rectify this.
Also via Mike Simenson, I found Homethinking.com which lets you answer questions such as, How much exposure does my town have to sub-prime loans? and What percent of mortgage applicants are rejected? It does this by letting you browse through actual mortgage application data.
Both these tools are tilted to the professional rather than the lay person, but they are worth checking out. There’s no such thing as too much information when you’re in the market to buy property.
Finally it would be remiss of me not to mention Redfin’s own newly refined search tools. If you haven’t discovered them already, you should know that you can now hunt for homes that are for sale by owner (FSBO), as well as track down bank-listed foreclosures and find past sales data. Here’s what the first step to your future home may look like:
Trawling through blogs also throws up other delightful discoveries. It’s not often Socket Site ventures over the Bay Bridge but a couple of days ago it posted an Eichler in Oakland that I just had to mention (I’m a not-so secret-Eichler fan). Here’s what it looks like:
Never mind cool tools. That’s one cool house.
[Photo credit: SocketSite.]
catsjellicle said:
i didnt realise you were an eichler fan! i have noticed that people either love eichlers or loathe them passionately. there is no middle ground. palo alto is littered with million plus eichlers. of course, ‘million plus’ is the price range from a few years ago. there is really nothing under a million in palo alto these days…but you know what i mean.
May 8, 2008 8:26 AM
Tracey Taylor said:
Catsjellicle: I discovered Eichler when I went on the Hospice By The Bay Eichler Home Tour shortly after I moved here and I think the houses spoke to me because they were quintessentially Californian — indoor/outdoor living, relaxed vibe etc — certainly unlike anything you find in London.
I understand though that these homes often require huge amounts of work and that they don’t suit everyone.
Still, I can dream!
May 8, 2008 9:29 AM
mrbogue said:
Anyone see this listing?
http://www.redfin.com/CA/BERKELEY/1730-SONOMA-Ave-94707/home/1823021
1.8M, holy cow, there goes the neighborhood!
May 8, 2008 11:33 AM
David said:
I don’t quite understand cruncher’s numbers. I like the median rent, but their other calculations (valuations, cash flow etc) seem to be way off.
May 8, 2008 1:01 PM
Toady said:
Yow! $896/sf! Has Berkeley been annexed by Woodside?
My first thought was that this must be an insistent and unrealistic seller browbeating their poor and harried agent. But in fact, it’s an agent selling her own home.
Good luck, Nancy!
May 8, 2008 1:21 PM
mrbogue said:
Heh!
I like Monterey Market and Solano, but not for $896 a square foot!
Maybe she’s not really desperate to sell, or wants to help bring up the area’s comparables value with a far-fetched “zillow make me move” like price.
Anyhow, the pictures are already up:
http://www.prurealty.com/propertyDetail.aspx?listingid=6-40341246&src=propSearch
Looks pretty, but you’d would think for a $1.8M house she could atleast find a photographer that understands aperture.
May 8, 2008 2:49 PM
tracey.taylor said:
Mrbogue: My thoughts exactly on the photography. This is only a 3-bed house. I can’t help wondering what the price would be without that very lovely pool.
May 8, 2008 3:15 PM