Author: TheArcadian
July 30, 2008
2222 S. 2nd Ave.
Arcadia, CA 91006
Price: $2,888,000 ($414/sf)
- Beds: 5
- Baths: 5.5
- Sq. Ft.: 6,981(!)
- Lot Size: 0.38 Acres
Today’s new listing is a 6,981sf McMansion sprawled across a 1/3 acre piece of land. The description calls it a “Gorgeous Luxury Custom Built Estate.” Of course, we all know that this “custom home” was built using a mid-90’s floor plan and originally designed by San Gabriel Valley architects. Don’t believe me? Walk into a dozen McMansions built between 1995-1999 and you will see the same plans used over and over.
There are two things that are rediculous about this property: 1) The nearly 7,000sf living space and 2) a asking price of $2.8MM+. Do you think adding the ‘888‘ will increase this seller’s luck in finding a rich knifecatcher?
Cost to build this McMansion @ $150/sf = $1,047,150
Cost of property purchased in 2003 = $636,000Total cost = $1,683,150
Current asking price: $2,888,000 = $1,204,850 profit (!)
What does not make sense is why someone would spend nearly $3MM to purchase an overbuilt McMansion when they could build the same thing for much much less. There are several land lots in Arcadia currently asking for ~$1MM. Assuming you spent another $1MM building a custom home, total savings would be over $800k!
Might have been a great idea had the Great Housing Bubble continued. Bad timing. Money from China has been cut off (by credit crunch, stock market sell off, and government crack down…), and many of the McMansion buyers of the last few years are struggling themselves…underwater and drowning.
Someone might like the 2’s in the address to offer $1.88 million?
7000 feet!!!!????? Pefect for the Chinese family. You can fit 3 generations under one roof.
How much is your home worth? Well, it all depends where you live.
The real estate market is still shaking. New data suggests that home prices have hit a new record low. In every new study that comes out, homeowners from Miami, to Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles, have seen their home value go lower every time.
Is that disappointing? Of course it is.
Should we sell? Is not a good time.
Should we stick to it? Yes, if you can.
Have we hit bottom? Nobody knows.
Banks are facing their worst foreclosure crisis.
Don’t take me wrong, it’s good if you are in the market to buy a home for yourself or if you are an investor, but if you are not, and you own a home, most likely the value of your property is down at least 15 %.
Why do banks care if you are loosing your home? By having to sell repossessed homes, banks have to literally slash their prices down. It gets very costly for them, after all, they have to pay property taxes, maintenance costs, and whatever utilities that need to be paid, all of this expenses for a house that it’s just sitting there, vacant, and the bank is getting nothing in return.
The latest study by the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index of 20 cities, revealed the news that for 22 consecutive months home prices dropped. Only from April to May, 2009 the decline was of 0.9 %
Isn’t this a Beverly Hills price?
And when did 1/3 acre become an “Estate”? This home is perfect for the Asian version of the “Arcadia Hillbillies” show.
That’s the first thing that came to mind… a 1/3 acre “estate”… Laughable at best.
I hope they don’t sell it to the Chinese Immigrant with the newfound wealth transferred from China. They might dig up the lawn and put in a vegetable garden.
Looks like tough luck trying to find a knifecatcher from China for this property. The Chinese housing industry is also entering into a major crisis as the country readies for the Olympics, check out this article-
http://www.chinastakes.com/story.aspx?id=531
Sales are already way down in Beijing, with some existing homes declining 15-20% yr to yr. I predict the Chinese housing market will undergo a major adjustment after the Olympics, maybe as dramatic as that China’s stock market b/c the housing bubble in China is even more ridiculous than the U.S. mkt. (-50% correction this year, w/95% of investors losing money). When that happens, even the nuveau riche Chinese will be cautious about blowing their $ on a property like this.
Why the anti Chinese / asian comments. What do you all have against Chinese???
hi hapaguy,
First of all, glad to have you as a reader!
Second, I don’t think we are anti-asian/chinese. Not sure if you read, but I am a Chinese American myself.
Since this is Arcadia we’re talking about, the millions of dollars of wealth that have poured in over the last decade from Asian immigrants aren’t without some problems (that we perceive of course).
Instead of sprawling landscaped yards, wall-to-wall privacy and reasonable real estate valuation, they are replaced with
- Overbuilt pink McMansions
- Single family homes rented out to multiple families
- Neighborhoods losing their character
- Reckless home bidding
Of course, it’s not all bad because in return we get:
- More academic competition
- More taxes paid
- Overload of BWMs instead of loud Civics (at least significantly less than Alhambra/Monterey Park)
I have to agree, this site is not Anti Chinese at all.
I think there is a lot of talk on this site about the Asian community because of the demographics of Arcadia. Some issues do come up like “Single family homes rented out to multiple families”.
It’s important to look at these issues when buying a home and when picking a neighborhood. I don’t think I have seen anti-Chinese comments, we just discuss the facts, whether good or bad.
The street view picture shows a white civic hatchback parked on the driveway (between a hummer and a sequoia)