patrick.net

Granite counter tops in every kitchen.

1,2,3 but not 4, eights in the sale price

I guess this a question for Realtors on this forum, correct?

StoutFiles says

Granite counter tops in every kitchen.

And stainless steel appliances!

StoutFiles says

Granite counter tops in every kitchen.

And in the bathroom. Not to mention travertine everything.

PasadenaNative says

StoutFiles says

Granite counter tops in every kitchen.

And stainless steel appliances!

And door handles/knobs.

Lots of mulch.

granite, stainless steel everything. thick glass shower doors, double shower, hardwood floors. stamped driveway, finished garage (man cave) hurry because this will change soon in 5-10 years.
go go go!

an act of god.

StoutFiles says

Granite counter tops in every kitchen.

I hate that because I need new kitchen countertops and hate granite.

"What improvements today would raise housing prices?"

Some have a lot to learn.

http://www.housingbubblebust.com/OFHEO/Major/NorCal.html

thomas.wong1986 says

"What improvements today would raise housing prices?"
Some have a lot to learn.
http://www.housingbubblebust.com/OFHEO/Major/NorCal.html

Yep, Fix the damn prices in first place. Make it affordable first and then count on inflation adjusted house price gains.

zzyzzx says

StoutFiles says

Granite counter tops in every kitchen.

I hate that because I need new kitchen countertops and hate granite.

you'd most likely would like the polished cement with glass. i like the ruff edge look. would increase home price by 100k I'm sure ;-)

Deep down inside I think all of us know- especially those of us that live in places like the Bay Area- that yes indeed- there will probably be another housing bubble. Why? Because places like the Bay Area thrive off of them and have done so for 150+ years. The last 30+ years have been no exception. All it will take is yet another "miracle" bubble in who-knows-what and wallah- it'll be 1999 or 2005 all over again.

Hate to say it as I myself hate housing bubbles worse than anything. But people are dumb and gullible enough to fall for bubbles and eagerly invest in them. Its human nature. When it will happen? Who knows? Will it happen. Probably...

give everyone in America 100k cash that would raise housing prices.

If the mortgage rate becomes 0% than no improvement to the property is needed, with actual cost of financing passed to treasury so that bank does not loose anything and prices gets jacked up. :)

zzyzzx says

StoutFiles says

Granite counter tops in every kitchen.

I hate that because I need new kitchen countertops and hate granite.

You better go with Granite now, or be priced out forever.

Make HGTV your channel,plenty of ideas on raising housing prices.

find stupid buyers. prices will go up

thomas.wong1986 says

"What improvements today would raise housing prices?"
Some have a lot to learn.
http://www.housingbubblebust.com/OFHEO/Major/NorCal.html

I know the market is bad. I don't own a home.. I wasn't exactly making a joke..just didn't know if anything stood out these days. I think the market will keep going down for years.

zzyzzx says

StoutFiles says

Granite counter tops in every kitchen.

I hate that because I need new kitchen countertops and hate granite.

Use the imitation, the seller’s agent will take it for “granite”, especially if the house price is high.

I recently looked at a high-end foreclosure and asked the listing agent if the floor was real hardwood (as advertised) since it had too uniform a grain appearance and more spring than normal. I was told a house in this price range had to have genuine wood floors. I was able to find a floor vent and discovered the floor was laminate. I didn’t buy the house and the MLS was never updated to reflect the fact the floors were laminate.

Moral of above story: Realtor lies (redundant) make a house price go up!

installing a ATM machine in the living room.

Flames licking from the eaves of dozens of nearby houses.

A "Buy one get one free" deal :)

mdovell says

I know the market is bad.

It was bad when prices started to rise back in 1998-99 to peak year adding double digit increases each year. What we are seeing is great news. Prices falling back to long term trends.

0% interest rate + liars loan

thomas.wong1986 says

mdovell says

I know the market is bad.

It was bad when prices started to rise back in 1998-99 to peak year adding double digit increases each year. What we are seeing is great news. Prices falling back to long term trends.

Well bad for the seller :-D It's a buyers market..

Painting a house that needs it is one of the best returns on the money a seller can make.

mdovell says

thomas.wong1986 says

mdovell says

I know the market is bad.

It was bad when prices started to rise back in 1998-99 to peak year adding double digit increases each year. What we are seeing is great news. Prices falling back to long term trends.

Well bad for the seller It's a buyers market..

actually right now is the best time to sell, if one can. houses in our area are still double what they were right before the bubble.

I think even the availability of NINJA loans wouldn't help. People are now more cognizant of the true costs of house/condo* loanownership, from maintenance to the danger of long term unemployment of just one of two spouses.

* Home is an emotion-laden word. Let's call it what it is.

Edzakory says

I recently looked at a high-end foreclosure and asked the listing agent if the floor was real hardwood (as advertised) since it had too uniform a grain appearance and more spring than normal. I was told a house in this price range had to have genuine wood floors. I was able to find a floor vent and discovered the floor was laminate. I didn’t buy the house and the MLS was never updated to reflect the fact the floors were laminate.

Yessireebob, pergraniteel is the way to get riches -- pergo floors, granite counters, and stainless steel appliances.

Avocado green appliances were cool once too.

The going joke on SocketSite appears to be that a "pot-filler" nozzle will raise your property values. I had never even heard of this before it was mentioned there.

SF ace says

On the other hand, if you own an old, outdated small Victorian style home in Pacific Manor or Marina district in San Francisco, any upgrade would give you tremendous bang for the bucks. For example, a 2/1 SFH with original kitchen in Marina is about 1.1M, add a second bathroom and remodel the kitchen, and the house sells for about 1.5M, a 100K investment returns 400K.

This was true during the boom, but is this still true? Can you give us examples of where this was done?

First of all, how many single family homes can you find in the Marina that sold for 1.1M? I looked back through more than six months and I couldn't find any.

Also, isn't "Pacific Manor" an apartment building? What San Franciscan would make that mistake?

^ sfa likes to make up stuff.

E-man says

Hysteresis says

^ sfa likes to make up stuff.

Could it be that you don't comprehend what SF ace has to say? Instead of admitting to it, you say he's making up stuff?

right, like i'm the one making ridiculous statements.

any sleazy free RE seminar will tell you the same simple thing which everyone has already heard: remodeling a bathroom and kitchen will add value. except in this case sfa has gone even further with an outrageous claim that a $100k "investment" will return $400k.

even a person with half a brain will question anyone that says $100k returns $400k for a 300% return on a single flip (presumably in under a year). there is no investment in this world that will --consistently-- return 300% or more per year.

controllio has already asked some of the proper questions. i doubt he will get answers. some of us can think for ourselves and have the ability to question outrageous statements. can you?

E-man says

I don't know much about SF area to make any comments on what SF ace said above.

If you did, you would know that SF ace's statements are fabricated. No San Franciscan would ever refer to Pacific Heights as Pacific Manor, and there are no such houses in the Marina that have sold in that range any time recently that would support such a claim.

You may agree with his principles, but his facts are dead wrong. It's hard to find serious distortions like he's describing in San Francisco, and these distortions don't stick around for long. Usually, the cases where this pencils out are properties where you significantly add to square footage (e.g. take a small house and make it a 2800-4000 sqft house), not where you add a bathroom. This requires considerably more investment, higher loan rates or cash on hand because either the property is not collaterizable or you have to get a construction loan, and has considerably higher risk than he describes.

Thanks, Hysteresis for the confirmation that SF ace makes stuff up. This was clearly made up. As Hysteresis said, anyone trying to tell you about a sure 300% return is either a criminal or trying to sell you something or just plain lying.