A couple of years ago, this kind of thing was commonplace. In fact, it was the norm.

They very fact that this event is being bandied about by this site – leads one to believe that this is an exception, rather than the norm.

Doesn’t that mean this is indeed a cold market ?

[Editor’s note: Hardly. We would still say multiple offers are more common than not…and we have acknowledged on more than one occasion the market is changing.]

I was the most recent tenant at 130 Retiro before the sale, so I may be able to offer some insight into this situation. As stated in several comments when you previously featured the property, this place had some major issues with it. I’ll go into more detail below, but — if anything — this house did not sell below market.

[Editor’s note: Thanks for your comment and true insider report. If there is an international symbol for “being sarcastic”, besides ;-) please let us know as we would have certainly put it in the title of this post. We know it did not sell below market and we’re being sarcastic when we say “it’s a cold market…”]

As others have mentioned, there are many “problem areas” with this house, and to truly make it livable to a new owner (as opposed to renting out the location) would require a hefty, significant remodel. The most necessary upgrades include some rather fundamental issues with the house:

:: Roof. The roof has been repaired / resurfaced / “fixed” three times over the three years. Bubbling of paint on the 3rd and 2nd floors serve as evidence. It is still an issue on the 2nd floor. Leakage from the 2nd floor deck (off of the kitchen) has also caused water damage in the 4th bedroom’s closet, soaking clothing and the carpet.

:: Location. As mentioned by a previous post, this location is a “fishbowl”. There’s really only one yard, though. It’s a concrete slab with a small rose garden off to one side. It’s functionally useless as it is small, (again: a fishbowl,) and there’s no flow to it from the rest of the house. The small deck off of the kitchen is much more useful and provides ample room for a grill, food preparation, and even an area to dine — the only conceivable uses for the backyard in its current state. (Putting a pet back there would require tearing up the concrete to put in some grass.) The driveway allows for a 3rd car to park off to the side (in addition to the 2-car garage), but parking in the driveway itself is forbidden because neighboring garages share it. This is a hassle because parking this 3rd car even a foot out of place will put it in harm’s way (of your neighbors’ cars), or at the very least make their backing out of their own garages next to impossible.

:: Layout. Master bedroom has no bathroom (it’s actually shared with the second, smaller bedroom). This means there is no dedicated bathroom to the Master Bedroom. All bathrooms are tiny. Both of these issues are a result of there being a single “wet wall” in the house. More importantly, the 4th bedroom shares a wall, a door and carbon monoxide with the garage. The living room proved functionally useless for groups of under 20, often leaving a large, unused dead space for weeks at a time.

:: Construction. This house is about the draftiest I’ve ever lived in. A bare minimum remodel should include a replacement of all windows with some that provide a modicum of insulation. The current installation are very cheap and led to some egregious PG&E bills. In addition, the walls themselves provide awful insulation. This includes those within the house itself. Whispers can be heard between rooms, while many doors aren’t even sized (height-wise) correctly. The doors are of cheap construction (anyone catching on to a theme here?), and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were purchased at a fire sale from a Travelodge. This house was truly constructed by the lowest bidder with materials IKEA or even Wal-Mart would be embarrassed to sign off on.

:: Amenities. While the appliances are only 5 years old, to even mention them in the first 3 lines of the sales memo implies that the house hasn’t much going for it. More so, they aren’t even top of the line. The water heater was replaced a little over 3 years ago when the old one rusted through and flooded the basement (and 4th bedroom). The soviet-era furnace has had to be repaired every winter, and every winter, the repairman has joked that it is older than him… and that it’s fun because it’s the oldest he ever gets to work on. He was in his 60’s. The carpet is the cheapest available from The Home Depot (besides astroturf) and needs to be replaced with something a bit softer than sandpaper. The hardwood floors show significant wear and stain from improper cleaning. (This may very well be from groups of larger than 20 using it followed by improper cleaning.)

My roommates and I saw the $1.7 million listing when the house was put on the market. Knowing that the duplexes/flats across the street each sold for $1.3 million, leads one to believe (at first glance) that 130 Retiro was underpriced. Sadly, this is not the case. We actually had a bet as to whether or not the house would sell for more if it were a cleared dirt lot as opposed to a drafty, poorly constructed home in desperate need of a complete renovation.

So no, this is in no way an indication of a cold market.

[Editor’s note: Thank you for clarifying to many of our readers what we’ve been saying for quite some time (but no one believes us because we are Realtors, and therefore evil and only out to make a quick buck)…Care to share any more insight about the Marina? And please continue reading and commenting, because we like you already. Like…does it smell like oil down there now?]