PT is addicted to the Courier's Friday real estate section, as I know many of you are also. (For some reason, the Ledger's Thursday prices in the In The Towns section just don't click the same way. Maybe because they are from different sources and seem to come later than the Courier's.)
Over the past several months, it has become clear that the real estate market is going through a serious adjustment. Though prices in sales of EXISTING homes in the area have not dropped, DOM (days on the market) has increased significantly -- a sign that an adjustment is under way.
Having been a real estate professional in the last great downturn of the late 1980s, PT is extremely sensitive to how Plainfield prices suffer from a whiplash effect -- the last to rise appreciably and the first to sink appreciably.
So, PRICES pique my interest.
On Friday, the reported sale of a well-maintained, custom-built 1960s split level home on Central Avenue (in the same block as former Councilman Malcolm Dunn and the Questover mansion) caught my eye. $405,000. Fair enough.
1094 Central Avenue
But there were two others that were intriguing. One on Willever Street and one on Manson Place, both in the West End.
Willever Street is a sleepy little street that runs from Rushmore Avenue parallel to West 3rd Street and dead ends just before the city line. The homes can be deceiving. Though rather modest in size, many owners have made great improvements to both the interiors and exteriors.
1352 Willever Street would appear to be one such. An older vernacular frame house, probably fromt the turn of the 20th century, it has been expanded considerably, including the attic, and the front porch has been enclosed. The windows have all been replaced and fresh siding and a new side entry and steps are evidence that a considerable investment has been made. The sales price was $360,00, which seems entirely reasonable.
1352 Willever Street
PT remembers Manson Place quite well because the city was never able to sell a city-owned property in the 200-block after several tries. Riding by yesterday, it was still boarded up, with the porch roof now nearly collapsed.
Homes in the 300-block are in considerably better repair and well-maintained.
But PT's jaw dropped as he pulled up in front of number 327. It was quite similar in style to the Willever Street property, but noticeably smaller and without the attic expansion. The lot was somewhat larger, and mostly devoted to a paved parking area. Though appearing well-maintained, the siding was older asbestos shingles and there wasn't any outwardly apparent investment as in the Willever Street house.
Yet it had sold for $565,000. Thats a 56% premium over its neighbor on Willever Street and a 40% premium over the custom-built split on Central Avenue.
327 Manson Place
What gives?
Then PT noticed there was a FSBO (For Sale By Owner) sign in the front yard.
For Sale By Owner sign
Now, why would it be on the market again in such a short time (sales in the paper usually appear 3-4 months after the actual closing on the property)?
But the real zinger was when I got home and downloaded the pictures from the camera. Looking more closely at the FSBO sign, this is what appeared --
'$322,000.00 will hold note'
Something fishy going on here?
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