After scanning Redfin for some open houses, I decided to visit 14521 Ryewood Street in El Camino Glen, a neighborhood I haven’t toured before. I thought the house was priced really high, so I wanted to see it for myself, especially since there aren’t any interior pictures online.
The basics:
Asking Price: $545,000
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 1
Square Footage: 1,000
Lot Size: 5,100
$/Sq Ft: $545
Days on Market: 7
Property Type: Single Family Residence
Year Built: 1970
Community: El Camino Glen
There are no HOA dues or Mello Roos taxes.
The front door opens directly into the living room, which has dark wood floors and a white brick fireplace at one end. It has a hanging lamp that looks more suited for a hallway, or even outside. There are high ceilings in the living room and new windows throughout the house. None of the ceilings have been scraped.
The kitchen is behind the living room, with a dining area that could probably fit an eight person table (though 4 – 6 would be more comfortable). The kitchen and dining area have dark green, acrylic tile. Otherwise, everything is white – the appliances, cabinets and tile counters. The kitchen definitely shows its age, but does manage to fit a lot of cabinets into a small space.
Sliding doors at the back of the dining area lead to the large backyard. The yard is a combination of cracked concrete and dying, patchy grass. There aren’t any plants or trees. Though the realtor mentioned the concrete walls as a huge asset for privacy, they are low enough that I could look over parts of them into the adjacent yards (and I’m not that tall). The size of the yard is great, but it needs a lot of work to be nice. The listing’s referral to “new green grass lawn” seems to only apply to the front yard.
A hallway off the living room leads to the bathroom and bedrooms. The home’s sole bathroom has a newer vanity with a single sink. A shower/tub combo with older white tiles and a curtain rod is at the back of the room.
One bedroom is slightly larger than the other and also has a bigger closet. Both have standard, two-door closets with gold trim. Both rooms also have new sliding doors out to the side yard, which are fitted with alarms. The carpet in the bedrooms is in good shape.
While I was there, the owner of a nearby home was touring as well. He mentioned that the foundation of this home is the same size and strength of that of a two-story house, so adding a second story could be a possibility. There is also space to add more rooms at the back of the house.
Another potential buyer touring when I did seemed interested and was considering making a cash offer. The realtor also told me there were others planning to submit offers in the evening (though I don’t know if any actually will). I asked the realtor how she determined the list price, because $545 per square foot is higher than pretty much everything I’ve seen lately. Her response was “It’s El Camino Glen,” as if to say that made it a highly desirable area. However, recent sales in the area have been much lower and the other homes currently on the market are all under $435 per square foot.
What’s your take on the Ryewood home? If it does go for $545,000, how do you think it will affect other prices in the area?
Discuss on Talk Irvine: http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,3663.0.html