Just Sold, 393 Raven Way – 4 bedroom in Turtle Creek: $575,000
Turtle Creek … in my opinion perhaps the most desired neighborhood in East Petaluma. Newer homes, good school district, convenient location and downright beautiful architecture for a subdivision. I don’t think any other neighborhood gives you as much for your money. In fact, as far as price per square foot for newer homes is concerned, it’s not that cheap! 3 and 4 bedroom homes from 1900 to 2400 SqFt are selling for $50,000 to $100,000 more than the Chelsea Square and Southgate subdivisions built in 2005 and 2007.
Without further ado…introducing our latest buyer-represenation sale, 393 Raven Way:
393 Raven Way – Fantastic Spanish/Deco Architecture. This is definitely one of my favorite subdivisions.
Quick Stats:
Sale Price: $575,000
4 Bedrooms
2.5 Bathrooms
2407 interior SqFt
3-Car Garage
Built 2000
Last Market sale: 3/15/05 – $759,000
That’s right, a $184,000 discount from 2005, roughly a 24.2% drop in value. Believe it or not, that 24% drop is actually a testament to the solvency of this neighborhood. Go shopping on Maria Drive or Lauren Avenue in Petaluma, or W 8th in Santa Rosa and you’re likely to see homes that sold for $499,000 in 2006 go for $225,000 – more than a 50% drop! Just goes to show that the sub-prime mess really was a socio-economic problem: by and large, there were far fewer option-ARM or “NINJA” loans (No Income, No Job, No Assets) done in neighborhoods like Turtle Creek than in “affordable” areas like the A-Section of Rohnert Park.
Brand new flooring, hardwood, tile, and carpet – nice! Soaring 20′ ceilings!
What’s interesting to note, however, is that the “affordable” neighborhoods (the ones in the $200,000 range) are roughly at their 1999-2001 prices, right when the No doc, funny money loans were created. These places on the other hand, the $550,000 – $800,000 range, are still holding fairly strong.
Huge picture windows and push-button gas fireplace.
Those stats definitely make you wonder where we’re headed. On one hand, they’re certainly foreboding – will this house eventually sell at it’s year 2000 price? Turtle Creek, by the way, hot off the press in 2000 sold in the mid $300,000s to mid $400,000s. This particular home sold for $386,245 brand-new in 1999.
Do I think we’re headed back to those prices for Turtle Creek? Probably not. As I said before, the affordable neighborhoods have already dropped to their 1999 prices. A home on Alta Avenue in East Petaluma would probably cost just about the same now as then – about $225,000 to $250,000.
Take this home, for example:
13 Alta – $249,000, in escrow with Multiple Offers. Listed by CPS Petaluma.
Numbers like these actually give me some hope. Starter homes like these are at their pre- “funny money” sales prices, and they’re flying off the shelves to boot.
I hope this gives you a little insight into the marketplace. And yes, 393 Raven had four offers. Our buyers won the bidding war by writing $16,000 over the asking price. Did 393 Raven sell for too low? In all honestly, probably. Not to belittle the marketing done by this listing agent (but rather to showboat my own, I’ll be honest), Jennifer and I sold the exact same floor plan for $100,000 more just 5 months ago!
Here she is:
1824 Linnet, Petaluma. Sold $680,000 10/29/08
Listed by Jennifer Aument and Armand Ramirez
Let me reiterate, this was the exact same floor-plan except for the wood-siding! Take a look for yourself, this was definitely a beautiful home. Virtual Tour
Was it $100,000 nicer? Hey, marketing DOES matter!
Hope this was informative. Feel free to give us a ring if you’re in the market for a Turtle Creek home … or if you feel like picking up something on Alta Avenue! Click here to Search Petaluma MLS listings for sale.
393 Raven, listed by Home Front Lending.
Buyer representation by Century 21 Bundesen.
