Monday Morning Millionaire: Energy Efficient Mediterranean Reduced. Million Dollar Plus Home for Less Than a Million

Share News:

We have so many things to be happy about this great Monday morning! The Cowboys won — beat San Francisco YES — it rained so much I’ve turned off the sprinklers, and this amazing Bluffview/Devonshire new home is our million dollar sale of the week. 

But guess what? The seller is so motivated, the home is NOW EVEN LESS THAN A MILLION! Try $ 899,999. Slash more than two hundred thousand dollars off that original 2008 price on 4615 Elsby.

This is a home that was listed for $1.1 million in 2008, then leased for a few years. The tenants went bye-bye because their lease was up and now the sellers are S.E.R.I.O.U.S. Probably have never been more serious in their life to sell. The design is Italian Mediterranean, a very California feel,  custom home built by Alexander Hunt Distinct Homes. 4432 square feet with four bedrooms, four and a half baths. Love the  hand-carved front door with security camera — don’t be naughty out here! This home has a ton of extras that will just tear out your heart: wood-paneled ceiling in living, wood-paneled library with shelves — I hate walking into a room called the library that has no shelves, don’t you? 

The kitchen has, amazingly, three hand- battered copper sinks & all Thermador Pro SS appliances. Perfect time to buy for the great outdoor living this home:  fireplace & built-in kitchen right outside. The home is also a technological as well as ecological genius: A built-in LCD screen in living room (so cool) monitors house status like the dash on a McLaren. Imported stone façade, Marvin wood windows — MARVIN! —  custom millwork everywhere, gameroom with wetbar and fridge, media room, Monier LifeTile roof, insulated plumbing pipes, wine closet, 14 seer HVAC, energy star rated. Even this past August the total electric/water/gas bills average d$250. I kid you not!

P.S. The vacant lot next door is for sale as well. Can be added to this sale, making the new lot much bigger — a 100 by 150 total, certainly not too big for this neighborhood.

Great house, and I’m loving that price!

Posted in

Candy Evans, founder and publisher of CandysDirt.com, is one of the nation’s leading real estate reporters.

No Comments

  1. Tim on September 19, 2011 at 9:00 am

    Ugh. Awful house for the neighborhood. Among many that does not fit the lot regardless if you buy the lot next door. Mr Hunt and othe builders destroyed the neighborhood with this crap.

    • Bcrawford on September 19, 2011 at 10:13 am

      Tim,
      Sorry to hear that you do not like the style or way the home is situated on the lot. I would like to point out that unlike "other" spec homes in the area my client actually put out quality construction and details not seen in other new construction homes in Briarwood/Linwood. I would like to hear other neighbors comments good or bad.

  2. Tim on September 19, 2011 at 9:00 am

    Ugh. Awful house for the neighborhood. Among many that does not fit the lot regardless if you buy the lot next door. Mr Hunt and othe builders destroyed the neighborhood with this crap.

    • Bcrawford on September 19, 2011 at 10:13 am

      Tim,
      Sorry to hear that you do not like the style or way the home is situated on the lot. I would like to point out that unlike "other" spec homes in the area my client actually put out quality construction and details not seen in other new construction homes in Briarwood/Linwood. I would like to hear other neighbors comments good or bad.

  3. Jack E. Jett on September 19, 2011 at 10:50 am

    Beautiful and the perfect location in Dallas. I would live in that kitchen.

    I am prepared to make a firm offer of $25,000. Ten down, and $200 per month for eternity.

    Take it or leave it.

  4. Jack E. Jett on September 19, 2011 at 10:50 am

    Beautiful and the perfect location in Dallas. I would live in that kitchen.

    I am prepared to make a firm offer of $25,000. Ten down, and $200 per month for eternity.

    Take it or leave it.

  5. Stevie Chaddick on September 19, 2011 at 1:26 pm

    Value +l location = a buy

    • Bcrawford on September 19, 2011 at 2:54 pm

      Jack E. Jett,
      Thanks I will pass that along to my seller, haha.

      Stevie,
      That's my thoughts exactly!

  6. Stevie Chaddick on September 19, 2011 at 1:26 pm

    Value +l location = a buy

    • Bcrawford on September 19, 2011 at 2:54 pm

      Jack E. Jett,
      Thanks I will pass that along to my seller, haha.

      Stevie,
      That's my thoughts exactly!

  7. Candy Evans on September 19, 2011 at 3:52 pm

    Jack has a point. One reason why I love blogging is because I think we need to think outside the box in how we not only market real estate, but how we sell and finance it. I've taken a procrastination break from a post I am doing on Dodd-Frank, and the story of how banks are screwing consumers by not lending — or selective lending. Jack's suggestion, though it may be tongue in cheek, is interesting: why can we not create 40 or even 50 year loans so more people can afford homes, especially if we are going to have to put more down? Why can we not do more lease/purchases? Set up companies to handle owner financing?

    Have sleep-overs in cool properties on Strait Lane… y'all bring the bubbly.

    I think we need to have CandysDirt sleep-overs!

  8. Candy Evans on September 19, 2011 at 3:52 pm

    Jack has a point. One reason why I love blogging is because I think we need to think outside the box in how we not only market real estate, but how we sell and finance it. I've taken a procrastination break from a post I am doing on Dodd-Frank, and the story of how banks are screwing consumers by not lending — or selective lending. Jack's suggestion, though it may be tongue in cheek, is interesting: why can we not create 40 or even 50 year loans so more people can afford homes, especially if we are going to have to put more down? Why can we not do more lease/purchases? Set up companies to handle owner financing?

    Have sleep-overs in cool properties on Strait Lane… y'all bring the bubbly.

    I think we need to have CandysDirt sleep-overs!

  9. Chrystn on September 19, 2011 at 7:02 pm

    I’m truly trying to figure out what about this house is 899,999 definitely not an 899,999 kitchen or elevation or even bath. Perhaps it’s simply the photos not doing the home justice. Wishing them luck on their sell!

  10. Chrystn on September 19, 2011 at 7:02 pm

    I’m truly trying to figure out what about this house is 899,999 definitely not an 899,999 kitchen or elevation or even bath. Perhaps it’s simply the photos not doing the home justice. Wishing them luck on their sell!

  11. Candy Evans on September 19, 2011 at 7:52 pm

    What's the building cost these days? $150 to $200 per square foot? At $200 psf that puts this house at $886,400. which means you are paying $13,599 for the lot. (DCAD says the land worth $192,000.) So I ask you, can anyone build a home for less than $150 per square foot in Dallas/ I think this may be worthy of a blog post!

  12. Candy Evans on September 19, 2011 at 7:52 pm

    What's the building cost these days? $150 to $200 per square foot? At $200 psf that puts this house at $886,400. which means you are paying $13,599 for the lot. (DCAD says the land worth $192,000.) So I ask you, can anyone build a home for less than $150 per square foot in Dallas/ I think this may be worthy of a blog post!

  13. Bcrawford on September 19, 2011 at 8:45 pm

    The cheapest lot for sale in Briarwood/Linwood is listed at 5123 W Hanover for $240,000 and has a house on it to tear down, same size lot as Elsby (was just listed yesterday). Then, the lot next door to Elsby is listed at $329,000. So let's just say you get a steal at $200,000 for the land. You would have to build at $157 per sq ft ($157 x 4432 sq ft=$699,999) to equal $899,999 or full list price. Sure you could build for less then $150 per sq ft, but let me walk you through this home so you can see the difference in quality,craftsmanship, and materials. Regardless of what it would cost to build, market value is determined by sold comps, in which there are only 2 solds in Briarwood the last 6 months that are comparable:
    4716 W Hanover AVE = 3,867 sq ft, built in 2006. Sold for $775,000 on 8/12/11 ($200.41 per sq ft), 25 days on market.
    4911 Purdue AVE = 5,422 sq ft,built in 2008. Sold for 1,025,000 on 7/08/11($189.04 per sq ft) , 90 days on market.

  14. Bcrawford on September 19, 2011 at 8:45 pm

    The cheapest lot for sale in Briarwood/Linwood is listed at 5123 W Hanover for $240,000 and has a house on it to tear down, same size lot as Elsby (was just listed yesterday). Then, the lot next door to Elsby is listed at $329,000. So let's just say you get a steal at $200,000 for the land. You would have to build at $157 per sq ft ($157 x 4432 sq ft=$699,999) to equal $899,999 or full list price. Sure you could build for less then $150 per sq ft, but let me walk you through this home so you can see the difference in quality,craftsmanship, and materials. Regardless of what it would cost to build, market value is determined by sold comps, in which there are only 2 solds in Briarwood the last 6 months that are comparable:
    4716 W Hanover AVE = 3,867 sq ft, built in 2006. Sold for $775,000 on 8/12/11 ($200.41 per sq ft), 25 days on market.
    4911 Purdue AVE = 5,422 sq ft,built in 2008. Sold for 1,025,000 on 7/08/11($189.04 per sq ft) , 90 days on market.

Leave a Comment