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Fire Engine Red, A Proud Fixer Upper, and More Eichlers: All in a Day’s Palo Alto Real Estate Tour

Chomping at the bit to go, I headed straight out of this morning’s broker marketing meeting to see what the new Palo Alto inventory looks like. The outcome? Inventory is definitely on the rise, with both statistical proof (the Altos Research chart on the left) and the general buzz and business of everybody touring around today.

With six homes on my list — scattered throughout town — and only two hours on my calendar, it was all about efficiency.

First up was 1045 Newell, an “original Barrett & Hilp home,” a Leannah Hunt (Coldwell Banker) listing in the Green Gables neighborhood. $1.25M gets you 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1500 sq ft, and a quick 5-10 minute drive on Embarcadero over to the 101. A trust sale home and not particularly updated — but well-staged, per Leannah’s custom — this home awaits the next generation of Palo Altan home owners.

Then it was across Embarcadero and Oregon over to South Palo Alto to see another Coldwell Banker listing — this one from Robert Lane — at 2898 Louis Road. “This one has charm,” says the listing, and it would be hard to argue with that. It has 2 bedrooms and 2 baths squeezed into just under 1000 sq ft, so the next owner will most likely want to expand — but since it’s a corner lot, the only way to do so and still keep in line with Palo Alto’s setback laws may be to go into the side yard.

Just south of this Louis Road listing was 770 Allen Ct, a fixer upper and proud of it. The listing agent, Steve Greenbaum from Keller Williams (another technophile like myself!) explained that a contractor actually lived in the property in its current condition — something I’m not sure I could have done even in my Peace Corps days — but simply didn’t finish the project. The bones of the home look good, and the yard is large, though in need of some TLC. An old fashioned pot-bellied stove in one of the rooms awaits the new owner.

Then there’s the fire-engine red Eichler at 3924 Louis. Nancy Goldcamp (Coldwell Banker again — what’s with this? Did Alain Pinel go out of business?) brings us this $1.175M 3/2 1900 sq ft, adorned with a great kitchen, and with all the light you would expect from an Eichler. Great staging, though tragically not done by my friend Ann O’Connell. Oh well, we’ll give her a few more years to completely corner the market.

Rounding out my tour today was another small property begging for a facelift or perhaps even a complete organ transplant. 3176 Emerson is, as the listing agent Richard Cottrell himself describes it in the MLS, a real fixer upper on a terrific lot in a great neighborhood. Folks living outside of this fantasy land we call the Bay Area may be shocked that a fixer-upper — and an 840 sq ft one at that — is not only on the market at $935,000, but will in fact probably sell with multiple offers, well above that price.

Tags: 94303, 94306, Consumer, Eichler, Green Gables, Leannah Hunt, Midtown, Nancy Goldcamp, Palo Alto, Property reviews, Real estate, South Palo Alto

Now Here’s How To Do Up an Eichler!

There are Eichlers, and then there are Eichlers…

Newcomers to the San Francisco Bay Area real estate scene get introduced to the Eichler scene fairly quickly. Joseph Eichler was a mass-scale builder in the 1950’s and 1960’s, constructing over 10,000 homes in the Bay Area. There are entire neighborhoods in Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, and other nearby cities in which nearly every home is an Eichler!

Originally characterized by walls of windows, gently sloping roofs, radiant heating, and entrance atria, there are many nearly original Eichlers left, but many more which have been remodeled. (Click here for more information on the Eichler phenomenon.)

Most newcomers either love ‘em or hate ‘em, but once you’ve been here a while, you can’t help but fall in love with their distinctiveness. You walk into an Eichler, and though you know just what to expect, you’re often pleasantly surprised at the owner’s creativity in doing it up.

Such was the case with 1030 Harriet Street in Palo Alto, a listing brought to market by none other than Coldwell Banker’s Dante Drummond. It was the first property I saw on tour yesterday, and I found myself wishing I didn’t have to hurry on to the next one.

You wouldn’t know from the outside…

…that a large open atrium awaited you, partly open to the sky, with lush foliage.

After wading through the crowd of caffeine-deficient Realtors crowding around the coffee bar, I made my way to the kitchen and living room…

…and finally outside, where a nice backyard and pool awaited.

Want to see it for yourself? There’s an open this weekend on both Saturday and Sunday from 1:30pm to 4:30pm.

Tags: Architectural Styles, Coldwell Banker, Consumer, Dante Drummond, Dante-Drummon, Eichler, Joseph Eichler, Local, Palo Alto, Real estate

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