838 Rhode Island

Listed for $3.8 million in February, the asking price for the newly renovated two-unit building now being marketed as 838 Rhode Island Street (with the legal studio on the ground level “perfect…for hosting back yard BBQ’s” or “a home theatre, office or retreat”) was reduced to $3.61 million in April.

On May 11, the asking price was further reduced to $3.495 million and the listing was updated to tout a “1 week price reduction opportunity.”

And yesterday, the listing for 838 Rhode Island was withdrawn from the MLS without a reported sale.

But soon thereafter, “836-838 Rhode Island” was listed anew for $3.55 million with an official “1” day on the market and no official reductions nor references to a “1 week price reduction opportunity” according to all industry stats and state of the market reports.

21 thoughts on “One Day on the Market at $3.55M in Potrero Hill”
      1. What crime can I commit to be assigned a cell like this? Start a tech company with no chance of ever making a profit, give away the product for free to achieve growth, get VC funding, and then unload the eventual losses onto either the late round backers or the IPO retail suckers. It doesn’t even have to be tech, you can sell toilet paper as long as it has all the trappings of a “startup”.

          1. Some do make money, it’s a roll of the dice, even the VCs admit they are happy if one in ten of the companies they fund does well. That leaves us with nine companies whose main goal is to leave someone else holding the bag.

          2. For all its many problems, in traditional production-based capitalism, the goal of starting a business was to make money by selling a product or service. In financial-based capitalism, businesses are started in order lever financial capital. The product or service itself is irrelevant. A few companies do succeed. For all the inane blather about “disruptive” technologies and business models, it is an incredibly wasteful, inefficient, and socially-detrimental way to run an economy.

          3. The problem is the distorted value of capital. If interest rates were at 5% I guarantee the VCs would be gambling on more like 3-5 companies at a time instead of 10 at a time, being more choosy based on the fundamentals.

          4. Holy crap, that’s a funny exchange. When I’m done laughing I’m gonna go start a company in order to “lever financial capital” with a “distorted value”. Who knows, if I’m lucky maybe I’ll be sentenced to a few years at 836-838 Rhode Island.

          5. Or you could educate yourself instead: “Like all asset markets — from stocks to bonds to real estate — the valuations of fast-growing tech startups have benefited from years of rock-bottom rates and central bank money-pumping programs. Low interest rates encourage investors to take more risk because parking capital in bank accounts or Treasuries doesn’t pay off. As a result they tend to chase higher yielding assets like junk bonds and the equity of fast-growing companies.”

  1. Also listed separately as condos: 836 Rhode Island (MLS#446245) $900,000 and 838 Rhode Island (MLS#446244) $2.65M. Both listings came on MLS on 5/31/16

  2. Functionally (1) I don’t know why they would have the “dining room” in the front/opposite side of the house (vs. right next to the kitchen)… I guess if you aren’t the one cooking and/or the one cleaning up, it doesn’t matter. But, since I typically do both for my family, I’d want the two to be as close as possible. (2) Having the kitchen on the top floor also isn’t terribly ideal (see above for my typical role in the family).

    In terms of wall color, I’d much rather move into a house with white walls I can easily point over to my taste vs. going into a house with [dark] colored walls that would require multiple steps to cover/get to the color of my liking.

  3. Not much to add here. Cannot recall seeing a less attractive “new” house. sure the neighbors love it too.

    Buy it and do a total reno inside for another 500m or Show it off to your friends as is? Really hard to see either.

    Bubble house.

    Anyone know the top sales $$ comps in PotreroHill?

    SS should compile, say, top 5 sucessful, repriced and failed offerings of past year.

  4. They did a fine job of transforming and updating an otherwise drab, dated, stucco box. Not sure they will get that price, but it’s a much better looking structure than before.

  5. UPDATE: The list price for 836-838 Rhode Island has just been reduced anew to $3.495 million, but this time without the “1 week price reduction opportunity” tag.

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