Today's Google Doodle—that thing you see in place of the standard logo on Google.com right now—pays homage to Crown Hall, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's modernist masterpiece at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The Washington Post has more. [WaPo via Curbed Detroit]
? Previous: Inside Selema Hall, Where Antebellum Kentucky Lives On
? Next: Sold Stuff
For the uninitiated I am now covering the Washington DC and Baltimore housing markets for MRIS, the largest MLS in the US and their wholly owned research analytics arm, RealEstate Business Intelligence (RBI). I periodically drop in on their blogs.
The much anticipated monthly S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index was released today and the results are important, not because it provides an accurate description the current housing market (it doesn’t), but because it forms a foundation for consumer sentiment on the housing market…
Yesterday, we took a look at a cave-like condo in Chicago. Today, we are going to tour a, um, "Forest-Of-A-Home" in Houston's Indian Trails. And why have I given the average four-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom abode this nickname? Well, because, throughout, "there’s lumber sliced every which way on the walls". The 3,409-square-foot residence "enjoys" a terrible arrangement of hardwoods, an appalling kitchen, 70's-style carpeting, and much, much more. Obviously, it needs some major updating. The price for a renovators dream (or nightmare)? $630,000.
· The Ways the Wood Walls Go in Indian Trails [Swamplot]
· 5795 Indian Circle [Har]
Have a nomination for a jaw-dropping listing that would make a mighty fine House of the Day? Get thee to the tipline and send us your suggestions. We'd love to see what you've got.
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Price: $34,000,000
The Skinny: When a property lingers on the market for too long, brokers tend to get some crazy ideas in their heads about how best to rectify the problem. Take this coveted waterfront parcel on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Purchased by the current owners in 2000 for $9.6M, the famed Kaiser Estate, on 5.4 acres, has been split into three plots for resale and priced for a tidy profit. The asking price for the trio is a whopping $80M, and this parcel, the largest of the three at two acres, is asking $34M. Those kinds of profits don't roll in without a little tweaking of the truth. In earlier sales literature, aerial photographs of the property showed the boathouse and pier, but no yacht. Well, apparently, the broker wasn't convinced the whole boathouse vibe was being adequately portrayed in pictures. So she went out, chartered a yacht, and hired the aerial photographer and pilot all over again, right? Maybe, but we don't think so. After taking a good hard look at the photo, we're going to call her bluff, or rather, her Photoshop. While the boathouse casts a shadow in the foreground, the yacht's white hull is reflected off the water. And the perspective shifts are nice and obvious, too. For shame! With $24M+ in profits on the line, we'd expect a bit better.
· Famous Kaiser Boathouse [Sotheby's]
· Honolulu’s Kaiser Estate Still Seeks Buyer [Honolulu Magazine]
