Mr. Wrong,
Yes, it does sound like we are basically in agreement. Your comment about the Stella house is interesting. The number of bids is suprising, and at the same time it isn’t. $1.5M is an unheard of price over the last 4 years in that area, so the bank was smart to set the price at that level to get some action. Heck, I might have put in an offer if I liked the location better. The reason I’m surprised is because of the negatives associated with that property, which in my opinion are:

1. The 25mph 4-mile roundtrip drive down Del Mar Mesa Road multiple times per day would get real old, real fast. It’s a royal pain to go shopping or get to the schools.

2. The Paso Fino development in general seems like a kind of “end-of-bubble”, poorly thought out, and quickly erected for profit development. There’s not much character there. When you compare it to Bougainvilla (Davidson) next door, it doesn’t hold a candle.

3. Barrett seemed to hastily design and build a bit “on the cheap” compared to their other developments in the area. Paso Fino doesn’t hold a candle to Whitehorse in terms of quality. You can feel it the instant you walk into one these houses.

4. While it is over an acre property, the lot itself is small for the area. You could barely fit a nice pool. You would need to invest at least $150K-$200K in landscaping/pool/drainage/hardscape, etc. to bring it on par with other similar properties.