I certainly agree with your assessment of that part of Madra. If you drive around the rest of the top of Del Cerro you observe remodels in progress ( real progress being made ), landscaping upgrades, and generally well kept houses. ( Other than the mystery remodel / default / teardown / disaster / ??? on Norman )
An area you would feel pround to live in. But driving up that mid section you get an entirely different impression. Fortunately the drive time thru that section is very short and because of the steepness not an area that one wants to walk along. This is what makes the $ 1.3M asking so ridiculous.