The House That Rove Built
Washington Post’s “reliable source” blog reports that Karl Rove wants to sell a house:
Five bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, brick-and-stone exterior, built 1968. Real estate photos show sunny kitchen, big entertaining spaces, pleasant yard, lots of bookshelves, one wall-mounted deer head.
I suppose it’s an interesting sign of the times in the United States that Rove believes a house he paid $799,000 for in 2001 ought to fetch $1.585 million in 2009. Here’s the Case-Shiller index for the Washington, DC metro area:
The price increase Rove is looking for is larger than the average one across the metro area. Of course some people’s houses should experience a higher-than-average price increase if, for example, the neighborhood in which it’s located has become objectively more desirable. When I first moved to town I rented a basement apartment in a nice townhouse on Harvard Street between 13th and 14th. That’s a much better place to live in 2009 than it was in 2003, and even in 2003 it was a much better place to live than it was back in 1998 when the owner originally bought it. But I don’t really think you could make that kind of claim for Kent where the Rove house is. That’s a nice upscale neighborhood, but it’s always been a nice upscale neighborhood.
38 Responses to “The House That Rove Built”
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July 24th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Yeah, but isn’t it worth the extra dough to say you lived in one of the most evil houses in America?
July 24th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Heh. Sammy beat me to it. I was gonna say that you’d be paying the premium for the extra evil.
July 24th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Oh, come on, Matt. Do you really think he’ll have any trouble finding a buyer? After all he has done for America, or at least, the Party? It won’t be on the market more than six months.
July 24th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
yes, the neighborhood is getting objectively better if he’s moving out!
July 24th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Perhaps that is rather high, but the Case-Shiller index is 3 months out of date… I’d guess he’s only over by $0.3 million.
July 24th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
ya know, just eyeballing (i don’t have time to look up case shiller right now), it appears that prices were at 85-90 when rove bought and are around 160 now, so asking for 2x isn’t wildly out of line (especially when you consider the premium that other alert posters have already beaten me to!).
July 24th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Damn,
Matt lived on Harvard between 13th and 14th in 2003.
You’ve got more streed cred than Kobe.
I live in Shaw, so I win.
July 24th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
whoops, i’m sorry, i looked too quickly: why matthew references a 2001 purchase and then shows a chart beginning in 1999 is beyond me, but those two years do make a difference to what i said in comment 6….
July 24th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
A great way to carry out payoffs is to have someone buy a political figure’s house for more than it’s worth.
July 24th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Is a deer head mounted on the wall really something you want to advertise about your house? Sure, technically, like a toxic asset, its minimum value is zero, not negative; at worst it can be removed. Still, like heavy exposure to subprime mortgages and such, it seems to indicate untrustworthy judgment. Does the ad also say that his house contains a number of (minimum value ≥ 0) Kinkade paintings? Maybe a pair of crossed fake swords hanging over the mantel?
July 24th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
First of all, Matthew doesn’t seem to understand the concept of an asking price. Matthew may not be aware of this, but generally in the housing market, people ask for more than the amoun that they are willing to accept as the selling price. Then the potential buyer comes back with an offer that is substantially lower, and the two bargain for a sales price that is somewhere in the middle. Accordingly, it seems likely that Rove would actually sell the house for considerably less than the $1.585M asking price.
Second, it appears to me that, given the graph posted by Matthew, Rove ought to settle for about $1.25M or $1.3M (since it appears that the housing market has increased by 50% – 60% between 2001 and the endpoint of the posted graph). So, it seems to me that the asking price is pretty much right on target.
July 24th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
This is happening everywhere. I’ve been looking for a house for over a year, in northern California and Austin. Austin was initially compelling because the buzz about attractive home prices, many stories about Austin not experiencing the drastic price increases that other places have, etc. Really, that’s a lie when you break it down by neighborhood (central Austin home prices are extremely high). But also, right now in central Austin, there’s a 2+ year supply of homes over 800k. People are pricing their homes as if they’ve appreciated by 10%, 20%, even 30% or higher in some cases, over the past several years. Why? because many of them overpaid for the homes during the boom in 06, 07, and even 08. They can’t believe prices will hedge to pre-06 levels. Still, realtors and local newspapers (Austin Statesman) continue to tout the “fact” that Austin isn’t faced with serious price depreciation. Well, sorry, but something’s gotta give.
Same goes for California. Yes, prices have fallen drastically in some areas. But in many other areas (Bay Area) the prices are still high. Prices fell off the ridiculous levels they were at during the dot com boom and then stayed at semi-ridiculous levels for about three years or so, then shot up again to ridiculous levels during the end of Bush era, then came down to semi-ridiculous levels last year, and now lower, but still very high. Inventory is moving, but just like Austin, the higher priced homes are racking up.
When the luxury market *eventually* caves, watch out for the ripple effect. My prediction is the housing market in 2010 is going to be ugly.
July 24th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
I hear he built a Permanent Republican Majority wet bar in the basement.
July 24th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
The other thing we don’t know, of course, is whether Rove improved the house in any way. New kitchen? Added a family room? Finished the basement? All kinds of things could increase the value of the house.
July 24th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Hmm. I think the Case-Schiller index is way too blunt a tool for the DC market. If they had an inside/versus outside the beltway index I might find it plausible. Anyway, I don’t live far from this neighborhood, and what amazes me is how many houses (ridiculous McMansions) are in the market in Kent. Anyway, as a recent buyer in a not so far away (and considerably cheaper) neighborhood my sense is that houses in the $700-$900k range are holding their value and getting asking price. Those in the $1 million and above range seem to be going for less to much less than asking, but of course that depends on the what the asking price is.
July 24th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
In Lowell, downtown condos have held their values better than the regional average for single-family homes during this drop in the housing market. This is especially notable for two reasons: first, downtown condos experienced a larger run-up than did single family homes during the housing boom, so there should be more “air” to let out of the prices; and second, condo markets are typically more volatile than single family housing markets, experiencing larger swings in price during both good and bad times.
That the downtown condo market experienced a smaller drop in prices when it would normally experience a larger one is, indeed, a consequence of the neighborhood undergoing a longer-term period of revitalization that extends beyond the ups and downs of the housing market and economy.
July 24th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Al, tell the truth: have you ever either bought or sold a house?
You might advertise the house a bit higher than you’re willing to take, but not so far outside the comps that you scare people off, because having a house sit on the market for a long time makes people think there’s something wrong with it – dry rot, or termite infestation, or hauntings by the restless souls of your victims.
There’s only a certain % of the asking price that people are willing to offer. If you put out a price too much higher than you’re willing to take, interested buyers won’t even bother to put together an offer at the price you expect, because they’ll assume it’s too low.
But, then again, Rove never was much of a strategic thinker.
July 24th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
After Leopold II visited an English country house the owner had it exorcised. Has Rove’s former dwelling been exorcised yet? I wonder.
July 24th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
There might be some sort of price enhancement, similar to selling a home where Marilyn Monroe fucked John F. Kennedy. Rove should put the word out the master study is where he fucked Uncle Sam. Might draw the interest of a few teabaggers or birthers.
July 24th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Whoops, that should read: There’s only a certain % off the asking price that people are willing to offer.
As in, most potential buyers won’t bother to make an offer that’s too far below the asking price.
July 24th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Al, tell the truth: have you ever either bought or sold a house?
My house is on the market right now.
There’s only a certain % of[f] the asking price that people are willing to offer. If you put out a price too much higher than you’re willing to take, interested buyers won’t even bother to put together an offer at the price you expect, because they’ll assume it’s too low.
What’s the percentage? As I noted above, even if we assume (a) Rove hasn’t done anything to imcrease the value of his house, such as renovate, (b) the Case Schiller index hasn’t changed since April, and (c) the Case Schiller index for the Washington, DC metro area accurately represents the change in housing prices in the neighborhood where Rove lives, Rove is asking for about 20% more than he could be expected to sell the house for. That might be slightly too high, but it’s not completely ridiculous, especially if he can afford to have the house stay on the market for a while.
But, then again, Rove never was much of a strategic thinker.
True – most overrated strategist in a long time. Only a moron would put gigantic resources into California, of all places, in 2000.
July 24th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
I’ve got to side with Al on this one, the Kent neighborhood is incredibly variable. I would guess houses sell from a range of about $1-$4 million. The are some ridonculously hugh houses and some are a bit more modest. I guess the point is, given the neighborhood, I don’t think asking price inflation is going to scare people away.
July 24th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Oh the scandal! Karl Rove is selling his house, what are you guys hiding? You must know that Bambi is failing in all of his policies and he will go down as the worst president we have ever had! Much worse than Carter! The guy is truly an empty suit with a chip on his shoulder. Why else would you even be talking about Karl’s house?
July 24th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
That’s 20% of a very expensive house, such that 20% is in the ballpark of a quarter million dollars.
July 24th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Damn, jumpy much?
July 24th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Chappy is correct. The index for DC includes outer suburbs such as Prince William and Loudoun, and the farther reaches of Fairfax, Montgomery, etc. Rove lives in DC. Prices in the outer suburbs have declined far more than in DC proper.
July 24th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
For what it’s worth, area comps over the last 6 months in that area are at $446/sf, which would put it at $1.3 million and change. Zillow, for some reason, says it’s worth $1,930,500 and Eppraisal says $2,179,696. I’ve never found either of those services to be all that accurate on the individual home level.
Check it out for yourselves: 4925 WEAVER TER NW, Washington, DC 20016
July 24th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Maybe if he lied to Congress recently, he can move to a real Big House.
July 24th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Living here in California under Prop. 13, it’s always weird to see tax assessments that are higher than the purchase price. But the most recent assessment is $1,226,660. Rove paid $11,285 in property taxes last year.
July 24th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
He must have really hated that deer.
July 24th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Wingnut welfare: Some Bebe Rebozo-type will meet Hot Karl’s asking price, no questions asked. As a reward for the eight great years had by the wealthiest 1% of Americans, it’s the least he or she can do.
Hell, it’ll be like the tip a John give a prostitute for leaving no teeth-marks…
July 24th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
His basement is sound proof, climate controlled and equipped with call types of bondage/torture devices.
July 25th, 2009 at 6:46 am
Now if Cheney would just go back to Wyoming, that would be real progress.
July 25th, 2009 at 8:52 am
Rove has to be thrilled that his listing is getting so much free press. As far as DC’s housing bubble goes, Rove bought in 2001, which is pretty good timing. I’d hazard a guess that some big corporate GOP supporter will be happy to scoop it up for $1.5 mil.
Just an aside, my first DC apartment was at 15th and Harvard in 1998.
July 25th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Just tried to look up Rove’s house, it’s no longer posted, it’s listed as “under contract.” In other words, it’s already gone.
Do you think Rove is going to give the WaPo a donation for selling his house so quickly?
July 25th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
@ 31 Jamey
A Bebe Rabozo reference!
You win the thread!!
July 27th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
If Rove did “improve the house”, did he have to get permits?
Maybe they will make a movie about the haunting of this house next.
July 27th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
What does it cost to fumigate a house that size?