“Designed to Sell”? Not so fast in Burbank

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You can’t make this stuff up. A Burbank house once fixed up for the home makeover show ‘Designed to Sell’ has been sitting on the market for 322 days, with nine price reductions, and it still hasn’t sold. If it does sell, it will be a short sale, or a foreclosure.

I’m talking about 2304 North Sparks St. in Burbank. Here’s the listing, from Redfin:

‘APPROVED Short Sale!! The lender will pay 3% of Buyer’s closing costs! RUN to check this out!! 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home north of Glenoaks... HGTV’s ‘Designed to Sell’ team completely remodeled the kitchen in this lovely home! .... Make an offer NOW!’
If this sounds familiar, it should -- I blogged this house in February, when it was priced at $575,000. Here’s the listing history:

July ‘07: $699,000
Aug ‘07: $689,000
Aug ‘07: $670,000
Sep ‘07: $659,000
Oct ‘07: $649,000
Nov ‘07: $624,000
Dec ‘07: $599,000
Jan ‘08: $575,000
May ‘08: $550,000
June ‘08: $500,000

Two more data points: According to Redfin, the house sold for $435,000 in October 2004, and $685,000 in October 2005.

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com.
Hat tip: JD via e-mail.