Thanks to MLSLI’s new sold home feature, I can examine recent sales much more easily that I could before. Zillow, Trulia, Property Shark and other services do show sold prices, but they’re at least a month or more behind the curve. MLS is now showing me updated info with home sales less than three days old. There was an article about this in the NY Times. Some realtors aren’t happy about it, but I’m very pleased.

“If we know that they can get the information anyway, why send them somewhere else to get it?” said Barbara Ford, president of the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island. Earlier this year, she added, the service added rentals to its search engine. Before the end of the year, it also plans to add homes in the foreclosure process, she said.

A good job by MLSLI, although, in typical, craptastic MLSLI form, the search form that powers this is poorly done. I have to type in a zip or a town and hit submit. It then shows me a rough map and I have to try and zoom in to fit the area I’m interested in in the map window. Why not just let me search by zip or by town and skip the map part? Who knows? And, of course, half the time the search feature doesn’t work.

Still, it’s usable tool and I’m glad to have it. To break it in, I’ve culled some sales from the last six months that I find interesting.

64 Clinton St

  • MLS# 2050001 – Zillow Page
  • Sold $448,000 – 7/24/2008
  • Prior Sales: None Listed
  • 3 bedrooms – 2 bath – Ranch
  • Taxes: $9,671 – Village Tax: $993

We went to go see this place and we weren’t really impressed. The house is somewhat small, taxes are high and it’s somewhat north for our tastes. Still, it had a full finished basement and a nice big piece of property.

24 Washington St

  • MLS# 2056787 – Zillow Page
  • Sold $515,000 – 7/16/2008
  • Prior Sales: None Listed
  • 4 bedrooms – 2 bath – Colonial
  • Taxes: $9,220 – Village Tax: Not shown

Didn’t see this one. Interesting because it’s kind of the high limit for houses we’re looking for. Zestimate is way off the sale price at $401,500

335 Midwood Rd

  • MLS# 2054430 – Zillow Page
  • Sold $462,000 – 7/10/2008
  • Prior Sales: None Listed
  • 4 bedrooms – 2 bath – High Ranch
  • Taxes: $10,682 – Village Tax: None

I saw this one. It’s a nicely put together high ranch, well done inside on a biggish piece of land. I don’t really like high ranches, the taxes on this one were high and it’s outside the village (although inside the Babylon school district).

32 Florence Ct

  • MLS# 2056306 – Zillow Page
  • Sold $469,000 – 6/30/2008
  • Prior Sales: 07/16/2003 – $392,000
  • 3 bedrooms – 2 bath – Ranch
  • Taxes: $11,137 – Village Tax: $969

I went to see this one a while back, last year I think. It’s been on and off the market since then. I’m a little surpised that it went for so much.

This is really just your basic, three bed ranch, although two factors set it off from the pack. First, the basement has been turned into a de-facto second floor, it’s been nicely finished, the door to the basement was removed and the whole thing was nicely integrated into the flow of the house. Second, the house comes with the road and part of the land across from it. That’s why the taxes are so high. When I went to see it, the realtor told me that the person who owned land across the street wanted to build there, but he needed an easment from the owner of the number 32, which he wasn’t willing to give.

51 Totten Pl

  • MLS# 2043659 – Zillow Page
  • Sold $407,250 – 6/16/2008
  • Prior Sales: 02/14/2005 – $425,000
  • 3 bedrooms – 1.5 bath – Colonial/Four Square
  • Taxes: $6,506 – Village Tax: $506

See my other post on the Totten houses.

141 Wyandanch Ave

  • MLS# 2045455 – Zillow Page
  • Sold $513,000 – 6/13/2008
  • Prior Sales: 05/20/2003 – $510,000
  • 4 bedrooms – 2.5 bath – Colonial/Detached
  • Taxes: $12,016 – Village Tax: $1689

This is a serious “comp killer”, selling in 2008 for the same price as it did in 2003.

20 Roosevelt St

  • MLS# 2059114 – Zillow Page
  • Sold $445,000 – 5/30/2008
  • Prior Sales: None Listed
  • 3 bedrooms – 1.5 bath – Dutch Colonial
  • Taxes: $7,210 – Village Tax: $492

We really wanted to see this one, but it sold before we had the chance. A quick sale, due to being one of the few reasonably-priced houses on the market in Babylon.

63 Cooper St

  • MLS# 2010312 – Zillow Page
  • Sold $317,240 – 5/29/2008
  • Prior Sales: None Listed
  • 2 bedrooms – 2 bath – Colonial
  • Taxes: $5,655 – Village Tax: not listed

Very cheap, right in the village, but only two bedrooms. We were curious about this one, but never got to see it.

50 Caledonia Ave

  • MLS# 1994074 – Zillow Page
  • Sold $727,000 – 5/27/2008
  • Prior Sales: None Listed
  • 4 bedrooms – 3 baths – Expanded Ranch
  • Taxes: $16,637 – Village Taxes: $1,827

This place is way out of our range, but it’s useful as an example of what high-end properties in Babylon should look like. It’s a big ranch on a half acre land in the Argyle section.

25 Cleveland St

  • MLS# 2016570 – Zillow Page
  • Sold: $410,000 – 4/4/2008
  • Prior Sales: None Listed
  • 3 bedrooms – 2 baths – Inline Ranch
  • Taxes: $6,767 – Village Taxes: $640

I’ll admit, I was little shocked to see this one go so high. I saw this the first week it came on the market and, while it was certainly livable and in good structural shape, there had been no updates done to the place in nearly 20 years. It would be possible to move right in and live here, although I personally would have to take down the dark, cheap, fake panelling and rip up the atrocious, kelly green carpets first. On the other hand, it does have a full, finished, good-sized rooms and a nicely usable basement and is in a good spot in the Presidential sections.

The list was $425K, sold for $410, maybe chalk this one up to spring fever or some other bit of irrational exuberance.

40 N. Carll Ave

  • MLS# 1991229 – Zillow Page
  • Sold: $405,000 – 3/27/2008
  • Prior Sales: None Listed
  • 5 bedrooms – 1.5 baths – Colonial
  • Taxes: $8,616 – Village Taxes: $786

I wrote about this house last November. The ask was $499K then, having been as high as $699K. It’s a lot of house for that price, but it does need a lot of work.

209 N Railroad Ave

  • MLS# 2013952 – Zillow Page
  • Sold: $270,000 – 2/18/2008
  • Prior Sales: 01/14/2005 – $335,000, 10/28/1999 – $148,000
  • 3 bedrooms – 1 baths – Ranch
  • Taxes: $6,096 – Village Taxes: Not Shown

This was a foreclosure. It’s a good comp for distressed properties, foreclosures, estate sales and the like. I never got to see inside it, but the outside looks well kept up.