A weird Austin pocket listing has left the MLS for HGTV.
The Bouldin Treehouse, at 801 Post Oak Street, doesn’t just offer the typical balance between downtown proximity and suburban seclusion. The 1,300-square-foot home was built in a trunk-like design, with wood cladding, round floor plans and a spiral staircase. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom home is asking $1.6 million, or $1,227 per square foot. There’s also a one-bedroom, one-bathroom accessory dwelling unit abutting a retro Airstream RV. The parcel has been owned by Christina Campbell since 2007, and the home was built in 2013. It’s been listed as a rental off and on since 2017, never for less than $3,200 a month, according to Zillow.
Katie Jackson of Christie’s International Real Estate @properties Lone Star has the listing, and she marketed it live on the HGTV show “Zillow Gone Wild” last week.
Travis County appraised the property at $1.2 million this year, down from $1.4 million last year. The house is less valuable than the land itself; the lot is appraised at $625,000 this year, and the improvements are appraised at $577,000.
Although the unique design and ADU are points of pride on the listing website, Jackson’s sales pitch isn’t exactly to keep Austin weird. The listing teases the “opportunity to redevelop” the prime land. Jackson pointed out that the quarter-acre lot is big enough to accommodate up to three structures under the Austin HOME Initiative.
The seller listed the home on the MLS this spring but wasn’t satisfied with the top offers, Jackson said. The producers of the HGTV show contacted her shortly after the home hit Zillow.
Like markets around the country, Austin is adjusting to high supply and cautious buyers. While sellers have wielded some negotiating power in lower-price suburbs this summer, luxury is decidedly a buyer’s market, according to Austin agents. The weakening luxury submarket is possibly due to faltering corporate interest in Austin.
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