Manteca’s oldest tract neighborhood that the late Ed Powers developed to serve as starter homes for young families after the Korean War has assumed its original role with a vengeance.

A home at 460 California Avenue in the Powers Tract neighborhood sandwiched between Manteca High and Spreckels Park has gone pending for $460,000 after just a few days on the market.

Four years ago the home originally built in 1958 sold for $225,000. That a whopping 102 percent increase in four years. The current sale marks only the third time the property has changed hands.

The home was extensively gutted in an expensive remodel after being bought in 2017. It sold 10 months later in July 2018 for $340,000.

Andrew Sephos who remodeled the home in 2017 said the price “stunned” him.

However, he noted among what real estate agents call “starter homes” that are older and smaller therefore more affordable, the sub-market of those that have larger lots fit a niche that is in high demand: Homes with large yards.

“(There are those) who buy starter homes that are smaller houses that want larger yards to fit their lifestyle,” Sephos said.

He noted often its younger families that want a backyard where kids can play and can put up a swing set. It can also be those that are downsizing or single buyers that want a larger yard.

The home at 460 California Avenue is on a 6,242 square-foot lot while the home has 1,550 square feet.

The price per square foot based on the pending offer is $297.

Homes under 1,000 square feet

with large lots going for $400 plus

per square foot of housing

But that price per square foot is nothing compared to what starter homes with less than 1,000 square feet of living space on larger lots are commanding north of $400.

The most expensive tract home resale ever in Manteca — a 3,601 square foot home with five bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms on a 5,998 square-foot lot east of Woodward Park in the 1400 block of Veteran Street that is in escrow for $999,999 — is fetching $278 per square foot.

That pales on a per square foot basis for homes in Manteca under 1,000 square feet on larger lots.

Two pending sales of homes smaller than 1,000 square feet in different Manteca neighborhoods as well as one just 7 square feet bigger that all have large lots are in contract in excess of $400 per square foot.

*An 800 square-foot-home on a 5,502-square-foot lot with two bedrooms and one bathroom built in 1948 at 135 Stockton Avenue in central Manteca has an accepted offer of $365,000 for $456 per square foot. It last sold for $58,000 in 2009 and was remodeled before being listed.

*A 1,007-square-foot home on a 6,839 square-foot lot with three bedrooms and one bathroom built in 1958 at 1002 Trinity Street in the Powers Tract just around the corner from the California Avenue home that more than doubled on price in four years went pending for $420,000. It sold in 2006 for $323,500 and in 2010 for $105,000. The square foot breakdown of the pending offer is $417.

*A 792-square-foot home on a 5,500-square-foot lot with two bedrooms and one bathroom built in 1949 at 404 Fir Street east of downtown is in escrow for $320,000 or $404 per square foot. It has some five times since 1990: $106,600 in 1990, $97,000 in 1993, $102,000 in 1999, $215,000 in 2004, and $295,000 in 2018.

A home at 413 California Avenue in Powers Tract four doors down and across the street from the home that more than doubled in four years is pending for $425,000.

The three bedrooms, one bathroom home has 1,356 square feet on a 6,242 square-foot lot sold in 2006 for $360,000, 2009 for $122,000, and 2017 for $285,000. The pending sale price reflects a value of $313 per square foot.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com